Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 539 One kilowatt-hour of electricity

Lu said, "The bureau's annual budget is finite, and it's never fully allocated. Here, everyone has to pay for food, lodging, transportation, case handling, vehicle maintenance, fuel, entertainment expenses, and the station's water, electricity, gas, and all sorts of other expenses. Don't we get some benefits during holidays? Every year we're always strapped for cash. Getting sponsorships is just asking for small amounts of money. It's basically from various factories and mines, doing joint construction projects or something. We just have to shamelessly ask people for it."

Xiao Wei laughed and said, "What you're saying makes the police station seem so pitiful."

Lu said, "It's true. You're not an outsider. What's the use of me complaining about being poor? There are dozens of people in the office. How much does it cost just for food, drink, and basic necessities every day? Car fuel, water, electricity, and gas bills—do the math. The bureau allocates 100,000 or 200,000 yuan a year, and that's not even guaranteed to cover everything. Do the math and see if that's enough."

Xiao Wei asked, "You guys still pay for water, electricity, and gas?"

Lu laughed and said, "What did you think? That it would be a freebie?"

Xiao Wei said, "I always thought government employees didn't have to pay these fees. Um, let me ask about the electricity for you, see if you can get a reduction or exemption. That's all I can do to help."

Lu said, "Sure, even a mosquito bite is still meat. My electricity bill is several hundred yuan a month. Saving that money and putting it into my food expenses will make a big difference."

Xiao Wei nodded, got up, picked up the phone from the table, and dialed Chen Hui's cell phone. After the call connected, he said, "Xiao Hui, I'm at the police station. I'm just asking if there are any electricity bill reduction policies here?"

Chen Hui said, "The office you work at? The one that gave you things when you first arrived, right? Jixian?"

Xiao Wei said, "Yes, it's really important. I'll have to stay here for another year."

Chen Hui said, "It's a small matter. We can just make a file for police-civilian cooperation here. It's impossible not to charge a penny, but reducing it by more than half is no problem. After that, you can have them send a banner to the power company there to show their appreciation for the police-civilian cooperation, and set up an alarm point at the power company."

Xiao Wei said, "Okay. Have you finalized things on your end? I just went to the design institute, and Dean Cheng gave me a few proposals. I think they're alright. The funding will probably be around 20 million."

Chen Hui said, "We've basically finalized a few houses. Why don't we go take another look together tomorrow if you're free? The loan should be settled in the next couple of days, so don't worry. My mom has connections, they know what they're doing, and we're not going to run away after we've done our job."

I'm telling you, none of these commercial banks can balance their books, understand? A difference of several hundred million a year is normal. If my mom really investigated, they'd be devastated.

Xiao Wei said, "Dean Cheng has given a good plan for the office building, factory, and storefront. Tell Engineer Wang to work on the interior first, and leave the exterior untouched for now. We'll discuss it further once the blueprints are ready."

Chen Hui said, "The key issue is time. We won't be able to finish by November. Is there enough time?"

Xiao Wei said, "Oh dear, I just realized I forgot something. I thought it was some municipal infrastructure project, but I forgot to ask about the time."

Chen Hui said, "It's okay, why don't you make a call now and tell them what we're thinking and ask them to come up with a solution?"

Xiao Wei said, "Okay, don't forget to let the power company know. I'll arrange it." Chen Hui nodded and hung up. Xiao Wei took out his phone book, found Dean Cheng's office number, and dialed it.

"Feed? Which one?"

Xiao Wei said, "Dean Cheng, this is Zhang Wei. I was in a hurry and forgot to ask you something."

Dean Cheng asked, "What is it?"

Xiao Wei said, "Will the office building and factory in Wanliu be completed before November? The key is that I need to use the factory in October."

Dean Cheng said, "We can build the factory building, but it's too dangerous if the main structure isn't finished. How about a slightly higher cost? If funding isn't an issue, completing the main structure before November shouldn't be a problem. Interior decoration definitely won't be done in time, but the factory building will be ready for normal use then."

Xiao Wei said, "Okay, don't worry about the funding. Use anything that can speed things up."

Dean Cheng asked, "Aren't Longcheng and Xingcheng in a hurry?"

Xiao Wei said, "There's no rush over there. We can work until next year without any problems."

Dean Cheng said, "If we start working in Longcheng now, we can get it almost done by next winter. It's impossible in Xingcheng; we'll definitely have to go the year after next. Don't even think about it; it's such a huge project."

Xiao Wei asked, "Where's Ji Xian?"

Dean Cheng said, "Why are you in such a hurry? Just hand it in next fall. There's no point in increasing the cost."

Xiao Wei said, "Okay, then I'll leave it to you. The factory must be put into use this year."

Dean Cheng said, "Okay, I understand. Is there anything else?"

Xiao Wei said a few words of thanks, and the two hung up the phone.

Xiao Wei sat down on the sofa and said, "It's done. Let's have you guys send a banner to the power company here, praising the police-civilian cooperation, and set up an alarm point over there."

Lu asked, "Really? How much will be waived?"

Xiao Wei said, "We'll waive most of it, but saying we won't charge a single cent is impossible; it wouldn't be policy-compliant. I just find it strange that a police station, as a law enforcement unit, should have some standing anywhere, right? Why don't you go and ask for help yourselves regarding this police-community cooperation initiative?"

Lu said, "Come on, that's just to scare the common people. Who cares about the police station in a government unit? The power company is way more powerful than us. Do you think I haven't tried? Do you know how many units are in the public security system? Can they afford to waive the fee? If the police station waives the fee, will other units waive it for them? It's just that you have strong connections. It's useless for us to ask. Don't even mention our small station, even the bureau can't do anything. If you don't pay your electricity bill, they'll cut off your power."

Xiao Wei said, "So there's no one who can control the power supply? Are they that powerful?"

Lu nodded and said, "They're directly under the central government, you know? Local authorities can't interfere. The Technical Supervision Bureau and the power supply company had a dispute before, but the specific reasons are unclear. I reckon it was about electricity bills. The Technical Supervision Bureau issued a three million yuan fine to the power supply company, saying that they were actually overcharging each household for one kilowatt-hour of electricity every month. It was a big deal, and it was only resolved after the city's top leaders intervened."

Xiao Wei asked, "Really? We'll charge an extra kilowatt-hour?"

Lu nodded and said, "That's right. If you submit fifty characters this month, he will start collecting from fifty characters next month, once a month."

Xiao Wei said, "Oh, now that you mention it, it's true! This business is profitable. How many stores are there in a city, a province, or even the whole country?"

Lu stretched and stood up, saying, "What's the use of saying anything? They'll still collect it the way they want. You're not going to pay? Come on, you can work in this room from now on. If you want, come and stay here and look at the documents. If you want to move around, you can go out for a walk when there's a case. If you have something to do, you can stay home and take care of your own business."

(End of this chapter)