Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 937 Joint Construction Units

Manager Zhang said, "You have to find connections. But it's not uncommon for soldiers to take on jobs, like digging ditches, planting trees, repairing roads, transporting goods, and building houses. The military needs to make money too, and their budget is limited."

Xiao Wei nodded: "I'll go back and ask around."

Manager Zhang said, "If it can be done, that would be great. There are many benefits to establishing the brand of a joint military-civilian construction unit."

Xiao Wei glanced at Manager Zhang: "We're a joint military-civilian unit, or even a joint military-police unit, didn't you know?"

Manager Zhang paused for a moment, then shook his head: "I don't know. You didn't say anything either. What level of joint construction are you referring to?"

Xiao Wei said, "The military and civilian units are under the Fengtian Military Region, and the police and civilian units are under the Public Security Bureau. Subordinate units can also display signs? I really didn't know that."

Manager Zhang smiled and said, "There are no rank restrictions. Military units at all levels can engage in joint military-civilian construction projects with local units, governments, and enterprises. However, the higher your rank, the greater the benefits. Can a statement from the military region be the same as a statement from a lower-level company?"

Xiao Wei said, "I really don't understand this. If they say to sign an agreement and put up a sign, then let's just do it. It's not good to refuse them."

Manager Zhang asked, "Did they hang it up for us on their own initiative? Chairman Zhang, you've got some serious connections. Let me tell you the benefits. The simplest thing is that if anything happens to us, the military and police can openly step in, understand? We have double insurance."

He smiled and shook his head, then continued, "On the surface, the two units can visit and learn from each other, cooperate and make progress in spiritual civilization. The military sends political officers down to give speeches and reports, and we go to visit them and hold a gala together."

Most importantly, we can cooperate with our partner organizations on both production and operational fronts. This includes supplying them with designated products, collaborating on product development and production, and having them help maintain the safety of our production and operations. Do you understand?

Xiao Wei was dumbfounded: "I just heard about it, I didn't know that before. Besides, we're just a shopping mall and a food factory, what could we possibly supply to them?"

Manager Zhang said, "That needs to be discussed. Actually, it would be worthwhile to build a separate factory for them, as the volume would be considerable. In that case, we would be considered to have entered the military supply chain, and there would be guards standing at the factory gate."

Xiao Wei asked, "What about the Public Security Bureau?"

Manager Zhang said, "Same here. Getting into the procurement process is incredibly prestigious. There will be a police station right at the factory gate. We'll have guards on the left and a police station on the right. Just imagine what kind of status that will give us locally. And most importantly, it will save us a lot of trouble. Government agencies will understand what's going on as soon as they see this setup. If they cause us trouble, they'll be in even more trouble, understand?"

Xiao Wei rubbed his head for a while before saying, "Then I owe him a huge favor? And I didn't even know it."

Manager Zhang asked, "Didn't you go and offer your greetings this Mid-Autumn Festival?"

Xiao Wei nodded and said, "I did go, and brought some special mooncakes and fruit, but I didn't think much of it."

Manager Zhang asked, "How is it specially made?"

Xiao Wei said, "We don't have fruit-filled Southern-style mooncakes here yet. The molds are also specially made. They're different for the military and the Public Security Bureau. One has a five-pointed star, symbolizing honing skills to protect the motherland, while the other has a police badge, symbolizing serving the people."

Manager Zhang laughed, pointed at Xiao Wei, and said, "Chairman Zhang, your luck is truly enviable. The main purpose of this joint initiative is to promote spiritual civilization. Your holiday theme serves both to express our condolences and is also relevant to the theme. It should be in the newspaper; let me look for it. This is also an achievement of ours."

Xiao Wei thought for a moment and said, "I really hadn't noticed; we don't subscribe to many newspapers at home."

Manager Zhang said, "That won't do. You have to read the newspapers carefully, especially for our company. We must subscribe to the Forward Daily and the Public Security Daily, since we are a co-construction unit. We also need to read the People's Daily and the Provincial Daily. I think we should also set up our own publicity department and publish an internal newspaper."

Xiao Wei nodded slowly and said, "Brother Zhang, you have more experience and more knowledge than us. Please take care of things and offer more opinions and suggestions. If you feel there are any areas we need to pay attention to or any mistakes we've made, just tell us directly. Although we are young, we are still sensible and know right from wrong."

Manager Zhang nodded and said, "Your Freedom Market will likely be larger than mine in the future, and there's a lot more work going on there. I don't see you have a specific person in charge. What are you thinking?"

Xiao Wei said, "I'm managing this myself now. We're short-staffed because we haven't been here long and have expanded quickly. It's not like you can just hire anyone; they need to be capable, and I have to be able to trust them, right?"

Manager Zhang said, "That's true. Personnel issues are the key. Compared with state-owned enterprises, personnel issues are even more critical in private enterprises. Private enterprises have less control over their employees than state-owned enterprises, and they have too few reserve talents and no foundation for education and training. It is indeed a big problem in terms of personnel."

However, Mr. Zhang, the free market sector is indeed quite important. In my analysis, it may become the main operating model in the market in the future, surpassing the current department store model and becoming the mainstream. Those in charge of this sector cannot underestimate its importance. And then there's the supermarket sector.

Xiao Wei said, "Actually, managing this area isn't difficult. The difficult part is planning and opening it. Once it's open, management is nothing more than managing safety, hygiene, order, and services, as well as collecting rent. Whether you understand a lot about business or not isn't as important as it is for a shopping mall. That's the biggest difference between us. The key is loyalty, reliability, and the ability to take responsibility."

Manager Zhang nodded and said, "That's true, but it's a business in the form of a shopping mall. There's a big difference between those who understand business management and those who don't. For example, product quality and pricing are things that need to be managed. These days, some people dare to charge three or four thousand for a pair of shoes that cost them only two hundred. Do you think that's a good thing? You also need to understand the specific layout of the mall and how to carry out promotional activities."

Xiao Wei thought for a moment and asked, "Did you have someone to introduce you?"

Manager Zhang said, "We discussed it, and based on our development model, the focus of the mall will gradually shift to clothing, shoes, bags, leather goods, small general merchandise, cosmetics, including imported similar products, while home appliances, large general merchandise, and small hardware will gradually be phased out, either by opening separate counters or entering supermarkets."

According to the company's plan, the supermarket will become a comprehensive shopping mall encompassing small and large department stores, agricultural products, groceries, grains and oils, home appliances, and bulk dried fruits, providing goods for all aspects of people's daily lives.

(End of this chapter)