Rebirth in 1960, My Industrial Age

Chapter 396 How Many Enemies Does Our Family Have?
You Lijun now oversees many things, but he is mainly responsible for negotiations on the introduction of foreign technology and bilateral trade agreements.

This is exactly what happened to Zhou Fengnian, who happens to be in charge of reviewing science and technology projects; if you want to get scientific research support in China, you can't get around him.

Even some major scientific research projects of the National Defense Commission required Zhou Fengnian's review and approval.

If Zhou Fengnian had been still in the Fourth Ministry of Machine Building, he wouldn't have been able to do anything about You Lijun, but now he can put a strain on him.

However, as Bai Kang said, if he were to target You Lijun, that would mean targeting the Ministry of Foreign Trade; You Lijun would only talk about achievements related to the Ministry of Foreign Trade as a whole, but Zhou Fengnian didn't care.

He wanted to talk to Comrade Yu Hai. Even if he couldn't get Yu Hai to warn You Lijun, he had to let him know that You Lijun had provoked an enemy outside, and that enemy was Zhou Fengnian.

Zhou Fengnian and Bai Kang chatted for a long time. He had been away from Beijing for a long time, and when he came back, he was busy with project research and development, so he didn't know much about some things.

Bai Kang has told him quite a bit now. Although Zhou Fengnian listened very attentively, most of it had nothing to do with him, so he wasn't very interested.

He prefers scientific research; these other things just don't feel right for him.

Besides You Lijun, Zhou Fengnian also planned to make a move against Wang Hai, but since Wang Hai was at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, it was not advisable to do so without any relevant interaction.

The only option was to contact some friends. Fortunately, Zhou Fengnian had quite a few friends. He had saved a lot of professors and scholars in those years, and he was also friends with almost everyone from the First Ministry of Machine Building and the Fourth Ministry of Machine Building.

Helping someone can be troublesome, but ruining someone is absolutely easy.

Zhou Fengnian wasn't the type to cause trouble. If these bastards hadn't repeatedly harassed his son, Zhou Fengnian wouldn't have been talking to his friends about this on the phone.

The call was made in front of Bai Kang and Zhou Xianyang; Bai Kang and Zhou Fengnian were too close, having known each other for over twenty years.
Back in the new electrical workshop of the Second Machinery Factory, Bai Kang was the workshop director and Zhou Fengnian was the technical advisor and deputy director. They supported and helped each other, and more than 20 years have passed in the blink of an eye.

There's no need to hide anything from Bai Kang when it comes to making phone calls to come up with solutions; in fact, some of the ideas were even his.

As for not avoiding Zhou Xianyang, Zhou Fengnian wanted to teach his son a lesson. When his business grows bigger in the future, he will definitely not be able to avoid official matters, so it would be beneficial to make contact in advance.

After chatting for a while, it was already past nine o'clock. Bai Kang checked the time and prepared to get up and say goodbye: "Feng Nian, let's call it a day. I'll call you when I confirm the news."

"Okay, drive carefully on the way back."

Zhou Fengnian said, then got up to see him off. Zhou Xianyang also stood up. He hadn't gotten a word in edgewise tonight, but he had gained a lot.

Suddenly, I felt like all that time I spent with Ren Zheng and his gang was just like playing house, like kids playing games.

His father and Uncle Bai Kang were both helping him out tonight, and Zhou Xianyang had to keep that in mind.

After Bai Kang came out, he originally planned to ask Bai Yujie to go back together, but Bai Yujie refused, as she planned to stay here tonight.

After returning home, she lived alone in that house. Ever since her daughter married Zhou Xianyang, Bai Yujie had been living alone. Only when Zhou Fengnian was away would Zhou Yan bring her daughter to Bai Yujie's place to chat and stay overnight.

Bai Yujie was also kept behind by Zhou Yan today. Her work wasn't heavy, and staying up a little later wouldn't affect her work tomorrow.

Upon hearing this, Bai Kang had no choice but to go back alone. Fortunately, he had only had one drink that night, so it wouldn't affect his driving.

After seeing the person off, Zhou Xianyang followed Zhou Fengnian back to the study.

Seeing this, Zhou Fengnian smiled and asked, "What are you doing following me? Are you here to help me tidy up the tea set?"

"Just leave it there, I'll clean it up for you in a bit."

Zhou Xianyang smiled and pressed Zhou Fengnian into a chair, then asked, "Dad, can you tell me who our family's enemies are?"

"Well, there are quite a few. I can't remember them all at once, but to be considered an enemy, they must at least be about the same level as me. Don't worry about that."

Zhou Fengnian said, "At this level, at most we will lose something, but it is impossible to completely pull us down."

"That You Lijun I just mentioned, I suspect his plan is to use underhanded tactics to force you to hand over Feiyang Electric Factory."

"Spit it out? This is a contract I made legally and compliantly." "Laws and regulations can be changed. Did contracting exist ten years ago? It does now, doesn't it? Regulations also adapt to the times."

When Zhou Fengnian saw Zhou Xianyang's expression while he was speaking, he changed his words and comforted him, "Don't worry too much, your Feiyang Electric Appliance Factory will definitely be able to hold on until the contract expires."

"Put more effort into the other electronics factory in the future; your Feiyang Electronics Factory is already doing very well."

They not only handed over their wages but also helped all the workers make money and developed new electrical appliances. They did a great job.

There are quite a few factories that have been contracted out now. Thousands of poorly managed factories across the country have been contracted out. Such a large scale cannot be changed just like that.

Zhou Xianyang sighed and said, "To be honest, I'm still too weak right now. If only I could develop to the scale of Shenzhou Computer Factory..."

"Then you are my honored guest. I'm not joking. If you come to me, I can pour you tea."

Zhou Fengnian gave a thumbs up.

Shenzhou Computer Factory now has an annual output value of over 3 billion US dollars and nearly 60,000 workers. It is the biggest name in the Fourth Ministry of Machine Building. It can be said that if a private enterprise could achieve this level, Zhou Fengnian would really have to meet it in person.

State-owned factories are considered subordinates, but private factories are outsiders and cannot be treated like subordinates.

Zhou Xianyang's current income totals only ten to twenty million US dollars, which is a lot for ordinary people, but it seems a bit little at the national level.

"Dad, what should I do to double the business as soon as possible?"

"Leverage your strengths. The future belongs to computers and mobile phones; these two are arguably the dominant electronics. Find a way to get involved."

Zhou Fengnian patted Zhou Xianyang on the shoulder and said, "I've been too busy lately and haven't had time to help you. You'll have to figure something out yourself."

If you can't get it domestically, try looking abroad; you have the money anyway.

"Oh"

Zhou Xianyang paused for a moment after hearing this, as if he had thought of something.

However, after he came to his senses, he found that Zhou Fengnian had already left the study to go back to rest. Zhou Xianyang had no choice but to tidy up the tea set and ask him again tomorrow.

------

The next morning, after having breakfast at home, Zhou Fengnian took a car to the Academy of Sciences.

It was also a way to escape family matters. Today, the youngest daughter angered Zhou Yan again, and Zhou Fengnian was also forced to scold Zhou Linlin a few times before he could get away.

His grades didn't improve, and he stayed up late reading comic books. The next day, he was so sleepy that he couldn't get up and got a scolding.

Zhou Fengnian had no way to plead for him, so he hurriedly went to work.

When he arrived at the office, Qian Zhi was already there and had made him some tea.

After Zhou Fengnian sat down, he immediately said, "Qian Zhi, go and find all the documents related to the support for the introduced technology projects from the past five months."

Upon hearing this, Qian Zhi asked, "Sir, do we need them all? You already gave your approval four months ago."

"We need all the ones that have been approved. Also, compile all the others and send them to me. Find all the technical projects that go through the International Department."

Even if it has been approved, other reasons can be found to block it.

To reiterate, helping others across departments may be difficult, but creating obstacles for others across departments is all too easy.

(End of this chapter)