Rebirth in 1960, My Industrial Age

Chapter 398 A Call from a Peer Official
"It's not our place to get involved, so let's just forget about it."

Zhou Xianyang picked up a piece of beef with his chopsticks and said, "My dad took it, and he won't let me get involved in what happens next."

"Should Uncle Zhou intervene?"

Upon hearing this, Ren Zheng, Zhang Jianghe, and the others' expressions changed slightly. They then exchanged glances, all seeing the thought in each other's eyes that they were relieved to have been stopped.

These lowly scoundrels, relying on the names of their elders, are certainly capable of dealing with mid-level officials, but whether they can get to higher levels depends on whether the other party even bothers with them.

For someone of Zhou Fengnian's level to take on such a task, it would require his grandfather's intervention, and even then, success wasn't guaranteed.

It's fortunate they were stopped; otherwise, if they had gone to their family, they would have definitely made enemies. It's not that Ren Zheng didn't want to help Zhou Fengnian, but if he made enemies without informing his family, he would have received a severe beating when he got back.

"Brother Ren, what are your plans for the future? Will you continue operating movie theaters?"

"Yes, the main areas are all booked, but in those more remote areas, a small movie theater can still be opened, so that we can earn some money every day."
Moreover, we plan to go to other places, Jianghe to Jinkou, and Li Zhao to Yanhe. These places are all around Beijing, and opening a movie theater there would definitely be a good idea.

Ren Zheng already had a plan in mind. Now that they saw the benefits of opening a movie theater, they naturally wanted to expand their business.

Five cinemas earned them over ten thousand yuan a day; if they doubled that, twenty or thirty thousand a day wouldn't be a problem.

How many forms of entertainment are there now? Dance halls, video arcades, and movie theaters—these are the three things young people flock to.

Only those from exceptionally wealthy families could afford to buy a personal computer for entertainment.

With per capita income constantly increasing, farmers now have an average annual income of over 400 yuan, making it no longer particularly difficult for them to watch a movie. Therefore, Ren Zheng and his team started to focus on this aspect.

Although he liked running nightclubs, he made far too much money running movie theaters.

After explaining his grand plan, Ren Zheng put his arm around Xianyang's shoulder and asked, "Brother Xianyang, what are you planning to do next? You seem worried. Is it because of what Uncle Zhou took over?"
Tell me who he is, and I'll go back and ask my father if there's anything I can do to help you.

"It's not because of that incident; I'm thinking about what to do next."

Zhou Xianyang continued, "My dad says I'm too weak right now. If I were as rich as one of the top ten businessmen in Hong Kong, no one would dare to use these underhanded tactics against me."
So lately I've been thinking about what method to make money quickly. After much thought, I can only pin my hopes on the electronics factory, after we officially join the customs and trade agreement in a while.

The Canton Fair limits the number of countries that can participate. Once customs and trade are opened up, the trade volume will definitely increase significantly.

Moreover, Zhou Xianyang was also considering the Feiyang Electric Appliance Factory. He was indeed trying to research new electrical products, but it would take some time before they were ready to be finished.

He's thinking about producing mobile phones. The last time Zhou Xianyang heard his father say that the future might be the era of mobile phones and computers, he had this idea.

However, the domestic mobile phone factories are state-owned and are the pride of the Fourth Ministry of Machinery Industry. The technical staff there are well-paid, making it difficult for the Ministry to poach large numbers of people or purchase equipment.

If they were to poach people on a large scale, the Fourth Ministry of Machine Building would probably come after his father.

So Zhou Xianyang was considering whether to go abroad to take a look. Although the technology abroad was not as good as that in China, there was really no hope in China.

"Brother Xianyang, your ambitions are too lofty."

When Ren Zheng heard that Zhou Xianyang was going to catch up with those wealthy businessmen from Hong Kong, he was so surprised that he didn't know what to say. In the end, he could only say, "Then I wish you success, brother."

The top tycoons in Hong Kong seem to have assets worth tens of billions of US dollars, and even the lower-ranked members of the top ten have assets worth several billion US dollars.

These people are indeed received by high-ranking leaders when they come to China. If Zhou Xianyang were that rich, even his grandfather would have treated him with great respect.

However, this is not simple. Although they know that Zhou Xianyang is now worth hundreds of millions of RMB, he is more than a hundred times less than the top people in Hong Kong.

They also wanted to make money, but they never dared to dream that far ahead. Zhou Xianyang didn't say much to Ren Zheng and the others; after clinking glasses with them over juice, he started talking about other things.

Academy of Sciences.

Director Ding waited all day, and arrived at the Academy of Sciences early the next day, then made a phone call to Qian Zhi.

After hanging up the phone, Qian Zhi went to the entrance of the Academy of Sciences, greeted Director Ding, and said, "Director Ding, you've come a bit early today. We agreed to meet at 10:30, but it's only 9:00 now."

Director Ding said with a smile, "I know, I was busy this morning, so I came early. Does Vice Dean Zhou have time?"

Qian Zhi said, "There are no outings today, but the leader is busy with other things. I don't know if you're free now, Director Ding. Do you want to see the leader as soon as possible?"

"If possible."

"I can't guarantee it, but the leader will be meeting with people later, so I can only ask for you."

After leading Director Ding to the waiting office, Qian Zhi went over to inquire, but soon returned to tell Director Ding that the leader was unavailable.

So Director Ding waited until 10:30 before Qian Zhicai came to lead him to Zhou Fengnian's office.

Director Ding originally wanted to talk to Zhou Fengnian about his troubles and ask for his help; however, before he could say much, Zhou Fengnian used a series of words about technological development to shut him up.

When it comes to technical knowledge, Director Ding is no match for Zhou Fengnian, and Zhou Fengnian's arguments are well-reasoned and supported by evidence. Moreover, the difference in their ranks makes Director Ding feel completely powerless to speak.

In the end, they had no choice but to return empty-handed.

However, on the way back, Director Ding came to terms with it. He had done his best, but it was clearly not something that a director like him could handle.

To persuade Zhou Fengnian, his superiors would have to step in.

So it happened in the office of the leader of the Ministry of Foreign Trade.

Director Ding complained, "Minister, I've tried everything to reason with them, but Vice President Zhou isn't entirely convinced either. I'm not going to be able to complete my tasks for this year. Please, leader, show me some leniency at the end of the year. This isn't my fault!"

"Why is that? Did you do something to offend Vice Dean Zhou?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Hai's expression also became serious, as introducing foreign technology was a very important part of their department.

"Impossible. I've never met Vice President Zhou before. Maybe I've met him, but I've never greeted him."

Director Ding stated confidently that he had only been promoted two years ago and had no prior connection with Zhou Fengnian.

Besides, he's not stupid. Zhou Fengnian is so powerful and has so many identities. He would have to be out of his mind to provoke him.

Director Ding thought of something and immediately reminded him, "Sir, it seems that Director Bai Kang and Vice President Zhou are related. It seems that Director Bai Kang's niece married Vice President Zhou's son. Why don't we ask Director Bai Kang to inquire about it?"

"No need. If it's official business and there are indeed some problems with the technology you introduced, sending Director Bai would just be a waste of time. Let me call Comrade Feng Nian first."

After thinking for a moment, Yu Hai said that he would not allow his subordinates to inquire about such matters using kinship ties. It was not like he and Zhou Fengnian were unable to communicate.

Seeing his superior pick up the phone, Director Ding quickly stood up and said, "Then, sir, I'll go out now."

Yu Hai waved his hand, then dialed a number. After the other end answered, he asked, "Is this Comrade Feng Nian? This is Yu Hai from the Foreign Trade Department. I have something I'd like to ask you."

(End of this chapter)