Rebirth in 1960, My Industrial Age

Chapter 413 Foreigners
"Comrade Fengnian, this is Yu Hong. We spoke during our committee meeting last year."

Upon hearing Yu Hong's name, Zhou Fengnian immediately remembered who he was; the class monitor from Dongshan Province, whom he had greeted at a previous meeting.

At that time, Zhou Fengnian placed the nuclear power plant project in Lushi, and Yu Hong greeted him and expressed his gratitude.

Zhou Fengnian had a decent impression of Dongshan Province back then, but after what happened, his opinion has changed.

Moreover, Zhou Fengnian knew exactly why Yu Hong made that call: the disciplinary inspection team had investigated something related to his report, so he called to inquire.

Zhou Fengnian began, "Comrade Yu Hong, it's been quite a while since the last meeting. Why are you calling me today?"

He's on the same level as Yu Hong, so there's no need to be polite with him.

Moreover, their achievements are incomparable. Yu Hong is about ten years older than Zhou Fengnian, so there is no way he could ever become his leader.

Yu Hong, on the other end of the phone, said, "I heard that Comrade Feng Nian's relatives have encountered some misunderstandings and are being targeted in Lu City, so I'm calling to inquire about it."

"That's right, my brother-in-law went there to compete with the local transportation companies, and ended up getting a beating from the local officials."

Zhou Fengnian directly exposed the relationship, saying simply and bluntly that the one being troubled was his brother-in-law, and that his brother-in-law hadn't done anything wrong; he just sought outside connections when he couldn't compete with others.

So he said it directly: if the person in the transportation business wants to find connections outside the site, it depends on whose connections are stronger.

"I have already submitted the detailed account of this matter to the disciplinary inspection team. Comrade Yu Hong, why are you calling me today?"

"To be honest, I bear some responsibility for what happened in Dongshan. Now that this matter has reached the disciplinary inspection department, it should be punished accordingly. I just hope it won't affect Comrade Fengnian's opinion of Lushi City."

Yu Hong's words were well-chosen; he was a little worried about the impact on the construction of the nuclear power plant. If it exceeded the originally agreed time, even by six months, they would suffer considerable losses.

As for excuses for exceeding the time limit, Zhou Fengnian could come up with whatever he wanted. He could say that a project was delayed and could not be inspected, or that he was not feeling well, and a few excuses could drag on for a long time.

However, Zhou Fengnian already had reservations about Lu City, so his opinion didn't really matter.

"Hehe, Comrade Yu Hong, my opinion is not important. I don't have time to leave Beijing unless I'm on a mission. Since this matter has been handed over to the Discipline Inspection Commission, let them handle it."

After Zhou Fengnian finished speaking, he didn't give Yu Hong a chance to speak and continued, "I have some things to attend to here, so I'll stop here for now, Comrade Yu Hong."

After saying that, he hung up the phone and went back to work.

On the other side, Yu Hong stared blankly at the phone that had been hung up for a moment, then sighed and put the phone down as well.

Then, with a look of exasperation, he said to Zhang Dingshan, "You like to play clever tricks, and now look what's happened—you've gotten yourself into trouble!"
"Everyone went through those years, everyone can see through your little scheme. What are you thinking?"

Zhang Dingshan quickly apologized: "Old leader, it was my fault. I only wanted to give way at the time."

"What you think is no longer important. Comrade Feng Nian probably has a problem with me now. It's no secret that you used to be my secretary; a little inquiry would reveal that."

After Yu Hong finished speaking, he sighed. If you were to pick out all the cadres of the same rank as him across the country and then choose the three with the best chance of being promoted, Zhou Fengnian would definitely be one of them.

There's no other reason than that his aura is too dazzling. It would be difficult for him to advance two more levels, but the chances of advancing one more level are quite high.

His old subordinate offended this kind of person; he really seems to have a poor grasp of the situation at the top.

"Old leader, shouldn't we be a little less worried? I heard that Leader Zhou's younger relatives are still in our Dongshan Province."

"Shut up!"

Yu Hong couldn't help but scold him, then pointed at Zhang Dingshan and said, "You really want him to drag you down too? What level are you? Do you expect me and Zhou Fengnian to clash?"
Don't say that again, don't even think about it. Even if you run into someone's junior, you have to greet them properly so as not to give them anything to gossip about!

A simple report from someone will trigger a joint investigation by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the provincial authorities. If they have their eye on you, they can remove you from your position within two years.

"Alright, alright, go down. Instead of having such crooked ideas, you should think about how to improve your relationship with Comrade Feng Nian's younger generation."

Comrade Yuhao is already well-known here. He brought in tens of millions of yuan in investment as soon as he took office. Who among you can do that? There are probably more connections behind him than just that.”

Yu Hong sighed and said that the people he had high hopes for were quite clever, but that was all they were.

Even setting aside Zhou Fengnian, Zhou Xianyang is so rich that if he can get connections to invest in their area, wouldn't that be a political achievement?

Even if he didn't pay much attention, he knew that Zhou Xianyang was the only self-employed individual in China with assets exceeding 100 million yuan, and that he was completely in compliance with the policies.

Although cadres' family members are not allowed to engage in business, the factory director of Feiyang Electric Factory is a different person, and there is also an agreement between Zhou Xianyang and Hong Sanqiang, so after going through a roundabout way, there is still an excuse.

Unless new laws are introduced, Zhou Xianyang has not broken the law.

After being reprimanded, Zhang Dingshan quickly admitted that he had made a mistake and might even implicate his superiors, so he dared not say anything more.

After being reprimanded, he listened to Yu Hong's lecture for a while before taking his leave.

Zhang Dingshan planned to immediately try to improve his relationship with Comrade Bai in the neighboring city after returning home, in order to make up for any shortcomings.

------

In the conference room of the Academy of Sciences, the main topic of discussion today is the visit of foreign researchers to China for exchanges and discussions.

This was a very rare occurrence for them, as foreign researchers had expressed interest in this project after the successful development of the fifth-generation Shenzhou supercomputer.

They also wanted to see what kind of power on this land could repeatedly develop such advanced high-tech achievements.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that they will be responsible for the daily arrangements of food, accommodation and transportation, but the academic exchange will be handed over to the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

After the meeting began, Dean Wu mentioned this matter. After he finished speaking, he looked at Zhou Fengnian and asked, "Comrade Fengnian, how is your role in charge of the exchange and reception?"

"I?"

Zhou Fengnian was taken aback. This was not within his scope of responsibility, and he was too lazy to bother with such matters.

So Zhou Fengnian shook his head and said, "Let someone else do it, Dean. I have a lot of things to do and really can't find the time."

He also needs to take some time to visit his nephew Tai's biopharmaceutical company, as well as the semiconductor research institute, and he also needs to make a trip to Shanghai.

He's so busy he doesn't even have time to look after his grandson, let alone spend time with foreigners. Besides, true exchange only counts if both parties benefit; what could he possibly learn from those foreigners?
He would have spent that time practicing his skills himself, which would have yielded more than arguing with foreigners. Besides, they definitely wanted to learn something from Zhou Fengnian, and he had no interest in teaching foreigners.

"Hey, Comrade Fengnian, this is something the leadership has already agreed to, and it will greatly benefit our exchanges with foreign countries."

"I know, and I don't object, but there's no need for me to go in person. If they want to exchange ideas, there are many candidates from the Computer Science Institute, the Robotics Institute, and the Semiconductor Institute, as well as quite a few suitable candidates within the institute."
"Spending a few days with them would be too much of a waste of time; besides, Dean, I wouldn't get any benefit from spending time with them. I could go do my research and maybe make a significant breakthrough. Which do you think I should choose?"

After hearing Zhou Fengnian's words, Dean Wu was speechless.

He couldn't bring himself to talk about diplomatic relations or academic exchanges anymore; Dean Wu originally wanted to say that they came specifically for Zhou Fengnian, a computer science award winner and supercomputing developer, but seeing Zhou Fengnian's resolute expression, he gave up on that idea.

Zhou Fengnian was at the same level as him, so he couldn't force Zhou Fengnian to go.

"Then let's choose someone else, Comrade Fengnian. Do you have any suggestions?"

After thinking for a moment, Zhou Fengnian said, "Comrade Yan Zhengzhi? He's been teaching at the school lately and has plenty of free time; and Comrade Hou Hong are also suitable candidates."

The people he just mentioned are all academicians, but they are old and have retired from front-line research.

Now they're either teaching at schools and mentoring students, or they've been rehired to continue their research projects, but they're not as driven as before, given their age.

Yan Zhengzhi is in pretty good health. The old man is seventy years old, but he often gets medicine prescribed by Zhou Fengnian to regulate his body. He also doesn't have project pressure and occasionally goes back to the research institute and the Academy of Sciences. His energy is actually better than before.

That's exactly the right person.

“These semi-retired seniors are both energetic and knowledgeable, and it would be a good opportunity for them to have a good exchange with foreign researchers.”

After listening, Dean Wu thought for a moment and nodded, saying, "That's right, let's choose a few from among them."

Although he really wanted Zhou Fengnian to go, it was clearly unlikely given Zhou Fengnian's attitude.

After the meeting, Zhou Fengnian returned to his office to work.

During this period, a colleague from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection called him once to inform him of the outcome of the investigation.

The investigation revealed the same situation as his report; some local officials have already been dealt with according to relevant regulations, and even the official who covered it up has been punished.

While he's unlikely to be removed from office, he also has no hope of promotion.

Song Weinan can now continue to develop transportation routes there. His transportation company is quite large now, with transportation points established in three locations outside of Beijing, and a total of 45 large trucks.

Besides the fertilizer plant, he also took on many transportation jobs in Beijing, and his transportation routes have spread to seven provinces around the Yan River.

The things belonging to the Zhou brothers, Zhou Xianzhe and Zhou Xianrui, were all brought back by Song Weinan's truck fleet; they kept clear accounts and didn't take advantage of their uncle.

Although Song Weinan and Zhou Chunhua offered to transport their two nephews for free, Zhou Xianzhe and Zhou Chunhua refused.

This rule was established by Zhou Fengnian: family members shouldn't take advantage of each other, otherwise it might become a habit and lead to resentment later.

Zhou Fengnian always paid for his meals at the Imperial Kitchen.

In the entire Zhou family, only Zhou's father and mother could take advantage of them at will, often going to the Imperial Kitchen to pack food and leaving without paying.

Theoretically, they haven't separated yet, but now that things are like this, it doesn't really matter whether they separate or not, since we've both been reformed and opened up.

After finishing his call with the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, Zhou Fengnian called Song Weinan again, telling him to go to Dongshan Province to develop his career with peace of mind.

As long as he doesn't cause trouble, if anyone makes things difficult for him again, Zhou Fengnian can just drag that person down next time; however, he also reminded him that the transportation point could be moved to another location, as neighboring cities are better than Lu City.

Moreover, he has people in the neighboring city who are looking after him. Zhou Xianyang's two factories are also located in the neighboring city, as is Bai Yuhao, the vice mayor.

The Zhou family's various industries are all thriving, and they are extremely generous to their employees. Not to mention Song Weinan's drivers, even the lowest-paid waiters at the Imperial Kitchen are considered high-income earners in Beijing.

He can earn 1,700 a year, a level that many factory workers don't even reach.

Zhou Fengnian had specifically instructed him beforehand that because they were his relatives, they would easily attract the attention of others, so it was best not to make any mistakes.

They've already made enough money; they're arguably among the richest people in China. Zhou Xianyang, who's the most successful at making money, is even approaching the top earners in Hong Kong.

Therefore, it is best to implement the idea that those who get rich first should help those who get rich later; otherwise, it's just a case of being stingy.

There are quite a few people watching them, and Zhou Fengnian has gotten to know them somewhat over the years; since they couldn't find anything wrong with him, they kept an eye on his children and relatives.

Fortunately, he has enough prestige at home and his words carry weight; otherwise, if something had happened, he would definitely have been implicated.

Once the visit of the foreign scientific research exchange team was confirmed, they arrived shortly afterward, and I felt like I didn't want to waste a single day.

Beijing has developed rapidly, with many high-rise buildings and private cars traveling on the roads. Although it is not yet comparable to the best cities in foreign countries, it can still be ranked among the top fifty.

The foreign scientific research exchange team members were somewhat surprised when they arrived in Beijing, as it was not quite in line with their impression of 'China'.

After arriving, we didn't immediately start communicating. Instead, we spent two days exploring Beijing and learning a lot before getting down to business.

They also hoped that Zhou Fengnian could come over, after all, Zhou Fengnian is quite famous abroad, having won the highest award in computer science.

However, Zhou Fengnian didn't tolerate them. He asked twice, and each time the response was the same: 'I'm not going.'

He not only keeps an eye on the research institute's projects, but also on his nephew Tai's projects. The new drug is just waiting for the calculation results and reports before it can enter the clinical trial application stage. In a few more years, the new drug will be manufactured.

At that time, there were not many people with diabetes in China, but there were quite a few abroad. Once the overseas market was opened up, it was estimated that a lot of money could be made. At that time, Zhou Fengnian would lead a team to study the needs in China.

In addition, he also had to pay attention to the human evolution project. Tian Shaoxing was quite efficient, and the research institute was almost completed in just a few months.

Zhou Fengnian also went twice. After seeing that the site was almost completed, he began to select people. The selection had to be kept secret, and the person had to have a slightly lower moral standard.

If you can't accept that, then it's not acceptable.

(End of this chapter)