Rebirth in 1960, My Industrial Age

Chapter 429 Taking the Initiative to Close the Relationship
"Boss, thank you so much this time. Without you, my nomination for deputy position probably wouldn't have gone so smoothly."

After leaving the Imperial Kitchen, Pan Heng said to Zhou Fengnian with a grateful expression.

His suggestion led to a direct and significant transformation. Overcoming this hurdle is no easy feat; there are already many cadres who never manage to do so in their entire lives.

Pan Heng had always felt that his position was somewhat insecure, and Liao Jinxuan, the new leader of the Fourth Ministry of Machine Building, had been placing his own people in the position. Otherwise, he wouldn't have had the audacity to come to Zhou Fengnian for help.

Now that he's been promoted by the new leadership of the Ministry of Information Industry, Pan Heng's position as deputy is basically secure.

If he really was replaced, then Pan Hengcai was wronged; he was the one who worked hard to build the digital communications business.

The previous director of the wireless communications factory did not take Zhou Fengnian's orders to heart, so he was transferred to become the new director and has been pushing forward the digital communications business ever since.

When it was merged into the Fourth Ministry of Machine Building, he traveled everywhere and worked hard; now that he has worked so hard for so many years, there is no place for him, and Pan Heng must be really disheartened.

"This is all thanks to your own hard work. Otherwise, even if I tried my best to push you, Tang Zhiyuan wouldn't have wanted someone who wasn't capable."

Zhou Fengnian said with a smile, "In the future, we must pay more attention to technology. I have gotten to where I am today entirely because of my technology."

With advanced technology, we'll have the confidence to stand firm against external threats. When you go to your new department, you must uphold this belief.

Pan Heng nodded solemnly and said, "Don't worry, leader, I will definitely urge technological innovation."

"Well, if you need my help with the next generation of communication technology, just say so. Don't let the foreigners overtake us without even showing our support. Although I'm busy, I can still spare some time."

After Zhou Fengnian finished speaking, he asked the two of them, "Would you like to come and sit at my place for a while?"

Pan Heng quickly waved his hand and said, "No need, leader. It's getting late, and I should go home."

Wang Mingjie also said, "Yes, leader, Director Pan and I will go back now."

"Should I have the driver take you?"

"no, I'm fine."

"It's not far at all. We can go back ourselves, or take a taxi if necessary."

There are taxis in Beijing now, but there are relatively few. However, since they are located in the center of Beijing, you should be able to get a taxi if you wait a little longer.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Fengnian stopped being polite and went straight home by car.

I haven't had a proper rest lately, so today I can relax a bit, not worry about work, and spend time with my granddaughter and grandson.

Zhou Fengnian discovered that his grandson Zhou Zeqian was also very intelligent, and his ability to play brain games and learn was no less than that of Zhou Xianyang back then.

Moreover, they rarely cry or fuss. Even when they need to relieve themselves, they will shout loudly in advance, which is much better than children of the same age.

However, Zhou Fengnian has not yet seen any intelligence in his granddaughter. Like any other child, she cries and likes to play.

He even began to wonder if he had brought about changes in his descendants. His son and grandson both exuded intelligence, but his daughter had not inherited it.

Zhou Fengnian saw his grandson's intelligence and that's why he decided to train him; there was no need for their family to have two generations of businessmen.

The era Zhou Xianyang was born into allows one to accumulate enough wealth in a lifetime to last ten generations of descendants.

Old man Zhou Fugui is a true representative of pragmatism. When he was young, he would go up the mountain whenever he wanted, and he would bring his eldest and second eldest sons with him.

Now that he's old, he's still a man of action. After reorganizing the personnel at the old Zhou's Chili Sauce Factory, he immediately came back to Zhou Fengnian to ask for the new chili sauce recipe.

This time, Zhou Fengnian provided his father with five kinds of chili sauce, including pure chili sauce, chicken chili sauce, mushroom and beef chili sauce, and so on.

All five are delicious, and their prices cover low, medium, and high. Once all of them are manufactured, Old Zhou's Chili Sauce Factory will have several main products.

As long as Mr. Zhou maintains good quality control and doesn't repeat the damaging practices that state-owned factories did, the Zhou Family Chili Sauce Factory will definitely be able to expand to several provinces.

Putting aside everything else, Zhou Xianyang's department stores alone are enough to expand the distribution channels.

Now, Zhou Xianyang is able to earn hundreds of millions of yuan every year with his Guangxun mobile phones and MP3 music players, giving him a lot of cash to expand.

There was no use in keeping the money. Apart from providing welfare to the workers and investing in silk research, Zhou Xianyang focused on expanding his own business.

Department stores are one example. The department stores in Beijing are extremely popular, and they offer a wide variety of products. Their business is much better than that of Tianqiao Department Store.

They now plan to expand into the surrounding cities of Jinkou and Yenha ​​Province, and then establish a warehousing system.

Seeing such a detailed development plan, Zhou Xianyang was happy to invest money in it. He had plenty of money right now, and if he didn't invest it, he could only deposit it in the bank and earn interest.

This batch of stores constitutes the plan to establish six department stores: two in Jinkou, one in Sijiucheng, and three in Yanhe Province.

Once everything is completed, his Yangfei Department Store will also be an important source of cash flow.

Zhou Xianyang paid little attention to his department store, but he did check the accounts quite frequently.

Ever since his own relatives poached his employees, Zhou Xianyang has been cracking down on internal corruption, preferring to spend more money hiring people to audit the accounts rather than let his money be embezzled.

Recently, Zhou Xianyang has been targeted by some people because of his money-making ventures; however, this is not a bad thing, as the bank is introducing personal capital after its restructuring and intends to let Zhou Xianyang join in as well.

His financial strength is so substantial that his personal savings are increasing year by year, and are expected to exceed 150 million next year.

This is the personal savings that I have left after investing in many projects and can't spend it all.

It's no wonder others are envious; Zhou Xianyang's factories are incredibly efficient at making money. The advantage of leading-edge technology products is market dominance, with virtually no competing products.

Even if he licenses out part of his MP3 technology, Zhou Xianyang will still make a fortune; a few years later, when the 1990s arrive, he will probably be earning over a billion yuan a year.

With the highest personal income in the country and a very powerful background, Zhou Xianyang was destined to live a carefree life.

Zhou Fengnian is still in his prime, and with the Cell Evolution Serum, he might live to see the day he gets tired of it.

Perhaps he will even witness the birth of his great-grandson.

Now almost everyone in the Zhou family is busy. Even the retired old man Zhou has gone back to the factory to continue working. The only ones who are relaxed are his daughters who are still in school.

Whether it was Zhou Fengnian, or Zhou Weitian and Zhou Jia'an, they were all quite lenient with their daughters; as long as they didn't break the law, they could basically do whatever they wanted.

Zhou Fengnian's requirements were a bit higher; he insisted that his two daughters attend university, even if it wasn't a very prestigious one.

Their mothers both earned associate degrees through self-study. If their daughters only had a high school diploma, how embarrassing would it be for them?

-----

Inside a military family compound in Beijing.

The security here is no less than that of some of the most secure places. All the residents are veteran generals, and generals who have safely navigated those years.

The houses were also a reward for them, so that even after they pass away, their descendants can continue to live in them.

Ren Zheng arrived at his front door, knocked, and was quickly opened by the housekeeper. He then went inside. Seeing several people sitting in the living room, Ren Zheng casually said, "Dad, why did you call me back? I'm busy right now. Grandpa!?"

Before he could finish speaking, Ren Zheng was so startled when he saw another elderly man sitting on the sofa that he sat up straight.

But then I thought about it again and realized that I hadn't done anything bad recently. The last time I beat up that Xue family kid was years ago. I shouldn't bring up old grudges and use that as an excuse to beat him up.

So Ren Zheng asked with a fawning smile, "Grandpa, why are you back? How are you feeling? I was just talking to Dad a few days ago about visiting you at the nursing home. Really, I was even picking out a gift."

"Alright, stop being so cheeky with me. What gifts? How many times have you even been here?"

General Ren was unwilling to talk about his grandson's affairs, so he waved his hand and stopped mentioning it.

"Grandpa, you look much better. Is staying in the nursing home really that effective?"

Ren Zheng looked at his grandfather for a while, somewhat incredulous, feeling that his grandfather was more than ten years younger.

Not only his complexion, but also his eyes and the way he sat on the sofa, were unlike the grandfather who had been lying in the hospital bed.

"It seems like he's really recovering very well, Dad, Second Uncle, don't you think? Grandpa's recovery is amazing."

"Don't make any noise!"

When Secretary Ren saw his son acting like this, he couldn't help but scold him. Then he turned to his father and asked, "Dad, this brat is back too. Just say what you want to criticize. If you want to take action, my second son and I will teach him a lesson for you."

He didn't know why his father had called his son back, but judging from Ren Zheng's past behavior, he must have gotten into some trouble.

Ren Zheng panicked after hearing this and secretly complained that he was indeed going to be beaten up. He should have delayed his return for a while longer.

However, Ren Zheng quickly retorted, "Sir, I haven't caused any trouble recently. The movie theaters I run are just making money honestly."

General Ren waved his hand and said, "It has nothing to do with those people. Xiao Zheng, let me ask you, do you have a good relationship with Comrade Feng Nian's son?"

Ren Zheng was taken aback upon hearing this and asked in return, "Grandpa, who is Comrade Feng Nian?"

Mr. Ren, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but frown and remind him, "How come you don't know anything? That vice president of the Academy of Sciences, didn't you run a movie theater with his son?"

He had previously learned that his son was running a movie theater with Zhou Fengnian, and he thought that Zhou Fengnian was using his family's power to force him. He was so shocked that he immediately pulled out his belt to hit Ren Zheng.

After confirming several times that the boy hadn't used his power to coerce anyone, Mr. Ren finally breathed a sigh of relief.

At that time, Ren's father was preparing to be promoted to deputy secretary of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee. If this situation occurred at home and Zhou Fengnian filed a complaint against him, not only would his promotion be hopeless, but he would also get into big trouble.

Fortunately, his son was smart this time and took the initiative to befriend the other person.

What Ren's father didn't know was that his son had told him a little lie. When he saw his father pulling down his belt, Ren Zheng was so frightened that he kept it a secret for a while.

If Ren Zheng were to reveal that their first visit was to demand dividends from Feiyang Electric Factory, he felt he would be slapped to death.

“Xianyang, we have a pretty good relationship. He even funded the opening of the movie theater for me. It’s making quite a bit of money now. Last month, I gave him over 200,000 yuan in dividends.”

Ren Zheng quickly said that he felt he had made something of himself now, earning hundreds of thousands a month, and that more and more cinemas were opening.

General Ren nodded and then said, "Since you have a good relationship, keep it up. Don't be arrogant just because of your father and your uncles and aunts."

Another time, when there's a chance, I can invite my family over for a meal.

"Ok?"

Upon hearing General Ren's words, not only Ren Zheng, but also his father and brother were stunned.

Then, Mr. Ren asked with some doubt, "Dad, did you mean to invite Comrade Feng Nian to our house for dinner?"

"No, I did invite Comrade Fengnian, but he declined because he didn't have much time. Ren Zheng, you should also maintain your relationship with Comrade Fengnian's son. Like father, like son. I remember that Comrade Fengnian's son donated 20 million yuan not long ago."

After hearing General Ren's words, Ren's father and the others were surprised. They had never seen their father behave like this before, as if he was trying to curry favor with them.

Mr. Ren couldn't help but ask, "Dad, what about that Comrade Feng Nian?"

"Don't ask. I won't tell you even if you ask. You'll understand when you reach a certain level. But I won't harm you."

General Ren shook his head and said that those who personally experienced such events were all placed under strict gag orders.

Since they have benefited from it, they must keep it a secret, and not even their family members should be told.

However, General Ren had witnessed Zhou Fengnian's prowess firsthand. In the past, he would have been a living god who could grant people longevity and health.

Moreover, General Ren valued Zhou Fengnian's youth even more, as he was almost ten years younger than his son, yet his rank was the same as his son's.

I heard that Zhou Fengnian's father was a farmer, and he got his position today purely because of his own strong abilities.

It's best to befriend these kinds of people if you can, and never make enemies with them.

Otherwise, if you gain some benefits in the future, but are excluded because of a falling out, you will suffer a great loss.

The things he went through alone were enough to make him owe Zhou Fengnian a favor, as they made him look so young all of a sudden; and it wasn't just him, I heard that there were others before him who also became healthy like him.

"I understand, Grandpa. I'll call Xianyang tomorrow and ask him if he has time. I'll definitely invite him over."

Ren Zheng immediately patted his chest and assured him, "If it weren't for the fact that Brother Xianyang has everything he needs right now, I would be willing to help him with something."

General Ren's idea was a common thought among many people, especially after they left the Institute of Biological Cell Research.

If it were other rockets or missiles being launched, they would nod in approval upon learning of it, saying it was an invention that would make the country strong, and had little to do with them personally.

But the discovery of the cell evolution serum was truly the greatest achievement for them.

Zhou Fengnian has been visiting the Institute of Biological Cell Research less recently. This is partly because the researchers there are now capable of independently manufacturing and extracting serum, and partly because there are too many people who want to build a good relationship with him.

Almost everyone who received the serum injection wanted to get closer to him, or invite him to dinner or something.

Zhou Fengnian initially made excuses to decline, but after declining many times, he stopped going as often.

He doesn't need to continue inventing for the time being. Although he can continue to study similar human evolution serums based on the theory of cell evolution serums, that would be a huge undertaking.

When he has more time in the future, he may continue his research on human evolution.

Zhou Fengnian plans to devote more energy to the semiconductor and robotics research institute, as he wants to realize the technology of the second life mechanical body.

However, this requires the joint development of many technological fields, the most important of which are chips and robots.

Therefore, Zhou Fengnian will focus on developing chips and robots next. China's achievements in semiconductors are already number one in the world, but it is still far from enough.

(End of this chapter)