Rebirth in 1960, My Industrial Age

Chapter 449 Responsibility for Delivery

Early the next morning.

Zhou Fengnian woke up early and then went back to sleep, not getting up to wash until almost eight o'clock.

He's been working overtime every day lately, six out of seven days a week, for more than 15 hours a day, and he only gets to rest on Sundays.

"Woke up?"

When Zhou Yan arrived at the backyard, she saw Zhou Fengnian washing his face and brushing his teeth. She smiled and said, "Come and eat quickly. Zeqian just asked his grandpa when he would wake up. The little guy wants to learn from you."

While wiping his face, Zhou Fengnian asked, "Zeqian, has that girl Shuyu missed me?"

Zhou Yan immediately laughed and said, "Hehe, when Shuyu heard that you were here, she wanted Qing'an to take her back. It's all because you always force her to study."

"This isn't forcing you; learning in advance will make things easier later. But it seems Shuyu's learning talent isn't that great."

Zhou Fengnian shook his head and sighed, "Just don't be like her two aunts."

His offspring are a bit strange; the boys are exceptionally intelligent, while the girls seem to have difficulty learning.

Zhou Xianyang is very smart. Because he missed several years of classes due to the special circumstances, he studied for more than a year and was admitted to Tsinghua University. He also performed very well in university.

If it weren't for his impatience, he would definitely be a top-notch researcher with his intelligence.

As for his grandson Zhou Zeqian, he is even more intelligent, showing a precocious talent and learning a wide range of things; now, the knowledge Zhou Zeqian has acquired is no less than that of a primary school student.

Moreover, this kid enjoys learning; at least he doesn't dislike it. He's so sensible that he doesn't seem like a child. It's Zhou Shuyu who behaves like a normal child, getting annoyed and wanting to run away whenever he hears about studying.

After washing up and having breakfast, Zhou Fengnian rested for a while before starting to teach his grandson.

He teaches much better than many primary school teachers, and having taught students for so long, Zhou Fengnian's teaching ability is at level seven, which is quite professional.

If he were to teach every day, and if Zhou Zeqian could persevere, he could teach all the primary school courses in two subjects within a year.

Around noon, someone suddenly knocked on the front door.

Upon hearing this, Gong Lin stepped forward and opened the small door. She found that it was Zhou Fengnian's son and two nephews who had knocked on the door. She then stepped aside and said, "You've arrived. The leader is in the backyard."

Zhou Xianyang said with a smile, "Then we'll go in first. Aunt Gong, could you please tell Chef Yang to add four more dishes for lunch?"

Gong Lin nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go get some right away."

Zhou Xianzhe and Zhou Xianrui placed the gifts they brought in the front yard storage room. Apart from a small, exquisite tea box and a few cans, the three of them headed to the back yard.

Upon arriving in the backyard, Zhou Xianyang saw his son writing and drawing on a small blackboard, working on a math problem, and doing it quite well.

Seeing her son's talent, she happily picked him up, nuzzled him affectionately, and said, "Zeqian, how long have you been studying? Are you tired? Do you want to take a break?"

"Hey, don't disturb the child, put him down!"

Upon seeing this, Zhou Fengnian immediately rolled up the book in his hand and tapped Zhou Xianyang on the head.

After he hissed and gasped, and put the child down, Zhou Fengnian continued, "Why did you three brothers come together? Oh, and you even brought gifts. Is there something you want from me?"

Zhou Xianzhe quickly handed over the tea leaves, then said with a smile, "Third Uncle, only you can help with this. The Northeast is rich in resources, and we can also get supplies from Russia, so Xianrui and I want to open a cannery."
But something about the canned food my dad and the others were researching just didn't feel right. When we showed it to the Russians, they didn't like it either, so I'm hoping you can help me, Uncle.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Fengnian pointed and said, "You guys really don't let me rest for even a moment. Alright, open those cans and let me see."

"Yes, yes, Uncle."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xianzhe smiled and opened the can for Zhou Fengnian, handing it to him.

There were quite a few varieties, but Zhou Fengnian frowned slightly after looking at them and then said, "Why are they all canned cooked food? You're really going to unnecessary trouble. Foreigners definitely won't like them, and there's no need for us Chinese to buy them."

These days, small restaurants are springing up like mushrooms after rain; you can find a place to cook just a few steps away. Why would anyone want to buy your canned goods?

".yes!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xianrui immediately felt that it made sense and nodded, saying, "Third Uncle is right. No wonder we think the taste is okay, but the Russians seem to find it disgusting as if they smelled garbage."
"Damn it, we thought we were producing canned stinky tofu!"

Just as Zhou Fengnian was about to say something, he heard his granddaughter, Zhou Shuyu, mimicking him in a clear, crisp voice: "Damn it~"

"Hey, Shuyu, you shouldn't learn to say things like that!"

Zhou Xianyang quickly picked up his daughter, then took his son's hand and walked outside: "Come on, Dad will take you to play for a while."

After the father and his two sons left, Zhou Xianrui scratched his head sheepishly and said, "I forgot the children were here."

"Be more careful next time, and don't swear in front of your own children."

After giving a word of advice, Zhou Fengnian continued, "People in our country don't have the habit of eating canned food. They eat it for the novelty. They might try canned food out of curiosity, but no one would eat it every day."
But it's different abroad. Most people there prioritize convenience and saving time, making them the main consumers of canned goods. So you need to decide who you're selling to from the very beginning.

"Actually, you don't need to think about any formula. Just go abroad, look at their canned food categories, meet their production safety requirements, and then you can start production directly."

Flavor and other factors are just bonus points, not the deciding factor. Only we pay more attention to taste; foreigners can't stomach fine food.

Zhou Fengnian shared some of his knowledge about canned goods, and also mentioned that canned goods are a luxury item in China; selling canned fruit is enough, don't expect anything else.

If you really want to make money, you should sell canned goods abroad. You can capture a share of the market with low prices. As long as the production and quality inspection are up to standard, no one dislikes cheap products.

He was reluctant to try these innovative Sichuan-style canned dishes; why eat canned food when you can eat freshly cooked food?

The two brothers were thinking the wrong way. After seeing how well their father's chili sauce factory was doing, they wanted to create a popular recipe as well.

But canned goods and hot sauce are different; the service market is different. If canned goods want to sell well, they can only target foreigners; they can't sell much domestically.

During this period, the two brothers could not go to Russia, so Zhou Fengnian advised them to go to Hong Kong or Europe for a visit, since they could go abroad whenever they wanted.

Unlike himself, Zhou Fengnian has almost no chance of going abroad, and even if he could, he has no intention of going abroad.

He used to go abroad with his superiors, and he wasn't as famous back then as he is now.

If Zhou Fengnian were to leave the country now, it's easy to guess that foreign agents would swarm around him like flies. Zhou Fengnian chatted with his two nephews for a while and came up with some ideas; however, his ideas were based on his memories of the future and his understanding of technology.

Zhou Fengnian didn't interfere much in business matters, as he didn't really know much about them.

However, after learning about Zhou Xianzhe and Zhou Xianrui's achievements in recent years, Zhou Fengnian was quite satisfied.

In recent years, he has paid little attention to his relatives, but they no longer need his help and are all doing well.

In particular, the Zhou brothers, Zhou Xianzhe and Zhou Xianrui, although their development was not as rapid as Zhou Xianyang's, have steadily built up a business.

With several industrial factories, more than 3,000 workers, and an annual income of over 100 million yuan, the Zhou brothers, Zhou Xianzhe and Zhou Xianrui, were already at the forefront of the country before the 1990s.

After listening, Zhou Fengnian smiled. He had done his best to help his relatives, and they wouldn't need him much in the future.

They left after lunch, not staying long at Zhou Fengnian's place, and even Zhou Xianyang was asked to leave.

Zhou Fengnian, who rarely gets a day off, didn't want to see his troublesome children; his youngest daughter had gone out early in the morning, and he didn't know where she had gone off to.

After resting for a while in the afternoon, Zhou Fengnian and Zhou Yan went out for a stroll. He hadn't been out for a long time, so taking advantage of the free time he and his wife had, he took her to the park and then to the department store.

On his way home, Zhou Fengnian remarked with emotion, "What a big change! It's been so long since I've been to the park and department store. In my memory, it still looks like the supply and marketing cooperative. Now it's becoming more and more like what I remember."
Zhou Fengnian didn't say the last sentence aloud; he just thought about it in his mind.

Zhou Yan said with a smile, "You're living a very monotonous life now, going between work and going home to rest. Even at home, unless you're teaching the kids, you're just reading. You don't even know how to rest."

At this point, Zhou Yan couldn't help but reach out and poke Zhou Fengnian's head, then continued, "Are all researchers as busy as you?"

"Well, I'm actually quite relaxed, at least I can go home. Some people can't even go home."

After pondering for a while, Zhou Fengnian continued, "I was also thinking that if we had gone into business, would our family's situation have taken a different turn?"

If I had gone into business, I probably could have built a huge empire, expanding nationwide, then to Hong Kong, and finally worldwide. If I had changed my mindset back then, we might be traveling the world now.

Zhou Yan asked, "Then why didn't you make that decision back then?"

"I still can't decide. Two leaders patted me on the shoulder and said that the future development of China depends on our generation, so I can only continue to do research, strive to produce more results, and make the country stronger."

Zhou Fengnian smiled and said, "If I had suffered any grievances during those years, I might have really gone into business, but I didn't suffer any grievances at all."

Instead, he acted domineeringly, hurling insults and abuse, and even gained a lot of advantage. He's even less likely to do any business; anyway, with his older and younger brothers around, they won't miss me.

During those years, Zhou Fengnian offended a lot of people, but in the end, all of them were settled with the help of his superiors. With the books he gave him and the hopes he placed in them, Zhou Fengnian certainly couldn't just walk away.

Moreover, Zhou Fengnian felt a sense of shared honor and disgrace as the land beneath his feet developed so rapidly.

The changes in Beijing are indeed significant. Among the rapidly developing cities in China, Beijing ranks among the top cities in terms of both economy and technology.

Economic development has been repeatedly emphasized since the reform and opening up. Many of the studies presided over by Zhou Fengnian have been applied to both military and civilian sectors, which can be used for both national military security and the development of people's livelihood and economy.

Computer technology has developed very well in the past two years, and computer classes have been implemented in junior and senior high schools across the country. In most cities, even elementary school students have started taking computer classes.

Computer networks have gradually developed, but they are still largely government-led. Private individuals who want to browse the internet still rely on public websites or external networks.

There are almost no private computer companies, and currently no one can run an internet company and monetize it.

It's not bad, though. In this day and age, we can't expect computers to be in every household, but at least school children should be exposed to them. Otherwise, they won't even know what a computer is after they graduate, and that would be a sign of slow development.

------

"Boss, take a look at this newspaper!"

After knocking on the door, Qian Zhi from the Academy of Sciences quickly placed a newspaper on Zhou Fengnian's desk.

Before Zhou Fengnian even picked up the newspaper, he saw the striking headline: [The Vast Red Nation—Disappeared!]

Zhou Fengnian chuckled and said, "Who came up with this title? He lost his job."

Qian Zhi said, "Boss, you know what, I actually called a friend and found out that the editor-in-chief of the Beijing newspaper was fired this morning. It seems he did it behind the editor-in-chief's back, but the newspaper has already been published and can't be taken back."

Since becoming Zhou Fengnian's secretary, he has been promoted two ranks, and his old classmates still contact him frequently.

Qian Zhi also met the editor-in-chief of the Sijiu City Daily and happened to inquire about this matter; this editor-in-chief, who had taken it upon himself to make the decision, was furious with the editor-in-chief, who was in a rage when Qian Zhi made the call.

"Regardless of whether he concealed it or not, the fact that he was able to release something like this means he was negligent in his duties."

After Zhou Fengnian finished speaking, he took a look at the document. He had known about the news mentioned some time ago, but it was officially announced yesterday.

Russia is history; next up are Uruguay and other brotherly nations.

This has some positive effects on them, at least the pressure from the north is not so great.

The pressure on Uruguay is certainly not as strong as that on Russia. Even though they inherited most of Russia's military legacy, they dare not provoke them now.

It is estimated that trade will resume at the border soon, and they will have more energy to maintain diplomatic relations with their separated brother countries.

Aside from dealing with the troubles that Ami will face next, overall the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

"We're going to be busy again soon; let's prepare for the ideological report meeting."

Zhou Fengnian said to Qian Zhi, "I expect I will also have to speak. Prepare some more speeches for me in the next two days. I need to make a thorough summary of this matter."

By the way, you can refer to a lot of materials and quotes from more than 20 years ago. Do you still remember things from that time? If not, try to find them.

Upon hearing this, Qian Zhi immediately agreed: "I understand, sir."

He was a skilled writer, adept at writing reports and documents; otherwise, he wouldn't have been chosen by Zhou Fengnian.

As for what to write, Zhou Fengnian just explained it very clearly, and there are also references.

(End of this chapter)