Rebirth in 1960, My Industrial Age

Chapter 457 Someone Can't Stand It
"Mr. Zhou, Mr. Liu, Mr. Dong, you should have all finished reading. Is there anything you don't understand about our arrangements, or anything else you would like to know?"

When Team Leader Qian saw that the three of them had put down the documents in their hands, he smiled and asked.

"As you three know, Shenzhou Computer Factory was once the brand that created the world's number one computer in our country. Now, even though many departments have been spun off and strategic restructuring has been carried out, companies with sufficient strength are still needed to join in."

Of all the companies we invited, only three best met the requirements; the others were slightly less qualified.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xianyang raised his hand and asked, "Team Leader Qian, I have a question."

"Mr. Zhou, please speak."

Zhou Xianyang said, "I also know about Shenzhou Computer Factory. Even the remaining consumer electronics manufacturing department seems to be somewhat different from what is described in the planning documents."
Are our three project proposals completely separate?

After Zhou Xianyang finished asking the question, Team Leader Qian's expression froze for a moment, but he quickly recovered and nodded, saying, "Yes, this is the preliminary decision made by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission's reform team."

The Shenzhou Computer Factory was separated and made independent, and then the mixed ownership reform was deepened. Of course, the reform plans varied slightly depending on the location.

"Then, Team Leader Qian, may I take a look at the proposals that General Manager Liu and General Manager Dong have?"

"In principle, there is no need for this. Mr. Zhou, do you have any dissatisfaction with the reform plan?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Chuanzhi and Dong Jianping exchanged a glance, realizing what was going on.

No wonder he felt this plan was very beneficial to them; the meaning of 'taking care' was very clear—it turned out that someone was helping them carry the burden.

As for why Zhou Xianyang knew about the Shenzhou Computer Factory and even sensed something was wrong after reading his own project documents, none of them found it strange.

His father was Zhou Fengnian, who founded the Shenzhou Computer Factory.

It can be said that without Zhou Fengnian, Huaxia Computer would not have its current global standing.

"That doesn't make sense, Team Leader Qian, I can't accept it."

Zhou Xianyang shook his head directly and said, "Although we are a private enterprise, we have not shirked any of our social responsibilities. We have done everything we can for the government, for consumers, and for our employees."
"I absolutely cannot accept this kind of scheme designed to disadvantage us at this point; if Team Leader Qian intends to do so, then our Feiyang Group will withdraw from the reorganization of Shenzhou Computer Factory."

"Although it is an honor to contribute to the country, if we can't even treat everyone equally, I don't think there's anything to discuss. Let President Liu and President Dong share this honor and benefits."

After saying that, Zhou Xianyang put down the plan and got up to walk outside.

"Mr. Zhou, Mr. Zhou"

Seeing this, Team Leader Qian hurriedly called out twice, but Zhou Xianyang ignored him completely, leaving the room without looking back and strode away.

This is clearly a situation where he's at a disadvantage. He's taking in and settling tens of thousands of employees, and the money he'd have to buy out their seniority alone would be substantial.

As a result, Zhou Xianyang was given a factory and some production line equipment, but he had to pay for the patents, and he didn't even get to see the most valuable research team.

Are they trying to take advantage of him?
Even if Zhou Xianyang wasn't a professional accountant, he could roughly figure out how much he would have to pay if he did a little calculation. If he agreed, he would have to pay more than 300 million yuan in total and get a factory building, which would be rented.

If that's the outcome, he might as well take out 500 million yuan and hire people to create a brand.

If all else fails, he can simply not participate. Investing that money in Fiberhome Communications might just bring him some pleasant surprises.

The fact that Zhou Xianyang wasn't called back immediately made Team Leader Qian's face turn ugly.

Liu Chuanzhi and Dong Jianping, who were sitting below, did not expect this to happen. Zhou Xianyang actually exposed the truth and then withdrew from the competition.

This was a serious slap in the face to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission's reform team.

After a few dozen seconds, Liu Chuanzhi tentatively asked, "Team Leader Qian?"

Upon hearing this, Team Leader Qian's expression returned to normal. He turned to Liu Chuanzhi and Dong Jianping with a smile and said, "There has been a slight mishap. Mr. Liu, Mr. Dong, I'm sorry, we'll stop here for today. Our State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission reform team will contact you in a couple of days."

"Okay, Team Leader Qian, we'll be leaving now."

Upon hearing this, Liu Chuanzhi and Dong Jianping got up and left without hesitation.

Although they wanted to learn more, now was clearly not the time to discuss business.

After leaving the conference room and reaching the door, Liu Chuanzhi suddenly called out to Dong Jianping, "Mr. Dong, do you have a moment? I'd like to invite you for a cup of tea."

Upon hearing this, Dong Jianping turned to look at Liu Chuanzhi, then nodded in agreement, saying, "Tea is fine, Mr. Liu. I'm a little thirsty, let's have some together."

Feiyang Group.

After Zhou Xianyang returned, he called over the two vice presidents, Ren Xueli and Yu Jie.

Feiyang Group has a total of four vice presidents, each in charge of a specific area of ​​business; Ren Xueli and Yu Jie are in charge of consumer electronics, one overseeing overseas markets and the other overseeing domestic markets.

As soon as the two entered the room and sat down, Yu Jie couldn't help but ask, "Chairman, I just finished discussing this with Vice President Ren. What did the reform team say?"

"They've already turned down the job; they're asking us to take the fall. The reason I've brought you here is to ask if we should set up our own computer brand and recruit people from both domestic and international markets."

Zhou Xianyang asked the two men, as he was reluctant to let go of the computer market, as it was related to his future market strategy.

However, if you invest it yourself, you'll need a significant amount of money.

"According to their plan, we will not only have to resettle tens of thousands of long-serving workers, but we will also receive very little in return. I wouldn't say anything if we suffered a slight loss, but they are clearly treating me like a sucker, saying they will support the other two people."

"Taking the blame? How could they do that?"

After listening to Zhou Xianyang's words, Yu Jie understood that he couldn't accept this task. If he did, he would be cleaning up Liu Chuanzhi and Dong Jianping's messes.

They're all private companies, why should they make sacrifices for these two people?

Ren Xueli frowned and said, "Chairwoman, logically speaking, the responsibility should be borne by all three parties, not just us. Has someone spoken to us on our behalf? Should I ask someone to inquire?"

"No need, I'll go home and ask. But they're not being sincere at all. Should we start over, or give up for now?" "I don't think we should give up, Chairman. We should have established our own computer brand long ago. This market will only grow bigger in the future."

Yu Jie immediately said, "In the past, Shenzhou Computer Factory was too dominant, and even though we spent a lot of effort building our brand, we could only get a small share. But now Shenzhou Computer Factory is clearly going to be split up and reorganized, so the future of the computer market is uncertain."
"The problem is we don't have much of a foundation, so starting with assembling a PC would be fine."

"Hire more people, and the skills and such will accumulate eventually."

After thinking for a while, Zhou Xianyang made up his mind and said, "Let's do this, there's no hope with Shenzhou Computer Factory, let's do it ourselves."

"After you go back, recommend a few people. I want to establish the personnel structure by the end of this year, and start recruiting next year."

Upon hearing this, Ren Xueli and Yu Jie replied in unison, "Understood, Chairman."

Feiyang Group is not short of money. Last year, the group's revenue was over 60 billion yuan, net profit was over 10 billion yuan, and cash flow was abundant.

Even the least profitable Feiyang Department Store still had revenue of over 7 billion yuan. Other Feiyang electrical appliances were bestsellers nationwide, and MP4 players were especially popular overseas, generating $1.6 billion in sales last year.

All of Zhou Xianyang's businesses are profitable, and he also has a stake in an energy storage company and the Bank of Communications.

He was already the richest man in China. Even if you include the tycoons in Hong Kong, no one can compare to Zhou Xianyang.

He didn't care much about the money; he was just worried about wasting time, since he had no prior experience with computers.

But now the people in the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission's reform team are clearly playing him for fools. Even if they called him back, Zhou Xianyang would never take over.

He's not without temper; he was already very polite to that Team Leader Qian today.

If it weren't for the fear of negatively impacting his father, Zhou Fengnian, Zhou Xianyang would have thrown the document in his face and asked him what it meant.

------

"Mixed ownership reform?"

Upon hearing this news, Zhou Fengnian looked surprised and asked, "Are you sure?"

"It's confirmed. It's basically a 'three-way division of Jin,' but they wanted me to suffer a loss, so I withdrew directly."

Zhou Xianyang glanced at Zhou Fengnian, then continued, "Dad, it's not that I don't want to take care of those workers, but I can't let others benefit while I suffer losses."

I have no problem with it remaining state-owned. I'm willing to suffer some losses to properly resettle the workers. I don't care about a hundred or two hundred million. But I can't swallow this insult while the other two are well-fed and I suffer losses.”

Zhou Fengnian waved his hand and said, "I didn't say any of that to you. I've said I won't interfere in your business, and that's final. Besides, the workers in your factory are treated quite well. I'm thinking about the reform of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission."

He was well aware of Zhou Xianyang's attitude towards workers; the cleaning staff's wages were almost the same as those of the county bureau chief and county magistrate, and the housing allocation system still existed.

Looking across the country, Zhou Xianyang's attitude towards workers is the best. He spends over a billion yuan more on this every year, and no one can find fault with him.

The employees in Zhou Xianyang's companies genuinely support their boss, Zhou Xianyang.

Compared to other countries, their treatment is so good that it doesn't seem like the wages and benefits one would expect from a developing country.

Once, when Zhou Xianyang opened a processing plant in Guangdong Province in the south, he was complained about by other factory owners because he paid too high wages.

Finally, the deputy leader of the last province came forward to talk to him, but Zhou Xianyang still didn't budge and didn't reduce the workers' treatment. Plus, he had Zhou Fengnian backing him, so the matter was eventually dropped.

Zhou Xianyang only recruited one or two thousand people there, which wasn't too many. In addition, the province couldn't handle it, and other factory owners were helpless as well. It was just that the workers in the factory were quite resentful.

His companies are known as the most difficult to get into, and also as the companies with the happiest employees, because Zhou Xianyang, the boss, is very generous to his employees.

Zhou Fengnian is now thinking about the Shenzhou Computer Factory. He asked an old subordinate about it last time. Although that person has now been promoted to the Fourth Ministry of Machinery Industry and is now the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, he wouldn't lie to him.

That is, those people also kept it from him, and most of the things were kept from him. It was true that some of the departments were separated, but they tried to keep the reforms of the consumer manufacturing-related parts from him.

"Dad, are you saying someone is spreading false information about you?"

Zhou Fengnian said, "Probably. Maybe some people feel that our family has developed too fast and don't want you to benefit from it anymore."

Zhou Xianyang did indeed receive help from state-owned factories during his rise to power; he made his first fortune by contracting the No. 1 Electrical Appliance Factory.

Although Zhou Fengnian helped Zhou Xianyang obtain the technology, some people felt uneasy seeing how much money the No. 1 Electrical Factory made after being contracted out.

Moreover, it's easy to find out that the Zhou family's power is now enormous.

Zhou's Catering, Zhou's Clothing, Zhou's Food, Old Zhou's Chili Sauce Factory, Jishi Biopharmaceutical Company, and more than a dozen other well-known domestic enterprise groups.

If their entire family were to come together, they could form a conglomerate worth hundreds of billions, a behemoth on a global scale.

Zhou Xianyang's face immediately fell as he said, "They can't even stand me making money honestly. What kind of people are they? The country doesn't belong to them."

"But they can decide where the resources go. Forget it, if they don't want to give them to you, don't be so eager. If you want to create a computer brand, just invest some yourself."

Zhou Fengnian shook his head and said, "The problem might be the resettlement of those workers. Who will pay for such a large sum of money?"

The Shenzhou Computer Factory, which he founded in the 1960s, is now over 30 years old, and the first batches of workers from that factory have reached retirement age.

These people can all be considered his old subordinates and workers, but now with this reorganization, it is estimated that the number of people who can retire smoothly will be reduced. After all, the initial plan to reorganize was based on the feeling that the staff was too bloated and the benefits were too many, resulting in low efficiency.

"Dad, don't worry about it. You're not in a position to interfere, so you shouldn't meddle now. If you can't bear it, then keep an eye on it. If they really mistreat the workers, then you can intervene."

Zhou Xianyang paused for a moment, then said as if he had made a decision, "If you are really upset, just say one word, and I will take care of it."

After all, I promised you that I would lead the workers to wealth, even if it's just a few hundred million.

Zhou Fengnian waved his hand and said, "No need, you're doing very well right now. Don't take on things that aren't your responsibility. Just keep things as they are."

(End of this chapter)