I'm in the county town, and you say I'm a big shot?

Chapter 680 A Conversation with Senior Mei Shuwei
Seeing that it was almost 5 p.m., Fang Qingye called Mei Shuwei: "Secretary Mei, are you free tonight? I just finished some official business in Jinghai and would like to invite you to dinner. It's been a while since we last saw each other."

Mei Shuwei chuckled on the other end of the phone: "Forget about dinner. I have some time tonight, how about we go for tea?"

"Okay, where to? How about Jiushui Tea House again?"

"Okay, let's set the time for seven o'clock."

"Ok."

After calling Mei Shuwei, Fang Qingye called Yue Kai: "Pack your things and get ready to go to Jinghai. We'll have dinner in Jinghai."

The two arrived in Jinghai city and had dinner at a small restaurant. Fang Qingye checked the time and it was almost 6:30, so she asked Yue Kai to drive to Jiushui Mingju.

Located near Wanxiang Mansion on Xingfu Avenue, Jiushui Tea House is a place where Mei Shuwei often drinks tea. When guests enter, the tea house is designed with a U-shaped layout. The central courtyard brings in natural light, and the bluestone floor is inlaid with copper coin-patterned water features, reflecting the moon gate-shaped tea table. The interior is very quiet and elegant.

Fang Qingye requested a private room and sent a text message to Mei Shuwei, asking the waiter to brew a pot of top-quality Da Hong Pao tea. After waiting for about 30 minutes, the door to the private room opened, and the waiter led in a thin, middle-aged man wearing glasses, who was none other than Mei Shuwei.

He was wearing a gray executive jacket and a white shirt, and you could smell alcohol on his breath, so he looked like he had just come from a drinking party.

"I'm sorry, President Fang, I had a business dinner, so I'm a little late." Mei Shuwei sat down and apologized, "Luckily you invited me for tea today, otherwise I would still be stuck at the dinner table."

"It's alright, there's nothing urgent anyway, having some tea is just a good way to sober up." After Mei Shuwei sat down opposite her, Fang Qingye poured him a cup of tea.

Mei Shuwei picked up his teacup, took a sip, and couldn't help but exclaim, "Good tea! Drinking tea is much better than drinking wine!"

"I also hope to drink tea and not alcohol when socializing," Fang Qingye said with a smile. "But it's impossible; I can't not drink."

"Indeed. So apart from work-related social engagements, I resolutely drink tea and never drink alcohol with friends."

As the two chatted over tea, Fang Qingye steered the conversation toward Ele.me's pilot program in Jinghai, saying that she had been busy with this project lately and had been frequently traveling to downtown Jinghai.

Upon hearing this, Mei Shuwei put down his teacup and asked with concern, "How is it going?"

"It's not going smoothly; it's much more troublesome than I expected." Fang Qingye was very frank, telling Mei Shuwei about the difficulties and disagreements encountered by the negotiation team.

Mei Shuwei smiled slightly upon hearing this: "Actually, I estimate that your pilot program won't go too smoothly this time."

"why?"

"When the Standing Committee discussed this matter, opinions differed, and many people expressed their opposition. There were many reasons for this: the workload was enormous, adding extra burdens to social security, public security, and other departments; and some of the ideas and measures you proposed had already broken through the existing policy and legal framework, so local authorities had to bear the responsibility."

"Furthermore, if similar practices are promoted, the municipal finance will also have to contribute some funds, which will increase the financial difficulties."

After listening to Mei Shuwei's words, Fang Qingye silently drank her tea and fell silent.

"But it still passed in the end. Do you want to know why?" Mei Shuwei leaned forward, a mysterious smile on his face. "Why?" Fang Qingye asked.

"Because you are an outstanding young entrepreneur in Jinghai City, the city leaders have molded you into a role model for young people, and the city should support your work."

"Furthermore, Mayor Zhang strongly supports it. As you know, Mayor Zhang is a very insightful and enterprising leader who is very interested in reform explorations in various fields, and he strongly supports it. Mayor Hu, on the other hand, comes from your Nanxin and is quite familiar with you, so he also supports your approach."

“We are alumni, and I support your approach. In the end, this matter was approved, but that doesn’t mean everything will go smoothly. After all, the opinions of those who oppose it also have some merit and cannot be ignored.”

Fang Qingye nodded after hearing Mei Shuwei's words.

“So, junior, if you want to succeed in this matter, I have two suggestions for you to consider,” Mei Shuwei said.

"please say."

"First, the pilot program should not be overly perfect. I think as long as it can be rolled out smoothly and achieve certain results in the future, that will be a success!"

"Secondly, you need to change your strategy. Don't get too bogged down in technical issues with the human resources and social security department; you could spend a year or two doing that and still not get anywhere. Instead, proactively report upwards. In China, it's sometimes difficult to work from the bottom up, but it's sometimes easier to push things down from the top. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Understood, thank you, senior. Experience truly pays off," Fang Qingye exclaimed. He then picked up his teacup again: "I'll toast you with tea instead of wine!"

The two clinked their teacups together. Mei Shuwei took a sip and said, "Junior, when I dealt with you before, I thought you were a very shrewd person who considered things very realistically, like developing Nanxin Lake and acquiring and restructuring Jinghai Bank. But today I realized that you are an idealist."

"Oh?"

"From a purely business perspective, the pilot program you've launched increases the company's operating costs. More importantly, the government doesn't have mandatory regulations on social security for flexible workers, including food delivery riders. Do you see any companies in the express delivery industry doing this? Has Didi, the ride-hailing company, done it? No, but your Ele.me insists on doing it."

“No company is doing it now. Social security for the self-employed is becoming an increasingly serious social problem that needs to be solved sooner or later. Someone has to step up and do it,” Fang Qingye said with a smile.

"That's why I said you're an idealist," Mei Shuwei remarked.
"The world is never short of smart people—there are always plenty of people who are good at calculation and weighing pros and cons. They can accurately state the weight of risk and the probability of reward, use data to prove the illusory nature of ideals, and use experience to point out the bumpy road ahead. But what the world truly lacks are those who, after calculating the gains and losses with their eyes closed, still choose what is 'worth it' with their eyes open."

"I admire you." Mei Shuwei raised his teacup.

The two touched each other again before Fang Qingye said, "Senior, don't praise me. I don't even know if I can do it."

"Yes, I believe you have the ability."

They drank tea until after eight o'clock, then parted ways, and Fang Qingye took a car and rushed back to Nanxin overnight.

He did not take any further action, but waited for Deng Ye's report. The next day at noon, Fang Qingye received an email from Deng Ye in Shanghai, which contained details of their negotiations during this period.

Fang Qingye looked at it carefully and remained silent for a long time.

(End of this chapter)