I was reborn without dreams

Chapter 218 Basic Salary Sparks Another Controversy
After the interview about the "one-fee system" was weighed, it naturally became a "red line" in the short term. For local districts and counties with relatively poor finances, the "three-time champion" can be said to be a lazy bum who has nothing better to do, directly disrupting the financial plans for many years to come.

The underlying principles are relatively simple. Generally speaking, the approaches to "increasing revenue and reducing expenditure" are similar. When income remains basically unchanged, reducing expenses or postponing expenses is the basic operation.

The easiest way to do this is to choke the frontline teachers.

Of course, other levies are also common in rural areas, but the risks are much higher.

This is why agricultural counties are often the poorest these days, and farming is the hardest job. Even with the basic grain quota guaranteed, the prices of pesticides, fertilizers, seeds, and other agricultural products are uncontrollable.

The "young talents" of Guichuan County were so eager for Zhang Da'an to make the trip that they believed absolute poverty could exist even in a place like the capital, and in significant numbers.

Zhang Da'an, as a third party, gave an interview and made remarks on the "one-fee system" that were consistent with the highest decision. He was like a powerful figure in the public, expressing his opinion and defining the nature of the matter, so that the higher-ups could go along with it.

At this point, Zhang Da'an's role is actually no different from that of "Tong Jinmei" before, or rather, no different from those experts and professors who came out to spread rumors and fight for the right of interpretation.

Jiangkou Province has already planned model enterprises in order to seize the opportunities of the times. Therefore, as the largest private education enterprise in the country, "Zhang An Education" has basic legal and policy support, and the public opinion is quite unified.

From the perspective of education alone, the whole country's education system is best represented by Jiangkou Province, whether in terms of depth, breadth, or fairness. In this case, the significance of a unified approach can be seen as a matter of style.

While somewhat reluctantly, after Jiangkou Province followed suit, other major education provinces, such as Shandong, Hubei, Jianghuai, and Henan, were unable to discern the subsequent stance from the capital in a short period. Naturally, they sought stability and firmly supported the relevant ministries' "one-fee system" notice.

In East China, this matter is actually far more important than Zhang Da'an's two batches of donations totaling 300 million yuan. However, for the five disaster-stricken provinces and cities, the public discussions at this time are still focused on promoting the products of caring companies such as "Zhuangyuanxing," "Jinbang Mobile," and "Zhuangyuan·Jinbang."

As for the news footage, it was similar to that in East China, with a frenzy of publicity surrounding the "one-fee system" for Zhang Da'an.

"Damn it...you son of a bitch, you're finally going back."

"There was a meeting yesterday where they said there would be a plan for a high-tech industrial park, and the main investor would be Wenquxing. I don't know if it's true or not."

"It should be fine. Well, I've been to the industrial park in Jiangning City, and it's really good. It's just that the wages are too high. If we put them in Chengdu... I'm afraid we wouldn't be able to keep up."

"The salary is too high?"

The propaganda department rarely discusses large-scale investment promotion in its meetings, because even in informal meetings, the issues are resolved long before the publicity phase.

Sichuan Province is a populous province. At this time, the scale of labor export to the "Yangtze River Delta" was actually higher than that of Jianghuai Province. This was because there were problems with the statistical methods, and a considerable number of migrant workers did not actually have ID cards.

It was easy for one ID card to be used by twenty or thirty people. They were basically from the same dam, cliff, or ridge. In the past, household registration was quite casual, and the names were filled in arbitrarily by the registration staff.

Before the household registration system and tools were updated, this was not only the case in Sichuan Province, but also in rural areas of western China.

There are many problems, including ethnicity, poverty, and the relationship between cadres and the masses, but in the small "Yangtze River Delta" region, the main issues are related to age.

Once you turn sixteen, you can get your own ID card. However, many people who come out to work are not actually that age.

Some of them started working as young as twelve or thirteen years ago to make a living, picking up pipes in yarn factories or working as packers, which was quite common.

These people don't exist in employment statistics at all, and their numbers peaked a few years ago, when Zhang Da'an became the top scorer in the 1946 Wudu City middle school entrance examination.

The subsequent decline was due to issues with management systems and technological upgrades.

This group, who work in factories and construction sites for a long time, are most sensitive to changes in wages. The "Zhang An Group's" outrageous basic salary of 1,800 yuan has caused all sorts of conflicts and contradictions, with business owners fighting with each other, business alliances fighting with each other, and local bullies fighting with each other... Countless times.

Zhang Da'an went all the way from the Shazhou City Bonded Zone to the Chengdong District of Jiangning City. Because the commotion was so big, he even managed to "come ashore" for Sima Cong, who should have been finished and whose backer had been completely destroyed.

The reason is that the basic salary of 1,800 yuan is a "hot potato" that most people wouldn't dare to take on.

Sima Cong's progress was limited; he only managed to sit down and drink tea and read newspapers by daring to address the labor and capital issues of the "Zhang An faction."

The current problem is spillover. The reason is simple: when high-tech industrial parks are established, in addition to attracting investment and getting it to land, the more important thing for local governments is to create jobs and generate tax revenue as soon as possible.

If necessary, taxation can be postponed to prioritize job preservation.

At this point, labor remuneration negotiations become a key area of ​​negotiation for the local authorities.

Taking the Chengdu High-tech Industrial Development Zone as an example, what is the minimum wage standard there?
It costs 340 yuan per month.

That is, a daily wage of sixteen dollars and twenty-five cents.

If the "Zhang An Group" moves into the Rongcheng High-tech Industrial Development Zone, then the development zone can be shut down immediately.

When there is a huge gap in salary and benefits, the impact on similar companies is quite alarming.

If it is foreign capital or joint venture, there is still room for maneuver.

But the "Zhang An Group" doesn't have a single foreign investment. Perhaps it will have some when a company goes public in Hong Kong in the future, but right now, it's practically just the "Zhang An Group" having twelve "stand-ins" running rampant behind the scenes.

The key question is, who will refuse?
It should be noted that the minimum wage standard of 340 yuan per month in Chengdu is actually not the lowest.

The reality is that Chengdu's minimum wage standard is implemented in three tiers, with 340 yuan being the highest tier, and the lowest tier being 270 yuan per month.

Zhang Da'an directly set up a shady job for 1,800 yuan a month. Where there's power, there's absolute happiness; where there's no power, it's a bittersweet experience.

The fact that Shazhou City didn't cause too much trouble in the end was mainly because Zhang Da'an suppressed any dissenting opinions during the meeting. He then launched a local beggar's version of "Jingnan" (a historical event in China), and now, in official propaganda materials, there's not a single word about 1,800 yuan a month.

We don't care how the common people spread the word, discuss it, or even bang on the table and curse.

It's actually simpler in Jiangning City because that place is relatively remote, located at the border of Jiangning City and Runzhou City, a suburb within a suburb. The industrial park there is called "Zhang An Industrial Park." So the scope of news dissemination is mainly within the "Zhang An Group," with external dissemination being secondary.

Furthermore, if others demand verification, solid evidence requires looking at the company's financial policies. Just looking at the workers' monthly pay slips might mean that someone printed them themselves just to show off.
So even though at that time in the matchmaking market of Jiangning City, the work clothes of the "Zhang An Industrial Alliance" were better than suits, in the official narrative, the minimum wage of the "Zhang An Group" was 1,800 yuan, which was also in a state of uncertainty because everyone knew it was true but I didn't mention it.

However, just because Jiangning City can play the "pretending to be stupid" trick doesn't mean Rongcheng City can too.

Unfortunately, in terms of the total population, Chengdu has a resident population of over 11 million, and that's before it's fully operational. Once it enters the fully operational phase, the resident population will directly exceed 20 million.

A large population means a large labor force, which in turn means a much higher level of competition.

Every 10% jump doesn't just mean a few hundred or a few thousand people; it means hundreds of thousands of people.

Historically, when more than three Chinese men have free time, there's a high probability that one of them will step forward and say, "Hey, I have a great idea."

For the local area, "Oh ho" is a high-probability event.

The same applies to negotiating salary and benefits. If you're comparing 340 yuan to 430 yuan, then it's not a big problem.

It can increase fivefold directly...

Then, I'm sorry, but many people clasped their hands and said loudly: "Although I am not talented, I am willing to go to the government office to explain this matter to the prefect."

As for the "three-time champion" who caused all this, would he say a few words in agreement with so-and-so?
He's most likely just mocking something that didn't happen on his "Jinbang Blog," and the fact that he didn't incite a bunch of money-grubbing "idea kings" to cause trouble shows he still has a conscience.

In reality, Zhang Da'an's actions, while inhumane, were as familiar and satisfying to the people of Jiangning City as ever.

"Dude, I went to Sichuan this time, and wow, it was so enjoyable! The local friends provided a complete service, I'll definitely go again next time."

"And to show my sincerity, I plan to first set up a production line for 'Zhuangyuanxing' and 'Jinbang Mobile' over there, and then build a high-tech park to integrate production and research."

"As for the salary, I looked at the minimum wage in Chengdu. The highest is only around three hundred yuan. That doesn't suit my style. I'll just align with Jiangning City, which is two thousand yuan a month."

"We aim to finalize the plan by the end of the year and start construction as soon as possible, with the first phase of the project completed early next year."

"By the way, @University of Electronic Science and Technology of Chengdu, I'll be recruiting students from your university. Graduate students earn 5,000 yuan a month. Let's strengthen our cooperation in the future."

"Bye."

This blog post came less than three days after Zhang Da'an commented on the "one-fee system," and while it's hard to say about other units in Rongcheng, the investment promotion hotline was completely paralyzed.

It wasn't just the districts and counties below that called to verify; universities and established companies throughout Sichuan Province also did so.

But none of these were the most eager. What truly caused the investment promotion business to explode was the large number of unemployed young adults calling to inquire about changes in Chengdu's minimum wage standard.

The rumors spread very quickly. Originally, the factory that was supposed to be a "three-time champion" (referring to a factory that had achieved top rankings in three consecutive years) was supposed to pay at least 1,800 yuan a month. However, the rumors changed to the fact that the Chengdu city government's investment promotion efforts were so successful that the "three-time champion" promised to pay 2,000 yuan a month during negotiations.

After two days of development, the rumor shifted to Chengdu City preparing to raise the minimum wage.

This rumor, in turn, frightened other cities and prefectures in Sichuan Province.

Not the eldest brother...

If you raise the minimum wage, how are we supposed to survive?
If Chengdu raises its standards, other cities in the province will inevitably follow suit in batches, and the result will be an outflow of investment and a reduction in employment.

Strictly speaking, it's not really an outflow of jobs; at most, it's some dispensable companies transferring their operations elsewhere. But a reduction in employment is certain. What used to be done by three to five people is now being done by half, leaving the rest to fend for themselves. There's no such thing as a truly disadvantaged employer in this world, especially with the "labor dispatch system," which is something government agencies are actually most adept at.

Zhang Da'an's outburst prompted a swift exchange between Sichuan Province and Jiangkou Province. Their initial intention was to restrain Zhang Da'an, but Jiangning City expressed its inability to do anything about it and suggested taking the matter to court.

International long-distance calls from Iceland feel like a mountain weighing on people's hearts.

"Boss, the two hundred million euros and two hundred and fifty million US dollars have been transferred in batches, and Shenzhou has confirmed it."

"Ah."

In his office at the "Zhang An Education Building" in Shazhou City, Zhang Da'an nodded. "Has Shenzhou had any contact with 'Steyr'?"

"Xijing and Xinzheng are more, right? But in 1946, Jicheng Automobile was the first to roll off the standard model production line."

"I am not interested in manufacturing heavy-duty trucks as a whole."

Actually, Steyr's strength lies not in its technology, but in providing solutions to its customers. Its business model is similar to that of Petal Company's communication solutions.

In the field of internal combustion engines, regardless of the form, we have reached the end of the road. The giants of various countries are well aware of this. However, due to the inertia of development and various interests, they are still struggling with the last bit of fuel efficiency even though it is meaningless.

But ultimately it's useless; it's already reached the point of being like carving flowers on shit.

The reason for this is that traditional transmissions limit the upper limit.

However, traditional markets will not compromise until emerging markets emerge; this is because both the invisible and visible hands of the market are at work.

Zhang Da'an previously lent out four or five hundred million US dollars from the "World Cup" profits, partly to make friends. This time, in his business dealings with Russia, the intermediary companies were either from the Czech Republic or Austria, so he was just looking around to see if there were any suitable business opportunities to collaborate on.

Money is wasted if you don't spend it. Buying raw materials is good, but that's just a matter of signing a contract. The real magic that supports a basic salary of 1,800 a month is still added value.

Zhang Da'an wasn't interested in Steyr's cooperation with Jicheng Automobile in 1946, but through his connections in Shenzhou, he could work with Steyr to develop a prototype diesel generator, which would be perfect for use in heavy equipment.

At this point, Steyr already had the blueprints for its M-series diesel range extender, but it didn't plan to invest in research and development. The reason was simple: it was still profitable to directly develop diesel engine solutions and collaborate with Steyr, so there was no need to destroy its own mature business.

Anyway, there aren't many competitors.

Meanwhile, Austria helped Steyr acquire a similar product to the M-series diesel range extender from Germany's KKK, so there was even less need to invest in research and development; a follow-up study would suffice.

Zhang Da'an's idea was simple: to poach the design team of the M-series diesel range extender, whether by setting up a European R&D center or bringing them directly to China.

His connections alone won't work in Austria.

However, they have quite a few connections in Shenzhou, mainly due to their ties to the military industry.

Another point is that after the visit to Iceland ends, Austria will definitely want to build good relations if it wants to expand its business in the future.

Zhang Da'an also took advantage of the situation by "borrowing the tiger's power and relying on his master's influence".

After all, with a truly powerful and charismatic figure abroad, it wouldn't be a big problem for him to stay put in the country.

Once Zhang Da'an has secured the M-series diesel range extender from Starr, which is still on the drawing board, he can then conclude his charitable endeavors in Guanzhong Province.

The main goal is to acquire "Lishan Bus" or "Xiwo Bus", which is a joint venture with Volvo. This is a key enterprise of Xijing. Ten years ago, the Volvo B10 was one of the few high-end long-distance buses in China, with a price of more than one million yuan per vehicle, close to two million yuan.

Last year, "Lishan Bus" was incorporated into the list of central state-owned enterprises "CRRC Auto Repair". The problem it faces is simple: fierce competition and the inability to expand beyond Guanzhong Province.

The last advertisement that wasn't really an ad was a brief appearance in the TV series "Soldiers Sortie".

Zhang Da'an didn't plan to acquire "Lishan Automobile" right now. It would take another ten years or so for it to be ruined. Right now, he just wanted to get a bus production license and buy a new production line from "Lishan Automobile" that had already failed in its infancy.

They also did not plan to restart the production line in Xijing, but instead built a new car factory in Pengcheng.

He is not interested in manufacturing heavy-duty trucks, but he is very interested in manufacturing long-distance buses.

There are many complex issues involved. For example, "Jiangning Automobile" has basically lost its direction for development. For example, the medium-sized bus brands in Shazhou City have finally been completely wiped out. For example, the auto parts industry cluster in Jiangkou Province has taken initial shape. And so on. This has given the complete bus manufacturing industry a chance to succeed.

The purpose of acquiring Steyr's M-series diesel range extenders was simple: to exchange them with heavy industry companies in East China for electric drive systems for mining special vehicles.

Pengcheng Heavy Industry and Yishui Heavy Industry happen to have close ties with several research institutes in Northeast China. Universities in Andong Province and Heishui Province developed gasoline engine range extenders not long after the founding of the People's Republic of China. However, their applications were very limited. Neither national demand nor market conditions provided a place for gasoline engine range extenders to be used.

Zhang Da'an was merely taking advantage of the situation once again.

This is beyond the reach of most people, but he is a "three-time champion" and has already made a name for himself among universities in East China.

After all, if someone says that a certain university has a bad atmosphere, it can really deter a large number of people from applying to that school that year, and no amount of litigation can change that.

If the school's ethos, as designated by the God of Literature, is corrupt, who can say a word against it?

Both morally and logically, Zhang Da'an should be given the convenience he deserves, even if it's not possible.

"Contact Andong University and Bingcheng University of Technology to ask if their Vehicle Power Research Institutes are available. If they are, charter a plane to come to Luzhou or Jiangning to discuss a business deal."

"Yes, boss."

"Have Mr. Fang make another trip to Xijing and secure the 'Lishan Bus' production line, which was shut down, by the end of the year. Negotiate the acquisition with the Xijing Municipal Government. Encourage Mr. Fang to have a bigger appetite and also check if there are any good projects at the local universities."

"clear."

After making the arrangements, Coach Zhang casually turned on his computer to "surf the internet." As soon as he entered the "chat room," he saw that people were frantically tagging him, and the main content was about the basic salary of two thousand a month.

"Holy crap, is Brother An for real? Do they really pay a basic salary of two thousand in Sichuan?"

"Just how rich is Gou An now? How can he be so extravagant?"

"You guys don't know anything. Gou An is worth at least a billion yuan now. I have a guy in my dorm who's from Sucheng. He also graduated from Xindongweigang Middle School. He said Gou An's 'Top Scorer Tutoring Class' costs 88,000 yuan a year. It's outrageous..."

"Are you stupid? It's not 88,000 anymore, it's 108,000 now."

"..."

The recent hot topics on many online forums are basically Zhang Da'an's blog post on basic salary on the "Jinbang Blog".

The same applies to the "Godslayer Bar".

Zhang Da'an immediately popped up on the "Shenturu Bar" forum and replied to a popular post that tagged him: "You bunch of poor bastards don't know anything. I'm rich and I can do whatever I want. If you don't study hard, you don't even have the right to be my slave."

"It's Dog An! Fuck your mother."

"You beast, the promised summer vacation update has been delayed again. Are you planning to update it only after school starts?"

"Damn it, is the server in Region 3 running on a tractor? It's lagging like crazy! And can you fucking turn down the graphics settings? My crappy computer can't handle it at all!"

"Holy crap, it's Gou An, alive!"

"Hey, it moved! It moved! It's alive! It's alive!"

"Is such a high salary appropriate? My mom only earns 460 a month at the factory, and my dad earns a little over 900 for 15 days a month on the construction site. Brother An, can you tell me why you can offer 2,000 a month?"

He automatically filtered out comments that were as low-class as Zhang Da'an's, and for those that were slightly more human-like, he simply sent a pile of shit emojis.

Zhang Da'an responded politely to the well-behaved "newbie".

"Why can I offer two thousand a month? That's a good question. Because I'm kind!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

In response to Zhang Da'an's reply, the "Dog An Youths" did not hesitate to retaliate with a shit-exploding emoji, and the entire "God Slaughter Bar" once again ushered in a vibrant shit-exploding battle.

The "Shentui Bar" was already popular, with an average of over two million views per day. But when Zhang Da'an popped up there, the popularity jumped to over forty million. The "Shit-Bombing Battle" kept this level of popularity at ten million for a full seventy-two hours.

During those 72 hours, the hearts of many people in Sichuan Province that had been hanging in suspense finally died.

Not bro...

Are they really offering such a high basic salary?
So, should we still do our grassroots work?
(End of this chapter)