Returning wealthy individuals develop their hometowns and become rich in the 1980s

"Our Zhaoyang County's affairs are none of your concern, Secretary of Nanshan County!"

Lin Deying chuckled, having found Hong Quan's weakness. Zhaoyang County was not like Nanshan County; it had a large population and little land, so naturally, its arable land area was even smaller. Although China had not yet put forward the "red line for arable land" as a basic national policy at this time, local arable land quotas had always existed.

Although there were no strict restrictions like in later generations, local governments still tried their best to avoid classifying farmland as industrial and residential land. However, after the reform and opening up, various places vigorously promoted economic development and construction, and many local officials robbed Peter to pay Paul.

In just ten years since the reform and opening up of Tuocheng, the city's arable land area has decreased by 30%. Factories have sprung up in the former farmland. In the past, the old people said that if they did not study, they would only be able to herd cattle and plow the fields. Now, they don't even have fields to plow.

"Old Hong, let's not beat around the bush. In front of Secretary Zhou, tell me yourself, how much land can your Zhaoyang County allocate for Comrade Zai Dong to build an automobile industrial park?" Lin Deying said with a smile. "Don't just piece together bits and pieces; it has to be connected!"

Lin Deying had calculated that Mianyang Commune was already struggling. If they allocated more land to Xiaochi Automobile to build a factory, would the local farmers still want to keep their own farmland? Did Secretary Hong Quan already make proper arrangements for those farmers in their forties and fifties who had spent their whole lives farming?

If all the land is allocated to Xiaochi Automobile, what will happen to the villagers who have no land to cultivate? Will they come to the county government for an explanation? This is no small matter.

People's livelihood is no small matter. If things are handled poorly, even Hong Quan, the county party secretary, could be dismissed.

But Nanshan County is different. It has a small population and lots of arable land and wasteland. There are plenty of large tracts of wasteland. If all else fails, they can blast mountains and level the land. As long as Xiaochi Motors has its eye on a piece of land, the Nanshan County Urban Construction Bureau can level it for you immediately!

"Ahem!"

Zhou Haimin coughed twice, and seeing that Hong Quan was racking his brains for a solution, he said, "Let's arrange things according to Zai Dong's idea. The car and motorcycle industries will belong to your Zhaoyang County, and the heavy truck and bus industries will belong to Nanshan County!"

Seeing Lin Deying's victorious smile, Zhou Haimin also spoke up to reprimand him, "As for your Nanshan County, you must also firmly safeguard the farmland quota. Economic development is necessary, but it cannot come at the expense of our farmers. That's the bottom line!"

After the business was finished, Zhou Haimin kept Chen Dong behind. After the two sat down on the sofa, Zhou Haimin offered Chen Dong a special cigarette, saying, "Chen Dong, in the next few days, people from Dongfeng Motor Corporation and Shanghai Automobile Company will be coming to Tuocheng to inspect your Xiaochi Motors."

Chen Dong took the specially supplied cigarettes, frowned, and asked, "Secretary Zhou, could it be that my application to the Ministry of Industry for approval was rejected?"

Zhou Haimin laughed heartily, "Zai Dong, you're overthinking it. Your Xiaochi Automobile is a vital lifeline for our Tuocheng Special Economic Zone. Why would the old man want to establish a special economic zone? Would the Ministry of Industry dare to disagree?"

"What are the Second Automobile Works and Shanghai Automobile Works planning to do here? I applied for sole proprietorship. I'm not going to play with those people from the state-owned automobile factories," Chen Dong said, staring at Zhou Haimin.

Zhou Haimin himself was within the system, so of course he knew the despicable behavior of those people in state-owned enterprises at that time: outdated equipment, a large technological gap, bad tempers, and a penchant for bossing others around. The key issue was that they liked to use their status to seize power.

"Don't worry, Zai Dong, they're here to seek cooperation with your Xiaochi Motors," Zhou Haimin reassured Chen Dong. "The Ministry of Industry has issued a letter. Your Xiaochi Motors' component suppliers haven't even started production yet, so they're here to seek suppliers for you!"

"Complete package!"

Chen Dong laughed after hearing this, tapping the cigarette between his fingers into the ashtray. "Secretary Zhou, please don't take offense at my harsh words, but the cars I want to produce are not something those state-owned car factories can manufacture!"

"The equipment in the three major state-owned automobile factories is outdated. I heard from Mr. Qiu that some parts still have to be hand-made by workers. The yield rate of these parts is truly worrying!"

"Secretary Zhou, I'm not afraid of cooperating with them on supporting projects; what I'm afraid of is that after they come, they'll treat the cooperation as charity and use the supporting projects as leverage to control our Xiaochi Motors!"

"You're also in the system, so you should know better than me that if they cooperate with our Xiaochi Motors with the mentality of 'I'm giving you this, so you have to accept it and be grateful,' then I won't tolerate it!"

"Zai Dong, your temper is just like mine when I was young. You don't mince words when it comes to people and things you don't approve of," he said slowly after taking a drag of his cigarette. "But you need to understand one thing: state-owned automobile factories have their problems, but have you ever considered what they actually possess?"

Chen Dong didn't respond, smoking and waiting for Zhou Haimin to continue.

"Worker!"

Zhou Haimin adjusted his posture, crossed his legs, and said, "Your Xiaochi Motors is currently in its initial stage. You have funds and equipment, but you lack skilled workers!"

"You may have money and be able to hire people from all over, but the workers you hire all need to be trained from scratch. If you hire a young man from the countryside today, and then ask him to work on an assembly line on a lathe tomorrow, he won't even be able to understand the blueprints!"

"But the workers in the three major state-owned factories are different. They're all veterans who've been doing this for over ten or twenty years. They can start working on the blueprints as soon as they get their hands on the equipment, and they can figure out how to use it just by touching it!"

"With these experienced drivers mentoring newcomers, isn't it faster and better for Xiaochi Motors than to train workers from scratch?"

Chen Dong nodded. What Zhou Haimin said was true. Seeing that Chen Dong was convinced, Zhou Haimin continued, "There's also the supporting system. No matter how powerful your Xiaochi Motors is, you can't manufacture all the parts yourself!"

"Tires, seats, glass, wiring harnesses, plastic parts, etc., their state-owned factories have all of these supporting factories. It's just a matter of changing the mold. Although the quality is somewhat inconsistent, at least they have production capacity and skilled workers."

"You're planning to start from scratch? How much money and time will you need to invest?"

At this point, Zhou Haimin leaned closer to Chen Dong and said, "Zai Dong, let me tell you something from the heart. You're talking business, and I'm talking politics. Our Tuocheng, as a special economic zone, can't do without companies like yours, but it also can't do without the policy support from the higher-ups!"

"I can handle the Ministry of Industry's approvals for now, but what about when Xiaochi Motors' production capacity increases, and it needs to be sold nationwide, included in local government procurement lists, and dealt with by various local governments? Can you manage all of that by yourself?"

Chen Dong understood Zhou Haimin's words perfectly well: if Xiaochi Motors wanted to truly grow, relying solely on the special economic zone wouldn't be enough.

The door to the Chinese domestic market needs someone to help him open it, and the key to opening the door is largely in the hands of those state-owned factories, or rather, in the hands of the ministries and local governments behind them.