The Fourth Disaster Begins at the Dawn of the Millennium

In a family where both husband and wife were laid off, the son came home from school on holiday and said that the school would hold a sports meeting next semester and the teacher required them to wear sports shoes. The family really couldn't afford to buy shoes, so during dinner, the wife began to complain about her husband's incompetence. The husband buried his head in the food and said nothing. The wife kept complaining, and the husband put down his bowl and chopsticks and walked silently to the balcony.

In another family not far from their home, there was also a couple who were both laid off. They wanted to find a job but had no skills. They kept going to their relatives’ homes for meals and were fed up with being looked down upon. Until today, the little daughter of this family had a long-awaited meal of roast pork and white rice, and her childish face was full of happiness. What the little girl didn’t know was that her parents had put rat poison in the meal with tears in their eyes.

It was at this moment that there was a sudden knock on the door.

The husband, who was about to jump off the balcony, turned around and walked to the door. He couldn't figure out who would come to his door at this time? To ask for the heating bill? In this day and age, how could good things come to your door? The husband opened the iron door and saw a complete stranger standing in front of the door.

"Who are you looking for?"

"Are you Li Shengli from xxx factory?" Chen Gong asked outside the house.

"Oh, that's good, I'm looking for you." Chen Gong opened the door easily, which made Li Shengli in the room alert immediately. He picked up the pliers on the cabinet at the door, but the next second, he heard Chen Gong say, "Then let me check again, should you get a severance pay of xxxx yuan..."

"Oh, yes... So, are you from the factory? Or the government? Has the corrupt official who ran abroad with our severance pay been arrested?" The husband's voice was puzzled at first, then suddenly became excited, and he quickly welcomed Chen Gong from outside the house in.

“Neither…”

Chen Gong's answer silenced the husband's family again, but the pile of money Chen Gong took out was real, which made the husband and wife confused. The other party was neither a government official nor a factory employee, so who was he? At this point, not only the NPC couple was confused, but even Chen Gong himself began to reflect: "Am I not a ruthless robber on the West Coast? Why did we receive a mission to cross the Pacific Ocean to play the role of bringing warmth to the community?"

At this time, the hostess of the family said, "Seeing that you are wearing a suit and a tie, I know that you are definitely not from the factory or the government. Those who dress like you in the factory and the government are all big shots, and they will not come to our place. Please come in and sit down. Have you eaten?"

Chen Gong only went into the house and drank a sip of hot water. The house was almost as cold as the outside, so he said that he would go to the next family on the list to give money. Before leaving, Chen Gong reminded them: "Don't waste this money. Remember to pay the heating fee first. Look how cold this house is..."

Before leaving, the couple called Chen Gong and said, "We know that this is definitely not the money that was recovered for us in a respectable way, and we don't care about it. Benefactor, please leave your name and contact information to me, and see what we can do to repay you..."

"Repay? You don't have to repay us right away... How about this, just remember that you owe us a favor."

"Okay, if you come to my house one day and ask me to repay this favor," the husband said excitedly, "as long as you don't do anything against the law, I will definitely repay you even if I have to go through fire and water........."

On the other side, Liang Ruikun also had a similar conversation with the couple who put rat poison in the roast pork. At first, the couple was also very puzzled as to why a foreigner suddenly came to them (in contrast, the Chinese face shape sculpted by Chen Gong did not have this problem). What was even more surprising was that the foreigner also brought the severance pay that was supposed to be given to his family. This changed from general surprise to surprise. The wife quickly turned around and threw the pork in the bowl of the child who was about to eat into the trash can, and threw all the dishes on the table into the trash can.

The child was frightened by the mother's violent behavior and cried loudly. The wife and husband also cried, with tears of joy and the feeling of surviving a disaster. This forced Liang Ruikun to comfort the family of three who were in tears at the same time. If you didn't know the truth, you would think that it was Liang Ruikun, a fierce-looking man, who frightened the family of three.

The family also knows that the money they received is called "severance and resettlement payment", but it is just a sum of money of the same amount as "severance and resettlement payment". To some extent, it is a kind of "alms", which is just the other party taking care of their face. The real "severance and resettlement payment" will probably never be obtained in a decent way.

Similarly, Liang Ruikun also gained a favor from this family.

Chapter 5 Two "Street Drifters"

"In the history of the Republic's industrial development, the Northeast is the most typical region. It is known as the 'Ruhr of the East' and carries the most profound history of the great country's industry. What we see today is nothing more than a replay of the decline of the traditional industrial rust belt in the United States and the traditional industrial Ruhr in Germany in the 1970s and 1980s."

......................

While Ji Tianping, Cao Boyuan and Zhang Xiatian were still carrying out their daily thrilling fundraising tasks such as "getting it in a proper way", Liang Ruikun and Chen Gong were strolling in the streets and alleys of Shenyang, going door to door to carry out the task of "delivering warmth to the door".

Only occasionally, when no one was around, they would be targeted by thieves and robbers, and experience the "GTA plot" of Northeast China. However, since Liang Ruikun's pager was stolen, the two men have never been robbed by thieves and robbers again. If the other party is a petty thief, he will be caught in one move and then sent to the local police station; if he is the kind of robber who wants to kill someone, the robber will not have a second chance after the first attack, and will be beaten to a bloody mess by the extremely fierce long-handled umbrella.

Apart from the occasional fighting content, the rest of the time, most of the conversations are repetitive actions such as "visit - give money - chat for a few words - visit..." Generally speaking, the main tone of the conversation is melancholy and helplessness.

For example, some people complained:

"I don't understand this layoff policy. None of the workers understand it. They are all complaining. It's not reasonable. People like us who are in our 40s and 50s have worked in the factory since we were teenagers. We are determined to run the factory well, thinking that it will be profitable in the future. If the factory is doing well, we will also be well... Now the factory is bankrupt, and we workers are asked to take responsibility. I have worked for decades, and I have no income. I have to pay for medical care and pension myself. The money was deducted from my salary when I was working. The factory said it paid on my behalf, but now the insurance company says it has not received the money at all, so we have no medical and pension insurance. You can apply for it if you want, and you can pay for it yourself. Is this reasonable? Is there any reason for it?"

Some people talk about the difficulties in life:

"I couldn't stay at home any longer, it was too difficult, so I carried a pair of pliers and went to the street to wait for work. On average, I could earn 10 yuan a day, sometimes more than 30 yuan a day, but after working for a few days, I had to wait for a few days, and I didn't get a penny during the few days of waiting. My wife and I only had four or five yuan a day for food, and there wasn't much food. We had two steamed buns for each meal and some pickled cabbage. We couldn't even afford cigarettes, so I rolled my own cigarettes and just bought some tobacco."

"Nowadays, everyone is just trying to make ends meet. Not many people can't make ends meet. Even if you can find a job, you still have to pay for your children's schooling and heating in winter, which will cost you several thousand yuan. Even if you can earn 500 yuan a month, you can only make ends meet. It's basically impossible to live better. I'm not afraid of you laughing at me when I say this, but I haven't bought a new coat in seven or eight years. I'm still wearing my work clothes from my previous job."

But when Liang Ruikun and Chen Gong talked to these laid-off workers about their glorious past, their emotions suddenly became excited and bright. This glorious past included their skilled and superb skills in the factory, their respected status, etc. The glorious personal experiences in the past were also closely related to the glorious history of the entire Northeast region.

At the beginning of the founding of New China, under the industrial strategic layout of giving priority to the development of heavy industry, the focus of industrial development was placed on the Northeast region based on its special geographical location and energy advantages. It was once synonymous with advanced productivity and full of passion and strength. With its highly developed industrialization capabilities, the Northeast region is not only at the forefront of modernization, but also breeds a brand new industrial civilization and urban civilization. For a long time, the Northeast region represented by Shenyang played a vital role in the socialist construction of New China, and was therefore called the "eldest son of the Republic" and the "cradle of New China's industry."

When recalling those years, the workers often talk endlessly, just like the family of Sister Liu that Chen Gong came to. Sister Liu excitedly said to Chen Gong:

"This morning I showed it to my daughter and said, 'Look at the little notebook that mom used to have. It's all rotten, but she was still a young assaulter. She won notebooks, tea mugs, fountain pens, and ballpoint pens. She won prizes in every competition. She was honored and happy. Mom was the only one in the workshop competition. No one had to compete with her!' People said, 'Sister Liu, we don't want to compete with you!' They all said to the workshop director, "Sister Liu, we don't dare to compete. Give the prize directly to Sister Liu."

This was probably the first time I met someone who was willing to listen to me talk for so long (Chen Gong in front of the screen: "Fuck, this NPC hasn't finished talking yet, can't I skip it? Oh, if I skip it, I might miss the special plot, right? Okay, I'll bear with it.), when Chen Gong later asked: "Sister Liu, um, Wang Yuejin from your factory, is his home upstairs? Is he at home?"

"......Their home........Let me take you to see it............."

Sister Liu took Chen Gong upstairs and said as they walked:

"Wang Yuejin's wife was ill, but he had no money to buy medicine. The severance pay had not been paid, and the family didn't have much money saved. He even borrowed money from my family, and hasn't paid it back yet... The former leader said that medical expenses at hospitals outside the factory could be reimbursed on a proportional basis, but very few employees could actually get reimbursed. Only leading cadres could get their medical expenses reimbursed. Some employees died of illness for several years, and their medical expenses were not reimbursed. More and more people became poor due to illness and couldn't afford to see a doctor. Later, Wang Yuejin's wife died of illness because she couldn't afford treatment. Wang Yuejin couldn't bear the blow and committed suicide by lying on the railway tracks. He left behind a child who didn't go to school and ran to the train station all day. No one knew what he was doing."

Sister Liu knocked on Wang Yuejin's door for a long time and shouted for a long time. She and Chen Gong were about to give up, thinking that the child must have run away and didn't come home. Just when they were about to give up, the door was opened a crack. The child who opened the door saw Sister Liu and Chen Gong. Suddenly, just when Chen Gong thought that he had seen this NPC child somewhere before, the child pulled the door to close, but Chen Gong pulled it.

"Hey, I was wondering who it was, it turns out to be you......"

"Ah? You two know each other?" Sister Liu asked puzzledly.

"When my colleague and I just got off the train station, it was this kid who greeted us at the train station..."

The child paid the price for stealing the pager. Chen Gong took back the pager that he had not sold yet and spanked the kid severely. But at the same time, the kid also got the severance pay that should have been paid to his parents in time to prevent the family from being broken up. However, for a child to take this money at this time is no different from "a child carrying gold through a busy city". Wouldn't the friends (accomplices) that the kid made at the train station be eyeing the money in his hands? Not to mention keeping it secret, in the familiar society of the Northeast, there must be someone who knows about Liang Ruikun and Chen Gong, the two money-spending boys, and there must be someone who saw Chen Gong coming to the kid's home.

Chapter 6 Everyone Pushes Me to Become the Boss

3181 words

"I really don't have a penny left. All my money is given to you."

"But the newspaper said that you embezzled this amount..."

"That's fake! It's fake! They just let our family take the blame!"

"Oh, how much did they embezzle? Do you have any proof?"

"I'll give it to you, I'll give it to you......"

The pitiful man in front of him seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw, and hurriedly handed the CD he had hidden in a secret room to the masked and armed gangster in front of him. Then he said: "My dear heroes, my dear heroes, I also know that there are many people who have fled the country. Here is their information. If you want money, go find these bastards and rob them. Rob them all. Don't let me be the only unlucky one..."

The masked gangster nodded, then asked one last time: "You really don't have a penny left?"

"I swear, my dear men, oh, if you want this house, you can take it, but other than that, there is really not a penny left..."

The gangster paused for a moment, then punched the man unconscious, and then stuffed him into the car with his accomplice. A few hours later, the car arrived in front of an unfinished building in the city. It had been abandoned for many years, with broken steel bars exposed, like the skeleton of a giant beast, looking particularly eerie and terrifying in the night. The inconspicuous black car drove silently into the ruined area.

The lights went out, the door opened, and the masked robber quickly got out of the car. Then the back door was suddenly opened, and the unlucky guy who was tied up tightly was roughly pulled out. The unlucky guy was pale at this time, his forehead was covered with cold sweat, a piece of rag was stuffed in his mouth, and he could only make a whimpering sound. His eyes were full of fear and despair, and his body was shaking constantly.

Even a fool would know what the purpose of bringing people to such a place is.

The gangsters roughly pushed the unlucky guy up the stairs. As his legs were weak from fear, he staggered and almost fell after a few steps, but the muzzle of the gun on his back forced him to move forward step by step. The interior of the unfinished building was even darker, with graffiti and messy marks on the walls, and the ground was full of abandoned building materials and garbage. There was no lighting equipment in the stairwell, and the direction of advance could only be barely illuminated by the light of the flashlight. Several robbers, one in front and one behind, forced the unlucky guy to climb up with difficulty. Every step made a heavy echo, as if ringing a death knell in this dead night.

The unfortunate guy was pushed to the top floor of the unfinished building. The cold night wind whistled past, making the hair stand on end. There were no guardrails around the top floor, only a few rusty steel bars and broken bricks, and under his feet was a terrifying abyss.

"Please, let me go!" After the rag in the unlucky guy's mouth was roughly torn off, he was finally able to speak, his voice trembling with fear, "I can sell the house and give you the money. The house is worth a lot of money. As long as you let me go, I'm willing to do anything!"

The robbers ignored his pleas and looked at him coldly. The leading robber slowly stepped forward, holding a black pistol in his hand, aiming the gun at the unlucky guy. There was no emotion in his eyes, not even a trace of pity. The robber spoke:

"We will go and get the money. As for you, it's not about money now. We believe that your debt has been paid, but...what about the debt of life you owe? Some people committed suicide by lying on the railway tracks, drinking pesticides, and jumping off buildings because of this money. Jumping from buildings is the most common way." The leading robber counted the sins committed by the man with the gun pointed at him like a chief judge. Every word sounded like a hammer of judgment. "Now, it's time to pay the debt of life. We hope that you can also feel the despair of being forced to jump from a tall building."

“No, no, don’t do this!” The man under the gun had legs so weak that he could hardly stand. “Who are you? Are you sent from China? I can go back to China, I can go back to China and surrender myself, please, let me go!”

"boom!"

A gunshot pierced the night sky, and the bullet shot into the leg. The severe pain made the unlucky man scream, and his body lost balance and fell backwards. He waved his hands wildly, trying to grab something to stabilize himself, but there was only an abyss behind him. With a scream, his body quickly fell to the dark ground. A few seconds later, a dull crash sounded, the screams stopped abruptly, and the whole world returned to silence again.

At the same time, in a dormitory, people were playing online games.

Cao Boyuan: "While you were cleaning up the scene, I checked the information on the CD. This guy didn't transfer much money here. A lot of it was squandered, and he also spent a lot on buying real estate. It seems that he didn't lie..."

Ji Tianping: "That means we have to find another way to collect the money to complete the task of 'returning the property to its original owner'? Damn, how much is left?"

Zhang Xiatian: "It's probably just a few million..."

Liang Ruikun: "No way, is there a problem with you guys? No, brother, my reputation as a money-giving boy has spread, and recently many NPCs have come to me to collect their severance pay. I don't even have to go to each of them to deliver the money, I just have to wait for them to line up to collect it. I can finish the task in a few days, so you guys can't send money? Go find these corrupt officials who have fled abroad and greet their whole family!"

Ji Tianping: "The main reason is that these guys don't have much cash in their hands. A lot of money has been invested in the stock market, deposited in banks or purchased real estate. We can't get cash!!! Are we going to force these corrupt officials to go to the bank to withdraw money with guns?"

Zhang Xiatian: "Why go through so much trouble? There's no need to do anything unnecessary. Let's just rob the bank!"

.......................

In the game world, Liang Ruikun and Chen Gong, in addition to being the money-giving boys, just wander around to see if they can trigger special tasks and hidden plots. It was also during the wandering process that Liang Ruikun and Chen Gong saw and heard a lot...

Many unemployed workers have nothing to do at home, and they play mahjong all day to kill time. Due to the pressure of life, many laid-off female workers go to pornographic places at night to dance with others or sell their bodies. Some laid-off people cannot find jobs, and in order to numb themselves, they drink low-quality liquor all day and live in a daze.

In the game, Liang Ruikun and Chen Gong would buy a newspaper every day to read. There were many articles about layoffs in the newspaper, but the newspaper did not talk about the miserable lives of laid-off workers. Instead, it praised the workers for their voluntary and glorious layoffs and their ability to contribute to the country through their hard work. This reminds people of the French newspapers praising the soldiers on the front line during the First World War: "Although he lost his right hand, his left hand can still salute and pull the trigger as before."

At the same time, newspapers have published many speeches by local leaders, declaring that they would continue to carry forward the previous "three iron spirits" (iron face, iron fist, iron heart) to reform the rigid state-owned enterprise management system. It seems that more and more workers will be laid off, and the real wave of layoffs is still to come. We have only just started now.

In addition to strolling, Liang Ruikun and Chen Gong also spent a lot of time chatting...

The laid-off workers who received severance pay from Liang Ruikun and Chen Gong and survived the difficult times have completely regarded Liang Ruikun and Chen Gong as their own people. They opened up and said:

"People were honest back then. When Mao was alive, we were very honest at work. We always worked hard. There was no such thing as cheating. We really treated the factory as our home and didn't take anything home... In the 12s, we worked like fools. We didn't understand this (referring to taking advantage of the factory). We just worked hard. When it was cloudy and rainy, the ground was frozen and cracked. Our hands and feet were so frozen that we couldn't move our hands. We all went to work at o'clock in the middle of the night. No one was late. No one asked for leave at all."

"Look at the older generation of workers. They really regarded the factory as their home for the factory! This tradition means that the workers are good and have excellent skills! ... When we first started working, we really 'dedicated our youth to the Party'. That's why we had no worries (i.e., we enjoyed various benefits such as pension and medical care)!"

But everyone here knows that all that will only exist in memories, the tide of layoffs is overwhelming, and everything in the past will disappear into thin air...

After a laid-off worker finished talking, he suddenly remembered that he had been talking all along, while Chen Gong, who was sitting next to him, had been eating melon seeds and listening to him. Then the laid-off worker asked, "Well, brother, what kind of work do you do when you are abroad? You are definitely not here to be a good person, are you?"

"A manager from a multinational corporation, here to invest."

"Oh, that's the big boss, he's here to do business."

"Yes, do big business, do big business!"

The worker sighed and said, "In China, how many people in Chinese society are wealthy and law-abiding? They are not all fighters and hooligans. They got rich first and are bold. Take loans for example. Who dares to take out a loan? What if they can't pay it back? They dare to take out loans. Those who get rich get rich. If they can't pay it back, they're gone. That's it. They got rich first." Then the worker looked at Chen Gong again and said, "But you are different. You must be a good person, but here, good people have to do big business..."

Another laid-off worker quickly interrupted, "Look at you, you are so dumb, you can't even talk. What's wrong with a good person doing business? If you do more good deeds, good will be rewarded. If you do business, it will definitely be very successful!"

As this topic started, more and more laid-off workers joined in. They all said that if Liang Ruikun and Chen Gong were the bosses, they would definitely be better than the bastard factory director. Then they changed the subject and said with expectation:

"Boss, if you set up a factory or company here and want to hire people, don't forget to consider us. We will definitely work hard for you. If anyone is lazy, we will not forgive him!"

Chapter 7: Back when my company was just opening

"What kind of business should we start?"

"Ah, doing business? Opening a small shop in the dormitory? The dormitory manager will come and catch you, right?"

"No, no, I mean, in the game, these NPCs are pushing me to start a company. Look, the identity on the fake ID Xia Tian made for me is the general manager of a multinational company, so shouldn't we make it happen?"

"You mean, we're playing a business simulation in a third-person role-playing game?"

"That's what it means!"

Simulated business means that you can "farm" in the game. In any sense, "farming" is very attractive to players, especially Chinese players. In fact, in the previous game process, Ji Tianping and others have experienced the simulated business elements in the game. In the daily task of "taking it in a proper way", part of the funds they robbed every day were invested in a company registered overseas (neither in China nor in the United States). The company is called Huanyu Group, and the chairman of the company is Lin Dengwan.

But compared to the domineering name of Universal Group, the actual scale of the company is pitifully small, and even makes people wonder if it is a fake company or a shell company. The chairman of the company is Linden Wan, the CEO is Linden Tu, and there are only five employees, yes, the black five. The assets of Universal Group are also earned by the black five. The only fixed asset is a car repair shop in Los Angeles.

Anyway, in the eyes of the five black gangs, this is not a legitimate company. The chairman and CEO of the company are elusive, and the five black gangs are completely allowed to grow freely and wildly. In addition to the money from robbing, the rest of the time they do legitimate business, and it all depends on Zhang Xiatian to use his manufacturing expertise to forge documents, modify cars, etc. to earn some pocket money.

When Liang Ruikun and Chen Gong showed the sign of their multinational company in front of those laid-off workers, the uninformed laid-off workers were immediately attracted, mainly because Liang Ruikun and Chen Gong were dressed like rich people, and their previous lavish spending and their attitude of treating money as dirt once again highlighted the two people's "no shortage of money" attribute. There was no such thing as "Qichacha" in those days, and when they saw Liang Ruikun and Chen Gong's style of doing things, and heard the domineering name of "Huanyu Group", they were attracted.

"Wow, it must be a big company, they must be going for a big investment!"

.................

"Boss, what book are you reading?"

"A book about doing business."

"Oh, this is the book called 'How to Get Rich' from abroad, right? What does it talk about?"

"This is about MBO, which is translated as management buyout. The first MBO is closely related to the American company KKR. In order to achieve the goal of a smooth acquisition, KKR adopted a different approach from the past. It cooperated with the managers of the acquired company instead of preparing to fire them, and promised to give the management a certain proportion of equity in the future, so as to obtain the approval and support of the board of directors of the acquired company."

Liang Ruikun continued to explain:

"KKR eventually acquired the branch at $1 per share, with the management holding 20% ​​and KKR holding 80%. After the acquisition, KKR reformed the company and implemented a series of cost-cutting measures. Five years later, KKR sold the so-called "simple and efficient" company again at $5 per share, making a huge profit. The nine former senior managers also suddenly became rich. This is the origin of the so-called MBO."

Then Liang Ruikun ignored the confused worker and continued to talk to himself:

"After reading this book, you will know that the original intention of MBO is not what we imagined, that is, the hard work of the management to improve the company's performance. The ultimate goal is definitely not to consider how the acquired company can develop better and longer-term, but to accumulate their wealth quickly. This can be seen from the characteristics of the target companies they choose: stable cash flow, low debt ratio, large profit improvement space, etc. All these characteristics are in preparation for obtaining high profits in the future. They are not interested in companies that are really in crisis."

"We... don't understand..."

"It's okay, everyone will see it later..."

Now, these laid-off workers who were taken care of by Liang Ruikun and Chen Gong are looking forward to the big boss from abroad to start the enterprise as soon as possible. Once the enterprise is opened, won’t it have to recruit workers? With this recruitment, won’t everyone be able to find a job? The severance pay will be spent one day. What will they do when the money is spent? Don’t live anymore? Or go to the southern coastal areas to work?

For laid-off workers in Northeast China who are relatively isolated from information, going to the south to work is definitely not just a job, but an "adventure". You may work hard for nothing, and then your boss donates money and runs away; you may also get your salary stolen or robbed on the way home; or because you lack a temporary residence permit, you are sent to a shelter for "three-no" people by the police, and then die inexplicably... Even if you are lucky and careful in your daily life and have avoided many things, what about the children left behind in your hometown? Although they are not aware of the problem of left-behind children at this time, not knowing does not mean that there will be no problem.