Chapter 25: Daring and Resourceful

Upon hearing Director Li's words, Wang Ye, holding his teacup, was stunned for a second, then couldn't help bursting into laughter. He never expected that, just as he was about to doze off, Director Li would come bearing gifts?

"What's so funny?" asked Li, puzzled by Wang Ye's reaction.

"Do you have any thoughts on the reform of the collective enterprise in the factory?" he continued.

"Do you think this problem is easy to solve?"

Seeing Wang Ye laugh, Director Li suddenly felt a weight lifted off his chest!

In fact, since yesterday, Director Li had been struggling with the issue of reforming the collective enterprise in the factory. And just when he was at a loss, he received the news of Wang Ye's successful achievement in foreign exchange earnings, which suddenly gave him an idea!

Since he didn't have any ideas himself, and Wang Ye clearly had some novel thoughts, why not ask him for his ideas?

After all, for a leader, the ability to understand and use people is the most important skill, and Wang Ye was considered one of his subordinates. It was reasonable to test him with this question.

In fact, although the province did require the reform of the collective enterprise in the factory, Red Star Machinery Factory was still in the process of transitioning from military to civilian use, so it wasn't on the list for the first round of reforms. Instead, it was the steel factory in Laiyang County that was at the forefront.

"Director Li, we are still in the process of military-civilian transition!"

"You're already planning to arrange for the reform of the collective enterprise in the factory. Isn't this making things harder for us?"

"How about finding another enterprise first and giving us some time to prepare?"

Wang Ye suppressed his amusement, took a sip of tea, and, instead of directly answering Director Li's question, countered with a smile.

Upon hearing Wang Ye's words, Director Li put down his teacup impatiently and said, "You're just trying to get something out of me by playing the poor card, aren't you?"

This was a common situation in subordinate units. Although Red Star Machinery Factory had indeed achieved success in foreign exchange earnings, it was essentially Wang Ye's credit, with little direct involvement from the Industrial Bureau. Moreover, they had earned so much foreign exchange, it was only reasonable to ask for some benefits. And since he did indeed have some requests from Wang Ye, it was only natural to squeeze him a little. So, Director Li didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point.

"Now that you've said that, I won't beat around the bush."

"Although our production of gas cylinders is not part of the planned production tasks, it still contributes to the country's foreign exchange earnings. So, can you approve some steel within the planned production for us?"

"We don't need much, just two thousand tons."

Wang Ye was indeed straightforward, holding up two fingers to indicate the amount. Director Li couldn't help but laugh and scold, "Two thousand tons? Do you think steel is as common as radishes and cabbages in winter?"

"And besides, with a total production of only a thousand gas cylinders, can you really use two thousand tons of steel?"

"Do you think you can just take as much as you want from the government?"

Despite Director Li's harsh tone and accusations, Wang Ye just chuckled and handed him a cigarette, saying, "With the current production of two thousand gas cylinders, who knows if it will become twenty thousand in the future?"

"And besides, you said it yourself, this is government property, isn't it?"

"If you give it to us, at least we can contribute to the country's foreign exchange earnings. What can others do with it? Take the Laiyang Steel Factory, for example. Are they going to use it all to make hoes? The difference in value is huge!"

"Don't you agree?"

Although Wang Ye's words sounded like sophistry, they did have some truth to them. Moreover, Red Star Machinery Factory wouldn't dare to take this steel to the black market to sell. In the end, it wouldn't go to waste, so Director Li knocked on the table and said, "At most five hundred tons. Take it or leave it. There's nothing more to discuss!"

Upon hearing this number, Wang Ye's eyes lit up. In fact, his target was only one or two hundred tons. He didn't expect Director Li to be so generous. Instantly, he nodded and said, "Alright, alright! Five hundred tons it is."

"You'd better write a note and sign it quickly!"

"We want steel coils, not ingots! Otherwise, we'll have to find a steel mill for processing, and it will definitely be more expensive."

"You'd better write it down, or they'll stuff all sorts of scrap iron into it."

As he spoke, Wang Ye eagerly handed over pen and paper, seemingly afraid that Director Li would change his mind. Seeing this scene, Director Li became even more annoyed and muttered as he wrote the note, "Really, can I even regret it? Just having it is good enough. With so many demands, do we have to sign a written agreement on the spot?"

"In our Yuntai City, you guys are truly one of a kind!"

After a moment, a note worth five hundred tons of steel was written. Under the nervous gazes of the six bigwigs of the machinery factory, Director Li, with an air of annoyance, slapped the note into Wang Ye's hands and said, "Can we talk now? How do you plan to reform?"

Wang Ye calmly looked over the note, made sure there were no issues, and handed it to the old factory director, indicating he should keep it safe. Then, he looked at the old factory director and asked, "Senior, how many people are currently in our factory's collective enterprise?"

Faced with this question, the six bigwigs of the machinery factory became even more uneasy. The old factory director hesitated and said, "Altogether, there should be over a thousand, but as for the exact number..."

"It should be one thousand three hundred and seventy-eight people."

As he said this, he quickly gestured with his remaining arm and said, "Director Li, Assistant Manager, we don't want it to be this way, but... but we really have no choice!"

"The staffing is fixed, but the number of people in the factory keeps increasing with each generation. It's as if the country has forgotten about us. The staffing hasn't increased, the old workers don't retire, and the younger ones can't find jobs. We have no choice but to do this..."

Hearing this, Wang Ye couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

In this day and age, graduates like Wang Ye, whether from universities, technical schools, or teacher training colleges, were assigned jobs by the government after graduation. But for those young people who didn't study well, finding a job was difficult.

It was easier in the villages, where at least they could farm. The government would allocate them residential land and grain fields.

But in the cities, it was difficult. With the country just opening up, individual businesses had just started to appear, and the vast majority of people were employees of state-owned enterprises. Finding a job was extremely difficult.

Some parents, because their children were about to get married and didn't have a job yet, or because they were temporary workers and didn't have a decent job, had to retire early at the young age of forty-something, letting their children inherit their jobs. This was called "topping the shift."

In such circumstances, collective enterprises had no choice but to grow larger and larger, all because of the tears of the times!

"Senior, I understand."

Director Li sighed and finally looked at Wang Ye, saying, "Let's not beat around the bush. Speak up!"

Under the gaze of everyone present, Wang Ye, puffing on his cigarette, cleared his throat and said, "It's simple. All you need to do is approve the subcontracting of the collective enterprise in the machinery factory to me!"

"All problems will be solved."

With these words, everyone present was dumbfounded!