Chapter 1028: Do You Want to Be That Catfish?

The Li Family Courtyard!

Seeing the familiar license plates at his doorstep, Li Yi’s expression betrayed a hint of shock.

As everyone knows, the license plates on officials’ vehicles are carefully chosen, usually reflecting their rank.

A license plate starting with “Jing” and positioned so high up in the sequence meant the holder’s rank was certainly no small matter.

And Li Yi had actually seen this particular car before—it was none other than Old Chen’s vehicle.

Clearly, Old Chen had come to his house!

With that thought, Li Yi couldn’t help but quicken his pace as he walked toward the courtyard.

As soon as he stepped through the gate, Li Yi noticed several unfamiliar faces in the courtyard—clearly there to protect Old Chen.

As soon as Li Yi and his companions pushed open the gate, someone immediately stepped forward to stop them.

Only after verifying Li Yi’s identity did they let him in.

Upon entering, Li Yi immediately spotted Old Chen and Jiang Xue chatting on the sofa, with Zhou Rui and Old Xu from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange sitting beside them.

“Old Chen, Director Zhou, Director Xu—what brings you all here?” Li Yi asked with a smile.

Old Chen smiled and said, “You’ve finally made it back, young man. We’ve been waiting for you for over an hour!”

“I’m truly sorry. I didn’t know you were coming today, and I ran into some issues that delayed my return. Please forgive me,” Li Yi explained.

“It’s fine. We all know you’re busy—no need to explain!”

Then Old Chen continued, “I came over today mainly to discuss some matters with you. Find a quiet place!”

“Yes, sir. Please follow me!”

With that, Li Yi led Old Chen toward the study, while Jiang Xue, Zhou Rui, and the others tactfully stayed behind.

Once in the study, the two sat down across from each other at a small round table.

Li Yi was about to pour some tea, but Old Chen stopped him: “I’ve already had plenty of tea out there. Don’t go to all that trouble, young man. Let’s get down to business first!”

“Alright, whatever you have to say, just tell me—I’m all ears!” Li Yi replied.

“Hmm, I’ve already heard Zhou’s report on your work in Hong Kong. You did a fine job—the higher-ups are very pleased and specifically sent me here to commend you both!” Old Chen said.

“It’s just my duty…”

Before he could finish, Old Chen spoke again: “Enough with the modesty. I know you’re not interested in a government post and you’re not short on money, so I’m here to ask what kind of reward you’d like.”

“Are you saying I can ask for anything I want?” Li Yi asked, somewhat surprised.

“In theory, that’s true—but only if what you’re asking for is reasonable and lawful!” said Old Chen.

Li Yi thought for a moment and said, “Old Chen, there are indeed two things I’d like to ask for your help with, so I’ll just get them both out of the way!”

“Go ahead!”

“Old Chen, I’d like to acquire the Beijing Electronics Factory and the wafer fab, but I’m running into some trouble with this right now. I’d appreciate your help!” Li Yi said.

Old Chen glanced at Li Yi, then said, “I actually came here today to ask you about this very matter. According to the data reported by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, your company has acquired 17 state-owned enterprises in less than 10 months, spanning the daily chemical products, food, beverage, and other manufacturing sectors.”

“Now you’re looking to acquire companies in the electronics and semiconductor sectors. Could you share your thoughts on this with me?”

Li Yi nodded and said, “Certainly. We have only one goal in acquiring those state-owned enterprises: to revitalize our national industry and enhance the competitiveness of our country’s products!”

Upon hearing this answer, Old Chen’s expression visibly faltered; clearly, this response had taken him by surprise.

He had originally assumed that Li Yi’s acquisition of so many state-owned enterprises, along with his efforts to upgrade and modernize their products, was simply for profit.

But he never imagined that Li Yi’s purpose was so noble and grand.

Quickly regaining his composure, Old Chen replied, “Oh, well then, tell me—how do you plan to revitalize our national industry?”

Li Yi did not respond directly to Old Chen’s question, but instead said with a serious expression, “Old Chen, are you familiar with the ‘catfish effect’?”

“The catfish effect?”

Seeing the puzzled look on Old Chen’s face, Li Yi knew he had his answer.

He then explained, “Norwegians love sardines, especially live ones. Live fish fetch a much higher price in the market than dead ones, so fishermen go to great lengths to bring live sardines back to port.”

“But to their frustration, despite all their efforts, most of the sardines still suffocate and die along the way.”

“Later, someone placed a catfish—which feeds primarily on sardines—into the fish tanks. The sardines scattered in all directions upon seeing the catfish, which solved the oxygen deprivation problem. As a result, most of them returned to the fishing port alive and kicking. That is the ‘catfish effect.’”

“Right now, due to our long-standing implementation of a planned economy, almost all state-owned enterprises have become accustomed to a ‘produce-to-order’ model. Overall market vitality is severely lacking, especially among state-owned enterprises, which urgently need a ‘catfish’ to stimulate them.”

Although Li Yi knew this story was full of holes and didn’t hold up to scrutiny,

After all, there are no catfish in the Atlantic, and if the sardines wanted to live longer, all they’d need to do is stay put—they certainly wouldn’t need a catfish meddling in their affairs.

But to help Old Chen grasp the essence of this management effect more intuitively, he still used this story—after all, he was conveying the principle, not the story itself.

Surely a heavyweight like Old Chen would grasp the essence of it.

Sure enough, as an absolute authority in China’s economic sphere, Old Chen grasped Li Yi’s meaning the moment the story ran through his mind.

“You want to be that catfish?”

“Exactly!”

Li Yi continued, “Old Chen, I’m sure you’re aware that the biggest problem with state-owned enterprises is that they’re bloated with staff, lack vitality, and have no drive—the entire organization is like a stagnant pool.”

“More importantly, it seems the country has been led astray by certain unhealthy trends—and that’s a deadly serious matter!”

Old Chen looked at Li Yi and said, “Don’t beat around the bush, young man. Spare no details—what exactly are these unhealthy trends?”

“For example, ‘it’s better to buy than to make, and better to rent than to buy.’ Making things ourselves might be difficult, but once we’ve mastered the process, we’ll have that technology firmly in our own hands and will never be at the mercy of others!”

Li Yi continued, “On the other hand, whether we buy or rent from others, we only temporarily possess the right to use certain equipment and technology—not ownership. Once the situation changes, we’ll be at their mercy, and the end result will only be fattening up a bunch of new-era compradors hiding behind the banner of patriotism.”

Old Chen paused to reflect for a moment, then said, “Those are strong words—don’t go around saying things like that lightly!”

“I understand what you mean, and I can’t control such matters. My point is that we must get these state-owned units and enterprises moving now; we can’t let them continue to sit idly by. Otherwise, it won’t be long before we have to pay a heavy price to keep them afloat,” Li Yi said.

Old Chen nodded thoughtfully and said, “Go on.”

Li Yi immediately continued, “We’ve only just begun our reform and opening-up, and foreign investment hasn’t entered the market in significant quantities yet, so the impact on these state-owned enterprises isn’t too severe.”

“Once foreign capital floods into our country in large quantities, faced with their advantages in capital and technology, I’m afraid very few of our state-owned enterprises will be able to compete. In the end, they’ll be utterly crushed by the forces of the market economy. Can you imagine what that scene will look like?”

Old Chen sucked in a sharp breath. As someone with a background in economics, he couldn’t bear to imagine such a scenario.

If foreign capital were to flood into our country on a massive scale, and our domestic industries and state-owned enterprises were unable to defeat their competitors, the inevitable consequence would be that foreign capital would grow increasingly powerful, while a large number of state-owned enterprises would fail in the face of competition.

The business world is like a battlefield; defeat in business warfare means bankruptcy and closure, or being acquired by the competition.

If it were just one or two companies, it wouldn’t be so bad. But if tens of thousands of enterprises were to collapse simultaneously, countless workers would be laid off. Millions—even tens of millions—of young and able-bodied workers would lose their income, becoming a source of social instability. One misstep, and this could very well shake the very foundations of the nation…

For a moment, even Old Chen—who had weathered many storms—was startled by the terrifying images that flashed through his mind…

………