Chapter 459: Jiang Longyin’s Opportunity

When Li Yi arrived at the district government office, Jiang Longyin had just returned to his office after a meeting.

Hearing the knock, he immediately motioned for the visitor to come in!

When he saw it was Li Yi, Jiang Longyin’s eyes lit up, and he said cheerfully, “It’s my brother-in-law! Come in and sit down!”

Just then, his secretary tried to come in to serve tea, but Jiang Longyin sent her away—he would do it himself!

At the moment, Jiang Longyin was utterly in awe of Li Yi, his cousin’s husband. Half a month ago, when facing pressure from the Ministry of State-Owned Assets, Jiang Longyin had been sweating bullets for him.

After all, that was a ministerial-level agency—crushing an ordinary person would have been child’s play for them.

But Jiang Longyin clearly remembered Li Yi’s reaction upon learning of the matter—he remained completely unfazed, not giving it a second thought.

At the time, Jiang Longyin thought Li Yi might have finally met his match.

But the outcome was completely unexpected: in just a few days, the Ministry of State-Owned Assets reversed its previous stance.

Not only did they recognize the legal validity of the agreement his brother-in-law had signed with the Second State-Owned Cotton Mill, but they also commended the factory leadership—including his third brother, Jiang Longcheng—and their stance spoke for itself.

It could be said that his brother-in-law had single-handedly taken on the entire Ministry of State-Owned Assets.

At first, Jiang Longyin couldn’t understand how the State-owned Assets Department—such a massive government agency—could have made such a sudden 180-degree shift in its stance, especially since the turn of events occurred the day after the Old Master’s 80th birthday.

Consequently, he assumed the Old Master had intervened and even went out of his way to ask his grandfather about it.

The answer he received was that the old man had never interfered in the matter from the very beginning, nor had he put in a good word for Li Yi to anyone.

It wasn’t until recently that he finally pieced together the full story. Over the past ten days or so, Uncle San, Jiang Shiying, had suddenly published a series of editorials in a range of Party-affiliated media outlets, including the *People’s Daily*, *Workers’ Daily*, and *Internal Reference*. These editorials covered extensive topics in political science and economics, and each one generated a massive response.

Those in the dark naturally assumed these were Uncle Jiang’s reflections and insights following his promotion to head of the Guangdong Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, but only Jiang Longyin knew that they were all the work of his brother-in-law, Li Yi.

He had heard his cousin’s husband mention similar views during their previous conversations.

Furthermore, during their last meeting, Li Yi had asked him to help contact some media outlets to publish some articles.

In the end, nothing came of it; apparently, Uncle San had taken over the matter.

“Second Brother, am I interrupting you?” Li Yi asked with a smile.

“Not at all. I just finished a meeting and happen to have a little free time!” Jiang Longyin said as he poured tea for Li Yi.

“Good to hear. I came over specifically to ask about that plot of land. I was wondering how things are progressing?” Li Yi asked straight to the point.

“It’s moving forward. Our staff is currently working daily to relocate the residents of Beiguan Village. 154 households have already signed the agreements, but there are still 12 households that seem a bit reluctant. I’m having my people work on persuading them,” Jiang Longyin said.

“How long do you estimate it will take to finish?”

“Just a few more days. What’s the matter? You seem rather anxious,” Jiang Longyin said.

“I am a bit anxious, actually. After all, it’s almost May, and we need to put the construction of the cold storage facility on the agenda. But if the relocation isn’t finished, everything else will have to be postponed!” Li Yi said.

“I’ll give my team another push and have them speed things up!”

“Alright!”

Just then, Jiang Longyin suddenly said, “Brother-in-law, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Second Brother, you’re being too polite. There’s nothing between us that’s off-limits!” Li Yi said with a smile.

“Well, do you know that the April revenue and profit figures for State Cotton Mill No. 2 have already been tallied?”

“Actually, I didn’t know that. As you know, Second Brother, I’ve been staying home lately to take care of Xiao Xue and the baby. I rarely go out and haven’t been paying much attention to other matters!” Li Yi replied.

“State Cotton Mill No. 2’s April revenue reached 5.34 million, with a profit of 4.28 million—breaking another record!”

Li Yi nodded and said, “That’s really impressive!”

“It’s more than just good. Starting in February, in just three short months, they’ve earned over 8 million in net profit. Even at the peak of State Cotton Mill No. 2’s glory days, things weren’t as impressive as they are now!”

Jiang Longyin continued, “Right now, State Cotton Mill No. 2 is like a barometer for enterprises across the capital. With their constant stream of good news, other mills are starting to get restless.”

“How so?” Li Yi asked instinctively.

“Right now, aside from large state-owned enterprises like the Beijing Iron and Steel Plant, the rest of the enterprises and institutions are actually struggling. Everyone is having to tighten their belts.”

Jiang Longyin continued, “Many factories have seen their profits steadily decline since last year; some have even had to rely on bank loans and government bailouts just to stay afloat, placing a massive financial burden on the district government and even the municipal government!”

“Since the start of this spring, the situation has gotten even worse. Many enterprises are performing worse than they did last year. At this very moment, State Cotton Mill No. 2 has bucked the trend and risen to prominence. Consequently, quite a few people have gotten ideas and want to emulate their reforms. Now the district is in an uproar over this!”

“That’s a good thing—what’s there to argue about?” Li Yi asked, puzzled.

“Isn’t it better for enterprises to find their own way out rather than constantly relying on public funds?”

Jiang Longyin paused briefly before saying, “The main issue is that the district government is truly unsure about this. The results at State Cotton Mill No. 2 are indeed astonishing, but the problem is that it’s an isolated case. Currently, there are no other enterprises like it in the entire capital!”

“What we’re worried about is this: if everyone starts copying what they’re doing, could it cause chaos? Could it undermine our economic system?”

Li Yi frowned and said, “Second Brother, I understand your concerns, but I don’t agree with them!”

“Tell me your thoughts,” Jiang Longyin said.

“Some minor chaos is naturally unavoidable, but major chaos shouldn’t occur. As for your concern about an impact on the economic system—isn’t that exactly what the higher-ups want to see? After all, isn’t the whole point of ‘reform’ to seek breakthroughs through change?” Li Yi said.

“But won’t that undermine the status of our public ownership system?”

“No. Our public ownership system is built on the foundation of state-owned land. As long as that remains unchanged, there’s no problem!”

Li Yi continued, “More importantly, if we don’t seek change on our own now, we’ll eventually be forced to change. The consequences then could be far worse than they are now!”

Li Yi had lived through that era. Just a few years later, major enterprises across the country, in an effort to lighten their burdens, encouraged employees to take unpaid leave and go into business for themselves.

Some enterprises, in an effort to offload their burdens, simply released their surplus or redundant personnel into society, leaving them to fend for themselves.

Back then, the country was exploring new paths, and people were feeling their way forward—no one knew what the future held, so they had no choice but to forge ahead despite the risks.

Some were favored by history; braving all manner of pressures, they carved out a path with their youth and wisdom.

But many more became guinea pigs of reform, gradually weeded out by history.

“So you’re saying we should allow struggling enterprises to carry out their own reforms?” Jiang Longyin asked in a subdued tone.

Li Yi didn’t answer the question directly. Instead, he looked at Jiang Longyin and asked, “Second Brother, what’s your stance on this matter?”

“I… I…”

Seeing his expression, Li Yi knew the answer.

“Second Brother, you must be against it. After all, as the top official in the district, you need to prioritize stability, right?”

“Right!”

“Second Brother, stability is certainly important, but if you only seek stability, you won’t achieve any breakthroughs. This applies to businesses, as well as to governments and individuals!”

Li Yi continued, “I believe this current situation presents a great opportunity—both for the district government and for you personally, Second Brother.”

Hearing this, Jiang Longyin’s eyes lit up, and he asked, “Can we really give it a try?”

“Yes, the district could certainly select a factory that’s struggling the most—one that’s even on the verge of bankruptcy—and use it as a pilot project!” Li Yi suggested.

Jiang Longyin immediately grasped Li Yi’s meaning: using a factory on the brink of bankruptcy as a pilot for reform meant that even if it failed, there would be no real consequences—it was going under anyway.

But if it succeeded, it would be a surefire political achievement!

At this thought, Jiang Longyin was sold on the idea!