Chapter 392: The Crisis (Part 1)

Chapter 392: The Crisis (Part 1)

I counted the updates for January: twenty-six chapters in total. Considering it was during the Spring Festival, that’s a decent enough record (heh, please don’t throw bricks at me). As per usual, I’m asking for your monthly votes in February. We need to keep Xiao Qiao on the category rankings. Thanks, everyone.

“I don’t have any immediate plans to buy a house in Lingxi.”

At the mention of this, Hou Weidong’s thoughts drifted to Li Jing’s swollen belly. This bustling provincial capital evoked a complex mix of emotions in him: the joy of impending fatherhood, the heavy burden of being unable to offer Li Jing and their child a legitimate status, and a lingering sense of guilt toward Xiaojia.

Zeng Xiangang’s life was currently going smoothly. He failed to notice the faint trace of helplessness in Hou Weidong’s eyes. “Lingxi is, after all, the provincial capital. The flow of people, goods, and capital is many times greater than in Shazhou. It’s much easier to develop a career here.” Seeing that Hou Weidong showed little interest in the topic, Zeng continued, “Even if you want to climb the political ladder, it’s easier to do so in the province. I know someone there—a certain director. He told me that when a county party secretary visits his office, there isn’t even a seat available for him.”

“In Yiyang, the county party secretary is a big shot. But in the provincial capital, he has to keep his tail between his legs.”

A fixed image remained in Hou Weidong’s mind. Several years ago, to secure payment from the quarry, he and Zeng Xiangang had treated Section Chief Gao from the Finance Office of the Yiyang County Transportation Bureau to dinner, singing, and dancing. When a live county-town girl appeared beside Zeng Xiangang, Hou Weidong had been at a loss, standing stiffly while the girl manipulated the situation.

In contrast, the Zeng Xiangang before him now appeared mature. The eyepatch he wore due to his lost eye effectively masked the rustic aura on his face. He had served in the army, worked as a stonemason, and often practiced hitting sandbags on Shangqinglin Mountain to vent his desire for revenge. He maintained a good physique—tall and imposing. His slightly tanned skin fit the fashion trends of the time. With Song Zhicheng’s help in repackaging him according to Lingxi’s tastes, Zeng Xiangang was now worlds apart from the village committee director of Shangqinglin.

However, although Zeng Xiangang had served as a village committee director, he was not a genuine insider in the political arena. Hou Weidong did not elaborate further. He raised his small wine glass, clinked it against Zeng’s, and said, “Developing in the province without any foundation is very difficult. It’s better to build a foundation slowly in Shazhou.”

Just then, he noticed two more people entering the restaurant. One of them was Wang Hui from the Lingxi Daily.

This restaurant was close to the Lingxi Daily office and was a frequent spot for its reporters. Wang Hui was surprised to see Hou Weidong there. He shook hands warmly and said enthusiastically, “Speak of the devil, and he appears. I was just thinking about you this afternoon, and here we are, meeting for dinner.”

Hou Weidong replied, “Director Wang, is it just the two of you? Let’s eat together. This is Mr. Zeng, my good friend.” Suddenly remembering that Zeng Xiangang had changed his shop’s name, he turned and asked, “Mr. Zeng, what’s your shop called now? This is Director Wang from the Lingxi Daily.”

Zeng Xiangang pulled a small box from his pocket, took out a business card, and handed it to Wang Hui. “My small shop is called—Gangcheng Space. Director Wang, please come and visit.” The name “Gangcheng Space” was naturally Song Zhicheng’s creation. Her inspiration came from the Yinggang Quarry. One time, Zeng Xiangang had explained the origin of the Yinggang Quarry to Song Zhicheng in bed. Deeply inspired, she renamed her shop “Gangcheng Space”—a space for Zeng Xiangang and Song Zhicheng.

The other reporter said, “So you’re the boss of Gangcheng Space? Your shop is selling like hotcakes. I’m planning to renovate my new house. Can you give me a discount?”

“All our prices are clearly marked. But since you’re a friend of Weidong’s, I’ll give you a twenty percent discount.”

Although Zeng Xiangang had been in Lingxi for years, he mostly dealt with businessmen and had few opportunities to interact with government officials or newspaper reporters—the mainstream of society. In terms of social status, he belonged to the category of rich but powerless. To put it another way, his wealth was not yet sufficient to make him a member of the Political Consultative Conference or the People’s Congress. He had not yet integrated into Lingxi’s mainstream society.

His earlier comment to Hou Weidong about “county party secretaries having no seats” was merely hearsay from Song Zhicheng’s distant cousin, who liked to brag. Zeng Xiangang himself did not know anyone in the provincial government. Now that he had met someone from the Lingxi Daily, he was eager to make a connection.

Hou Weidong saw through Zeng Xiangang’s subtle intentions. He was quite pleased with Zeng’s transformation and said, “Director Wang is a senior journalist. I suggest you place an advertisement for Gangcheng Space in the newspaper. With the Lingxi Daily’s promotion, your business will surely skyrocket.”

Zeng Xiangang said, “Then I’ll rely on Director Wang for your care.”

Wang Hui was not particularly interested in Zeng Xiangang. He exchanged a few polite words and then said, “I’ve been collecting some information these days. If my estimates are correct, the Fourth Plenary Session of the 15th Central Committee, to be held in September, will deepen the reform of state-owned enterprises. I’m planning to come to Shazhou to conduct an investigation.”

As Zhou Changquan’s full-time secretary, Hou Weidong read People’s Daily and magazines like Qiushi every day to prepare for any potential questions from Zhou Changquan. This helped him grasp major policies and strengthen his arguments. Hearing Wang Hui’s topic, he said with interest, “Welcome to Shazhou, Director Wang. Two years ago, one of your articles led the province to decide to close many worthless development zones. I’m sure this investigation will yield more golden ideas for the reform of state-owned enterprises in Lingxi Province.”

Wang Hui smiled. “Don’t flatter me. The higher you lift me, the harder I’ll fall. I know my own limits.” He continued, “Currently, influential propaganda departments are all talking about the reform of state-owned enterprises. By convention, this is mostly to set the tone for the Fourth Plenary Session. I saw a statistical report: among the 874 large and medium-sized state-owned industrial enterprises nationwide, 659 are loss-making. Even among profitable enterprises, a significant portion only achieves marginal profits by not extracting basic depreciation, not investing in technology development, owing taxes, and delaying loan repayments. This situation is very common. How to help state-owned enterprises out of this dilemma is the most urgent issue for the Fourth Plenary Session.”

Although Hou Weidong read People’s Daily daily, his experience was shallow, and he was not a professional journalist. He had not noticed this issue. Following Wang Hui’s lead, he said, “The situation in Shazhou is basically consistent with the national trend. Not to mention production and operations, we can’t even pay the workers’ salaries. Most medical expenses cannot be reimbursed either.”

Wang Hui said, “Take the Datong Coal Mine in Shanxi. From workers to the mine manager, everyone receives only 230 yuan per month. Their slogan is ‘Everyone gets 230, fight hard to get through the crisis.’ Datong Coal Mine is world-famous, yet it is struggling so much. I want to find a typical case in Lingxi Province to analyze. I thought of you this afternoon, and it’s such a coincidence to meet here.”

Hou Weidong said solemnly, “Although I haven’t reported to Secretary Changquan yet, I’ll take the liberty to welcome you and your team to Shazhou for research. We hope you can provide strategies to help Shazhou’s industrial enterprises overcome difficulties and poverty.”

Wang Hui laughed. “I don’t have three heads and six arms. How dare I make grand claims? I’ve just gained some insights from organizing and collecting data recently. Tonight, I’ll send a few articles I’ve collected lately to your email. Read them carefully, and we can determine the content of the interview and research another day.”

While Wang Hui and Hou Weidong were talking, Zeng Xiangang couldn’t insert himself into the conversation. He listened quietly. Under the bright lights of the restaurant, he appeared quite profound.

After dinner, Hou Weidong waved goodbye to Wang Hui and Zeng Xiangang. He drove home, chatted with Xiaojia for a while, checked his email for the articles Wang Hui had sent, and searched online for related content. He compiled them into a special collection.

Busy with these matters, Hou Weidong temporarily forgot about Li Jing in Lingxi and the child in her womb.

On Monday morning, he opened his eyes and looked at the slanting sunlight outside the window. Life stubbornly returned to its original track. Hou Weidong got up early, washed up, exchanged some tender words with Xiaojia, and left home.

Although he had been reading documents all night and had temporarily forgotten Li Jing, as he walked down the stairs, her figure drifted into his mind again, stubbornly appearing in his thoughts.

This woman, who had once had no connection with Hou Weidong, had intersected with him due to chance. Because of their flesh-and-blood child, they were now forever linked, becoming inseparable parts of each other’s lives. Yet Hou Weidong could not offer Li Jing any promise or legitimate status. Although Li Jing had never demanded it, the thought weighed heavily on him. His usually light steps became much more steady and heavy.

“Deep down, I am still a traditional person. I don’t have the quality to be a bad guy,” Hou Weidong muttered to himself.

Driver Ma Bo waited for Hou Weidong to get into the car and said, “Director Hou seems more steady since you went to the provincial party school for further study.” Hou Weidong pretended to be relaxed and said, “I just spent two days at the party school. It wasn’t very interesting.”

When they arrived at the Municipal Committee compound, a crowd was visible from afar. There were men, women, old, and young. Some were standing, some squatting, and some held handwritten banners. The banners read:

“We want to survive. We want to eat.”

“No salary for three months. No taste of meat for half a year.”

Ma Bo was experienced. Seeing the crowd, he did not stop the car or enter the main gate. Instead, he drove along the road and entered the compound through a hidden small gate at the back.

Secretary-General Hong Ang stood in front of the office building corridor, waiting for Zhou Changquan while talking with Deputy Secretary-General Zeng Yong. When Zhou Changquan approached, Hong Ang greeted him and said, “Those are workers from the Shazhou Cement Factory outside. I’ve already asked Factory Director Li Dongyang to come over immediately. It’s outrageous. They can talk if they have issues, but how can they block the Municipal Committee every few days?”

Zhou Changquan’s expression was not good either. “I read the banners clearly. ‘Survival’ and ‘eating.’ This is a society governed by the Communist Party. How can such banners appear? Nonsense.”

Hong Ang’s face looked uneasy.

Zeng Yong proactively said, “Secretary Zhou, I’ll notify the public security organs to confiscate the banners.”

Zhou Changquan shook his head. “Forget it. Let Li Dongyang come and persuade them. I heard something happened a few days ago. A worker at the cement factory hadn’t eaten meat for several months. To feed his son, he went to the market to steal. When he was caught, he stabbed someone with a knife. Is that true?” Hong Ang replied, “Yes, that’s true.”

Zhou Changquan said, “Workers wouldn’t come here to make trouble unless they were driven to desperation. Ask Vice Mayor Bu to come over as well. He is the Executive Vice Mayor. The Municipal Committee needs to hear the government’s plan. Dragging this on is not a solution.”

Factory Director Li Dongyang received the notice from the Municipal Committee Office. He dawdled in his office for a while before reluctantly coming to the entrance of the Municipal Committee.

“Go back. It’s no use staying here.” The factory’s performance was poor. Standing at the entrance of the Municipal Committee, Factory Director Li Dongyang tried to persuade everyone earnestly but without confidence. Although it was early spring, he felt covered in sweat and kept wiping his forehead.

The workers at the entrance of the Municipal Committee looked at Li Dongyang coldly. No one paid attention to him. Although this director wasn’t bad—his car was just a battered Santana that frequently needed repairs, forcing him to ride a bicycle to work often—his frugality did not earn him authority in the eyes of the workers due to the poor performance. One worker said, “Director Li, pay my salary, and I’ll go back to work immediately.” Another elderly worker with gray hair said, “Dongyang, my medical bills are over 8,000 yuan. If you don’t reimburse them, I’ll have to jump off a building. Do me a favor, Dongyang. We worked in the same workshop. Reimburse the medical fees.”

Another person said, “Li Dongyang, your persuasion is useless. We want to survive. We want to eat.”

The cement factory workers stood at the entrance of the Municipal Committee compound for a long time. The women inside were worried about the meals at home. Realizing it was about time, most went back to cook. The other men and boys stood for a while longer, and by lunchtime, they gradually dispersed.

The security guards of the Municipal Committee compound were accustomed to this. Seeing the workers disperse, they opened the main gate. Cleaners swept the area, leaving no trace on the ground.

Factory Director Li Dongyang did not leave. He and several other factory leaders sat in the Municipal Committee conference room. City leaders, including Zhou Changquan, Hong Ang, and Bu Haiyun, watched the factory leaders with stern eyes.

Li Dongyang was caught in the middle, with bitterness in his heart. He had a reckless idea and briefly explained the factory’s situation, emphasizing, “The cement factory is burdened with heavy debts. The asset-liability ratio is 126 percent. We are essentially operating with no capital. It is impossible to make a profit.”

“Our cement factory’s equipment is actually very advanced. All of it was imported from domestic advanced sources. Our products have a market. The Yiyang Tiejiangshan Cement Factory is not more advanced than our Shazhou Cement Factory. The only difference is that Tiejiangshan Cement Factory has no burdens and strong profitability.”

Zhou Changquan knew this situation. Since its establishment, the Shazhou Cement Factory had been in debt. The debt exceeded the assets, suffocating the enterprise and becoming a huge burden. Under these circumstances, the Shazhou Cement Factory could not compete in the market with the Yiyang Tiejiangshan Cement Factory of the Qingda Group. As a result, the state-owned Shazhou Cement Factory, despite having advanced equipment and strong technical strength, could not even pay the workers’ salaries. Meanwhile, the Tiejiangshan Cement Factory, free of debt, was driving the veteran Shazhou Cement Factory into retreat on the Shazhou ground.

After the cement factory leaders finished venting their grievances, the anger in Zhou Changquan’s heart gradually subsided. He slowly took a sip of tea and said, “Director Li, what you said is the truth. The Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government are aware of it. Recently, I asked Vice Mayor Bu to convene a meeting between banks and enterprises. See if we can get some more support for the enterprise.”

Vice Mayor Bu thought to himself: “The cement factory’s debts are like mountains. Any loan would be like throwing meat buns at a dog—gone forever. Moreover, the banks are terrified of the cement factory. They’ve invested so much money, yet there is no improvement. Despite having such good equipment and strong market demand, they don’t make money. If Liu Bing hears Zhou Changquan’s request, he will surely turn black with anger.” But since Zhou Changquan had spoken, he had to execute the order. After thinking for a moment, he said, “I read the report from a few days ago. Let’s try to get some more loans. The amount needs to be discussed with the banks. You need to submit another report to the Municipal Government, writing it in detail. Specify what matters or projects need funding and how much money is required.”

The faces of the factory leaders showed signs of joy.

Zhou Changquan paused for a moment, his gaze sliding over the factory leaders one by one. “The factory must also strengthen management. There are many enterprises in the city under similar circumstances. Most are still working diligently in production and operations and have not come to besiege the Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government. After you return, strengthen management, think of more solutions, and do not have the mindset of waiting, relying, or demanding.”

When the cement factory leaders left the Municipal Committee compound with mixed feelings of joy and worry, they had lost some face, but at least the Municipal Government would arrange for banks to connect with them. Perhaps they could secure some money to get through the current crisis.

Li Dongyang realized this and couldn’t help but say, “Damn it. Next time there’s no salary and the workers come to make trouble, I’ll stay in the hospital. You guys hold the line first.”