Chapter 215: Winery

Duan Ming and Jiang Biyun were quite surprised by Ning Wei's reaction.

Duan Ming letting Jiang Biyun find Ning Wei and bringing Xiao Dang in was not only to sell a favor but also a form of probing.

When Jiang Biyun learned that Qin Huairu was Ning Wei's mother-in-law, she subconsciously labeled Ning Wei as someone who practiced nepotism and was not worth using.

Who would have thought the result would be the complete opposite of what she expected.

This made Jiang Biyun inevitably more cautious; it seemed this person Ning Wei was not that simple.

When Ning Wei took his people to the canteen to eat, Jiang Biyun could not help but exchange a glance with Duan Ming.

Duan Ming chuckled: "Since that's the case, do you see any other suitable people?"

Jiang Biyun said: "I have a classmate named Li Hong, who used to lead us in doing radio gymnastics at school."

Duan Ming nodded and said: "That works too. When she arrives, you can have Director Ning take a look."

Jiang Biyun said: "I understand." She then glanced at Wang Xia: "Wang, let's go eat too."

Only with Wang Xia there could Jiang Biyun sit with Duan Ming; otherwise, if it were just the two of them alone, it would be easy for gossip to spread.

Jiang Biyun did not want to bring trouble upon herself.

The three arrived at the canteen; today was He Yuzhu's first day in charge of the cooking, and he showed off some of his skills.

Before even entering the room, they could smell the fragrance of the food.

Especially the few people on Ning Wei's side, all young men in their early twenties, exactly at the age where they could eat a lot.

In front of each person were one or two bowls of mounded Two-Rice Meal, and the dishes were stir-fried tomatoes with eggs and stir-fried mixed vegetables, plus seaweed soup.

Jiang Biyun and the other two got their food and sat down.

Jiang Biyun asked: "Duan Ming, since you came back, who from our Youth Point are you still in contact with?"

Jiang Biyun knew that Ning Weidong had brought her here because of Zheng Tong's previous friendship in the compound.

However, Ning Weidong had not explained it, and Jiang Biyun had no contact with Yuan Jun, so she just assumed it was for Zhong Yuemin's sake.

She wanted to ask around to see if Duan Ming knew about Zhong Yuemin's situation.

Although Zheng Tong and Zhong Yuemin were close, he hadn't seen him once since returning from the Northwest.

Back at the Youth Point, Duan Ming had a pretty good relationship with Zhong Yuemin, and it was clearly with the intention of currying favor, so he might know something.

Duan Ming asked back: "Why, do you want to organize something?"

Jiang Biyun said: "I don't have that kind of influence, and besides, you men haven't organized anything, why should I, a woman, be making a fuss~"

Duan Ming held his chopsticks and thought for a moment: "It's been two years in a blink of an eye. We were the only few youths who went from Beijing, and we haven't gathered once since coming back."

If it were in the past, Duan Ming certainly wouldn't have had this thought.

Without even a job, wandering around at home all day, with pockets cleaner than his face, what was the point of aimless tossing and turning.

But now it was different; here with Ning Weidong, although it was a Big Collective, it was at least a decent job, already surpassing the vast majority of his peers.

Duan Ming now had the reason and the strength to come out and show off.

In the evening, Zhao Ruyi got off work and drove to the company.

Seeing Ning Weidong, she asked: "Are people from the Soviet Union really coming!"

Ning Weidong had received a telegram during the day and had called Zhao Ruyi, but he hadn't gone into detail.

Ning Weidong nodded: "I didn't expect it either."

Zhao Ruyi clicked her tongue.

Ning Weidong said: "Let's not talk about that for now. Think about it, is there anywhere with an office building? I'm afraid it won't be enough with more people here."

Zhao Ruyi frowned and thought: "An office building... where would one find that~ unless you go to the suburbs."

Ning Weidong said: "No need to rush, just keep an ear out. It's best if it's in the city."

Zhao Ruyi agreed and added: "By the way, didn't you say last time you planned to get a winery~"

Ning Weidong had previously told Zhao Ruyi that he planned to start Smuggling with the Soviet Union people, beginning with alcohol.

But it wasn't that urgent; Ning Weidong planned to consider it after making contact with Natasha's father's side, but he didn't expect Zhao Ruyi to bring it up first.

He asked Zhao Ruyi for the situation.

Zhao Ruyi replied: "Today at work, I was chatting with a colleague, and they said there's a winery in Shunyi that can't keep operating and is living off loans..."

Ning Weidong listened carefully, and after she finished, he asked: "What's the scale of the winery, and what's the specific situation?"

Zhao Ruyi said: "The scale is actually not small; they say there are over three hundred people, and the nature is a Big Collective. I don't know anything else; it was just casual chatting today, and I didn't pester them for details."

Ning Weidong thought for a moment and said: "Tomorrow, try to find someone to ask about what the situation with that factory really is."

Zhao Ruyi said: "I happen to have a classmate at the First Light Industry Bureau; I'll call now."

After saying that, she went straight to the Office, grabbed the phone, and dialed.

Ning Weidong followed her and heard Zhao Ruyi say to the other end: "Hello, Gao Xinying... It's me, Zhao Ruyi, don't ask who it is!... I want to ask you something... Yes... there's a winery..."

The call lasted a few minutes, and Zhao Ruyi hung up and said: "She said she'd help me ask tomorrow."

Ning Weidong had anticipated this result; although the winery belonged to the First Light Industry Bureau, that winery was in an outer county and wasn't a famous large factory.

However, if he could really take down this winery, it would be good news.

That evening, after dinner, Zhao Ruyi didn't leave.

The bedroom she had decorated before was still there, and the two spent the night in tenderness...

Zhao Ruyi's classmate was quite reliable and gave a reply the next afternoon.

The situation at that winery was indeed similar to what Zhao Ruyi had said; it was already on the verge of bankruptcy and could only barely maintain operations.

It was just that it wouldn't be easy for Ning Weidong to take over the winery; there were currently no corresponding policies or regulations.

If he really wanted to use this winery, it could only be through an order-based or cooperative model.

Ning Weidong pondered, feeling that this model might not be secure, but since there was no better way at the moment, he decided to just wait and see.

He planned to take some time tomorrow to go see the site in person, and said to Zhao Ruyi, "Ruyi, leave the car with me tomorrow."

Zhao Ruyi said, "You want to go see it?"

Ning Weidong nodded: "This matter is of no small importance; I must certainly be more cautious."

……

The next day, Ning Weidong called Ning Wei and Liu Dong early in the morning, and drove straight to Shunyi.

It is about thirty-some kilometers from the city center of Beijing to Shunyi.

If this were in later generations, with high-standard roads built, it would take only half an hour to arrive.

But at this time, the road after leaving the city was not so easy to travel.

Coupled with the limited performance of this 212 Jeep, it swayed and jolted for over an hour before reaching the county seat.

This was only because Liu Dong knew the way and sat in the passenger seat to guide them; otherwise, they might not have arrived even after two hours if they had taken a wrong turn.

Fortunately, the weather was nice today, neither cold nor hot. Upon arriving at the crossroads of the county seat, Ning Weidong parked the car, and the three of them got out to stretch their limbs.

The journey just now had almost shaken their bones apart; even with Ning Weidong's physical fitness, it was a bit uncomfortable.

Next was to go down and ask about the specific location of the winery.

Ning Weidong took out a cigarette and lit one for himself. Ning Wei and Liu Dong went together to the grocery store nearby.

Before long, the two of them came out holding three bottles of soda.

Handing one bottle to Ning Weidong, Ning Wei raised his hand and pointed to the north: "Third Brother, the shop assistant said to go north from this road, and it's just past two intersections."

Ning Weidong nodded, tossed the cigarette in his hand aside, opened the soda, and finished it in a few gulps.

Ning Wei returned the soda bottles, the three of them got back in the car, and headed straight to the winery.

With a "creak," Ning Weidong slammed on the brakes and parked the car on the side of the street opposite the winery.

At this moment, the winery's rusted, mottled gate was wide open, and seven or eight horse-drawn carts were heading inside, fully loaded with what appeared to be raw materials for brewing.

It was mid-September, and the temperature near noon was not low; those horse-drawn carts were emitting a foul odor.

Ning Weidong did not feel compelled to rush over.

After those large carts had all gone in, he got out of the car unhurriedly and came to the winery entrance.

Ning Wei walked in front, went to the window of the dispatch room, and shouted "Comrade" inside.

"Little comrade, who are you looking for?" Inside the dispatch room was an elderly man in his fifties, who sized up the three of them.

Ning Wei said: "We are from Beijing and would like to see your Manager."

The old man in the dispatch room frowned. He hadn't seen Ning Weidong and the others get out of a car earlier, and only felt that these were three young people teasing him, so he couldn't help but be annoyed: "Go, go, go—stop spouting nonsense here."

Ning Wei was not flustered and immediately took out the Introduction Letter: "Comrade, this is our Introduction Letter."

In this day and age, an Introduction Letter was still quite effective.

Upon hearing there was an Introduction Letter, the old man in the dispatch room immediately took it seriously, took the letter through the window, and first looked at the header and the seal on it.

The header was actually the name of the 'Mechanical Department', so he dared not be negligent and put on a smiling face: "Three comrades, please wait a moment, I will call inside right now."

Before long, three middle-aged men came out from the winery.

Ning Weidong and the others had already entered from outside the gate. The three middle-aged men were startled when they approached, not expecting Ning Weidong and his group to be so young.

After meeting and introducing themselves, and checking the Introduction Letter, Manager Wang of the winery led Ning Weidong and the others to the reception room inside.

Calling it a reception room, it was actually just a conference room.

This winery covered a considerable area, but there wasn't a single multi-story building; the workshops and the Office were all single-story houses.

The ground was mostly dirt, with only a small portion paved with red bricks, though the flower bed in front of the Office was done quite well, lush and full of flowers.

"Manager Ning, I wonder what brings you to our factory?" Manager Wang asked cautiously.

Dongyi Company was a Section Level unit attached to a Ministry, which meant that Manager Ning Weidong was at least at the Section Level.

To be at the Section Level at this age—what kind of concept was that! And coming from Beijing, who knew what kind of big shot this was.

He was even more confused as to why the other party had traveled so far to his run-down winery. Ning Weidong, on the other hand, was somewhat disappointed; this so-called winery was truly too shabby.

With just a factory like this, how much fake liquor could they produce even if they ran at full capacity for a year.

Ning Weidong said with a smile: "Manager Wang, we came to the winery, of course, because we want to buy liquor."

Upon hearing this, Manager Wang's eyes lit up.

Just as Zhao Ruyi had learned previously, the operations of the Shunyi Winery had indeed not been very prosperous in the last two years.

It was a small local winery with no famous flagship products, only selling locally, or going through the channels of the Supply and Marketing Cooperative.

Sales through the Supply and Marketing Cooperative had been very poor these past two years, and quite a lot of liquor had been sitting on the counters of the Supply and Marketing Cooperative for several years.

Seeing the factory becoming increasingly difficult to run, he hadn't expected someone to come specifically from Beijing.

Manager Wang steadied himself; after all, he was a factory manager in charge of several hundred people, so he didn't make a fuss, but simply confirmed again: "Manager Ning, you want to buy our factory's liquor?"

Ning Weidong nodded: "Of course, not only do I want to buy, but I want as much as you have!"

Manager Wang and the two Deputy Factory Directors beside him were completely shocked; the tone of these words was too bold.

Although their factory's scale was not very large, the annual output had to be at least several dozen tons, which meant several tens of thousands of 500ml bottles.

Although Manager Wang felt it was unlikely, he did not refute it, but instead seized the opportunity: "Is Manager Ning serious about this!"

Ning Weidong said: "Naturally serious, however..."

Upon hearing this, Manager Wang had already anticipated it in his heart, guessing that Ning Weidong must have more to say.

Ning Weidong continued: "However, your original liquor won't do; it must undergo process modifications according to my requirements, and the outer packaging must also be re-ordered."

"Process modification?" Manager Wang frowned. He had worked in the winery his whole life and didn't think an outsider could point fingers at his profession.

But he was also clear about the factory's situation. Since a big shot had finally come, he simply endured it and asked: "I wonder how Manager Ning intends to modify it?"

Ning Weidong waved his hand: "No need to rush to talk about that; can you take me to see the workshop first?"

Manager Wang did not hesitate: "That's no problem."

After coming out of the reception room, he first went to the koji-making workshop...

Ning Weidong had some understanding of winemaking but it was not deep, so he just took a cursory look around the workshop.

The reason he proposed to take a look was mainly to observe the work attitude of the people at the Manager.

As expected, starting from 1976, a large number of youths returned to the cities.

In order to settle these people, the factory had to increase positions as much as possible; work that could originally be done by one person was forced to be split between two.

Naturally, the original salary for one person also had to be discounted.

This was a huge blow to the workers' enthusiasm for labor.

It takes a lifetime to learn to be good, but only a moment to learn to be bad.

Once the workload decreases, there are bound to be people sitting idle.

Earning the same salary, why should you be idle? I might as well not work hard either.

This is how overstaffing comes about.

Moreover, no matter where it is, when there are many idle people, trouble easily arises.

The operational difficulties of the Shunyi Winery over the past two years are also related to this factor.

Ning Weidong walked around with Factory Manager Wang and could clearly feel the laziness and slackness of the workers at the Manager.

He could not help but feel a mix of emotions in his heart.

It has only been a few years; at least in the early 1970s, whether it was a State-owned factory or a collective factory, the atmosphere was not like this.

At that time, workers were high-spirited and upward-looking; working more was glorious, and working less was shameful.

Even if someone tried to slack off or cheat, they had to do it secretly, fearing that others would discover it and point fingers at them behind their backs.

But now... the situation has reversed.

This is not even the worst of it; in a few more years, the situation will get worse and worse. Slacking off, cheating, and neglecting one's proper work will become something to brag about, while being steady and hardworking will become a derogatory term, and one will even be called a "moron" behind their back.

Ning Weidong took a deep breath and suppressed these thoughts in his mind; this was the inevitable evolution of the era, not something he could change.

He decided to simply focus on the matter at hand and look at the present.

After just taking a tour of the site, Ning Weidong still had not made up his mind about whether to start with this winery.

(End of this chapter)