Chapter 1275: Building Construction

In the dormitory of Anyun University, the aroma of meat drifted through the air, mingled with the fresh scent of fruit.

They had all returned with dinner to eat alongside canned meat; Song Yunhui, who had arrived not long ago and had already eaten, did not join the meal but instead opened a jar of yellow peaches, sharing a piece with each person.

The other three ate with delight, praising it profusely.

"Little Song, your brother-in-law is truly generous."

Song Yunhui waved his hand: "He said their factory reformed its system, and combined with some savings, it's all spent from their old stash."

"Even so, he really went all out for you."

"It's because he treats my sister well." He fiddled with the fountain pen once used by General of the Army Douglas MacArthur.

"Earlier you mentioned your brother-in-law worked at your county's textile factory and developed the water-jet loom; how is its development progressing now?" Yu Shanqing asked.

This person was actually an old acquaintance of Wang Yan; a grown man who had once been scolded by Wang Yan until he cried...

Song Yunhui briefly outlined the situation, then nodded at the end: "He is quite capable; his time at university was not wasted."

In truth, he was merely being stubborn; during their earlier meal, he and Wang Yan had exchanged many thoughts, ranging from science and engineering to literature and history, from the county town to the nation, and from the nation to the international stage. Wang Yan's viewpoints and words always left him pondering for a long time, and he was already somewhat convinced.

However, he believed it was simply because Wang Yan was a few years older, had entered university earlier, had acquired more knowledge, and had encountered production sooner, thus possessing more practical experience...

"Not to criticize you, Little Song, but you must change your temper. When your brother-in-law gives you things, you immediately ask if he embezzled them; if I were your brother-in-law, I'd have the urge to kick you to death. Fortunately, your brother-in-law is magnanimous and doesn't care at all; otherwise, you'd be causing trouble for your sister."

"He wouldn't dare!" Song Yunhui snorted. "If he dares to bully my sister, I'll fight him to the death!"

"You..." Several people shook their heads.

Song Yunhui said nothing more, testing the pen for himself before putting on the new glasses Wang Yan had given him.

In truth, he was merely boasting to these people; after interacting with Wang Yan, his impression of him was very favorable, feeling Wang Yan was a good person worthy of trust. Although the future remained uncertain, he believed there was a high probability Wang Yan was reliable.

Therefore, with Wang Yan absent at this moment, he indulged in a little boasting; today, he indeed had much face.

He was not a vain person, nor one who loved to boast, but he was a young man, one who had only arrived in the big city a year ago and had broadened his horizons.

As for the boasting, it referred to fighting Wang Yan to the death...

Because he had previously asked whether the journey had been smooth and if they had encountered thieves, whereupon Song Yunping had told him about the incident that occurred upon disembarking and exiting the station: Wang Yan had fought eight men alone, opponents who even carried knives; this combat prowess was off the charts.

He despairingly realized that his future good brother-in-law surpassed him in every aspect.

Yet he did not become discouraged; instead, he applied himself even more diligently to his studies...

Yu Shanqing and the others seized the opportunity to discuss how the county town might develop in the future, and if reform were truly to occur, how the countryside should be reformed, and so on.

They were all university students, and their enthusiasm for participating in and deliberating on political affairs was extremely high. Of course, decades later it would be the same, no different from those passionately engaging in keyboard politics; the difference was that the former could actually ascend to power...

While this group discussed Wang Yan, over at the guesthouse, Song Yunping was also speaking to Wang Yan about her good younger brother.

"You really discouraged Little Hui today."

"Then was I right or wrong?"

"Definitely right; he needs to know that beyond the mountains there are higher mountains, and beyond people there are greater people; he cannot be arrogant, complacent, or conceited."

Wang Yan smiled: "Actually, Little Hui studies very well; he will certainly achieve great things in the future."

"I don't seek any great achievements; as long as he lives safely and peacefully, managing his life well, that is enough."

"Little Hui has ambition and aspirations; you couldn't stop him from achieving even if you wanted to."

Song Yunping nodded, fell into a brief silence, then said: "Thank you; this trip of yours is again..."

"Here you go again." Wang Yan walked over and sat beside her. "Tell me, I have no parents, no relatives, no acquaintances; we two are already a family, so your parents are my parents, and your younger brother is my younger brother; why be so polite? You keep saying thank you, yet you never show any actual gratitude."

"Then... should I repay you with money?"

"What would I want your money for? Just give me a kiss."

"Uh... that's not appropriate..."

"It's just the two of us in this room; no one is watching. We'll be married in a few months, and everyone in the county knows we are a couple; what's inappropriate about it?"

"Then just one kiss; you're not allowed to think of anything else."

"What 'anything else'?" Wang Yan asked with a smile.

"You're not allowed to think of anything at all." Song Yunping widened her eyes.

"Come on; I'm ready."

"I'm not ready yet."

"At times like this, a man should be a bit more proactive; I'll do it myself."

Thus, Wang Yan cupped Song Yunping's face with both hands, kissed her on the lips, and naturally lay down on the bed...

After a long while, Song Yunping, her face flushed with shame, gasping heavily, daring not to meet Wang Yan's eyes, forced her weakening body to rise: "It's getting late; I... I'll go get some hot water; you wash your feet, and after washing, go to sleep early..."

Having spoken, she wiped the saliva from her lips, grabbed the thermos in the room, and hurried out.

She returned shortly after; under Wang Yan's smiling gaze, she mixed the foot-washing water, and just before leaving, upon meeting Wang Yan's eyes, she quickly looked away again, closed the door, and went to her own room.

Wang Yan shook his head with a smile, lit a cigarette for himself, and comfortably soaked his feet...

Over the following few days, Wang Yan spent his days taking Song Yunping to tour various sights in Anyun, enjoying the scenery and taking photos, while spending his evenings eating and chatting with Song Yunhui; after spending a happy week, they finally returned home.

Wang Yan left Song Yunhui some money along with various local coupons; when Song Yunhui wondered strangely where Wang Yan had obtained so much money and coupons, Wang Yan naturally would not say he had taken time to exchange with people at the local black market, claiming only that he had traded using his own savings, urging Song Yunhui not to hardship himself and to focus on his studies.

Song Yunhui naturally refused sternly, firmly declining to accept; it was only after Song Yunping gained a new understanding of her relationship with Wang Yan that she persuaded her good younger brother to accept.

And so, under Song Yunhui's reluctant farewell, Wang Yan and Song Yunping boarded the train, traveling all the way in sleeper berths back to Jin Ling County...

Nowadays, Jin Ling County appeared far busier than before.

This change naturally stemmed from the textile factory.

Although the textile factory employed only over eight hundred staff in total, its impact on the entire county was enormous.

One-third of the water-jet loom's components were produced across several different factories scattered throughout the county; furthermore, because the textile factory paid promptly and did not suppress prices, these factories closely followed the textile factory's lead, raising employee benefits alongside it. Although not as substantial as those at the textile factory, their incomes had nonetheless increased.

Thus, this radiated to over a thousand people; including their families, even after removing duplicates, it affected at least three thousand individuals, which already accounted for one-tenth of the county town's population.

The raw materials purchased for factory operations represented an increase; the employee consumption driven by improved benefits represented an increase; the county town's freight throughput had also risen significantly. The flow of people active on the streets had increased as well.

Because the factory did not observe a uniform Sunday rest day but instead operated on rotating shifts, during rest periods, those with spending power naturally went out to stroll.

Sales of various goods rose in tandem at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, state-run stores, state-run restaurants, and similar venues. Even bicycles on the streets increased in number, all owned by workers from the textile factory.

There is data to support this; before the New Year, Wang Yan specifically had someone compile statistics: out of eight hundred employees at the time, over fifty had purchased bicycles. The reason they hadn't bought more was simply that there were no bicycles left; every bicycle in the county had been bought up by the textile factory workers...

Another reason was that people were waiting for the Phoenix brand to restock. At one hundred eighty yuan per bicycle, a coupon was still required, yet the people trusted the Phoenix brand.

They believed the factory would continue to improve, so they were willing to spend money. Especially in households with three, four, or even five working members, families were buying two or three bicycles each.

This made some factory workers with fewer children at home extremely envious; according to what Wang Yan heard, they were all holding their breath and striving to have children. In fact, by the end of last year, some women were already pregnant...

Actually, there was another major reason for this: family planning.

Although it had not yet been officially established as a national policy at this time, pilot programs had already begun in certain regions. The masses had heard rumors, leading to a rush to give birth before restrictions tightened.

But while others did not know, the textile factory workers dared to have children precisely because the factory gave them the courage. After all, raising children costs money, and they believed being able to afford it was crucial.

Of course, one cannot exclude factors such as preferring sons over daughters, or simply some people's willingness to have more children...

Wang Yan returned to the factory and held a meeting with the leaders of the original textile factory.

The current textile factory had effectively formed two sets of leadership teams. One was the original textile factory, responsible for its traditional textile business and the promotion of weaving looms. The other was the original Agricultural Machinery Factory, where the former leadership had all been retained; they were responsible for their original agricultural machinery business as well as the newly added weaving loom production operations.

Both belonged to the textile factory, with Wang Yan, as the deputy factory director, overseeing the overall situation, arranging personnel uniformly, and conducting unified financial accounting.

Seven or eight people sat in the conference room; even the youngest among them were over thirty-five, all high-ranking leaders.

Wang Yan sat in the seat below Factory Director Old Qi, passed a round of cigarettes, and asked, "Old Factory Director, how did the negotiations go with the county and the Shoe and Garment Factory?"

"County Head Xu agreed, the Administration for Industry and Commerce agreed, Secretary Gong agreed in principle but said we should wait until after the inspection to discuss specifics, while the leaders of the Shoe and Garment Factory are hesitant and have no definite idea."

Old Factory Director Qi took a drag from his cigarette, drank some tea, let out a long sigh, and said, "Wang Yan, we are drifting further and further away from Secretary Gong."

"Yes, Wang Yan, regardless of what you say, Secretary Gong is the number one leader in the county; shouldn't we try to ease relations?" Old Li, who had already arranged for his relatives to enter the factory, chimed in to advise.

"Hedging your bets only makes both sides hate you. Let's just endure it for a while; once he is transferred away, everything will be fine."

Wang Yan did not take as firm a stance as he had in private with Old Factory Director Qi; with so many people present and so many scheming minds, one still had to be cautious.

He continued, "Spread the word among the workers of the Shoe and Garment Factory that we intend to merge with their factory; we must fully mobilize the masses and let the county hear the voices of the Shoe and Garment Factory workers."

Everyone laughed, yet they also felt worried, as this moved them even further contrary to Secretary Gong's wishes.

It wasn't that Secretary Gong disagreed; he wanted the textile factory to operate under his brilliant leadership, in which case everything would be easy to discuss. Now, Wang Yan's actions were essentially forcing Secretary Gong to agree. Regardless, the man was the number one leader, so this was definitely an issue; even if the county leadership team changed in the future, this would serve as a cautionary tale and remain a hidden danger.

Clearly, Wang Yan did not care.

Seeing that no one voiced opposition, Wang Yan asked, "Have the personnel and itinerary been finalized?"

Old Factory Director Qi replied, "It was already decided that we would leave as soon as you returned; there are eight people in total: three from our factory, two from the Shoe and Garment Factory, and three from the county."

"Don't forget to buy some samples when you go; absolutely do not be overly frugal. You are going on an inspection, not to suffer hardship. Stand tall, be a bit bold in temperament; otherwise, they will think we are country bumpkins and look down on us, making things difficult to handle."

"You little rascal looking for a beating; now you're educating me?"

For a moment, laughter and playful banter filled the conference room, and the atmosphere remained quite relaxed.

After the laughter subsided, Wang Yan arranged some other tasks, focusing mainly on the sales of weaving looms, followed by the renovation and expansion of production workshops regarding future clothing production, and once again raised the issue of wastewater treatment.

"Old Li, you are responsible for this matter; it was decided before the New Year, yet there has been no movement until now. You are a leader with the authority to make decisions, but the people below are not flexible enough in executing tasks. This time, you will lead the team personally to consult relevant experts and bring back a plan for us.

Do not fear spending money; this is a matter concerning a hundred years. We cannot make profits while the people of the county gain no benefit and even suffer harm to their health from the wastewater we discharge; that would truly be heinous.

"Alright, I will take a team tomorrow," Old Li agreed with a nod.

Wang Yan added a few more instructions: do not be too frugal; while away from home, eat well, drink well, and rest well. After all, they were all veteran comrades, and life was not easy for them.

He then continued, "These past few days, I have been pondering something. We have over a million yuan lying in our accounts, and orders continue to increase. I previously made a judgment that within two or three years, we need not worry about selling our weaving looms, and our economic benefits are secured.

Investment in research and development is certainly necessary, but currently, our factory lacks talent; primarily, I am still leading everyone in the work. By my estimation, researching machines does not require excessive investment, after all, I developed the weaving loom entirely on my own. Even after deducting the costs for our factory's expansion, the garment factory's renovation, equipment replacement, and so on, we still have surplus funds.

Our county town still cannot compare to the city; I went out and took a look recently, and many state-run factories in the city are constructing buildings. 'Upstairs and downstairs, electric lights and telephones'—we have been chanting this slogan for several years..."

"You want to build buildings?" The deputy factory director in charge of production enthusiastically interrupted Wang Yan.

Wang Yan nodded with a smile: "I wonder what all you leaders think?"

"Agreed!"

"Agreed!"

A whole chorus of agreements, without a moment's hesitation.

Only Old Factory Director Qi remained somewhat clear-headed; he coughed once and said hesitantly, "Isn't this moving too fast? Factory buildings, equipment, research and development, hiring, pensions, medical care, taxes... these are all expenditures. Once we start building, how do we distribute the housing? Who goes first and who goes last? How large should the units be? These are all contradictions; won't the factory end up fighting amongst itself?"

"We have enough to cover those expenditures; they are all calculated into the cost per weaving loom. Later, as we improve equipment and increase production, we can further reduce costs. As for the factory fighting, surely we cannot refrain from building just because we fear conflict? The workers in our county town also deserve 'upstairs and downstairs, elevators and telephones.'

Our workers are good workers; they will certainly understand our difficulties. Furthermore, we won't stop after building just one or two buildings; everyone will get one, it is merely a matter of time.

Regarding this issue, my preliminary idea is to allocate housing based on the order in which people joined our textile factory. Workers from the original textile factory will receive housing in the first batch. Workers from the original Agricultural Machinery Factory will receive housing in the second batch. Taking the family as the unit, we will calculate an appropriate area. We must fully consider the demographic structure of each worker's family, account for future marriage, childbirth, and elderly care situations, and leave some room for expansion."

"Are we really building?" The old factory director still dared not make the decision; once construction on these buildings began, it could not stop until all workers were housed, otherwise, it would cause unrest.

"Let me put it another way. Let's speak some words behind closed doors; if this leaks out, I will not let any of you off. Whoever leaks this news is a traitor to our textile factory and an enemy of all our workers."

While speaking, Wang Yan passed another round of cigarettes, took a sip of tea, spat out the tea leaves, and then continued, "Do you think the money in our accounts truly belongs to us? Even if you leaders are not entirely clear on the county's situation, you know the general outline. Nowhere is it easy; money is scarce everywhere, and there are holes everywhere.

Currently, our factory is in a growth phase with strong momentum, so the county has not made a move yet. But once our situation stabilizes, it won't take long, perhaps by the second half of the year, the county will come to us demanding money to plug other holes, or even just to pocket some for themselves. Will we give it or not?"

As soon as Wang Yan spoke these words, everyone fell silent.

Everyone had their own factional interests. Except for Wang Yan, those present found it very difficult to think beyond the textile factory; having money in their own accounts made them happy even if they were not corrupt, making their tenure as cadres comfortable. If the county truly took it away, things would become unbearable...

Thus, the old factory director nodded, and everyone agreed.

Of course, the cadres from the Agricultural Machinery Factory side were not present, but there was no need to guess; no one would refuse.

With opinions unified, Wang Yan nodded satisfactorily and continued, "Then we must consider how to construct them."

Old Li clearly caught the tail end of Wang Yan's train of thought and tentatively said, "Why don't we merge with the county's construction company as well?"

"As expected of a veteran comrade; Old Li's ideological awareness is very high." Wang Yan nodded even more satisfactorily, took a drag from his cigarette, lifted his head, and said, "Continue, Old Li."

"The construction company was established the year before last; they handled the county's roads, bridges, and other construction projects. The company has fewer than one hundred employees and possesses equipment such as winches, concrete mixers, and mortar mixers. When work begins, they assign tasks to the communes below, having them provide labor, and settle work points with the communes.

We hired them to do the expansion of our textile factory's workshops this time. I followed up on this matter personally, so I am quite familiar with the situation. If we merge with them, we will have both the equipment and the personnel.

However, there is a major problem, Wang Yan: merging with the construction company is not difficult, as their situation is not particularly good either. The fear is that after we merge, the county will assign us construction tasks, and upon completion, they will not settle the bills with us, leaving us with massive losses. How can a single factory withstand the engineering projects of an entire county? If we open this precedent, we will be finished in the future."

Wang Yan acknowledged Old Li's point, nodding and saying, "But looking at the current situation, merging with the construction company is still more appropriate. Otherwise, if they take a cut in the middle, we will end up paying even more. If we were to establish our own construction team, they would be the first to jump out and oppose us. As for the county's future engineering projects, we will deal with soldiers as they come and water as it flows; let us first get this matter settled properly.

"Old Liu, you'll handle this matter. Later, we'll go to the county seat to hold a meeting and finalize it; at that time, you will follow through. Work together with the construction company to prepare the budget for building the apartments, and at the same time, finalize the list for the first batch of housing allocations. This matter is a powder keg; any bias will set it off. Old Liu, you absolutely cannot be careless."

"Rest assured, I will be completely fair and impartial."

"Good, let's leave this matter here for now. Let's continue by discussing some of the recent problems within the factory..."