Chapter 18: Chapter Eighteen: Support

Now, ten-thousand-yuan households are no longer rare, but those with assets exceeding a million still number barely a handful, and those who can muster a million in cash are even rarer—this sum alone could buy ten hundred-square-meter apartments in Shanghai, Beijing, and other places!

Of course, in the early stages, not all profits from the satellite dish will be distributed as dividends; some funds must be retained to build factories and expand production capacity, but right now, satellite dishes are selling like hotcakes, so we can collect payment before shipping—the strong cash flow has already begun to manifest.

By the end of this month, the satellite dish project will definitely make its first dividend distribution; after the Yuanqi Factory repays its bank debts and outstanding loans, the remainder will begin to count as pure profit.

And for Li Dongling, he can now receive continuous dividends from the Guanxing Satellite Dishes!

Upon securing over twenty thousand orders, bringing revenue past eight million seven hundred thousand, Zhang Xiao did not publicize the news widely, but some things simply cannot be hidden—especially such massive activity from the Yuanqi Factory.

The Yuanqi Factory has been continuously drawing workers over from Wireless Factory No. 1; nearly a thousand of the factory’s three thousand employees have now transferred to Yuanqi, and even many formal, officially registered workers from Wireless Factory No. 1 have defected, because wages here are higher, and Yuanqi Factory, eager to meet production deadlines and flush with profits, keeps raising employee benefits.

Although base salaries at Yuanqi Factory remain roughly comparable to those at Wireless Factory No. 1, bonuses are extremely generous—sometimes workers earn bonuses for being among the top three in daily output, pushing their combined monthly earnings to six or seven hundred yuan, making this among the very highest compensation packages in all of Pingyang City, across every unit and state-owned enterprise!

Currently, over fifteen hundred workers at Yuanqi Factory are busy, and with so many large and small trucks coming and going, the factory’s booming activity has spread far and wide; the rumor that the Yuanqi Factory in Shangguan Town earned over eight million in just half a month has reached the ears of many in Pingyang.

Upon hearing the news of twenty-four thousand satellite dish orders, Zheng Zutai rushed over in a panic.

“You really secured over twenty thousand orders?!” Zheng Zutai asked Zhang Xiao.

Seeing Zhang Xiao nod, Zheng Zutai couldn’t suppress his joy—his bulbous nose flushed red with excitement—and he said to Zhang Xiao and Li Dongling, “Brother Zhang, Brother Li, I always knew you’d make it happen; from the very beginning, I backed this project…”

At this moment, Zheng Zutai had completely forgotten the scene when he’d come here before, sternly berating Zhang Xiao—anyone who brought up that incident now would find him furious.

Just thinking about the satellite dish dividends Pingyang TV Station would receive, Zheng Zutai’s heart pounded hard—the profits from the satellite dish far exceeded his expectations. He’d anticipated it might make money, but never imagined it would make this much!

Zhang Xiao saw through Zheng Zutai’s thoughts: “By month’s end, the satellite dish project will make its first dividend distribution, but only half the profits will be distributed—the rest will be used to purchase land and expand production.”

“I understand!” Zheng Zutai replied with a smile—even half the profits would mean over four hundred thousand yuan for Pingyang TV Station, and this is only the first payout; given the satellite dish’s current momentum, Pingyang TV Station’s dividends could easily multiply many times over—the more dividends Pingyang TV Station receives, the stronger Zheng Zutai’s position within the station becomes!

“Also,” Zhang Xiao made no effort to conceal this from Zheng Zutai, “the profits generated within Pingyang City will continue to be shared with Pingyang TV Station as usual, but when entering other cities or even other provinces, we must partner with local TV stations, and the share allocated to Pingyang TV Station will be reduced.”

“Still, we’ll reserve about five percent for Pingyang TV Station, Brother Zheng—please tell your station this is unavoidable…”

Zheng Zutai’s expression flickered between doubt and understanding—he knew Zhang Xiao spoke truthfully. They couldn’t expect Pingyang TV Station to profit from the satellite dish while denying other local stations the chance to earn too; besides, for the satellite dish to succeed in new markets and gain local users’ trust, it absolutely needed support from local TV stations—he understood that well.

“I’ll report this to our station leadership—I’m sure they’ll understand!”

Zheng Zutai said. Now it wasn’t the Yuanqi Factory begging the TV station—it was the TV station begging the Yuanqi Factory not to kick them out. The Yuanqi Factory had already risen; if it chose to act like a thug and withhold dividends as agreed, the TV station had no recourse whatsoever. Given the satellite dish’s earning power, the Yuanqi Factory’s tax contributions, and the jobs it provided, who would the Pingyang municipal government side with? It was obvious!

“Director Wei, the Yuanqi Factory’s Zhang Xiao says this: the first dividend will be distributed by month’s end, and your station can expect around four hundred thousand yuan.”

“For Pingyang City’s revenue, the arrangement remains unchanged, but for revenue from outside the city, your station will receive only about five percent.”

Upon returning to the station, Zheng Zutai immediately reported the situation to Wei Changyuan, director of Pingyang TV Station.

In the director’s office, Wei Changyuan was practicing calligraphy—he greatly loved the art. Having spent years at the Hanxi Provincial TV station, he was transferred to Pingyang and single-handedly founded today’s Pingyang TV Station; virtually everyone within the station answered to him.

Hearing Zheng Zutai’s report, Wei Changyuan didn’t stop until he finished writing a full calligraphy piece with fluid, dragon-and-snake strokes, then finally paused.

“It’s only right—the profits from outside our region don’t belong to our station; giving less is only fair.”

Far from showing dissatisfaction as Zheng Zutai had feared, Wei Changyuan seemed unsurprised: “You’ve worked hard on this—we should all thank you!”

“It’s thanks to your leadership, Director—I merely followed your guidance.”

Wei Changyuan paid no mind to Zheng Zutai’s flattery; after a moment’s thought, he looked at Zheng Zutai and said, “Old Liu, who heads our advertising and sponsorship department, will retire by year’s end. Starting next month, you’ll temporarily take over his duties—lighten his burden. He’s worked his whole life; now that he’s nearing retirement, he deserves some rest.”

Hearing this, Zheng Zutai’s heart leapt with joy—Old Liu was the station’s deputy director; for Wei Changyuan to assign him Old Liu’s responsibilities meant he was being groomed for the deputy director position.

“I will fulfill every task you assign me, Director!”

Zheng Zutai told Wei Changyuan. Wei Changyuan was still under forty—he had a real chance of returning to the provincial station. When that happened, the position of Pingyang TV Station director would be open, and Zheng Zutai had a strong chance of claiming it.

“Was the satellite dish project originally proposed by Li Dongling?”

Wei Changyuan asked Zheng Zutai. Zheng Zutai sensed that his director seemed unusually interested in Li Dongling—earlier, the thirty-thousand-yuan loan to the Yuanqi Factory had been Wei Changyuan’s idea.

Zheng Zutai smiled: “It must have been Li Dongling. Zhang Xiao, since becoming factory head of Shangguan Town Yuanqi Factory all these years, never achieved anything—he was nearly bankrupt. But since Li Dongling came, how short a time has passed, and the factory has been revived! This graduate of Hanxi Jiaotong University is truly exceptional.”

“If you’re interested, I can arrange a dinner with Li Dongling—we can all meet up!”

“Maybe someday,” Wei Changyuan mused, then, as if recalling something, waved his hand for Zheng Zutai to leave. Zheng Zutai dared not say more and turned to go.

After Zheng Zutai left, Wei Changyuan paced back and forth several times, his hand reaching several times for the phone on his desk, only to pull it back each time—finally, he didn’t make the call.

“Transfer Li Dongling, Zhou Wenyang, Zhang Ao, Fan Xugang—all their work records—to Shangguan Town Yuanqi Factory?!”

In the manager’s office of Xicheng Wireless Factory No. 1, Xu Yiqiao, head of the Technical Section, trembled as he stared at the list handed to him by Liu Jiande.

Though he’d suspected Liu Jiande might pull this move, he hadn’t expected it to happen so quickly, so ruthlessly—sweeping out every single technician sent over.

“But what if the Shangguan Town Yuanqi Factory refuses to accept their transfers?”

In Xu Yiqiao’s mind, Shangguan Town Yuanqi Factory was still that place on the brink of collapse, with hundreds of workers nobody wanted. It wasn’t so much a transfer as an outright expulsion.

“Bang!”

Liu Jiande slammed his fist on the desk, startling Xu Yiqiao badly: “You know the factory’s situation—how many workers haven’t even received their wages? They’re not even here, yet they’re still occupying positions—what is this, ghost payroll?!”

“Handle this today. If you don’t finish it, you’ll be fired along with them!”

“I understand!”

Xu Yiqiao gritted his teeth. Though he felt bad for Old Huangniu Zhou Wenyang, at this moment, he had no choice—he had to save himself.

At Shangguan Town Yuanqi Factory, Zhou Wenyang was stunned when he learned his work records and files had been removed from Wireless Factory No. 1—the meaning was obvious: if Yuanqi Factory didn’t accept him, he’d be laid off.

Being suddenly expelled from a place where he’d worked for over a decade left Zhou Wenyang utterly lost.

Zhang Ao, Fan Xugang, and the others paid no mind to the transfer—they didn’t take it seriously.

“If Xicheng Wireless Factory No. 1 doesn’t want you, I do! I’ll process your paperwork and files right away!” Zhang Xiao said, waving his hand—right now, he hoped Li Dongling and the others would all join Yuanqi Factory.

Li Dongling shook his head, glanced casually at the transfer notice, and said to Zhang Xiao, “No need—I’m leaving.”