[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-reborn-starting-from-1993":3,"chapter-reborn-starting-from-1993-reborn-starting-from-1993-chapter-4":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Reborn Starting from 1993",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2356988,4611,"Chapter 4: Chapter Four: Floor the Gas","reborn-starting-from-1993-chapter-4",4,"\u003Cp>“You don’t even open the window when you smoke? Are you trying to choke us to death?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Smoking this much first thing in the morning? Didn’t your wives let you get into bed last night?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Damn you all to hell—I can’t even see the yarn anymore!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The technical department was thick with smoke, provoking a chorus of furious curses from the women knitting sweaters; in this era, women were forces that held up half the sky, present in factories, land reclamation, and canal construction alike.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Due to national defense demands from recent years, women had also undergone militia training, and with the worsening security situation, their personalities had grown fiercely tough—those with gentle dispositions suffered in this world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The technical staff smoking paid no mind, laughing off the insults; these scoldings were milder than what their own wives hurled at them. Everyone’s temper was fiery these days—by night, residents of the dormitory buildings wouldn’t quiet down until midnight, shouting and cursing nonstop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the factory, such yelling was even more common; how could any day pass without it? If you couldn’t handle two shouted curses, you’d have been dead from rage long ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, entering a state-owned factory and securing a formal position meant a lifetime iron rice bowl; there was no such thing as dismissal in this era, unless you yourself caused trouble and quit. Even factory leaders couldn’t fire troublemakers—maximum punishment was a pay deduction, since the factory belonged to the state, and formal workers served the state; the leaders were merely managers on behalf of the state, theoretically no different from the workers, just with higher pay and benefits—what right did they have to fire anyone?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you truly didn’t care about promotion or even losing pay, then here, there was nothing to fear. Since you weren’t afraid, anyone you disliked got a full-blown verbal beating—otherwise, would you just swallow the insult? That’d be betraying yourself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Dongling continued reading the newspaper in his hands; after finishing it, he took several more from Zhou Wenyang’s desk and from Zhang Ao’s, who was napping, and studied the news, gaining a general sense of the past two years’ market conditions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Currently, the hottest sectors domestically were real estate and development zones; over twenty thousand real estate speculators had sprung up in Yazhou, including future giants like Feng Lun, Old Pan, and Wang from Vanke—all now upgrading their operations in Yazhou, likely learning the very tactics that would dominate the future right there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Hanxi Provincial Economic Daily, in Li Dongling’s hands, used several dubious little stories to report on Yazhou’s real estate frenzy: one man signed a contract at the sales office, hadn’t even stepped outside before someone offered him a higher price for the unit—he could flip it for instant profit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another man, drunk, had slept outside the sales office; when he woke up, he discovered he was the first in line to buy a home. As he tried to leave, several people rushed to buy his place, sparking a bidding war—eventually, a wealthy merchant from Xiangshan paid seventy thousand yuan for the privilege of being first to enter the sales office, making the man a millionaire overnight…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether these stories were true or not, they were written so vividly, as if witnessed firsthand, making people feel that if they went to Yazhou, they could pick up money no matter what they did.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at these reports, Li Dongling shook his head; people in this era hadn’t yet experienced many scams, and with the media’s authority in this age, many would surely be spurred to rush to Yazhou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beyond real estate, the concept of development zones was exploding nationwide—even Pingyang City wasn’t exempt, having demarcated a vast stretch of land for a development zone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After flipping through several newspapers with nearly identical reports, Li Dongling finally spotted something different in a corner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One paper reported news from Yanjing: facing this year’s doubled prices, rumors claimed higher authorities had ordered major banks and local banks to recover a portion of the loans they’d issued over the past few years. Whether true or false, the rumor had spread.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Dongling stared at this news for a long while before moving on, then read further reports on the severe strain in domestic transportation—trains, trucks, and buses all running at full capacity, and shortages of coal, oil, and raw materials like steel, iron, aluminum, and rare metals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After flipping through for a while, Li Dongling rubbed his eyes; after seeing these reports, he now understood the current domestic situation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Drinking tea and reading newspapers consumed most of the morning; several issues arose in the workshop, prompting calls for the technical department to respond.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the technical staff either kept reading or kept knitting—no one moved. Eventually, Department Head Xu Yiqiao personally called out Zhou Wenyang and another technician to go. By morning’s end, Li Dongling had mapped out the department fairly well and could already identify the old workhorses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After lunch, noticeably fewer people returned to the office; Xu Yiqiang didn’t seem surprised.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Dongling followed Zhou Wenyang on a tour of Xicheng Wireless Factory No. 1, gaining a deeper understanding of the plant—he’d once stayed here less than a week, and with others guiding him, he’d had no interest in learning the details.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Our Wireless Factory No. 1 used to be one of Pingyang’s major factories; our Feiyen radios were famous throughout Hanxi Province. In peak years, we paid over forty to fifty million yuan in taxes alone!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Speaking of the past, Zhou Wenyang’s eyes gleamed with pride—he joined the factory at its zenith, when wearing its uniform made you stand out; in Pingyang at the time, no fashionable outfit mattered more than a Xicheng Wireless Factory No. 1 uniform.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even during matchmaking, wearing the factory uniform nearly guaranteed success.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the time, TV and radio tickets hadn’t been abolished; buying radios or TVs required tickets. The factory distributed a few internal tickets during the New Year for employees to purchase their own TVs or radios—essentially a benefit. These tickets were fiercely sought after outside; selling for over a hundred yuan each was no problem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Now…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When speaking of the past, Zhou Wenyang’s eyes shone, but when he mentioned the present, he only sighed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching Zhou Wenyang, Li Dongling pondered: Zhou’s status as an old workhorse likely stemmed not just from his personality, but from genuine affection for Xicheng Wireless Factory No. 1—he couldn’t bear to see it collapse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Li Dongling toured with Zhou Wenyang, he was startled by the factory’s condition: though Feiyen radios and TVs were still being produced, inventory had piled up severely; drivers responsible for shipping had begun slacking off, even hiding inside to play cards. Zhou Wenyang took it in stride—clearly, this situation had persisted for a long time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The factory currently employed over three thousand people, including one thousand formal workers, but over two thousand temporary workers had been crammed into every department.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was just the active staff; the factory also paid pensions to retirees and covered their medical expenses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just these costs, plus fuel for the transport team, office supplies, and cafeteria subsidies, meant Li Dongling estimated Xicheng Wireless Factory No. 1’s monthly expenses at one to two million yuan—how many radios and TVs could it even sell each month?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tomorrow at eight a.m., everyone must report to the office for the full technical department meeting. Spread the word. Whoever doesn’t show up loses their bonus this month!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At quitting time, Xu Yiqiao, face grim, addressed the remaining staff—clearly seething with anger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t know what’s gotten into him!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Wenyang and a few other senior technicians looked deeply concerned; they rarely saw Xu Yiqiao this furious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Ao and the younger staff didn’t care—they were here only for the status and salary; what happened to Wireless Factory No. 1 didn’t concern them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Dongling also paid little attention; he borrowed a bicycle from Zhang Ao and headed toward the fertilizer plant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Beep!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A motorcycle’s roar came from behind Li Dongling; he turned to see Zhang Ao, clad in leather and sunglasses, riding a Suzuki 100 motorcycle with a woman behind him, looking utterly cool—completely unlike the man who’d slept like a corpse in the office.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Ao waved at Li Dongling, then slammed the throttle; the front wheel lifted sharply, making the woman scream and cling tightly to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Dongling clearly saw the smug grin beneath Zhang Ao’s sunglasses; watching him speed off with a twist of the throttle, Li Dongling shook his head with a smile—scenes like this were common in this era.\u003C\u002Fp>",1435,"2026-06-21T04:42:08.057Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","4de13942e3fe53873069e40525b3dbfbdd265983adb9cb0200ebe13a631ae2d4","reborn-starting-from-1993-chapter-5","reborn-starting-from-1993-chapter-3",989,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Freborn-starting-from-1993-cover.jpg"]