Chapter 310

Li Ye arrived at his own courtyard in Zhongguancun and saw Jiang Hong and a few fellow villagers eating hot pot.

These grown men all had high wages, and without their mothers or wives around to manage them, they were much more free-spirited in spending money on food than Yang Yumin's family.

"Brother Xiao Ye, have you eaten? Hurry up and sit down..."

"Xiaoyong, go get another pair of chopsticks and another wine cup."

Jiang Hong saw Li Ye enter the door and pulled him to sit down for a drink.

Li Ye sat down first, then smiled and refused: "I've already eaten, Uncle Hong. I just came to talk about something: there's a courtyard near the Zoo, so find some time to have people go over and fix up a bathroom and a toilet..."

"Sure. Anyway, some people have been idle lately. I'll go over and take a look tomorrow, then start preparing the materials. It can be finished in three to five days."

Li Ye asked with surprise: "Some people are idle? Aren't you all working?"

Jiang Hong said: "It wasn't peaceful on the market a while ago, so some more people came from our hometown, but now there's a 'strike hard' campaign, so who would dare to cause trouble? That's why we don't need so many people.

I originally wanted to let some people go home, but Jin Peng wouldn't let them leave, saying he was afraid there wouldn't be enough hands in the future! I don't know if it's true or not."

"We really don't have enough hands," Li Ye said: "Before or after the New Year, we might open a branch in Jinmen. At that time, you old employees will have to go over to lead the newcomers!"

"Then I'm relieved," Jiang Hong nodded and said: "Everyone is a down-to-earth person and always feels uncomfortable eating idle rice. If you have any other relatives or friends who want to renovate their bathrooms or toilets, just have them do it all at once during this time."

"It's freezing cold, so let's not go to the trouble if it's not necessary."

Li Ye said to Jiang Hong: "But I think renovating bathrooms is also a business. If anyone from our hometown is willing to do this next year, you can have them come and form a renovation team."

"Can this work?" Jiang Hong frowned and said: "A while ago, some new regulations were issued to crack down on economic crimes, and quite a few people from our hometown were unlucky! Old Xu and Old Zhang's families both sent telegrams, worriedly asking them to go back."

Li Ye thought for a moment and said: "I'll find someone to ask for you; anyway, there's no rush this year. But I don't think doing renovations falls into the category of being cracked down on."

There was indeed a wave of campaigns to crack down on economic crimes in '83. The novelist Shuoye was caught this year because he took six thousand yuan from the army to buy color TVs and then resold electrical appliances to earn extra money.

But what was being cracked down on were unlicensed and uncertified acts of speculation. Manual labor jobs were relatively more tolerated.

Li Ye got up to say goodbye, but when he reached the door, he said to Jiang Hong: "Number 18, East Sixth Alley ahead, is a house belonging to a classmate of mine. While you're at it, fix up the bathroom and toilet in his house too! Have Jin Peng take the money from my private account."

"Sure, it's just a matter of lending a hand."

Jiang Hong agreed crisply.

Li Ye drove back to Zaojunmiao, handed the car keys to his sister Li Yue, and then said: "I ran into Yang Yujiao today."

Li Yue was clearly startled, then said calmly: "So what if you ran into her! Why, did you go to your classmate's house with him today?"

"No, I went to Zhongguancun to find Uncle Hong today, and Yang Yujiao recognized this car..."

Li Ye frankly told her what happened today, then asked: "But Yang Yumin's mother said a lot of confusing things to me, saying she would absolutely not drag Yang Yumin down or something. I don't quite understand... Do you know what's going on?"

Li Yue stared at Li Ye for a full ten seconds, as if she wanted to see through Li Ye's heart.

But Li Yue had only been working for a few years, while Li Ye was a person who had lived for decades across two lifetimes; his cultivation was much higher than hers.

Finally, Li Yue whispered: "She told me that at the time too, so I asked Yang Yumin what was going on. Yang Yumin wouldn't say, so I pried it out of Yang Yujiao—it seems Yang Yumin was adopted by his mother..."

Li Ye was surprised.

He hadn't expected that Yang Yumin, who usually looked smart and cheerful, had such a life story.

Li Ye thought for a moment and said: "Don't ask Yang Yumin about this again in the future. Just act like you don't know about it."

Li Yue rolled her eyes and said disdainfully: "Do you think I'm stupid? Do I need you to tell me?"

Li Ye exhaled in anger and said again: "In a few days, when the Xiushuijie market opens, have Yang Yumin rent a storefront; his family's knife-cut noodles are not bad."

Li Yue pondered for a moment and said with some worry: "The rent on Xiushuijie is expensive; can selling knife-cut noodles make a profit?"

Li Ye said with disdain: "What do you know? If the location is chosen correctly, even selling dirt will make money."

"."

"I don't know anything, but I know how to beat you!"

"Scamper, scamper, scamper~"

Li Ye was quick-witted and escaped.

Late December, Changping.

In the finished product workshop of the Changbei Machinery Factory, there were at least over a hundred people standing, but almost no human voice could be heard.

Inside the entire workshop, there was only the sound of sewing machines, vibrating and echoing like the wings of small bees.

Ten sewing machines were lined up in the workshop, buzzing for an hour already.

Ten sewing machine operators continuously used various materials and fabrics of various thicknesses to conduct acceptance tests under the watchful eyes of everyone.

And on the power supply side of these ten sewing machines, there were even electricity meters connected to test data regarding power consumption.

Among the crowd watching, there were the Hong Kong investors, personnel from relevant departments in Changping, Manager Jin Peng representing Fenghua Clothing, and Li Ye, Li Dayong, and Pei Wenhui, who were standing in the distance watching the excitement.

"Brother, that investment director from Hong Kong looks a bit arrogant! He's clearly just an employee, but he looks even more arrogant than Mr. Pei."

Li Dayong looked at Hu Shangmin, the investment director of the Ceris Company who was in the "C-position," and was somewhat displeased.

He felt that the vast majority of the credit for the development and trial production of this new type of sewing machine belonged to his teacher Cao Zhisheng, Tang Mingtai, and Pei Wenhui.

But ever since Hu Shangmin took over, Pei Wenhui hasn't been in charge of much, and the research team led by Cao Zhisheng couldn't even squeeze into the front row.

It seemed as if all the glory had fallen on "irrelevant" people.

But Li Ye said indifferently: "Arrogance is right. If he weren't arrogant, he might really not be able to get things done."

Investing in mainland enterprises is a science. People at the level of Li Dayong and Pei Wenhui can only deal with science and engineering guys like Cao Zhisheng; if they really had to face personnel from relevant departments, it would be impossible to negotiate as equals.

And Li Ye just observed Hu Shangmin, whom Pei Wencong sent to the mainland to be responsible for mainland investment projects, and felt that he had already adapted to this job.

He puts on airs when he should, and is humble when he should be. With different attitudes toward different people, he already had a calm composure.

Li Dayong said with some sullen anger: "Brother, I know these things too, but my teacher and the others are responsible for technical development,

and Tang Mingtai even gave up his job at the Third Machinery Factory to come and serve as our technical manager. Yet now, they don't even have a chance to show their faces. Will they still be able to get things done in their unit in the future?"

"If they are destined to be bullied like before, aren't we harming them?"

In fact, Li Dayong isn't stupid; he just feels it's not worth it for his teacher and Tang Mingtai.

But children who haven't experienced the beatings of society will never understand the helplessness and class rules within this.

Pei Wenhui pulled Li Dayong's arm and whispered: "You don't need to worry too much. Whether they can get things done actually depends on us. Hu Shangmin is only arrogant on the surface.

But you can't tell the teachers this, otherwise you'll cause trouble for Mr. Li; he's the major shareholder."

Pei Wenhui grew up in Hong Kong, and her way of thinking about things is different from Li Dayong's. She and Li Dayong are shareholders, and making money is the problem she should consider. Whether others can get things done depends more on themselves.

As long as Cao Zhisheng, Tang Mingtai, and the others continue to update the technology, the company will absolutely not let them suffer losses. But once a technical manager puts the cart before the horse and relies on relationships to build a faction, that would go against Li Ye's original intention.

After a full two hours, the ten sewing machine operators finally stopped their work.

After a brief exchange, warm applause suddenly erupted in the workshop.

Clearly, this first batch of improved sewing machines fully met the usage requirements.

The machinery factory employees who were standing on the periphery with Li Ye and the others also excitedly followed suit and applauded.

Workers in this day and age don't yet have the concept of "if this place doesn't keep me, there's a place that will." Once they enter a factory, they are people of the factory for a lifetime. If the factory's efficiency is not good and they can't issue bonuses, it's like their mother being sick—it's really worrying.

Now it's better; there are new products and foreign businessmen have come. Seeing that life will be prosperous in the future, which worker wouldn't be happy?

Li Ye pulled Li Dayong and whispered: "We should go. The rest is Jin Peng and Hu Shangmin's business."

Li Ye and Li Dayong came today to deal with unexpected situations, but now that the sewing machine performance meets the standards and the relevant departments seem to attach great importance to it, the remaining matters don't need the three "shareholders" to make decisions on the spot.

They quietly left the workshop, got in the car, and drove out of the gate of the Changbei Machinery Factory.

By the evening, Jin Peng sent back news.

There is no problem with the joint venture in principle, and the procedures will likely be completed before the Spring Festival. It's just that Hong Kong cannot hold more than 50% of the shares, and the control of the enterprise is still in the hands of the Changbei Machinery Factory.

Li Dayong was somewhat worried because he owed Li Ye "a million pounds." Having invested such a large sum of money, it was still up to that Factory Manager Wang to decide, and he felt it was a great loss.

But Li Ye said: "Dayong! You must remember that in doing anything, you must go with the flow.

Given the current situation here, it would certainly be difficult to obtain control on the surface, but if we can't get the core control of the enterprise, we won't be fools either."

Li Dayong thought for a moment and asked: "Brother, is the core control you're talking about technology?"

The joint venture requirement Li Ye gave this time was to have Ceris re-register a subsidiary, and then have the new company form a joint venture with the Changbei Machinery Factory.

And the technical team led by Tang Mingtai belongs to the new Hong Kong company, and all research technology is kept confidential from the Changbei Machinery Factory.

"And channels—sales channels."

Li Ye said: "We started building our own sales channels two years ago. Although we were selling clothing, we have already trained hundreds of sales personnel.

So the sales department and the technical department are the things we need. As for nominal control, we don't force it."

Li Dayong was stunned for a long time before saying: "Brother, isn't this the same routine as Fenghua Clothing entering shopping malls? Let them lie down and earn small money, while we earn the rest of the big share?"

"Not entirely," Li Ye said: "We don't have a foundation now, so we'll borrow a shell to list. Once we have trained a technical team and mastered the market, it won't matter if they don't want us to be the ones in charge."