Chapter 1108: A Cluster of Honeycomb Briquettes

"This place used to be a large vegetable plot; I remember it very clearly."

Lu Qiming stood by the side of the street and gestured to Li Huai De and the others: "We even came here to survey the site when it was first being built. It's still fresh in my memory."

"Nineteen fifty-one, it must have been nineteen fifty-one."

He nodded with his hands behind his back and said with certainty: "At that time, there were three carriage roads here, specifically for transporting vegetables into the city."

"It was poor back then; there was no money."

Lu Qiming said with a smile: "Fengcheng City put in a great deal of effort to scrape together 12 million yuan just to build this Workers' Village."

"Preparations, planning, and construction began in '51, move-ins started in '52, and it was fully completed in '57. Six years—a full six years."

"Right, Yu Han? I remember it being five years."

"That is correct, Deputy Director Lu."

Yu Han stood to one side and introduced with a smile: "I even remember you bringing the agency staff to the construction site for voluntary labor."

"Hahaha—"

Lu Qiming waved his hand with a smile and said: "I could manage it back then, but if you asked me to do it now, I wouldn't have the strength."

"Are they all three-story buildings?"

Li Xuewu stood on the street and observed carefully. There were many people coming and going, even though it was working hours.

The distance between the buildings was also very large, something unimaginable for later residential complexes.

The architectural style of the Workers' Village houses was basically uniform—it was the "Russian style," after all, it was a building complex from the previous decade.

Red bricks and red tiles; various living facilities were scattered throughout the residential area in an orderly fashion.

They stopped and went along the way, looking at the cinema, grain station, post office, school, and other building facilities.

"They are all three stories, and the rooms are relatively high, so you don't bump your head."

Yu Han introduced: "However, the interior area of the houses isn't very large; they were planned and built according to the standards of workers' dormitories."

"The currently completed Workers' Village covers a total area of 730,000 square meters, with a building area of 400,000 square meters, and consists of five building complexes."

He was quite familiar with the data and continued from where Lu Qiming left off, giving the Hongxing Factory delegation a detailed introduction.

Li Huai De had been listening and watching the whole time, without expressing any opinions.

Li Xuewu, on the other hand, walked on the side of Li Huai De and Lu Qiming, chatting a bit more.

"The Workers' Village was originally established based on the spirit of the instruction to 'improve workers' lives on the basis of increasing production'."

Lu Qiming strolled down the street, watching the passing pedestrians, and said with a smile: "At first, the city provided the money to build dormitories, and later other enterprises also built staff dormitories in this vicinity."

"Hmm, there are advantages to centralized living and management for staff."

Li Huai De nodded, glanced at the dormitory building, and asked: "How many dormitory units are there in the Workers' Village built by the city?"

"The data from the year it was completed was a little over twenty thousand."

Yu Han introduced: "Three thousand dormitory units were allocated in the first year alone; this construction speed was quite fast."

"Engineering and construction back then couldn't compare to today, after all."

Li Xuewu stood to the side and affirmed: "Especially the degree of application of construction machinery, which limited the progress of the project."

"That is indeed the case." Lu Qiming looked up at the buildings in the distance and said with a smile: "Back then, it was all shoulder-carrying and manual labor."

"No wonder they are brick and tile structures."

Li Xuewu walked to the bottom of a dormitory building, looked at the foundation and walls; it was entirely characteristic of brick and tile building structures.

This wasn't the slab-style building of later generations; it was solid red brick and cement, a truly solid construction.

"What about you?" Lu Qiming looked at Li Xuewu and asked: "I heard your factory is also preparing to build a Workers' Village?"

"Hmm, that's right, but the footprint isn't as large as this."

Li Xuewu introduced with a smile: "The dormitory buildings we are planning are six stories high, and the distance between buildings will be more carefully considered."

"Including residential gardens and supporting facilities, it will be even more refined."

"After all, it is the capital, so we can't compare."

Lu Qiming said with a smile: "Even if we wanted to do landscaping and create a park, planting trees and grass—it looks good for a year, but by winter, they basically freeze to death."

"Furthermore, funds are limited. You've seen the living environment here."

He stomped his feet and said: "The paving stones above the curb were only laid three years ago; one-step completion is impossible."

"Our financial situation isn't very affluent either."

Li Huai De gestured to the building entrance ahead and asked: "Is it convenient to go in and take a look?"

"Of course, let me make arrangements."

Yu Han responded, turned back to say a few words to his secretary, and some staff members entered the stairwell ahead of time.

"Taking on such a large project, especially accommodating 20,000 staff households, is very difficult."

Lu Qiming introduced: "When the planning blueprints were first brought out, we all saw them, and to be honest, we were shocked."

"Thirty-five nurseries, two kindergartens, ten primary schools, one middle school."

He weighed his hand and said: "Just the educational infrastructure alone—who knows how much was invested."

"That is still necessary; no matter how much is invested in education, it is worth it."

Seeing Yu Han standing at the entrance gesturing, Li Huai De walked over first.

Lu Qiming invited Li Xuewu to go together, and just those few of them entered the stairwell.

Looking from the outside, the building was very spacious, and the stairwell corridor wasn't narrow either.

The secretary had already coordinated with a worker's family, and the resident's door was wide open.

"Excuse me, sorry to disturb you."

At Yu Han's invitation, Li Huai De entered the room and first politely greeted the hostess.

The hostess was wearing a plaid shirt and holding a child under a year old in her arms.

The secretary must have explained clearly to the other party beforehand that leaders were coming for research, so she appeared very reserved.

Li Xuewu followed Lu Qiming into the room and looked around.

The traces of living were very obvious; the walls were painted with white lime, which had already become mottled.

In the corner of the room by the entrance, there was a coal stove, and from the wall to the ceiling, it was blackened by soot.

To the left was the kitchen, and only by walking straight in did one reach the twenty-square-meter main room.

There was no design concept of a living room, bedroom, or dining room like in later generations; it was just an ordinary dormitory.

The bedroom served the dual purpose of a living room and dining room; there was no *kang*, but there was a platform bed, a mahogany cabinet in the corner, and photo frames hanging on the wall.

The photos in the frames weren't all of this family; there were also photos of Chairman Mao, so it seemed they were very devout.

Below the photo frames was a cabinet, on which were placed exquisite teacups and a thermos, and a radio with its top covered by a white gauze cloth.

The teacups came with saucers, but there was only one pair, clearly purchased when they got married.

"Please sit, I'll pour you some water."

The hostess held the child, not knowing how to entertain them.

Since this Workers' Village was completed, quite a few leaders had indeed come to visit.

However, they hadn't come to their home; they had all gone to the homes of advanced workers or families with organizational connections.

This was the first time she had seen leaders come to this building complex.

She had also heard that the guests were from the provincial level, and the visitors were from the capital, saying they wanted to see the houses and see how they lived.

"Thank you, don't go to any trouble; we're just taking a look."

Li Huai De waved his hand with a smile and said: "We are already very sorry to have disturbed you."

He observed the environment of the house, secretly thinking about the residential planning blueprints for the Hongxing Factory that Li Xuewu had shown him.

There was still an essential difference; at least from the blueprints Li Xuewu provided, they were much more orderly than what was actually seen here.

Whether it was the functional area design or the house area planning.

After they looked around, they sat on chairs at the hostess's invitation.

Li Xuewu smiled and teased the child who was staring at them curiously with wide eyes.

Unexpectedly, the little child wasn't shy; he opened his arms toward him, wanting to be held.

"Hahaha—"

Yu Han joked with a smile: "It seems Deputy Director Li is indeed kind-faced and has an affinity with children."

"If you put it that way, the child isn't afraid of me."

Li Xuewu smiled and picked up the child to tease him, not going too far, as the child's mother was very nervous, afraid that he, being young, might drop the child.

Li Huai De introduced with a smile: "Deputy Director Li also has a small child at home, three months old now, right?"

"Yes, just turned three months."

Li Xuewu bounced the child and asked: "This child is really chubby; I'm afraid he must weigh sixteen or seventeen *jin*."

"It seems the standard of living for our Fengcheng workers is high."

Li Huai De had looked at the furnishings of this family; although there were only a few household appliances, it was considered quite good among worker families.

Yu Han introduced: "After all, relying on the foundation of heavy industry, the income level of workers is very stable."

"Are the supporting facilities in this building complete?"

Li Huai De looked at the hostess and asked: "Water, electricity, gas, telephone, garbage disposal, etc."

"This..."

The hostess didn't know how to answer Li Huai De's question and looked at Yu Han with some hesitation.

Lu Qiming was quite straightforward, waving his hand to signal: "It doesn't matter, just say whatever there is, just say it directly."

"Oh, oh, I don't know how to say it."

The hostess hesitated and said: "The water is tap water, we eat water from the water tower, and there are supply time slots."

"Electricity can still be guaranteed; the number of power outages in a month isn't too many, just a few rare times."

"We have gas, which can be exchanged downstairs; sometimes our family uses gas to cook."

"But food cooked with gas isn't as fragrant; we only use it when we're in a hurry."

"As for the rest, I don't know about the telephone, and garbage is collected uniformly downstairs every morning; there are trash cans."

After she answered, she cautiously looked at Yu Han; it was this leader who had contacted her just now, and she didn't know if she had said anything wrong.

"Telephones are mainly based on open lines, which can reach the level of the reception room."

Yu Han took the initiative to supplement: "Supplying water at scheduled times is to ensure water conservation and prevent residents from forgetting to turn off the faucets."

"There's no way around electricity; it's uniformly dispatched. If they give it, we have it; if they don't, we don't."

He said helplessly: "The situation I understand from the power side is that industry is guaranteed during the day, and life is guaranteed at night; special situations are treated specially."

"As for gas, our family is in the same situation."

Yu Han crossed his arms and said: "My wife sometimes says that gas-cooked vegetables aren't fragrant, and that firewood pots are better."

"We want to realize the installation of gas pipelines into the homes."

Li Huai De gestured to Li Xuewu's side and said: "Deputy Director Li, our factory's design at the time included this item, right?"

"Yes, full coverage for all dormitory buildings."

Li Xuewu introduced: "Including gas, electricity, telephone, heating, and tap water; pipelines were prepared at the beginning of the design."

"Our factory is preparing to independently operate electricity, telephones, heating, and tap water, so Director Li is quite concerned about this part."

"Our factory has taken a convenience."

Li Huai De continued from Li Xuewu's words: "Heating can be connected to the factory's boilers, so residents don't have to burn their own stoves."

He pointed to the coal stove at the entrance and said: "According to fire safety conditions, our factory is preparing to control the danger of fire."

"This is necessary if there are control conditions."

Lu Qiming said seriously: "We actually want to control it too, but we don't have that foundation."

"Hmm, we are, after all, late to realize."

Li Huai De said with a smile: "There is plenty of experience available for learning."

"It should be said that we are learning from each other."

Lu Qiming stood up with Li Huai De with a smile, shook hands with the hostess, and thanked her.

Li Xuewu teased the child and asked if he would go with his uncle.

The little child couldn't speak, but he was very well-behaved in Li Xuewu's arms; many people had come to the house today, and he was watching the excitement.

Returning the child to the hostess, Li Xuewu also shook hands with her and expressed his thanks.

The hostess kept being polite and saw them out.

Seeing the group of white shirts standing at the entrance again, she was surprised.

These people were dressed the same as the two leaders from the capital who had just come into the room.

The impression these two gave her was that they were polite, courteous, and cultured.

Polite and courteous could be seen and felt, but how could one tell they were cultured?

Very simple: she could understand what they were saying.

Her husband had told her that cultured leaders, especially capable leaders, were very easy to understand when they spoke.

Those who were pretentious and pedantic were the fakes.

She was also a worker, just on maternity leave.

She certainly had some insight, but she didn't know what the leaders from the capital really wanted to do.

Could it be that they traveled all the way from the capital to the Northeast just to learn how to build dormitories for a factory?

After coming out of the dormitory area, the Hongxing Factory delegation, accompanied by Lu Qiming, visited the school and the management office.

The morning was very compact, and they weren't just looking at one place, so time passed very quickly.

It could be seen that Lu Qiming was very attentive to the Hongxing Factory, and he even accompanied them for lunch at noon.

The afternoon was an industrial symposium hosted by Lu Qiming.

Some heavy industrial enterprises in Fengcheng, as well as representatives of industrial enterprises from other cities in Liaodong, also came to attend.

But there were no large enterprises, and Lu Qiming didn't need to help them bridge the gap.

Through observing the speeches of the representatives at the symposium, Li Xuewu could see that Lu Qiming wanted to bring a "catfish" into Liaodong industry.

Perhaps after the Steel City industry became prosperous due to the investment of the Hongxing Factory, he thought of expanding this influence.

If the Hongxing Factory took the lead in introducing more advanced management and order demand from outside the pass, it would be a great help to Liaodong industry.

Of course, Liaodong industry was developing very well and was very prosperous.

But against the backdrop of large enterprises and monopoly enterprises, they naturally developed very well.

However, many newly established enterprises, or small enterprises with slow development, still had many problems.

Large enterprises didn't need to be led or managed; they could handle production well on their own.

But small enterprises couldn't; if they weren't careful, they would go astray or hit a dead end.

If a benchmark could be set up in Liaodong, even if the matchmaking for the First Machinery Factory failed this time, they could settle for the next best thing and publicize the model of the Hongxing Steel Factory.

As long as there was a direction for learning, especially starting from the development of an enterprise of the scale of the Hongxing Factory, there was a possibility of learning and replication.

No need to say more; if twenty enterprises could learn a trick or two from the Hongxing Factory, and two enterprises like the Hongxing Factory emerged, he would be making a profit.

And it would be a huge profit.

The Hongxing Factory traveled thousands of miles to Steel City to invest and build a factory; couldn't Steel City itself, or Liaodong industry, build a factory?

To put it bluntly, it was still a process of resource occupation and allocation.

If the Hongxing Factory first engaged in the automotive industry in Steel City, then there wouldn't be an automotive industry in Steel City in the future.

It might even affect the cities around Steel City, which wouldn't have a large automotive industry either.

Talent had a trend of concentration, and industry also had a trend of concentration.

The Hongxing Factory coming to Steel City was precisely because it valued the industrial foundation here.

At the symposium, Li Xuewu made a business analysis on industrial management and supply chain management on behalf of the Hongxing Factory.

This was also specifically requested by Lu Qiming, who wanted these enterprises to hear how work should be done.

When other representatives were speaking, Li Xuewu was also taking notes seriously, and at the same time, he marked the information of these factories on the documents provided by the meeting.

Seeing him take it so seriously, the attitudes of the enterprise heads who spoke later became much more upright and serious.

It was at the end that Lu Qiming, who was presiding over the meeting, mentioned that this Deputy Director Li, who asked questions from time to time during their speeches, was the person in charge of coordinating industrial and trade development for the Hongxing Factory.

He joked that if one could establish a relationship with Deputy Director Li, orders would fly in like snowflakes in the future.

This wasn't actually an exaggeration; if one could get orders from the supply chain, wouldn't one be making a fortune?

Because of time constraints, the symposium ended an hour and a half before the train arrived at the station.

It gave the Hongxing Factory group time to pack their luggage and also gave the group time to board the train and head to the railway station.

Lu Qiming was very thoughtful and saw them all the way to the platform.

The Hongxing Factory's official carriage was attached to the end of the train.

Before boarding, Li Huai De and Lu Qiming had a brief conversation on the platform.

"I still sincerely invite the Hongxing Factory to come to Fengcheng to participate in industrial construction."

Lu Qiming said sincerely: "I hope even more that the Hongxing Factory can bring some different opportunities to Liaodong industry."

"Regarding the First Machinery Factory, we can discuss any conditions we can offer; this is absolutely no problem."

He looked at Li Huai De and Li Xuewu and said: "Our goal is to pay tuition, learn skills, and learn knowledge."

"Liu Zuodong told me last night that the First Machinery Factory is now worth 3.4 million. I told him that 3.4 million is our own valuation."

Lu Qiming held up two fingers and said: "I gave him a counter-offer—this amount. If the Hongxing Factory thinks it's negotiable, I will handle everything."

"Does this include technology, land, fixed assets, and personnel handling authority?"

Li Xuewu spoke directly, taking over the conversation, and asked bluntly: "If we take over the First Machinery Factory for two million, what other costs do we need to pay?"

"I said it, Deputy Director Li, everything is negotiable."

Lu Qiming waved his hand seriously and said: "Even if you think two million is too much, it can be discussed; no problem."

"Technology, land, and fixed assets—these must inevitably be included."

He looked at Li Xuewu and said: "Regarding the personnel handling authority, I know what you mean."

"What I can say is that whoever you want, and whoever you don't want, can be discussed. You list the personnel, and leave the rest to me to coordinate."

Because the departure time was getting closer, Lu Qiming didn't dare to delay, and he reached out to shake hands with Li Xuewu.

"I know the Hongxing Factory has many concerns about investing in the First Machinery Factory, but please also give the Hongxing Factory a chance to prove itself."

"Leader, should I coordinate with Director Dong on this?"

Li Xuewu suggested to Li Huai De: "Should we ask the Steel Factory to organize an inspection and negotiation team to connect with the First Machinery Factory?"

"Regional management restrictions can be optimized, and personnel management restrictions also have some advantages; mainly, the upstream and downstream industries can be connected."

"Organize the acquisition and merger in the name of the Steel Factory, right?"

Li Huai De thought for a moment, nodded under Lu Qiming's attentive gaze, looked at the other party, and said: "Then let's just say it like that; wait until I get to Steel City and talk to Comrade Wenxue."

"Then wish us a happy cooperation?"

Hearing the result he wanted, Lu Qiming finally let go of his worry, shook hands with Li Huai De again, and said: "Welcome to visit Fengcheng often."

"That is certain; Liaodong industry and Fengcheng industry have many things worth our learning and reference."

Li Huai De smiled modestly, and after saying goodbye to Lu Qiming, he was seen off by the other party onto the train.

The Hongxing Factory's inspection and research team had long since boarded the train from the other end, and now only Lu Qiming's group was on the platform.

The train conductor on duty at the carriage entrance was very cautious in arranging the train attendants to provide service and guidance.

Just now at the carriage entrance, she had overheard a bit.

These white shirts must have come from an enterprise; just looking at the small metal logo nameplates on the leather bags they were carrying.

Furthermore, there were iconic badges on the chests of the white shirts.

This was very special; she rarely saw an enterprise with such uniform attire, and rarely were there such impressive enterprises that required such high-ranking cadres to see them off.

The talk was about two-million-yuan work; it sounded truly shocking.

However, what she heard was only the tip of the iceberg; the Hongxing Factory's investment in Liaodong industry was far more than two million.

And the output value that the Hongxing Factory could bring to Liaodong industry probably wouldn't stop at twenty million.

Therefore, it wasn't so excessive for Lu Qiming, the Deputy Director in charge of industry in Liaodong, to personally see them off to the station.

Or rather, it was actually Lu Qiming who was in hot pursuit, biting them and not letting go, determined to do his utmost to "gnaw down" the Hongxing Factory.

Keeping the Hongxing Factory meant introducing a spark for small and medium-sized industry in Fengcheng.

Watching the train slowly start, Lu Qiming's group waved on the platform, seeing off the Hongxing Factory group.

Until the figure of the train disappeared, Lu Qiming turned his head back and took a deep breath.

Yu Han said with a smile: "This bone is really hard to gnaw, isn't it?"

"It's more than just hard to gnaw; it's teeth-grinding."

Lu Qiming laughed freely, shook his head slightly, and said: "Of course, there must be a reason why they successfully transformed and developed."

"I agree with your point of view on this."

Yu Han nodded in agreement and said: "Yesterday, the first time I saw that Deputy Director Li, I felt that this person was gentle on the surface, but actually had too much 'bandit spirit'."

"You see him speaking harmoniously, with a fierce look on his face, yet he is polite and courteous; but as soon as work is mentioned, he is inevitably sharp-edged and murderous."

He accompanied Lu Qiming to the car and joked: "Liu Zuodong is almost two cycles older than him, but in reality, he is completely no match for him."

"You saw it last night too; his confidence was completely shattered. The way they chatted, the rhythm of the conversation he mastered—you really couldn't tell his age."

"There is one more point." Lu Qiming pointed at him before getting into the car and said: "The cooperation between Old Li and Little Li is very tacit."

"I discovered this point too."

After Lu Qiming got into the car, Yu Han followed from the other side.

He closed the car door and said: "You see it when they drink; the cooperation they have, attacking and defending, the tacit understanding is very high."

"Hahaha—!"

Lu Qiming gestured to his secretary and then said to Yu Han: "If the First Machinery Factory can really be negotiated, there will be many more meetings in the future."

"If you say it like that, I really won't be convinced."

Yu Han joked: "I'll have to look around later; I don't believe there isn't anyone in the agency who can drink better than him?"

"Good, five *jin* as a base; he almost scared me."

Lu Qiming raised his eyebrows and said: "I had the agency count it; he drank more than five *jin* by himself, not counting the wine he poured or toasted."

"Calling him a 'wine barrel' isn't enough to describe him; a 'wine vat'—truly a god-like man."

"The key is that he doesn't get drunk."

Yu Han shook his head slightly and said: "I chatted with Deputy Director Hu Ke; he is a serious, capable young cadre with connections."

"We see him as young and promising; he is also outstanding in the capital."

"Is that so—that's what I said."

Lu Qiming patted his knee and said: "If the capital were full of people like this, I wouldn't believe it no matter what."

"The kind with real strength; Comrade Hu Ke confirmed it overnight."

Yu Han introduced seriously: "Before transferring to civilian work, he received a First-Class Merit, and after transferring, he received the May 1st Labor Model."

"In the fields of industrial safety, security, and public security, he is an expert-level figure who has seriously published books."

"Oh my, I really didn't know."

Lu Qiming shook his head with a smile and said: "What do you call this? 'Not recognizing the true face of Mount Lu, only because one is in the mountain itself'!"

"Right? Hahaha—!"

From the moment the Hongxing Factory inspection and research team boarded the train, their inspection function ended.

The rest could only be called research, as it was just internal work.

However, in order to have more opportunities to contact the Hongxing Factory and to demonstrate a service-oriented mindset, Wang Lu, the person in charge of Steel City industry, and Liu Li Xin from the Industrial Bureau also boarded the train.

I don't know if it was the same thought, but the people from Steel City industry waited an extra day, and the people from Yingcheng industry also waited an extra day.

Even though they knew the Hongxing Factory group had no intention of researching the Yingcheng Shipyard.

However, when Li Huai De entertained them for dinner in the conference room on the train and discussed the substantive work of the two industrial bases, they still felt that staying was the right choice.

Compared to the scope-based meetings held at the provincial level, they preferred to sit down and talk slowly behind closed doors.

After all, the meat was already in their own bowls; how they talked didn't matter.

Going to Fengcheng to talk—the Hongxing Factory's funds would land in Fengcheng; what did that have to do with them?

Conversely, if the Fengcheng First Machinery Factory took away the Hongxing Factory's 2-million-yuan investment, that was their loss.

If they wanted a machinery factory, if they wanted a machine tool factory, their city had them too.

If one said they couldn't compare to the scale of the Fengcheng First Machinery Factory, they would organize five of them and compare them together!

If one said the Hongxing Factory's investment in the two regions was already enough.

But who would dislike more funds landing?

Li Xuewu also learned about the operating conditions of the two Hongxing Factory enterprises from the side during the communication and exchange between the two sides.

It was very necessary to look at enterprise management from a macro perspective, especially by drawing on the impartial suggestions of third parties.

Just as Li Xuewu was chatting with Wang Lu and Ge Ping, Li Huai De was also listening seriously.

This was an important purpose of his trip to Steel City for research.

It could be said that Steel City would become increasingly important in the Hongxing Factory's industrial layout in the future.

As a practical heavy industrial production base, the Hongxing Factory's investment here would also increase in the future.

The several projects currently under construction were all key points of Li Huai De's concern.

Especially from the perspective of industrial management, he also wanted to hear how Wang Lu and Ge Ping viewed the Hongxing Factory.

The two of them were, of course, more from the perspective of service providers; as for being managers, actually, they were, and they weren't.

Currently, territorial management wasn't very standardized, and the enterprises of the Hongxing Factory in Steel City and Yingcheng were still managed by the Hongxing Factory itself.

Especially with the Hongxing Factory's upgrade imminent, it would be managed by the Hongxing Factory itself in the future.

Of course, the current division of the national tax and local tax systems was still quite complex; during the planned economy period, factories still belonged to the organization and the collective.

This also gave the Hongxing Factory more confidence to communicate and coordinate with the local area.

After the dinner party ended, Wang Lu, the person in charge of Steel City industry, asked Li Xuewu a question.

"Does the Hongxing Factory have any plans to build a Workers' Village in Steel City?"

"Actually, in our planning definition, staff dormitories and Workers' Villages are two different things."

Li Xuewu glanced at Li Huai De, and seeing him signal for him to answer, he explained to Wang Lu.

"The Workers' Village we visited this morning is actually what we define as staff dormitories, only it has the attributes of a village because of the worker families."

"However, the Workers' Village defined in our factory's planning is actually staff housing, which has property value."

He spread his hands and said: "We also have staff dormitories, provided free of charge for single staff to live in, several people to a room."

"But the Workers' Village in the plan is not; it is housing designed with the family as the core, which requires exchange and purchase."

"Exchange and purchase?" Wang Lu asked with some surprise: "Don't you solve the housing problem for workers in your factory?"

"We solve it—staff dormitories, multi-person rooms."

Li Xuewu said bluntly: "We still have couple rooms now, but there won't be any in the future."

"In the future, there will only be two ways to obtain housing: one is to exchange current housing for apartment buildings with the factory."

"The other is to get apartment buildings by discounting and offsetting the purchase price based on factors such as seniority, contribution, and status."

"Of course, it must be made clear here," Li Xuewu emphasized: "These houses belong to the workers themselves, not the factory."

"And the factory will also implement another set of plans, which is the housing allocation you mentioned."

Li Xuewu introduced: "We will reserve a certain proportion of housing resources to supply excellent staff or families in difficulty."

"But the usage rights and ownership of these houses do not belong to the staff and need to be dispatched according to the factory's unified requirements."

"Is the concept of housing ownership applicable to apartment buildings?"

Wang Lu asked curiously: "If the factory relocates, or changes, or is sold, what happens to these houses?"

"That's why I said Workers' Villages and staff dormitories are two different things."

Li Xuewu looked at Li Huai De with a smile and explained: "Our ecological industrial zone is separated; industry is industry, and residential is residential."

"No matter how industry changes its form and affiliation, residential is unaffected."

He spread his hands and said to Wang Lu: "Therefore, in the future, whether the Hongxing Factory is in Steel City or Yingcheng, it will build staff dormitories, not Workers' Villages."

Li Xuewu knew the purpose of Wang Lu asking this question.

Building a Workers' Village meant that the Hongxing Factory's staff would settle in Steel City, and at the same time, it would constantly absorb personnel from Steel City into the factory.

Even if you have your own education and training system to cultivate staff, can you stop staff from getting married and having children?

It won't take many years; as long as the Hongxing Factory's staff from the capital marry wives from Steel City, the Hongxing Factory will have to solve the employment pressure for this part.

Building dormitories is different; it's a temporary place of residence, and the workers' mindset is also temporary; they wouldn't even dare to date.

Workers from the capital still return to the capital, and workers from Steel City still return to Steel City.

Wang Lu was somewhat disappointed with Li Xuewu's answer; she thought Steel City had a chance to accept workers from the capital.

Li Xuewu really didn't dare to promise her this; the capital's household registration was already very special now, and if it were in the future, this would be a real headache.

People who have had contact with special factories in later generations all know clearly that even though this enterprise has been operating for decades in Province A and has its own schools and services.

However, when the people of this enterprise speak, or take out their identification, they are all from Province B, or just people from City B.

They might have never been to City B in their lives, but they are managed by City B and count as people from City B.

Even the land belonging to the factory area counts as City B's.

The Hongxing Factory is in this situation now; asking Steel City for land, asking Yingcheng for land—when these lands are calculated, they belong to the Hongxing Factory.

The Hongxing Factory will go very high in the future; wherever its headquarters is, this piece of land belongs to that place.

Therefore, for the sake of everyone's future, Li Xuewu never thought about moving the capital's workers to Steel City to settle down.

If he really did that, it wouldn't take long—in twenty years, there would be people cursing his ancestors every day.

Why bother with a Workers' Village? Isn't it better to build thirty dormitory buildings?

If they are willing to date and settle down in Steel City, he can't control that.

If you are willing yourself, and your father-in-law likes you, and the two of you get married in Steel City, that's very normal; it doesn't count as "marrying into the wife's family."

But in the future, they won't be able to enjoy the dividends of the capital; even if they want to curse, they won't be able to curse Li Xuewu.

Curse what?

Curse Li Xuewu for not stopping them from dating and getting married?

"I thought you weren't coming."

Zhou Wang Yamei had been waiting after hearing Li Xuewu's phone call.

The call came yesterday, and Li Xuewu didn't say for sure.

"Just finished, is the child asleep?"

Li Xuewu handed the bag in his hand to Zhou Wang Yamei, who came to pick it up, and glanced upstairs.

"Afraid you wouldn't come, I didn't dare tell him."

Zhou Wang Yamei put his bag away, looked at the boxes on the floor that the secretary and driver had just sent in, and said: "We don't lack anything."

"Sent from Fengcheng; I was too lazy to take them back."

Li Xuewu changed into slippers at the entrance, walked toward the living room, and asked: "Is there hot water? I want to take a bath."

"It's boiled; I knew you would need it."

Zhou Wang Yamei helped him dust off his shoes and put them in the shoe cabinet, then followed him into the living room and asked: "Are you washing now?"

"Hmm, I feel sweaty and oily as soon as I take the train."

Li Xuewu shook his neck, sat on the sofa, picked up a teacup, and took a sip; the temperature was just right.

"From Fengcheng to Steel City, it's only been a few hours, right?"

Zhou Wang Yamei walked up to him and gestured: "Give me your socks; do you need your pants washed?"

"Just wash the socks; no need for the pants."

Li Xuewu lay on the sofa with some exhaustion and said: "I brought a change of clothes; it's enough."

Zhou Wang Yamei helped him take off his socks, went to the bathroom to run hot water, and then came back to call him.

"Are you very tired in Fengcheng? Why this expression?"

"Dealing with a group of 'honeycomb briquettes', how can I not be tired?"

Li Xuewu twitched the corner of his mouth, gestured to the bathroom, and asked: "Together? Help me scrub my back."

"You go wash first; I'll tidy up."

Zhou Wang Yamei pushed him, turned around, and went to the entrance to tidy up the local specialties Li Xuewu brought.

This time of year was when all kinds of fresh produce were coming down, so the boxes were full of seasonal fruits, dried fruits, and various rare ingredients.

Fu Bin used to often move these things into the house, and she recognized the value of these local specialties.

She was terrified to eat the things Fu Bin brought back, but she wasn't afraid at all to receive these things from Li Xuewu.

It wasn't that Li Xuewu was more capable or doing better than Fu Bin.

It was that Li Xuewu was more cautious and cherished his reputation more.

Xu Ning had been working in Steel City for over a year; he might have guessed the relationship between Li Xuewu and her, but he didn't dare send a single return gift here.

Li Xuewu also never let her handle any money or gifts from anyone.

Whatever she liked to eat or use, she didn't need to say; Li Xue would send it to her house from the capital.

Li Xuewu came fewer times this year, but the things sent were not fewer at all.

After tidying up these things at the entrance, she was also sweating and had dirty hands, so she went to the bathroom.

"Can you stay for two days?"

Zhou Wang Yamei first helped him wash his socks and underwear, then entered the bathtub.

Li Xuewu lay there like a master, closing his eyes to rest, and said vaguely: "Not necessarily; it depends on the situation. There is important work to discuss."

Zhou Wang Yamei glanced at him and said: "Biaozi also said he wanted to discuss work with you; he said he'd come tomorrow morning."

"Hmm, he won't let me go."

Li Xuewu nodded, opened his eyes, looked at the opposite side, and said: "Let's discuss work first."

He pulled Zhou Wang Yamei over with a smile and said: "Let's discuss firmly grasping the two basic points of personnel and economy, and strictly guarding against and blocking a coordination loophole."

Zhou Wang Yamei knew he wasn't serious, and teased: "Do you want to discuss firmly grasping a core ideology without wavering, and creating a charming new industry?"

"You really do understand industry." ===== CHAPTER 1109 =====