Chapter 1316: This brat has no good intentions

"Why do I feel like the red wine provided by the hotel has a strange taste?"

Catherine, wrapped only in a white bath towel, stood before the window looking at the night sky of the capital. After taking a sip from her wine glass and frowning, she shook her head slightly and said, "Something isn't quite right."

"Could it be that the protein you just ate is clashing with it?" Li Xuewu chuckled. "This is... Lafite flown in by air."

He almost blurted out the truth: this year, the Wufeng Winery had test-produced a batch of red wine using grapes grown in the frontier.

Don't argue; Li Xuewu knew there was a difference between wine grapes and regular table grapes.

The 40th parallel north is the golden growing belt for wine grapes; Yantai, the eastern foothills of the Helan Mountains, and Huailai are all excellent grape-producing regions.

However, you've all heard the poem "Grape wine in luminous cups," right? We have had a history of winemaking for over 2,000 years.

In the third year of the Jianyuan era of the Western Han Dynasty (138 BC), Zhang Qian saw local residents making wine from grapes in the Western Regions and brought this technology back to the Central Plains.

During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, the grape cultivation area expanded from the initial 4,000-plus mu to over 100,000 mu, and specialized winemaking bases were established in places like Longyou.

Of course, some might say that ancient winemaking technology was not advanced, and the flavor and alcohol content must be different from today's.

Yes, that is certain. Li Xuewu had never drunk Tang Dynasty wine and didn't know how it tasted, so he wouldn't quibble over that.

But he had drunk domestic wine.

The "domestic" mentioned here is the authentic, legitimate New China domestic product.

To give just one example, the wine from Shandong Province has a century-old heritage in later generations.

Since its birth in 1912, Qingdao Wine has successfully brewed China's first bottle of Grand Champagne, first bottle of whiskey, and first bottle of brandy.

To mention an easily overlooked economic situation, in this era, Shandong Province not only exported mineral water but also various types of baijiu and red wine.

It was truly a major economic province.

You might think European winemaking has cultural depth, but in fact, many red wines sold in supermarkets in America, Italy, and Hong Kong are produced in the mainland.

Never mind whether it's cheap or not; just ask if it sells and if foreigners drink it.

The scenes in movies where people show off by opening a bottle of '82 Lafite or Romanée-Conti—just look at them and be done with it.

Consumption by ordinary people is always the mainstream of the market; even in the most developed regions, the wine people drink is bought from supermarkets.

Auctions? Chateaus? How many can there be?

After the Wufeng Winery test-produced Five-Star Moutai, their R&D focus shifted to red wine. Everyone knew that export trade was where the money was.

Their attitude was serious, and the technology was stolen fair and square.

The Red Star Factory specially allocated funds to send technicians and engineers to the Qingdao Winery; they were practically working there on meal tickets.

At first, the Qingdao Winery naturally welcomed the inspection visits from their brother units, taking the Red Star Factory's inspection personnel around and introducing relevant wine products and technologies.

They held symposiums and seminars, and in the host's mind, that should have been enough.

Look around, take a peek, chat a bit, and then go home and figure it out yourselves—you couldn't possibly be thinking of getting a free ride, right?

Hey! They guessed exactly right!

The Secretary-General gave special instructions: as long as the other party didn't point guns at them to drive them away, they had to shamelessly squat there and learn the technology well.

The Qingdao Winery really hadn't expected that their warm welcome would attract a bunch of scoundrels who wouldn't leave after looking and drinking.

One week, two weeks... a month passed, and these guys were drilling into the workshops every day, acting even more serious than their own engineers.

Who could stand this—

Cold shoulders, cold meals, cold looks, and sarcasm were deployed in turns. Although the guys from the Red Star Factory blushed, they just wouldn't leave.

The Qingdao Winery was truly at its wit's end; they couldn't bring themselves to point guns to drive these people away.

Li Xuewu knew how to handle people, and the cadres under his direction also knew how to get things done. While the engineers under him were busy stealing techniques, he was going from department to department giving gifts and building relationships.

Not to mention anything else, the Foreign Affairs Office had a fund every year for customizing corporate cultural gifts, such as fountain pens, leather notebooks, badges, handicrafts, and artworks—low cost but aesthetically pleasing.

In order to let the technicians learn the real skills, three batches of leading cadres were rotated, all of whom were drunk under the table.

Wave after wave, facing difficulties head-on, that was how they finally got their hands on the technology.

It was also because the Qingdao Winery was afraid of the tenacity of this group from the Red Star Factory; if they didn't teach them the technology, these people would make the factory a mess, and no work would get done.

Li Xuewu was so devious. When the Qingdao Winery had complaints, he told the leading cadres to trade technology for technology.

Trade the Red Star Factory's steel rolling technology for their winemaking technology. The leading cadre thought about it, and considering his own safety, didn't dare say it that way.

Saying that would have just infuriated them to death.

You steelmakers are neglecting your proper work to make wine, and now you want me, a winemaker, to neglect my proper work to go roll steel?

Don't blame Li Xuewu for being shameless; Wufeng Hong could provide advanced foreign winemaking technology and equipment.

However, one must adapt to local conditions; this is the mainland, and one must fully consider the actual situation here.

Climate, craftsmanship, temperature difference, water quality, etc. —Li Xuewu didn't understand these, but he could understand the complexity of this work.

So why choose the Qingdao Winery to learn from?

He had his eye on their century-old brand.

In the 24th year of the Guangxu era of the Qing Dynasty, which was 1898 AD, Germany occupied Jiaozhou Bay, and Qingdao was thus opened as a commercial port, attracting a large influx of soldiers and foreign merchants.

At that time, the winemaking industry in the Qingdao area mainly used traditional folk methods, using sorghum and other raw materials to distill "shaojiu."

However, these "shaojiu" did not meet the drinking habits of foreigners.

To satisfy their needs, foreign merchants began to import "foreign liquor" from abroad. Some of this foreign liquor was bottled, and some was shipped in the form of raw juice in oak barrels, which was then blended in Qingdao.

As time passed, a large number of wine barrels and bottles gradually accumulated here.

In 1912, a German grocer opened a small shop at No. 34 Hunan Road.

During the grape harvest season, he purchased some fresh grapes from local small vendors.

After crushing them, he used his own old oak barrels for fermentation and blending, and finally bottled the resulting wine for sale.

This homemade wine was deeply loved by customers.

However, with the outbreak of World War I, maritime transport became fraught with difficulties. To meet this challenge, he decided to add a few wooden barrels to expand the scale of operations, although the maximum capacity of these barrels was only 600 liters.

This small shop thus became the first winery in the Qingdao area.

Several years later, the owner of the German firm Fuchang Yanghang at No. 36 Hunan Road, Klock, invested in and acquired the small shop and added more than ten wine barrels with a capacity of 1,000 liters.

In 1930, to further expand business and raise funds, Fuchang Yanghang decided to sell the winery to the German firm Melchers for 10,000 silver dollars.

The firm named the winery "Meikou Winery," and Dr. Rodewig, a chemist who operated the Laoshan Soda Water Factory, served concurrently as the factory manager.

Melchers invested a large amount of capital, added five 4,000-liter oak wine barrels, and equipped it with simple equipment such as a freezer and a wooden cage grape press.

With the outbreak of World War II, the import of foreign liquor became difficult, and Meikou Winery began to actively expand production.

They made more than ten 2,000-liter wine barrels, bringing the total number of oak barrels to 158, and the storage capacity of grape juice increased to 100,000 liters.

In addition, equipment such as a hydraulic grape press, filter, and windmill were added.

Meikou Winery's products were not only sold in many bars and shops in the city but also established agencies in Shanghai, Tianjin, and Bangkok in Southeast Asia, achieving large-scale exports.

In the spring of 1954, at a press conference during the Geneva Conference, Premier Zhou used champagne produced by the Qingdao Winery to treat foreign guests, winning widespread praise from those present.

In 1963, Qingdao White Wine stood out at the Second National Wine Appraisal Conference, winning the honor of being one of the 18 major national famous wines and becoming the winner of China's first gold medal for white wine.

With such brilliant achievements, you can say whether Li Xuewu was envious or not. Ten years later, the country began to lay out the wine industry, but the Qingdao Winery failed to seize the opportunity and went bankrupt twenty years later.

Later generations of merchants touted and chased after European foreign wines, but in fact, when it comes to wine culture and wine technology, the domestic industry is not inferior at all.

Li Xuewu's idea was very simple: you do your thing, I learn mine; when you can't keep going, what I've learned will be the authentic, time-honored brand.

Just like the Baicaotang Pharmaceutical industry acquired by the Red Star Steel Group some time ago—in the future, without checking the data, who would know that Baicaotang had long since changed hands?

The Red Star brand needs to gradually move upmarket, becoming a symbol of the group, and also serving as a core of the product brand matrix.

The Red Star Steel Group now has multiple sub-brands, such as the aforementioned Baicaotang Pharmaceutical, the baijiu brand Tianxian Moutai (also called Five-Star Moutai), the soda brand Little Penguin, and the appliance brands Yazhi and Jiayue.

The implied positions of these trademarks will all have one to five pentagrams, representing the brand hierarchy belonging to the Red Star Steel Group.

The Tianxian Moutai brand belongs exclusively to the Red Star Steel Group, so some people also call Tianxian Moutai "Five-Star Moutai."

The appliance brand Yazhi, which cooperates with the Sanhe Stock Company, only has one pentagram on its trademark, which represents that the brand's scope of cooperation is broader.

Regarding red wine, Li Xuewu provided the winery with two development ideas: in the early stage, when there is no confidence in the quality of the wine, use OEM branding.

If the market response is relatively good, then use their own brand. Anyway, it's for export trade, and at this time, market rules are not strong.

What Catherine drank was very likely OEM wine provided by the Wufeng Winery; after all, it was free wine provided in a high-end hotel room.

It was fine for leisure and soaking in the bath, and it definitely tasted like red wine. As for the flavor...

It's hard to say. He rarely drank, but he had experienced the taste of Chantal's "honey-mouthed, sword-hearted" nature.

What project was Catherine talking to Li Xuewu about?

An ordinary person would never guess how bold and reckless this girl could be.

"You mean, the Bohai Rim Economic Circle?" Li Xuewu looked at her with suspicious eyes, his tone full of surprise and a strange flavor. "Doing import and export shipping commercial agency business 【Note 1】?"

Seeing Catherine turn her head, he shook his head helplessly and amusedly. Why did the Coachman Plan always encounter such people and things?

He was the mastermind behind the largest "Bohai Rim Economic Circle" in Northeast Asia, yet he always encountered such funny rebels.

It was one thing for his second uncle's eldest sister and brother-in-law to be muddled and obsessed with money, but why did a wealthy girl like Catherine also think about making quick money?

"Do you think this project is not feasible?"

Catherine walked over barefoot on the wool carpet, looked at Li Xuewu sitting on the bed stool, and raised an eyebrow. "Can you tell me why?"

"Hmm, it's really hard to explain in a short while." Li Xuewu raised his hand and patted the spot beside him, signaling her to sit down and talk slowly.

Catherine was indeed full of thirst for knowledge. She raised her hand to place the wine glass on the small table beside the bed stool, turned back to pull open the belt on Li Xuewu's bathrobe, and picked up the "toothbrush" to start brushing her teeth.

"Cough—can you tell me why now?"

She held the toothbrush, raised her head to look at Li Xuewu, seemingly having a special fondness for this plan and project.

Li Xuewu was helpless. He looked down at her and asked, "You must have done investigation and research on the economic situation in Northeast Asia, right?"

Catherine found it inconvenient to speak, so she just nodded, indicating that she wasn't acting on a whim, suddenly possessed by a genius, and came up with this idea.

"Good, since you have already done the relevant investigation work, then it's much easier for me to explain."

Li Xuewu rested his elbows on the bed, lay back, and said, "If you focus on maritime trade in Northeast Asia, you must not be able to bypass the four countries of Japan, South Korea, North Korea, and the Soviet Union."

"The one that looks best in economic development right now is Japan, so let's talk about this country first, hiss—"

He felt Catherine's agreement, so he continued, "I have to say, at the current stage, Japan's import and export trade situation is very strong and optimistic."

"Under the condition of high dependence on the American market, the export industry has developed rapidly, and the export volume is increasing year by year."

Li Xuewu planned the Coachman Plan; how could he not study the economic, cultural, and policy situation of several countries in Northeast Asia?

He wasn't bluffing here. At this time, Japan's economy indeed showed a positive trend. The export volume of finished products reached 170.78 billion US dollars, exceeding America's 145.3 billion US dollars.

In other words, looking at the data, Japan could net more than 20 billion US dollars from trade with America every year.

You have to know that the US dollar was very strong at this time.

In addition, Japan's average annual export growth rate was as high as 16.8%, more than twice the world trade growth rate in the same period.

At the same time, the types of Japanese export products and target markets were also constantly expanding.

In the early 1960s, Japan's export products were mainly composed of textiles and steel, just like the mainland now.

But with economic development, export products gradually shifted to household appliances such as cars, televisions, and semiconductor radios.

This transformation not only improved the technical content and market competitiveness of Japanese products but also made them occupy an important position in the global market.

Li Xuewu said he was crossing the river by feeling the stones. Now you know which stone he was feeling, right?

China's economy looks at Japan; China hasn't missed a single one of the mines Japan stepped on during its economic development process.

Li Xuewu insisted on promoting the Red Star Factory to invest in electronic industry in Steel City and developing the automotive and semiconductor industries, which was also out of a competitive mindset.

With a rebel like the Sanhe Stock Company, the "Free Trade Zone" plan was executed quite smoothly.

Of course, if you want to say Japan's economic development is faster than the mainland's, you still have to look at their export policy support measures.

For example, by providing financial support and tax incentives, they encouraged enterprises to innovate technologically and expand overseas markets.

These policy measures effectively promoted the growth of Japan's exports and the improvement of its international competitiveness.

Looking at the mainland, all the work Li Xuewu could do was to struggle and maneuver in the cracks, striving not to be struck by lightning.

"If you want to be an import and export trade agent for Japan, you have to face a quite severe problem."

Li Xuewu raised his head to look at her and said, "The main source of components for Japan's electronic industry and semiconductor industry is still America."

"The main export target is still America. What can you do? Don't tell me you want to engage in smuggling."

His getting up made Catherine roll her eyes, and after saying "sorry," Li Xuewu lay back down.

"You have to know that starting from '65, we have already begun reforms in accordance with the notice of the New Technology Import Group on April 13th, 'Report on Several Major Issues in Introducing New Technology'."

He introduced, "The report pointed out that in '65, we should make full use of the current relatively favorable international environment, adapt to the needs of domestic economic situation and construction, and more actively carry out the work of introducing new technology from capitalist countries."

"The focus is on equipment and technology for metallurgy, mining, automobiles, machine tools, instrumentation, and electronic industry, as well as engineering machinery needed for the construction of the Third Front."

"And among the three ways of introducing new technology (importing complete sets of equipment, importing single items of equipment, purchasing technical data), we should use greater strength to carry out and explore the latter two ways."

Li Xuewu flipped his palms and emphasized, "You should know that our factory has made layout plans for the development of the electronic industry and the automotive industry."

"Now you want to be a commercial agent for ships in the Bohai Rim Economic Circle; the biggest competitor is Japan."

He raised his head slightly to look at Catherine and said, "The mainland will not, and cannot, open up import channels for these two types of industrial products."

"I'm telling you clearly now that doing Japanese trade as a shipping commercial agent won't work. Now let me tell you about South Korea."

"At the current stage, South Korea's life is not easy either." Li Xuewu said lightly, "The total import and export volume and trade deficit are severe."

At the end of the 1960s, South Korea's total import and export volume was relatively low.

In 1961, South Korea's import volume exceeded 300 million US dollars, while its export volume was only 30 million US dollars, leading to a severe trade deficit.

What does this mean?

It means that in the process of international trade, South Korea lost 270 million US dollars net every year. Note that the unit is still US dollars.

What is the price and result of being dumped by foreign goods? This doesn't need to be detailed; it has long been concluded.

At that time, South Korea's imported goods mainly included food, raw materials, and machinery and equipment, while export goods were mainly agricultural products and a small amount of industrial products.

Does it look like the mainland at this time?

"I can tell you clearly that South Korea's economic situation at this time is very bad, the country is on the verge of bankruptcy, and the maintenance of the entire regime relies entirely on American aid."

Li Xuewu said seriously, "From independence to '61, America provided 3.1 billion US dollars in aid."

"Of course, one cannot deny the work and achievements South Korea has made in economic improvement. Worth mentioning is the 'export-oriented' economic development strategy they just proposed."

"Hoo—" Catherine raised her head, looked at Li Xuewu, and asked, "Are you sure this economic policy can save the market?"

"It definitely can. I predict that in the next few years, South Korea's export situation will mainly be reflected in the implementation and effectiveness of its export-oriented economic strategy."

Li Xuewu emphasized, "It is very similar to the industrial and economic development plan our group is currently implementing. The focus is on developing labor-intensive industries."

"The purpose of this strategy is to promote the rapid development of the national economy through the international market. We are also actively doing export trade. Isn't it very similar?"

"If you put it that way—" Catherine's brows furrowed slightly, and she thought, "It really seems very similar."

"Do you know what their main export products are?"

Li Xuewu reached out and patted her head, signaling her to continue, while he continued to introduce it to her.

"Right now, South Korea's export market is mainly concentrated in the international market, and main export products include labor-intensive products such as textiles, clothing, and footwear."

"These products have low-cost and high-efficiency production advantages and can definitely occupy an advantage in the international market."

Li Xuewu said in a serious tone, "I dare to say that in the future, in core industries such as shipbuilding, semiconductors, and automobile manufacturing, South Korea will become our competitor."

"So, if you want to be a shipping agent for South Korea, unless you can dismantle the other party's foundation in labor-intensive industries and semiconductor industry."

"According to your meaning," Catherine raised her head and complained with a mouth stained with toothpaste foam, "this business is all impossible to do?"

Japan, which has the best economic development, and South Korea, which is rising, both have overlaps with the Red Star Steel Group's layout in terms of development ideas.

In other words, most of the products she wants to import are products exported by the Red Star Steel Group.

If she wants to do export trade, the Red Star Steel Group doesn't mind providing her with sufficient products; it's just afraid she won't be able to sell them.

Without a rebel and guide like the Sanhe Stock Company, how could she possibly open up local trade channels?

"If you don't mind, you can go to North Korea and take a look."

Li Xuewu sat up, handed her a piece of paper, and signaled her to wipe the toothpaste foam off her mouth.

Catherine climbed up with a somewhat melancholy expression, sat on the bed stool, and lay down following Li Xuewu's previous posture.

Now it was Li Xuewu's turn to put in the effort.

Li Xuewu looked at her exhausted appearance and teased her, "Here comes the little flying stick!"

"Ya—" Catherine was pushed back by the impulse and let out a long cry, as if she had been poked in the lungs.

Going to North Korea is a waste of time; that's the Soviet Union's backyard.

Of course, Catherine didn't look down on North Korea, but she was powerless.

North Korea's current import and export form is mainly reflected in its trade relationship with the Soviet Union.

North Korea is indeed ushering in what seems to be its most glorious era.

Under the diplomatic strategy of being a bootlicker, North Korea turned closer to the Soviet Union and gained huge economic benefits.

The Soviet Union provided North Korea with a large amount of economic aid, including technical equipment and industrial equipment.

Although the goods North Korea exported were mainly primary products, their value was far less than the proportion of industrial equipment and raw materials provided by the Soviet Union, but the Soviet Union did not care about this trade deficit and instead continuously expanded the scale of aid.

Such loose trade conditions and a large amount of aid made North Korea's economic level develop rapidly, and its degree of industrialization was among the best in developing countries.

However, this relatively single trade situation is very dangerous. Once the relationship between the two sides cools down, the economy will collapse.

Li Xuewu of course knew the result. Entering the 1970s, the Soviet Union began to express dissatisfaction with North Korea's economic situation, believing that North Korea's debt scale was continuously expanding and it was uncooperative.

The factory projects built by the Soviet Union for North Korea failed to go into production as scheduled, and there was a possibility that North Korea was deliberately delaying production and transferring resources.

These factors led to a gradual reduction in the Soviet Union's economic aid to North Korea, and North Korea's economic growth was also affected.

This is also why Li Xuewu never relies on a single channel in presiding over the Red Star Steel Group's foreign trade cooperation.

After satisfying his appetite and feeling full, Catherine propped up her body and looked at Li Xuewu, asking, "You won't let me down, right? Every time I see you, you satisfy my needs."

"Don't say that; I'll be under pressure." Li Xuewu pushed away the gentleness pressed on his face, stood up as righteously as a saint, and went to the bathroom. His heart was incomparably strong now.

Catherine looked at the Sigma man leaving, twitched her mouth in defiance, jumped off the bed, and followed.

She didn't come to see Li Xuewu just to fight, although this process was very enjoyable, she still had to persist in her career.

Not giving up until reaching the Yellow River, not stopping until reaching the goal.

Li Xuewu looked at Catherine who followed him in and shook his head with a smile. It was truly a case of meeting one's match.

Who has tried the strength of the hotel bathroom glass?

I heard that ordinary people can't break it.

Facing the stubborn Catherine, Li Xuewu finally gave her a chance, which was to be the shipping agent for Yingcheng Port.

Why can't she do Japan and South Korea, but can do Yingcheng Port?

Very simple: the butt determines the head.

Li Xuewu says she can do it, so she can do it; if he says she can't, even if she can, he won't let her. That's the principle.

As for why he chose Catherine to be this layer of agent, the reason is also very simple: she is young and ambitious.

These two conditions are indispensable.

Being young and ignorant, even if you can handle her, you can't trust her; having too much ambition is hard to control and easy to rebel.

So, with the two conditions superimposed, she became a commercial agent who is easy to handle and very hardworking.

In fact, the Santa Ya Group is also talking about related work. How could Li Xuewu put all his eggs in one basket?

The Santa Ya Group can talk, and Geely Star Shipping can also talk.

Just like rich French food like Chantal can be eaten, fashionable Italian snacks like Catherine can also be tasted.

Li Xuewu is still very professional about food; he is very good at eating Western food, especially this kind of Western food that is delivered to his door.

Heaven knows what he has paid for the development of the group and how hard he has worked.

On July 1st, Shen Guodong officially joined the organization from the neighborhood office and received his identity certificate and badge.

He ran to share his joy with Xiao Yan excitedly, and then hurriedly came to the Red Star Factory, wanting to report to Brother Wu.

But as a result, he didn't call in advance and made a wasted trip.

In the second half of the year, Li Xuewu's schedule was very tight; he had a lot of work that needed to be implemented and handled.

On the first day of July, the Red Star Factory also organized a group of progressive youth to join the big family of the organization.

However, because he was not responsible for organizational work, he did not participate in specific activities and ceremonies.

He accompanied Li Huai De and Jing Yunong to the Red Star United Savings Bank for work research.

By July, a batch of buildings in the Liangma River Ecological Industrial Zone was about to be put into use, including the United Savings Bank building.

Li Huai De's trip was to see the delivery and use of the building, and he also wanted to hear the work report of the Savings Bank President Xie Lan Zhi.

The weather was a bit hot, but it was very cool in the building. Li Huai De closed the folding fan in his hand, pointed at the text carved in plaster on the wall, and smiled, "So it was used here, hahahaha."

Xie Lan Zhi glanced at Li Xuewu, and seeing the Secretary-General smiling without speaking, she knew this was leaving the opportunity to her.

"The building is completed. I came to the site, and standing in your position, I felt like something was missing there."

She introduced with a smile, "I reported my thoughts to the Secretary-General, and he told me that what was missing here was confidence and culture."

"I didn't dare to ask you for calligraphy, so I asked the Secretary-General for help. I hope you don't blame me for acting on my own."

"Hahahaha—" Li Huai De's face was blooming with smiles; there was no sign of anger. However, the folding fan in his hand still pointed at her, and his gaze glanced at Li Xuewu, saying, "You—"

The eight large characters "Star United Integrity, Accumulate Strength for Win-Win" were red all over, and the background wall was all white, eye-catching and atmospheric.

This was a piece of calligraphy Li Xuewu personally discussed with Li Huai De. At first, they didn't say where it would be used, but seeing it today, it was indeed a surprise.

Alright, the flattery was right on target.

Jing Yunong, standing on the side, couldn't help but twitch her mouth. She increasingly felt that Li Xuewu was going to get Old Li killed.

Looking at Old Li before, he still had a bit of wisdom, but now looking at him, he is increasingly amiable and steady on the surface, but in fact, he has a lot of nonsense and doesn't understand business at all. If this continues, Old Li is finished.

"Director Li, all equipment and facilities in the office building have been installed in place." Xie Lan Zhi personally guided the introduction, "The imported advanced computers have also completed the savings system."

"Good, we must make good use of hard-won technology." Li Huai De nodded, and following Xie Lan Zhi's introduction, he looked at the electronic equipment arranged at the front desk and the workstation layout, "Very reasonable."

It was indeed reasonable. The new office building of the Red Star Steel Group was designed by the Red Star Factory's design team, improved by French designers, and finally, Li Xuewu put forward supplementary opinions during the review stage.

It can be said that details are reflected everywhere. Anyone who has seen the actual effect says these designs are excellent.

Is Li Xuewu a design genius?

Of course not; it's just that the former ox/horse was particularly familiar with his own pen. Modern design must have summarized the experience of predecessors and inevitably has rationality.

Even the savings bank's savings office building and internal layout had his opinions and requirements.

When the bank tellers who were about to take up their posts came to the savings office for pre-job training, it was the first time they saw such a large area of bulletproof glass.

That's right, this was the largest area of bulletproof glass that the Beijing Glass Factory could produce, and the United Savings Bank purchased many pieces.

In the United Savings Bank headquarters visited by Li Huai De, a whole row of 12 windows each used bulletproof glass.

With current production technology, the transparency of the glass was already very good, and internal and external intercoms used electronic connectors.

The area where cash tellers worked was separated by explosion-proof and anti-theft barriers, achieving the best anti-theft and anti-robbery capability.

The ordinary working area was made into a more modern reception and office space, fully satisfying the needs of customers handling business here.

The bank staff undergoing training were wearing unified blue uniforms. The summer wear was designed with a combination of skirts, short-sleeved shirts, and small vests. With their hair tied up, everyone looked very spirited.

Li Huai De was very satisfied with the design and planning here and stood in the lobby of the headquarters and said a lot.

In fact, what he didn't pay attention to was the security situation here. Li Xuewu invited many professional security technical talents to participate in the overall design specifications, and the completed savings offices were all of a unified standard.

Security must not only rely on manpower but also on complete equipment and security facilities.

Xie Lan Zhi specifically mentioned in the introduction the third batch of 19 United Savings Bank branches and savings offices about to be built, all of which were of the same design standard.

And among the newly built savings offices, Jingcheng accounted for 9.

With the establishment and development of the Red Star Steel Group, the credibility of the United Savings Bank was also greatly improved.

The savings interest rate in this era was not very high. The demand deposit interest rate was only 2.16, and the highest one-year fixed deposit interest rate was only 3.96, and such interest rates remained unchanged for several years.

The low-interest-rate operation made ordinary people have little desire to save money in the bank. The Red Star United Savings Bank did not dare to break the rules, let alone violate interest rate regulations to absorb savings.

But what to do if they want to absorb enough savings?

On one hand, actively promote and guide Red Star Steel Group employees and United Enterprise employees to save here.

On the other hand, actively carry out commercial cooperation and join brother enterprises to carry out an economic exchange framework alliance.

On this basis, the Red Star United Savings Bank actively launched loan services with employee wages as credit collateral.

Although the initial loan services were only aimed at buying houses and cars, this enthusiasm also received a response from the market.

Xie Lan Zhi mentioned in the work report that they were studying whether to expand loans to a wider range of workers.

As long as there is work credit, one can take out a loan to buy corresponding products, not limited to the Red Star brand.

Furthermore, the United Savings Bank was also studying whether to open up targeted loan business for housing mortgages, precious metal mortgages, and other property mortgages.

Once such economic business activities are carried out, it is necessary to expand more departments and train more employees.

In fact, the United Savings Bank had developed very fast. With excellent investment as a background and the Red Star Steel Group as an endorsement, whether it was personal savings or commercial exchanges, the business volume was increasing year by year.

Development that is too fast will inevitably bring certain risks and needs. Professional financial personnel and management personnel were already in short supply.

The Personnel Department would organize selection and training every month according to needs, training batches of graduates with high school education or above into professional banking technical talents and sending them to the savings bank.

At the symposium, Li Huai De listened to the written report. When he asked if the United Savings Bank had any work difficulties, what Xie Lan Zhi reported was the contradiction between the shortage of employees and the increasingly accelerated development.

What problems could Li Huai De solve? Finally, he looked at Li Xuewu and asked him to give opinions.

Li Xuewu knew that the savings bank was about to face the difficulty of manpower shortage when he saw the intern team downstairs.

Now that Xie Lan Zhi mentioned it, and Li Huai De wanted him to give opinions, he began to speak.

"United Savings Bank, it's not just us who are united." Li Xuewu knocked on the notebook, "Send a letter to the Dongcheng Credit Cooperative and ask them to coordinate the training or dispatch employees to work."

"Hahahaha—" A burst of light laughter sounded at the symposium. This was indeed a "bold" opinion.

All along, Xie Lan Zhi had been strong. Except for the batch of outsiders who came when the bank was established, she had never asked the credit cooperative for manpower needs since then.

The reason doesn't need to be explained; her desire for control is too strong, and she is unwilling to share the burden of the United Savings Bank with others.

These are all problems on the surface; it's just that no one dared to say it, especially the cadres of the United Savings Bank.

It can be seen how majestic Sister Xie, who has been engaged in personnel work for many years, is.

Li Xuewu didn't avoid this and said frankly, "Why should we work hard to do the work, and then share the money with them? Tell them, it won't work if they don't contribute."

Everyone could hear that this was sarcasm, and their gazes were more or less cast on Xie Lan Zhi.

Xie Lan Zhi didn't immediately refute, or say anything serious. Some words coming from Li Xuewu still gave her face.

She was serious and earnest in her work. In fact, Deputy Director Jing, who was in charge of financial work, was also a serious person.

The two had similar temperaments, and there were times when they didn't get along in their work, and most of the time someone had to suffer grievances.

After Li Xuewu pointed her out, he looked at Li Huai De and continued, "It seems our group is still lacking talents."

"Hmm, this matter really needs to be taken seriously." Li Huai De nodded, signaled Xie Lan Zhi, and said, "Have you communicated with Deputy Director Gu? You can talk about it later. She should still have a lot of university student quotas there."

"Han Xin points out the soldiers, the more the better."

Li Xuewu looked at Sister Xie and reminded her, "You still have to develop in the future. The need for university students is necessary."

"Coincidentally, now is a good time. You can recruit a batch of students from the Finance and Economics College and the Accounting College."

He looked at Li Huai De again and asked for instructions, "I see that the United Savings Bank's need for talents is not an isolated case. Should the Commission Office send a notice below to collect some manpower need information?"

"That's fine, feel the bottom." Li Huai De nodded and looked at the crowd, "The group's cultivation and emphasis on talents don't need to be emphasized. We have already invested more than 200,000 this year, right?"

He glanced at Li Xuewu, confirmed it, and continued, "You also feel your own pockets to see how much capital is needed to do this business and support this stall."

"Ask Deputy Director Gu to solve your talent needs at one time and do the work as soon as possible, okay."

Xie Lan Zhi took the lead in applauding, and the atmosphere in the venue made Old Li the focus and synonym for wisdom.

In fact, Jing Yunong glanced at Li Xuewu, who was hiding his merit and fame, and now she was really sure that this brat had no good intentions.

?? Note 1: Shipping agency service refers to the business activity of accepting the entrustment of cargo consignees, consignors, ship owners, ship charterers, or ship operators, in the name of the principal or in one's own name, without directly providing cargo transportation services, to handle cargo transportation and related business procedures such as ship entry and exit from ports, contacting and arranging pilotage, berthing, and loading and unloading for the principal.

? (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 1317 =====