2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 517 A Skyscraper Rise from the Ground

The progress of the Wangjiang Industrial Park is still very slow.

Last year's heavy snowfall hit this area the hardest. When Tan Jincheng arrived, he could still see unmelted snow in some of the more remote corners of the factory area.

Tan Jincheng stood in front of a collapsed makeshift house and said with a wry smile, "Luckily it's a construction site, and the holiday started early before the New Year, otherwise I would have been in trouble."

Tao Qinian, who was accompanying him, nodded with lingering fear. He had a more direct feeling than Tan Jincheng, as he was there when the shed collapsed. Luckily, no one was inside.

At the same time, I was also somewhat relieved. If Xiao Tan hadn't given me several prior notices, these people in the county, including these workers, would never have taken it seriously.

If Tan Jincheng is unlucky, then he will be even more unlucky.

These days, construction workers don't really have any safety awareness. It's a miracle if a construction site goes from start to finish without any accidents, from top to bottom.

The construction workers at the Wangjiang Industrial Park site are mostly local construction workers. These roughnecks are even more casual about working near their homes.

"We've always heard that President Tan has a very high level of safety awareness, and this time we've experienced it firsthand. In fact, we still have a lot to learn from President Tan."

Due to differences in infrastructure and the level of attention paid to it, the county was severely affected by the disaster. Many houses collapsed under the weight of the snow, and many people were injured. Countless migrant workers were stranded on the roads due to snow accumulation.

Many migrant workers returning home actually have a relatively smooth journey, but the stretch from the county or town to their homes is the most difficult for them, leading to widespread resentment.

That's right. Walking home through thick snow and dragging heavy luggage, just thinking about it makes me feel frustrated.

"Not at all, this isn't something I can decide on my own. Besides, safety is no small matter," Tan Jincheng said with a smile.

Rumors circulated in Wangjiang Industrial Park that Boss Tan had an exaggerated sense of safety. These rumors came from the fellow villagers who had worked with Zhang Qingliang to renovate Tan Jincheng's house in Beicang. The rumors spread like wildfire and became distorted.

In addition, when Boss Xiao Tan was building a house in his hometown, the safety requirements were beyond what ordinary workers could meet, so a small professional construction team was hired to replace the original group of workers.

In the countryside, this would be a huge scandal. It's only because Boss Tan is so rich and provided enough subsidies that the house couldn't be built, otherwise the people in front would definitely cause trouble.

Tan Jincheng also knew about these rumors through his uncles, but he didn't care.

The reason for renovating my own home is because of Zhang Qingliang. Besides, it's my own house to live in. How can I live there if something happens to it? As for the construction site, that's the place where disputes are most likely to occur. It's a mixed bag.

Boss Tan isn't in this line of work, and he doesn't have a powerful background in Wangjiang. If he gets into an accident, he can really cause a lot of trouble. Anyone who's worked on construction sites knows that these things aren't something you can just resolve by paying more money.

If you're easygoing and immediately start talking about how much compensation you'll get, you'll only cause more trouble. Boss Tan is someone you really don't dare mess with in this business; those who know, know.

In short, it's not necessarily a bad thing if these rumors are a bit far-fetched. At least the workers on the construction site will be more safety conscious. Take the Wangjiang Industrial Park construction site for example, many of the workers' sheds collapsed, but because the workers had been evacuated in advance, there were no casualties.

In this respect, Boss Tan was quite lucky. This is the advantage of knowing in advance. Many factories have injured many workers. Even when warehouses in Beijing and Shanghai collapsed, they dared not announce it to the public. There are countless videos and pictures of the collapses online.

"Mr. Wu, we need to speed up the progress in the later stages. The first phase of the project this year must be completed, otherwise our production capacity this year will be like it was in previous years."

Accompanied by a group of people, Tan Jincheng toured the Wangjiang Industrial Park and was deeply troubled by its progress. If this were in Beicang, the machines would probably be ready to be installed by now, but the progress here was really too slow.

Throughout 2007, Flash's production capacity remained very relaxed. This year is an Olympic year, and from now until May, and from one month before the opening of the Olympics until the end of the year, will be Flash's key promotional period.

Given the growth rate of the electric vehicle industry in the past two years, and considering the official implementation time of the new national standard for electric vehicles, it is no surprise that the next two years will be another period of explosive production capacity expansion for leading manufacturers.

If you just remember that Aima hired Jay Chou as its spokesperson in 2009, you can roughly understand that without a major opportunity, this long-established bicycle family, a company with deep roots in Henan Province and Tianjin, would not have been able to make such a big splash in the market.

“Okay, I’ll keep an eye on the progress.” Wu Zhenping nodded.

The main reason for sending him here was that the previous person in charge was incompetent, and the progress of the project could not satisfy Tan Jincheng. The entire Shanchi Group has many industries in Wangjiang, but currently only the garment factory is operating normally.

The warehouse is built, but electric vehicles here haven't even started normal production yet. There aren't enough vehicles to go around in other regions, so there's practically no inventory to speak of, and it's basically sitting idle. With garment factories and electric vehicle factories being two major investment-heavy industries, the entire industrial sector of Wangjiang County is almost entirely supported by Shanchi.

"Don't worry, Mr. Tan, the county will also help supervise and ensure that the first phase of the project can be completed on schedule this year," Tao Qinian assured him from the side.

Boss Tan's dissatisfaction with the construction schedule is already very obvious. This is only the first phase of the project. Given Flash's current scale, if the first phase of the project does not satisfy him, it is highly likely that he will abandon the subsequent two phases.

If a project is left unfinished, it will truly turn a good thing into a bad thing, especially given the recent rumors that Flash Motors is preparing to manufacture cars.

Tao Qinian will be promoted this year, but he will still remain in the county. Flash Motors is a key project that he personally introduced, and he does not want any problems to arise with this key enterprise during his next term.

The first phase of the project must be completed on schedule.

In fact, Tao Qinian was also in a hurry. The county's finances were limited, and the construction of basic facilities such as roads in the Shanchi Industrial Park was often under financial pressure, so they had to be very cautious. They were poor.

Without money, things are difficult to get done. Add to that the heavy snow during the Spring Festival, and then there's the rain at the beginning and end of the year, and the project progresses very slowly.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, leaders. Our General Manager Wu has just been transferred here and there are still many things he doesn't understand. We'll need your help to assist him."

Tan Jincheng did not reject Tao Qinian's guarantee or good intentions, as starting production as soon as possible would be a good thing for everyone.
-
Monday, April 2th.

The State Trademark Office approved the five new trademark applications filed by Flashcar, marking the first step in Flashcar's car manufacturing journey. Meanwhile, starting from the eighth day of the first lunar month, Chen Jinwen, accompanied by a headhunter, arrived in the capital.

Now, more than 10 days have passed, and after Chen Jinwen's persistent pestering, Zhang Yong has gone from initially refusing to now hesitating, just like Sun Tongyu, and has entered a state of indecision.

Zhang Yong, who has been with BAIC for 10 years and is now a sales manager for the Foton brand, enjoys his job even though his promotions have been slow.

Moving from the factory floor to sales is a significant step in his career, essentially a move from behind the scenes to the forefront.

"Mr. Zhang, don't hesitate, come work for Flash Motors. Our boss said that you'll be in charge of the car manufacturing business. We've already registered the brand, and the work is underway. We're just waiting for you to lead the team to continue."

"Yes, Mr. Zhang, state-owned enterprises value seniority the most. You're only 33 years old now, and if you want to get promoted, you'll have to wait at least another 10 years. You can do a lot in these 10 years at Flash. Look at our Mr. Tan's father, he's also in a state-owned enterprise. It's very difficult to get promoted without some connections."

The sales manager wasn't considered a high-level manager, and it was much easier for him to interact with Zhang Yong than with Sun Tongyu. As a sales manager, the company couldn't really pay attention to who he met, unlike Sun Tongyu, whose position was more sensitive.

"I don't know how much Mr. Zhang knows about our boss, but as one of the earliest people to follow him, I know that all the promises our boss made have been fulfilled, and when he says he'll delegate authority, he really means it. Mr. Zhang can go and find out more about that."

"In addition, our boss treats the people who start businesses with him very well. He not only provides them with a comfortable life, but also helps them realize their career ambitions."

"Yes, you know Mr. Sun Tongyu from Taobao, right? He's known as the father of Taobao. He'll be officially joining Orange Technology, which is controlled by our CEO Tan, on March 1st as the CEO of Orange Products Club. If you don't have some ideas, you can't convince someone like Mr. Sun."

"Don't hesitate, Mr. Zhang. Instead of wasting another 10 years at BAIC, why not come to our Flash Motor? Let's build a great enterprise together from the ground up, what do you think?"

Chen Jinwen seemed to be brainwashing Zhang Yong, using headhunters to pester him every day under the pretext of buying a car or other reasons, repeating the same few sentences over and over again until Zhang Yong's ears were practically calloused.

"But you, Flashcar, make electric cars."

"Who said that Flash Motors only makes electric cars? We also make clothes, power batteries, and the internet. It's perfectly reasonable for us to also make cars, right? You know, our CEO Tan is only in his twenties. It's more interesting to work with a boss like him."

"Besides, which domestic private car brand didn't start out in other industries? Zhongtai was an auto parts supplier before, and it's doing quite well now. Our boss even designed the marketing for their first model."

"Yeah, heroes come from all walks of life. Together we've created a new private car brand. Isn't that way much more impressive than you selling cars for BAIC right now?"

At 33 years old, although he is already a veteran of state-owned enterprises, Zhang Yong's drive has not disappeared. The idea of ​​jointly creating a brand-new domestic car brand sounds quite appealing.

"But why me? I'm not exactly a well-known figure in the automotive industry, am I?"

(End of this chapter)