2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 707 Another Year of Chinese New Year
The 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, a Sunday.

Today is the annual meeting of Flash Group headquarters. Prior to this, branches in various regions had already held their own annual meetings, which were quite lively.

Of course, the most lively place was the Yangtze Motors branch venue.

Zhu Pei specially chose a sunny day to decorate more than a hundred Feiyang SUVs, draping them in red silk and parking them in the company's parking area, making them look quite beautiful.

There have been rumors that the company would give away cars at the annual meeting, but rumors are just rumors. It would be much more reassuring to see it with one's own eyes.

Yangzi Motors doesn't have a large number of employees, and with over 100 cars, there are enough to go around for many people. Even if there are some inside stories, there are still many opportunities.

The allocation criteria were actually quite simple: they were selected from outstanding employees. In reality, these former state-owned enterprise employees were overthinking things. This was Yangzi Motors' first annual meeting, and the boss himself had overseen and set the criteria.

Who would dare to pull any strings in this matter?
There is no shortage of insider trading in this world, but it depends on when and at what point.

In addition to these 100+ Feiyang SUVs, the Audi A6s that Boss Tan promised have also arrived, along with a series of other prizes, both large and small, such as electric scooters, small household appliances, and cash rewards.

The fair participation method has benefited many grassroots employees. In addition, Zhu Pei promised at the annual meeting that everyone's year-end bonus would be one month's salary.

Zhu Pei is also a man who knows how to get things done. In addition to the rewards, Yangzi Automobile's annual meeting was almost a copy of the sensational annual meeting of Flash Technology. Even the dance he danced was the same one that his boss had danced back then.

In addition, many district leaders were invited, and Yangzi Automobile, which has achieved a production value of over 1 billion yuan and sold more than 20,000 pickup trucks a year, has once again become a pillar industry in the area.

The annual meeting of Yangzi Motors, which has had a tumultuous history, caused quite a stir in Chuzhou.

No one expected that the company would actually be saved. The group of people who were kicked out of the company by Tan Jincheng last year, and some of the people behind them, had said a lot of bad things about Yangzi Automobile and Boss Tan himself in the local area.

In a small city, interpersonal relationships are inherently complex. Tan Jincheng's actions were tantamount to offending a group of local forces. To be honest, Yangzi Automobile did not receive much support from the local community in Chuzhou in 2009.

"President Zhu, this year's annual meeting was very well organized. You were right when you said that Yangzi Motors really needed an annual meeting of this caliber."

The annual meeting held at the headquarters of the FlashCar Group was not nearly as lively as those held separately in various locations. However, the biggest highlight was that each region sent its top management team, no matter how busy they were, they had to give the boss face.

Zhu Pei also came from Chuzhou, and also wanted to take a look at the headquarters of Weilai Automobile.

"No, it's mainly because the rewards you set were generous enough, otherwise it wouldn't have caused such a sensation."

Big cities have their own way of life, and small cities have their own way of life. In fact, doing business in a small city is very difficult.

A unique network of interpersonal relationships is essential; without sufficient strength or patience, even opening a small steamed bun shop can lead to endless troubles.

The high-profile annual meeting of Yangzi Motors will certainly attract the covetous eyes of some local scoundrels, but the greater benefit is actually a deterrent. The top management reacted quickly, and their attitude had already changed after more than 10,000 pickup trucks were sold.

However, most other people don't know how many pickup trucks you sell in a year, and even if they do, they may not understand the significance behind it.

What does annual sales exceeding 10 billion yuan represent? CZ City's GDP in 2009 was 680 billion yuan, which might not seem like much on a city-wide scale.

However, if we consider the Langya District where Yangzi Automobile is located, its significance is even more exaggerated than that of the Flash Group in Beicang.

In 2009, Langya District's total GDP was only 45 billion yuan, with Yangzi Automobile accounting for a quarter of it.

Zhu Pei, the top manager retained by Tan Jincheng, was seen as a 'traitor' by the employees who were kicked out of the company, and was also considered a lackey by certain local interest groups.

However, in just one year, faced with absolute benefits, Zhu Pei became a guest of honor in the district, and only he himself could understand the bitterness of this situation.

"This year, we will continue to increase sales. However, if you have sufficient funds, it is not impossible to accelerate the construction of the factory."

Zhu Pei just brought New Year's greetings from the city and district, but he still hasn't given up on expanding Yangzi Automobile's pickup truck fleet. The most eager ones are naturally the leaders of Langya District.

This time, Tan Jincheng relented, but the implication was clear: building the factory ahead of schedule was not impossible, but you would have to solve the problems yourselves, and headquarters would not provide any support.

Zhu Pei nodded: "Okay, I'll make some plans when I get back."

Whether or not a new factory is built doesn't have a significant impact on Zhu Pei. He clearly understands that sales volume is the key to Yangzi Pickup's survival. Without increasing sales and further expanding brand awareness, he will forever remain just the person in charge of Yangzi Pickup.

Simply put, making money is the mission of Yangzi Pickup.

The city and district governments have their own ideas and want to keep pace with the development of the automotive industry, which is understandable. However, without sufficient support, it is impossible to get the company to spend money.

In Zhu Pei's opinion, the boss had been generous enough not to hold a grudge about what had happened before.

If it were him, he wouldn't change his plans to invest money in businesses that aren't core to his business in advance.

The annual meeting performances were still going on, but for the heads of branch offices in various regions, their purpose in coming to Beicang wasn't to watch the performances, but to impress their bosses. They rarely saw their bosses throughout the year, and they couldn't miss this hard-won opportunity to shine.

"Why didn't Director Yang come? I was thinking of asking him about the progress of his new model."

"Haha, Director Yang has been sick recently. He was planning to come over, but he's quite ill, so I told him not to go out unnecessarily."

"Hmm? Is she very ill?"

"Well, it's nothing really, it's just that he's been working too much overtime lately. This guy is really pushing himself too hard. Once tech people get into the zone, it's really hard to understand them."

Yang Zhijie is the kind of person who doesn't have much attachment to power. He can be considered a relatively pure technical talent, and he is quite stubborn about the projects he is in charge of and the results of his research.

Tan Jincheng gave him a research direction, and he immersed himself in it.

Zhu Pei wouldn't mind saying a few good words for someone who posed no threat to him in front of his boss.

"Hmm? Working too much overtime? Are you very sick?"

Tan Jincheng was somewhat surprised and doubtful. In his previous life, he had seen many news reports about company employees dying suddenly from overwork. This was actually a very serious matter, and if not handled carefully, it could become a social incident.

The entire Flash Group actually has a serious overtime problem. Boss Tan is willing to pay, but a businessman is a businessman, and his own interests will definitely come first.

He wouldn't add another employee if the problem could be solved by working overtime.

Employees on the production line at the grassroots level don't really work overtime; they either work two shifts of 12 hours or three shifts of 8 hours.

The companies that work the most overtime are the technical departments of each company. The main reason is that the rapid expansion has led to a shortage of personnel. Although the pay is high, the work is also very hard.

However, this was the first time Tan Jincheng had heard of someone getting sick from working overtime.

"As you get older, your back can't take it anymore, but it's not a big deal."

Zhu Pei didn't think the problem was that serious.

"That won't do. When you get back, tell me that I need to rest when I need to. Progress is progress, but I can't work overtime and cause problems. Also, please make sure to recruit in time if we don't have enough staff."

Damn it, even Tan Jincheng had a headache when it came to this issue.

It's easy for big cities like Ningbo, Shenzhen, and Tianjin, as well as provincial capitals like Hunan and Luzhou, to recruit people. But it's much harder for smaller places like Chuzhou and Wangjiang to attract high-caliber talent.

If you can find a few people with a proper bachelor's degree to apply for a local position, that's already a great achievement. Most of the time, the recruitment is done from headquarters and then the applicants are sent out, and even then, most people are not willing to accept the offer.

Currently, the main goal is to lure recent college graduates to the area.

"We're hiring right now, but as you know, it's difficult to recruit people in our small town. It's okay for entry-level employees, but it's a bit difficult for R&D technicians."

The squeaky wheel gets the grease; you can't just report good news and hide the bad in front of your boss.

"Let me think of a way to see if there is a specific and effective measure to solve this problem."

From the perspective of a migrant worker, if it were him, he wouldn't be willing to work in a small place either. After all that studying, wasn't it all for the purpose of seeking better development in a bigger city?

"It seems like it's time to establish some kind of research institute."

FlashTech's problem is easily solved. It has always focused on R&D at its headquarters, while the Tianjin, Wangjiang, and Xiangcheng areas, which are about to be fully operational, are mainly used for pure factory production.

The need for technical talent is not large, but Weilai Auto cannot continue like this.

Like other car companies, establishing a research institute to integrate all aspects of car model development, including batteries, can not only better address the waste of talent but also allow for greater centralization of power.

But where would be a suitable place to locate the research institute?

Ningbo or Luzhou?
By the way, Qin Junchao came over today too. We can ask him how Dizi's plan to poach talent is going, and also consider putting these poached talents directly into the research institute later.

"Let's stop here for today. When you go back, tell Director Yang to take care of himself. I'll also give him a call. I'll try to figure out how to recruit."

"Ok."

After dismissing Zhu Pei, Tan Jincheng asked Zeng Jixiang to call Qin Junchao over.

(End of this chapter)