Rebirth 2010: I taught Mr. Lei how to make a mobile phone

Chapter 806 Honorary Advisor of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion

"Moss, the latest survey data from the Zhiyan platform is out."

In the conference room, Chen Mo's gaze remained fixed on the document in his hand. "Read it."

According to the "2016 Zhiyan Employee Overtime Survey Report", 38.7% of employees work overtime almost every day, 40.1% have hidden overtime, and more than 80% of overtime is "voluntary".

Overtime work primarily involves meetings, followed by ad-hoc tasks, training sessions, and video conferences.

Holiday statistics show that first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen have a better implementation of the two-day weekend, but other regions generally have single-day weekends, work-in-place adjustments, and alternating weeks of 5-6 days.

There's even a saying circulating on the job forum: "The so-called flexible work system only adjusts the working hours; the workload remains constant."

When a series of harsh statistics were presented to everyone, the difficulty of implementing the "landing plan" became crystal clear.

After all, anything not prohibited by law is permissible; what can they do if it's just part of the company's plan?
At this point, one of the economic experts suggested, "Mr. Chen, I suggest we adjust our strategy. Perhaps we can approach this from an economic perspective. I recommend you visit Professor Li Yining."

"Elder Li?"

Chen Mo recalled the few brief meetings he had with the program "Win in China" years ago.

Although we were unable to have in-depth exchanges, we fortunately kept each other's contact information.

Later, he visited Li Lao three times in an attempt to invite him to join the Tianji Pavilion, but to no avail.

Another economics luminary, Wu Jinglian, had expressed interest, but after checking, he found that Wu had been an honorary advisor to the Taishan Club, so he gave up the idea of ​​recruiting him.

"I'll refine the existing plan first, then I'll go visit Mr. Li."

The next day, Chen Mo brought gifts to the door.

After hearing the purpose of the visit, Mr. Li did not respond directly, but instead posed a question: "President Chen, what do you think is the essence of the current two-day weekend system?"

Two days off a week? What else could it be but rest?
But Chen Mo suddenly stopped himself from giving the answer. Since Elder Li had asked this question, there must be a deeper meaning behind it.

This world has many logics hidden beneath the surface of common sense, so the answer is certainly not the obvious one.

What else could it be but rest?

Chen Mo's heart skipped a beat, and he continued to reason.

According to the law of conservation of energy, if work is production, then taking a holiday is consumption.

The next moment, a clear line of thought emerged in Chen Mo's mind.

Consumption helps absorb excess capacity, boosts the market, stabilizes marriage and birth rates, promotes expanded reproduction, and forms a development cycle.

The answer to this question is then obvious.
Chen Mo uttered two words, "Economy!" His answer was very firm.

This is the first time Li Yining has smiled since Chen Mo's visit. "That's right. Things like weekends and Golden Week are economic adjustment tools to encourage people to spend more."

Do you know why the two-day weekend was implemented in the first place?

"The impact of weekends on the economy will be an important evaluation criterion for promoting the implementation of weekends. I understand that you provided the data to support your view that weekends would not reduce market capacity and affect economic development, which enabled the implementation of this system."

"Heh~" Old Li shook his head self-deprecatingly, "I didn't deserve such great credit. It was simply because we had already begun preparations to enter the world at that time, and it just so happened to be the right time."

Chen Mo suddenly realized, no wonder.
"First promise that it will be served; the rest is up to the wisdom of future generations."
Later, we discovered that on weekends, everyone was just lying at home, not very proactive or ambitious.

It's important to understand that rest doesn't generate value, and things that don't generate value are meaningless on certain levels.

If the purpose of holidays is to encourage and stimulate consumption, but people are unwilling to spend, then there is no point in having them.

It would be better to cancel the holiday and continue production.

This is also the root cause of the current situation.
Just like the initial state-owned shareholding reform. It was clearly designed and planned very well.

Li Yining stopped short of making a point, but a hint of regret and sadness flashed in his eyes.

Before coming, Chen Mo had done his research. After all, the economic circles called it "Li Shares" for a reason; some of its merits and demerits were beyond his ability to judge.
"Another key factor is productivity transformation."

In the past, during the era of the "iron rice bowl" system, there were many factories, many machines, and many workers. It was indeed possible to increase production capacity by having two days off per week, since one person could not operate two machines at the same time.

Given the number of machines and employees, allowing employees to rest more and work with full energy can potentially increase productivity.

But now companies are standardized, with clear and regulated work processes. One person can do the work of several people, which increases the company's bargaining power, hence the saying, "If you don't do it, there are plenty of people who can."

Employee costs are calculated based on social insurance and housing fund contributions; by having one person do the work of two, the savings go beyond just one person's salary.

Chen Mo seemed to be thinking, "This is a typical capital-intensive development model—forming economies of scale through short-term investment and quickly seizing the market."

The advantage of this model is that it has a high capital utilization rate, a fast industrial upgrading speed, and can produce results in a short period of time. Even if a person is about to die, a single injection can give them a brief respite and allow them to bounce around for a few more minutes.

The downside is severe involution and low sustainability of profits. The industrial process leads companies to frantically pursue efficiency, thus falling into a vicious cycle of involution, and accelerating industry consolidation. But if this results in overcapacity, and employees are still forced to work overtime, won't that just exacerbate the overcapacity problem?

Old Li's eyes seemed to see through the fundamental laws of economic operation, and he said with a cold smile, "Young Chen, because these companies are the direct beneficiaries of this logic~"
They conduct numerous trials, and those that succeed monopolize the market. While simultaneously regulating the market with capital, they tell stories to fleece investors.

As for those failed projects, they should be disbanded, staff should be laid off, and overtime should be implemented.
Therefore, you will see that those big companies are constantly hiring, laying off, and working overtime every year, in a continuous cycle.

There's no shortage of people, is there?

A person's normal working hours per month are 165 hours, while working according to good karma is 288 hours per month, which is almost double.

It's not surprising that seemingly unrelated phenomena like mass unemployment and excessive overtime work can occur simultaneously.
In this respect alone, the other side is different. You did not choose to conform to the crowd, but instead took a new path that violated market rules and subverted the logic of capital, which is excellent.

That's why I'm willing to talk to you about these things.

Since the conversation had progressed to this point, Chen Mo immediately handed over the first draft of the "Landing Plan," saying, "This is a plan I intend to implement; please take a look."

Old Li put on his reading glasses, took out a fountain pen from his coat pocket, and as time passed, he would sometimes ponder and sometimes annotate, writing down his thoughts and suggestions.
Half an hour passed, and he put down his pen, paused for a moment, and then slowly began to speak.
"The idea is good, and the approach is correct, but the methods are too drastic and may backfire. Also, some parts are too idealistic and have too high expectations of people's character."

Chen Mo leaned forward slightly, adopting an attentive listening posture, "I'd like to hear the details!"

"The needs of working people are actually very simple: work less and earn more money."

But different people are like rice; the more standardized the system, the more cost-effective it is for some people to take the initiative to work overtime.

There are external reasons, and there are internal problems, such as inconsistent voices.

The outside is corrupt, the inside is stupid, and there will always be people who break the rules for their own benefit—that's the prisoner's dilemma.

Chen Mo seemed to understand something, "It's like a novelist. The more words you write, the more money you make. So there are always those who lead the way by writing 20,000 or 30,000 words a day, which forces other authors to increase their output as well."
The result of everyone taking extra classes is that nobody actually gets extra classes.

People can get exhausted, but capital won't. The platform always benefits, and ultimately, this involution leads to a vicious cycle until one side can't hold on any longer.

"Yes, that's the idea. So your plan can start small and gradually expand, using small and medium-sized enterprises as a starting point is correct. You can begin with the internet industry and then create a demonstration effect, but ultimately you still need to wait for the right opportunity."

"opportunity?"

"The key to breaking the deadlock is whether a dynamic balance can be achieved."

The economy is currently on an upward trend, but based on my observation, this trend won't last long. In about five years, there will be a turning point in the cycle. If the economy declines, it will exacerbate the current cycle and expose some problems.

When the dynamic equilibrium is disrupted, a new equilibrium needs to be established, and if you can stick to your plan, there is a possibility of success.
That's always been the case. Anything only has value when it's needed. As for when it will be needed...
Only time will tell.

I hope that by then, the other shore will be there, and you will be there!

Li Yining's words were like a thunderclap, exploding in Chen Mo's mind.

What shocked him was not Li Lao's expectations of him, but the economic giant's prediction of the economic trend—that precise time point was almost exactly the same as the turning point in his previous life's memories.

"So, Xiao Mo, some things are never a matter of whether they are difficult or not, but a matter of whether you want to or not. As for how to think about it?"

Just like a patient who avoids seeking medical help until their illness is terminal, what you need to do is prepare a good remedy in advance, and when the time is right, the medicine will naturally cure the disease.

Chen Mo stood up solemnly and bowed deeply to the wise old man with white hair, who was already in his eighties: "I will remember Elder Li's teachings."

"By the way," Elder Li suddenly changed the subject, a sly glint in his eyes, "Does your Heavenly Mystery Pavilion need any advisors?"

These words sent a jolt through Chen Mo. Who was Li Yining? A leading figure in Chinese economics, a veteran think tank of reform and opening up, a professor at Peking University for forty years, and his students spread across both the political and business spheres.

The important figure whom he had failed to persuade to come back then, despite his three visits to Zhuge Liang's thatched cottage, has now taken the initiative to extend an olive branch.

Chen Mo felt a tightness in his throat and his mind race. His usually sharp words became hesitant and stammering: "You...you mean before?"

“I was worried that you were all talk and no action before,” Old Li said with a smile and a wave of his hand. “But in the past two years, I’ve observed things from the sidelines and have seen some of the tricks of the trade.”

Anyway, I'm just an old man with nothing better to do, so I might as well see for myself what kind of flowers this 'other shore' can bloom."

The old man's gaze as he looked out the window suddenly became distant. "Let's just consider it as making up for some unfinished business."

"This is a great honor for the other side!"

Two hands clasped tightly, the wisdom of an era and the aspirations of a new generation converge at this moment.

Chen Mo not only left with the revised and improved "Plan to Go Ashore", but also brought a "stabilizing force" to the Tianji Pavilion.

The addition of Mr. Li is as important to the other side as the emergence of a sleeping dragon.

This gave Chen Mo more confidence in the path ahead.

(End of this chapter)