Siheyuan: Starting from 1958

My parents-in-law don't want to move for the time being, and it does feel a bit empty for a family of six to live in a three-courtyard house.

In addition, the houses in the courtyard house were not particularly small, with a total living area of ​​at least 100 square meters, plus a small courtyard of 20 to 30 square meters, so Wang Dong gave up the idea of ​​moving immediately.

He then turned his gaze to his wife: "Wife..."

"What's the current situation at the steel rolling mill...?"

“I heard from some of my neighbors in the courtyard that they have protested for a wage increase at the factory several times, but the factory leaders have refused each time.”

“In those private steel rolling mills outside, the monthly wages for apprentices have risen to more than 30 yuan, and the wages for fitters with slightly better skills are at least 50 yuan.”

"The regular employees at the steel rolling mill still only receive a monthly salary of twenty-seven yuan."

"Many level four fitters don't even earn as much as level two fitters outside..."

"Is it already unsustainable?"

His wife rolled her eyes at Wang Dong and replied, "Dongzi..."

"You'd love for the steel mill to go bankrupt due to poor management so you can take it over at minimal cost, wouldn't you...?"

Seeing Wang Dong smile without saying a word, Chen Jun didn't waste any words either. After thinking for a moment, he replied, "But this time you're probably going to miscalculate."

"Several steel rolling mills in Beijing have already started raising wages for their workers..."

"The higher authorities also issued documents to Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill to raise wages, but the mill suppressed them and postponed their implementation..."

"I heard the steel rolling mill leaders have gotten addicted to laying off people..."

"The plan is to force some people to leave the steel rolling mill by lowering wages, so as to reduce the burden and production costs of the factory, and then raise wages for the remaining workers."

"The effect is excellent..."

"In less than three months, more than a thousand workers voluntarily resigned from the steel rolling mill, including many third and fourth-level fitters, forgers, and welders..."

"It saves the steel rolling mill nearly 100,000 yuan in expenses and costs every month."

"The steel rolling mill was already struggling to pay its workers' wages, but this move has brought it back into balance."

“If this trend continues, I estimate that Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill will not have any problems for the next two or three years.”

A look of surprise flashed across Wang Dong's face. He hadn't expected the steel rolling mill leaders to pull such a stunt, reducing unnecessary employees to lower production costs and ensure the mill's normal operation.

Despite the differences, Wang Dong's belief and ideas about taking over the steel rolling mill did not change.

After thinking for a moment, he replied, "Wife..."

"You're overestimating the steel rolling mill..."

"I previously analyzed with you why the production costs of steel rolling mills are much higher than those of privately owned steel rolling mills..."

"Reducing the number of frontline employees can indeed lower some of the production costs for steel rolling mills..."

"But no matter how many people they lay off, they can't reduce the waste of materials and the costs of management."

"After all, those managers are all cadres."

"Not to mention the steel rolling mill director, even the steel rolling mill's superiors can't easily fire them."

"With these two major players still around, steel rolling mills can never compete with private factories outside."

"Didn't you just say that the steel rolling mill has temporarily shelved the document to raise workers' wages?"

"Prices in Beijing are getting higher and higher, and they certainly can't keep them down for long."

“Even after cutting the workers who have already resigned, the steel rolling mill still has six or seven thousand workers. If each worker gets a ten-yuan raise per month, that's an extra sixty or seventy thousand yuan in wages per month.” “The little bit of cost they saved by laying off workers has been wiped out in an instant.”

"With fewer and fewer orders coming in, the steel mill may fall into a loss-making state again in less than three months."

“I’m not worried at all about not having the opportunity to take over the steel rolling mill. What I’m worried about is that the steel rolling mill will lay off all the really capable people in the factory in order to reduce production costs.”

"Even if I successfully take over the steel rolling mill, all I'll get is a group of employees who aren't very capable."

"If we want to turn a profit and make the steel rolling mill grow, we need to find a way to bring back those outstanding employees who have resigned. That's what we call a loss."

Chen Jun didn't know why her husband was so obsessed with taking over the steel rolling mill, but she still smiled and reassured him, "Don't worry about that..."

"Those factory leaders at the steel rolling mill aren't idiots..."

"I know very well who can be fired and who cannot be fired..."

"Although the steel rolling mill laid off more than a thousand people in just a few months, the highest-ranking worker among them was only level five..."

"None of the truly skilled senior fitters have left."

"The leaders of the steel rolling mill have really gone to great lengths to retain these talents."

"If you can't raise their wages, then increase their benefits..."

"I heard that a level 6 fitter gets a monthly subsidy of 10 yuan, a level 7 fitter gets a monthly subsidy of 20 yuan, and a level 8 fitter gets a monthly subsidy of 30 yuan."

"Even if the workers below have complaints, there's nothing they can do."

"After all, steel rolling mills have always had a policy of subsidizing senior technicians."

Wang Dong breathed a sigh of relief and replied, "That's good..."

He then began to introduce another idea to Chen Jun: "Wife..."

"Since it's impossible to take over the steel mill in the short term, and the Dongjun Hotel is also on the right track, managed by four managers, I actually have less and less to do now."

"I was thinking about whether we could start a new business..."

Before his wife, Chen Jun, could reply, his sister-in-law couldn't help but chime in, "Brother-in-law..."

What new business are you planning to start?

"Is it also related to food?"

Facing the gazes of everyone looking at him, Wang Dong didn't waste any words and directly stated his thoughts: "Dongjun Restaurant is a place that specializes in banquets, entertaining guests, and providing a place for ordinary people to improve their meals."

"The average spending per person is relatively high. Ordinary people rarely come to restaurants except for banquets and holidays."

"I plan to develop a new type of fast food model in Beijing that is targeted at ordinary people and offers very quick and inexpensive meals."

“Wife, you work in a government department, and Chen Li, you are in college. You should be able to come into contact with some foreign food and have heard of KFC and McDonald’s, which are popular in Europe and America and specialize in fried chicken.”

"If Europe and America can have two world-renowned giant catering companies like KFC and McDonald's, then China can also have its own catering companies."

"So I also want to open a fast food chain in Beijing that mainly serves fried chicken."

"But these chain stores need a lot of chicken..."

"With the local production rate of old hens, it is clear that it cannot meet the demand of fast food, and old hens are too expensive, which we cannot afford."

"So I plan to simultaneously plan a fast-food chain and a chicken farm, specifically raising a type of chicken suitable for fried chicken with a short production cycle." (End of Chapter)