Siheyuan: Starting from 1958

"Two million?" Chen Jun asked tentatively.

Seeing that Wang Dong was still shaking his head, Chen Jun's expression of shock was beyond words. He spoke again, "It can't have exceeded two and a half million, can it?"

Wang Dong nodded and replied, "To be precise, it should be two million eight hundred thousand..."

“Besides Dongjun Hotel and the farm that has already turned a profit, you’ve forgotten to count two other places, honey.”

"After a full year of expansion, the fried chicken shop has grown from five branches to twenty-eight branches, consuming more than three thousand white-feathered chickens every day..."

"Because of the feed mill's investment in production, the cost of raising white-feathered chickens in the farm has been greatly reduced. For every white-feathered chicken consumed by the fried chicken shop, we can earn 1.3 yuan, which is 30 cents more than at the beginning."

“These fried chicken shops alone can bring us four thousand yuan in profit a day, which is no less than that of Dongjun Restaurant.”

"The feed mill, which started production in June or July last year, not only supplies various feeds to the farms, but also sells a significant portion of its feed to external customers. It brought us a profit of about 200,000 yuan in the second half of last year."

"This year, the feed mill has added two more production lines. If nothing unexpected happens, the annual profit will definitely exceed 500,000."

"And our mutton processing plant in Tangshan Town, although it didn't make any money last year, it didn't lose much either."

"After the Chinese New Year, the number of live sheep received by the processing plant increased significantly every day, and the income also increased."

"It not only covers all expenses, but also leaves a profit of several hundred yuan each month."

"Although it's not much, this is only because the processing plant isn't operating at full capacity."

"By the second half of the year, the number of live sheep purchased by the processing plant every day will exceed one hundred, and the monthly profit will definitely be able to easily exceed one thousand yuan, or even two thousand yuan."

"It's such a waste to keep so much money in the bank..."

"You are now the county head, bearing the heavy responsibility of developing the county's economy..."

"I, as your husband, definitely can't hold you back..."

"We'll go to the county and see if we can find one or two investment projects to spend the money we have in the bank."

"Hiss hiss hiss..." Chen Jun gasped in shock, and it took him a while to calm down.

Then, staring at Wang Dong, she continued to ask, "Husband..."

"How much money will our family earn this year...?"

"Three to four million... with good luck, breaking four million is not impossible..."

At this point, a new idea popped into Wang Dong's mind, and he looked at Chen Jun and continued to ask, "Wife..."

"We've been out here for over a year now..."

"I've heard that steel rolling mills are getting worse every day..."

"Forget about raising wages, they can't even pay workers' regular wages on time..."

"Isn't Zhu Zi's wife, Liang Lati, still at the steel rolling mill?"

“I heard from Zhu Zi that welders of the same level are now earning two or three hundred yuan a month outside, while his wife Liang Lati’s monthly salary at the steel rolling mill has only increased to one hundred and fifty yuan, and it’s not even paid on time.”

"As of today, the steel rolling mill still owes her wife two months' wages."

“Liang Lati should already be considered a mid-to-senior level technician in the steel rolling mill. If she is in this situation, the income of ordinary workers and some junior technicians in the steel rolling mill must be even worse.”

"Could you help me find out from my former colleagues what the steel rolling mill is like now, and whether there are any plans to sell it or restructure it?"

“Although we already have quite a few businesses, the steel rolling mill is where we started our business. From the bottom of our hearts, we don’t want the steel rolling mill to go bankrupt due to insolvency. We still want to save it if we can.” Hearing Wang Dong mention the steel rolling mill, his wife Chen Jun couldn’t help but frown.

State-owned enterprises becoming insolvent due to operational difficulties is not limited to steel rolling mills; it has also occurred in Tangshan Town.

Tangshan Town also has a state-owned enterprise with fifty employees...

It started losing money a year ago.

To date, each worker is owed approximately three months' wages and is only able to survive thanks to financial support from the town government.

To prevent these dozens of workers from causing trouble, the town government had no choice but to continue providing them with financial support, even though it had no money.

Although Chen Jun suggested selling the factory and getting rid of this burden, there was no precedent for this in Huai County, and no leader dared to defy public opinion and make the suggestion, so it was eventually dropped.

If Wang Dong can really buy the steel rolling mill, it will set a precedent for the entire reform of state-owned factories, and he will have a reason to propose selling off those state-owned enterprises that are a burden on the government in the future.

He immediately nodded: "Okay..."

"I'll call my old workplace when I get to work tomorrow and ask about the situation for you..."

…………

The next morning, Chen Jun, Chen Jun's wife, brought back news about the steel rolling mill, including both good and bad news.

"Honey... I've found out everything..."

"The steel rolling mill's current operating situation is worse than we imagined..."

"We need 40,000 to 50,000 yuan in subsidies from the bureau every month just to pay all the workers' wages..."

"I heard that their orders will decrease by 20% next month."

“If the bureau’s funding for them cannot be increased, then the factory workers will only receive 80% of their usual wages.”

"Because many workers in state-owned factories are now forced to find other ways to make a living due to low wages, there is a severe shortage of jobs in Beijing."

"In addition, the older generation of workers still feel that a job with a guaranteed job is more stable than working in a private company, and they are reluctant to give up their job, which has led to the steel rolling mill being slow to lay off workers."

"Many workers would rather hold onto their secure jobs that pay only a few dozen yuan a month than resign from the steel rolling mill and find a job outside that pays one or two hundred yuan a month."

Wang Dong smiled after hearing this: "This is good news for me..."

"The worse the situation at the steel rolling mill, the lower the price they will sell it to me for in the future."

"But for me, there are still too many workers in the steel rolling mill..."

"Many workers are just coasting along in the steel rolling mill, contributing nothing to its production."

"If the factory can take the opportunity of layoffs to get rid of all these people from the steel rolling mill, then the pressure I will face when I take over the steel rolling mill in the future will definitely be much less."

"It's too difficult..." Chen Jun shook his head in reply.

"It's hard to find a job outside, but staying at the steel rolling mill means that even though the wages are low, at least I can still earn a few dozen yuan a month."

“If they quit their jobs at the steel rolling mill, they won’t even have a few dozen yuan in income left.”

“No one is willing to risk quitting a steel mill unless they have already found a suitable job outside, especially those who are just coasting along in the steel mill.”

"They have an even harder time finding work outside, so they are even less willing to give up their secure jobs at the steel mill." (End of Chapter)