Canteen System Assistance Notes

The oil is transported to refineries, where development costs are quite low.

Under the explosive news, the value of Liu Helian's "Cynopac" company stocks soared rapidly, and the value of Zhou Bin's corporate bonds were also sold out. Shell and AP Oil were ready to make additional investments, continue to search for oil and gas rich areas in this area, continue to drill wells, and start commercial production.

However, after careful consideration, Liu Helian submitted a report to the central government: he did not plan to hold Cynopac's shares for a long time, but was prepared to find the right time nearby to sell most of the shares, retaining only some symbolic dividend shares to maintain a small amount of cash flow.

"Can you tell me what you think?"

Zhou Bin and Cheng Enshu both rushed over and discussed with Liu Helian, the new tycoon who holds 51% of Cynopac's shares and has been very popular recently, while sitting in the "Emule" business car.

"Lately, my door has been pounded by Wall Street investors, all trying to lend us money or inject capital," Zhou Bin added. "Thankfully, our previous bond issuance sold very well, with a high premium. I've even been thinking about connecting with a few of them to raise some funds for future development investments."

"Based on what's going on, if, as you say, the tensions on the European continent eventually turn into a war, then the oil production capacity during the war should definitely earn a lot of foreign exchange. Why is there a rush to sell it now?"

"There are two main reasons..." Liu Helian stroked his chin and laid out his views. "On the one hand, under war, Italy and Germany, already fascist and allied, would inevitably seek control of the European continent. Therefore, going to war with Britain, France, and the Soviet Union was inevitable."

"And once they defeat France, they'll inevitably try to attack Britain... Oh, although they probably won't succeed due to Britain's naval dominance, the oil wells are just south of London. At that point, the Germans could very well replicate the Guernica bombing during the Spanish Civil War and launch an airstrike on the oil wells."

"That would indeed be a huge loss... No," Cheng Enshu nodded in agreement, but quickly asked a counter-question: "France is the largest military power in Europe.

Will they be defeated by the Germans?"

"Well... some time ago, when I went to France to rescue people and buy cannons, I roughly... learned about the situation in France through the newspapers." Liu Helian has already developed the ability to lie without blushing. After all, he has always been extremely righteous when deducing the process from the result. "Even if there is the Maginot Line, static defense itself has begun to lag behind the times. I think the Germans will probably win against the French, and the chances of winning are very high.

"And then there's the second point."

Liu Helian briefly summarized the French army's current combat readiness based on publicly available information, then turned the conversation to his second point. "Comrades Zhou Bin and Cheng Enshu, having traveled extensively in Europe and America recently, should have gained a deeper understanding of the laws governing the operation of capitalist society."

At this point, the two men, both experienced in economics and working in the White Area, nodded. Zhou Bin frowned, then thought for a moment, quickly realizing what Liu Helian was trying to imply. "I understand your concern. While we have apparent commercial freedom, if huge profits are involved, our scale is too small to sustain such a situation, right?"

"Yes, compared to large oil companies like Shell, AP, and Texaco, even if we add Hammer, we probably won't be able to compete with them. To be honest, I thought there were just some small oil fields here, but I didn't expect it to be so big, haha!"

Moreover, even if he holds shares now, he thought gloomily, after the Second World War, when relations with the West fell and the Iron Curtain fell, wouldn't these shares be useless?

Liu Helian waved his hands in self-mockery. "It takes strength to forge iron. The British won't let us control a strategically important oil field south of London. So, my plan is to maximize the benefits in the sale negotiations. Then, I'll quickly convert this money into what the border region and the organization need, and send it back through the Hexi Corridor."

"But don't be so pessimistic, Comrade Xiao Liu. There's still time," Zhou Bin consoled him. "When I was still in the Soviet area, and when Comrade Enshu was working in the white areas, they weren't as free as they are now, and certainly not as wealthy as they are now. We should look forward. Even when there are no difficulties, we should move forward. Even when there are difficulties, we should create the conditions and move forward."

"So, the three of us are a temporary party branch. Let's take a vote. Those who agree with Comrade Liu Helian's plan, please raise your hands." The three people in the van raised their hands at the same time, then smiled at each other.

Liu Helian turned off the recording button on his phone and sent the relevant recordings back to China via a small green app. This was a resolution of the working group's Party branch, which needed to be reported to the central government. The atmosphere in the car relaxed. On eMule, there was no need to worry about eavesdropping, so everyone was very relaxed.

"By the way, Comrade Xiao Liu, after the deal is done, oh no, even now. You are the richest guy in our organization, how do you plan to spend this money?

Cheng Enshu quipped, "When I was working in the insurance industry, the company's registered capital wasn't even a fraction of yours! Comrade Zhou Bin, I don't think the Soviet Bank back then could have imagined that one day they would have control over hundreds of millions of dollars and pounds to invest and purchase internationally!"

"How could that be? Back then, we wanted to spend every penny we had. What's worse is that the white dogs blocked us, so we couldn't do business with anyone. Now it's... much better." The two revolutionary veterans laughed, as if all the work pressure during that period had disappeared.

"Well, what's next?"

Liu Helian thought for a moment and said, "I plan to leave the negotiation matters to Comrade Zhou Bin and the team members."

"Oh? Where are you going?"

"I'm planning to go to France, meet some people, and buy some things, haha!"

Chapter 136 Spend some money and save some people

Jiang (fourth tone) country,

The country that brought laughter to many people during World War II did not have a much higher density of memes and jokes than other major participating countries, but no matter which country

-Humans, mocking the bearded country in World War II, always have more or less

We have some things in common: What, you also breastfeed? Then we are all good brothers.

(Poland sneezed for some reason in the distance)

"Tell me, what are you going to Aiguo for?" Zhou Bin sat up straight in his chair and placed his hands on the small table. "Let me make this clear: if this is another small matter like the one or two million dollar profit at Majiagang, we'll both file a complaint against you to the central government."

"The previous plan mentioned buying artillery from Schneider and finding some stable guys for our artillery column, so I won't repeat it. Schneider's current artillery is considered the father of heavy artillery from the United States and the Soviet Union, so it shouldn't be a big problem to turn to them." Liu Helian thought for a moment and turned to a page in his notebook. "Since our border construction is still relatively small, the supply of machinery and equipment through the Northwest Passage is not a problem for now. But we all know about the shortage of manpower."

Uh...that's true, the remaining two nodded.

At present, the construction and development in the border area presents a state of "not worth mentioning on a global scale, but like a god at the domestic level". In addition, Abie pays wages on time, but the "foreman" is even responsible for the workers' food and accommodation, children's schooling and family employment. As a result, many workers come to the border area to apply for jobs - however, the base is still short of people in all aspects, especially professional technical personnel and experts.

From mining, metallurgy, machining, administration, education, and craftsmanship, nearly every newly built factory and every renovated and upgraded workshop was starving. Although the tens of thousands of workers unwanted by the Western Frontier had been taken from Shanxi Province, and the evacuation of the Jidong Uprising had been successfully completed, replenishing the ranks of tens of thousands of miners and railway workers, the talent situation in many anti-Japanese base areas had improved significantly compared to historical levels, but the rapidly expanding labor pool still craved new talent in various fields.

The cadres in the Border Region Organization Department and the Industrial Department had headaches almost every day. They wished they could bury the people in the soil, water and fertilize them, and then grow new batches of talents and cadres.

"But what does this have to do with going to France?"

Cheng Enshu asked, "You want to find French workers? There are quite a few comrades in the border area who have worked and studied in France before, and many of them can speak French..."

"Alas, that's not the case." Liu Helian waved his hands. "Hasn't the idea of ​​recruiting foreign engineers and technicians been discussed before? I'm thinking of this: just this month, the International Brigade began withdrawing from Spain due to the Spanish Republican government's decision to withdraw all foreign soldiers. Humph, even someone like me who doesn't work in the military knows that without the International Brigade, an absolute main force, the Spanish Republican Army will probably be defeated quickly."

Everyone looked stern. What happened in Spain was no secret, and the International Brigade's departure for Spain was something almost every Party member knew about. The European branch had even coordinated the travel of some domestic Party members to Europe.

"I still remember the oath: 'I come here voluntarily to save the freedom of Spain and the world. If need be, I will sacrifice my last drop of blood.'" Liu Helian's voice was a little low, a bit muffled in the train car. They came from all corners of the country, fighting in a foreign land for their shared ideals and beliefs, but ultimately they were defeated. Such an event, brimming with internationalism and revolutionary romanticism, will likely be rare in the future."

"They're being evacuated from Spain. The Spanish will be placed in Montpellier, and the non-Spanish will be placed here." Liu Helian flipped through a map and found a French place name along the railway line. "Clermont-Ferrand, they'll be placed here. If nothing's done, they'll probably be thrown into a concentration camp soon."

"Do you want to rescue them? Will the French government allow it? How do you plan to rescue them? What do you plan to do with them after you rescue them? Also, what is the main purpose of doing this?"

Zhou Bin propped himself up and asked a series of questions, one after another, his pen clenched tightly in his hand, ready to jot down the other person's answers. This was a typical feature of his work, indicating that this brain, which was proficient in economics, civil affairs, and political work, was entering a state of efficient thinking.

"That's right. The French government won't manage them. From their retreat to Clermont-Ferrand to their temporary custody of these international fighters, it was all the responsibility of the French local gendarmerie, or police. The French government even considered these people a nuisance and wanted to send them away as quickly as possible. Chilean poets and diplomats sent away a whole shipload of them." Liu Helian had been working with Zhou Bin for a long time, and they answered questions quickly and in perfect sync.

“I plan to send a letter to them through the channels of China Resources Company and the European branch.

We extend an invitation and respect their wishes: for those who want to go home, we provide them with boat and train tickets to help them return home..."

"Excuse me, Comrade Xiao Liu," Cheng Enshu interrupted. "Among the non-Spanish members of the League of Nations, there are quite a few Italians and Germans. Their homelands have been usurped by the fascists. They can't return home, and they can't even settle down there. What are you going to do?"

Cheng Enshu's words were not groundless. Among the members of the International Brigade were the "Hermann" Battalion, which was mainly composed of German volunteers, the "Garibaldi" Brigade, which was composed of Italian volunteers, and Chinese party members scattered among the artillery, anti-aircraft artillery, ambulance and infantry. Due to domestic restrictions, they would face persecution and imprisonment after returning to China. Obviously, they could no longer be sent back to the hell pit directly through customs.

Hearing this, Liu Helian pointed at himself, then at Cheng Enshu and Zhou Bin, revealing a hint of guilt at having his subtle thoughts seen through. "Don't we still have us? The International Brigade includes many workers, scholars, intellectuals, and veterans of the front lines. They have valuable combat and struggle experience. It would be such a pity if they were thrown into concentration camps, buried in the sea of ​​people, and gradually forgotten!"

"Instead of returning home, we offer them another option: are they willing to accept the invitation of an Eastern power and go there to continue the unfinished anti-fascist cause?"

In the second half of 1938, France was in the midst of internal friction and chaos: the ruling party was split, the Munich Agreement was signed, and even the meeting between the radical faction and the head of state was like a continuous stage play, a farce in which one side took the stage and the other took the stage. The French Communist Party was already on the verge of illegality and underground status, and was also facing internal ideological differences, strategic and policy issues and disputes, and was facing schizophrenia.

The French government was busy coordinating the forces of the left, center and right, concentrating its efforts on encircling the French Communist Party in parliament and elections to prevent the terrifying "Paris Commune" from happening again.

Those members of the International Brigades who had sacrificed their lives for the cause seemed to have been completely forgotten. They were concentrated in a small town called "Clermont-Ferrand", where no one paid attention to them and they were only loosely managed by the local gendarmerie who exercised the power of the local police.

Amidst this situation, one day, an office opened in a small town near Lyon, France, sporting two unassuming signs: one for the European branch's liaison office, the other for the China Resources Group's external relations department. However, the liaison office couldn't directly display red flags and advertise itself, and the internationalist fighters stationed in Clermont-Ferrand didn't immediately notice the office: they plodded about the designated restricted area, like the walking dead.

However, soon, a billboard appeared in the center of the town. There was a dove of peace painted on the billboard. The dove of peace was composed of a collection of three-dimensional patterns. It was very simple, but it had a sense of leaping as if it were flying high. When the team members who noticed this came closer, they found that the dove was actually composed of countless red three-pointed stars.

This is the very symbol of the International Brigade.

A dove of peace is taking off from a pile of ruins, soaring into the distance. Faintly, there are ruins similar to this one, but a glittering flag is being raised with all its might amidst the gray and black rubble. On one side of the picture are several lines of small text in different languages: English, German, Russian, Spanish, and, of course, Chinese. These small words all convey the same meaning:

"Friends, we will not forget you.

"And there's still a place in the world that needs you."

Chapter 137 Spend more money and recruit more people

While Liu Helian and others were recruiting engineers, technical experts and technical soldiers from the International Brigade in France, Rao Shiquan was working as the director of the human resources department in London.

As the former British Empire, a veteran of the imperialist bloc, Britain has had a tough time. Although America has been gradually recovering thanks to the New Deal, 38 years later, Britain, which is beginning to decline, lacks the vast land and abundant government investment capital of the United States. Its economic recovery has been more difficult and painful.

Under the indiscriminate impact of the Great Depression, the number of people receiving unemployment benefits in the UK reached 20% at one point, only to fall back to 10% of the workforce in 38—and this doesn't even include the "unregistered unemployed," those who didn't purchase unemployment insurance. This shows just how dire the British situation was. There was a rather extreme example: a worker fell from a scaffold. Although the scaffolding wasn't high and he wasn't seriously injured, a swarm of job seekers outside rushed into the construction site, demanding to replace him. Upon recovering from the fall, the dazed worker's first action wasn't to check on himself, but to shout out his desire to keep his job.

Over the years, while British workers no longer had to rummage through trash cans for food as they did in 32, unemployment and job losses remained commonplace, leading to a surge in public discontent. Take, for example, the simple, sturdy, and martial-minded citizens of East London, who first beat up the British Blackshirts who were taking a fascist agitation walk and then vented their discontent by throwing hundreds of chamber pots at the heads of the police who had arrived to reinforce them.

Baldwin! Fuck you!

However, adhering to the consistent style of the governments of the great powers, shouting "I have won a peace that will benefit a generation", Chamberlain, who came to succeed the position of Prime Minister, did not put increasing the operating rate of domestic factories as the first priority: the opportune opposition party, the opportune Germans and how to make trouble for the Soviet Union were the primary problems he needed to solve.

"Oh, sir, we mainly need people with work experience in shipyards, pressure vessel factories, electromechanical factories, canneries, fishery factories, etc. If you have experience teaching or studying in a technical school, that's no problem..." Yes, we can offer a very competitive salary, and you can bring your family with you. It's more convenient to go to a place as far away as the Far East and bring your family with you.

"We're working in the Far East and Asia, and we have several good locations to choose from. If you're interested, just register on this form..." In St. George's Square in Glasgow, Rao Shiquan and several assistants were explaining until their mouths were dry. However, as the first worker to visit the recruitment office, the other party was clearly "not very interested."

He paced back and forth in front of the table with a look of doubt and hesitation, and finally politely said that he still needed to go home for a while.

After Comrade Zhou Bin led the team to start negotiating the equity transfer with AP and Shell, the pressure from the British side unexpectedly eased a lot, and Rao Shiquan's recruitment action also

After completing the relevant registration procedures, Rao Shiquan and the British

Comrades in the branch posted job advertisements and set up recruitment points in industrial centers such as Arsenal, Glasgow, Manchester, and Swansea. However, Rao Shiquan's "first business" personally stationed there did not seem to be very successful.

Good luck, then, my friend. Shao Shiquan shook hands with the man, and a nearby staff member handed him a small can of food. It was a product of China Resources, a company he had acquired as a gift. "This is for you."

"What is this?" The worker was stunned and took the package to look at it carefully.

"Oh, it's 'Delicious Protein Powder'. It's kind of... a kind of milk powder. If you decide to work for us, you'll get more of these things."

As soon as Rao Shiquan finished speaking, his eyebrows raised to the sky, then relaxed. He took a few deep breaths, politely thanked the people present, and then trotted off. "Comrade, don't you think our price is too low? Going to Asia, to the Far East, to work, with families to bring... How should we proceed from here?"

Rao Shiquan asked his assistant, and the CPGB comrade beside him sighed and shook his head. He thought for a moment and answered Rao Shiquan in a rhythmic tone: "Dear Rao, I suggest you call the security company immediately and hire more security; or simply call the police directly and ask them to maintain order in the future.

"Then we need to contact the CPGB branch and the coal miners' union immediately, and even call on the comrades on the Red River. Ask them to bring the workers' self-defense team, wear armbands, bring ropes and signs, and make all preparations.

Finally, dear Comrade Rao, you need to contact your friend and ask him to bring over all the canned food in the warehouse for the next few days, as well as enough aluminum pens, erasers, and registers - this way, we can continue our work."

The job fair continued. St. George's Square was bustling with activity, cars were thronging, and trains at Queen's Station blew their whistles, spewing out long braids of steam. Everything seemed normal. However, just a few hours later, Rao Shiquan heard a sound different from the bustling city life.

The sound came from far away and became clearer and clearer.

Just as he was listening attentively, the CPGB comrade next to him jumped onto the table with a plop, rolled up his sleeves, and shouted to the other party members who had just arrived: "Comrade workers! Do you remember the Battle of St. George's Square?"

What? The great labor movement of 1919? The 40-hour battle? "Today's event is just as big as that! Comrades, take your positions!"

The sound became clearer and more uniform. The next second, Rao Shiquan saw a group of people holding hands appearing at the corner of the street. They moved in unison, in an orderly manner, and cheered: "Milk powder, go to work!"

"Milk powder Go to work! "

Damn! This is like a war!

A nearly identical scene unfolded at each recruitment point. Having underestimated the workers' enthusiasm, the China Resources Company recruitment office was immediately overwhelmed by workers eager to sign up! In just one day, Rao Shiquan and his comrades from the British branch received over 1000 applications, filled out an equal number of registration forms, and distributed even more canned food. Their work quickly shifted from persuading people to go to the Far East to convincing some to stay, and comforting those workers who arrived too late to register.

Within a few days, the original target of recruiting 2003 technicians proficient in drafting, welding, and craftsmanship was exceeded. Rao Shiquan was forced to send a series of telegrams to Liu He, asking him to contact the Central Committee to report this "grand occasion." The Central Standing Committee members, who had two dining halls, a newly established synthetic ammonia fertilizer plant, and improved agricultural technology and tools to ensure food supplies, quickly responded with a chat message:

Ball! We need as many technical talents as possible!

Chapter 138: Uncovering the Devil in the Data

Minister Deng closed the communication interface with Xiao Liu and minimized the green applet window. Then, he habitually pressed the "At" and "Tab" buttons to switch the main interface back to the "canteen ERP" software that looked like it was made up by some stupid "idiot" on Star Social.

"Accountant Chen, Director Zhou, this is the 'performance' of the entire business system over the past month."

The two men standing behind Minister Deng leaned in closer, staring at the statistical tables and line graphs on the screen without saying a word. While the window-based interface was adequate, the software, using a mouse and a visual interface, was still very convenient and easy to learn. With a few simple pointers, Accountant Chen was able to skillfully manipulate the mouse, switching and adjusting the detailed data he needed.

"Minister Deng, Director Zhou, are the data above very different from your statistics?"

He broke the silence, his hand holding the mouse trembling a little.

Not much difference. During the time you, Accountant Chen, were in the Soviet Union negotiating, we've already reformed the entire border region's commercial system—oh, according to Comrade Xiao Liu, it's called 'structural reconstruction'—and we've also taken this opportunity to popularize information terminals, or automatic accounting machines, throughout the four major 'red businesses.'

Minister Deng pointed to the machine placed on one side of the monitoring room. From the outside, it looked like a very ordinary mechanical calculator, with three rows of buttons on it, labeled with various characters, and connected to a roll of paper. The only strange thing was that there was a blue Category 5 network cable where the manual crank should have been connected.

"This thing is essentially an adding calculator; the exterior is mostly just a facade. The Industrial Standards Bureau (Industrialization and Standardization Administration) programmed it, and the 51-era microcontroller inside it performs addition, subtraction, and multiplication, then funnels the data back into the central processing unit."

—One by one, one by one—one by one

Minister Deng started the machine and gave a simple demonstration. "Suppose we sell a case of 12 rolls of toilet paper. The accounting office will enter the item number and quantity—let's see, item number 0924, quantity 12—and then hit the Enter key. The price of the goods will be stored in advance."

The light bulb on the accounting machine flickered, the gear mechanism creaked, and then the calculations were quickly completed. A header and two lines of blue text appeared on the rolled-up receipt. Director Deng tore off the roll of paper and handed it to Accountant Chen. Then he took the mouse and fiddled with the computer, bringing up the categorized statistics under "Rolled Paper." On the automatically generated spreadsheet, aside from someone buying two full boxes of rolled paper a month ago, only the data from the previous experiment floated alone at the top.

"We've distributed nearly 50 of these machines in Fushe and surrounding areas, allowing real-time data viewing. For other areas of the border region without 24-hour power supply and internet access, we collect data using USB flash drives and manually aggregate it. The data is updated monthly," Minister Deng concluded. "Director Zhou oversees the Border Security Department. His human-generated data is more comprehensive, covering many non-government businesses. However, for the four major red businesses—Guanghua, Jiaotong, Yongchang, and the supply and marketing system—the discrepancies between the data and the system are minimal."

"I can testify that we spent over a month working with the economic department to calculate the data for the first half of 38!" Director Zhou raised his hand and nodded, confirming his full participation in the work. "We calculated it manually using a scientific calculator. If we had used an abacus like before, who knows how long it would have taken!"

"More than a month? After calculating the border region's business, even if we only count the data for the four major red businesses, it's only been a month?"

Accountant Chen's eyes widened, but he quickly composed himself. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "Comrades, I learned in the Soviet Union that it takes about five months to complete the annual economic data reconciliation. The official report won't be out until June or July."

"And now, you tell me that it took us less than two months to compile half-year data on the transactions of the major businesses in the border area."

Accountant Chen looked at the data screen and the fully automatic adding machine that also served as an information transmission terminal with a bit of disbelief. "Although our scale is far behind that of the Soviet Union, the changes these data can bring about are more than just reducing the statistical workload!"

Perhaps because Accountant Chen's seriousness didn't seem like a simple sigh, Director Zhou pulled up a chair, Deng Fa fetched a whiteboard and marker, and the three of them briefly discussed the situation outside the monitoring room. Accountant Chen took the marker and drew several large circles on the blackboard, then connected the four circles in order with arrows. He then wrote symbols inside the circles and on the arrows.

"Domestically, it's divided into producers, consumers, the government, and intermediary financial institutions. Internationally, it's divided into foreign consumers and foreign producers... Let's simplify things and categorize the economic exchanges between these entities into four main areas: investment, external imports and exports, government economic intervention, and social consumption demand."

He quickly got into the groove, like a teacher teaching an economics course, "This is the way Western powers do it."

Accountant Chen drew two large circles on the other side of the whiteboard, one labeled "Plan" and the other "Economic Development." "In a planned economy, the central government can set the general direction and goals of economic development through directives and plans. However, how to formulate a reasonable plan, determine the appropriate scale of development, and ensure that productivity development meets the needs of the people... These are complex, enormous, and difficult issues."

“There’s a very important point here.”