Siheyuan: A warm home with wife and children

What they care about is that if this is true, they can use it as a reason to get a raise.

But this doesn't mean they did it on purpose.

However, people are inherently profit-driven.

When guided by others, people will naturally choose the side that is advantageous to them.

Seeing the other person stammering, I didn't know how to answer.

Yang Jianguo smiled and said, "Okay, please sit down first, comrade. Let's ask the others here if anyone knows the name of this factory, where it is, and how much the wages have increased?"

The crowd looked at each other, and many turned their attention to Liu Delong in the front row.

Unable to come up with an answer, they hoped that their leader could step forward and address the question.

This put Liu Delong in a dilemma.

He certainly knew which factories offered good salaries and benefits, but he didn't know the nature of those factories...

Well, it has its reasons for offering high salaries!

But now, facing the stares of his supporters, Liu Delong found himself in a difficult position.

He couldn't explain himself to the union members if he didn't stand up.

On the contrary, standing up would only allow Yang Jianguo to expose him on the spot.

Liu Delong would rather face the questions from union members than the latter.

At least, he was fairly confident he could persuade them.

For example, in such situations, he always tries to save face for the senior leader.

Or perhaps... he received a hint from someone before attending the meeting, and the pressure from above forced him to keep quiet.

However, Yang Jianguo clearly had no intention of letting the matter rest.

"The average wage for workers in our factory is 198 yuan, but it's further divided based on seniority, job type, and job grade... I hope everyone agrees on that."

"No."

"Let's take a look at the local average wage. You must know people who work in other factories. After the restructuring, pieceworkers in the garment industry earn about 100 to 120 yuan a month."

"If I say anything wrong, please feel free to correct me."

Seeing that no one objected, Yang Jianguo continued.

He had already memorized these data perfectly.

"The average worker in a private enterprise earns about 215 yuan for heavy manual labor, which seems much higher than most people's wages, but... this wage only applies to cities like Shenzhen and Haicheng."

"Food and accommodation are not included. The fixed monthly expenses for accommodation and food are around 60 yuan, even if you are careful with your spending. This does not include transportation, telephone bills, etc."

"Not to mention, going to such a far place, leaving one's hometown, and only being able to go home to see family once a year during the Spring Festival... Some people are even reluctant to come back for the Spring Festival because they get triple pay!"

Even though he was speaking in a lighthearted tone, the laughter from the crowd only lasted for two seconds before their smiles faded.

For the sake of triple pay for those few days, they couldn't bear to go home and see their families during the Spring Festival.

What's so great about having a happy and complete family reunion during the New Year?

"Let's talk about private enterprises... Some factories pay high wages, but there's no job security. If I say I'll fire you today, I'll fire you. Am I right?"

The biggest advantage of working within the system is not only its stability, but also the numerous additional guarantees and hidden benefits.

The various welfare benefits distributed every year demonstrate humanistic care and the excellent tradition of helping each other when one person is in trouble.

These are things that ordinary private enterprises cannot compare to.

“Boss, we understand all of this, but… shouldn’t the benefits for our senior workers be increased?”

"Shut up, sit down and don't say a word."

The young man, who looked displeased, was pulled back by the middle-aged man next to him, who scolded him and tried to make him sit down.

"No rush, let's talk about it slowly."

Yang Jianguo gestured to the experienced craftsman to be patient and asked the young man, "And who is this craftsman?"

“My name is Fang Ping… He is my father, Fang Guoqiang.”

"So they're father and son. I knew they looked alike, haha..."

Fang Ping scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly, his anger turning into shyness.

"Comrade Fang Ping, what grade of worker are you now?"

"Level 2 worker".

“Look at your son, he’s probably not even as old as my son, and he’s already a level two worker. That’s impressive.”

"Boss, please don't say that. Compared to your child, I'm far inferior."

More than a decade has passed, and Yang Zhiyuan's identity is no longer a secret within the system.

No matter how big the problem, it can't withstand the erosion of time.

Yang Zhiyuan is now a rising star in the Mechanical Engineering Department and the secret department.

“I don’t want to talk about him. Just mentioning him makes me angry. I haven’t seen him for three or five years. I don’t even know what my grandson looks like.”

After making a lighthearted joke about something unrelated, Yang Jianguo continued, "Let's get back to business. Xiao Fang, how much is your salary? What are you unhappy about?"

“It wasn’t me, boss…” Fang Ping looked at his father beside him and said, “It’s my dad. He’s a level seven lathe operator, but his salary hasn’t increased much in recent years…”

"Someone offered him a job, paying him two thousand yuan a month, but he refused..."

Fang Ping was clearly not open-minded; he still had reservations when he spoke, saving face for certain people.

The people who hired his father from outside offered him a salary of more than two thousand yuan.

At the factory, his father's salary was less than 650 yuan at most.

Compared to the salaries offered elsewhere, it's like night and day.

Anyone would feel uncomfortable in that situation.

The older generation talks about dedication and sacrifice, but today's young people don't believe in that.

Dedication and sacrifice—why does it always seem to be our family's turn?

Why don't others make contributions and sacrifices, while those who go to work in private enterprises do?

He made a lot of money and bought a house, refrigerator, large color TV and car, but no one pointed fingers or said anything bad about him.

Instead, everyone envies others for living a good life.

Looking at his own "good-for-nothing," he was furious.

Fang Ping used to think that his father was the one with dreams, ideals, and perseverance.

But now...

When it came time to find a partner, he realized that dreams and ideals were becoming increasingly worthless in today's society.

If you talk about these things with others, you'll only be ridiculed.

They might not laugh at you to your face, but they'll call you a blockhead behind your back.

Gradually, Fang Ping began to understand why his mother was always arguing with his father.

Over the years, I've endured countless rumors and gossip, and been laughed at behind my back countless times.

Saying something like "She married a blockhead, a good-for-nothing" is probably something she heard from someone outside.

Chapter 723 Open Source, Catch Them in the Act

"On this point, I must first apologize to all the veteran masters."

Yang Jianguo stood up and bowed deeply to the audience.

"minister."

"Minister... I can't accept that!"

“Minister, this is not something you should do.”

"Engineer Yang, we all trust you. You are a truly good leader who cares about everyone."

"Yes, Mr. Yang, we'll listen to you. What do you suggest we do?"

Yang Jianguo's sincerity and his consistent good reputation over the decades touched the workers present.

The experienced craftsmen present even wiped away tears with emotion, their inner grievances being soothed and released.

They don't really want anything, it's just that they can't help feeling a little uneasy.

What was the status of us workers in the past? Now...

Any leader can come along and start bossing people around and making veiled criticisms.

He's just a kid with no experience, he's read a few books and is trying to show off, he doesn't take these experienced masters who are in high demand seriously.

They thought they were something special just because they had read a few books and were young.

In the past, when have we ever suffered such injustice?

"Masters, our country is in dire need of reconstruction. Many things are not the result of the actions of any one leader or individual, but rather a legacy of history."

"It has a long history and its problems are difficult to change; I think everyone understands that without me having to say it..."

"There is indeed a problem with the rating and salary standards. The higher the rating, the less the salary is commensurate with the work done, and this is true."

“I know that people have always talked about dedication, and everyone is probably tired of hearing it. But that doesn’t mean the organization ignores or doesn’t care about everyone’s dedication.”

Furthermore, we are a socialist society. If we don't value dedication, what should we talk about? Should we only focus on money and financial prospects?

"I know that some of the rumors circulating outside are having a great impact on everyone. The hard factors such as prices are causing resentment among everyone. This is not our fault, but rather because our logistical work has not been done well."

"Here, I assure you all that the new rating and salary standards will be issued by the end of this year at the latest, and will be resolutely implemented by the beginning of next year. Please trust me, Yang Jianguo, and be patient and wait a bit, okay?"

With his hands clasped together, Yang Jianguo nodded apologetically and said, "Here, I'd like to say thank you to everyone."

With a salary difference of 3 to 5 times, if Yang Jianguo were an ordinary worker, he would have jumped ship without even considering it in the past.

Everyone wants a good life; even if we're not the best off, we should at least be better off than those who are worse off.

Now, we're not only not as good as those above us, but we're almost at the bottom as well.

Materially, it cannot be guaranteed, and spiritual and honorary standards are also lagging behind the needs of the times.

These days, even the workers themselves sarcastically remark, "We're just lowly wage earners."

How can people be satisfied with both material and spiritual deprivation? How can they not feel lost and resentful?

After returning, Yang Jianguo decided to first provide financial subsidies to several economically underdeveloped but strategically important local enterprises.

Then... open source...

It's impossible to drive the entire system with just one Loongson chip.

We still need to empower businesses to be self-reliant and find more ways to generate revenue.

However, not competing with the people for profit is only a temporary policy.

At this point, if restrictions on enterprises were truly lifted, there would be very few private companies that could compete.

Most private enterprises fail because of years of accumulated debt; this is the crux of the problem and the key challenge.

Yang Jianguo could only ensure that important industrial institutions were not damaged.

Focus on the key points; as for the rest... let those who want to go out go!

It's never wrong for ordinary people to want to earn more money and live a better life.

Achieving a moderately prosperous society for all cannot rely solely on subsidies from higher levels; it requires genuine prosperity for the people.

The policy of allowing some to get rich first to help others get rich later should still be resolutely implemented.

With a flurry of thoughts running through his mind, Yang Jianguo felt that he needed to speed up this trip even more.

Bang!

The door was suddenly pushed open, and the door panel slammed against the wall with a loud bang, drawing everyone's attention.

Ma Wei was the first to arrive, followed by the factory's security department, with two workers in uniforms standing in the middle.