Chapter 66 of 100

Chapter 66

13 min read3,304 words

Even if in the end, Hu Wenhui still failed to completely convince Hu Jiefang, the final outcome was just to make him no longer oppose it—of course, with the red-headed documents already issued, Hu Jiefang also knew that he had no power to oppose. △↗

For Old Hu, it could only be described as waiting and seeing. Hu Wenhui was really a bit troubled. Just because the factory manager of Factory 501 was his old man, the workers of Factory 501 probably wouldn't suffer any losses, right?

Thinking about the fate of the workers in state-owned enterprises (SOEs) that were acquired by management in later years, tsk tsk, his old man's awareness really deserved a May 1st Labor Medal and a nomination for one of the Ten Most Touching Chinese Figures or something.

But from the perspective of Hu Wenhui, the "big capitalist," the situation was not favorable.

However, for the Chinese, nothing is bigger than the New Year and festivals. The New Year and Spring Festival represent the end and the beginning of the year, and are days that must be taken seriously. With the New Year approaching, Hu Wenhui was not in a hurry to completely take control of Factory 501.

But this did not mean he could relax. On the contrary, after returning home, Hu Wenhui threw himself into a new task.

To be honest, it was because too many things had happened recently, which led to the failure of his original plan to quietly make a fortune. In his original plan to go to the United States, the blue pill for money should have been a sufficiently secret operation. The money earned could have been left in the United States, quietly accumulating as the country's openness deepened, and then gradually moved back to China.

This way, at least, he wouldn't be pushed to the forefront. But plans didn't keep up with changes. The temptation to paint the F-14 with a green nose was too great, and he couldn't give up this attempt.

As a result, although he had enough funds, he didn't have the time to complete his real purpose of going to the United States. Speaking of this initial goal, wasn't it to equip Heng Jianyun's company?

Fortunately, since he received the signing fee, the remaining funds for introducing the Tomcat had been allocated to import various production equipment. Some of the easier-to-produce finished products had already been shipped and were expected to arrive at Xiucheng Port in January 1985.

To ensure that these equipment and materials could be put into production immediately upon arrival, the most pressing issue for Hu Wenhui was to come up with a restructuring plan for Factory 501.

Fortunately, the most critical issue, the personnel arrangements for Factory 501, had always been in Hu Wenhui's mind and did not require additional time to understand. However, balancing the interests of all parties and selecting truly capable people for key positions was still a very difficult process.

In addition to discussing the personnel arrangements of Factory 501 with Hu Jiefang, there was another key figure who had almost been working at Old Hu's house for days, and that was the mayor of Xiucheng, Wang Yichun.

Given the current workers' resistance to private enterprises, many would choose to buy out their seniority and leave Factory 501. Therefore, how to arrange for these people became a hot potato.

As the mayor of Xiucheng, Wang Yichun's support was essential.

"Based on the preliminary investigation over the past two days, the employees willing to work for Xinke Company should be less than 30%, about one-quarter of the current workforce."

Although somewhat reluctantly, Hu Jiefang completed the investigation assigned to him. The reason was simple: it was an order from Mayor Wang Yichun, and as a member of the organization, Hu Jiefang had no grounds to oppose it.

And Wang Yichun? He was more than happy to push Factory 501 and its workers out as much as possible, which would reduce a lot of pressure on the city. The land, equipment, factory buildings, technology, and capital of Factory 501 could also be sold to Hu Wenhui, adding a large sum of money to the city government's operations.

Oh, of course, this money wouldn't all come from Hu Wenhui. He only needed to pay 20% in cash, with the remaining part to be paid by the higher-level fiscal allocation in the second and third years.

Even so, with thousands of workers at Factory 501, the entire asset valuation process was extremely daunting. The haggling involved would all be decided by Hu Wenhui, Hu Jiefang, and Wang Yichun in Hu Wenhui's small side room.

"Let's calculate it this way. For those willing to come over, we'll count them as one thousand people. The remaining workers at Factory 501 are about two thousand, with the longest seniority being forty years and the shortest less than one year. Given the severe early retirement in recent years, I think an average seniority of about fifteen years is appropriate. What do you think, Mayor Wang?"

Hu Wenhui calculated on paper and presented a set of data to Wang Yichun. This calculation meant that the total seniority to be bought out would be over thirty thousand years, and the specific compensation standard for buying out seniority was the focus of their discussion.

"I think one hundred yuan per year is appropriate. This way, some could receive up to four thousand yuan, which is already quite good!"

"Isn't that too little? It's only equivalent to a month's salary for an ordinary worker!"

If Hu Wenhui were not a party to the discussion, he would have found it hard to believe that the one suggesting one hundred yuan per year was not himself but Wang Yichun, the representative of the workers.

"Cough, it's not that little," Wang Yichun said awkwardly. "The city government still needs to reassign them to new jobs. Although their seniority is bought out, their future salaries will still be paid by the organization. Instead of setting such a high buyout price, it would be better to increase their resettlement fees."

Hu Wenhui was speechless. The resettlement fee was a method he had proposed. It involved the acquiring company setting up a fund for each worker of the acquired company, which would be managed by the city government to ensure the basic living standards of the laid-off workers.

This fund would mainly handle their medical expenses, minimum living standards, childbirth, and pension payments. In the future, it would be clear that this was a simulation of the social security system.

During the SOE reforms in the 1990s, especially in the wave of mass layoffs, Hu Wenhui believed the biggest problem was not the unemployment of SOE workers but the lack of a social security system to support them.

It was during this gap between layoffs and the establishment of social security that the public's trust in the government was fundamentally shaken.

To avoid his intervention leading to an insurmountable living crisis for the workers of Factory 501, Hu Wenhui suggested setting aside a portion of the acquisition funds to establish this resettlement fund.

"Mayor Wang, according to our agreement, this fund is for a specific purpose."

Hu Wenhui didn't say it outright, but the implication was clear: the city government must not misappropriate this fund.

Wang Yichun smiled awkwardly and nodded solemnly. "Comrade Hu, rest assured. I solemnly promise on behalf of the city government that we will not misuse this resettlement fund. But you must also consider the city government. With so many people's living standards to ensure, a small amount of money could cause trouble."

"Alright, what is Mayor Wang's opinion?" Hu Wenhui didn't want to push too hard, especially on the resettlement of Factory 501 workers, where he needed to think long-term.

The state owed him 2.24 billion yuan in the first phase. How much could Factory 501 be worth? Honestly, it was at most twenty million, not even a fraction of that amount.

Hu Wenhui's plan wasn't just for Factory 501. Xiucheng had been an industrial city since the Beiyang warlord era, and although it had declined somewhat, it still had many valuable assets.

For example, the Optoelectronics Research Institute where Xiao Yeqin previously worked, the Guanghua Factory producing military optical equipment, the Huaguang Factory producing electronic tubes and transistors, the Bohai Province Radio Factory No. 3 and No. 6, the Motor Factory, the Crane Factory, the Power Equipment Factory, the Traditional Chinese Medicine Factory, the Pharmaceutical Factory No. 2, the Ceramic Factory, the Textile Factory, and the Fiber Factory. These were all large enterprises with thousands of workers. In fact, Xiucheng was a treasure trove of factories.

From light industry to heavy industry, from machinery to chemicals, from electronics to optics, it was said that China's industry was well-structured, and this could be seen from Xiucheng. Factories like Factory 501, with thousands of workers, could be counted on one hand. Xiucheng had a population of 600,000, with at least half working in the secondary industry. Factories ranged from a few hundred to thousands of workers, and there were even giants like the Petrochemical Factory No. 6.

Was 2.24 billion yuan a lot of money? Even the central government found it challenging to come up with this amount. But if it were spread across Xiucheng's factories, it might not make much of a splash.

Of course, this was the difference between working capital and fixed assets, which couldn't be compared. But Hu Wenhui was not content with just acquiring Factory 501; he had his eyes on more industries in Xiucheng.

To set a good precedent for acquiring other factories in the future, Hu Wenhui was even more concerned about properly handling the original workers. Of course, there was another unspoken reason: his agreement with Secretary Huang.

The state allowed him to experiment with SOE reforms, not just through the piecemeal approach of contracting, but by exploring how to smoothly handle the sale of SOEs and clarify property rights.

Hu Wenhui was now under the spotlight. Yes, in this small side room of Old Hu's large courtyard, the first case of SOE property rights transfer in China was taking place. According to historical development, the wave of SOE sales in China would not begin until the early 1990s. In 1984, private enterprises were still affiliated with SOEs, pretending to be third-sector or collective enterprises. How could anyone have thought of acquiring SOEs?

Unconsciously, Hu Wenhui was already creating a new history.

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