Chapter 63

Facing everyone's complex gazes, Chen Hongjun calmly said, "I think Comrade Chen Geng's idea is very good. Even among close brothers, accounts should be clear, let alone between two factories? As a major shareholder of Runhua Industry, the Third Military Equipment Repair Factory should and must dispatch financial personnel to Runhua Industry. This is also for the benefit of this young man. Clear finances can help him avoid a lot of trouble."

Peng Guangming was still hesitant, feeling a bit awkward: "Although that's true, but..."

Chen Geng took over the conversation, saying, "Commissar, I understand your point. You think it's unnecessary to be so thorough with someone you know well, and I can understand that, but I don't support your approach. We are discussing work, not personal relationships. You are the commissar of the Third Military Equipment Repair Factory and must be responsible for this enterprise and its more than 600 employees. Even if we don't mention this, let's be frank, who doesn't know when a leader might be sent down from above? It's better to strictly follow the rules from the beginning rather than be caught off guard later."

Peng Guangming, of course, knew that handling things officially was good for everyone. Previously, it was more about saving face. Since both Chen Geng and his father had this attitude, it was even better. Exchanging a glance with Liu Qianjin, Peng Guangming nodded and said, "Alright, I'll have Old Xue send someone over... Is there anything else?"

Old Xue, also known as Xue Fugai, was the head of the finance department of the Third Military Equipment Repair Factory.

"There is," Chen Geng said, "I've had a question I've wanted to ask everyone, but everyone has been busy, so I didn't have the heart to..."

At this point, Chen Geng paused.

Everyone's curiosity was successfully piqued: What does this young man want to say?

"Do you all have any thoughts on the idea of helping Runhua Industry as consultants?" Chen Geng asked, a bit embarrassed, "I'm not rushing you, but your experience is crucial for Runhua Industry's future development, and I'm a bit anxious... By the way, my initial idea is to allocate 4% to 5% of the net profit each year for the various expenses of the entire consultant team."

Directly giving money might seem a bit low, but calling it consultant expenses made it sound much more prestigious: expenses for meals, fuel, and travel could all be covered from this fund! Moreover, the consultants would also receive a substantial "consultant fee" each month.

Liu Qianjin frowned, "We're all from the factory, and we will definitely help, but isn't the consultant fee a bit too much, Xiao Chen?"

When Chen Geng mentioned this to him before, Liu Qianjin subconsciously thought the "consultant fee" would be a few dozen yuan, but he never expected it to be so much.

"Yes, yes, it's too much..." As soon as Liu Qianjin spoke, everyone nodded in agreement, thinking the consultant fee was too high.

Although everyone wanted to earn some extra money, the social climate was still good. Skilled workers using their skills to earn some extra money on the side was acceptable, but receiving money as consultants, and with such a high annual income, was nerve-wracking!

Originally, everyone thought a few dozen yuan a month would be great, which would significantly improve their household finances. But 100 yuan a month? Oh my, that was too scary! The money was too hot to handle.

Chen Geng had overlooked the characteristics of the era. Ten years later, "consultants" wouldn't mind high fees, but in this era, people were still very cautious and simple-minded. As he was thinking about how to persuade everyone, Peng Guangming spoke up, "Xiao Chen, I know what you're thinking, but this amount is too much. Let me set a number: 25 yuan a month. How does that sound?"

When Peng Guangming said this, everyone collectively sighed in relief, all agreeing:

"25 yuan is good."

"25 yuan is very good."

"They're all our children; it doesn't matter whether they get paid or not, more or less, it's all fine, hehe..."

...

25 yuan was a relief for everyone. It was not only an acceptable amount but also one that made people secretly happy, unlike 100 yuan, which was scary just to think about.

What could Chen Geng say?

Should he scold them for being foolish?

In fact, this was their caution. Although the Cultural Revolution had been over for nearly ten years, people had only started to cautiously take steps in the past two or three years. Earning more money was good, but losing one's identity over it was not worth it.

He sighed and said to everyone, "Since everyone thinks 25 yuan is appropriate, I won't say anything more. But if you have any expenses that are hard to reimburse, bring them to Runhua Industry. The finance department will fully reimburse all consultant expenses."

This was a clear message: as long as you can provide a receipt, no matter where it came from or whether it was genuine, I will reimburse it.

Reimbursing expenses was more subtle than directly receiving money and was an unspoken rule. Thinking about being able to reimburse more to supplement their household income, everyone smiled even more.

Liu Qianjin, however, felt even more embarrassed, feeling like he was taking advantage of a younger person. How could he compensate Chen Geng? After a moment's thought, Liu Qianjin had an idea: "Xiao Chen, I remember you told Team Leader Guo that you would allocate a fixed percentage of the annual profit for year-end bonuses, right?"

"Yes, that's right," Chen Geng nodded.

"Besides giving year-end bonuses to the children, you also need to pay consultant fees to us old folks..." Liu Qianjin frowned and asked Peng Guangming, "Old Peng, the financial pressure on Xiao Chen is not small. They're all our children. How about we keep the profit-sharing arrangement between the Third Military Equipment Repair Factory and Runhua Industry the same as before?"

Peng Guangming also felt embarrassed about receiving so many benefits and was thinking about how to compensate Chen Geng. Hearing Liu Qianjin's suggestion, he immediately nodded, "Yes, that's a good idea..." He looked around at everyone, "What do you all think?"

What was the previous arrangement? The previous arrangement was for Runhua Industry to allocate 30% of its annual profit to the Third Military Equipment Repair Factory. Given the relationship between the two units at the time, a little more or less didn't matter. Even if Chen Geng said they didn't make a profit that year, it wouldn't be a problem. But now, the situation was different. The Third Military Equipment Repair Factory held 55% of Runhua Industry Development Co., Ltd., while Chen Geng held 45%. Theoretically, the profit-sharing should follow this ratio.

But theory is just theory. As a military enterprise directly under the East China Military Region, the money allocated to the Third Military Equipment Repair Factory would become the factory's petty cash, but it wouldn't go directly into any leader's pocket. It would be used for worker benefits, building construction, bonuses, and subsidies. At most, a better house or a few extra yuan in bonuses might be allocated, but the rest would be carefully saved, with constant worry.

Don't find it strange or incomprehensible; that's how people were in this era.

But now, Chen Geng offered a better choice: instead of letting the money become public property, it could be used as consultant fees and more bonuses for the children.

"Isn't that a bit too much?" Chen Geng was very embarrassed. Increasing the profit-sharing from 30% to 55% was a bit hard for him to accept, but he never expected the factory to be so generous. He originally thought 40% would be acceptable.

"There's nothing wrong with that," Peng Guangming waved his hand, leaving no room for debate, "It's settled. If you really feel uncomfortable, just give the children more bonuses and benefits during holidays. We're all one family, no need to be so formal."

The other deputy secretaries and deputy factory managers also chimed in:

"Exactly, they're all our children, why be so formal?"

"Alright, let's settle it, no need to be so sentimental..."

"Just take it, and give my son a bit more performance bonus..."

...

Fine, no more sentimentality. After some polite refusal, the matter was settled. Chen Geng was, of course, happy. Who wouldn't be happy with more money? Of course, starting next month, he would need to give the workers more bonuses.

The meeting was going well, and everyone was satisfied, but a comment from the deputy factory manager in charge of production, Cao Jun, made the atmosphere in the meeting room heavy...

"Xiao Chen, you're smart, you have to help the factory come up with an idea."

"Please go ahead and tell me, I'll do my best to help," Chen Geng agreed readily.

Cao Jun took a deep drag on his cigarette, "It's about our factory. We're preparing to produce carburetors..."

"Yes," Chen Geng nodded, waiting for Cao Jun to continue, wondering: What's the problem with producing carburetors?

"But we don't need so many workers. According to the data provided by Mr. Kindler, the carburetor production line requires about 260 workers, but our factory has over 620 people. What do I do with the remaining 400 workers?" Cao Jun said with a worried face, "I'm so worried about the placement of these 400 people, I feel like my head is going to explode."

PS: I promised to post at 10:30 PM, but it's now 11:30 PM. It's not that I didn't want to post earlier, but I had to rewrite about half of this chapter because some parts didn't fit the era and the country's conditions. This delayed the time. Brothers, I'm sorry, there's only one update today. I apologize, I'm really sorry.