Chapter 79

(Calling for favorites and recommendations! There are only ten days until the launch! Let's work hard!)

"Junran, how did you know?" Without waiting for Cao Junming to ask, Cao Junwei and Chen Hongtao had already voiced their confusion.

Junran smiled slightly: "By reading the newspaper."

"Newspaper?" Cao Junwei and Chen Hongtao exchanged a glance, their faces filled with confusion.

Cao Junming frowned, then nodded after a moment: "Good eyesight."

He understood what Junran meant. Although the newspapers were filled with various opinions, none of the elders had publicly expressed support or opposition to any viewpoint. More precisely, the elders had likely reached a consensus on the issue of the special economic zones. However, the outside world was still speculating about their thoughts.

Throughout China's five thousand years of history, understanding the intentions of superiors has been a skill every official must learn. However, this skill also carries significant risks. If one's interpretation of the superior's intentions is incorrect, they might bear some responsibility.

Each person has different and complex psychological states in different environments. For example, when a superior faces their subordinate, they might sometimes display their authority, sometimes test the subordinate's abilities, and sometimes deliberately create difficulties for the subordinate, and so on. In different situations, their psychological states are entirely different. As a subordinate, one must learn to understand the true intentions of the superior in different situations, analyze the true psychological reasons behind the superior's actions, so that they can correctly understand the superior's thoughts, avoid deviating from the superior's true intentions, and do their work well, even anticipating the superior's needs and acting ahead of time to gain more time.

A subordinate must have the ability to anticipate and understand the psychological intentions and wishes of their superior, which is more accurately described as a psychological analysis ability.

Without a doubt, the "art of understanding" is a product of the feudal autocratic system. In the past, when "serving the emperor was like serving a tiger," if a minister was not good at understanding the emperor's thoughts, they would live in constant fear—any word or action that displeased the emperor could result in losing their position, being beaten, or even losing their head, and possibly even their entire family. In today's official circles, a subordinate who cannot truly understand the superior's true intentions will not be appreciated or promoted.

Just like in Beijing now, various forces are constantly trying to understand the intentions of the higher-ups, expressing their views on reform and opening up, and other measures. They think they have understood the leaders' intentions, but in reality, the leaders' true intentions are merely to expose certain people.

As a prescient being, Junran naturally knew these things. In Cao Junming's view, his young brother had transformed in a way that was truly impressive.

Cao Junming had rich life experiences and was well aware that in one's work, there are often situations where the superior, for various reasons, does not give direct orders, and sometimes seems to leave things unsaid. This is a consideration and management method of the superior. However, as a subordinate, one must be mentally prepared to not just take the surface meaning of the superior's orders but also to analyze the underlying implications and the subtext in the orders.

Many subordinates make similar mistakes. When the superior is dissatisfied with their work results, they might confidently say, "That's exactly what you asked for!" But in fact, if the superior really asked for that and the subordinate followed the instructions exactly, the superior would not have such doubts. The reason the superior has doubts is that the subordinate did not carefully analyze the underlying meaning of the superior's orders and did not achieve the true results and goals the superior wanted. The superior needs not a "yes-man" but a capable subordinate who truly understands their inner thoughts. Therefore, as a subordinate, one must understand this psychological requirement of the superior and have this psychological ability to achieve the effect of "understanding without words."

There is a saying, "Listen to the sound of the gong and the drum, and understand the meaning of words." Behind a superior's words, there may be more than one meaning. To truly understand the superior's intentions, a subordinate must carefully analyze the superior's intentions.

Now, many people in Beijing have misunderstood the intentions of the elders and are doing everything they can to curry favor.

These people are like grasshoppers in autumn—they won't last long.

The conversation between Chen Hongtao and Cao Junwei and Junran and Cao Junming was too profound. Chen Hongtao and Cao Junwei looked at them as if they were speaking different languages, discussing national policies and guidelines. The two of them were getting more and more excited, almost ready to drink and get drunk. Cao Junwei smiled bitterly and said helplessly, "Brother, Junran, are you two off-topic?"

Cao Junming was taken aback, exchanged a glance with Junran, and the two of them laughed heartily.

"Blame me, blame me. When we talk about these theoretical things, we can't control ourselves." Cao Junming chuckled, "Junran, why don't you tell them your thoughts?"

Junran nodded: "Alright, I'll tell you."

The rest was simple. Junran explained his idea of starting a construction company to Chen Hongtao. His plan was straightforward: Lin Yuqing and Cao Junwei would set up a construction company in Beijing, and Chen Hongtao would use his connections to affiliate the company with Huatie Construction Bureau. Then, through Zeng Wenqin's connections in Lingnan, they would secure some small projects.

"Junran, this isn't a problem. I can make a phone call to handle the affiliation. However, are you really confident that you can make money from construction?" Chen Hongtao asked Junran, half-believing and half-doubting.

If this question were asked ten years later, someone would surely call Chen Hongtao a fool. The profits from construction are enormous, known only to those in the industry. However, in the early 1980s, private construction teams faced significant risks.

Junran smiled slightly: "Brother Chen, don't worry. We won't compete with state-owned enterprises for large projects. To put it simply, if state-owned construction companies build large hotels or factories, we'll build toilets and walls. They get the meat, and we'll be content with the broth."

Although his words sounded humble, he had his own calculations.

The construction industry was just Junran's initial idea. His true goal was to use the platform of Pengfei City to boost the economy of Wude County.

Chen Hongtao was not a petty person. He didn't need to put in much effort; a few phone calls would secure him a 20% stake, so he was naturally delighted.

They quickly agreed on how to proceed.

After Cao Junwei and Chen Hongtao left, Cao Junming kept Junran behind.

"Junran, I think you shouldn't stay in Beijing anymore."

Cao Junming's expression was calm as he seriously told Junran.