Chapter 87

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In the 1980s, being an "individual entrepreneur" was not a title to be proud of. At that time, what people envied were the iron rice bowls of state-owned enterprises, not private businesses. Those who generally engaged in small trades were often unemployed loafers, looked down upon and criticized behind their backs. Moreover, although there were no regulations prohibiting leaders and their relatives from doing business at the time, if Xu Junran, a deputy secretary of the commune party committee, were to start a business, Yan Wangsong would indeed criticize him.

Yang Weitian also looked at Xu Junran with concern: "Xiao Xu, although there are no regulations prohibiting leaders from doing business, I don't think it's suitable for you."

Xu Junran knew they were worried about him and smiled lightly, explaining: "It's not that I'm becoming an individual entrepreneur. I'm representing Li Family Town Commune to sign a labor contract with a construction company in Beijing. In the future, our Li Family Town Commune construction team will be employed by their construction company to work on construction projects in Lingnan."

Yang Weitian and Yan Wangsong were immediately stunned.

It wasn't that they were old-fashioned; it was that the terms Xu Junran used left no impression in their minds, as if they were reading a book from heaven.

What was a labor contract? What was an employment company? These were concepts that were hard for the two of them to understand.

"Isn't this the same as what the landlords used to do?"

After a long pause, Yan Wangsong finally managed to say this.

Although Yang Weitian didn't nod in agreement, he looked at Xu Junran with a strange expression and a puzzled gaze.

Xu Junran smiled bitterly and patiently explained to the two what a joint-stock company was and what a labor contract was.

After a while, Yan Wangsong looked at Xu Junran with a strange expression: "Do you mean that this joint-stock company is affiliated with the Ministry of Railways?"

Xu Junran shook his head: "It's not affiliated with the Ministry of Railways, but with the Engineering Bureau under the Ministry of Railways."

"It's the same, the same," Yan Wangsong said with a happy face. "That means if we set up a construction team, we'll be eating the imperial rice?"

Xu Junran laughed and realized he couldn't explain it to Yan Wangsong. He looked at Yang Weitian, who had been silently thinking: "County Chief, do you understand?"

Yang Weitian looked up and smiled: "You must have put in a lot of effort for this, right?"

Unlike Yan Wangsong, who had never left Quanzhou City and had only been to the provincial capital, Yang Weitian could confidently say that in a place as deep as Beijing, where even department-level officials dared not act rashly, Xu Junran could easily secure these two projects, which must have required a great deal of connections. At the very least, Yang Weitian believed that he himself and even Mayor Zhu could not have done it.

Inviting a famous professor from the Agricultural Research Institute to Wu De County for a pilot experiment, forming a construction team, and affiliating it with the Engineering Bureau of the Ministry of Railways—both required building relationships. The former needed good relations with the Agricultural Research Institute and the ability to meet Professor Jin and persuade him to lead an inspection team to Wu De County. The latter was even more complicated, as forming a joint-stock company required capital. According to Xu Junran, he found a few friends in Beijing to help register the company, which meant his friends had the ability to obtain a business license even with insufficient funds.

This alone was not enough to impress Yang Weitian. What surprised him even more was that Xu Junran had the confidence to secure projects in Lingnan!

Although he hadn't interacted deeply with Xu Junran, Yang Weitian knew that Xu Junran's background in Wu De County was simple. Apart from the old secretary Yan Wangsong, he was only close to Li Dongyuan, the county party committee member and secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission. As for the city, he seemed to have no background.

Yet, this person could influence Beijing, which was a thousand miles away, and even Lingnan. It seemed that during his four years in Beijing, Xu Junran had experienced something extraordinary, which had brought about his current transformation.

If that was the case, things were getting more interesting.

"County Chief, don't worry, it was all done with the help of my classmates," Xu Junran naturally understood the questioning tone in Yang Weitian's words. After all, in his previous life, he had been a seasoned official for many years. He guessed Yang Weitian's thoughts correctly. He himself had been an orphan with no parents and no support in the officialdom. Suddenly showing such extensive connections, it was natural for Yang Weitian to be suspicious. If he didn't ask, Xu Junran would have found it strange.

"Classmates?" Yang Weitian was taken aback, wondering who Xu Junran's classmates could be to have such important connections.

Xu Junran smiled and mentioned a name: "The second brother in our dormitory is his youngest son, who now works in the Construction Committee of Lingnan Province."

Yang Weitian was stunned, and Yan Wangsong was also taken aback. The two of them looked at each other in a daze, but neither spoke first.

After a while, Yang Weitian laughed dryly and said, "Ha, I never thought, I never thought that our Wu De County would have such good luck. You actually have this kind of connection. I think this company will do well, it will definitely do well."

Yan Wangsong also nodded: "Yes, the county party committee has no objections to your Li Family Town Commune construction team. We'll feel our way forward. Since it's for the special economic zone, I think it's fine."

They were both too surprised. Although Zeng Wenqin's father was not one of the old revolutionaries, he was a significant figure in the textbooks and was now the top leader of Lingnan Province. With this connection, Yang Weitian and Yan Wangsong, who had been worried about the construction team, felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted. They no longer worried that Xu Junran's construction company would fail.

Xu Junran couldn't help but laugh. Yan Wangsong was truly cunning. Clearly, forming the construction team was for profit, but in his words, it became a noble contribution to the special economic zone.

"Old Secretary, I have something to report to you," Xu Junran, seeing that the two leaders had a good understanding of his trip to Beijing, changed the topic.

Yan Wangsong, in a good mood, waved his hand: "Go ahead, I'm listening."

Xu Junran glanced at Yang Weitian, blinked, and then said to Yan Wangsong: "Old Secretary, I think we should encourage the people in our county to engage in individual businesses."

As soon as he said this, Yan Wangsong was stunned. After a while, he suddenly looked at Xu Junran and said: "Do you mean to encourage some people in the county to take the capitalist road?"