Chapter 55

In the meeting room on the first floor of the county government building, it was filled with staff and workers from the county fertilizer factory, including many ordinary workers. Sunflower seeds and candy were placed on the tables, and secretaries were pouring hot water for everyone. They were enjoying the treatment usually reserved for county leaders.

A seminar on the implementation of the "Factory Manager Contract Responsibility System" at the county fertilizer factory was being held, chaired by Lu Zheng, a member of the county party committee and vice-county magistrate.

In addition to the vice-county magistrate, Wang Dongsheng, the director of the Planning and Economy Commission, was also present. He was an elderly man with gray hair, and the position of director of the Planning and Economy Commission was likely his last post. After the former director and deputy county party secretary Shang Ronghua was reassigned as the head of the organization department, Wang Dongsheng, as the vice-county magistrate, also took over the position of director of the Planning and Economy Commission.

Ji Chang'an, the director of the county party committee office and the political research office, was originally the director of the government office and considered an old friend of Lu Zheng. Now, any work required theoretical guidance, so at Lu Zheng's invitation, Ji Chang'an also attended the meeting.

In addition, there were teachers from the county party school and heads of some relevant departments and commissions.

Regardless of Jiang Haiyan's feelings towards Lu Zheng, she had given the green light to his ideas for the fertilizer factory's reform, allowing him to proceed with it. Perhaps this was her astuteness.

Among the employee representatives of the fertilizer factory, Lu Guobin, as an old worker representative, was also present at the seminar. Listening to Lu Zheng's eloquent speech, with the county and government leaders and the factory manager and party secretary attentively listening, he felt a mix of emotions. Originally, he had tried to avoid the seminar with many excuses, but could not resist the factory manager Gao Dayou's strict order, so he had to attend the meeting reluctantly.

Lu Zheng explained the county's plan to contract out the fertilizer factory, focusing on the proposed "Factory Financial Supervision Committee" if the contract responsibility system were implemented. He smiled and said, "Power without supervision is evil. Therefore, this committee will not be a tight constraint or a stumbling block for the contractor but will establish a transparent mechanism to maximize the resolution of potential conflicts between the contractor and the workers."

After taking a sip of tea, Lu Zheng continued, "Of course, this is just an initial idea from the county. We need to hear everyone's opinions. If it is feasible, the city will send a research team. Let's pool our ideas and everyone share their thoughts."

As soon as Lu Zheng finished speaking, Gao Dayou led the applause and loudly said, "I represent all the factory workers in firmly supporting the correct decision of the county party committee and government! We will unite around the new leadership, not fear hardship or fatigue, and contribute our efforts to the factory's reform!"

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "We haven't contracted it yet. You are still the factory manager. Why are you helping a non-existent new leadership take over? Let's hear everyone's opinions."

Amidst a wave of good-natured laughter, Gao Dayou scratched his head and sat down.

No one in the meeting room spoke, all staring at each other. Whether they agreed with the contract or not, this was a county matter. Did the leaders really want to hear their opinions?

Moreover, it was rumored that private enterprises in other places had been shut down. Who knew when the wind would change? Any random comments today might become evidence of a crime later.

Lu Zheng had not expected such a result. Thinking about the numerous petitions and complaints in the future, where people had a lot to say, now, when given the chance, no one spoke up.

But considering the current year, Lu Zheng felt at ease.

Ji Chang'an cleared his throat and said with a smile, "Comrades, let's do it this way. I'll call on you one by one. Gao Dayou, you go first." As the long-time director of the office, he was skilled at handling such situations.

Gao Dayou had already prepared his speech and began to speak eloquently. Honestly, he really wanted to contract the factory, which had been profitable for years. He put a lot of effort into his speech, focusing on the benefits of the contract system. He concluded with an enthusiastic statement, "The rural land has been contracted, and the farmers have become wealthy! If our factory is contracted, our workers will also achieve a well-off life!" This earned him a round of applause.

The subsequent employees and staff, when called by Ji Chang'an, all spoke to some extent, mostly supporting the county's decision and following the party and the county party committee.

The seminar did not go as well as hoped, but Lu Zheng nodded slightly. Well, then, let's make a decision in a one-man show.

After announcing the end of the meeting, Lu Zheng quickly walked to Lu Guobin, who was about to leave the meeting room with the crowd, and said, "Uncle, shall we have lunch together?"

Lu Guobin was taken aback and then said, "This, another day, you, you are busy, don't trouble yourself." His wife had always been planning to invite Zhengzi for a meal to show gratitude, but Lu Guobin couldn't bring himself to do it. Now, facing Lu Zheng, he felt quite uncomfortable and was very surprised. Not long ago, he had only heard that Lu Zheng was the director of a county bureau, which was already surprising enough. But in just a few months, he had become a member of the county party committee, which was simply unbelievable.

Lu Zheng noticed his discomfort and said with a smile, "Alright, another day." Turning around, he saw Ji Chang'an approaching and said with a smile, "Director Ji, shall we go to the canteen for a meal?"

Ji Chang'an smiled and nodded in agreement.

...

In the afternoon, while Lu Zheng was pondering the reform of the fertilizer factory, the phone rang.

The reform of the county fertilizer factory was a top priority for Lu Zheng. This was not just the reform of a small county-owned enterprise but also an attempt to establish a model for the contract system. Lu Zheng hoped that through the reform of the fertilizer factory, a mechanism could be established to ensure that the financial power of contractors was constrained and supervised, preventing the loss of state assets. Moreover, in many regions, enterprises that implemented the contract system quickly became severely loss-making, and the enterprises were eventually sold at low prices, often to the contractors themselves. These contractors used state loans to cheaply acquire state-owned enterprises, leading to the large-scale privatization of state assets.

The government's administrative management of enterprises indeed had many problems, and entrusting state-owned enterprises to private teams was a common practice internationally. However, this management must be based on a transparent mechanism.

Lu Zheng hoped to explore a suitable path for the transformation of state-owned enterprises in the republic. Even if it could not be implemented nationwide, at least it could set a good example and compare which path was more correct.

Therefore, these days, Lu Zheng had been fully focused on the reform plan for the fertilizer factory.

When the phone rang, Lu Zheng picked it up. On the other end, a slightly authoritative female voice said, "Is this Lu Zheng?"

Lu Zheng recognized the voice. Jiang Haiyan, who now didn't even want to see him in person, was giving instructions over the phone?

However, Lu Zheng could appreciate the woman's shrewdness. His proposed ideas seemed to align with her thoughts, so she maintained a professional attitude, supporting his work. This way, if his work produced results, it would be under her "wise leadership," and if he made a mistake, the blame would be squarely on him.

"Yes, it's me, County Magistrate Haiyan, is there something you need?" Lu Zheng was polite, unlike the angry thug he had been at the meeting a few days ago.

"Here's the thing. In a couple of days, the TV drama 'Dream of the Red Mansion' production team will come to our Ming Shi Mountain to shoot scenes, about a hundred shots. Not too many, but Director Wang told me that because the new drama has just started, the actors need to get used to each other, so they will stay in Guangning for over a month before moving to another county in the province to shoot over two thousand scenes of Rongguo Mansion. You need to be prepared and make early arrangements to ensure the successful completion of the 'Dream of the Red Mansion' production team's shooting in Guangning."

The 'Dream of the Red Mansion' production team? Lu Zheng was taken aback. Would Tong Susu come?

Jiang Haiyan emphasized, "You need to personally handle this, take it seriously, and treat it as a political task."

"Okay, I understand," Lu Zheng replied calmly, feeling a bit helpless. The status of production teams was indeed high at the time, unlike in the future when various production teams roamed the streets and no one paid attention to them.

With no choice, Lu Zheng called his secretary, Zhou, to contact the driver team and see if Jiao Lei was available to pick him up and return to the county bureau.

Jiao Lei was naturally available. Communication was not convenient, and he didn't know when the leaders would need a car, so he spent his days sitting in the county party committee driver team's office, drinking water and chatting, gradually becoming familiar with the other drivers.