Chapter 90

Changming Electronics Co., Ltd.'s approval process was given a green light all the way, and in a short time, the procedures had already progressed to the stage of submitting application documents, feasibility studies, agreements, articles of association, board member lists, and various departmental approval documents to the State Planning Commission's business department.

"Special cases require special handling," this was a directive given by the central leadership, and the efficiency was so high that it left people speechless.

In the board member list, the Chinese side appointed three representatives. Of course, unlike operational roles, in the board of a foreign-controlled joint venture, Chinese directors were essentially just figureheads, or even a kind of honorary title. This remained the case even decades later.

After the Administration for Industry and Commerce issued the business license, the Public Security Bureau engraved the official seal, and the Tax Bureau, Finance Bureau, and Foreign Exchange Management Department all registered the company, Lu Zheng was appointed as the Party Secretary of Changming Electronics Co., Ltd. This was a move to ensure that the organization was established before the company began operations.

At this point, Lu Zheng had already been working at the State Planning Commission for about half a month.

Lu Zheng concurrently served as the Director of the Office of the City's Investment Attraction Work Leading Group, overseeing the Foreign Investment Department, Investment Attraction Office, Finance and Banking Department, and Inspection Department. His specific duties included promoting the construction of export bases, market development, and commercial network construction in Wushan City, actively utilizing foreign investment, especially government loans from foreign countries, and being responsible for the full-process tracking and inspection of major construction projects. He was also tasked with innovating investment attraction strategies, expanding the scope of investment attraction, and ensuring the implementation of investment attraction work.

Additionally, Lu Zheng was responsible for coordinating assistance from sister cities and maintaining contact with the Wushan offices of various provinces and cities.

The State Planning Commission system was extremely large, with departments such as the Price Bureau, Audit Bureau, and Agriculture, Forestry, and Water Resources Bureau just beginning to take shape and still operating under the broad framework of the State Planning Commission. Departments that were later separated, such as the Energy Management Department, Business Department, and State-owned Assets Management Department, were all currently under the jurisdiction of the State Planning Commission.

As Deputy Director, Lu Zheng naturally had a significant amount of responsibility.

The Director of the State Planning Commission was concurrently held by the Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, Ma Hua, while the daily operations were overseen by the Executive Deputy Director and Director of the City's Economic System Reform Leading Group Office, Yang Wenxue.

Yang Wenxue, in his early fifties, was a Deputy Director, but thanks to the power of the State Planning Commission, he was a significant figure among the heads of various departments in Wushan.

Now, Lu Zheng was in Yang Wenxue's office, discussing investment attraction work.

Lu Zheng, as a new official, had not yet started making waves, which might have surprised Yang Wenxue. After all, from all the feedback, this young Deputy Director was not someone to be underestimated, nor was he someone who could sit idle. He loved to stir up new initiatives, and it seemed he wouldn't be called Lu Gangtou if he didn't create some commotion.

Bald, wearing black-rimmed glasses, and with a fair complexion, Yang Wenxue always gave the impression of being well-maintained and in good health.

In his previous life, Lu Zheng had encountered people with such an appearance, and they were usually not easy to deal with, being devious, deep, and ruthless.

Yang Wenxue wore his trademark smile and asked Lu Zheng, "You've been here for more than half a month, right? You should have some specific views on the work of the commission by now. You come from the grassroots, so your perspective is broader than ours. If there are any shortcomings in our work, please point them out. We can improve together!"

Lu Zheng sipped his tea and smiled, "I don't have any specific ideas yet. I'm still getting familiar with the work. If I have any new ideas, I will definitely communicate with the Director. Moreover, I think our investment attraction work shouldn't be rushed. We need to prepare thoroughly before we play our card with Changming Company. At least, we should wait until the Germans have some concrete plans for funding, factories, and production lines. Then we can plan how to promote and use this card to attract more foreign investment. If we act hastily now, potential investors might come and see just a barren land, which would create a negative impression."

Yang Wenxue nodded slightly, inwardly sneering. No ideas? It seems he has quite a few ideas.

He took a sip of tea and suddenly sighed, saying, "Lu Zheng, I feel a bit guilty towards you. You just arrived, and I should be concerned about you and help you solve problems. But you know, our commission has too many departments and a large scope. For example, regarding the use of vehicles, you are in charge of investment attraction, so you should be given a car. However, you can see the conditions here. The party group has sixteen members, but only a few cars are allocated. I've thought about it for a long time, but I can't make it work." He sighed again.

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "No problem, I have my own car."

Yang Wenxue waved his hand, "That's different. We can't use public cars for private purposes, and using private cars for public purposes is also not good."

Lu Zheng didn't know what he was getting at, so he just sipped his tea and remained silent.

Yang Wenxue sighed a few times, then suddenly remembered something and asked, "Wasn't there a notice from the Municipal Party Committee yesterday that you would also serve as the Party Secretary of Changming Company?"

Lu Zheng nodded.

Yang Wenxue thought for a moment and said, "Do you think the Germans could sponsor us with a few cars? Even temporarily, we could return them when the finances are better."

Lu Zheng suddenly understood. After a big circle, it turned out he was targeting this big piece of meat.

Government investment attraction had a common problem that had never been resolved in the past two or three decades. Before the funds came in, the government was the underdog, and the investors were the big shots. To attract investment, the government would go to any lengths, making all sorts of promises, almost like a pyramid scheme. But once the funds came in, the roles were reversed, and the government became the big shot, while the investors became the underdogs.

Of course, for powerful groups, especially foreign investors, government officials would not dare to be too presumptuous, especially since Changming Company was a key project supported by the central government.

Yang Wenxue was just testing the waters, or rather, hoping that Lu Zheng would sound out the Germans for him.

Lu Zheng frowned slightly and said, "The Germans definitely won't agree, and I won't go and ask." He put down his teacup, looked at Yang Wenxue, and said seriously, "To put it bluntly, as the Party Secretary of the company, I am the first point of contact between the government and the Germans. I will be the gatekeeper, and I won't agree to it." If Yang Wenxue's test were successful, it would open the floodgates, and Changming Company would be in constant trouble.

Yang Wenxue was stunned, and after a while, he awkwardly smiled, "Right, it wouldn't work, I agree."

He probably didn't expect the rumors to be true. This Lu Zheng was indeed capable of making him lose face, rejecting him outright without any tact. Fortunately, there was no one else in the office.

Lu Zheng stood up and said, "Director Yang, if there's nothing else, I'll go back." He turned and walked out calmly.

Yang Wenxue's face turned pale, and he stared at the door Lu Zheng had closed for a long time, still in shock.

However, Lu Zheng was not only nominally not under his control but was also the favorite of Director Zhang Yugong, a rising star in the government. He was even part of Secretary Duan's inner circle. Apart from Secretary Duan's trusted lieutenants, few would be willing to confront Lu Zheng head-on, as Zhang Yugong would definitely protect him, and Secretary Duan might not want to have a major conflict over a subordinate he didn't value much.

Moreover, as the actual sole Chinese representative in the joint venture, Lu Zheng would be indispensable to the middle and even upper-level officials in Wushan, who would need his help in the future. This person was not easy to offend.

However, Yang Wenxue slowly frowned. If he didn't give him a lesson, how could he maintain his position as Executive Deputy Director in the State Planning Commission?

...

That evening, when he got home, Wei Xiangxiu called him to dinner, having made pork and cabbage dumplings that Lu Zheng liked.

The maid, Xiao Jing, was a pretty girl, just eighteen years old, skilled and perceptive. When Lu Zheng came in, she set the table for the two elders in the inner room and fed them, closing the bedroom door.

Lu Zheng coughed and said, "Being too perceptive isn't good; it makes it seem like we have something going on."

Wei Xiangxiu was wearing a red short-sleeved dress, a very elegant and beautiful dress with a collar, a red knee-length dress, and a flowing skirt. Her slender legs were wrapped in milky white stockings, and her small feet were in a pair of light black half-heeled sandals, which were very fashionable. This 1980s elegance was neither as showy as high heels nor as old-fashioned as traditional sandals, but rather a subtle and restrained sexiness, much like Wei Xiangxiu herself. If later, the beauty's style could be described as bold and seductive, like a courtesan, then the current beauty exuded a charm of a virtuous woman, making one want to possess her while feeling a sense of guilt, with endless aftertaste.

Moreover, bold and seductive styles were like fast food; after a while, they became boring. The current subtle and shy sexiness was more appealing.

Not to mention, Wei Xiangxiu herself was a stunningly beautiful woman with a fiery figure.

Although she noticed Lu Zheng staring at her, she didn't say anything, just placed a bowl of garlic sauce in front of him and said, "Try it, is it too salty? Do you want to add some vinegar?"

Lu Zheng waved his hand and started eating.

Wei Xiangxiu was busy helping Lu Zheng cool the dumplings, placing them on a plate to prevent them from sticking together.

"Hey, is the Education Commission work easy?" Wei Xiangxiu rarely talked about work with Lu Zheng to avoid touching on his sore spots, and as a small official in the city bureau, her information about Lu Zheng was somewhat outdated.

Lu Zheng was taken aback and remembered he hadn't told her. He said casually while eating the dumplings, "I'm not working at the Education Commission anymore."

Wei Xiangxiu was surprised, "Are you back at the commission?" She had always been worried about Lu Zheng, fearing that his lack of education would make it hard for him to handle the work at the Education Commission.

"No, the State Planning Commission," Lu Zheng said, then his tongue was scalded by a broken dumpling, and he inhaled sharply, frowning, "You can't even cool a dumpling properly."

Wei Xiangxiu said, "No, you should eat from this plate!" She then realized that after being with Lu Zheng for a while, she had become more like his little maid, and Lu Zheng treated her as if it were natural.

Moreover, she had gradually gotten used to it.

These thoughts flashed through Wei Xiangxiu's mind, and she quickly asked with concern, "Why did you go to the State Planning Commission? Is your relationship still with the Education Commission, but you're working at the State Planning Commission?"

This was the best outcome she could imagine. If so, Lu Zheng could be trained at the Education Commission for a while, and then, through connections, he could be assigned to the State Planning Commission.

But Wei Xiangxiu thought it was unlikely. Could it be that this wild bandit had caused trouble at the Education Commission again and hit a leader? Was he demoted? Was he sent to the State Planning Commission with a title like Deputy Director of the Office or Deputy Director of the Policy Research Office, effectively being sidelined? The State Planning Commission was a large organization, and a few idle people wouldn't stand out.

Before meeting Lu Zheng, Wei Xiangxiu's life had been very dark, so she always tended to think the worst.