OBS Chapter 1333 East China Sea
Chapter 1333 East China Sea
Chapter 1333 East China Sea
As the black Crown convoy slowly entered Donghai city, Qin Hao surveyed the coastal city's streetscape through the car window. The August sun scorched the asphalt roads, and the air was filled with the distinctive salty smell of the sea breeze. The roadside trees swayed slightly in the heat, and the silhouettes of several cargo ships could be vaguely seen in the distant harbor.
"Mr. Lei, the Donghai Hotel is just ahead," the secretary in the passenger seat reminded him, turning around.
Qin Hao nodded, his gaze falling on the slightly dilapidated five-story building ahead. A line of people was already standing at the hotel entrance, led by Zhou Zhiming, the mayor of Donghai City, flanked by city official Li Weimin and several other city leaders. Everyone was dressed in neat white shirts, standing out conspicuously in the blazing sun.
As soon as the convoy came to a stop, Zhou Zhiming quickly stepped forward and personally opened the car door for Qin Hao: "Mr. Lei, you must be tired from your journey!"
"Mayor Zhou, you're too kind." Qin Hao smiled and shook the other's hand, feeling the strength and warmth from his palm.
Li Weimin also stepped forward and warmly shook Qin Hao's other hand: "President Lei, the people of Donghai have been waiting for you like the stars and the moon!"
After exchanging pleasantries, Qin Hao introduced the members of the inspection team to the two leaders—more than twenty senior executives and technical experts from various departments of Haoran International. Zhou Zhiming shook hands with each of them, occasionally saying "Welcome" in Mandarin with a heavy Donghai accent.
Inside the hotel conference room, the air conditioner hummed softly. A huge map of Donghai City hung on the wall, and the projector was ready to go.
"Mr. Lei, this is our preliminary plan for Haoran International." Zhou Zhiming gestured to his secretary to turn on the projector: "Donghai is located in the core area of the Yangtze River Delta, possessing deep-water ports and a well-developed railway network."
Qin Hao listened attentively to Mayor Zhou's introduction, occasionally jotting down a few keywords in his notebook. When the projection switched to land planning, his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
“Mayor Zhou, please forgive my bluntness,” Qin Hao put down his pen, “The terrain of Donghai is predominantly mountainous, with limited flat land. Our planned industrial park requires at least 200 million square meters of contiguous land, and it must be far from the coastline to avoid the impact of typhoons.”
The atmosphere in the meeting room froze instantly. Zhou Zhiming and Li Weimin exchanged a glance, and the latter cleared his throat: "President Lei, regarding the land issue, we can conduct an investigation before making a decision..."
Over the next seven days, the delegation visited ports, railway hubs, and industrial zones throughout Donghai City, held discussions with local business representatives, and even went into residential areas to understand the labor force situation.
Every evening, the inspection team held internal meetings. At the seventh meeting, Technical Director Wang adjusted his glasses: "After comprehensive evaluation, the topography of the East China Sea is indeed unsuitable for a project of our size. Two million square meters of contiguous land, and we also need to avoid typhoon zones—it's too difficult."
Financial Director Lin Fang nodded in agreement: "Moreover, demolition costs will be very high, and the time frame will be long. In comparison, the conditions in neighboring Jiangzhou City are much better."
Qin Hao pondered for a moment: "Let's hold a debriefing meeting with the leaders of Donghai tomorrow and truthfully convey our opinions."
The next morning, when Qin Hao tactfully conveyed his decision, Zhou Zhiming's face instantly turned deathly pale. Li Weimin hurriedly interjected, "President Lei, isn't the offer we made generous enough? Please feel free to make any requests!"
"Secretary Li has misunderstood," Qin Hao said sincerely. "We have all felt Donghai's sincerity. The main problem lies with the land—200 million square meters of contiguous land, and we also need to consider typhoon factors, which Donghai truly cannot provide."
After the meeting, the delegation began packing their luggage to head to their next destination. Qin Hao had just returned to his hotel room when his phone rang.
"Mr. Lei, this is Zhou Zhiming." The voice on the other end of the phone was a little hoarse. "Could you please stay another day? Our municipal party committee would like to hold another meeting to discuss this."
Qin Hao glanced at his watch: "Alright, let's have one last conversation tomorrow morning at ten o'clock."
That night, the lights in the Donghai Municipal Party Committee building stayed on until the early hours of the morning. The meeting room was filled with smoke as more than a dozen members of the leadership team engaged in a heated debate.
In the end, Zhou Zhiming made a surprising decision.
The next morning, just as Qin Hao's convoy was about to leave the hotel, Zhou Zhiming and Li Weimin, along with a group of city leaders, rushed over and blocked the convoy.
"Mr. Lei, please wait! Following an emergency meeting of the Municipal Party Committee and the Municipal Government, we have specially approved 250 million square meters of land for Haoran International to be used for the construction of an industrial park!"
Qin Hao got out of the car in surprise: "Mayor Zhou, as far as I know, there isn't such a large area of open land in Donghai right now?"
Zhou Zhiming took a map from his secretary and unfolded it on the car hood: "President Lei, please take a look. This is the area—the old industrial district in the city center."
Qin Hao carefully examined the area circled in red on the map, his heart pounding. That area housed over a dozen factories of varying sizes, including the Donghai Textile Factory, Machinery Factory, and Chemical Plant, involving tens of thousands of workers.
"Mayor Zhou, this..." Qin Hao looked up, his eyes filled with surprise, "...demolishing so many factories at once..."
Li Weimin stepped forward, his tone firm: "President Lei, to be honest, most of these factories are barely surviving, relying on bank loans and government subsidies to stay afloat. Rather than letting things drag on like this, we should break down the old and rebuild!"
“As long as you agree,” Zhou Zhiming added, “we will immediately initiate the demolition process.”
Qin Hao remained silent for a long time before finally extending his hand: "Now that the land issue is resolved, I have no other questions."
Zhou Zhiming was taken aback at first, then overjoyed: "Does President Lei mean he's agreed to settle in Donghai?"
"Everything else is negotiable," Qin Hao said half-jokingly. "I'm just worried that the people of Donghai will give us a real dressing down."
Li Weimin gripped Qin Hao's hand tightly: "As long as Donghai can develop and the people can live a good life, what does it matter if we get a few scoldings! It's President Lei who's been wronged."
That afternoon, the Donghai Daily published a photo on its front page of Qin Hao shaking hands with city leaders, with the headline "Haoran International's 200 Billion Yuan Investment Project Settles in Donghai." The news sent Donghai into a frenzy.
Just as Qin Hao had predicted, the workers reacted extremely strongly when the specific demolition plan was announced.
While Ren Xia'er, a female worker at the textile factory, was busy in the workshop, a notice from the factory office suddenly came over the loudspeaker: the entire factory was to be shut down in preparation for demolition.
"What? The factory is going to be demolished? What are we going to do?" Sister Wang, a middle-aged female worker next to Ren Xia'er, exclaimed in surprise.
The female workers in the workshop erupted in chaos. Some angrily pounded their spindles, some wept bitterly, and many more surrounded the workshop foreman, demanding an explanation.
"Everyone calm down!" the workshop foreman shouted. "The city said there will be compensation and re-employment arrangements."
"You're kidding me!" an old worker cursed angrily. "The machinery factory was demolished two years ago, and the compensation still hasn't been fully paid out!"
"Don't give me that! If we tear down the factory, are we going to starve?"
"It's easy for you officials to talk when you're not the ones suffering! Why don't you throw your own rice bowls away first?"
"Liar! They're colluding with capitalists to cheat us!"
Several leaders took turns speaking, their voices becoming hoarse, but the situation showed no signs of easing.
The factory is the root; if the root is severed, how can people live?
Looking out the car window at the nearly out-of-control situation, Qin Hao knew that it would be futile to have the leaders talk about future plans and macro-level significance. When you're hungry, you can't fill your stomach with grand principles.
He took a deep breath and shoved the car door open!
"Mr. Lei!" the assistant exclaimed.
Qin Hao stepped out of the car with steady steps. Li Weimin and Mayor Zhou were on tenterhooks when they saw him get out of the car, and quickly signaled the security personnel to protect him closely.
The shouts grew louder and louder, and the scene nearly spiraled out of control. Seeing this, Qin Hao got out of the car. He took the megaphone from Zhou Zhiming and stood on a raised platform.
"Fellow workers! Please be quiet and listen to me! I am the person in charge of Haoran International! If you have anything to say, you can talk to me face to face!"
His response was met with an even greater uproar of rebukes and slogans.
Qin Hao patiently waited for the commotion to subside before speaking again: "Let me ask you all a question first—how many of you receive your full salary every month?"
The previous clamor suddenly stopped! The workers who had just been waving their fists and spitting as they looked down involuntarily or looked away awkwardly.
"Salary? Forget about paying it on time, it's a miracle if it's even paid at all..."
"The textile factory hasn't paid its employees for almost three months..."
"The machine repair workshop only received twenty yuan in living expenses last month..."
"We can't even afford to pay for the food in the cafeteria..."
However, these voices were quickly shattered by the angry roars of the workers.
"No matter how bad the factory is, it's still our livelihood! If it's demolished, we'll have nothing left!"
"Yes! We can't live without jobs!"
Qin Hao waited for the wave of criticism to subside before picking up the megaphone again: "You all know the state of your respective factories better than anyone else! You're burdened with debt, products are piling up in warehouses unsold, there are more lazy people than hardworking people, and wages depend entirely on government subsidies or bank loans..."
He paused, his gaze sweeping sharply across the crowd: "That's right, the government is backing us up now, but do you think the government has that much money to keep injecting funds into the factories like this?"
These words struck everyone like a hammer blow. The various chaotic phenomena caused by poor factory management are a reality that happens around us every day. Everyone knows that things can't continue like this, but they're just clinging to a sliver of hope.
Qin Hao looked around and continued, "I'll ask you another question. Does anyone here receive more than one hundred yuan a month in actual take-home pay? Raise your hands so I can see!"
A hush fell over the scene. The workers looked at each other, their eyes filled with awkwardness and bitterness. Occasionally, one or two hands would hesitantly rise, standing out so conspicuously and sparsely in the crowd, before quickly lowering them again.
Qin Hao took in all of this and waved his hand, saying, "The high-tech industrial park that Haoran International is going to build in Donghai will have a monthly salary of no less than two hundred yuan for any worker who has received basic training and is qualified!"
Two hundred yuan?!
"Om..."
The scene was absolutely chaotic!
Two hundred yuan a month! In Donghai in 1984, for the vast majority of state-owned factory workers, this was not a "high wage" at all; it was an unimaginable astronomical figure!
Qin Hao immediately pressed his advantage: "Originally, after a thorough investigation by our professional team, we determined that the land conditions in Donghai could not meet the planning requirements of the industrial park, and we did not intend to locate this project here! However, your local officials, Mayor Li Weimin and Mayor Zhou, have shown a sincerity that deeply impressed all members of the inspection team in order to secure this opportunity for Donghai to take off!"
"I can tell you all with absolute certainty that right now, more than a dozen cities are scrambling to get us to settle down! And their offers are more generous than the last!"
"If Donghai really doesn't welcome us and can't tolerate this project, then fine, my convoy will turn around and leave immediately, but this industrial park project, which will directly create hundreds of thousands of jobs in the future, will have nothing to do with Donghai anymore!"
Standing beside Qin Hao, Li Weimin's eyes were red-rimmed. He took the megaphone Qin Hao handed back and choked out, "Fellow workers! I, Li Weimin—please! Stop making a scene! I understand your feelings! You're reluctant to leave the factory, afraid of losing your livelihood, I understand! But this industrial park is related to the economic development of Donghai City for the next few decades. If we miss this opportunity because of you... all of us Donghai people will regret it for the rest of our lives!!"
A stir broke out among the workers. Some had tears in their eyes, some lowered their heads to wipe their eyes, and some whispered among themselves.
However, some people still refuse to back down.
"You make it sound so easy, but who knows if it will even be built? Besides, will that demolition compensation actually end up in our pockets? How can we trust you?"
"That's right! We need to eat! We can't stop working!"
Mayor Zhou immediately grasped the crux of the matter, snatched a megaphone from someone nearby, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Workers! Please trust the government! The compensation—we guarantee not a penny less! It will be distributed to every single household! Everyone, just bring your household registration book and the certificate issued by the factory to the special window set up by the municipal government to collect it in person! Cash settlement! Supervised by the finance department, the discipline inspection commission, and the public security bureau!"
"Furthermore! The municipal government has made a decision! During the construction of the industrial park, before finding new formal employment, all registered employees of the demolished factories will receive a monthly transitional living allowance of twenty yuan each! This will be paid for two consecutive years!"
The workers looked at each other in bewilderment. Twenty yuan a month was not a small amount these days; it could support a family's basic food needs.
With a two-year grace period and the lure of a future monthly salary of two hundred yuan... the tide of anger finally receded, and the atmosphere at the scene suddenly relaxed.
The woman crowding next to Ren Xia'er swallowed hard: "Ren, you... do you think this General Manager Lei... the industrial park he mentioned, can really offer such high salaries?"
Ren Xia'er shook his head slightly: "I don't know either, but a monthly subsidy of twenty yuan can really last for two years. It's better than having nothing and the whole family going hungry, right?"
Seeing the crowd gradually calming down, Li Weimin and Mayor Zhou quickly exchanged a decisive glance. Li immediately turned to the police chief beside him and whispered, "Old Wang! Immediately escort Boss Lei and the others into the hotel!"
Security personnel quickly formed a passage. The crowd hesitated for a moment, then gradually parted to make way for them.
An hour later, the heavy wooden door to the conference room reopened.
Li Weimin emerged, clutching Qin Hao's hand tightly. His face was weary, but his eyes shone with excitement: "President Lei, the future of Donghai... rests on your shoulders!"
Qin Hao grasped the other person's hand and said solemnly, "The future of Haoran International is the future of Donghai."
The two looked at each other and smiled.