Joint Stock Cooperative

  In the grand auditorium of Hanhua Machinery Factory, flags were flying high and hundreds of workers crowded in, leaning forward to listen to the important announcement made by General Manager Chen Weiguo on the podium:

  "Comrades, today we hold the founding conference of Hanhua Industrial Development Company. From now on, our Hanhua Machinery Factory's Labor Service Company is officially renamed as Hanhua Industrial Development Company, with Comrade Lin Zhenhua serving as the company manager. Let's give a round of applause!"

  "Wow......" Thunderous applause erupted and lasted for a long time, among which the loudest claps came from the young workers of Hanhua Industrial Corporation. They felt that their lives were about to start a new chapter.

  "Han Hua Industrial Development Company, adopting the collective cooperative management model of the working masses, with funding sourced from the collective contributions of workers and cadres from Hanhua Machinery Factory and Hanhua Industrial Company. Among them, Hanhua Machinery Factory invested in land and equipment, valued at 30,000 yuan, holding 30% of the shares. The company's employees, following the principle of voluntary investment, allocated the remaining 70% of shares according to their respective investment amounts. Within Han Hua Industrial Company, the principle of distribution according to labor will continue to be implemented. At the same time, the company's profits will be distributed in proportion to the investment ratio of each participating party, with no upper limit!"

  As soon as these words were spoken, it was like pouring a basin of water into a pot of oil, and the whole auditorium suddenly became noisy.

  "Ah!"

  "Too good!"

  "Isn't this going to become a public-private partnership again? Can the country allow it?"

  "Don't talk nonsense, haven't you seen that there are central leaders from Beijing on the rostrum, and also leaders from the Ministry of Light Industry? If the country doesn't allow it, can they just sit there and not speak?"

  "Hey, do you know how much Lin Zhenhua invested?"

  "I know, I know, he spent 300,000 yuan and took up 30%."

  "30%? Then isn't he a capitalist now?"

  "Where did he get so much money from? Could it be that he embezzled company funds?"

  "Get out, the company doesn't even have 300,000 yuan, let alone earning that much. His money, I heard it was borrowed from his wealthy friend."

  "Yang Xin, you've become a boss's wife, treat us to a meal!"

  “……”

  Chen Weiguo announced the establishment of the company and handed over the microphone to Xie Chunyan, director of the Production Department of the Light Industry Bureau. Xie Chunyan did not say much, but on behalf of the Light Industry Bureau, she congratulated Hanhua Industrial Company on its establishment. This congratulation was a kind of gesture, indicating that the Light Industry Bureau had recognized this bold attempt.

  Xie Chunyan was able to make such a statement, naturally because the Central Party School's topic group brought instructions from the central government. The provincial hall was originally unsure about this issue, but since the central leadership has spoken out and said they would not interfere, the provincial hall is happy to open the floodgates. Xie Chunyan was very careful with her words in her congratulatory speech, spending a lot of thought on it, and spoke without leaving any loopholes, so that no matter whether this attempt is right or wrong in the future, everyone can't grasp her handle.

  Xie Chunyu finished speaking, and Lei Ning, chief expert of the Central Party School's topic group and professor of Peking University's Economics Department, walked up to the microphone.

  "Hello everyone!" Lianing nodded slightly towards the crowd and said:

  "Just now, Director Xie of the Light Industry Bureau asked me to come and give instructions to everyone. I'd like to declare that this time I came to Hanhua Machinery Factory, not to give instructions, but to learn."

  "As soon as I arrived at the factory, I went to visit your young manager Lin Zhenhua. As soon as we met, Manager Lin called me Lishi Co., Ltd., which surprised me greatly. I asked him: 'Comrade Lin Zhenhua, why do you call me Lishi Co., Ltd.? My name is not that.'"

  "Comrade Lin Zhenhua said to me: 'Teacher Lei, because you were the first person in China to propose the issue of shareholding system, you are the pioneer.'"

  The workers below all applauded together, and for a figure like the ancestor of opening up the mountain, everyone is very worshipful.

  Lening smiled and waved his hand at everyone, indicating for them to be quiet, then continued:

  "I told you, Manager Lin, at the time: 'I'm not some pioneer, the real pioneer is Comrade Xiao Lin. We scholars are just doing research in our studies, fabricating a semblance of a joint-stock system, while Comrade Xiao Lin has already taken the lead and established the first modern joint-stock company.'"

  "I said: 'If I'm called Lethal Shares, then you Little Lin should be called Lin Shares!' Everyone says, isn't that right!"

  "Wow..." Another round of applause erupted from below, cheering for Professor Liening's humorous speech.

  Li Ning continued to introduce the origin, model and advantages of the shareholding system, allowing many workers in the auditorium who were not very familiar with this system to have a basic understanding. Teacher Li also reported to everyone in an indirect way the central leadership's instructions on the "Lin Zhenhua phenomenon", dispelling the doubts in people's minds, and also made those who held anonymous letters in their hands swallow their fallen teeth silently.

  Lin Zhenhua sat on the podium, with a faint smile, listening to Teacher Li's eloquent speech, feeling as if he was basking in the warm spring breeze. It had been two years since he crossed over, and finally, he heard a positive voice from the central high-level authorities. He knew that he had successfully taken the first step, of course, compared to the changes in the national system over the next few decades, this was just a small step.

  The arrival of the party school topic group ended the discussion in the factory about contract fees and equity issues. Under the strong promotion of Lining and He Haifeng, Hanhua Factory submitted a report to Qinghua Hall on transforming the Labor Service Company into a joint-stock cooperative company, of course, the name can only be called the labor collective cooperation system. At this time, Qinghua Hall had also received instructions from the Central Committee, so it directly gave the green light to this report.

  When discussing the specific shareholding structure, some disputes arose. Originally, Lin Zhenhua hoped to have absolute control over the shares, at least holding 51% of the shares. However, the leaders of Hanhua Factory did not agree with this and believed that a collectively-owned company could not be completely controlled by an individual.

  Professor Li Ning supported Lin Zhenhua's request, but He Haifeng expressed his opposition. He was worried that Lin Zhenhua would be too showy and easily attract criticism. Although he had the instructions of the central leaders as a talisman, if he went too far, the central leaders might also worry.

  Lin Zhenhua accepted He Haifeng's suggestion and agreed to hold only 30% of the shares. Hanhua Factory took away another 30%, leaving 40% of the shares to be distributed among the workers in the company.

  According to the agreement, for every 1% of shares held, a payment of 1,000 yuan is required to be made to the company. Very few workers could afford such a large sum of money. In the end, the company agreed that willing workers only needed to sign a contract and the shareholding funds would be deducted from their wages on a monthly basis in the future. Even so, no worker was willing to acquire 1% of shares; generally, they just registered a few hundred yuan symbolically, holding a fraction of a percentage point of shares.

  No one knows what Hanhua Industrial Company will become, and the young workers in the company are still not at ease. If there is an opportunity to recruit workers into the factory, most of them would not refuse, after all, state-owned enterprises are the way to go, and this kind of large collective enterprise can develop into what? Many people also subscribed to shares out of consideration for Lin Zhenhua's face, Lin Zhenhua being their superior, they couldn't afford to lose face.

  Han Hua Company had a large number of unsubscribed shares. Lin Zhenhua privately found a few younger brothers to discuss it, and the next day, Peng Shaozhe, Chu Hongyang, and Zhao Yongqun successively submitted their applications to the factory, requesting to subscribe for 6% of the shares each. The funds they used to buy into the company were partly provided by Lin Zhenhua, and the other part was deducted from the company's account, which would be deducted from their wages in the future.

  The last straw that overthrew the camel was provided by Yang Xin, who subscribed to 3% of the shares. As a result, Lin Zhenhua's small group now holds a total of 51% of the equity, achieving the goal of controlling the company.

  As for the loyalty of the younger brothers, Lin Zhenhua was not worried. He firmly believed that he could make Hanhua Industrial Company a successful enterprise with assets worth hundreds of millions, at which time, Peng Shaozhe and others would also get rich returns on their investment. He had never thought of monopolizing everything for himself, perhaps due to his character, in his previous life, he was happy to share with others, and in this life, he was still such a person.

  The funds required to purchase the shares were withdrawn by Lin Zhenhua from the profits of Xinxin Store. Regardless of the invisible US dollars in foreign banks, Lin Zhenhua's domestic assets already had tens of millions of yuan, and taking out a few hundred thousand to buy shares was really a small matter.

  The labor service company was valued at only 100,000 yuan, with a share price of 1,000 yuan. This was something Lin Zhenhua had not anticipated beforehand. He had originally thought that the factory would have to capitalize on tens of millions, and by reversing 30%, the total assets of the labor service company should be around 3-4 million. Lin Zhenhua's estimate was clearly based on his own perspective. From the factory's point of view, the labor service company was just an empty shell. The factory had provided a few acres of land and some equipment from its early days, which were not worth much money.

  As for the source of the capital, Lin Zhenhua reported to the factory that the money was borrowed from Qi Zhongmou. Peng Shaozhe and others claimed that the funds were borrowed from Xiong Lijun. Everyone has heard stories about Qi Zhongmou and knows that Xiong Lijun made a lot of money doing business, so they didn't say much more on this matter.

  In the leadership of Hanhua Factory, there were also people who could see through this trick. After all, Lin Zhenhua's relationship with these people was clear to the factory leaders. However, since there didn't seem to be any problem on the surface, why should the factory leaders intervene? They didn't have any psychological barriers to joint operation, they were just afraid of policy issues. Lin Zhenhua was willing to do things openly and secretly, making everything perfect, what else could people say?

  "Wow……" The thunderous applause rose again, the meeting entered its final item, with Director Chen Weiguo presenting Lin Zhenhua with a wooden plaque from Hanhua Industrial Company. This was just a symbolic ceremony, but it meant that Hanhua Industrial Company had officially separated from Hanhua Machinery Factory, and a factory within a factory had made its dazzling debut.

  Han Hua Industrial Company still doesn't have its own independent site, and it's still using the four mu of land allocated by the factory. However, at some point, a circle of iron railings has been built around the company, quietly demarcating the boundary with Han Hua Factory. Now, anyone who wants to enter Han Hua Industrial Company must go through its gate, although it's not yet to the point where they need to check certificates or verify ID cards, but at least it's no longer easy to casually take something out from inside.

  The business connection between Hanhua Industrial and Hanhua Machinery Factory will continue to be maintained, at least for now. The technical level of the young workers in Hanhua Industrial is still not up to par with that of the old workers in the machinery factory. If they encounter products with higher requirements, Lin Zhenhua would have no choice but to ask the old workers from the factory to complete them. Both parties also have a verbal agreement on this matter, after all, Hanhua Machinery Factory is also one of the shareholders of Hanhua Industrial.

  Lin Zhenhua took the wooden plaque and said some words of gratitude and encouragement to all the workers in the hall, which was his inaugural speech. Afterwards, the people on the rostrum went one after another to shake hands with Lin Zhenhua warmly and congratulate him.

  Lin Zhenhua smiled and thanked everyone, bowing to each of them one by one. No choice, all the people were older than him, their official positions were also higher than his, he was a genuine junior.