Rent Act 123

  Xunyang City is located in the northernmost part of Jiangnan Province, adjacent to the Yangtze River, and is one of the important industrial cities in Jiangnan Province. Xunyang Bicycle Factory is a medium-sized enterprise directly under the Light Industry Department, producing bicycles with the brand name "Feijian".

  In the past, Fei Jian bicycles were once the best-selling bicycles in Jiangnan Province, but now they have declined. The Xunyang Bicycle Factory has had products unsold for two consecutive years and owes more than 2 million yuan to the bank, already in a state of insolvency.

  Lin Zhenhua and his group rode in a Liberation-brand large truck dispatched by the Hanhua factory, after a day of bumpy ride, they finally arrived at Xunyang. The driver knew the location of Xunyang Bicycle Factory, so he drove the car directly into the gate of Xunzi.

  As soon as Lin Zhenhua entered the gate, he was mesmerized by the scene in front of him:

  All that can be seen in front of the eyes is a peaceful and serene landscape like a pastoral poem. On both sides of the road, there are lush vegetable gardens everywhere. It's early winter now, and the small white vegetables in the field are growing luxuriantly and delightfully. Next to it, on the iron frame, dry gourd vines are lying, and you can imagine that during the peak summer season, this place was once filled with lush melons, cucumbers, pumpkins... Under the gourd rack, a group of chickens and ducks are strolling leisurely, and from time to time, a hen will dig up something delicious from the ground, and then cluck and call her children to come and share.

  In the cabbage field, several farmers wearing blue overalls were working hard, with the hoes in their hands shining brightly, obviously made of good steel and carefully crafted. Seeing a truck enter the factory area, the farmers looked up, exchanged a few words, and then continued to work with their heads down.

  "What a warm and cozy scene!" Lin Zhenhua exclaimed sincerely. He turned his head to Chu Hongyang and said, "Hongyang, it seems that the appearance of Xunyang is not bad, the farms in the factory are all so prosperous."

  Chu Hongyang was at a loss for words, and he imitated Lin Zhenhua's usual Cantonese accent: "Boss, are you mistaken or what? This is the factory area of Xunyang, okay? The small building in the middle of the vegetable field is their factory department."

  As they spoke, the truck had already stopped in front of the factory gate. The area was surrounded by a large vegetable field, leaving only a small parking space, and the ground was also dotted with chicken droppings. A middle-aged man quickly walked out of the small building of the factory department, walking towards Lin Zhenhua: "Excuse me, are you Manager Lin Zhenhua of Hanhua Industrial Company? Welcome, welcome, I am the director of Xunyang Factory, my name is Qiu Qingyang."

  Lin Zhenhua walked forward and shook hands with Qiu Qingyang, saying: "Director Qiu, sorry to disturb you."

  Qiu Qingyang said repeatedly: "Where, where, we've been waiting for you to come over, let's go, to the conference room upstairs to talk."

  A group of people followed Qiu Qingyang to the conference room, where several leaders and mid-level cadres from Xunyang had already arrived. A secretary poured water for everyone, and Lin Zhenhua couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness as he glanced at his cup: what a poor factory, the cups were chipped, there were only a few tea leaves, and they seemed to be the cheapest kind.

  "Director Qiu, why are there vegetable fields everywhere in our factory area? Have they been rented out to the surrounding farmers?" Lin Zhenhua asked curiously, this scene really gave him a strong shock.

  Qiu Qingyang turned his head to look out the window, sighed and said: "What surrounding farmers, these are all our factory workers' land. Those few, are our workers. The one on the edge, named He Shihua, is our factory's best fitter. Now, he has become a farmer, planting vegetables, with the highest yield in the whole factory."

  Qiu Qingyang said this, and everyone at the Hanhua factory couldn't help but want to laugh. However, looking at the gloomy expressions on the faces of the group of people in front of him, they couldn't bring themselves to laugh.

  "The factory has collapsed." Qiu Qingyang sighed and said: "20,000 bicycles are piled up in the warehouse, can't be sold. The material debt owed to the bank is 1.6 million, not to mention wages and utilities, it's unsustainable now."

  Deputy Director Lang Dong added: "The bank can't lend us money, now every time we pay wages, our Director Qiu has to go to the mayor's office to persuade them to lend us the wage money. We can only pay the wages, but there are no bonuses or benefits anymore. All the family members who worked here have already quit, and the workers in the factory can't make a living, so they can only grow some vegetables and raise some chickens by themselves. At first, everyone was doing it in front of their houses, now wherever there is a piece of land in the factory, it's all been occupied. Can we stop them?"

  "There are also medical expenses, and some have not been reimbursed for over a year." Another deputy factory director, Shi Dalun, said.

  "Alas, there's no way around it. Everyone can plant some vegetables to supplement their living expenses. However, Manager Lin, rest assured that our production area remains unchanged. I didn't agree to let the workers open up the production area for farming."

  Lin Zhenhua turned his head to look at his staff, Chu Hongyang and Peng Shaozhe both gave him a helpless glance. Nowadays, some state-owned enterprises are mixed up quite miserably, this is what everyone knows, but miserable to such an extent, it's really not often seen. Lin Zhenhua began to worry, he wouldn't have jumped into a big pit, would he?

  "Director Qiu, this is what we came to discuss today. The main thing is to talk about cooperation. The requirement from the Light Industry Bureau is that we can solve the problem of wages not being paid to our workers in Wujiang. As for the bank loans and medical expenses owed by Wujiang, our company's financial strength is not enough, I'm afraid..." Lin Zhenhua said slowly to Qiu Qingyang.

  Qiu Qingyang nodded: "I know, two days ago when I went to Nandu to see Director Xie, she had already told me very clearly. Director Xie specially warned me that you are the typical ones cultivated by the hall and absolutely do not allow us to take advantage of you. You can rest assured, we may be poor but our aspirations are not short, things like taking advantage will definitely not happen."

  Lin Zhenhua hastily said, "Director Qiu, you misunderstood us. We have never doubted the sincerity of our cooperation with each other. Why don't we start discussing the details of our cooperation?"

  "Alright, no problem. I heard Director Xie say that your current plan is to rent our two workshops as your production base, is that right?"

  "That's right," Lin Zhenhua replied.

  "Also, recruit no less than 200 workers to participate in production?"

  "Yes." Lin Zhenhua said, "However, Director Qiu, we are like brothers, so let's be clear about this. The workers we recruit must have skills, discipline, and obey management. If they are lazy or disobedient, we will have no choice but to ask them to leave."

  Qiu Qingyang said: "I know this, Director Xie has already told me that you are not a state-owned enterprise, but a large collective in nature. To be honest, your management system is much stronger than ours. Here, although the central government has repeatedly emphasized the need to expand enterprise autonomy, if we really want to dismiss an employee, it will still cause trouble. Even deducting a few points from their salary will lead to complaints. Manager Lin, don't worry, I will make sure to explain this issue clearly to the factory workers."

  "That's good." Lin Zhenhua said, "Director Qiu, there is one more thing that we need to trouble you with. In the early stage, we will send 40 workers over to be in charge of equipment modification. In the later stage, there will be some other workers coming over to take charge of production process management. So, we would like to ask the factory for help in solving the accommodation problem."

  Qiu Qingyang's eyebrows furrowed into a knot as he said, "This problem is really not easy to solve. The factory has been losing money for two years and hasn't built any new houses. All the existing houses have already been allocated, and every household's living space is insufficient. There are 60 or 70 households that are extremely difficult to deal with. Some people have been married for several years but still live in a dormitory with other colleagues. Some children are almost 20 years old but still live with their parents in one room. You want us to solve the housing problem for 40 workers, it's really difficult."

  "This... really won't work, can we borrow a few offices and squeeze in?" Lin Zhenhua asked, "We're all single employees, eight people in one room is also okay."

  "Manager Lin, you can take a walk around our office building and see for yourself. The corridors are already filled with stoves. All the offices that could be vacated have been allocated to employees who have been married for five or six years. What can we do? Their children have already been born, so they can't stay in the bachelor dorms anymore."

  As if to confirm Lang Dong's words, a baby's cry suddenly echoed in the corridor, accompanied by the faint sound of a mother's soothing voice. The aroma of stir-fried dishes also took the opportunity to seep into the room through the gap under the door, and the spicy flavor of chili peppers made Lin Zhenhua's nostrils slightly sore.

  "If all else fails, let's just build a shed to live in." Peng Shaozhe suggested in a low voice.

  Lin Zhenhua's eyes lit up, and he turned to Qiu Qingyang and asked: "Director Qiu, there is another way. We can build our own houses. Can you allocate a piece of land for us in the production area? We will make do with whatever space we have, build a few rooms, and use them as our employee dormitories. Don't worry, when the rental period of the workshop expires and if we decide not to continue cooperating, these rooms will be left to Wanzi, as your assets."

  Only Lin Zhenhua, a spendthrift from the 21st century who traveled through time and space, could come up with such an idea. A few bungalows, calculated at construction cost, would be around five or six thousand yuan, and after living in them for a few years, they would be given away for free, which is what fools do. But Lin Zhenhua didn't care; later on, when he went out to attend meetings with his mentor, he stayed in five-star hotels that cost thousands of yuan per night. Spending five or six thousand yuan and living there for a few years was still a good deal.

  "Of course, that's fine." Qiu Qingyang agreed without hesitation. Giving up a piece of land for housing was essentially cost-free, and after a few years, he could build several houses, which would be a pure gain.

  Chu Hongyang gently pulled Lin Zhenhua's sleeve and leaned in, whispering: "Little Hua, have you lost your mind? Even if we rent a hotel room, it would be cheaper than this."

  Lin Zhenhua smiled and said, "It's okay, hotels are not as comfortable as one's own home. Don't worry about it, I'll take care of this matter."

  Living in a hotel is indeed cheaper than building a house, but to quote a phrase from later generations: Can rented houses be considered homes? It cannot be denied that Lin Zhenhua still has a love for houses. The location of the land is in the suburbs of Xunyang City, and now the land is really worthless, but 30 years later, it's estimated that the house price will also be around 3,000 to 4,000 yuan per square meter. Building a few houses here, the appreciation in value will be unimaginable.

  As for saying that the lease is up, haha, at that time the bankruptcy law should be introduced, brother I directly bought it from the river, this fat water will not flow into someone else's field.

  Lin Zhenhua was dreaming sweet dreams in his heart, with a brilliant smile spreading across his face.

  The lease agreement was quickly reached, and Hanhua Industrial Company rented the three workshops of Jinwu's metalworking, casting, and general assembly with an annual rent of 50,000 yuan. In addition, it rented all the equipment in the workshop with a rent of 100,000 yuan. The equipment rental fee includes depreciation but does not include maintenance and consumable costs. If the equipment is damaged during use, Hanhua Industrial Company will be responsible for repair or compensation.

  Before signing, Qiu Qingyang took Lin Zhenhua and his party to the production area to take a look at the workshop and equipment, confirming that the buildings and equipment were in good condition. Lin Zhenhua and others saw that although this factory had been losing money for a long time, the management of the workshop was not abandoned. The equipment in the workshop obviously had someone maintaining it all along, with no signs of rust or oil stains. Some of the equipment in the workshop was even more advanced than Hanhua Machinery Factory's equipment, showing the former dominance of this factory.

  Lin Zhenhua was very satisfied with the equipment situation, and he signed his name on the contract with a flourish, stamped it, and this contract was considered approved. However, whether the contract can finally take effect still needs to be stamped by the Light Industry Department.

  According to the contract, the rent of 150,000 yuan was paid in three installments into Zou Zi's account. The first installment was paid immediately after the contract took effect and was approved by the Light Industry Bureau. Qiu Qingyang is now eagerly waiting for the money and is more concerned about this matter than anyone else. Before Lin Zhenhua and others left, he called the factory director to buy train tickets and take the contract to Nanshi City to find Xie Chunyan to sign and seal it. It's a pity that Zou Zi originally had several cars, but because they couldn't afford gasoline, they all broke down.

  The matter of recruiting workers has also been settled. Hanhua Industrial Company needs to spend more than a month renovating the factory and installing production lines, so the workers from Jianyang can only start working after a month. After starting work, there will be half a month of training, and only those who pass the training can take up their posts.

  The wages of the workers are calculated according to their original technical grade and paid directly by Hanhua Industrial Company to Zhenyang Bicycle Factory. Zhenyang Bicycle Factory treats these wages as operating income, which is used as salary for all employees in the factory. As for how to differentiate between workers who work and those who do not in terms of wages, that's something Qiu Qingyang needs to consider, although it's indeed a headache.

  In the current salary structure of Hanhua Industrial Company, bonuses and overtime pay account for a high proportion. Lin Zhenhua insisted on keeping this part of the money in his own hands, paid directly by Hanhua Industrial Company to the workers. Qiu Qingyang also agreed to this. The purpose of Lin Zhenhua's actions was to keep a carrot in his own hand; otherwise, if the workers were working for him and receiving wages from Yongjiang Bicycle Factory, who would listen to his orders?

  To build an electric fan production base, there are other things to consider, such as water and electricity supply, as well as future rail and water transportation. All these things Qiu Qingyang took on with ease, after all, it was a big factory in the past, and even if it's thin, it's still bigger than a horse, the relationship network between various departments is still there, solving these problems is no problem at all.

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