Spinning Mill

  After the township party committee determined that Ye Zhenran was in charge of rectifying the Ma Shi Textile Factory, he intentionally learned about the situation of the textile industry and understood the background of the policy on adjusting and rectifying township enterprises. After the reform and opening up, especially after the release of Central Document No. 4 in 1984, township enterprises experienced abnormal development, not only did the number of enterprises increase greatly, but also solved the employment problem of a large number of surplus labor forces in rural areas, and the economic scale expanded significantly, and the proportion of GDP also increased. However, after the prosperity, many problems were exposed, such as poor product quality of township enterprises, relying on low-price strategies to squeeze out the market space of state-owned enterprises, and exposing repeated production, low resource utilization rate and other problems. The state has been continuously issuing documents since last year requiring adjustments and rectification of township enterprises, and governments at all levels have actively responded.

  "When was this lathe purchased?" In the workshop, Ye Zhenran looked at the production equipment and asked, pointing to the largest machine.

  "These looms were purchased four years ago, along with the others. At that time, due to financial constraints, they were bought from Jianan Weaving Factory as second-hand machines." Hu Weizhong replied.

  "How much did you spend in total?"

  "Twenty looms cost 120,000 yuan and four warping machines cost 45,000 yuan." Hu Weizhong replied quickly.

  Ye Ziran nodded, it seems that Hu Weizhong is very familiar with the situation in the factory. According to Ye Ziran's previous understanding of him, Hu Weizhong is indeed more familiar with the textile factory's business and has some technical skills, which makes him a talent in the township enterprise. The main problem with the poor performance of the textile factory should be in the sales and fabric quality links.

  And these two points are almost the common problems of township enterprises.

  Ma Yanli followed Ye Zhenran and also looked at the situation in the workshop with great interest. She asked Liu Ping beside her, "Secretary Liu, how long have these equipment been shut down?"

  Liu Ping exchanged a look with Hu Weizhong and replied: "It's been some days, the cloth is all stored in the warehouse, unsold, I don't dare to weave more."

  "What about those who have no livelihood? What will happen to the people in the workshop?" Ma Yanni asked.

  "What's to be done? Might as well go home and farm." A middle-aged man with a somewhat sly appearance in the workshop suddenly took over the conversation.

  "Liu Ah Huo, the village leader is visiting the factory, what are you talking about." Before Ye Zhen Ran could react, Hu Wei Zhong sternly glared at the sly-looking man and scolded.

  Liu Ahuo's body shrunk, and he gave Hu Weizhong a resentful glance before falling silent. The other workers in the workshop turned their heads to stare at Liu Ahuo, looking down on him. Liu Ahuo's face slowly turned blue and purple, with a look of daring not to speak out.

  "Let it go, and just keep a few maintenance workers in the weaving workshop." Secretary Liu replied softly to Ma Yanli's words. The sales department head and technical department head who followed behind also agreed with Liu Ping's words.

  As they walked, they came to the garment workshop. Ye Zhenran unexpectedly saw dozens of women busy cutting and sewing, and couldn't help but ask: "Where do these clothes mainly sell?"

  "It is mainly sold in rural supply and marketing cooperatives, and department stores cannot get in," Hu Weizhong replied.

  "What kind of clothes are you making?"

  "The clothes worn by middle-aged and elderly people are mainly made for autumn and winter." Hu Weizhong replied fluently.

  "How's the sales route?" Ye Zhenran looked around the workshop, with about 40 or 50 sewing machines, in the middle was a row of long tables, female workers were sewing, cutting, removing threads, and installing zippers, all without speaking, but from time to time someone would glance at Ye Zhenran, when they glanced at Hu Weizhong, they revealed a look of disgust.

  Hu Weizhong shook his head and said, "Our clothes are mainly sold to peasants, there's not much money to be made, the factory's business is mainly weaving cloth, now that the cloth can't be sold, it's a dead end."

  Other factory leaders nodded in agreement one after another.

  "Nonsense, if products don't sell, any company will go bankrupt." Ye Zhenran muttered to himself and asked: "How many people are in the sales department of the factory?"

  "There are four people in the sales department, all from rural areas. They look decent, but once they enter the city, they become country bumpkins and can't even speak properly." Hu Weizhong sighed and shook his head.

  At the textile mill conference room, Ye Zhenran, Hu Weizhong, Sales Department Head Yu Amou, Technical Department Head Zhou Xiao and Ma Yanli, Liu Ping sat around the conference table. The four men were like four smoking guns, puffing out bright sparks, filling the room with smoke that made Ma Yanli's eyes water, coughing repeatedly.

  "We'll have a meeting next, I've been to the workshop and seen that under the current business conditions, the equipment maintenance is not bad, the workshop is also very clean, Director Hu has a good grasp on management, he's capable. Let's start with some affirmation." Ye Zhenran made an opening remark, looked up at the four factory leaders, saw them nodding in agreement, and continued: "But the situation of the factory is clear, the woven fabric is piling up in the warehouse, if we can't sell it, there's no money to maintain operations. Everyone needs to think of a solution. Let Director Hu introduce the situation first."

  Director Hu briefly explained the basic situation, and the textile factory had nearly 300 employees, which was considered a large scale in the enterprises run by Mashixiang Township. The three hundred employees were all local farmers with no technical skills, except for a few maintenance workers who had received simple training, and production relied on the guidance of technical personnel from other companies, and when problems arose, they would ask the "Sunday engineers" from state-owned factories to solve them.

  "How much does a worker earn in a month?" Ye Zhenran asked a more concerned question after listening to Hu Changzhang's general introduction.

  "About 35 yuan per month on average, 15 yuan is paid out every month, and the remaining amount is paid out once a year at the end of the year."

  Thirty-five yuan in wages is not low for a rural enterprise, and Ye Zhenran's own salary was just over one hundred yuan. He asked again, "Have they all been paid?"

  "Last year's end-of-year bonus was only half paid, and the money wasn't enough. This year there are fewer jobs, usually only 60 or 70 people come to work, and even the 15 yuan for coming to work is not fully paid." replied Director Hu.

  "Are the workers' thoughts stable?" Ye Zhenran continued to ask.

  "If there's work, I come to the office; if there's no work, I go home and farm my own land. It's nothing special, all the rural factories are like this." Manager Hu said disapprovingly.

  Seeing Hu Weizhong's indifferent expression, Ye Zhenran felt somewhat uncomfortable and said: "This time, Xiao Ma and I came down, not simply to listen to the situation. This time, the central government's No. 4 document clearly requires adjustments and rectification of township enterprises. How to rectify? It means that the government will no longer provide funding, and if the enterprise cannot continue, it will be closed. You must have ideological preparations."

  When they heard that the factory was going to be shut down, four people in the factory were a bit anxious. The sales department head said: "Ye Chang, let's think of a way, if it's shut down, so many people will lose their jobs, it won't be stable."

  "I want you to think of a way." Ye Zhenran said meaningfully: "Just thinking is not enough, it must be feasible and workable. You four are all factory leaders, I'll give you three days, and listen to your ideas again in three days."

  "Okay, let's think of a way out and also ask the township government to pay more attention and support to the textile mill," Hu Weizhong said.

  Ye Ziran thought that among the four people, Hu Weizhong's words were still somewhat reliable. Maybe, forcing him a bit would have an effect.

  It was already three o'clock in the afternoon when Ye Zhenran left the textile mill. The scorching sun of July made him feel like he was sitting on a hot iron plate, and sweat kept dripping out from under his buttocks. Inside the Santana car, the smell of sweat mixed with the scent of makeup on the woman's body created an ambiguous atmosphere. Ye Zhenran turned to look at Ma Yanli, who was also flushed red from the heat, her striped shirt clinging to her body, and the parts soaked in sweat revealed the color of her bra underneath, accentuating her mature figure.

  "Damn the neighbor! This weather is tormenting people." He involuntarily blurted out a curse.

  Ma Yanli said to the driver: "Old Wang, this car's air conditioning is not powerful enough, why don't we open the window instead."

  The driver replied: "I think the air conditioner's water is almost gone. We'll be using the car for the next few days, so let's add some on Saturday when it's more convenient." He then rolled down the window.

  A gust of hot wind blew in, dispersing the mixed smell inside the car. Ye Zhenran let out a sigh and asked: "Ma Yanli, what's your take on Hu Weizhong?"

  "This Director Hu seems quite familiar with the factory's situation and has some ability, so he should have prestige, but I don't know why I feel that the workers don't seem to take him seriously, it's a bit strange." Ma Yanli expressed her doubts.

  Ye Ziran nodded, he also inadvertently noticed this point and said: "Maybe it's because the factory has been performing poorly recently, so the workers have some ideas about the factory leaders."

  "Maybe," Mary agreed.

  "This time the central government has again issued a document and held meetings at all levels to implement, adjust and rectify rural enterprises with great determination. I understand that all major banks have instructed their branches and sub-branches to suspend loans to rural enterprises. Our county also has indicators for shutdowns and mergers, and it's not good if we don't shut down a few enterprises."

  Closure, shutdown, merger and transformation

  "The textile mill is one of the largest collective enterprises in our town, and if it's shut down directly, I'm afraid the township party committee will also have objections?" Ma Yanli reminded softly.

  "What's your good idea?" Ye Ziran seemed to be intentionally testing her.

  "If you still want to rely on the original factory leadership team, you have to give them some pressure and motivation." Ma Yanli said with a smile.

  "Go on," Ye Zhenran encouraged.

  "I think, we can let them come and take over the operation of the textile mill. If they exceed the contracted targets, the excess portion will all belong to the contractor. With this incentive, someone should come forward to try." Ma Yanli said excitedly.

  "Not bad, it's a good idea." Ye Zhenran said with praise: "You draft a contract for the package, write down the rights, responsibilities and obligations of the contractor clearly, make it more operational. As for the amount of the package, whether it needs to be mortgaged or not, we can add it later after the meeting." He paused and said: "Xiao Ma, you are very capable, really my good helper."

  "If I can really help you, Ye Chang, I'll be very happy." Ma Yanli's eyes sparkled with small stars, and the tip of her nose slightly curled up to draw a moving arc.