The next morning, Xu Qiang got into Zhang Li's car and headed for Changzhou.

Changzhou is very close to Shanghai, with a straight-line distance of only more than 100 kilometers. It takes about three hours by car.

After the car entered Changzhou, it seemed to be Zhang Li's special arrangement that many township enterprises could be seen on the way. Zhang Li also gave a general introduction to the products and business conditions of these enterprises.

Through chatting with Zhang Li, Xu Qiang already knew the general situation of the current development of township enterprises in this city.

In the mid-1980s, some scholars classified township enterprises across the country into two development models.

One is the Southern Jiangsu model, represented by township enterprises in Suzhou, Wuxi and Changzhou; the other is the Wenzhou model, which is dominated by individual private enterprises and balanced development of various industries.

The Southern Jiangsu Model has two major characteristics: from the perspective of enterprise property rights, it is mainly based on collective ownership; from the perspective of industrial structure, it is mainly based on industrial enterprises.

From 1978 to 1979, several dragon-shaped economies such as Changzhou's corduroy and diesel engines had basically taken shape, and the "dragon body" and "dragon tail" were almost entirely composed of township enterprises.

Currently, 56 enterprises in CZ City have formed 56 groups, with as many as 400 group enterprises, most of which are township enterprises.

During this period, some township enterprises became the backbone and leaders. For example, Jiangsu Laosan Group was formerly Changzhou No. 4 Knitting Factory, a supporting enterprise of CZ City Knitting Factory. Under the leadership of Chairman Yao Youqing, it grew from a small township-run factory on the verge of bankruptcy to the leading company of knitted garments in southern Jiangsu.

The predecessor of Xinke Electronics Group, Changzhou No. 5 Radio Factory, has gradually grown from a supporting township enterprise to a national leader in the production of film and television electronic products.

It has to be said that the Changzhou government is very courageous and has very active ideas.

In their local area, many well-known self-made entrepreneurs have emerged.

In the history of the development of township enterprises in Changzhou, there are many examples of a single person developing a large enterprise by carrying a sign of a township (village) collective enterprise: in addition to Zhou Jinqing, who started his business in two shabby houses with a sign of a village-run collective enterprise and became the national export king of lighting fixtures.

Jiang Hongzhi, chairman of Liqiang Group, also started his business with a brick kiln with 680 yuan, relying on the brand of a township-run enterprise, and built it into a large-scale cement group.

There are countless things like this. The most important reason for this situation is the support and encouragement of the local government. The government takes the initiative to solve the problems of funding, land, talents and policies, which also relieves local entrepreneurs of worries.

"Your Changzhou government is very courageous. With so many township enterprises, aren't you worried that the country's policies will change one day?" Sitting in the car, Xu Qiang looked at the small factories with signs hanging on them on the outskirts of the city and said with some surprise.

"We will do what the country allows. If the country does not allow, then we will withdraw." Zhang Li replied calmly, and he continued, "In fact, the same goes for you. You may be the first national technical expert here to actively seek cooperation."

"I just want to make my life better..."

"Everyone is the same. No one wants to live in poverty... Ten years ago, this place was still a wasteland, and local farmers could hardly even afford to eat and wear clothes. But now, there are many people with an annual income of ten thousand yuan..." Zhang Li smiled slightly and continued, "Our Mayor Xue's family was also very poor back then. He was the youngest of five brothers. Even when he went to college, his brothers were still bachelors. In order to support his schooling, his father sold the only valuable livestock in the family. According to him, there is nothing more terrible in this world than poverty..."

"It seems that your Mayor Xue is very courageous. He has developed the city's economy so well. He should be commended by his superiors." Xu Qiang said.

"Commendation? It's good enough that he wasn't punished. There are still people looking for trouble with him." Zhang Li shook her head.

"Huh? Why is this?" Xu Qiang asked somewhat puzzled.

"Since there are more and more township enterprises in Changzhou, social doubts have become greater and greater. Many state-owned enterprises have publicly accused township enterprises of competing with them for resources and markets, causing them to have difficulties in operating. For this reason, some factories have even sued our government to the provincial level. If Mayor Xue had not been able to withstand the pressure, I'm afraid there would be only a few township enterprises left in Changzhou now." Zhang Li's words clearly showed some admiration for Mayor Xue.

"Uh." Hearing this, Xu Qiang suddenly realized, and then said: "In fact, the poor performance of many state-owned enterprises is mainly due to their own reasons. Their products are outdated and their management is poor. They have little to do with the development of township enterprises."

"They don't care about these. When the factory is not doing well, they always need to find a scapegoat. Usually, these state-owned enterprises look down on these township enterprises, and this time they just throw dirty water on them..." Zhang Li raised her eyebrows and continued, "But as long as they are township enterprises in our Changzhou, we will definitely protect them." "Wise!" Xu Qiang gave a thumbs up when he heard this.

"I remember you said yesterday that you used to work in a arsenal in Jiangxi. Our cooperation this time will not involve military leaks, right?" Zhang Li asked.

"The civilian technology is developed by our team ourselves, so there is no risk of leaks. Besides, our factory mainly produces artillery shells. I guess you don't have this stuff in Changzhou, right?" Xu Qiang said.

"Haha, that's not the case." Zhang Li smiled when she heard that.

Before we knew it, the car had entered the city and finally entered the compound of the CZ City Government.

At this time, the CZ Municipal Government compound was very tidy and clean. The office building was a newly built five-story building. Several 212 jeeps were parked in front of the building, and several drivers were cleaning the cars there.

Led by Zhang Li, the two went directly to the reception room on the second floor. About ten minutes later, a middle-aged man in a Zhongshan suit walked in.

"Mayor Xue, this is Comrade Xu Qiang." Seeing the middle-aged man, Zhang Li immediately stood up with a smile on her face and introduced him to him.

"Ah, hello, Comrade Xu Qiang!" Mayor Xue was stunned at first, then he smiled and extended his hand to Xu Qiang.

"This is our Mayor Xue." Zhang Li introduced him to Xu Qiang again.

"Hello, Mayor Xue!" Xu Qiang quickly stood up and said.

Previously in Shanghai, Xu Qiang had already learned about Mayor Xue’s situation through a conversation with Zhang Li.

Mayor Xue's real name is Xue Zhiqin. He is in his early fifties this year. In his early years, he served as a county magistrate and a senior county official in Henan. Five years ago, he was transferred to Changzhou to serve as mayor.

Xue Zhiqin enjoys a high prestige in Changzhou. In the five years since he took office as mayor, Changzhou has gradually developed from an unknown small city into one of the fastest growing cities in the country.

Last year, compared with 69 similar cities in the country, Changzhou ranked first in per capita output value and fiscal revenue; compared with 24 large cities with a population of one million, the labor productivity in the urban area was second only to Shanghai, and its fiscal revenue exceeded that of 10 of these cities.

However, there are also some problems in Changzhou's economic development. The biggest problem is that neighboring Suzhou and Wuxi are also vigorously developing township enterprises. The competition for similar products, as well as the scramble for markets and resources, have obviously begun to overwhelm Changzhou. This undoubtedly puts a lot of pressure on Xue Zhiqin, the mayor.

In fact, whether it is Changzhou, Suzhou or Wuxi, their township enterprises all started from a very low point. Most of them produced products with very low technological content. They only relied on low cost and flexible price advantages to seize part of the market belonging to state-owned enterprises. But when there are more and more such township enterprises and low-end products, competition and involution become inevitable.

It is precisely because of this that the three cities in southern Jiangsu have a great demand for high-end technical talents. So when Xue Zhiqin learned that a national technical expert was willing to provide paid technical support, he acted decisively and invited him over.

"Comrade Xu Qiang looks so young..." Xue Zhiqin motioned Xu Qiang to sit down, then turned to look at Zhang Li and asked, "Xiao Zhang, where did you find Comrade Xu Qiang?"

"He currently lives in the Shanghai Institute of Mechanical Engineering. They previously cooperated with the First Ministry of Machine Building, so the school provided them with accommodation and laboratories." Zhang Li saw Xue Zhiqin's doubts, and she continued, "I have also seen Comrade Xu Qiang's award certificate and medal, as well as the group photo. He is the youngest winner..."

"Uh, very good!" Xue Zhiqin smiled again after hearing this, and then said to Xu Qiang: "Comrade Xu Qiang is really young and promising. I heard that you are an expert in chemical industry. Have you ever studied civilian chemical products before?"

"To be honest, I used to work in a military factory, and I didn't do much research and development on civilian products, but I am confident that I can help your local companies develop good products." Xu Qiang smiled slightly, and then said: "In fact, the principles of most chemical products are the same. As long as there is market demand, we can develop targeted products. This is our job."

"It seems that Comrade Xu Qiang is very confident." Xue Zhiqin smiled slightly and continued, "To be honest with you, before inviting you here, we also invited many technical experts to provide technical support to our township enterprises, and we did achieve some success. But relatively speaking, the price you offered is too high. It is difficult for our government to come up with so much money at once..."

"I think you still don't have confidence in my skills." Xu Qiang smiled slightly, and then said: "You always get what you pay for. I don't know and I don't comment on the technical level of the experts you hired before, but if I do this job, 50,000 yuan is the starting price, and I promise to let you know what is value for money!" (End of this chapter)