Chapter 200 Spark
After Wang Guibing left Zhang's Xifengdu Fish Powder Shop at No. 1 Middle School, he returned to Longjingyuan Canning Factory. The first thing he did was to chat with his mother. It was rare to see mother and son talking to each other. In the past, Wang Guibing was away from home all day when he was strolling on the street. Now that he is starting a business with Zhang Yunqi, he is even less able to stay home.

Wang Guibing was talking to his mother about the cannery.

Mother Wang was also very concerned about this matter. Although her son was now successful and could make a lot of money, and she no longer had to rely on the salary from the cannery to make a living, she had worked and lived in the cannery for most of her life, and she had deep feelings for it. Especially when she saw the old employees who used to work and live together with her, who had sold their lives for the factory, and now the factory had been shut down for more than half a year, and their salaries had not been paid for almost a year. Many of those who had no savings had run out of food, and at their old age, they did not have the energy or ability to start a business. In order to make a living, the women secretly ran to the vegetable market to pick up rotten vegetable leaves, and the men went to the cement factory to do hard labor. She felt really bad.

However, these hardships were nothing. The older generation always believed that the country and the government could help the cannery through this difficult time. They did not seek to become rich. As long as the factory was there and production resumed, they could buy rice and oil, and eat simple meals to keep themselves from starving, that would be enough. However, her son Wang Guibing told her with a firm face: "The cannery can no longer be run. All employees will be laid off."

This sentence came as a bolt from the blue not only to Mother Wang, but also to the nearly 200 employees in the entire cannery!
However, after Wang Guibing told his mother about this, he no longer cared about it. He then contacted several suppliers who owed debts to the Longjingyuan Cannery, and went to the Longjingyuan Cannery every day with banners, blocking the door and sitting in protest to collect debts. Wang Guibing continued to negotiate with Li Jilin about the contract for the operation of the cannery.

During this period, Wang Ma played the role of a broadcaster very well. As an old person, she was bored and loved to gossip about family matters. She told some old employees who were close to her, and soon the whole cannery knew about it - all the employees were to be laid off! And she was so sure about it, but in the end, they couldn't even figure out where the news came from. In addition, the promise made by the factory director Li Jilin to some employees the day before that he would resettle the employees when a big boss bought the cannery was not fulfilled, and the suppliers blocked the door every day with banners to demand debts, which made the cannery very nervous.

All these things put together were like a spark thrown into a pile of dry firewood, and the whole cannery was about to explode!

Layoffs are the bottom line for most employees of Longjingyuan Cannery, and it can also be said that they are the bottom line for tens of millions of state-owned enterprise employees in the 1990s. Looking back at the wave of layoffs in the 1990s, it should be a painful memory for several generations, but if we look into the reasons, there are too many, too many, state-owned enterprises are not efficient, duplicate construction leads to overcapacity, the market demand is so much, but for the sake of political achievements and promotion, many local leaders blindly approve projects and expand production capacity, resulting in supply seriously exceeding demand. In addition, there are backward technology and equipment, heavy historical burdens, the impact of private enterprises, foreign enterprises, and imported goods, and too many redundant employees. Compared with private enterprises, state-owned enterprises have to pay more labor costs, which weakens their competitiveness. However, in state-owned enterprises, as long as employees abide by the law, you have to be employed for life, and layoffs are extremely difficult, after all, it is an offensive thing.

The above reasons have caused state-owned enterprises to suffer losses year after year and accumulate heavy debts.

You know, state-owned enterprises used to be financed by fiscal appropriations, but in 1983 they were replaced by bank loans. Due to poor management, state-owned enterprise loans continued to rise, and their ability to repay principal and interest was poor. It was difficult for banks to recover the money they loaned out, but the bank's money did not fall from the sky. % to % of it was ordinary people's deposits. When depositors come to withdraw money, you have to have money to give them. If one company does not return the money today, and another company does not return the money tomorrow, the number of non-performing loans will become increasingly large, which can easily lead to a financial crisis. If this really happens, who will ordinary people ask for their life savings?

The state can only carry out supply-side reforms through administrative means, ending duplicate construction, clearing out excess capacity, merging bankrupt backward enterprises, and laying off and relocating workers.

This massive reform of Chinese state-owned enterprises, which was launched in the early 1998s and reached its peak in 2000, was actually a large-scale, long-lasting and irresponsible dismissal by enterprises. There is no doubt that this violated the labor contract. However, the right and wrong, grudges and hatreds involved are now impossible to sort out. When many economists look back on this period of history, they often say that it is "the social price that a country in economic transition must pay." However, the hunger and cold brought about by the layoffs of more than million state-owned enterprise workers is a bit too heavy.

In 1998, Liu Huan sang a song called "Start Over Again" which became popular all over the country: "All the honors of yesterday have become distant memories. I have spent half my life in hard work, and tonight I am walking into the wind and rain again... If the heart is there, the dream is there. There is still true love between heaven and earth. No matter success or failure, life is heroic, it's just starting over again!"

At that time, this song was an inspirational song for laid-off workers. However, the laid-off workers who were inspired by it might ask: "But? Why don't you spend most of your fucking life to 'start over again' and show me how to do it!"

In 1999, Huang Hong performed a skit called "Cheer Up": "The factory director thought highly of me and said that the company was going to reduce staff and merge factories. I expressed my stance at that time. If I don't get laid off, who will?"

Then, Huang Hong was criticized by public opinion.

In Jia Zhangke's film Twenty-four Cities, a worker asked the factory manager: "Have I ever been late for work in the past twenty years? Have I ever been an advanced worker in any of the past twenty years? Why was I laid off?"

However, it was of no use and he was dismissed with honor.

Young people go to the countryside, and middle-aged people are laid off. This is an era where you cannot choose your origin or where you live. In the face of the torrent of history, most people are like a grain of sand, carried by the wind and waves, drifting here and there, wanting to break free but unable to do so.

The same goes for the employees of the Longjingyuan Cannery. They are helpless, but terrified by the thought of layoffs and redeployment, because the real problem facing them is that after being laid off, they will lose their source of income and how will they survive?

Most employees think that it is better to live a miserable life than to die. The former glory of state-owned enterprises and the extremely high welfare benefits have corroded the enterprising spirit of most people. If they are sick, they can go to the employee hospital for treatment; in the cold winter, there are employee bathhouses; if they are bored, there is a cinema in the factory. After working for decades and no longer feeling well, their children can inherit their positions after retirement. Even if they pass away one day, the company will still have to send a few people to help with the funeral.

Such welfare benefits are unimaginable for companies in later generations.

However, when the favorable conditions of the past were gone, the former glory was lost in the factory buildings covered with cobwebs and dust, countless families were broken up, and even the most basic meal was no longer provided, the originally lifeless Longjingyuan Cannery suddenly became extremely lively, like a dying patient's last glimmer of life. Panic, helplessness, anger... The employee unrest that broke out mixed with these desperate emotions became a hot news in the streets of Jiangchuan for a while.

Zhang Yunqi didn't have time to understand all this, as Wang Guibing had communicated with him once. However, he could also feel something from Li Yufei.

Classes went on as usual every day, and the campus of No. 1 Middle School was still so happy and peaceful. Most boys were used to rushing to the game room as soon as the school bell rang, and the girls were always fond of the love entanglements in Qiong Yao's novels. During breaks, there was always talk of someone falling in love with someone else. Li Yufei's birthday came in such an atmosphere. It seemed that most of the classmates knew about it, probably because she was very popular in school.

During a break on Thursday morning, Zhang Yunqi ran to the toilet to flush the toilet. When passing the corridor, he saw Li Yufei, Xiao Xuemei, Chen Xiangping and several other girls, as well as Wang Xiaokai and Tian Zhuangzhuang, gathered together talking and laughing. Under the winter sun, the atmosphere was particularly warm. Seeing Zhang Yunqi coming over, Wang Xiaokai shouted at him to come over and play.

Zhang Yunqi smiled and waved his hand: "Go pee."

After going to the toilet and pouring water, Zhang Yunqi went out to wash his hands. Unexpectedly, he met Li Yufei, who was washing her hands in front of the sink. Zhang Yunqi walked over and turned on the faucet and asked a nonsense question: "Why didn't you chat with them?"

Li Yufei smiled: "Come over to the toilet."

Zhang Yunqi nodded. Li Yufei suddenly said, "Yunqi..."

Zhang Yunqi turned his head to look at her: "What's wrong?"

Li Yufei showed an apologetic smile on her porcelain doll-like face: "I have something to do this Saturday, so I won't have the birthday party. I'm sorry, how about I treat you to a meal another day?"

Zhang Yunqi was stunned for a moment, then smiled and nodded: "Okay."

Li Yufei glanced at Zhang Yunqi. His answer surprised her. A person's personality will always be revealed unintentionally. She said the same thing to the boys who were invited to the birthday party. They were all surprised and asked why. But Zhang Yunqi would not do that. Maybe this is what makes this boy different from his peers. He is indeed very smart, but he is not smart. He is also very good, but he never shows off his talent. He knows what you are thinking, but he will never point out those embarrassing topics.

This boy's personality, character and academic performance should make him outstanding even in the No. 1 Middle School in the city, but... Li Yufei looked at Zhang Yunqi's face, which was calm and had a leisurely smile, but he was not the appearance that every young girl dreamed of, the prince charming in Qiong Yao's novels.

"What are you thinking about?"

Li Yufei reacted, retracted her gaze, and shook her head silently: "Nothing."

"Then let's go back to the classroom."

Zhang Yunqi turned around, and the two went to the classroom while chatting.

In fact, Zhang Yunqi could probably guess the reason why Li Yufei suddenly didn't hold a birthday party, but he didn't care and thought that the matter was over.

However, life is unpredictable and colorful. Zhang Yunqi did not expect that in the afternoon, Li Yufei's best friend Xiao Xuemei came to him and asked: "Did Yufei tell you that the birthday party is not going to be held?"

Zhang Yunqi nodded.

Xiao Xuemei asked curiously, "Do you know the reason?"

Zhang Yunqi shook his head.

Xiao Xuemei said, "This is Ren Yufei's 16th birthday. Whether she celebrates or not is another matter. We can't ask what's going on. But as good friends, shouldn't we show some appreciation? On her birthday this Saturday, how about we give her a surprise?"

Zhang Yunqi thought it was quite funny: "Why are you asking me about this?"

Xiao Xuemei smiled and said, "You have your own opinion."

Zhang Yunqi closed the book and waved his hand: "No, if you want to do this, that's fine, count me in; if you don't want to do it, I have no other opinion. Anyway, I mean one thing, I'm just a bystander."

Xiao Xuemei was puzzled: "What do you mean by 'making soy sauce'?"

Zhang Yunqi was speechless: "If you are sure you want to do it, then count me in as a part of it."

Xiao Xuemei came up and said, "Then we have to prepare a cake, and we'll split the money among those who go, and then we'll try to get her out on Saturday. By the way, what birthday present did you prepare for Yufei?"

Zhang Yunqi had never thought about this matter, and he didn't know what Li Yufei liked. Anyway, he would just make do with what he could get by. Buying gifts for girls is very troublesome. He felt this most deeply when he had no money but wanted to pursue girls in his previous life. After all, pure love must be based on an economic foundation to have the courage to pursue love.

He still remembers that when he was in technical secondary school, a girl he pursued had a birthday, but he was short of money and wanted to be creative and come up with the most decent gift with the lowest cost, so he spent three days in the library thinking hard and finally gave the girl a hairpin in a condom box. Hey! It really worked, and it beat all the other people who gave cakes and dolls on the spot. The tragedy was that he left the impression of a hooligan on the girls.

Life continued to move forward with this inertia. Over the years, he had experienced many scenes, met many people, and found some truths of human nature that were not difficult to see through: real gangsters are always calm and gentle. They will only reveal their true colors behind the scenes, in the dark, on a chopping board that is two meters long and one and a half meters wide.

As for him at that time, he was at most young and naive and was just trying to attract attention.

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(End of this chapter)