Chapter 539
Hehe, Eastern People
Chapter 539 Hehe, Eastern People (4000-word long chapter)
"What's going on? Changhong Factory in Anning County has filed a complaint with our department?"
In the office of the Information Industry Department of Liaoyang Province, a middle-aged man with a buzz cut looked at the report in his hand, completely bewildered.
The young woman across from him, her eyes lighting up, asked with great interest, "Brother Cheng, is it Changhong, a TV manufacturer that's been around for three generations? I've heard their factory director is really something else, doesn't give face to anyone, and has a very tough style. Why is she looking for our department?"
The office door was pushed open, and the section chief, wearing an executive jacket, handed a stack of documents to the young woman: "Process these; they need to be entered into the computer."
The Ministry of Information Industry added a new computer this year, but only young girls know how to use it.
The young woman took the document, still curious about the Changhong factory: "Section Chief, why is Changhong factory contacting us?"
The section chief put on his glasses, sat down in front of the computer, and pressed the power button with a serious expression: "The Japan Color TV Association is up to no good, almost monopolizing the domestic market for color picture tubes. Some time ago, they even held a press conference to say that they would raise the price of color picture tubes by 30%."
I go!
The young woman's eyes widened, and she blurted out, "Isn't this targeting Changhong?! Panshi TVs are so cheap and of good quality, that's why they have a market. If their costs suddenly increase by 30%, how can they still sell at this price?! Isn't this unfair competition?"
The middle-aged man in the office put down his pen and paper, cleared his throat, and said, "You can't say that. Although the Japanese soldiers' tactics are ruthless, they're not illegal. Our country's laws and regulations in this area are not yet perfect, so it's impossible to punish them at the administrative level."
He said in a neutral tone, "That's how a market economy works; everyone uses their own methods. Our Eastern companies are still a bit weak in this regard."
The young woman retorted, "Are we just going to stand by and watch? The Changhong factory involves thousands of employees. Just a while ago, Vice Minister Wang even organized a working group to inspect the work results in Anning County. Isn't the Japan Color TV Association's action a slap in the face to us?"
The middle-aged man sighed helplessly. The intern was just impulsive and easily angered: "What else can we do? We're already loosening the reins on companies. What excuse do we have to interfere now? If we interfere, what will foreign investors think? How will we attract more foreign investment?"
Between a Changhong factory and a group of foreign-invested enterprises, is there any need to consider which one to choose?
The young woman was speechless, but still unwilling to give up: "Are we just going to stand by and watch?"
The middle-aged man shrugged and said helplessly, "What else can we do? If all else fails, Changhong will raise prices. They've already swallowed up a lot of market share; that'll be enough for them to live on for a while."
The young woman hummed and muttered under her breath, "Even if Changhong shrinks its market share, the Japan Color TV Association won't let the factory off the hook. Sigh, I hope Director Lin can find a way to overcome this difficulty and, ideally, maintain the existing market share."
The middle-aged man chuckled and shook his head.
That sounds wonderful, but it's impossible to do!
In the face of Western capitalists, Eastern companies are like green recruits, suffering losses as if they were nothing.
Around the same time, in a teahouse in Guangdong Province, the head of Panasonic's representative office in Tokyo was celebrating with his colleagues.
"Kiku-san, cheers to our great cause!"
"Cheers! According to our predictions, Changhong's factory can only maintain normal production for a maximum of three months. After three months, it will be time for our Japanese color TV industry to counterattack!"
“This time, we’re going to raise our prices again. People from Dongguo are very concerned about their image; the more expensive something is, the more willing they are to buy it.”
The dim sum at this teahouse is small, exquisite, and all handmade.
Ju Sang picked up a shrimp dumpling and put it in her mouth. The sweet and fresh juice burst forth, filling her with a taste of happiness.
Haha, Changhong factory is doomed!
The atmosphere grew increasingly heated, and everyone seemed to see Japanese color TV manufacturers making a comeback in the Eastern market, sweeping up money with brooms.
With bloodshot eyes, they sat in the teahouse, speaking fluent Japanese and making pronouncements about the East.
“The people of Dongguo are not as united as we are. When I signed the agreement with their color picture tube factory, they were all overjoyed.”
"The Eastern Kingdom is very poor. If we give them a little something, they will do whatever we ask them to do."
Kikusang watched with a smile, but deep down she felt uneasy.
It must be admitted that Lin Xiaohe of Changhong Factory is a cunning opponent. Will she really sit idly by and wait for her doom?
Hesitating for a moment, Ju Sang asked softly, "Their system is different from ours. Will they use administrative means to help Changhong Factory?"
"No, that won't happen." The head of Panasonic's representative office in Japan said confidently, "The relationship between the local and central governments in Japan is complex, and there is competition between the various regions. The eight major color picture tube factories are located in several provinces, and none of them are in the same province as Changhong Factory. The leaders of these provinces will only focus on the affairs of their own provinces and will not care about Changhong Factory."
He smirked, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes: "That's just how the people of Dongguo are. Wherever there are Dongguo people, there will be internal strife. As for the central government, they certainly won't let the Changhong factory affect their international image."
Amidst the admiring gazes of the crowd, he made the final decision: "As long as the central government dares to come to us, we will get our government to intervene, stage official protests, and exert pressure through international public opinion! Changhong Factory will surely go bankrupt!"
"Hi!"
Inside the teahouse, several young people at another table gritted their teeth.
Bang!
A boy slammed his teacup down, his eyes blazing with fury: "Those despicable Japanese devils, they're shameless!"
"I'm so angry! They can't compete fairly with PanShi TV, so they resort to dirty tricks."
"Ugh! This is so frustrating. I wonder if Changhong Factory can weather this storm." A young girl's eyes were red with anger, her gaze filled with deep worry.
"Director Lin should have a solution, right? She's so capable."
A chubby, round-faced boy said dejectedly, "The Japanese were right. We East Asians aren't united. I don't believe those eight factories didn't know the impact the exclusivity agreement would have on Changhong. But they still signed it!"
The thin boy next to him patted the round-faced boy and comforted him, "It's all understandable. The country is facing internal and external troubles right now, the situation is very bad, every factory is having a very hard time, they definitely have to make sure they survive first."
He smiled wryly and said, "Besides, everything is about money."
Money, that tormenting little devil, has shattered the original order and concepts.
It seems like the world has become such that as long as you have money, you're successful and the most awesome. It doesn't matter where you got the money; the important thing is to have money in your hands!
With money, you can do whatever you want.
Silence is the only melody at this moment.
Unable to bear the atmosphere, the young woman got up and went to a nearby newsstand to buy a newspaper.
"Miss, which newspaper would you like to buy?" the newsstand owner greeted her warmly. "They're all freshly arrived."
"I'm just browsing." The young girl's gaze fell on the Yangcheng Evening News.
"Rather Stop Production Than Bow Down—The Unyielding Spirit of a Factory Director in Northeast China"
The article was accompanied by a large photo: Lin Xiaohe and an old worker wearing faded work clothes stood in front of the stage, looking directly at the camera.
The caption below the photo reads: "Lin Xiaohe, director of Changhong Factory, at a press conference."
The young woman was instantly drawn to the photo.
The renowned Factory Director Lin is surprisingly young.
Her gaze was so firm and powerful, like a rock, unshaken even by wind and rain.
"I'll take this newspaper." After paying, the young woman stood still and began reading the newspaper.
Master Wang is a veteran worker at Changhong Factory.
For forty-two years, he dedicated his youth to a factory. Now, that factory is being driven to the brink of collapse by a price cartel from the Japanese.
The boy does not cry easily.
Facing the reporter's interview, this man, harder than steel, shed tears that fell onto the concrete floor, the sound louder than any declaration. He said, "Our factory can go bankrupt, we can be eliminated by the market, but we cannot fall to the underhanded tactics of Japanese companies. I refuse to accept this! Even if I am an egg, even if I break, I will still splatter them with its yellow substance."
The young woman's nose tingled, and her eyes instantly welled up with tears.
She quickly wiped her eyes: "Are there any other newspapers? I want one about the Changhong factory."
"Yes!" The newsstand owner quickly pulled out a lot of newspapers. "There are plenty. Basically every newspaper has them, some on the front page, some in the middle."
A young woman carried a large stack of newspapers back to the teahouse.
Clang.
The newspaper was placed heavily on the table, causing the plates and dishes to tremble slightly.
"Grandma, what are you doing?" The boy with a northern accent quickly pushed the food aside.
The young woman sniffled and choked out, "I wanted you to read the newspaper."
Everyone's eyes fell on the stack of newspapers.
Southern Weekly: "The Dignity of 3,000 Workers is Worth More Than Color Picture Tubes"
Dongguo Industrial Economics News: Changhong Factory Stands Firm Against Japan Color TV Association: We Will Not Accept Extortion
Guangdong Daily: "The Tears of an Eighth-Grade Fitter: Is the Factory I've Worked For My Whole Life Going to Close Down?"
Each story is vivid and relatable.
The workers were particularly moved when they talked about the initial desperate situation of Changhong Factory, when employees' families did not receive wages for more than a year and had no money for food. They could only pick up rotten vegetable leaves that were thrown away when the market was about to close.
Because these are all real events!
The young people were shocked: "Really? This old industrial base is really in such a state?"
"There are so many opportunities to make money, as long as you're willing to work hard, it shouldn't be this difficult, right?"
The commotion quickly attracted the attention of the surrounding guests.
The cleaning lady in the teahouse saw a newspaper article about how, in order to save money, some people turned off their heating in temperatures below -20 degrees Celsius and huddled together under blankets to keep warm. Tears streamed down her face.
"It's really tragic. In Hunan Province, some factories have gone bankrupt. That's what happened in my family. All five of us sisters worked at the nitrogen fertilizer plant, and we were all dual-income families. But we were all laid off."
All the circles are in one factory.
With the factory gone, there was nowhere to turn for help, and no one to ask for money.
In the worst times, even picking up leftover vegetable scraps required scrambling to get them.
The young woman stared intently at the cleaning lady: "Auntie, are you from Hunan Province?"
“Yes, I couldn’t find work back home, so I had to come south to try my luck.” The cleaning lady looked at the newspaper and cried. “Our factory didn’t have a good leader like Director Lin. Before it went bankrupt, the factory leaders always said they were losing money, losing money terribly. After the factory was bought by the leaders, the nitrogen fertilizer could be sold, the price was higher, and we could make money. The leaders bought cars and houses, bought luxury cars, while we poor workers…”
According to national policy, if a factory goes bankrupt and lays off workers, it won't lay off all dual-income families. But the factory leaders said that the nitrogen fertilizer plant was insolvent and resolutely refused to keep so many workers.
To solve this long-standing problem, the county simply sold the factory at a low price and handed over all the workers to the community.
Is there some hidden meaning behind this? It's hard to guess.
The cleaning lady felt extremely distressed seeing Lin Xiaohe's resolute expression, and kept muttering, "Good people don't get rewarded, good people don't get rewarded! Those despicable Japanese devils, they really bully us Easterners. If there were more capable factory directors like Director Lin, how many factories could have been saved, how many families could have been saved!"
The cleaning lady's words struck everyone's hearts like a heavy hammer.
Humans all yearn for light.
Although everyone is focused on making money, we still admire those who are as passionate as the sun from the bottom of our hearts.
Lin Xiaohe, the factory director of Changhong Factory, is a person who shines brighter than the blazing sun!
"Damn it! Screw it, I'm going to the big store right now and buying a Panshi TV! Damn it, I'm so angry!" A customer in the crowd waved his hand, grabbed his briefcase, and walked out.
These words jolted everyone awake.
"That's right. Since we'll be buying a color TV for the wedding anyway, I'll buy a Rockstar TV!"
"I won't buy Japanese products. Even if Ishik TVs raise their prices, I'll still only buy Ishik!"
The young woman nodded repeatedly: "That's right, me too!"
The Japanese people in the teahouse looked at each other in bewilderment. What had happened?
……
Fueled by Lin Xiaohe and Benshan Media, the public opinion storm intensified.
First, the provincial radio station broadcast a three-minute news segment on its evening news program, titled "The Backbone of a Factory."
The announcer's voice was deep and powerful: "Faced with a joint blockade by Japanese companies, the workers at Changhong Factory said they would rather stop production than bow down."
Then there's the provincial television station.
The reporter carried a camera into the factory and filmed in the workshop for a whole day.
Standing in front of the lathe he had driven all his life, Master Wang said to the camera, "I've been with this lathe for thirty years. If it stops, I'll feel terrible."
As Sister Liu worked on the assembly line, she wiped away tears and said, "I don't know how many more days I can work."
The camera pans across the workshop, across the brand-new equipment, and across the silent faces of the workers.
The image finally settled on Lin Xiaohe.
Lin Xiaohe, wearing that old work uniform, stood at the factory gate and said to the camera: "Changhong Factory has more than 3,000 employees. As long as one of them is still here, we will not live on our knees."
This incident, in which Changhong's factory was targeted by the Japan Color TV Association, sparked widespread discussion in society.
Major state media outlets have all jumped in.
A Brief Analysis of the Boundary Between Market Economy and Administrative Intervention—Taking Changhong Factory as an Example
Are exclusive supply agreements a legitimate competitive tactic, or are they exploiting legal loopholes?
In the current context of unchecked market growth, we need to improve our regulatory system.
On Protecting Domestic Enterprises While Opening Up Markets
Relaxing regulations doesn't mean abandoning oversight!
After thinking about it, I decided not to divide it into chapters.
I suddenly have a craving for congee hot pot. Has anyone tried it? How is it? Is it delicious?