Siheyuan: Bringing Warehouses to 1959

Take it off?

How to judge?

This is state-owned property...

Old Qian and the other man looked at each other, not understanding what Zeng Wangcai meant.

"Let me explain." Zeng Wangcai knew they couldn't understand, so he explained, "Director Qian should know about the district's renovation of the quadrangle courtyards, right..." Seeing Old Qian nod, Zeng Wangcai continued, "Originally, I was planning to renovate Courtyard No. 95, but the situation in our courtyard is complicated, and the neighbors asked for a subsidy of yuan, yuan per family..."

"You renovated his house, but he still wants to ask you for subsidies?" Lao Qian was shocked by this situation. "What kind of logic is this? Is there any law? The house is theirs? It's a state-owned house, and the district has the final say. You should report this to the district."

"No, we don't need it for now." Zeng Wangcai said with a sinister smile, "We are all neighbors, we have to understand each other's mistakes. They spent money to build a temporary structure to solve the accommodation problem at home."

"Look, this is what kind of enlightenment this is." Old Qian said to Director Wang with emotion.

"Noble, that's noble!" Director Xiao Wang turned into a supporting actor in a second, "Comrade Wangcai is as noble as he was ten years ago. He has money but never forgets his roots."

"Haha, thank you, thank you." Zeng Wangcai smiled modestly, "Renovation of any yard is renovation, this is just a pilot project. I wonder if we can use this yard for renovation. Once the renovation is completed, the neighbors will see the benefits of the renovation. In that case, the subsequent work will be much easier to carry out."

"This is a good thing. I fully agree with it." Old Qian immediately expressed his opinion, "There is no problem with our supply and marketing cooperative. However, what do you mean by taking over the business?"

“Have you ever heard of contracting?”

"What is contracting?"

Lao Qian certainly doesn’t understand that the contracting pilot will not begin until more than a year later.

Today, senior officials are already thinking about revitalizing the economy. It is possible that this concept has already been proposed and discussed, but it is also possible that it has not yet appeared.

Even if it does appear, when it comes to implementation, it will start from the rural areas.

Zeng Wangcai knew that it was impossible to bring up the sensitive issue of privatization now, and it could only be achieved through contracting.

"Contracting means that the supply and marketing cooperative, as the main body, signs a contract with me and gives me the store." Zeng Wangcai explained simply, "Including the yard at the back, all are contracted to me for a certain period of time. During this period, I am responsible for my own profits and losses, I pay the employees' wages, and after the end, I return a portion of the profits to the supply and marketing cooperative.

"To put it simply, the supply and marketing cooperative doesn't have to do anything. It can collect rent every year and make a profit. However, the supply and marketing cooperative cannot interfere with my business operations. It can send an accountant to audit the accounts."

The ownership is still yours. I am just a farmhand and you are the landlord.

Lao Qian immediately realized the pros and cons of this model. The advantage of this model is just as Zeng Wangcai said, the supply and marketing cooperatives are guaranteed to make a profit; but there are also disadvantages, namely the problem of institutional rules and the willingness of employees.

This does not conform to the current system, but Lao Qian thought again that the first private economic entity is about to be established, and the contracting system may not be difficult to approve.

The remaining issue is the employees' willingness. Many people cannot accept the transition from public to private enterprises.

Lao Qian immediately raised this question.

"This is easy to handle, it's all voluntary." Zeng Wangcai had thought of a plan, "If they want to come, they can come. If they don't want to come, they are just a few people, can't you just transfer them internally? I will find someone to be a salesperson myself. Of course, your supply and marketing cooperative will suffer a small loss and have to bear the wages of a few more people."

"These are all small matters..." Lao Qian hesitated for a few seconds and said, "We can do the work of a few employees. The problem now is... that thing in a year..."

He is embarrassed to talk about money!

It’s a problem. It needs to be treated!

Zeng Wangcai said sternly: "Director Qian, I have to explain this in advance. If we succeed in this, it may become a trend in the future. You have to harden your heart and ask for money. If you don't ask for money, the country will suffer."

By the 1980s and 1990s, many companies had gone into private pockets, and the spending might have been a fraction of the company's real value, or even less.

If this work could be started ten or twenty years earlier, given people's current ethics and conscience which have not yet been corrupted by money, perhaps it would be better.

Of course, Zeng Wangcai is not a savior, there is only so much he can do.

"Wangcai, I admire you!" Lao Qian stood in awe.

Immediately, a director who was familiar with the system and a wealthy sea turtle reached a tacit understanding.

They acted right away. The two of them went to Director Qian's place, looked up relevant information, drafted materials together, discussed the contract and drew it up.

The two of them finished these things in one afternoon, and Director Qian reported them to the district the next day.

The district has just experienced an earthquake in the private sector. From those in power down, everyone has gone through a brainstorming session, but there has not yet been a complete change of mindset.

At this time, the contracting system came back, and the district naturally did not dare to make the decision, so it reported it.

The report was passed up the chain of command, and finally the bosses at the top were enlightened. They thought this was a good idea, and that Zeng Wangcai, who came up with it, was a talented person.

Could it be bad?

This idea was originally thought out by them and finally finalized by them. Zeng Wangcai was just a plagiarist who came up with it in advance.

The red-headed documents were passed down layer by layer, and leaders at all levels read, agreed and annotated them.

It is agreed that the Beixinqiao Supply and Marketing Cooperative store will be used as a pilot contract, and relevant departments will cooperate in its implementation.

From reporting to approval, everything went smoothly, and special matters were handled promptly. Just on the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, the document reached Chaoyang District and was handed over to Lao Qian.

Old Qian was so excited at that time. He knew that he might be recorded in history, so he dared not delay. While ordering his subordinates to prepare, he went to find Zeng Wangcai in person to tell him the good news.

The 28th day of the twelfth lunar month was the ultimatum that Yan Bugui and others gave Zeng Wangcai to consider.

Siheyuan, front yard.

"Wangcai, today is the 28th. We agreed that you would give us an explanation. Why is there no news?" Yan Bugui led the people from last time to block the door of Zeng Wangcai's house.

"What did we agree on?" Zeng Wangcai played dumb.

He was waiting for news from Lao Qian, so naturally he would not agree.

Although he was somewhat confident that the higher-ups would agree, ultimately this was a challenge to the system, so it would be best to wait a little longer.

"Give us the money. One thousand yuan subsidy for one room. Don't you want to renovate the yard?" Yan Bugui said.

"Uncle, aren't you afraid of being scolded by the neighbors?" Zeng Wangcai looked at Yan Bugui sarcastically. "Since you can see that this is a good thing and may bring benefits to the residents of Nanluoguxiang in the future, what you are doing now is equivalent to cutting off their thoughts."

"Don't waste your words. We are asking for benefits for those who come after us." Yan Bugui said confidently, "Don't say that people outside don't know about this now. Even if they know, they will stand on our side..."

“That’s not necessarily true…” Zeng Wangcai saw Lao Qian.