Chapter 41: Do you really want to sell out?
Tong County is now equipped with four deputy secretaries, with Hu Jiao ranking first, followed by Li Changsheng, Cheng Yuanchao and Zhou Shilon. Among them, Li Changsheng is in charge of party and mass organizations and cadre inspection, Cheng Yuanchao is in charge of industrial and agricultural economy, transportation and urban construction, and Zhou Shilon also serves as the secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission.
No matter how polite and friendly the deputy secretaries seemed to be on the surface, they looked down on Hu Jiao, a young man who had experienced great ups and downs in Tong County in a short period of time. They thought he was nothing more than a frivolous child who relied on the blessings of his parents.
Although he has some talent, he is too immature.
Among them, Li Changsheng sighed openly and secretly. He didn't say anything, but every time someone mentioned Hu Jiao, he sighed. Then others started to criticize him, and after they finished criticizing him, he sighed again. Then, someone else helped to summarize and look forward to Hu Jiao's future.
Tie Xiangqian was quite dissatisfied with the trend of targeting Hu Jiao, but he had no solid evidence and could only keep silent.
Especially when Hu Jiao proposed to sell all the loss-making enterprises in the county at the meeting, Li Changsheng's sigh resounded through the roof.
After Hu Jiao finished reading the plan to sell the loss-making company, he stopped talking. Instead, he held his teacup and lowered his head in deep thought, as if what he had just said did not come from his mouth and had nothing to do with him at all.
Tie Xiangqian didn't say anything and looked at Cheng Yuanchao, who was in charge of economics.
The latter's eyes moved slowly around, and Li Changsheng sighed again.
Zhou Shilong smiled, "I have no objection. Instead of losing money every year, it's better to get rid of them all. Yuan Chao, you are an expert in this area."
Cheng Yuanchao also sighed and said, "In theory, there is no problem." After saying that, he glanced at Hu Jiao. He was also nearly fifty years old, and the executive deputy county magistrate opposite him was exercising the power of the county magistrate.
Li Changsheng followed up with a speech, "What should we do after we sell it? The consequences! Have you considered it? It seems that there is no precedent like this in the country?"
Tie Xiangqian smiled and said slowly, "Secretary Li may have forgotten that there is a precedent for this. In 1992, there was a county party secretary named Cheng Maiguang."
Li Changsheng looked at Cheng Yuanchao, who nodded in confirmation, "There is such a capable person. In the past three years, the county's fiscal revenue has increased significantly, and most of the loss-making enterprises have been revitalized. I have studied it, and we can't compare with them."
Zhou Shilong asked, "Oh? What's the main thing?"
Cheng Yuanchao narrowed his eyes and looked at Zhou Shilong. "Basics! They have many old state-owned enterprises and a solid production technology foundation. Secondly, the cadres and masses of the whole county support them, so it will not cause a bad impact. Finally, the geographical environment. They have convenient transportation, and the transportation by sea, land and air is cheap, unlike our inland areas."
Li Changsheng nodded, sighed, and asked Hu Jiao, "I heard that the county magistrate has spread the news in the small restaurant?"
Hu Jiao nodded and said, "Selling things depends on the market. If no one buys, it's just a loss to gain publicity."
Tie Xiangqian frowned before Li Changsheng could speak, "The county magistrate has discussed this with me in advance. As for reform, all places are crossing the river by feeling the stones. If you want to cross the river, of course you have to feel the stones first. Yuan Chao, tell me about the situation of these enterprises, which ones are feasible and which ones are not. Let's take them one by one?"
Cheng Yuanchao did not wait for Li Changsheng to sigh before he refuted, "This is not a question of who can and who can't, but a question of whether there is support. If a few of us say it's okay but the people below don't follow through, what's the use?"
Tie Xiangqian smiled, "Oh, there is such a thing? Then what role can we as cadres play? Why not let the people below take the lead and do it ourselves?"
Cheng Yuanchao's face flushed, and he lowered his head. Li Changsheng did not sigh this time, but said seriously, "Comrade Yuanchao did not express his meaning clearly, did he? He is worried that the people below will pretend to obey and do something bad, so he has resistance."
Tie Xiangqian slowly closed his eyes, nodded slowly, and said "hmm..." slowly.
"It seems that our Tong County Party Committee has encountered a big problem! This relationship between cadres and the masses is indeed difficult to handle. It cannot be taken lightly or seriously. So, Secretary Changsheng, can you send out a document to solicit opinions? After all, our party's working principle has always been to unite the masses, rely on the masses, and mobilize the masses. Whether it was during the war or the Cultural Revolution, as the times develop, I think our working methods must also develop with it. Reform and opening up are aboveboard, and the premise is to improve people's lives, think about what the masses think, and worry about what the masses worry about. What are the cadres and masses of the whole county most concerned about now? Wages, income, and food and clothing!"
After Tie Xiangqian finished speaking, he slowly picked up the teacup, the sound of his drink echoed in the office, and he looked at Hu Jiao, "County magistrate, please tell us about your specific work ideas. It doesn't matter whether the cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice, it is a good cat. Comrades, remember this sentence."
Hu Jiao has been learning Tie Xiangqian's way of dealing with things. He seems to be fair and calm, but he secretly criticizes Li Changsheng through conversations, and he often uses words that are too radical. When a party committee is not united, the role of the top leader can be reflected at this time.
Hu Jiao put himself in Li Changsheng's shoes and thought, if Li Changsheng was the secretary, then his plan today would also be easily implemented and eliminated without a trace.
Of course, this is also related to the individual's political work level. How to express opposition or approval? It is obvious today that Cheng Yuanchao followed Li Changsheng's steps, and Zhou Shilong showed goodwill to Tie Xiangqian and him.
Hu Jiao lowered his eyes and didn't look at the four of them. "Initially, we plan to reorganize and integrate several profitable enterprises, divide the business scope into details, and select a few capable people to form a management team to see how the results are."
Cheng Yuanchao took advantage of this opportunity to slowly adjust himself, "Do you have a specific plan?"
Hu Jiao nodded, "There are currently two. The power company, water plant, township power management offices, water pipe stations, and power stations throughout the county have been reorganized and integrated into a power group company. Department stores, supply and marketing cooperatives, shops, ethnic clothing factories, and printing factories have been integrated into a department store group company. Finally, the county party committee guesthouse, light industry guesthouse, grain guesthouse, catering service company, and township food stations have been integrated into a catering group company."
As soon as Hu Jiao finished speaking, even Zhou Shilon frowned. This was definitely a major economic reform move for the entire county. If it was not handled properly, it would cost lives!
Cheng Yuanchao stared at Hu Jiao closely, "Does the county magistrate have any corresponding and detailed plans?"
Tie Xiangqian smiled and looked at Hu Jiao, "Don't hide it, tell us everything. None of us have cardiovascular problems, so we can handle it."
Hu Jiao smiled, opened his briefcase, took out a stack of documents and handed them to the director of the county party committee office who was attending the meeting, "Please distribute them, Director Wang."
After several deputy secretaries got all the documents, Cheng Yuanchao was the first to quickly look through them. Hu Jiao began to explain, "Take the hydropower group as an example. The property rights of the power and water management offices in each township should be collected, and the personnel should be returned to the township governments. The county company will send people to hire local agricultural electricians for joint management. Set targets and tasks. The second is the hydropower stations. The property rights are now in a mess. There are collective and state-owned ones, especially the collective property rights. Some small hydropower stations are still built with village funds. These small hydropower stations can be thrown away. In addition, it is recommended that some state-owned small power stations can be sold to private operators. In reality, many small hydropower stations are also contracted by private individuals. As for the twists and turns here, I won’t say more. Instead of contracting, it is better to sell them directly."
As Hu Jiao explained, the others began to read the documents carefully. After reading through and barely understanding Hu Jiao's plan, Li Changsheng sighed and looked at Hu Jiao seriously, "County Magistrate, are you really going to sell it?"
Hu Jiao nodded. "Everyone knows the county's financial situation better than I do. If we keep waiting, relying on, and asking for help, we won't have enough food and clothing. We'll be lucky if we can barely maintain the salaries of all the county's cadres and workers."
Cheng Yuanchao followed up with a question, "Are you sure you can turn it around?"
Hu Jiao nodded, "As long as we are united, think in the same direction, and work together, I believe that everything will be possible!"
Li Changsheng nodded, "I'm fine."
Cheng Yuanchao said, "I agree."
Hu Jiao and Tie Xiangqian looked at each other. Silence was better than words at this moment. This was just the beginning and the competition was still to come.
The next day, the county party committee office issued the "Draft for Soliciting Opinions on the Reform of State-owned and Collective-owned Enterprises in Tong County" to all county-level agencies, enterprises, institutions, township enterprises, and collectively-owned enterprises in the county, and published the full text of Hu Jiao's reform plan, including the content of the reorganization of the three major groups.
One stone can cause a thousand ripples.
Hu Jiao constantly visited all kinds of large and small enterprises in the county and dealt with all kinds of people. The people of the county followed this manuscript and fell into a nationwide discussion. After more than half a month of quarrels, two major factions gradually formed.
One is enthusiastically in favor of the reform, the other is firmly opposed to it.
Here, Hu Jiao calls them reformists and oppositionists.
The opposition, which is mainly made up of old comrades and veteran cadres, believes that this is a disguised form of embezzlement of state-owned assets and a disguised act of prodigal sons. Even if some enterprises suffer losses, as long as they adjust slowly, things will get better.
Next, the old men began to reminisce about the good old days, such as the bamboo lacquer company, the farm implement factory, and the agricultural machinery company.
Even worse, some people went straight to the point, saying that the county leaders only wanted to enrich themselves, play tricks, and use various means to sell state-owned properties for private use.
Is this still a party member and cadre?
So, some people began to take action, petitioned, incited some employees of enterprises that were listed as targets for sale to cause trouble, and wrote letters of denunciation to the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection.
For a time, Tongxian society became colorful, with one party taking over and the other taking over. Hu Jiao also had to sigh that the old comrades who had served as Red Guards had a mastery of the art of struggle and control over the timing of events, which was really eye-opening.
But no matter what means he used, Hu Jiao remained as steady as a rock, mingling with all kinds of workers, doing his work patiently, explaining things slowly, without being arrogant or impatient.
Until the municipal party secretary Tian Fumin visited Tong County.
A large-scale symposium was held, and Tian Fumin asked three questions to the veteran cadres and comrades present:
First, what is a market economy?
Second, why are the companies that were popular in the planned economy period now making losses? How can they turn losses into profits?
Third, when will the many enterprises that cannot afford to pay wages be able to pay wages again without relying on financial subsidies? Who can improve the county's fiscal balance?
After Tian Fumin raised the three questions, he immediately made a promise, "As long as the person present here can solve my three problems, I will guarantee that he will be the county magistrate of Tong County."
Tian Fumin's directness made the participants in the discussion pale. How could the party cadres be in the same league with the capitalists? Do we still need to go through the procedures? Should we talk about the party's policy line?
So some old cadres began to ask questions in a roundabout way, and the meaning was nothing more than the question of whether it was capitalist or socialist.
As a result, Tian Fumin directly asked the old comrade who asked the question to strengthen the study of the spirit of various meetings of the Central Committee since the reform and opening up. What is the socialist economy with Xinhua characteristics?
Hu Jiao finally stood up and began to answer Secretary Tian’s three questions.
Tian Fumin was very satisfied, but he didn't show it. "Okay, actions speak louder than words. I'm waiting for you to show actual results."
At the end of the symposium, Tian Fumin emphasized that with the progress of the times and the development of society, ideas and concepts must keep up with the ever-changing economic changes and cannot be rigidly bound by conventions or complacent. Of course, we must also adhere to principles in our work, shift the focus of our work to economic development, and at the same time do our utmost to maintain social stability...
As soon as Tian Fumin left, the Tong County Party Committee Office sorted out and summarized the various opinions received, and convened a special meeting of the county party committee standing committee and the main leaders of relevant departments for discussion.
Hu Jiao had just left the office and walked to the stairwell when he happened to run into Tie Xiangqian. The secretary patted him on the shoulder and said, "Secretary Tian stepped in to help you block the storm at the beginning. Now it's up to you!"
Hu Jiao shook his head. He was too tired during this period. He had to constantly explain to people the process, functions and goals of enterprise reform. To be honest, there was no need for him to do these detailed things. With the support of the municipal and county party committees, he just needed to let go and get to work.
But Hu Jiao doesn't think so. He believes that he can only impress, move and motivate others through his own actions, because this reform is related to the quality of life and living standards of many people for decades.
Of course, Hu Jiao never considered failure.
He had full confidence in this, and the plan was a sure thing. By selling the fixed assets of those hopeless small businesses, the financial burden could be reduced. Many businesses themselves could no longer pay wages and were just trying to get by with just a few plots of land.
If the reform fails, the worst that can happen is that we won't be able to pay our employees. It would be more economical to sell off the land and fixed assets and share the proceeds among everyone.
As for profitable enterprises, some loss-making units with better business prospects can be merged in. As the saying goes, it is good to take shelter under a big tree. As long as the managers are capable, achieving new profit growth will not be a problem.
Even if they hire the wrong people and the managers of these three major group companies are good-for-nothings, they are completely free of financial burden!
Not only does it not cost money, but it also makes further progress in taxation. In addition to the county's agriculture, individual private industry and commerce, it is no problem to steadily increase fiscal revenue.
Perhaps because he had worked with Li Changsheng for a long time, Hu Jiao unconsciously learned to sigh and said with a tired face, "Secretary, there is really only a fine line between being criticized by thousands of people and being praised by the people. Only now do I understand what grassroots work is."
Tie smiled forward, then frowned slightly, a few fine lines appeared on his forehead, and a trace of fatigue appeared on his square face. "Jiaojiao, take it easy. There is a saying that goes, 'wearing new shoes but walking on the old road. Everything has a process.'"
Hu Jiao nodded, "I understand. I am also worried, but I can't always argue with others. I can tolerate other things, but I can't help wasting time..."
Tie Xiangqian stood on tiptoe again, standing side by side with Hu Jiao. He was at a great disadvantage in height, and said helplessly, "I don't know what happened to your head. It's okay. We are in control of the situation now, and we can't let those rebels make decisions. I'm just worried... something unexpected will happen."
Without waiting for Hu Jiao to respond, seeing that the two had already walked out of the meeting room, Tie Xiangqian asked again, "Are you really planning to sell it?"
Hu Jiao laughed, nodded, and said firmly, "Of course!"
Following Tie Xiangqian, the two walked into the meeting room one after another.
There are more than 20 people attending the meeting today, including 11 members of the county party committee standing committee, county party secretary and director of the People's Congress Tie Xiangqian, deputy secretary and executive deputy county magistrate Hu Jiao, deputy secretary Li Changsheng, deputy secretary Cheng Yuanchao, discipline inspection committee secretary Zhou Shilon, political and legal committee secretary and public security bureau chief Dai Feipeng, deputy county magistrate Badzhu, organization minister Zheng Shunli, county party committee office director Wang Dezhi, propaganda minister Sun Xin, and armed forces minister Tong Yongnan.
Attending the meeting were CPPCC Chairman Meng Qizhi, three vice-chairmen of the People's Congress, two vice-chairmen of the CPPCC, four other deputy county governors, one director and two vice-chairmen of the government office, two deputy directors of the county party committee office, the director of the Finance Bureau, the director of the Development and Reform Commission, the director of the Water Conservancy Bureau, the manager of the power company, the manager of the department store, the director of the supply and marketing cooperative, etc.
The meeting was chaired by Cheng Yuanchao, deputy secretary of the county party committee. "Now, comrades, the theme of today's meeting is to discuss the implementation of the relevant opinions on the restructuring and reform of state-owned and collectively owned enterprises in Tong County and form a meeting resolution. Now, please allow Comrade Hu Jiao, deputy secretary of the county party committee and deputy county magistrate, to speak."
As soon as he finished speaking, applause broke out in unison. Hu Jiao nodded with a serious expression, "It is now mid-October. A month ago, the county party committee and government jointly issued a request for opinions. After comprehensive review, many comrades have put forward practical suggestions. Of course, many comrades are also worried about whether this reform can be successful, and even question the purpose of the county party committee and government reform. Under the leadership of Secretary Tie, our party committee leadership team has fully promoted the spirit of democratic decision-making, opened up channels for communication, and strived to ensure that all work can be carried out in an orderly manner. Next, Comrade Ma Zhengpin, deputy county governor, will report to the Standing Committee on the situation of this solicitation of opinions."
Ma Zhengpin is 36 years old, short and strong, with dark red skin, a high nose and deep eyes. He gives people the impression of being energetic and quite explosive. In 1991, he was appointed as the Party Secretary of Xinming Township, in March 1994, he was appointed as the Director of the County Finance Bureau, and in February 1995, he was appointed as the Deputy County Magistrate. He is a minority cadre, Yi nationality, he is from Yishan Township, Tong County. After graduating from technical secondary school, he was first assigned to the Family Planning Office of Yishan Township Government in his hometown, and later transferred to the Deputy Director of the Township Government Office.
He was recommended by the then deputy director of the People's Congress to the secretariat of the county government office. During this period, he studied on his own and obtained a bachelor's degree in law. Later, he was promoted to deputy director and secretary of the government office by Wu Hao's predecessor, the county magistrate. In 1989, he was transferred to Xinming Township as acting township head.
His accent was heavily drawn out, and the corners of his mouth were turned down when he spoke. His face with distinct features looked extremely serious, which naturally created an aura of majesty.
If it weren't for the rising tone of his voice after each sentence, just based on the ups and downs of his voice, one would have to suspect that this man was most likely a retired military officer, and would never be associated with a self-taught secretary.
Everyone who attended the meeting understood that this was just an opening statement, a formality. Including soliciting opinions, it was just a formality. The biggest purpose was nothing more than to create momentum and propaganda through this method, and to convey the message to the broad masses of cadres and the public: the county's next priority will be enterprise restructuring.
If someone really takes the solicitation of opinions seriously, that is the foolish spirit of a bookworm. Of course, for those leading cadres who have retired and retreated to the second line, having the opportunity to step out and speak, and attract the attention of the current leaders, is also a pleasure that is better than nothing.
As for those who fanned the flames before, they were just trying to seduce the young Hu Jiao and give the powerful Secretary Tie a warning, which was just like the petty behavior of a bullied daughter-in-law spitting in the food.
In fact, he also understood that no matter how many suggestions he made, they would not be as effective as one word from Tie Xiangqian.
Tie Xiangqian and Hu Jiao are smart people. When someone is wronged, they will of course be more generous and tolerant. Things need to be done and people's hearts need to be soothed.
Hu Jiao didn't want to waste time arguing, so he asked Tian Fumin to come out and glare at him, which would achieve his goal.
Of course, Hu Jiao couldn't be so stupid as to just forge ahead. He is no longer the sour scholar who had no idea of the ways of the world.
