Iron rice bowl

  Lin Zhenhua gave a lecture to Peng Gang and Yang Xin for about an hour or two, introducing some main operating methods. These two people are both strong in acceptance ability, after listening to this round, they have some impression of the CNC machine operation. Lin Zhenhua asked them to process some simple parts first to familiarize themselves with the performance of the machine, and he himself took a manual back to the logistics department. This manual is all in English, Lin Zhenhua must translate its main content into Chinese text, so that the machine operators can refer to it at any time during use.

  Back to the moving team, Lin Zhenhua saw that Zhong Rulin and several others were not there, leaving only Xiong Lijun sitting alone with a bored expression. Lin Zhenhua asked with a smile: "Old bear, why didn't you go to work?"

  "How come you haven't done any work? I just went to unload a truck of materials and even hurt my leg."

  Lin Zhenhua pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and tossed it to Xiong Lijun, saying: "Here, take this. This time on the business trip to Guangzhou, it was given by foreign merchants."

  Xiong Li Jun caught the cigarette and looked at the logo, his eyes lit up instantly: "Damn, Marlboro! I've been thinking about this cigarette for over 20 years."

  "Impossible! You're just over 20 years old this year, aren't you?" Lin Zhenhua said.

  Xiong Litian eagerly tore open the cigarette pack, pulled one out, lit it with a lighter, took a deep drag, and then said with an intoxicated expression: "I started smoking when I was 3 years old. You calculate, isn't that more than 20 years?"

  "You're awesome!" Lin Zhenhua gave him a thumbs up, then sat down himself and opened the machine manual to start translating.

  "Kobayashi, I heard you've made a fortune." said Xiong Lijun from the side.

  "Who said that?"

  "Master Zhong said," said Xiong Lijun, "the old man still wanted to help you hide the truth, but I asked him a few questions and he told me everything. He said you had made friends with a rich guy who was very generous, and that the tape recorder in Old Zhu's house was a gift from him."

  Lin Zhenhua shook his head, knowing that with Zhong Rulin's naivety, he indeed couldn't keep things hidden in his heart. Fortunately, he had pulled out Qi Zhongmou as a shield, otherwise who knows what would have been spread around the factory?

  "Kobayashi, I heard that CNC machine in the workshop was brought by you?" Xiong Lijun raised another new topic.

  "It's just a coincidence." Lin Zhenhua said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

  "You're really stupid," said Xiong Lijun.

  "What?"

  "Just give me the money for this machine tool, let the Americans pay for it. I heard that one of these machines costs over $10,000. If we exchange it on the black market, we can get 100,000 yuan. What's the use of giving it to the factory? Such a big factory is still short of 100,000 yuan?"

  Lin Zhenhua said: "The Americans are also for inter-factory cooperation, how can they give me personal money?"

  "You can let the American send the machine to that rich friend of yours, he's a private boss, he'll definitely be able to resell it and split half with you, isn't that okay?" suggested Xiong Lijun.

  Lin Zhenhua smiled and said, "Old bear, I really admire your business acumen. But what do I need so much money for? According to you, this machine is worth 100,000 yuan, and taking half of it would be 50,000 yuan. What can a worker like me do with 50,000 yuan?"

  "Are you okay?" Xiong Lijun jumped down from the stool, moving his leg which was injured when he got off the car, and it hurt so much that he gritted his teeth. However, this didn't stop him from delivering a grand speech: "Xiaolin, do you know how big of an amount 50,000 yuan is? My monthly salary is only 42 yuan, 50,000 yuan... I'd have to work for many years!"

  "500,000 divided by 42 is equal to 1,190 months, and then divided by 12 is equal to 99 years." Lin Zhenhua scribbled a formula on the paper and read out the result to Xiong Lijun.

  "Right, think about it, 500,000 yuan, I would have to work for 99 years to earn that much. Can I live up to that age? That means, in my whole life, I won't be able to earn 500,000 yuan. If someone gives me 500,000 yuan, I'll immediately sell myself to him and work for him for the rest of my life." said Xiong Lijun.

  "Is what you're saying true?" Lin Zhenhua's mind stirred and he turned his head to look at Xiong Lijun.

  "Of course it's true." Xiong Lijun said, "Xiaolin, ask your rich friend if he wants to hire a helper. As long as he gives me 10,000 yuan, I'll work for him for 10 years and guarantee that I can do whatever he asks."

  "But you're a state-owned enterprise employee now, are you willing to give up your iron rice bowl to work for a private boss?" Lin Zhenhua asked tentatively.

  "The iron rice bowl is just a broken bowl for begging," said Xiong Lijun. "I earn 42 yuan a month, which is not enough to support myself. I can't even afford a pack of decent cigarettes now. If it weren't for you, Xiao Lin, I wouldn't have been able to smoke a single Marlboro in my life. What's the point of living like this? The other day, my family sent me a letter saying someone had introduced me to a potential partner and asked me to take leave to go back and meet her. Who cares? Getting married costs at least 1,000 yuan now, where would I get that kind of money?"

  Lin Zhenhua said: "Actually, I have a friend who is now helping that big client do things, in Fenghua County he is selling electronic watches for him, and the income is still quite good."

  "Are you selling electronic watches?" Xiong Lijun asked, "I've seen that young man carrying a large canvas bag every day to sell electronic watches at the county gate. He's making money like he's robbing it. Are you saying that young man is doing things for your wealthy friend?"

  Lin Zhenhua nodded: "Old bear, to be honest with you, I also have some shares in it."

  "Really! Kobayashi, Boss Lin, you must take me with you!" Xiong Lijun said to Lin Zhenhua with a sense of urgency, as if he had grasped a lifeline.

  Lin Zhenhua hesitated.

  As for Xiong Lijun, Lin Zhenhua still trusts him very much. In other people's eyes, Xiong Lijun is not ambitious and likes to eat and be lazy, but Lin Zhenhua knows that this is only because Xiong Lijun can't see the hope, in an environment where doing more or less, good or bad are all the same, Xiong Lijun naturally has no enthusiasm. Lin Zhenhua had many conversations with Xiong Lijun before and found that he was a very business-minded person, and he was also a trustworthy person who kept his promises, indeed a cooperative partner.

  However, Lin Zhenhua never thought of pulling Xiong Liming to partner with him in business, because Xiong Liming was a state-owned enterprise employee and had an "iron rice bowl". At that time, people attached great importance to the "iron rice bowl", which Lin Zhenhua knew well. Lin Zhenhua himself would not give up this "rice bowl" for the time being, but he was not sure whether Xiong Liming would be willing to give it up.

  "Kobayashi, you can bring that young man along to do it, why can't you bring me? I'm not bragging, if I go help you sell electronics, I'll definitely do better than that young man. I've observed him, he's just not cut out for business, he doesn't know how to haggle with people or think on his feet, it makes me anxious just watching him." Xiong Lijun tried hard to reassure Lin Zhenhua.

  Lin Zhenhua said, "Old bear, you'd better think it over carefully. Doing business is a high-risk thing. My friend was an unemployed youth and had nothing to begin with, so I could pull him in to do it together. But you have a stable job, with a steady income no matter what happens, are you really brave enough to give all this up?"

  Xiong Liming smiled self-deprecatingly and said, "Little Lin, you also saw that I'm now a lone wolf. Even if I work hard for another ten years, it'll still be the same. To be honest, I don't want to spend my whole life like this, but I just haven't found an opportunity yet. If you can give me one, no matter how big the risk is, I'm willing to take the leap."

  Lin Zhenhua nodded: "Old bear, now I really have a place where I need your help. The young man who helped me with things, Lan Wufeng, is a Yunnan educated youth, and his household registration is still in Yunnan, so he can't get an individual business license in Fenghua County. I'm thinking of using whose name to get this license. Moreover, as you said, he indeed has some shortcomings in the business aspect, if the business on the side of Fenghua wants to expand, relying solely on him is definitely not enough."

  "I can do both. As for the individual business license, as long as I submit my resignation report, I can be considered an unemployed youth and then apply for an individual business license. As for management, I don't have any proof, but if you give me a chance, I will prove it to you." Xiong Lijun said with a pat on his chest.

  "Alright, old bear, let's stop here for today and think about it some more. The conditions I can offer are as follows: Firstly, I will give you a one-time payment of 2000 yuan as compensation for your resignation. Secondly, I promise to pay you a monthly salary of no less than 100 yuan. Thirdly, if the business goes well, I will allocate shares to you in the future, up to a maximum of 20% of the total shares. Think about these three conditions."

  When Lin Zhenhua mentioned such specific conditions, Xiong Lijun suddenly felt a little flustered. He hesitated for a moment and said with a bitter smile: "Little Lin, the conditions you mentioned, I don't even dare to think about them. In the past, I also thought that if someone gave me 1000 yuan, I would resign and go do some small business, which is better than earning 42 yuan in the factory. But just now when you said this, my heart really felt a little unsettled."

  Lin Zhenhua said, "Old bear, I completely understand your feelings. After all, this is a big step in life, and it's not something that can be taken lightly. You should think carefully about it. However, I dare to guarantee that if you take this step, you will definitely not regret it."

  Lin Zhenhua said so, but he was very emotional in his heart. He dared to say that Xiong Lijun would never regret it, just because he had a understanding of the changes in Chinese society over the next 30 years. In 1980, no one knew how great the risk would be to give up an iron rice bowl. On this issue, he couldn't make decisions for Xiong Lijun, let him think about it himself.

  "Let me think about it." Xiong Lijun stood up, put the pack of Marlboro into his pocket, and slowly walked out of the moving team. "Little Lin, if Master Zhong comes, please ask for a leave on my behalf, just say that I hurt my foot and need to go back and rest."

  "What are you doing?" Lin Zhenhua asked.

  "I'll go for a walk on the riverbank and think carefully."