"Boss, why are you here?"
When Ji Zheng opened the door, he saw Wen Liang standing outside. One can imagine how surprised he was.
Wen Liang smiled and said, "I came to Guanshan to do some work, but I just finished it now. It's too late to go back to Qingzhou, and I have nowhere to go, so I'm looking for you to stay for one night!"
Ji Zheng hurriedly welcomed him into the house and served him tea. Wen Liang looked around. This two-bedroom house was the dormitory building of the factory. It was decorated very simply and could not be compared with Fan Bo's conditions at Bencao Ruolan. He said, "It's a bit difficult. Wait until next year. I will take out some money from the account and buy you a house in Guanshan. You can also bring Aunt Su to live with you. It won't last long if you two live apart all the time."
"It's pretty good now. I used to live in a brick house when I was in Qinghua Factory. In winter, the cold air penetrated my bones through the cracks in the tiles, but I managed to survive. I'm in good health and I'm not that squeamish!" Ji Zheng has now devoted all his energy and efforts to Xinxing Factory. His spirit and energy have changed drastically compared to when he was in Qingzhou. He said sincerely, "I told the people in the logistics department a few times ago that if the staff dormitories are not enough, it would be a waste for me to live in these two-bedroom apartments alone. We can build another dormitory."
Wen Liang laughed and said, "Don't do that. If Aunt Su knew about this, she would think I was abusing you, the factory director!"
Ji Zheng smiled and stopped talking about it. He didn't mean to take credit in front of Wen Liang. For a leader like Wen Liang, if he really wanted to take credit, he should use the company's performance to speak, not to be so stupid as to pretend to be frugal and simple. But what he said was sincere. Since he started working at Xinxing Factory, he has worked very hard, if not devotedly. He only went back to Qingzhou once every three months to see his wife and daughter. He would stay for two days at most and then rush to Guanshan. He really regarded the factory as his home. It was precisely because of this awareness of dying if he didn't succeed that in just two years, relying on the profound foundation of Qinghua Factory, Xinxing Factory, just as its name suggests, gradually grew into a new leading enterprise in the chemical industry.
"I heard from Ji Su that you are good at chess? You have nothing to do, why don't you play a game?" Wen Liang said with a smile.
"Okay, but my level is average, don't spoil the boss's fun."
"It's the same for us. I'm a notorious chess player in Qingyi Middle School. It's my dad's fault. I learned chess from him when I was a kid. If the master is bad, the apprentice will be bad too."
Ji Zheng just smiled but didn't respond. Since Wen Huaiming was involved, he couldn't say anything. He took out a crystal chess set from the cabinet. It was exquisitely made and looked pleasing to the eye. After the chess pieces were set, the two armies faced each other. Wen Liang played a cannon in a proper manner, while Ji Zheng jumped his horse. They fought back and forth for dozens of moves. Neither of them was modest. Although their skills were average, they were evenly matched and had fun.
“…Uncle Ji, I would like to hear your opinion on the next development of Xinxing Factory.”
Wen Liang had just been tricked by Ji Zheng with a chariot, but he also unexpectedly captured one of Ji Zheng's horses, picked up a side pawn, and calmly moved forward a step.
Ji Zheng ignored the pawn and continued to pull the cannon back to the corner according to his own thinking. He said, "I have been thinking about this problem recently... After the redistribution of market resources in the past two years, the water treatment and equipment market along the Yellow River and Huai River Basin has become saturated. Fighting with those old state-owned enterprises here will reduce the company's profit margin. So I think it’s time to turn our attention to the Yangtze River and Pearl River Delta regions... Ha, general!"
Wen Liang Feixiang interrupted Ji Zheng's attack and said, "You can't eat hot tofu in a hurry. This step is a bit early... Develop southward. Do you think now is a good time?"
"I think the time is ripe. We have just experienced the Huaihe River pollution incident. The painful lesson is still fresh in our minds. From the central government to the local governments, we have begun to pay attention to environmental protection. With the government's attention, enterprises dare not deal with it perfunctorily. Even if they are lip-service and like to do some superficial work, they have to put the sewage treatment equipment openly, right? The biggest problem for the sales department in the past was how to persuade the sewage-discharging enterprises to agree to increase the cost investment to purchase water treatment facilities, and then how to persuade them to agree to buy our products. The former is even more difficult than the latter. But now under the government's high-pressure policy, it is a consensus that enterprises must have sewage treatment facilities. They only need to choose emerging products from many products, which virtually reduces the difficulty of sales. This is crucial to opening up the southern market!"
Ji Zheng spoke eloquently and had detailed and feasible plans on how to expand the southern market, how to set up branches to gain a foothold, and how to deal with the complex relationship between the local government and enterprises. It was obvious that he did not speak on impulse but had prepared for it in advance.
Wen Liang listened to his words carefully, and the pawn that had crossed the river also moved to the enemy's central area, quietly occupying an excellent position, then Pegasus lay down, laughing and said, "General!"
Ji Zheng mobilized all his chariots, horses and artillery to besiege Wen Liang's lair, but each time he was just one step away from taking it. Unexpectedly, his general was trapped in a deadly situation by a pawn. He said in annoyance, "It doesn't count, it doesn't count. Let me regret it."
Wen Liang nodded in agreement, letting him start over again, and said meaningfully: "Uncle Ji, the better the situation is, the more cautious we should be. You mentioned earlier that entering the southern market has so many benefits, but you didn't mention a possible problem..."
Ji Zheng opened his mouth to explain, but Wen Liang smiled and waved his hand, saying, "I understand what you mean. The reason you didn't mention it is because you are confident that you can solve any problems you face next. That's good. I just want to remind you to always be prepared for danger in times of peace. It is the long-term solution to plan for failure before success."
He threw away the chess piece in his hand, stood up and walked back and forth twice, saying: "I basically agree with the strategy of going south, but going south is just to fill your stomach, but you haven't taken any steps yet. Not long ago, I saw a water quality data on groundwater monitoring wells from the Ministry of Water Resources. Among the 668 cities in the country, more than 400 are currently in a state of water shortage, most of which are due to water pollution. For example, Ningbo in Jiangyue Province is located at the intersection of Yongjiang River, Yaojiang River and Fenghua River. The water resources are so abundant, but due to serious water pollution, when water is most scarce, water trucks need to run day and night to transport water from rural rivers into the city... The current core business of Xinxing Factory is water treatment projects for large sewage discharge enterprises, but in view of the high cost of water treatment equipment and the long replacement period caused by durability, once the market is saturated, it is difficult to seek sustainable performance growth points. Therefore, in the near future, I hope to shift the company's research and development focus to water projects such as the design, operation, management and financing of urban tap water and sewage treatment..."
“Water… Water…”
Ji Zheng repeated this several times, and felt a buzzing in his head, as if a door to another world had opened in an instant. It was a vast and boundless world, with gold everywhere. His eyes immediately emitted a dazzling light, but it did not last long, and then dimmed again. He smiled bitterly and said, "I'm afraid private capital does not have an entry permit for this industry..."
Wen Liang opened the window and looked through the glass at the emerging factory hidden in the night. He said, "According to the information we got from above, the country will vigorously promote the urbanization process in the next two years. It is expected to reach 47.5% by 2010. The urban population will increase by 91% compared to 1991. People need water, and the water industry will usher in rocket-like rapid growth."
Ji Zheng knew that Wen Liang had great power and a complex network of relationships in the capital, so he was not surprised that he could detect the actions of the top leaders. He said, "If this is true, if we can get in, we will definitely be able to achieve great things. But for so many years, water services have always been a monopoly industry. It is really too difficult to open a gap..."
"Because it is difficult, it is highly exclusive, and the competition is not as fierce as in the chemical industry," Wen Liang turned his head and said, "As for the access permit, it is actually not as difficult as you think. Once the urbanization process is promoted, the water supply and decontamination capabilities of the existing water companies will be greatly tested due to the limitations of technology and management level. You know the problems of state-owned enterprises best, and privatization reform will inevitably be carried out at that time. Reform is our opportunity to obtain the access permit!"
Ji Zheng's eyes lit up again, and he said, "That's right. Not to mention urbanization in the future, even now many water plants are losing money. Reform is inevitable! As long as there is reform, it is like opening a loophole. If it is operated properly, it is not impossible to open up a few private enterprises under certain conditions and conduct pilot reforms first!"
Wen Liang nodded. After all, Ji Zheng came from a state-owned enterprise, so he had a quick mind and saw the essence of the problem at once. The key to breaking the monopoly of water services is not the reform itself. Reform only provides a pretext, and the specific operation still depends on people. Otherwise, if they only carry out internal restructuring and mergers and acquisitions and do not play with private capital, what is the point of reform
"Of course, this is a long-term strategic goal, not something that can be achieved in a year or two, so for now we should focus on going south. On this basis, you should start to establish an engineering technology research center, consciously cultivate talents in water affairs, and actively contact relevant people in the water conservancy department. Opportunities are only reserved for those who are prepared. When the time is right, we can take the lead and jump out of this red ocean and enter another blue ocean!"
Those who do not plan for the whole life are not qualified to plan for the moment. What Ji Zheng admires most about Wen Liang is his strategic vision that always goes beyond the vision of people at the time. Whenever you think you have caught up with him, you will understand in the next second that what you have caught up with is just an illusory shadow in the sun.
"Understood, boss, don't worry!"
Ji Zheng felt full of energy again. Just as he had just led Xinxing Factory to stand up from the ruins, he also had the confidence to equip Xinxing Factory with wings to take off. (To be continued)