lcionline Chapter 255 Speaking Frankly! I, Zhao Ruilong, admire talent like yours!
Chapter 255 Speaking Frankly! I, Zhao Ruilong, admire talent like yours!
Chapter 255 Speaking Frankly! I, Zhao Ruilong, admire talent like yours!
Ding Lehui took the initiative to make overtures.
Completely disregarding his status as the Secretary-General of the Organization Department, she attentively served him tea and water.
How could Zhao Ruilong not understand?
"That's right, we have to rely on ourselves!"
"Rely on Americans? Rely on the West? Hmph, wasn't the oppression and plunder we suffered more than a hundred years ago enough?"
Zhao Ruilong picked up his teacup and took a small sip.
She glanced sideways at Xiao Jinhua, who was lying motionless on the table.
"He's supposed to be the richest man in our Dragon Kingdom, surely he can't possibly have such a low alcohol tolerance?"
"Hey, Mr. Xiao? Mr. Xiao? Can you still drink? You're not really asleep, are you?"
Xiao Jinhua slowly raised his head.
"Ugh, I can't take it anymore! I'm fucking done for!"
"Today was filled with test drives and tours. I haven't been this tired in a long time. I really can't take it anymore."
"I'm forty years old, I can't compare to you, Ruilong. Let's call it a day for tonight, we'll drink again tomorrow!"
Zhao Ruilong nodded and said, "Okay, that's all for tonight. It's getting late, let's take you upstairs."
"No, no, I can go back to my room!"
Xiao Jinhua waved his hand and got up to leave.
As a result, he almost stumbled and fell.
Zhao Ruilong and Ding Lehui quickly helped him up, one on each side.
Outside the private room, Zhao Ruilong had already asked Lao Wan to take Qin Shuang home after get off work, but Xiao Jinhua's bodyguards and assistant were still waiting.
"Mr. Xiao has had too much to drink. Quickly take him back to his room to rest!"
"Okay, Mr. Zhao."
Xiao Jinhua, who was almost unconscious, was helped away for a while when he suddenly shouted:
"Wait a minute! Wait a minute!"
"Ruilong!!"
"Yes, I'm here! What's up?"
Zhao Ruilong smiled and replied.
"You and I, best brothers! Best brothers for life!"
"I'm really not in the zone today, let's... let's continue tomorrow! Let's keep going, old classmate!"
Zhao Ruilong smiled and nodded.
"Okay, you should go back and get some rest! Call me when you wake up tomorrow!"
"okay!"
Watching Xiao Jinhua being helped away, Zhao Ruilong turned and glanced at Ding Lehui.
Seeing that Zhao Ruilong had returned to the private room but had not left, Ding Lehui was overjoyed.
Because when they returned to the private room, it was just the two of them.
No matter what you talk about, it shows a great deal of trust in yourself!
So, suppressing his excitement, Ding Lehui gently closed the door and quickly approached Zhao Ruilong.
He took out a cigarette and offered it to me with a big smile.
"sit down!"
After Zhao Ruilong lit a cigarette, he looked at Ding Lehui, who had sat down but was sitting up straight.
"Don't be like that. I'm not a leader. Don't make me so nervous and uncomfortable."
"I think you have a good eye. In many ways, your ideas coincide with mine, so I'd like to chat with you a bit more."
Ding Lehui quickly replied modestly with a smile, "You flatter me. How could I possibly compare to you? It's just a coincidence that some of my thoughts and deductions happen to coincide with yours."
Ding Lehui knew, of course, that he couldn't be arrogant in front of Zhao Ruilong.
Not to mention that the two come from vastly different family backgrounds.
Even though he was the top scorer in his hometown county in the college entrance examination and a graduate of Yenching University, a top-tier university.
What can we do?
Although Zhao Ruilong graduated from Handong University, it may not be as well-known as Yenching University.
However, Zhao Ruilong is undeniably a prodigy in policy-making and investment.
Rumors circulate that Zhao Ruilong has played a significant role in planning and contributing to the high-quality economic and military-civilian integration development plan being implemented in Handong under the leadership of Secretary Zhao Lichun.
So even though Zhao Ruilong didn't hold any official position, Ding Lehui didn't look down on him at all; on the contrary, he admired him greatly.
"You studied economics at Yenching University and have been working in Handong for quite some time. Do you think there are any problems with the current financial policies?"
"Of course!"
Ding Lehui answered without hesitation:
"Our current financial industry and related policies are not very meaningful to ordinary people. Apart from saving money to earn interest, there is nothing else."
"Banks are too pragmatic. The more people are short of money, the less they will lend, forcing people to borrow money from relatives and friends or resort to high-interest loans when they urgently need money."
“In the eyes of banks, migrant workers work on construction sites every day and ordinary people work in factories day and night. Without a stable income and without social security contributions, they are considered high-risk unemployed people.”
"Small business owners borrow money everywhere to make ends meet, but they are easily labeled as having 'multiple loans' by banks and fail to pass risk control. On the other hand, big business owners who owe tens or hundreds of millions of yuan and do not repay them not only get away with it, but are treated like royalty."
“Listed companies can easily obtain low-interest loans by using embellished financial statements, and they can easily profit from shareholders by engaging in fraud and insider trading. Small and medium-sized enterprises, on the other hand, have to provide collateral or credit guarantees when they want to get bank loans.”
"Even with a guarantor or collateral, the credit line, loan amount, and interest rate depend on the bank. Without bribing officials or returning favors, small business owners can forget about getting low-interest loans."
"Therefore, I personally believe that if Handong wants to further optimize its business environment and encourage people to start businesses and invest, it should focus on financial policies to make it easier for ordinary people to obtain financing and loans, and to make those who break the law pay the heavy price they deserve!"
At this point, Ding Lehui gave a self-deprecating laugh.
"But to be honest, your perspective is determined by where you are!"
"Everyone has different perspectives and approaches to problems because of their different interests."
"Economics is never objective. Everyone will inevitably explain phenomena, make suggestions, and solve problems from the perspective of some interest."
"While some people represent the interests of the masses and support the development and progress of productive forces, there are bound to be others who only want their own selfish interests and only want to gain benefits."
"The financial industry, which makes money from money, is inherently exploitative. Driven by the selfish and self-interested nature of human beings, it is even easier to be driven by profit."
"Therefore, it is obviously very difficult to expect the financial industry to give up its exorbitant profits, lower its standards, and serve the real economy and the general public."
Ding Lehui's words reminded Zhao Ruilong of a certain renowned entrepreneur from before his time travel, who was called "Dad" by many people.
Regardless of the controversy, his Alipay has indeed benefited many people and forced banks to make numerous changes.
Fee reduction, improved service, lower loan interest rates...
These changes by the bank were neither administrative orders nor proactive measures.
Rather, they were forced to change in the mobile internet era, in competition with Alipay, a representative of online finance.
Therefore, in 2001 in China, before smartphones were even invented and mobile phones generally couldn't access the internet, this was a time when smartphones hadn't even been invented yet.
Getting the world's leading banks to make changes on their own initiative is easier said than done.
Millions of people who don't understand investment and financial management deposit their money in banks and withdraw their money from banks when they need it.
Why would a bank, with its superior status, voluntarily 'condescend'?
Therefore, under the current circumstances, relying solely on policy regulation will inevitably not yield ideal results.
The truly effective solution is to strengthen industry competition, that is, to let banks fight each other.
Taking a deep drag of his cigarette, Zhao Ruilong smiled and asked:
"Besides the financial sector, what other areas do you think need adjustments?"
Ding Lehui could not hide his excitement.
Zhao Ruilong's question meant that he acknowledged his previous answer.
In one's lifetime, there are few opportunities to showcase one's talents, gain recognition, and thus change one's destiny.
"I think we need to further strengthen market competition."
"A market economy is about survival of the fittest; it's impossible to only win and never lose."
"If a business is not doing well, it should pay the price. Only by ensuring the survival of the fittest can we ensure that the market economy is highly dynamic."
"When some people make money, they think it's because they're good at it, advocate free competition, and don't want government interference. But when they can't make money, they want the government to bail them out."
"This mentality that if someone makes money, they deserve it, and if they go bankrupt, the government has to help them out, might work during an economic boom, but what happens when the overall economic climate turns sour and there's no way to bail them out?"
"Without the survival of the fittest, and without making those who unjustly benefit or over-profit bear the corresponding costs, it is impossible to solve the structural problems of our market economy, and it will be difficult to achieve healthy and sustainable development."
"So I personally think that we should continue to let go of the life and death of enterprises, just like when Dafeng Factory went bankrupt. It's not that the government should provide unlimited bailouts to protect those few jobs just because a company is poorly managed."
Zhao Ruilong nodded silently.
If Handong wants to vigorously develop high-end industries, it must find ways to concentrate various factors such as talent, capital, and land in high-end industries.
Therefore, we should be ruthless towards low- and mid-end industries, allowing them to undergo a process of natural selection in the brutal and fierce market competition.
Just like fulfilling the contract and delivering the property on time and in good condition, it is a legal responsibility and obligation that real estate developers should fulfill.
Blind expansion leading to financial difficulties and the inability to continue projects is their own problem, what does it have to do with consumers?
When developers are unable to deliver properties on time and the government does not provide assistance, the projects are simply halted, leaving the properties unfinished and unsold to consumers.
Isn't this just kidnapping consumers and extorting money from the government?
Isn't this just throwing a tantrum and acting like a rogue?
Bankruptcy should be allowed if necessary, and those responsible should be held accountable.
The houses weren't even finished being built, yet the banks were already assessing and issuing loans.
If a building becomes an unfinished project, doesn't the bank bear any responsibility?
If a company or an industry needs government bailouts whenever it encounters difficulties.
We must maintain both stability and employment.
We must protect both consumption and tax revenue.
There are so many things to protect, is it possible to protect them all?
This is a matter of market economy, and market forces should determine it.
Just like the Jingzhou Dafeng Factory, which lacked competitiveness and was further embroiled in Cai Chenggong's mismanagement.
When a company goes bankrupt, thousands of employees lose their jobs, which is quite tragic.
But this is not a reason to use government revenue to bail them out or to use connections and favors to get them orders.
As it turned out, the bankruptcy and closure of Dafeng Factory did not cause much of a negative impact.
Most of the employees found new jobs, while some chose to start their own businesses.
Therefore, if the government is to provide a safety net, it will only be for the general public, not for businesses.
We can provide re-employment training and support for entrepreneurship.
It can even provide some assistance to those who are experiencing difficulties in life.
But we must not be too concerned about the survival of the company.
Are there any other ideas?
Zhao Ruilong asked with a smile.
Ding Lehui frowned and thought for a moment.
"I think we should also try to change people's mindset regarding consumption."
"For many years, including now, many people's mindset has been to try every means to make money."
"But isn't the ultimate goal of our efforts to develop the economy to enable more people to live a higher quality of life?"
"As we all know, investment, foreign trade and consumption are the three driving forces of economic growth, but our economy has relied on investment and foreign trade for too long."
"But investment and foreign trade will eventually weaken. If we don't boost consumption and create and stimulate greater domestic demand, our economy will be in danger."
Zhao Ruilong laughed and said, "Didn't you predict that the US would eventually experience a subprime crisis that would endanger the world?"
"If the subprime crisis breaks out and the global economy enters a great depression, do you think our consumption can withstand it?"
Ding Lehui shook his head decisively.
"We can't hold on! If we don't make adjustments during this period of economic growth, we simply won't be able to hold on in the future!"
"Consumption is not simply about discounts, promotions, or subsidies, nor is it simply about attracting people through cultural and tourism activities."
"Consumption is the result of a combination of factors, including fair income distribution, a relaxed working environment, comprehensive social welfare, and strong protection of consumer rights."
"Spending money to stimulate consumption can only be effective in the short term. If we really want to improve the consumer economy, we should solve the fundamental problems that restrict people's income growth and lack of time to consume."
Zhao Ruilong burst into laughter.
"That's right. If you had money and time, who the hell wouldn't enjoy life?"
"What's the point of stimulating spending by the wealthy? Their numbers are limited, and there are only 24 hours in a day."
"No matter how much you eat and drink or go on a shopping spree, the amount of consumption it generates is not much, and it may even allow foreign companies to make money instead."
"It's like a million dollars. If you give it to a rich person who already has everything, they will probably just use it for investment and financial management. But it's a very different story when you give it to a poor person."
"Those who have debts will pay them off, and those who don't have debts will inevitably buy houses, cars, clothes, eat out, watch movies, and travel, which will obviously improve their quality of life."
Ding Lehui nodded repeatedly in deep agreement.
"You're absolutely right."
"With weak consumption and insufficient domestic demand, we can't keep thinking about investing in projects or throwing money at stimulus."
"If we want the market economy in Handong to develop in a healthy and sustainable way, we must work hard on consumption."
"We must find ways to enable ordinary people to have money and time to consume, so it is necessary to improve wages and benefits and implement labor rights protection."
"But these two things will be very difficult to do, because the core competitiveness of many companies is cheap labor. Asking them to raise wages would be like taking their lives."
Zhao Ruilong's brows furrowed in a deep frown.
He knew, of course, that in China, where the labor supply currently exceeds demand, it would be extremely difficult to improve wages and provide job security.
Labor laws have been in effect for many years, yet how many companies allow their employees to work no more than 48 hours per week?
Even without signing a labor contract or paying overtime, there are still plenty of people willing to work there.
In 2001, the Dragon Kingdom, businesses simply did not have a problem finding employees.
Because in many people's eyes, it's already quite good if wages aren't withheld or deducted without reason.
As for social security contributions, high-temperature allowances, overtime pay, various paid leave, and year-end bonuses...
That's something I never even dared to imagine.
China has plenty of things, but plenty of people.
This leaves them without the ability to negotiate.
This makes it difficult for them to even meet the basic legal requirements regarding their labor income, working environment, and welfare benefits.
However, if we want to boost consumption and expand domestic demand, Handong must ensure that working people have both money and time to spend.
Otherwise, the local people of Handong will not be able to afford or enjoy the various high-tech products that are produced, so how can we expect sustainable economic development?
"Although it's difficult, we have to do it for the long term!"
"We must eliminate those low-end enterprises that survive by exploiting labor through low wages, long working hours, and the exploitation of workers!"
"Of course, before resorting to administrative means to forcibly intervene, all enterprises and institutions in Handong should set a good example!"
"Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you! Only when we correct ourselves and do it ourselves can we have the right to ask others to do the same!"
"Moreover, we have truly respected and protected workers, and we are able to continuously attract talent to Handong to live a good life where they can earn more and have an easier life!"
Taking a deep drag on his cigarette, Zhao Ruilong stubbed it out and smiled as he looked Ding Lehui up and down.
"You are not only quick-witted and have good vision, but you also care about the people."
“It will be difficult for you to fully realize your potential if you work with Lao Wu in organizational and personnel matters.”
"Have you ever considered changing departments or units? Or even resigning to become a senior executive at my Huilong Group!"
Ding Lehui was stunned.
He originally only wanted to curry favor with Zhao Ruilong in order to advance his career more quickly.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Ruilong wanted to recruit him into Huilong Group.
"You have a bright future within the system, so don't rush to conclusions. It's not too late to reply after you've thought it through."
Patting Ding Lehui on the shoulder, Zhao Ruilong got up and left.
Go upstairs, swipe your card, and enter the room.
Chen Yang, who had already changed into his pajamas, immediately pounced on the scene barefoot...