Chapter 61 - Tragedy and Comedy

ight sky.Upon returning home, Su Can immediately opened the box and assembled the telescope according to the instructions. This Celestial Wolf brand astronomical telescope was meant for them to remote...Chapter 61: Tragedy and Comedy

Lin Luoran returned to Chengdu with Wang Weiwei on Tuesday. It's said that many people saw them off before boarding the plane, which was when Lin Luoran went through Beijing and met several sisters she used to be close friends with but hadn't contacted in a long time and their respective friends. The group kept growing like a snowball as they visited various places day and night for quite some days. From one place to another, people would leave and new ones would come in. If the participants weren’t busy with their own businesses or affairs, it could have gone on indefinitely.

Later, some key figures gradually left, making the atmosphere cooler. Lin Luoran and Wang Weiwei had to return to Chengdu after two days of participation; before leaving, many personally came to see them off by car.

Wang Xianwei watched these warm-faced people at the airport and naturally thought of two scenes. When Wang Bo didn't have much power in the faction and was still working for a local government office without much status, every year when he returned home for New Year's greetings, he felt his family lacked confidence. Visiting some households, even those unimportant relatives who only held nominal positions could point fingers at him, Wang Bo, who worked in "local" administration. This made Wang Bo somewhat depressed. As for Wang Weiwei himself, he was clearly considered one of the most peripheral scions in Beijing. In Chengdu, he might just be a forgotten first-tier young master, living an isolated life where even going to small cities would draw gossip and ridicule.

During a visit to a minister's home back then, Wang Weixu remembered his father Wang Bo pointing at a corner of the house and instructing him: "You've always wondered why our place had such a large area set aside for decorations when we built it. That space was specifically made to display cigarettes and wine. Not only is it meant to show off to gift-givers, but also to your subordinates, colleagues, and rivals. It's about showing face; you need respect from others. Don't expect everyone privately to listen to you or give you face. But publicly, you must flaunt your popularity because that’s about respect."

Back then, Wang Weiwei found these words profound and hard to understand, but as he grew older, he gradually realized that perhaps his family lacked the "respect" mentioned by that elder leader.

As Wang Bo's status rose with his promotion to a high-ranking position in Chengdu, gaining influence within the faction, they seemed to have acquired what the elder leader once needed piles of gifts to demonstrate. Their group gradually came into view within Beijing’s vast social circle.

Wang Weisheng didn't know when exactly all this had started, but he knew his life's turning point began with an absurd circumstance that led him to meet a person destined for him.

Naturally after Lin Luoran and Wang Weiwei returned to Chengdu, they met Su Zhen, Lin Zhouda, Li Pengyu, and Lu Nannan again.

Lin Zhouwu was utterly disdainful of Lu Nannan and Li Pengyu's verbal flirtation with Lin Luoran, daring to say anything. But after meeting her in person, this kid actually approached her and said, "If I'm not married and you're not engaged, why don't we talk about it How about you just become my wife."

Aside from the bewildered Wang Qiqi, Su Can and Lin Zhouwu had different thoughts. Su Can secretly praised this person as a true practitioner; this move was quite subtle, clearly that of an old hand. However, Lin Zhouwu wondered if the kid's straightforwardness wouldn't get him sent off by Lin Luoran.

Who would have thought that after a moment of surprise, Lin Luoran looked at Su Can and smiled, shaking her head as she said to Lu Nannan, "No sincerity... but it's not impossible to consider. Let's put this aside for now and wait for the results."

Lu Nannan didn't know if he thought they were evaluating their first-tier companies, but he became particularly solicitous afterwards, kicking Li Pengyu—who usually sat in the front passenger seat of the jeep—to the back when getting into the car. He polished his seat repeatedly before formally inviting Lin Luoran to sit beside him. She suppressed her laughter and got in. Lu Nannan quickly took her suitcase and put it in the trunk.

At the provincial committee discussion, Gu Jiangtiao was presiding over the meeting. The atmosphere was somewhat awkwardly tense; there were two members of the provincial committee present: a deputy secretary and the Party Secretary of Rong City, Wang Bo. Others included representatives from departments such as the Development and Reform Commission, the Provincial Economic Information Commission, the Finance Department, and the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.

With pen in hand, Gu Jiangtiao waved it around while saying, "Dafeng Construction is one of the top state-owned enterprises within our province. I think that reducing state shares should set an example from companies like Dafeng Construction and Longteng Holdings. Since the State Council issued the 'Provisional Measures for the Management of Reduction in State Shares to Raise Social Security Funds' last June, Jiangsu companies have already taken the lead by proposing a reduction in their state shares during their new share issuance plans. Following that, cities like Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen have also advanced significantly. Although our province's economic construction and development cannot be compared with theirs, some enterprises in Anhui and Guangxi are boldly stepping forward, while we haven't made any progress besides observing pilot companies. I believe we should deeply understand the spirit of the central government and State Council. If we can't take a pioneering role, do we have to stick to old rules I tend towards having our Rong City enterprises take bold steps forward, shouldn't this be put on the agenda."

Gu Jiangtiao's speech seemed quite roundabout; he often spoke in terms of "whether" or not. However, today’s remarks concealed a chilling edge behind their meandering language. Holding his thick research report, Wang Bo frowned deeply; they were hitting the crux of the matter.

After some time, he said, "I'll reserve my opinion on several points. Firstly, this is a試行 measure issued by the Central Government and State Council, which has received mixed reactions since its release. As I know, the final outcome hasn't been determined as the State Council is still conducting research on this policy. In other words, specific issues should be analyzed specifically; it’s akin to tasting one's own food. The purpose of reducing state shares is to raise social security funds, but recent three-year statistics from our provincial bureau show that fluctuations in social security fund curves are not significant, and the annual funding gap needed isn't large either. Since there's no practical significance, a reduction might be unnecessary."

"Isn’t Party Secretary Wang’s perspective a bit narrow We need to view issues from multiple angles. The effects of shareholding system reform in Chinese enterprises have been far from thorough, and listed companies have frequently exposed numerous problems recently. In my understanding, it would be unrealistic for Rong City's companies not to have such or other minor issues. However, exposing these flaws is a positive thing; at least we can take preventive measures beforehand to avoid examples like Hubei’s 'Monkey King' and Henan’s 'Zheng Taigong', where excessive control by a single shareholder has led to problems."

Guo Jiangtiao's eyes narrowed sharply, and he struck out without hesitation. "The dominant role of state-owned economy in the national economy mainly manifests itself through control power. This is also an important direction for our reform of state-owned enterprises. Instead of being fixated on the necessity of quantity, shouldn't we focus more on enhancing the quality of state ownership The general interpretation of 'control power' usually implies absolute control when one holds over 50% of the shares. However, from a shareholding perspective, if equity is relatively dispersed, possessing even just 1% to 2% can allow for control and management of assets above that percentage. This isn't the most powerful demonstration of leadership's 'control power' Moreover, does not the status of being a major state shareholder remain intact We are also more likely to constrain the powers of related state-owned enterprise executives so that we have the ability to control any adverse situations or trends before they develop."

Many people present finally understood why Guo Jiangtiao appeared to be premeditated and planned during a series of provincial actions, including the selection of outstanding entrepreneurs in previous times.

Wang Bo wasn't sure if this was aimed at him or if it was meant to grasp power, diminish his control over the situation, thereby achieving his political ambition of full control over the province's economic lifeline

Wang Bo knew that Guo Jiangtiao wasn’t foolishly targeting him specifically. Even last time he had misunderstood him; Guo Jiangtiao was not showing off muscle against Su Licheng from Dafu Construction but due to a clash of their two completely different political ideologies.

Wang Bo knew that in Guo Jiangtiao's eyes, he was essentially a second-generation official who had been sent down from Beijing. For someone like Guo Jiangtiao who has truly worked hard through various difficulties to reach this point, Wang Bo being somewhat glaringly seen as such might be normal.

Truthfully speaking, if viewed from the perspective of normal politics, what Guo Jiangtiao proposed indeed had some merit. Reducing stakes in key state-owned enterprises like those held by Su Licheng would certainly impact control and pose risks for these executives’ futures, but if it could widely benefit overall development, this would be an inevitable trend, much like how outdated things eventually exit the historical stage. The thinking should also be more open.

However, Wang Bo recalled his conversation with Su Can in February, where they had probed into some political issues and Su Can had provided his insights on them. Perhaps even Su Can didn't realize that what he said would have a greater impact on him than imagined.

Wang Bo continued, "I still do not agree with this approach. The fabrication and fraud in the 'Monkey Land' case from Hebei and the 'Zheng Lord' case from Henan fundamentally stem from one-shareholder dominance. However, reducing state-owned shares cannot fundamentally resolve the issue of one-shareholder dominance. To truly address it, perhaps only Russia's寡頭政治 (oligarchic politics) and large-scale privatization would completely eliminate this problem. But what are the consequences of such oligarchic politics I believe everyone here either specializes in economics or policy research and should be aware of these outcomes."

"During the process of reducing state-owned shares, it’s possible to optimize the quality of state assets, but this carries a high degree of negotiability. For large enterprises like Dafu Construction with over a hundred billion yuan in provincial assets, every step we take should be handled cautiously and encouraged from a policy standpoint rather than making drastic changes. The process of reduction will inevitably lead to diversification of corporate property rights and economic structures. If this process is too rapid, it would deal a huge blow to the company’s power structure. Due to internal conflicts, disputes, power struggles, etc., interfering with the unity and authority of operational management can result in losses or even disintegration for the enterprise. We'll be held accountable for such consequences."

Wang Bo was essentially warning Gu Jiangtiao: "Don't act rashly. It's best to keep your political ambitions in check; otherwise, if you recklessly push for radical changes and bring down a provincial state-owned enterprise worth billions of yuan, the blame will fall on you, even if you're as capable as Sun Wukong."

Gu Jiangtiao narrowed his eyes as he looked at Wang Bo. Suppressing his anger, he said coolly, "I have already discussed this matter with Secretary Huang and Secretary Lu of the provincial committee. They agree on promoting reform through experimentation. If Secretary Wang has any differing opinions, we can discuss it further."

Soon, Wang Bo learned the outcome of their discussions. The provincial committee quickly convened a meeting to implement policies in line with central government guidelines, aiming to convert the results of pilot programs into practical measures. Soon after, the provincial government issued a directive on provisional management methods for reducing state-owned shares. These documents were distributed like snowflakes to relevant departments and units, and a special working group was established under Gu Jiangtiao's leadership.

Following these policy developments, Su Licheng called Wang Bo. "Just after Dayong Construction Group implemented the 'focus on major entities while letting minor ones go' policies, now they're changing course again. What does Gu Jiangtiao want Is he trying to force me out of office The companies we just adjusted have barely settled in when this is happening again. This constant upheaval is driving us mad."

Wang Bo knew that such changes would severely undermine the authority Su Licheng had painstakingly built up. Within Dayong Construction Group, how complicated and turbulent internal dynamics must be! Even a minor misstep could cause serious damage.

"Let's wait and see..." Wang Bo sighed. Gu Jiangtiao was overly focused on his offensive strategy, but Wang Bo felt that this might lead to excessive military expenditure. However, he couldn't deny the possibility of Gu Jiangtiao achieving victory in the end, which would make him even more domineering. "By the way, these days Su Chen has been visiting me often. Your daughter Wang Qi also returned from her trip, and Lin Zhouwu and some other friends have joined us for fun."

"Did you cause any trouble" Su Licheng smiled.

Wang Bo chuckled over the phone. "Not really. The kid is quite mature; he often chats with me. When we talked about this, I noticed that his perspective was even more forward-looking than yours."

"He mentioned some economic issues, such as reducing state-owned shares and increasing stock market supply. This could lead to significant speculative behavior and might be exploited by those with ulterior motives to artificially inflate share prices. His argument has merit; while short-term benefits are clear, the long-term impact is not positive. Artificially driving up prices through speculation isn't sustainable in the face of actual supply and demand dynamics, which should ultimately reflect market conditions realistically," Wang Bo said, expressing great confidence in Su Chen's insights.

Meanwhile, as Su Chen, Tang Wu, Wang Weicheng, Lin Luoran, and others were enjoying their vacation, an explosive event more dramatic than the intense ideological battles at the provincial level erupted within their social circle. Tragically, Liu Rui had been hospitalized after a car accident recently. However, joyfully, he was now out of the hospital and on his way to Chengdu with Xue Yiying to meet Su Chen and the others. The situation was developing rapidly; after all this buildup, it was about to reach its climax, and updates would be steady from then on.e man wearing glasses and looking very scholarly was sitting on a sofa, talking with a man around thirty who had a cigarette in his mouth. The man smoking the cigarette had one leg crossed over the ot...