Chapter 115: Making Use of Chickens to Lay Eggs and Then Slaughtering the Chickens

With two buyers presenting concrete acquisition plans, Wu Zhengsi was greatly encouraged. He immediately called a meeting in the district and asked Li Xian and Yuan Daqing to return and wait for further news.

As Li Xian was about to leave, deep in thought about whether his plan would be approved, he heard Yuan Daqing call out from behind.

"Hmm?" He turned around to look at Yuan Daqing, the factory manager with a scowl on his face.

Yuan Daqing, who was slightly taller, looked around to make sure no one was nearby and then said, "Why are you everywhere? Why do you have to be so annoying?"

Hearing this, Li Xian chuckled, "Did I offend you, Manager Yuan?"

Yuan Daqing snorted and thought, if it weren't for you, I'd still be managing the factory well. Did I stir up trouble?

"Do you think you can compete with Beilin Paper Factory? What scale does your Xinlang Paper Factory have? A small factory with just over 200 people! And the Huiguang Paper Factory has over 1,500 employees! Look at yourself and then look at them. How can you compete?"

Faced with Yuan Daqing's rhetorical questions, which he clearly had no intention of answering, Li Xian smiled and shook his head.

"Just because… the 800-plus employees at Beilin Paper Factory are doing contract work for our Xinlang. Just because the manager of a small factory like mine hasn't been a lackey for others."

Yuan Daqing was left fuming and glaring as Li Xian quickly left the Beilin Hotel.

He had no desire to waste time with such people.

---

Back at Beilin Paper Factory, Zhao Dongliang and others had just returned from the district government for lunch. Seeing Li Xian, they immediately pulled him into the cafeteria.

Following yesterday's "pig slaughter" motivation, the cafeteria had improved its offerings. When Li Xian entered for the first time, the chef, without a word, prepared a special dish of fatty intestines. At the dining table, when Zhao Dongliang and the others asked about the progress of Li Xian's visit, he ate in silence.

The plan Li Xian discussed was quite simple in principle.

For example, if A has a large soybean field and employs B as a worker, but now A can't afford to cultivate the field and B isn't getting paid. At this point, C comes along, says the field will be used as equity with 100 yuan as capital, B contributes 100 yuan, and C contributes 200 yuan to establish a soybean company to continue using the field for production and profit.

It's that straightforward.

It might sound a bit convoluted, but it avoids the issue of "land ownership" by focusing on usage rights, making this model more feasible under current circumstances.

This reform method hadn't become popular at this time. According to Li Xian's memory, it wouldn't become widespread until next year in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions of the South, leading to a rapid emergence of many millionaires and billionaires.

Why was it so effective?

Because…

Using the soybean company example, when the company's profits greatly exceed the field's previous profits, the ownership of the land and facilities becomes irrelevant.

At that point, both A and B, as beneficiaries, would be eager to find ways to incorporate the land into the company.

And C, holding the majority of shares and controlling the company, would be the biggest beneficiary.

Later, this was regarded as the most significant and severe loss of state-owned assets in quantitative reform. However, compared to the prosperity of new companies and enterprises created for governments, employees, and operators, this actual loss was never pursued.

Companies that used the "making use of chickens to lay eggs and then slaughtering the chickens" model quickly developed with the help of local government partnerships, becoming pillars of the new Chinese economic system.

This method fundamentally determined that the reform beginning in 1992 was conducted on the edge of legality and even in a gray area.

But in terms of results, it succeeded.

Others might not know, but Li Xian did.

Unless there were unexpected circumstances.

Yes, unless there were unexpected circumstances.

At this stage, what Li Xian feared most was that the district might not recognize this entirely novel model. Compared to the other competitor, his foundation was indeed thinner.

He couldn't confirm whether he could succeed in acquiring the factory with a model never before seen, facing disadvantages in terms of funds, background, and scale.

Though he hadn't seen the Huiguang Paper Factory, from the investigation of the Pingxie Street, almost all wholesalers were handling Huiguang products, indicating that it was a leading brand in the tissue market in the Longjiang region.

Moreover, Li Xian vaguely remembered that Huiguang Paper Factory was the last enterprise linked with the Ma Shengli Group and was a major production pillar in the North for the group.

Although Ma Shengli had begun to falter, it wasn't entirely finished yet. At this stage, his small factory was still weaker compared to such a large entity.

Seeing Li Xian eating in silence, the others fell silent too. They knew the plan might face changes.

Just then, a conversation was heard at the entrance of the cafeteria.

"Manager Zhou, take another good look. In the entire Beilin area, you won't find another place like Beilin Paper Factory. Whether it's the production capacity or equipment, where else can you find such a good place? Moreover, our location in Li Bing City is closer to Daqing, making it unique!"

Yuan Daqing was aware that Li Xian also wanted to acquire Beilin Paper Factory, which made him feel a strong sense of crisis.

Yuan Daqing, who had recently been demoted and had little say in the factory, saw the transfer of Beilin Paper Factory as an opportunity.

A chance to make a profit!

After making various contacts, he had brought the general manager of Huiguang Paper Factory from his hometown in DQ City, promising to help facilitate communication. Huiguang Paper Factory, backed by Ma Shengli Group, had been doing well in the Northern market and was interested in expanding capacity, so they were keen on Beilin Paper Factory.

Given Yuan Daqing's managerial position and proactive approach, the other party promised him a 50,000 yuan service fee if the acquisition went through.

At this stage, Yuan Daqing was the most eager to facilitate the acquisition of Beilin Paper Factory by Huiguang, not Huiguang's own people.

With that, Yuan Daqing accompanied the manager named Zhou into the bustling cafeteria.

Seeing Li Xian eating with his bowl turned toward them, Yuan Daqing pointed him out. The manager, after a brief private conversation, approached Li Xian directly.

Without ceremony, he pulled out a chair and sat directly across from Li Xian.

"You're the Xinlang factory manager?"

Ignoring the rudeness, Li Xian continued eating noodles.

The manager smiled and said, "Your Xinlang's special products are quite good. We didn't expect detailed hygiene paper products to sell so well, but now we know. If you're thinking of merging with Beilin Paper Factory just because Xinlang's business is doing well, you should reconsider."

Seeing Li Xian's confused look, he extended a hand, "Just in case, I mean just in case. If one day Huiguang also starts producing detailed hygiene paper products, your Xinlang might lose its sales. If you expand so much, you might end up overwhelmed."

Li Xian paused his chopsticks for a moment, then continued eating slowly.

After chewing thoroughly and swallowing, he smiled slightly and said, "Manager Zhou of Huiguang, right? Well… I'll be waiting for that day."

---

At the district office, Wu Zhengsi and the state-owned assets committee discussed the specifics of the current property transfer but didn't reach a definitive conclusion.

Two months had passed since the 14th National Congress. Although there was talk of shifting to a market economy, there were few precedents for such reforms in decades of planned economy. Thus, the leadership had no clear decision regarding the proposals from Huiguang Paper Factory and Xinlang Paper Factory.

After a thorough discussion, Wu Zhengsi decided to submit the current situation to Liu Wanfa.

Upon receiving the report from Wu Zhengsi, Liu Wanfa briefly reviewed it and asked, "Old Wu, which of these two plans do you think is better?"

"Secretary Liu, I think the Huiguang Paper Factory's plan is more straightforward, but Xinlang Paper's plan is more refined and secure."

"Considering the current situation in our city, which method would be better?"

---

Wu Zhengsi realized; he might have wasted his trip.

He even had the subsequent conversation prepared: no matter what he said, Liu Wanfa's follow-up question would be "Is there a better method?" Whether he answered yes or no, the discussion would end with "You handle it."

In the system, "handling it" was the most difficult task.

If done well, it would be attributed to the leadership's guidance. If done poorly, the responsibility would fall entirely on him.

And the most awkward part was, due to the higher-level rules, he couldn't avoid it.

Thinking about this, and knowing that Li Xian's plan included a safety measure to keep the Beilin Paper Factory's equipment and production land intact, preventing state asset loss.

He gritted his teeth, "Secretary Liu, I actually came here to report that I'm preparing to implement… the second plan!"

Liu Wanfa crossed his hands on the desk, raised an eyebrow, and nodded solemnly.

"Ah, that's fine. You handle it."