A group of people chattered, piecing together the cause and effect of the matter.
Although he had a general idea over the phone yesterday and was somewhat mentally prepared, Wang Yu still listened with great indignation, his expression extremely gloomy.
As for the others, it goes without saying. Everyone was filled with righteous anger, except for Wu Lingling, whose expression was slightly heavy, appearing as solemn as Wang Yu.
"Capital..." she muttered to herself, unheard by anyone. Of course, even if they heard it, few would likely understand what she meant.
"Damn it, does the government not care about this Sanjing Conglomerate doing this?" Han Jun said indignantly from the side.
"It's not that they don't care, it's that they can't!" A low voice sounded. Secretary Yang had appeared among the crowd at some point.
Seeing his arrival, the people in the crowd quickly made way for him. This showed that Secretary Yang had considerable authority in his daily life.
"Wang Yu, since you're back, let's talk privately." Ignoring the people around him, Secretary Yang nodded to Wang Yu and said slowly in a solemn tone.
"Okay." Wang Yu agreed. He arranged for the people from the automobile factory to first appease the surrounding crowd, and then sent them back to their respective tasks.
As for Wu Lingling...
"I'll go see Xiao Ling. I haven't seen her for days. I wonder if her grades have slipped," Wu Lingling said directly. Before Wang Yu could say anything, she turned and left, appearing to be going to find Wang Yu's sister, Wang Ling.
"What a smart woman!" Wang Yu sighed inwardly. He naturally understood Wu Lingling's intention: to create space for him to talk privately.
Before long, Wang Yu followed Secretary Yang into the office building of the government department. To his surprise, he saw an old acquaintance, Lin Chunfeng, there.
"Brother Lin!" Wang Yu was a little surprised to find Lin Chunfeng here.
"I've been transferred to Jiangyang County as the executive. Surprised?" Lin Chunfeng greeted Wang Yu with a smile. "And as my first act, I've directly arranged for people to take down the big boss behind the Red Moon Ballroom, which should eliminate one of your worries."
The Red Moon Ballroom? Wang Yu was slightly taken aback. He remembered it was the party Liu Lu owed a huge amount of usury to. Although Wang Yu had managed to settle the debt through Zhao Laoda and their connections, he was still unwilling to deal with such unsavory characters. Keeping them around would be a ticking time bomb in the future, at least for his chief secretary Liu Lu. Who knew if they would come back to settle accounts in a couple of years and cause trouble? He hadn't expected Lin Chunfeng to be transferred here and coincidentally solve this hidden problem! This had caught Wang Yu off guard.
"Alright, we can catch up later," Secretary Yang waved his hand, speaking to Wang Yu and Lin Chunfeng, and then poured tea for the three of them from the boiled water in the electric kettle.
"Xiao Wang, the things your factory has developed are indeed excellent... very convenient and beneficial to the people." Secretary Yang's gaze was fixed on the electric kettle. "The only drawbacks are that there are too few varieties, the output is not high... or rather, the employment opportunities provided are too few. Do you understand what I mean?"
Hearing Secretary Yang's suggestive words, Wang Yu immediately understood.
"Secretary, are you referring to the matter with the Sanjing Conglomerate this time? What exactly is going on?"
"It's simple. The Metallurgical General Factory is cooperating with the Sanjing Conglomerate from Dong Can Country. They are now essentially a processing plant in our country," Lin Chunfeng explained from the side. "As you know, our country needs development now, and attracting investment is essential."
"Yes, I understand." Wang Yu nodded. The industrial base built by Qinglu Group in Jianglin City, and the negotiations Wang Yu had with top corporate magnates from Xizhou in Jianghan City, which even made provincial-level officials like Yu Chengyang almost grovel, clearly illustrated the point! On one hand, it was genuinely beneficial for official careers. On the other hand, it truly benefited the country and its people. Not to mention the employment problems for ordinary citizens, how many could be solved? It also stimulated domestic consumption, GDP, introduced large-scale foreign capital and advanced technology... the benefits were obvious.
"So, we initially maintained a supportive and optimistic attitude towards the cooperation between the Metallurgical General Factory and the Sanjing Conglomerate," Lin Chunfeng said, nodding. "But problems quickly arose. As you know, the Sanjing Conglomerate is the top conglomerate in Dong Can Country, almost monopolizing almost all of their national industries and economic lifelines. They are involved in and participate in all sectors."
"Yes, I've heard of it." Wang Yu nodded again. Companies like the Sanjing Conglomerate, which monopolized a nation's lifeline, were truly rare in the world... Although Dong Can Country's area was such that the daily weather forecast could be summarized in one sentence: it would rain nationwide tomorrow, or the sun would shine nationwide, but it was still a country, and one that was economically very developed and ranked among the top in the world!
"So this created a problem. After the Metallurgical General Factory and the Sanjing Conglomerate settled in, they began large-scale acquisitions and mergers of all factories," Secretary Yang said slowly, tapping his fingers on the tabletop, indicating his inner turmoil. "Almost all the factories in the county were acquired by them... well, except for your small industrial park. Many small factories that were unwilling to be acquired or merged were simply forced into bankruptcy by them through various means." Secretary Yang frowned and continued, "Then, as you know, they carried out massive layoffs of the original workers and then hired new workers at extremely low prices. The public was naturally resentful, but helpless."
"That's right. Even when our government wanted to intervene, we were helpless. They are operating legally and using normal business methods. We can't say anything. Otherwise, those guys from Dong Can Country will jump out and smear us in various ways, directly affecting the reputation of attracting investment in our country!" Lin Chunfeng also interjected, his tone filled with deep helplessness. "Private factories have almost all been merged and acquired. Even those that haven't are basically bankrupt. As for state-owned ones, it's even more so... Now all the workers are idle at home. The basic salary that our government pays to these state-owned workers every month is an extremely huge expenditure. Even if it's just the basic salary, it's causing the county's finances to almost collapse. Moreover, the workers are dissatisfied and are protesting in various ways."
"The situation is actually this severe." Wang Yu listened, his expression also solemn. This was blatant manipulation. These capital groups were directly bleeding the country dry, yet the government could only grit its teeth and endure! Otherwise, if they made a fuss, it could easily make other foreign investors hesitate and unwilling to enter.
"That's right, so we hope you can step forward and help us!" Lin Chunfeng and Secretary Yang suddenly stood up and bowed very seriously to Wang Yu.