"Today I'll help you process this batch of goods first. When we get back from Fei City, I'll discuss the factory matters with Director Zou."
Building a factory definitely required approval, registration, and filing with the Administration for Industry and Commerce; it wasn't as simple as opening a shop.
As of now, there wasn't a single privately-owned factory in the entire country, and perhaps not for many years to come.
This was because establishing a factory signified the complete recognition of the legitimacy of a private economy.
The factory owner and the workers had an employment relationship, which was the most significant differentiating factor between a factory and an individual industrial and commercial household.
Currently, any factory, large or small, across the nation was strictly state-owned; the state could employ workers.
However, private individuals were not qualified to employ workers, which sounded like those capitalist landlords from the old society. Su Dan Novel Network.
At this current stage, even Zou Chenguang would likely not dare to set such a precedent.
At the very least, they would have to wait for that historic conference to be convened for policy to loosen up a bit.
Of course, loosening would only be for a small portion of the individual economy.
Discussions on adhering to the principle of public ownership of the means of production continued even until 1987. It was evident that in the early stages of reform and opening up, there was virtually no soil for the survival of private economies.
In short, small-scale operations were permissible, but establishing factories in an organized manner was tantamount to acknowledging the legitimate status of private economies in the national economy.
This was something that could not be achieved at the moment.
After that historic conference was held, the curtain officially rose on reform and opening up. With the passage of time, the country gradually shifted away from the original "large and collective" ownership model.
Slowly, the development of non-public ownership economies began to be permitted, encouraging and guiding the development of domestic private and individual economies, while actively attracting foreign-funded enterprises to develop in China.
Later, after continuous improvement, it was not until 1997 that the basic economic system, with public ownership as the mainstay and diverse ownership economies developing together, was formally established.
According to the original timeline, the first business license for an individual industrial and commercial household in the country was issued in December 1980. Chen Yang had now brought this timeline forward to August 1978.
The first privately-owned factory in the country was established in 1984. As for the present, Chen Yang could only probe Zou Chenguang's intentions.
Even Zou Chenguang himself likely didn't have the authority to decide on this matter; it would probably have to be reported to the provincial level. As for whether the province would agree, Chen Yang was unsure.
After considering all this, Chen Yang could only smile bitterly in his heart.
It wasn't that he didn't want to go all out in industry, but rather that the policy didn't allow it yet. Wasn't "Shazi Guazi" (Crazy Guazi) arrested because their business grew too large and they were unsatisfied with just street vending?
They hired people and set up a workshop in a factory model, and then someone found fault and had them sent away.
In Qinghe City, Zou Chenguang could still protect him, but outside of Qinghe City, Chen Yang feared he might become the "Shazi Guazi" of this lifetime.
Perhaps, in future history books, during the reform and opening-up period, Chen Yang's arrest for establishing a factory could become a historical anecdote.
Therefore, this matter couldn't be handled with a fait accompli like opening a shop before. He dared to do that before because individual economies had already been largely recognized by the authorities.
Coupled with the consistent policy of "grasping the large and releasing the small," Chen Yang wasn't as worried.
But establishing a factory was different; this was a "big bird" for sure. Chen Yang wanted to make money, but he didn't want to risk his life for it and get caught before he could even spend it.
Having done it himself, he finally understood Zhang Weiyang's difficulties. For so many old radios, he had to record who he bought them from and at what price, keeping meticulous accounts.
Then, he had to roughly sort out those with minor issues and assign them, determining which ones should go to which repairman and which repairman was available, to be scheduled for repair first.
Unfortunately, they didn't have their own dedicated workers. They could only ask the electricians that Zhang Weiyang knew from Hongxing Machinery Factory to help with repairs when they were free.
While everyone was happy to earn some extra money, they still had their primary jobs. They couldn't neglect their main work just for a bit of extra income.
Therefore, arranging who would repair the machines was also a laborious task.
So, doing business in those times was truly not simple.
Chen Yang and Zhang Weiyang only finished arranging these things by seven or eight o'clock.
Lin Didi had already returned with Lei Baoguo, and dinner was ready.
Although the ceremony hadn't taken place yet, Zhang Weiyang and Lin Didi were already engaged, the betrothal gifts had been exchanged, and they had obtained their marriage certificate, so she had moved into Zhang's home.
Due to Zhang Weiyang's father's illness, Zhang Weiyang wasn't in the mood for a wedding, and the two of them were only missing the ceremony. Lin Didi was also a considerate person and didn't hold it against Zhang Weiyang.
At Zhang Weiyang's home, Chen Yang and Lei Baoguo had dinner and prepared to take the bus to Fei City the next morning.
This trip north was to first assess the performance of the shops in Fei City, and second, to capture the entire market there.
Fei City was much larger than Qingyuan City. Qingyuan City, including the county, had nine shops, while Fei City would definitely have ten or more. Chen Yang and Zhang Weiyang needed to handle all of this.
The next morning, Chen Yang carried the money he brought from home, plus what Zhang Weiyang had managed during this period, a total of nearly forty thousand yuan.
He carried a bulging bag of money. If Lei Baoguo wasn't accompanying him, Chen Yang wouldn't have dared to take the bus.
This was his savings accumulated over a long period, intended as seed capital for expanding business into surrounding cities. This time, he and Zhang Weiyang were determined to make a big splash.
A factory might not be feasible, but opening shops as individual industrial and commercial households could spread to Su Province, and the state would certainly approve.
If nothing else, in Anhui Province, the leaders in Fei City were strongly supporting Meng Hui Radios to open shops there, even allowing state-run department stores to rent out shop spaces to them as storefronts. This indicated that opening boldly was definitely not a problem.
With such a great opportunity, if Chen Yang didn't seize it, he would truly be wasting his lifetime of business acumen from his previous life.
This time, they sat on the bus for a full two to three hours before arriving in Fei City.
Fei City was the provincial capital. Although Qinghe City was a prefecture-level city, compared to Fei City, the difference was not a small one.
The electric trams running on the road were likely something most people in Qinghe City had never even seen. Chen Yang even saw some jeeps on the way, while four-wheeled vehicles were rarely seen on the roads in Qinghe City.
"Weiyang, let's go to the shop first."
Although they had seen their shop's signboard at the train station earlier, they needed to conduct an on-site inspection to know the actual sales situation.
Seeing the sales figures would give Chen Yang a better idea, especially since this time, he wasn't just dabbling.
Forty thousand yuan in the 1970s was definitely not a small sum. If he were to lose money, Chen Yang would feel a great pinch.