The leaders from the Administration for Industry and Commerce arrived before Chen Yang and his group had even finished their meal.
In those days, without mobile phones, only leaders could find someone they wanted to see so quickly.
It turned out that Zheng Qiusheng had written the article back and, after it was approved by the leaders of the Anhui Provincial Daily, this report about "The First Private Business in the Nation with a Thousand People Lining Up to Buy Goods" was immediately placed on the front page.
Not only that, but Zheng Qiusheng also concurrently wrote another article explaining Chen Yang's personal business philosophy, "The Reason Behind the Thousand People Lining Up to Buy," which was also slated for the front page the following day.
The Anhui Provincial Daily's chief editor's report, "Anhui Province's Reform, the First Year of China's Private Economy," was scheduled for the front page the day after that.
Three consecutive front pages were silently secured, and all three front-page lead stories of the Anhui Provincial Daily revolved around Chen Yang and the Dream Radio receivers.
The Anhui Provincial Daily naturally sent a copy of the first finalized report to the Anhui Provincial Administration for Industry and Commerce. They also needed relevant departments to vet matters concerning the private economy before it could be approved for printing.
This was precisely why the leaders from the Administration for Industry and Commerce knew about this so quickly.
"Brother, this is Leader Jia from our Feishi Administration for Industry and Commerce. Last time, Leader Jia personally helped us arrange the storefront at the department store. Upon hearing my request, he also introduced me to the director of the electrical workshop at the Feishi Diesel Engine Factory."
Seeing the leaders from the Administration for Industry and Commerce arrive, Zhang Weiyang quickly whispered an introduction to Chen Yang.
"Director Jia, thank you. Without your strong support, our Dream Radio receivers would absolutely not have been able to establish a foothold in Feishi so quickly. We are truly grateful."
As soon as Chen Yang heard this, he quickly expressed his gratitude before the leaders could even greet them.
"Boss Chen, you are too kind."
"I'm counting on you to drive the development of Feishi's private economy. So far, we've only issued three business licenses, and the other two are small workshops that haven't shown any activity yet."
Jia Chengmin was also anxious. As the newly appointed director of the Administration for Industry and Commerce, he hadn't achieved any significant results.
Qinghe City had already pioneered the nation's first private business, and he had merely followed suit, capitalizing on the opportunity to have Dream Radio receivers open a branch in Feishi.
After all, Feishi was the provincial capital; it couldn't possibly lag behind Qinghe City!
"Director Jia, you're right. I came this time precisely to expand our scale. Feishi has much more territory than Qinghe. We've already opened nine branches in Qinghe, and I believe Feishi can support at least twelve."
"Coincidentally, we have encountered difficulties and were looking for assistance from the leadership. You have arrived just in time; you are truly our timely rain."
"Also, regarding commercial tax, we haven't even paid business tax yet. I've also been wanting to report this to the leadership. When doing business, we must pay taxes to the state; otherwise, we would be letting down Director Jia and your strong support for our development."
Chen Yang understood immediately that this Director Jia needed to demonstrate achievements. Thus, the two men hit it off.
Chen Yang needed to expand his scale, and Jia Chengmin needed to grow the private economy and achieve results.
"Boss Chen, whatever difficulties you have, please don't hesitate to tell us. We will absolutely not be ambiguous in helping you resolve them."
Upon hearing that Chen Yang was voluntarily offering to pay taxes, Jia Chengmin was overjoyed. This young man was truly sensible.
Little did he know, Chen Yang was also seeking a protective shield for himself. In the coming years, many business owners would be repeatedly apprehended.
As long as the higher authorities hadn't definitively set the policy, people wouldn't feel secure doing business. Chen Yang's willingness to pay taxes was to create achievements for these leaders.
In the future, he would have some connection with them. It was purely a matter of spending money to buy peace of mind, especially since there was no such thing as commercial tax yet in those years; it was Chen Yang who had voluntarily proposed it.
"Leader Jia, regarding our sourcing of goods, the electricians for repairing radios, as well as the venues, staffing for opening branches, and storefronts..."
Chen Yang outlined all his objectives for coming to Feishi and the difficulties he might encounter in each step, with Zhang Weiyang occasionally adding details.
If they had to handle these matters themselves, it would undoubtedly consume a significant amount of time. However, with the leadership's assistance, the situation was entirely different.
Jia Chengmin immediately made a decision: Chen Yang could choose storefronts near any state-owned department store or supply and marketing cooperative in Feishi and its subordinate counties and districts, and he would arrange for people to assist with leasing the shops.
As for personnel, they would reference the department store. State-owned department stores or supply and marketing cooperatives would select temporary workers to assist Chen Yang's team with sales. Their wages would be paid by Chen Yang, as long as they were not lower than their original salaries.
Regarding maintenance technicians and places for disposing of old radios and repairs, Jia Chengmin stated that he would investigate nearby state-owned factories. If there were any vacant warehouses, he could help arrange to rent one for Chen Yang's group.
These matters, which Chen Yang and Zhang Weiyang had initially found quite difficult to handle, became much simpler with Jia Chengmin's involvement.
There was no other way; their positions were different. After the establishment of the Administration for Industry and Commerce, all state-owned factories and large state-owned stores and supply and marketing cooperatives in Feishi, with the exception of some large enterprises under the ministries and provinces, were under the unified management of the Administration for Industry and Commerce.
Everyone had to listen to Director Jia, who naturally had the confidence and ability to help Chen Yang and his team solve their problems.
Over the next half a month, Chen Yang, Zhang Weiyang, and Lei Baoguo traversed almost all the counties and districts under Feishi's jurisdiction, assessing and training the selected employees.
All twelve branches in Feishi began operations. They held promotional events for each store opening, and with the publicity from the Anhui Provincial Daily, Dream Radio receivers had thoroughly made a name for themselves in Feishi.
The teams responsible for collecting old radios from various locations and the repair team in Feishi city were also formed, with the director of the electrical workshop at the Feishi Diesel Engine Factory personally overseeing them.
These skilled workers were eager to take on the work, being paid for each radio they repaired. The workshop director was naturally happy to undertake such beneficial work.
After being away for over half a month, Chen Yang also missed home, his wife, and his daughter and son.
He had never been away from his wife and children for such a long time!
Unbeknownst to Chen Yang, in Shenjiaba Village at this very moment, Shen Xue was feeling a headache looking at the little child squatting at the village entrance, refusing to go home. The little one missed her daddy these days and insisted on waiting at the village entrance every day for him.
Such a tiny person, she had almost become a small "observing father" rock.
"Yanyan, it's getting dark. Daddy won't be back today, can we wait for him at the village entrance tomorrow?"
"Grandma made Yanyan's favorite braised pork. Shall we go back and eat it?"
She tugged at the little child's arm, but the little one was surprisingly strong, plopping down on the ground and refusing to get up.
"Mommy, you're lying."
"Daddy will definitely come back. Daddy loves Yanyan the most. Daddy won't leave Yanyan."
"I'm not going back."
The little child pouted, hugging her arms across her chest, preventing Shen Xue from picking her up.
As darkness fell, Shen Xue was getting a headache from the child's antics. She had been coaxing her for a long time, but nothing she said worked.
"Wuwuwu, Mommy, Yanyan misses Daddy so much."
But before she could get angry, as the little one cried, her big, watery eyes began to stream with tears.
Seeing the pathetic state of the little child, her heart ached as if being cut by a knife, and she couldn't get angry at all.
This wretched person, who had been away for so long, didn't even think about his wife and children. His child missed him this much, and he still didn't come home.