Chapter 215 Winery Duan Ming and Jiang Biyun were very surprised by Ning Wei's reaction. Duan Ming asked Jiang Biyun to find Ning Wei and brought Xiaodang in. This was not only to do him a favor, but was also a test. When Jiang Biyun learned that Qin Huairu was Ning Wei's mother-in-law, she unconsciously labeled Ning Wei as nepotism and unfit for important tasks. Unexpectedly, the result was completely different from what she expected. This made Jiang Biyun become more cautious. It seemed that Ning Wei was not that simple. When Ning Wei took people to the cafeteria to eat, Jiang Biyun couldn't help but look at Duan Ming. Duan Ming chuckled: "In that case, do you think there is anyone suitable?" Jiang Biyun said: "I have a classmate named Li Hong, who used to lead the radio gymnastics in our school." Duan Ming nodded and said, "That's fine. When the people arrive, you can show them to Director Ning." Jiang Biyun said, "I see." Then she looked at Wang Xia and said, "Xiao Wang, let's go eat too."
With Wang Xia around, Jiang Biyun could sit with Duan Ming. Otherwise, they would be alone and rumors would easily spread. Jiang Biyun doesn't want to cause trouble for herself. The three of them came to the cafeteria. Today was He Yuzhu's first day as the chef, and he also showed off some of his skills. I could smell the delicious food before I even entered the house. Especially the guys on Ning Wei's side, all of them are young men in their early twenties, which is the time when they can eat. In front of each person there were one or two bowls of rice or millet rice, and the side dishes were scrambled eggs with tomatoes and stir-fried vegetables, plus seaweed soup. Jiang Biyun and the other two ordered their food and sat down. Jiang Biyun asked: "Duan Ming, after you came back, who among us young people have you been in touch with?" Jiang Biyun knew that Ning Weidong brought her here because of Zheng Tong's friendship in the compound. However, Ning Weidong did not explain, and Jiang Biyun and Yuan Jun did not contact each other, so they just thought it was aimed at Zhong Yuemin. So he wanted to ask around to see if Duan Ming knew about Zhong Yuemin's situation. Although Zheng Tong and Zhong Yuemin are close friends, they haven't seen each other since returning from the northwest. Back when they were in the youth center, Duan Ming had a good relationship with Zhong Yuemin, and he was obviously trying to curry favor with him, so maybe he knew something about the situation. Duan Ming asked back: "Why, do you want to make arrangements?" Jiang Biyun said: "How can I have that kind of face? Besides, you guys haven't done anything, so why should I, a girl, make a fuss~" Duan Ming thought for a while while holding his chopsticks and said, "It's been two years. We were the only young people who went to Beijing at that time, and we haven't gotten together since we came back." In the past, Duan Ming would definitely not have had this idea. He doesn't even have a job. He just hangs around at home all day. His pockets are cleaner than his face. What is he doing? But it’s different now. Although he works for Ning Weidong in a large group, at least it’s a decent job, which has surpassed most of his peers.
Duan Ming now has the reason and the ability to act cool. …… In the evening, Zhao Ruyu got off work and drove to the company. When he saw Ning Weidong, he asked, "Someone from Speedlink is really coming!" During the day, Ning Weidong received a telegram and called Zhao Ruyu, but he did not explain in detail. Ning Weidong nodded: "I didn't expect that either." Zhao Ruyu sighed. Ning Weidong said, "Let's not talk about this for now. Think about it and see if there is an office building somewhere. There may not be enough space for the people here." Zhao Ruyu frowned and thought for a moment: "Office building...where can we go here~ unless we go to the suburbs." Ning Weidong said: "Don't worry, just ask around, it's best to find someone in the city." Zhao Ruyi agreed and said, "By the way, didn't you tell me last time that you were planning to open a winery?" Ning Weidong had told Zhao Ruyu before that he planned to start with wine in order to get rid of S from the Speed Union. But there was no rush. Ning Weidong planned to contact Natasha's father before considering it, but he didn't expect Zhao Ruyu to bring it up first. Ask Zhao Ruyu what's going on. Zhao Ruyi replied: "Today, I was chatting with a colleague at work and heard that a winery in Shunyi could no longer operate and was surviving on loans..." Ning Weidong listened carefully, and when she finished speaking, he asked, "How big is the winery, and what are the details?" Zhao Ruyi said, "It's not a small group. They say there are more than 300 people. It's a large group. I don't know anything else. We were just chatting today. I didn't beg for a chat." Ning Weidong thought for a moment and said, "Tomorrow you can find someone to find out what the situation is with the factory." Zhao Ruyi said, "It just so happens that I have a classmate in the First Light Industry Bureau. I'll call him now." After saying that, he went straight to the office, picked up the phone and dialed. Ning Weidong followed and heard Zhao Ruyu saying to the other side: "Hey, Gao Xinying... I'm Zhao Ruyu, and you still ask who I am!... I want to ask you something... Yes... There is a winery..." After a few minutes of talking on the phone, Zhao Ruyu hung up and said, "She said she would ask for me tomorrow." Ning Weidong expected this result. Although the winery belonged to Yiqing Bureau, it was located in another county and was not a well-known large factory. But it would be good news if we could really take over this winery. That night, after dinner, Zhao Ruyu did not leave. The bedroom she had originally arranged was still there, and the two of them spent the night together... Zhao Ruyu's classmate was quite reliable and replied the next afternoon. The situation of that winery was indeed similar to what Zhao Ruyu had said; it was on the verge of bankruptcy and could only barely maintain itself.
However, it is not easy for Ning Weidong to take over the winery as there are no corresponding official regulations. If you really want to use this winery, you can only go with the order or cooperation model. Ning Weidong thought about it and felt that this model might not be reliable, but there was no better way at the moment, so he decided to take a look first. I plan to take some time tomorrow to go and see it in person, and I said to Zhao Ruyu: "Ruyu, leave the car to me tomorrow." Zhao Ruyi asked, "Do you want to go and take a look?" Ning Weidong nodded: "This matter is of great importance, we must be more cautious." …… The next day, Ning Weidong called Ning Wei and Liu Dong early in the morning and drove straight to Shunyi. It is about thirty kilometers from the city center of Beijing to Shunyi. If it were in the future, with high-standard roads built, it would only take half an hour to get there. But at this time, the road out of the city was not so easy to travel. In addition, the performance of this 212 jeep was limited, and it took more than an hour to drive to the county town. This was thanks to Liu Dong who knew the way and sat in the passenger seat to lead the way, otherwise we might not have reached our destination even if we had gone astray for two hours. Fortunately, the weather was good today, neither too cold nor too hot. When they arrived at the cross street in the county town, Ning Weidong stopped the car and the three of them got out to stretch their muscles. The whole journey just now almost broke his bones, and even Ning Weidong's physical condition felt a little uncomfortable. Then I went down to find out the specific location of the winery. Ning Weidong took out a cigarette and lit one. Ning Wei and Liu Dong went to the nearby grocery store. After a while, two people came out with three bottles of soda. Handing a bottle to Ning Weidong, Ning Wei raised his hand and pointed to the north: "Third brother, the salesperson said to go north along the road from here and pass two intersections to find it." Ning Weidong nodded, threw away the cigarette in his hand, opened the soda and drank it in a few gulps. Ning Wei returned the soda bottle, and the three of them got in the car again and went straight to the winery. With a "squeak", Ning Weidong stepped on the brakes and stopped the car on the street opposite the winery. At this time, the rusty iron gate of the winery was open, and seven or eight mule-drawn carts were moving in. The carts were full of what should be raw materials for making wine. It was mid-September, the temperature was not low near noon, and the mule and horse carts gave off a foul odor. Ning Weidong didn't have to rush over. After all the big trucks had gone in, he calmly got off the car and walked to the entrance of the winery. Ning Wei walked in front and shouted "Comrade" to the window of the mail room. "Young comrade, who are you looking for?" There was an old man in his fifties in the mail room, looking at Ning Weidong and the other two.
Ning Wei said: "We are from Beijing and want to see your factory manager." The old man in the mailroom frowned. He didn't see Ning Weidong and the others getting off the car. He just thought that the three young people were making fun of him. He couldn't help but get angry and said, "Go, go, stop talking nonsense here." Ning Wei was not panicked and immediately took out the letter of introduction: "Comrade, this is our letter of introduction." Letters of introduction are still quite useful these days. When the old man in the mail room heard about the letter of introduction, he immediately took it seriously, took it through the window, and first looked at the letterhead and the stamp. The name at the top turned out to be the "Mechanical Department". He immediately did not dare to neglect it and put on a smiling face: "Three comrades, please wait a moment. I will call inside." After a while, three middle-aged men came out of the winery. Ning Weidong and the other two had already come in from outside. The three middle-aged men were surprised when they approached them. They didn't expect Ning Weidong and the others to be so young. After the meeting, introductions and reading of letters of introduction, Director Wang of the winery took Ning Weidong and others to the reception room inside. It is called a reception room, but it is actually a meeting room. This winery covers a large area, but there is not a single building; the workshops and offices are all bungalows. Most of the ground is made of dirt, with only a small part hardened with red bricks. However, the flower bed in front of the office is very nice, lush and full of flowers. "Manager Ning, I wonder what business you have in visiting our factory?" Director Wang asked cautiously. Dongyi Company is a department-level unit affiliated to a ministry, which means that the manager Ning Weidong is at least a section chief. At this age, he is already a regular student. What a concept! It came from the capital, who knows which Buddha this is. What he couldn't understand even more was why the other party came all the way to his shabby winery? Ning Weidong was a little disappointed. This so-called winery was really too shabby. With just this one factory, how much fake liquor can it produce in a year if it runs at full capacity? Ning Weidong said with a smile: "Wang Changzi, we came to the winery, of course we want to buy wine." Upon hearing this, Wang Changzi's eyes lit up. Just as Zhao Ruyu had learned before, the business of Shunyi Winery has not been very prosperous in the past two years. It is a small local winery with no famous flagship products. It only produces and sells its products locally and uses the channels of the supply and marketing cooperatives. Sales through the supply and marketing cooperatives have been very poor in the past two years, and many wines have been piled up on the counters of the supply and marketing cooperatives for several years. Seeing that the factory was becoming increasingly difficult, I didn’t expect that someone would come all the way from Beijing to help. Director Wang calmed down. He was the head of a factory after all, managing hundreds of people. He did not make a fuss, but just confirmed again: "Manager Ning, do you want to sell our wine?" Ning Weidong nodded: "Of course, not only will I buy it, but I will also buy as many as you have!" Director Wang and the two deputy directors beside him were completely shocked. The tone of the words was too loud. Although their factory is not very large, the annual output must be at least dozens of tons. Just based on the 500 ml bottling, it is tens of thousands of bottles. Although Director Wang thought it was unlikely, he did not refute it. Instead, he took the opportunity to say, "Manager Ning, are you serious?"
Ning Weidong said: "Of course I take it seriously, but..." When Director Wang heard this, he had already expected it and guessed that Ning Weidong must have something going on. Ning Weidong continued, "But your original wine is not good enough. You must modify the process according to my requirements, and the outer packaging must also be customized." "Technological transformation?" Director Wang frowned. He had worked in the winery all his life and did not think that an outsider had the right to dictate his profession. But he also knew the situation of the factory. After all, the special plane finally came, so he just patiently asked, "I wonder how Manager Ning plans to transform it?" Ning Weidong waved his hand: "Let's not talk about this for now. Can you take me to the workshop first?" Wang Changzi didn't hesitate: "That's no problem." After coming out of the reception room, I went to the koji making workshop first... Ning Weidong had some knowledge about winemaking but not in depth, so he just took a quick look at the workshop. The reason I asked to take a look was mainly because I wanted to see the work attitude of the people in the factory. As expected, starting from 1976, a large number of young people returned to the city. In order to accommodate these people, the factory had to add as many positions as possible, and the work that could originally be done by one person was forced to be done by two people. Naturally, a person's original salary will also be discounted. This has dealt a heavy blow to workers' enthusiasm for work. It takes a lifetime to learn to be good, but it only takes a moment to learn to be bad. Once the workload is reduced, someone will definitely be idle. We earn the same salary, so why should you just sit there doing nothing? I might as well not work hard either. How did the problem of having too many people and too little work come about? And no matter where you are, trouble is likely to occur when there are too many idle people. The operational difficulties faced by Shunyi Winery in the past two years are also related to this factor. Ning Weidong took a tour with Director Wang and could clearly feel the laziness and slackness of the workers in the factory. I couldn't help but feel mixed emotions. It has only been a few years, and at least in the early 1970s, the atmosphere was not like this, whether in state-owned factories or collective factories. At that time, the workers were full of enthusiasm and felt that working more was glorious and working less was shameful. Even if someone tries to be sneaky, they have to do it quietly, for fear of being discovered and criticized. But now... the situation is reversed. This is not the worst. In a few years, the situation will get worse and worse. Being cheating and not doing your job properly will become something to brag about, while being down-to-earth and hardworking will become a derogatory term, and people will even call you "idiot" behind your back. Ning Weidong took a deep breath and suppressed the thoughts in his mind. This was the inevitable evolution of the times and it was not something he could change.
Let's just stick to the facts and focus on the present. After just a tour around the site, Ning Weidong still hadn't made up his mind whether to start with this winery. (End of this chapter)