0p0 Chapter 362 A Visionary Vision! A Perspective Beyond Its Time!
Chapter 362 A Visionary Vision! A Perspective Beyond Its Time!
after an hour.
The long dinner party has finally come to an end.
Watching Steve Jobs' presidential motorcade drive away, Zhao Ruilong secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Damn it, life really is like a play, it all depends on acting skills!"
"I barely got to eat any of the delicious food, but I did get to hear a lot of empty flattery!"
"However, being able to have a meal here with President Shen and the visiting US president is a highlight for me, Zhao Ruilong!"
With a sigh, Zhao Ruilong couldn't help but look around.
He couldn't help but think to himself.
How wonderful it would be if my father, Zhao Lichun, could host a banquet here one day to entertain visiting foreign presidents!
"Auspicious Dragon!"
President Shen's call brought Zhao Ruilong back to his senses.
"Well, what happened?"
"You're probably still hungry, aren't you? Come on, I'll go back with you and get some more!"
"I……"
Zhao Ruilong scratched his head awkwardly.
There were quite a few dishes at the luncheon.
Each dish was exquisitely presented, a true work of art, a feast for the eyes.
But with that kind of "just a taste" approach to eating, even a young man wouldn't be full.
I just took a bite of each dish with my chopsticks...
No wonder you can't get full from this!
"Look at you!"
"Let's go, I'm not full yet!"
Mr. Shen laughed heartily and turned to walk back first.
As soon as he sat down in the dining room, President Shen asked with a smile:
"You wouldn't mind reheating the leftovers and eating them again, would you?"
"I don't mind. If you don't mind, why should I?"
Zhao Ruilong took a sip of tea to moisten his throat.
"Besides, saving is honorable, while wasting is shameful!"
"My dad often taught me that I must save food."
"We cannot forget the hardships and difficulties of the past just because life is better now."
"During the great famine, people resorted to cannibalism! For thousands of years, the people of our Dragon Kingdom have suffered countless times from hunger, and we must never forget the tragic history of exchanging children to eat!"
"Although grain production is increasing and living conditions are improving, we must still strengthen the bottom line of food security and cultivate the good habit of saving food!"
In order to 'help his father succeed,' Zhao Ruilong naturally seized every opportunity to say a few good words for his father, Zhao Lichun.
Mr. Shen was born during a turbulent and chaotic wartime period.
They have suffered the torment of displacement, hunger, and cold, and witnessed the hellish scene of carnage and starvation.
Therefore, he particularly disliked extravagance and was very frugal in his life, saving as much as possible on food and daily necessities.
According to Su Changli, when he heard that Handong Province was strictly controlling public funds spending and prohibiting illegal dining and drinking, General Manager Shen was overjoyed and praised him profusely in his study.
and so……
How could Zhao Ruilong say that a state banquet-level delicacy that had only been eaten a few times should be thrown away and a new one made just because it got cold?
Besides, before Zhao Ruilong transmigrated, he was a poor, down-on-his-luck grassroots person, not someone who was so pretentious or particular.
Upon hearing Zhao Ruilong's words, President Shen smiled with satisfaction.
After taking a sip of tea, he looked out the window and said with a solemn expression:
"Although it is already 2002, there are still hundreds of millions of people in our Dragon Country who have barely achieved basic food and clothing and are far from being lifted out of poverty and becoming well-off."
“Especially in many remote rural areas in the central and western regions, the situation of being so poor that people can’t get enough to eat or go hungry is basically gone, but meat, eggs, milk, vegetables and fruits are not something that can be eaten whenever you want.”
"There are still many families who only go to the market to buy some meat during festivals, which is called 'having a feast.' They basically eat whatever vegetables and fruits are grown in the fields and can't afford to buy them!"
"Therefore, in order to increase their income and improve their lives, many people have to leave their hometowns and come to the city from the countryside. Even if they only do odd jobs on construction sites or in factories, their income can be much higher than in the countryside."
"However, this has led to a large influx of rural people into cities, resulting in a labor supply exceeding demand. Consequently, workers have long been in a weak position in labor relations, and their labor rights are difficult to be effectively protected."
"Factory enterprises are basically in an absolute dominant position. They offer very low wages, but people are still willing to work there, even if the work is not properly protected and will harm their health. They are simply risking their lives to make money."
"And what about the workers? It's not that they don't want to sign labor contracts and have safety and health guarantees, but what leverage do they have to negotiate? If you don't want to do it, there are plenty of people willing to do it. The last thing China has in abundance is people!"
Zhao Ruilong sat upright and nodded repeatedly.
People are having a hard time, and General Manager Shen is very worried!
He has a clear understanding of the current situation in the country and is a very pragmatic person.
Therefore, Zhao Ruilong knew that he absolutely could not speak empty words or platitudes in front of him.
"Although we have a sufficient labor force, the vast majority of them have low levels of education and lack professional skills, which means that most of them can only engage in manual labor."
"Manual labor itself does not create much value, and there is an oversupply, so it is naturally in a weak position. Even if they know they are being exploited, they have no choice!"
"To improve this situation, I think we still need to adhere to the principles of revitalizing the country through science and education and upgrading industries, so that more highly qualified talents can work in more high-tech industries, thereby creating high value and obtaining high returns!"
"It's like a migrant worker who only knows how to work hard on a construction site, demanding a labor contract, overtime pay for working more than eight hours a day, and social insurance and housing fund benefits. The contractor would just think he's crazy!"
"But what if it's a graduate student with solid professional knowledge in science and technology? Given the current shortage of talent in China, signing a contract, providing social security, and paying overtime are just the basics, plus a lot of other benefits!"
"Like at Huilong Electronics, in addition to what is required by labor law for scientific and technical personnel, we also provide an annual health check-up, longer paid leave for higher-level employees, and various bonuses and benefits!"
President Shen turned around and looked at Zhao Ruilong with a half-smile.
"I know that cultivating more high-caliber talent and high-tech industries would be of great benefit to the country and its people, but the problem is that this is not something that can be accomplished overnight."
"The serious overcapacity of labor and low-end production capacity that has plagued us for many years has been temporarily alleviated due to China's accession to the WTO and the surge in foreign trade exports, but it has not been resolved in the long run."
"And don't forget, high-tech industries can create high value, but they don't create many jobs. On the contrary, due to various forms of informatization and automation, the demand for low-skilled labor will decrease."
Seeing Zhao Ruilong frown, President Shen smiled and said:
"Think about it carefully, am I right?"
"The higher the level of technological development, the greater the degree to which machines replace human work."
"Just like your chip factory and your automated car production line, you probably already have quite a few industrial robots in use, right?"
"Compared to humans, they are not only tireless, but also work diligently all the time, and they don't have to worry about harsh working conditions affecting their health."
"In pursuit of high quality and high efficiency, more and more factories will inevitably move towards automation, which will reduce the demand for ordinary workers."
Zhao Ruilong nodded silently.
The situation that General Manager Shen described had already occurred before he traveled through time.
Many young people would rather deliver food, packages, or drive for ride-hailing services than work in factories.
Besides the low salaries and limited time flexibility, the high-precision mass production has largely become automated.
The jobs that still require hiring workers are often simple assembly and splicing, which don't require much skill. It's simply because manual labor is cheaper than robots.
Just like an automated car production line, from stamping and forming metal parts to welding and assembling them into a white body, and then to electrophoretic painting for corrosion and rust prevention, almost no one is involved in the entire process.
The final assembly workshop is where a large number of workers are truly needed.
Workers methodically assembled the parts onto the car on the assembly line.
Just keep repeating the actions of applying glue and screwing in screws, and do it according to the standard procedure.
If you don't even need to use your brain to think, how much technical skill is involved?
Although the research and development and testing of complete vehicles and their various components can provide many high-paying and high-benefit jobs, it only solves the problem of a small number of highly qualified talents.
For the majority of ordinary workers, who are unable to do high-tech jobs and are unwilling to engage in repetitive mechanical labor, they naturally prefer to choose freelance work.
But delivering food, delivering packages, driving for ride-hailing services...
Seemingly free, they are actually being exploited and oppressed by the platform's algorithm without their knowledge.
At this point, one after another, reheated dishes were served.
With a kind smile, President Shen handed a pair of chopsticks to Zhao Ruilong.
"Hey, what are you thinking about?"
"You don't actually think I'd abandon support for high-tech industries to protect jobs for ordinary people, do you?"
Zhao Ruilong shook his head decisively.
"No, no, how could I possibly think that?"
"For our Dragon Kingdom to prosper and become a leading power in science and technology, high-tech industries must be developed."
"Moreover, in order to enable more people to have high-quality employment and prevent highly skilled talents from competing with ordinary workers for jobs, the more high-tech industries there are, the better."
"Ideally, all the profitable high-tech industries in the world should be monopolized by the Chinese, otherwise we will still have to face the problem of labor and overcapacity."
President Shen laughed heartily.
"You're dreaming!"
"As it becomes increasingly difficult to seize by trickery and force, the West relies on high-tech industries to make huge profits and support its high-welfare and developed lifestyle."
“They will never let us monopolize all high-tech industries. They would be furious if we could even surpass them in some areas.”
"If we don't buy their high-tech products, but instead export similar products with better cost performance to them, it's no wonder we face anti-dumping investigations and tariffs!"
Zhao Ruilong sighed.
"As our industries continue to upgrade and develop, we will eventually become the world's factory, and even the production capacity of high-tech products will be excessive."
"Therefore, I think that among the three major drivers of economic growth—investment, exports, and consumption—the benefits of foreign trade exports will eventually run out."
"When foreign trade exports are weak, international investment is lacking, and economic growth lacks momentum, what should we do? Should we rely on massive quantitative easing and rampant borrowing to stimulate the economy through infrastructure investment?"
This time, it was President Shen's turn to shake his head decisively.
"That won't do!"
"Large-scale monetary easing for infrastructure construction can stimulate economic growth and improve infrastructure levels in the short term."
"But in the long run, this is a case of drinking poison to quench thirst, which will lead to a surge in government debt and exacerbate inflation!"
"Moreover, once the door is opened, a wave of urbanization and infrastructure construction will definitely sweep across the country. With excessive investment and redundant construction, bureaucratic capital will expand like never before."
"By then, the economy may appear to be booming, but in reality, housing prices and commodity prices will be soaring, and the quality of life and happiness index of ordinary people will inevitably be greatly reduced!"
"That's why I think the Handong model is good. It expands and strengthens the industrial economy while strictly controlling the overheated real estate market, and at the same time improves labor protection, so that people have money, time and willingness to consume."
"If we can build a consumer economy that allows most Chinese people to earn money and dare to spend it, even if the external environment deteriorates and the export economy suffers setbacks, the huge domestic consumer market can support our stable economic growth!"