"Everyone, please ensure your factory uniforms are neat. Also, no leave is allowed for day shifts before the inspection ends on Friday. Those with urgent matters can swap shifts with each other."
"Prepare all relevant documents and materials; don't miss anything."
"The meeting room also needs to be set up well. The electronic display screen better not give me any trouble these days."
"Regarding the cafeteria, have more variety in dishes these days, but don't overdo it. Inform the grassroots employees to not speak out of turn."
"Most importantly, pay attention to hygiene, and oh, the staff dormitories need tidying up."
"Zhang Xuhui, remember to coordinate well with the leader's secretary. If you're unsure about anything, notify me immediately."
"These are all I can think of for now. If anyone has suggestions, please add them. This inspection is very important to the company, and I hope everyone can put their heads together."
Tan Jincheng had never experienced an inspection of this level.
Besides clumsily imitating what he saw in the news, all he could do was search on Baidu.
Fortunately, internet users these days are all-powerful, and they can say anything.
Anyway, there was no real-name system.
He posted on the Tianya Forum using an alias, and it indeed attracted many replies.
Although most of the replies were teasing, useful information was indeed present.
The Tianya Forum was very popular in the early 2000s.
Although "Those Things in the Ming Dynasty," which Tan Jincheng was most familiar with, had not yet begun serialization, there were still all sorts of popular posts that year.
"What are all floating clouds" ("神马都是浮云") became a popular online phrase in 2005, originating from a hot post on Tianya that year.
Another post, praising Xiao Rizi and using GDP figures and data to belittle Guo Jia, contained the astonishing and bold statement,
"We have always been unable to defeat Xiao Rizi; everyone should just give up."
If this were a decade or so later, simply deleting the post wouldn't be enough.
This post immediately sparked heated debate and also drew a famous rebuttal post.
Another user, also using an alias, used various data analyses to state that our GDP would definitely catch up to Xiao Rizi before 2030.
In reality, it didn't take that long.
I remember our total GDP surpassed Xiao Rizi in 2010, ranking second in the world.
I wonder what kind of mood that "Japan-flatterer" was in when he looked back at his post five years later.
Regardless of future economic trends, the rapid development at the turn of the century was indeed unquestionable.
However, there was no way around it; at that time, the mentality of fawning over foreign things was still quite severe, with all sorts of "jing" (Japanophile, etc.).
This is also one of the reasons why Tan Jincheng chose to break into the e-bike industry.
The e-bike brand can be said to be a clean slate in China that has not been impacted by foreign brands.
Everyone uses domestic products; at most, they introduce some foreign equipment to brag about.
The competitive environment is relatively harmonious.
In fact, making mobile phones during this period would also work.
Before 3G came online, "shanzhai" (knockoff) phones were a very profitable industry.
Accumulate capital and then establish a new brand to become a legitimate player, operating like Xiaomi.
But how to put it, consumers, at least for the next seven to eight years, would still be more accepting of foreign brands.
The mobile phone industry not only had to face domestic competitors but also constantly compete with foreign brands, often getting into verbal disputes, which was quite annoying.
With Tan Jincheng's small stature, he probably wouldn't be able to withstand it at that time.
Without tens of billions, or even hundreds of billions, in investment, a mobile phone factory probably couldn't be built.
With that money, one could already start preparing for a car factory.
Therefore, the e-bike industry was the best.
Money came in quickly, and it could also iteratively accumulate battery technology.
In fact, not only new energy vehicles require very high battery technology, but e-bikes do too.
The development of two-wheeled electric vehicles has actually been on-going for many years.
Besides policy reasons, another major reason for its slow development has been unstable batteries and poor range.
Early two-wheeled electric vehicles had very short one-way travel distances and short battery lifespans.
It was only after nearly a decade of overcoming the four major technical issues of two-wheeled electric vehicles, including batteries, and the breakthrough in key technologies for lead-acid batteries, that they finally entered the consumer's view.
---
November 4th, Friday, Clear.
Just after seven in the morning, night shift workers had not yet left, and the factory area was relatively quiet.
Zhang Xuhui, who usually arrived at the company at eight, had already ridden his e-bike to the company entrance.
After parking his e-bike, Zhang Xuhui tightened his jacket.
It was still a bit cold on the e-bike early in the morning.
The average temperature in Yongcheng in November is around 16 degrees Celsius, with the lowest temperature even reaching about 2 degrees.
The climate is also very unstable; today's maximum temperature might be below 10 degrees, while tomorrow it could be twenty-five or twenty-six degrees.
This made it very difficult for newcomers from other regions in their first year.
After having breakfast at the cafeteria, Zhang Xuhui felt much warmer.
Due to heavy production tasks and to reduce employees' slacking off time, the Flash Tech cafeteria, which originally only served lunch and dinner, started serving breakfast after the National Day holiday, selling it much cheaper than outside.
Day shift employees can come to the company to eat breakfast before the eight o'clock shift change, allowing them to quickly get into work mode when the shift starts, which is much better than those who bring breakfast to the company and slack off.
After a month of implementation, combined with the workshop's no-eating rule, most employees changing shifts have gotten used to arriving at the factory half an hour early for breakfast.
Work efficiency has indeed improved, making the subsidy quite worthwhile.
Zhang Xuhui lives in the apartment previously rented to Gu Qingqing.
For a freshly graduated university student, saying he cooks for himself would be a joke; therefore, all three of his meals are provided by the company.
The cafeteria staff all knew he was the boss's assistant, so his meals were definitely much better than average, and there was no fear of not getting enough nutrition.
After breakfast, Zhang Xuhui didn't rush to leave the cafeteria.
Instead, he meticulously checked the hygiene issues and reminded the cafeteria staff to be spirited today to welcome the inspection.
Zhang Xuhui had been very nervous this past week.
Such a high-level leader was someone no one in the company, including the boss, had ever met, and the boss had entrusted him with coordinating with the leader's secretary.
It was his first time receiving such an important task, and he was very anxious.
After checking the cafeteria's hygiene, Zhang Xuhui walked out of the cafeteria.
He still had many places to check, and his task for today was very heavy.
"I hope nothing goes wrong today."
Flash Tech's two factory areas combined are only over 4000 square meters, so today's itinerary wouldn't be too complicated.
The leaders would first visit the new factory area to see the installed production lines and allocate some workers there to assemble a few vehicles.
They would cooperate with accompanying reporters to take some photos, then return to the old factory area for a general tour, focusing on the production workshop.
After that, no one else would be involved, but the boss still had a meeting with the leader, for which he needed to take minutes.
They would also have lunch in the cafeteria and cooperate with some promotional activities.
The batch of employees transferred to the new factory area for cooperation had already gone over with the assistance of Production Department Manager Wang Guoxin and Sun Yuming.
The boss would also go directly to the new factory area shortly to greet the leader and his entourage.
He, on the other hand, needed to keep an eye on things here.
If anything went wrong, it would truly be embarrassing.
On another note, Tan Jincheng, who usually woke up after eight, also got up early today.
He woke up at seven in the morning, meticulously groomed himself, checked everything carefully, and only left home when he felt there were no problems.
In his previous life, he had read some novels online where protagonists appeared in important occasions or on stage wearing large shorts and slippers, looking unkempt, believing it was "down-to-earth."
Tan Jincheng always thought people with such ideas were somewhat idiotic.
You call that "down-to-earth"?
Even if you don't respect others, you should at least respect yourself.
It wasn't about dressing formally, but at least one should tidy themselves up; being clean and neat was always necessary.
Tan Jincheng's attire today could also be considered formal.
A simple pullover hoodie, paired with jeans and sneakers, with no accessories on him except for a watch.
The watch was still that Longines, not a precious watch, so it wouldn't be an issue even if photographed.
His overall attire leaned towards youthfulness, concealing his aura, slightly different from his usual company wear.
This approach also had its considerations: as long as he communicated well with reporters not to give him close-ups, people wouldn't pay attention to him.
Even if he appeared with the leader, without a specific introduction, ordinary people would only think he was a regular staff member of Flash Tech, responsible for explanations.
The company could be high-profile, but the entrepreneur himself should remain as low-key as possible, especially on such occasions.
Being in the spotlight might not necessarily be a good thing.
At 8:30, Tan Jincheng arrived at the new factory to wait.
The official inspection was scheduled to start at 9:00 AM.
After spending about half an hour there, the group would head straight to the old factory area, and after the key inspection, there would be a closed-door meeting.
Tan Jincheng was temporarily unaware of the contents of the closed-door meeting, but he could guess it would be related to the allocation of 150 mu of land.
If they could hold a meeting to discuss it, there must be a chance; otherwise, they would simply refuse, no need for such trouble.
At 9:00 AM, a large group arrived punctually at Flash Tech's new factory area in the Export Processing Zone.
Tan Jincheng and some company personnel were at the factory entrance, ready to welcome them.
He had seen him in the news.
After the car stopped, the great leader strode out.
This leader was two years younger than his father and two years older than his mother.
Damn it, look at him, then look at my old man, so unmotivated to make money!
Quickly shaking off these absurd thoughts, Tan Jincheng led the company staff forward to greet them.
"Welcome, leaders, for taking time out of your busy schedules to inspect our company!"
(End of Chapter)