At a time when the industry was pessimistic about Hongqi, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) was under immense pressure. The deep-seated problems of state-owned enterprises had not formed overnight. As a developing country, many of China’s systems were established through trial and error, resulting in the current situation through historical accumulation.
The country is currently reforming this sector, but governing a large country is like cooking a small fish; improving a system that has been in place for decades is not a matter that can be resolved overnight. However, the outside world would not understand this, especially amid the widespread criticism over the Shenshi C-Class project. Various criticisms made the leaders very embarrassed.
In the current situation, although the progress of the Shenshi C-Class was not satisfactory, there was still hope. However, the problem lay in the fact that Lu Heming had initially raised people’s expectations too high. Now that the project had fallen from grace, it had become very passive.
If the project were to be scrapped, the 3 billion yuan invested in the early stages would go to waste, and at that time, public opinion would be the least of their problems. However, with Hongqi’s current situation, there was no suitable candidate to take over.
In fact, it wasn’t that there were no suitable candidates; it’s just that when talking to them, the leaders were met with excuses like “I am not capable enough” or “I am afraid I cannot take on the responsibility.”
It’s a joke; Hongqi is like a quagmire right now. Anyone taking over would have to face overwhelming criticism and scrutiny from below and supervision from above. Who would want to step into this mess at this time?
It was under such circumstances that Xu Guangsheng volunteered.
In the SASAC meeting room, Xu Guangsheng pledged before the leaders to take over the Shenshi C-Class project on behalf of Beiqi and promised to have the Shenshi C-Class off the production line within six months.
The leaders were overjoyed to finally find someone willing to take on the project. Their feelings could be described just like Guo Degang’s sketch "Eight Hopes":
Hoping for spring in the depths of winter, hoping for dawn at midnight. Beautiful women hoping for wealthy men, and idle... cough cough, let's just say they were very happy.
Moreover, Beiqi had a certain level of strength, so the matter quickly passed under Xu Guangsheng's operation.
With proper arrangements for the project's follow-up, this matter needed to be widely publicized.
Therefore, a major domestic media outlet officially announced: Beiqi takes over the Shenshi C-Class project!
To restore faith in a mess, what method would change people's perceptions? Personal heroism!
So, after the announcement, various mainstream and non-mainstream media began promoting Xu Guangsheng.
It must be said that although this person’s character wasn’t great, through various means and schemes over the years, he had a very impressive resume.
With media amplification and embellishment, Xu Guangsheng quickly became a savior-like figure.
In this manner, Beiqi fully took over the Shenshi C-Class project, while the long-standing Hongqi brand faced the fate of being shelved for the second time.
…
Luan Qingsheng, seeing the anxious atmosphere in the company, could no longer sit still.
There were already rumors that the company was about to be taken over, the Hongqi brand would be retained, but its assets would be dismantled and reorganized. Some would be reclaimed by Yiqi Group, and some would be auctioned off.
At first, he didn’t believe it; how could such a large company, with so much land, be dismantled with just a few words? This was Hongqi! A historic brand that had shone in the Republic's automobile sector since the early days of the founding of the country.
But the fact proved that in this highly market-oriented society, nothing is impossible.
That afternoon, SASAC sent people over. They gathered the company’s key personnel to discuss job redistribution.
It wasn't until the bewildered Luan Qingsheng heard his name on the layoff list that he realized how naive he had been.
Just last night, Xu Guangsheng was still reassuring him over the phone not to panic. Although the project was being transferred, the Red Flag company would continue. At the very least, he would secure a deputy general manager position for him at Red Flag!
Now, looking at the gloating eyes all around him, he realized he had truly been deceived.
Ever since Lü Heming was ousted, the things he reported were no longer a secret. In fact, they were never a secret from the start... it was just that he himself had been playing ostrich all along.
Now, the company was being split up, and the employees faced either layoffs or transfers. As a result, he became the target of everyone's anger.
"Hurt others and hurt yourself!"
"Serves you right!"
"Oh dear, some people, their ambitions are sky-high but their fate is as thin as paper... He brought others down and got himself unemployed, what was the point?"
"Exactly, the most infuriating part is that he not only ruined himself but also dragged others down. I've been transferred to Beiqi, and my wife and kids have to move with me. You tell me, leaving our house in Jinmen and having to rent in the capital, isn’t this just tormenting people?"
"You're actually better off, at least you still have a job. Poor Xiao Li and Xiao Zhang, their families pulled strings and pulled a lot of favors to get them into our company. Now they're unemployed just like that, where can they go to reason this out?"
"Hey! Look, isn’t this karma coming back? What is this, comrades? This is retribution in this life!"
Luan Qingsheng, with a stiff expression, numbly returned to his office amidst all the pointing and whispering.
He took out his phone with trembling hands and called Xu Guangsheng.
As soon as the call connected, he urgently asked, "President Xu! I've been laid off, what on earth is going on?"
"Old Luan, you got laid off? Oh dear, this is a mess. I didn't expect the higher-ups to split up Red Flag. You've been in the company doing technical work for so many years, logically speaking, they shouldn't have laid you off."
He replied with a pained expression, "President Xu, what should I do now? Didn't you say you'd fight for me? I can see it now, the higher-ups don't intend to keep Red Flag. If worse comes to worst, I'll go to your place! I don’t ask for much, just to stay on as a project manager!"
The tone on the other end was somewhat troubled, "Old Luan! You're an old comrade, how can you have no sense of organization? Personnel changes are decided by the higher-ups. As a general manager at Beiqi, how can I interfere with matters at Red Flag?"
By this point, Luan Qingsheng's voice was already choked with tears, "But, but you didn't say that before! President Xu, President Xu, you can't abandon me! President Xu, I'm begging you, don't leave me behind..."
"Hey, I can't do anything now. How about this, old Luan, you take a break first, and when an opportunity arises, I'll see if I can get you transferred to our place. I have a meeting now, let's talk later."
"Beep... beep... beep..."
Luan Qingsheng slumped to the ground, staring at the name on the phone screen that had once given him infinite hope but now pushed him into the abyss, and he could no longer hold back.
He smashed his phone to the ground, shattering it to pieces.
"Xu Guangsheng! Damn you!"
…
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