Chapter 005: If One is in a State-Owned Enterprise

Li Weidong let out a long sigh of resignation

While eating, my mother chatted away, discussing nothing more than trivial family matters. She could vividly recount for three to five minutes even about how the neighbor's cat went missing for a month and then returned with a big belly.

When it was finally his turn, he momentarily could not think of any good ways to make money

The previous generation inevitably held a preference for sons over daughters. Li Dengkai had four daughters in succession, and it was only with the fifth child that he finally had a son, Li Weidong. Naturally, he showered Li Weidong with all kinds of care, and the four sisters also exhibited a somewhat "supportive sister" demeanor. However, in that era, everyone was poor, and there were no material conditions to truly support their brother.

For those born in the 1950s and 1960s, having four or five siblings was quite normal; if a family had only two or three children, it was considered to have fewer. In that era, only children were as rare as giant pandas.

Li Weidong has four older sisters and one younger brother. The first three sisters are already married, while the fourth sister was assigned to work in a small county fifty kilometers away after graduating from junior high school, returning only once a month. His younger brother, Li Weimin, is currently in the first year of junior high school and is not performing well academically.

This also means that almost all means of production are allocated within the plan. State-owned enterprises will take the majority of the means of production, while the remainder will be taken by collective enterprises, leaving private enterprises with no possibility of obtaining means of production allocated within the plan

In the family compound of state-owned enterprises, if any child from a household were to become a self-employed individual, it would be tantamount to bringing shame upon the entire family, leaving the parents unable to hold their heads high in front of others

Although this dinner contained no meat whatsoever, when Li Weidong once again tasted his mother's cooking, tears could not help but roll down his cheeks.

"Going to the post office to buy a stack of monkey stamps? Not to mention that the monkey stamps were issued in 1980, and whether they can still be purchased now is another question. Even if the price of monkey stamps were to rise, that would be a matter for more than twenty years down the line. Setting up a street stall to become a self-employed individual? I fear my father would disapprove! As a formal employee of a large state-owned enterprise, I cannot afford to lose that reputation. Engaging in government bonds and foreign exchange? I do not have the capital for that, and besides, the severe crackdown from 1983 has only just passed. If I were to pursue such activities, I might be arrested for speculation and profiteering, and if I end up not making any money, I could spend a few years in prison, which would be a loss beyond measure."

Without electricity, without energy, without land, without transportation, and even without access to raw materials, how can private enterprises possibly survive

Li Weidong's family has three tile-roofed houses, which are considered to be in good condition within the residential compound of the transportation company. This is largely thanks to Li Dengke being a veteran figure in the transportation company, ranking relatively high in seniority, which enabled the allocation of these three spacious tile-roofed houses

Looking at this scene, Li Weidong couldn't help but sigh in his heart, how wonderful it would be if a few sisters could come back and the whole family could have a reunion dinner together

Therefore, the children of state-owned enterprise employees would rather work as temporary workers in state-owned enterprises than engage in street vending as self-employed individuals

Father Li Dengkai poured himself a small cup of locally produced Qinghe Daqu, took a small sip, and smacked his lips as if savoring the taste. Meanwhile, my younger brother Li Weimin kept stuffing his mouth with vegetables, as if he were a starving ghost reincarnated.

The Li Dengke couple raised a total of six children, which can be seen as a response to the call of the time that "more people means greater strength"

Thinking of this, Li Weidong couldn't help but curse under his breath: "Rebirth novels are all nonsense! I have been reborn, yet I still have to continue to survive in a state-owned enterprise!"

A segment from the Peking opera "The Red Lantern" played on the radio, and Li Denge hummed along while keeping the beat with his hand

In the early 1980s, China, apart from the special economic zones, had not yet developed the soil for the survival of private enterprises. Although policies had gradually begun to relax, it was still an era of transition from a planned economy to a market economy, with the planned economy still holding a dominant position

Li Weidong nodded and returned to the inner room to change out of the dark blue work uniform

"As a reincarnator who is well-versed in history, I should easily become a billionaire!" Li Weidong murmured to himself

The furnishings in the room were both familiar and unfamiliar. Li Weidong gazed at his young self in the mirror, momentarily lost in a daze, standing still in place

Yamamoto hosted a banquet, making friends with me, with thousands of cups and countless toasts, engaging in social interactions

In the early 1980s, individual entrepreneurs were synonymous with unemployed youth and even former convicts, being completely out of sync with mainstream society

This mirror was taken along when we moved later, but after the second move, it could no longer be found

Li Weidong let out a long sigh, suddenly feeling a sense of confusion about his future

"Weidong, after a long day of work in the workshop, come in and change your clothes; I have washed them for you," said mother with a loving expression.

For employees of state-owned enterprises, the term "individual business" sounds jarring and is even more visually striking.

When Li Weidong returned home, his mother, Zhou Xiuchun, had already prepared dinner, which included a plate of stir-fried cabbage, a plate of scallion mixed with tofu, and a plate of pickled vegetables

Throughout the 1980s, the private economy primarily developed in the form of small workshops, such as roasting sunflower seeds or making spicy sauces. These small workshops hardly utilized production materials and were not constrained by various "planned economy" restrictions.

After dinner, the academically challenged younger brother Li Weimin dashed out to play with his friends. Their father, Li Dengkai, turned on the radio and leaned back in his chair

If a rural person sets up a stall in the city and makes money, they will be regarded as the hope of the entire village; however, if a child of a state-owned enterprise sets up a street stall, it would undoubtedly be a disgrace to the entire factory

The family compound of the transportation company is essentially a large area of tile-roofed houses

Li Weidong returned to the auto repair workshop and found his "Erba Dabang" bicycle in the bicycle shed, riding it back to the transportation company's residential compound

Moreover, Li Weidong himself is a formal employee of a state-owned enterprise, making it even more unrealistic for him to become a self-employed individual

Sectors such as electricity, energy, transportation, land, and infrastructure are prioritized for state-owned enterprises, followed by collective enterprises, while private enterprises receive nothing

It is akin to what is written in rebirth novels, where one is reborn back to the late 1970s and early 1980s, starting a business, riding the wave of reform and opening up, developing all the way, breaking out of Asia, and heading towards the world. Within a few years, becoming one of the Fortune Global 500, entering the Forbes rankings, and calling Bill Gates and Steve Jobs brothers is even more absurd.

In the early 1980s, tube buildings were a feature found only in large cities. The Qinghe region, after all, is not as developed as Beijing, Shanghai, or Guangzhou, and there were not even any decent tube buildings. Even state-owned enterprise employees could only reside in large tile-roofed houses.

Li Weidong helped his mother to tidy up the dishes and chopsticks

In 1984, when I ventured into business, I could only resemble the early merchants from Wenzhou, carrying a large bag of small goods and traversing various cities.

At that time, although black-and-white televisions were already available, the economic conditions of Li Weidong's family still did not allow them to afford such a device; having a radio to listen to was already quite good.

In the 1990s, to say that someone was a self-employed individual meant that this person had made a considerable amount of money and would be envied by many. However, in the 1980s, especially in the early 1980s, the term "self-employed individual" was undoubtedly a derogatory term