Chapter 216 Have a Happy New Year (Ch 824453793)

January 31, 2027.
Lunar New Year in the South.
The management of Shanmei Bus Company had just returned from a meeting in the city, and everyone had a sad look on their face.
“Mr. He, what should we do now?”
Chairman He Jingguang looked helpless: “What can I do? Just let it sit!”
General Manager Zhang Huade also looked helpless: “There is no money for subsidies, and the bus routes are not profitable. It’s a dead end!”
“Didn’t the city’s fiscal revenue increase by more than 2 billion this year? How come there is no money?” another manager was very confused.
He Jingguang directly said what was in his heart: “Haha, don’t we need to fill the holes of the past few years? Don’t we need to pay salaries to the public sector? Which of the hospitals and schools is not more important than public transportation?”
“Mr. He, pay attention to the impact.” General Manager Zhang Huade quickly reminded.
“Haha…” He Jingguang seemed to be giving up hope.
However, the two of them did not know that the city was indeed very troubled by the situation of the bus company and had held several meetings to discuss how to relocate the bus company. After all, the city bus company had more than 200 employees, and including temporary workers, there were about 600 people.
With so many employees, New Year’s salary is a problem, but it is not a big problem. After all, the emergence of Hailufeng Company has greatly alleviated the local finances.
But the subsequent operating conditions are the real big problem.
If the subsequent operational problems cannot be solved, even if there are subsidies this year, there will still be losses next year. No one can stand the losses year after year.
What’s more, the city saw an application from a bus company a few days ago, which was to replace the batteries of the buses. More than half of the 1,295 new energy buses in the city need to replace batteries, and the battery replacement cost of each bus is 400,000 to 600,000 yuan.
The replacement cost is 325 million yuan.
In a few years, the remaining bus batteries will also need to be replaced, which will cost another 300 to 400 million yuan.
Obviously, this situation has become unbearable for the city.
After all, there has not been a major breakthrough in battery technology, especially for bus batteries, whose service life is generally around 5 to 8 years.
This is very fatal. Now the first batch of electric buses have reached the age for battery replacement. In the next two or three years, about one-third of the electric bus batteries will need to be replaced, and the battery replacement cost will reach hundreds of millions of yuan each year.
In addition, with the rise of taxi-hailing apps, rental electric bicycles, and shared bicycles over the years, as well as the aging population and the fact that buses are free for the elderly, these factors combined have resulted in the entire public transportation system’s income becoming less and less, while expenditures have not decreased much.
As a result, the public transportation system can only incur losses every year.
But now the bus companies are in a dilemma. As happy as they were when the electric buses were introduced, they are as unhappy now.
It is too late to switch back to diesel cars now, and the cost is beyond their ability to bear.
The battery needs to be replaced every year.
It’s basically a dilemma, and you’ll die either way.
At this time, someone in the city thought of the Hailufeng Company and sent someone to visit Jiang Miao to see if they could introduce investment from the Hailufeng Company to ease the financial pressure on the bus company.
Jiang Miao just came out of Shuya’s laboratory.
Just heard the news.
In the office.
Li Zixuan poured him tea, while business secretary Liu Deming reported the situation in detail, including the operating conditions of the city bus company and the problem of battery replacement. The city did not dare to conceal these situations, and in fact could not conceal them.
Jiang Haibo frowned and said, “Boss, this bus company is a bottomless pit. Although it only uses 53 million kWh of electricity per year, the battery replacement costs hundreds of millions. In 26 years, the bus company has only made 71 million yuan in revenue. The salary and benefits of employees add up to 70 to 80 million yuan. The loss is at least 120 million yuan per year.”
Jiang Miao took a sip of tea and said, “Deming, tell me about the detailed operation of the bus company.”
“Okay, boss.” Liu Deming flipped through the documents and said, “The bus company currently operates 1,295 electric buses, most of which are BYD K7s, with a total of 1,000 buses. Of the remaining 295 buses, 150 are Fuzun electric buses, and the rest are mini buses of the van type.”
Jiang Miao closed his eyes and rested.
“Due to slow charging and declining battery performance, the bus company adopts a model of replacing buses without changing drivers. That is, when a bus reaches a certain level of power, the driver will immediately replace it with another bus. In addition to some vehicles that are being repaired or scrapped, there are actually about 350 to 400 buses operating on the city’s roads at the same time.”
Liu Deming added: “Currently, the bus company operates a total of 108 routes. On average, there are about 3 to 4 buses running on each route at the same time.”
“That means more than half of the electric vehicles are on standby?”
“Yes.” Liu Deming nodded.
Jiang Miao shook his head: “No wonder the operating conditions are so poor, check the battery capacity of K7 and Fuzun.”
Liu Deming flipped through the documents, raised his head and replied: “Both electric vehicles use lithium iron phosphate. The K7 has a battery capacity of 114 kWh, which is the lowest-end version; the Fuzun 8.2 has a battery capacity of about 120 kWh. Both models are rated to have a range of about 240 kilometers.”
“A range of 240 kilometers? Power consumption per kilometer is 0.47 kWh?” Jiang Miao smiled.
The bus does not run long distances, and it stops frequently. The power consumption per kilometer is definitely not less than 0.8 degrees. In addition, the battery efficiency declines every year. At the beginning, it could only run about 140 kilometers. After seven or eight years of use, it is estimated that it can only run 60 to 70 kilometers when fully charged.
No wonder we have to change cars so frequently.
Liu Deming continued, “In fact, the bus system has introduced a battery replacement system since 2004, with an investment of more than 60 million yuan. However, after more than three years of operation, it only increased the range by 120% in the early stage, and now it is not working well anymore.”
Jiang Haibo sneered: “If we don’t solve the problem fundamentally and rely on replacing batteries and vehicles, the bus company will still be doomed.”
However, Jiang Miao did not say anything, but asked: “How does the city plan to attract investment?”
“There are two options. One is to sell all of Guangdong Transport’s 80% shares to us for one yuan, and let us manage and operate the bus company. The price is that we have to bear all the debts of the city’s bus system and ensure the normal operation of the bus system.”
“Another option is financial investment, where we inject capital and get a portion of the shares, and the amount is up to us to decide.”
Hearing this, Jiang Miao shook his head and said, “Take 80% of the shares.”
Financial investment? Financial investment is a joke.
Either don’t invest, or take over the controlling and management rights, otherwise the bus company will remain in a shabby state.
But Jiang Haibo was anxious and tried to persuade him: “Boss, even if we use our own electricity, we can’t offset the annual loss of 120 million!”
“I know, but I have a solution.”
Jiang Haibo did not doubt his boss’s words, but asked curiously: “I wonder how the boss is going to solve this problem?”
“Shuya developed a battery some time ago, which has a storage capacity two to three times that of lithium iron phosphate and a production cost only a dozen times that of lithium iron phosphate.”
“Really?” Jiang Haibo widened his eyes.
“The technology has been almost developed, and we can start preparing for mass production after the Chinese New Year.”
Jiang Haibo directly proposed: “Boss, why bother setting up a bus company? Wouldn’t it be better to just open a battery factory?”
“Haibo, we have to consider the local impact, and the bus company can conduct experiments. What’s more, the bus company has a lot of land and supporting facilities.” Jiang Miao doesn’t believe the bus company’s annual revenue of 71 million.
Advertisements at bus stops and on bus bodies.
Shop space for rent at bus station.
Public transport fares.
Moreover, those more than a thousand electric cars would be worth a lot of money even if they were sold as scrap metal.
In fact, the entire Shanmei City does not need 1,295 buses. Although there are 108 routes, many routes only have a few trips a day, and there are only forty or fifty core routes.
This is a typical case of rigid business operations and management problems. Now the bus company cannot stand still, but must launch a counterattack.
At least the daily turnover of each bus should be increased to more than 100 yuan.
As the management of Hailufeng Company reached an agreement, the city that received the notice also made quick arrangements.
In less than three days, the handover of the entire public transportation system was completed, and Hailufeng Company purchased 80% of the shares held by Guangdong Transport Company for one yuan.
The Guangdong Transport Company also wanted to get rid of this hot potato, which is why it went so smoothly. After all, the Shanmei Bus Company had been losing money every year under their hands. If they had not been unable to find a buyer, they would have wanted to run away long ago.
At the same time as Hailufeng Company purchased 80% of the shares, it also announced an investment of 200 million yuan in Shanmei Bus Company, increasing its shareholding to 95%.
In addition to using the money to repay nearly 76 million in debt, part of it was used to pay employees their overdue wages.
Business Secretary Liu Deming, on behalf of Jiang Miao and Hailufeng Company, brought the new management team to take over the bus company.
At the staff meeting.
Liu Deming spoke first: “I think everyone knows that the bus company is now officially merged into Hailufeng Company. Before announcing the next management change, the head office promised to make up for everyone’s previous salary and increase one month’s salary.”
Snap, snap, snap…
In the conference hall, the more than 300 people who came to attend the meeting quickly applauded.
At the same time, many people were whispering to each other.
The old driver smiled and whispered to his co-workers: “We can finally have a good New Year this year.”
“It turns out that Hailufeng Company acquired our company.”
“It’s really worthy of being called Hailufeng Company, it’s so rich and powerful!”
“Haha, so what about Hailufeng Company? Our bus company has been out of business for a long time. They probably took over this business just for the city’s sake.” An old driver looked indifferent.
“yes!”
“I don’t know how many years Hailufeng can last.”
“Hey! Let’s live one day at a time!”
Obviously these drivers are smart people. The Shanmei bus system has a lot of problems, and they don’t believe that Hailufeng Company can revive the bus company.
“Quiet!” Liu Deming reminded seriously.
Suddenly the scene fell into silence.
After a while, Liu Deming continued, “The company’s management personnel will be in place after the new year. We will only send supervisors and financial personnel to move in in the near future. But I have to say this in advance. Our boss doesn’t want to dwell on the past. Let’s part ways in peace. Before the new management is in place, I hope you will carefully consider whether to stay or leave. After all, our company’s management is very strict.”
Immediately afterwards, Liu Deming asked the deputy manager of the Supervision Department who came with him to play the relevant announcement on how Hailufeng Company dealt with the company’s parasites.
Suddenly, some people who had something to hide felt guilty.
Many drivers or grassroots employees who knew the situation looked at these people with a smile.
Liu Deming’s meaning was very clear, that is, he would not hold them accountable for the past, but asked them to resign voluntarily, otherwise they would bear the consequences themselves.
Faced with a newcomer like Hailufeng Company, these small shrimps really can’t resist. They may have connections, but they definitely can’t influence the decision of Hailufeng Company.
In order to revive the bus company, a major internal cleansing is essential.
Now Liu Deming is just using courtesy before force. If they don’t resign voluntarily after the Spring Festival, the new management will take action against these guys first when they are in place.
After the meeting.
Some people left with concerns.
Some people took their bank cards and went to the finance office temporarily stationed by Hailufeng Company to collect their previously overdue wages.
Most of the people who come to collect their wages are grassroots employees.
The veteran driver Lao Liu received the salary that had been in arrears for about half a year, plus one month’s bonus, a total of just over 35,000 yuan.
He was about to pick up a cigarette when he realized he had quit smoking for several months.
The veteran driver Lin Huozhou, who also received the money, patted Lao Liu on the shoulder and said, “Lao Liu, let’s go to the food stall in Linpu for a meal?”
Lao Liu also thought that they could go out for a good meal, so he suggested, “Let’s go to Gao Wen Ma Yu Kueh! I haven’t eaten there for a long time.”
“good.”
The two drove a small electric scooter, passed by the deserted Xinli Electronics Factory, and came to the Wansheng Knitting Factory on Tengfei Road, which was almost closed.
After parking the car, Lin Huolin, a local from Linpu, looked at the desolate Tengfei Road with deep emotion: “It used to be crowded with girls from the Truly Electronics Factory every day, but now it’s sparsely populated. It’s really desolate!”
“Don’t sigh. I’m almost starving. I have to go to work in the afternoon. I’ll eat and then go back to sleep.” Lao Liu hurried to the door of the food stall.
“Huh? Isn’t this Huo Lin and Lao Liu? I haven’t seen you for several months. What would you like to eat?” The boss Gao Wen wiped the stove with a rag.
Old Liu blurted out, “Same old, two fried rice noodles with mackerel and a bowl of bitter melon, pickled vegetables and mackerel soup.”
“Okay! Wait a minute, it will be ready soon.”
Old Liu sat down at the table near the door, and Lin Huolin took two glass bottles of Coke.
Handing a bottle of Coke to Lao Liu, Lin Huolin asked in a low voice: “Lao Liu, what do you think Secretary Liu of Hailufeng Company meant by what he said in the meeting just now?”
Lao Liu took a sip of Coke and said, “What does it mean? It means to make some people leave on their own accord.”
“Do you want to fire people?” Lin Huolin was a little confused by these twists and turns.
“We have to open it, but this matter has nothing to do with us. The acquisition agreement clearly states that we must maintain the normal operation of the public transportation system. We are all drivers, there is nothing to be afraid of!” Old Liu looked calm.
“Yeah, anyway, the ones who should leave are those guys.”
The two chatted and drank Coke.
After a while, the fried rice noodles with mackerel were served.
The so-called mackerel roe is the roe of conger eel.
They took a plate of fermented bean curd and chili sauce, mixed it into the rice noodles, and started eating.
There are only the boss and his wife in the slow-traffic store. Compared to the peak period when they hired two or three waiters and dishwashers, business is obviously not doing well now.
Gao Wen wiped the sweat from his forehead and sat next to the two of them.
“Huolin, I heard that your bus company hasn’t paid wages for half a year?”
After swallowing a mouthful of rice noodles, Lin Huolin wiped his mouth with a tissue: “Yes!”
“Every industry is having difficulties right now, and there aren’t many people working at the electronics factory.” Gao Wen smiled bitterly and gave the two men two more cigarettes.
Lin Huolin took the cigarette and put it on his ear: “It’s not bad! Our bus company was acquired by Hailufeng Company. Now we are making a living under Mr. Jiang. Life should be better.”
“Hailufeng Company? Why did they acquire your bus company? For charity?” Gao Wen joked.
Lin Huolin shook his head: “I don’t know, but I’ll just live one day at a time.”
“What about your salary?”
“The Hailufeng Company has paid me, and also gave me one more month’s performance bonus. Next, I need to save more money, or I won’t have to starve in the future.” Lin Huolin lowered his head and ate rice noodles.
Gao Wen lit a cigarette: “Huh…Boss Jiang probably wants to save face for the city. You really need to be frugal. Whether the bus company can continue to operate in the future is really a big problem!”
“Yes! I still have two children who are still in school. Old Liu is a little better, as his son has already graduated from college.”
“Bullshit, don’t mention it.” When Old Liu heard about his son, his face was very helpless: “My kid changed three jobs in Pengcheng this year, and saved less than 20,000 yuan in a year. If I rely on him to support me, I will starve.”
Lin Huolin laughed and scolded: “Your son still has 20,000 yuan, and my son and daughter are still in school. Who can I talk to? If it weren’t for my wife running a small business, we really couldn’t make ends meet.”
As it got closer to noon, the food stalls saw a slight increase in customer traffic.
And the other side.
Liu Deming, who was still at the bus company’s headquarters, received 36 resignation letters in just one morning. He had no intention of retaining them and simply accepted their resignations on behalf of the company with a stroke of his pen.
Obviously, many people are aware that Hailufeng Company is not something they can control or confront.
If he really doesn’t know how to appreciate the favor he has been given, he will be in big trouble once Hailufeng Company checks the old accounts.
In less than two days, almost 70% of the management submitted their resignation letters, and more than a dozen store tenants also submitted written notices to Liu Deming requesting to terminate their lease contracts.
While approving the resignation of these people, Liu Deming transferred more than a dozen managers from the company. At the same time, he promoted some old managers and grassroots employees to become new temporary managers.
The normal operation of the bus company was quickly stabilized.