“Feng, did you have a good rest last night?” Kirilenko asked with a lewd smile on his face. He even took a step into Feng Yu’s room to take a look.
Feng Yu Immediately push Kirilenko out. He did not know whether to thank Kirilenko or scold him. Never mind. Forget it. Let nature take its course.
“Feng, her mother is still in Petersburg. You want me to transfer her mother back to Moscow? She will be very grateful if you do that.”
Feng Yu hesitated for a while and nodded: “Okay. Thank you.”
“I need to tell you something. Don’t be too good to her or she will have endless demands. You must let her understand that she cannot make demands as and when she likes. She must know that she will be taken care of when you are in a good mood. This is my experience. Don’t worry. I will ask her dance troupe to take good care of her. I promise you that other than you, no one else can touch her!”
Feng Yu looked at Kirilenko. Damn, how many girls had he bedded to get this type of experience?
After breakfast, Feng Yu and Kirilenko arrived at 5 stories building. Outside of the building, there was Russian signage. Polar Bear Minerals Enterprise. This was the headquarters of Feng Yu and Kirilenko’s mining company!
When they were naming this company, Feng Yu could not change Kirilenko’s mind. Kirilenko had called this company as Polar Bear, as polar bears signify strength! But didn’t Kirilenko know that polar bears can only survive in the north pole? Our company still needs to expand all over the world!
The was a burly Russian man standing at the entrance. When he saw the car stopped, he quickly walks over to open the door.
This man, Mozgov, was the General Manager of Polar Bear Minerals Enterprise. He was a retired mine owner.
“Director, Director Feng, welcome.” Feng Yu’s title in this company was a director. The title was only for show. Feng Yu did not do anything in this company and had left everything to Kirilenko. But Kirilenko trusted Feng Yu a lot. He listened and followed Feng Yu’s suggestions on the company’s operations.
Even when Kirilenko does not have any liquid assets now, he also heeds Feng Yu’s instructions to not start full operations at their mines and oil fields. They had only extract enough to cover their cost.
“Tell Director Feng about the company’s plan for this year.” Kirilenko sat down on the sofa and slowly sip on a cup of red tea.
It was comfortable to have a cup of tea in cold weather.
“Yes. Director Feng, based on your requirements, we will lower down the production of crude oil and coal. We will also lower the production of iron, nickel, and palladium. Most of our mines will be temporarily shut down. We will pay our workers 50% of their salaries for this period of time since we will not be making any profits. This is to lower our cost. We can also reduce the insurance coverage and safety expenses of the workers. There will be less work for them, and there was no need to give the workers so much insurance coverage….”
Feng Yu was listening to the manager. But as he listened, he was shocked. What was this Mozgov thinking? He does not care about the safety of the workers?
Who was the one that wanted to reduce the workers’ salaries? How can he cut the insurance coverage and safety expenses of the workers? Feng Yu wished to reduce the operation cost, but this was not the way to do it.
He would be an evil mining company boss if he were to do these.
They could sell whatever they mined from the mines. Although the prices were not high now, there were still profits. Feng Yu only wanted to control the amount they mine. In another two years, he would sell those minerals to China. Factories like the Motor Factory uses a lot of iron. Although the Machinery Company does not produce steel, the Machinery Company can work with a steel factory.
No matter what, mines were profitable. The money used to purchase these mines were lesser than the actual value. Also, Feng Yu and Kirilenko had used the Rubles loaned from the Soviet Union banks to buy these mines. These mines were almost free. There can never be any losses with these mines.
A profitable company was going to reduce its workers’ salaries and even lower their insurance coverage? This was too much!
Feng Yu looked at Kirilenko: “Brother Ki, did you agree to this?”
Kirilenko looked at Feng Yu: “Of course. We can save a lot if we do this. It was after I had set up this company then I realized that the cost of mining is very high. Mozgov’s suggestions are good. You do not agree?”
Kirilenko was confused with Feng Yu’s reaction. Didn’t you want us to save money and lower the production? Mozgov had thought of ways to help us save cost. Why do you seem unhappy?
This was the best solution. Could it be that you have better ideas?
Feng Yu sighed. This was the thinking of the privileged. This was one of the reasons why the Soviet Union disintegrated.
“Brother Ki, if our company mines 30% of our full capacity, we would be able to make some profits and cover our operational cost. The profits will be sufficient to replace the old equipment. I had told you to cut cost, but this is not the way to do it. What happens if our workers die in an accident in our mines? We cannot let any of our workers die or injured from accidents in our mines. I am sure you do not want the family members of our workers staging a protest outside our doorsteps. Do you think that compensations will be lesser than the insurance premiums?”
“Feng, what do you mean?”
“Brother Ki, we are doing businesses, and our image is critical to us. We must have a positive image for both ourselves and our companies. What do you think of my company?”
“It’s good. Your company trusts me and treats me very well. That’s was also the reason why I followed your suggestions for managing this mining company. Even when you wanted to buy those restricted items, I also tried my best to help you. I cannot sell these items to others, but I am willing to sell to you.”
“That’s right. You trusted my company and me. Even when I am not around, my staffs will still trade with your company. Even when there were some mistakes with the number of goods once in a while, you will not mind. It is because you know that my staffs and I will not cheat you. This is the trust you have in us. This is the trust build up by my company. It is also the foundation of my company. Now, you are letting our company cutting our workers’ salaries, reducing their coverage, ignoring their safety, and you don’t even care about their lives.”
Feng Yu paused for a while and continued: “When we decide to increase our production, how are you going to get workers? If some accident happens in our mines, all our workers might just walk out. Compared to making money, lives are more valuable. This is common sense. The workers can always look for another job that pays them better than the 50% salaries here. That’s why the workers’ salaries cannot be cut. Their insurance coverage and safety equipment cannot be reduced. We should even publicize that even when our mines are not making profits, we did not reduce the workers’ salaries and still pay them in full. We must let all the miners know that our company has a conscience. This way, it will be easier to hire experienced workers when we want to increase our mines’ production!”
Kirilenko and Mozgov looked at each other. It seems that Feng Yu was right. Were they wrong before? Maybe they should try out Feng Yu’s way.
