Chapter 888: Loosening Regulation?

As Leyan went inside the kitchen to start preparing dinner, Xiaoyun was sitting alongside Kate and Anna.

The three of them were watching TV together, with the kids playing on the floor while the toddlers crawled around the house.

"You really went on an interview before coming back?" Kate questioned as the TV started showing a replay of the morning interview.

"Mhm. The best of both worlds without needing me to do a whole separate announcement in front of the administrative building."

Before the host appeared on the screen, the doorbell suddenly rang.

"I got it."

Xiaoyun quickly got up from the sofa, walking over to the door before checking the peephole.

Once again, to his surprise, it was Yuqi, of all people, coming home an hour early, before her usual time.

"What’s up with your face?"

Xiaoyun curiously asked as he opened the door. Noticing the grumpy look on Yuqi’s face, as if someone had made her really irritated on purpose.

"Just some work stuff."

As the grumpy look vanished, Xiaoyun grew more curious as he helped hang her work bag on the coat hanger.

"What work stuff got you so angry?’

"You sure you want to hear it?" Yuqi questioned as they stopped at the doorway, closing the door behind her.

"More than happy to listen."

Yuqi looked over inside for a second, seeing both Kate and Anna watching the TV before turning her attention back to Xiaoyun.

"I don’t know what to do. There’s a decision on my desk that has been bothering me for the past week."

"What kind of decision?"

"You remember how we implemented the home ownership system, right?"

"Yeah, of course I do. All land and houses are owned by the government, rented out at or below the market price to people and businesses alike."

"That’s the exact issue. Renting it... Some of the mayors have been asking to loosen up the control on housing."

"Loosen up control?"

Xiaoyun was a little dumbfounded, as he couldn’t imagine why a mayor who was still a part of the government would request something like this.

"They want to sell it," Yuqi answered as she finally revealed the problem she had been facing.

"Absolutely not happening. Why would we ever want to give up sustainable revenue for a one-time payment?"

Seeing the hesitation on Yuqi’s face, the curiosity grew even more. Xiaoyun was seriously wondering why she would even consider it.

"Okay, maybe not absolutely. But why are they suggesting it? Do they need the money that badly?"

"Qingyuan is reaching a near 1 billion deficit."

As Yuqi drops the bombshell news, Xiaoyun clears his throat as he can’t believe the number out of her mouth.

"1 billion? I’m hearing that correctly?"

"1 billion projected for the next six months if nothing changes."

"How the hell did it get to that point? What the hell is Leifeng doing? Is he trying to bankrupt the government on purpose?"

"The issue is it’s not even his fault," Yuqi answered as the irritation re-emerged the more she raised her voice.

"Really?"

"Yes, really. He was projected to have a balanced budget until two massive companies in Qingyuan got over-leveraged."

"They declared bankruptcy?"

Seeing Yuqi nodding her head, he finally understood why she looked so angry. A problem had been thrown in her face out of nowhere.

"Did they borrow more money than they can chew? And now everyone expects the government to bail them out?"

"Exactly. They fucked up the business, and we’re left to clean it up. I can’t just let such a critical company go bankrupt right now."

"What company is it?"

"Qingyuan Mining and Qingyuan Steel."

"Those two? Aren’t they the most profitable companies in Qingyuan? You’re telling me they somehow ran it into bankruptcy?"

"I couldn’t believe it either when I saw it in the report... But now we are forced to own all of their debt and liabilities as their biggest creditor."

Xiaoyun fell silent. He couldn’t really give more comment without knowing more details about the bankruptcy.

"I’ll think about it myself. You don’t have to worry. Just enjoy your three-day break back home."

As Yuqi took one step towards the living room, Xiaoyun stopped her as he pulled on her hands.

"Let me help you."

---

"You two done with your work?"

Leyan asked as she stepped away from the stovetop and approached Xiaoyun and Yuqi, who had taken over the dining table.

Papers were scattered nearly every inch, leaving no room for her to put any of the meals she had finished cooking.

"Almost.... You know, Yuqi, after reading through their financial report, I’m starting to think this bankruptcy might actually be a steal."

"How so? They can’t cover their operating expenses that are due in a week. And the loan they took out is what got them into this mess."

"That’s true. But if we loan them money, then the problem is solved, and we have an extremely valuable asset on our hands."

"With what money? Where are we getting one billion dollars?"

"The billion isn’t due at once. Only a fifth is due within the next week."

Xiaoyun paused for a second as he turned to the next page.

"Have you asked Liuqian about the potential options?"

"He’s the one who recommended that I loosen up the housing market. What do you think?" Yuqi asked back.

Xiaoyun didn’t comment immediately. He kept flipping through the document, scanning through the company’s various debts and obligations.

"Hm... I only see one solution out of this..."

"What solution?"

"Force majeure on all of the contracts, renegotiate with the suppliers and seller, and freeze the loan for national security reasons."

Yuqi stared at him for a moment. Her ears could not believe his words, as it clearly looked like an attempt to nationalize the two companies.

"That doesn’t sound like a fair business competition."

"Who said it needed to be a competition? We own the mine and the steel plant, and both are critical suppliers to—"

"Aren’t you the one who pushes for more privatization?" Yuqi interupted, looking genuinely surprised by the switch-up.

"Have you ever heard of ’too big to fail?’ We are better off nationalizing these two companies and making sure they are still producing steel."

Xiaoyun closed the document as he put it down onto the table.

"The last thing we need is for either of these companies to close down. We can afford to lose money here.

What we can’t afford is losing access to critical military components. Not when the zombie is still our highest priority."

After a short silence, Yuqi finally spoke up again.

"I guess I’ll try that out. But who’s going to manage all these changes? I don’t have anyone who could help me with this."

"Just promote somebody within the government. Or even give it to Liuqian. He should be the one dealing with it, not you."

"How so?"

"He’s the one who loaned the company money. Technically, this company is under the bank’s name rather than the government."

"I never thought it that way... Thank you so much—"

Just as Yuqi was about to throw everything aside, Xiaoyun poured a bucket of cold water to end her premature celebration.

"Did you forget we own the central bank? We still own money ourselves through extra steps. You still need to tell him how to address this."

"Fine."

As Yuqi gathered all the papers back into her work bag, Xiaoyun was relieved. In his mind, he was really concerned about one thing the whole time.

Property control.

He really didn’t want to address the elephant in the room. It was a policy that he himself didn’t know how to change.

From experience, Xiaoyun knew having a renter’s economy wasn’t going to work out in the long term.

There was a need. A need to loosen up control. To give people the ability to have a lifelong lease rather than an indefinite house loan.

For both business and homes alike.

Especially after reading about Qingyuan’s bankruptcy, where 25% of both companies’ budgets went to paying the government’s monthly mining rights.

"Yuqi, I want you to call a meeting tomorrow. I need to talk to Liuqian... And make sure to have the finance department and the treasury there."

The sudden request left Yuqi a little annoyed, but she didn’t object to it as she zipped up her work bag.

"I’ll call my assistant later. What do you need the meeting for?"

"I’ll tell you about it tomorrow morning."

As Xiaoyun left the dining table, Yuqi was left confused, as she couldn’t understand the need for a meeting.

"You two done?" Leyan asked as she walked over with a plate full of steaming hot food in hand.

"Yeah. You can use it now."

Yuqi quickly walked off with her work bag, heading towards the front door as she dropped it off at the coat hanger.

But before she could head back to the living room, someone knocked on the door from the outside.

"Open the door! I-It’s me!"

Without checking the peephole, Yuqi opened the door, only to see Yueyue, whose forehead was sweating like crazy.

"Out of my way! I-I need to go to the bathroom!"