Another uncle, Du Zuguo, was a music teacher at the Jigang Middle School, which is owned by the company. Now, his daughter is a lawyer in Jigang's legal department and his son-in-law is employed by the company as a civil engineer.
"Before, education and medical care were regarded as subsidiary industries. But, after the company's schools and hospitals were opened to students and patients from outside the company they became Jigang's most profitable businesses," Du Zuguo said. "The departments where my daughter and son-in-law work usually take on business and projects from outside Jigang."
Zhang Zhongfa, deputy director of the Jigang Hospital, said outsourcing its services has saved the hospital: "After 2011, the subsidy paid to the group declined rapidly. The doctors had a strong sense of crisis, and reforms were initiated."
Since 2011, the hospital has formed partnerships with 15 clinics in nearby townships, and in 2012 it began offering first-aid services in more than 30 local towns.
Six years ago, the company gave the hospital a subsidy of 40 million yuan, but last year the flow of funds dried up completely. Despite that, the hospital's operating revenue rose to more than 200 million yuan last year from 80 million yuan in 2011. The average number of patients treated annually has doubled to nearly 300,000.
New business, new money
The company's non-steel activities are now its major breadwinners. They include energy resources, natural resources, new materials, engineering technology, information technology, logistics, real estate, modern service sectors and agriculture.
In 2012, the operating revenue generated by these new activities accounted for about 29 percent of the group's total, but now they account for more than 50 percent, according to Jigang's information office.
Gao Xiang, head of the company's property management department, told Shandong Business News the new activities will play a major role in the company's future development: "During the planned economy, we used them to save money. Now, we use them to earn money. The supporting roles will play leading roles in the foreseeable future to win time for the restructuring of the steel industry."
According to Gao, the forced transformation of Jigang's industrial structure will have a beneficial effect on the environment, because as the city's largest coal burner and user of industrial water, the company has long been the largest polluter in the city.
Three years ago, the provincial government announced plans to relocate Jigang to Laiwu, a town to the southeast of Jinan that is home to the Laiwu Steel Group, despite opposition from the employees.
However, the decline of the company's steel business stymied the plan.
"The government should show more foresight in relocating such a big business," said Lin Lin, a third-generation Jigang employee. "Without technological breakthroughs and huge input into environmental protection, relocating the company just means relocating the sources of pollution.
"Beijing moved all of its polluting industries to neighboring Hebei province, but do Beijingers have clean air all year round?" he asked. "Jigang people are also the victims of pollution. The 'cheap' steel China exports is not cheap at all because everyone pays for it."
Lin and Du Peng have been friends and neighbors since childhood and they often discuss their futures. "Technicians can always find a job," Du Peng said. "We are thinking of learning English and going to work in developed countries."
His father Du Zufeng looked at him thoughtfully. "That would be the bigger step our family has taken since your grandfather left Qingdao to come here," he said.
