60s: I have a store

Chapter 653 Borrowing a Car
The news spread like wildfire, reaching every corner of the steel plant in less than half a day.

In the steel rolling workshop, the bright red steel billets have just come out of the rolling mill, carrying scorching heat.

Old Wang gripped the control lever, beads of sweat trickling down his face.

The young man next to him leaned over and whispered, "Master Wang, have you heard? Our factory's newly developed dryer can be exported and earn foreign exchange!"

Old Wang's eyes lit up, and he steadied the joystick in his hand a little more: "Really? That's great! Our factory finally has something special to show off!"

As they spoke, the freshly rolled steel plate glided across the conveyor belt with a uniform sheen, appearing even smoother than usual.

The cafeteria was bustling with activity during lunchtime.

The line for food was incredibly long, and some people were tapping their enamel bowls on the edge of the table, chatting about this very thing.

"I heard from people in the office that the machine is very small and can dry wet clothes very well. Foreigners love it!"

"you do not say?"

On the main road of the factory area in the evening, workers walked in twos and threes after get off work, and their conversations always revolved around the dryer that could earn foreign exchange.

Some people gestured to show its appearance, while others guessed how much it could sell for, their faces beaming with undisguised smiles.

The setting sun cast long shadows on them, and their steps seemed lighter than usual.

For the workers, the factory is like their own home. Who wouldn't be happy from the bottom of their heart when a precious treasure is added to their home?
The next morning, just as the steel plant's loudspeakers sounded the reveille, new dispatching instructions came from each workshop.

On the bulletin board of the steel rolling workshop, the production plans that were originally densely packed were circled and changed in red pen. Next to a batch of angle steel orders for ordinary buildings, the word "postponed" was written. In its place was a new entry for "small dryer shell stamping".

The production manager walked back and forth in the workshop with a megaphone: "Comrades, starting today, we will prioritize the production of dryer parts. Less important orders will be put on the back burner. Thank you all for your hard work!"

Inside the warehouse, Old Wang and his workers were busy counting the materials.

The thin steel plates that were originally piled in the corner were moved to the outermost edge, while nickel-chromium alloy wires and carbon fiber plates were neatly stacked, with a note next to them that read: "For dryer only, please do not touch without permission."

Several workers who came to collect regular steel peeked inside. Old Wang waved his hand and said, "The regular materials are in the inner room. These are reserved for the new machines. Don't mix them up."

The production lines in the workshop are also quietly changing.

Next to the No. 3 stamping press, the workers were changing the mold. The mold that was originally used to press the steel bar hooks was carefully removed and replaced with a brand-new curved mold - which was specially customized for the dryer shell.

Operator Xiao Li squatted on the ground, repeatedly wiping the surface of the mold with a rag: "It has to be cleaned properly, otherwise the pressed shells will have scratches, affecting the appearance of the export products."

The team leader next to him held up the blueprints for comparison: "Adjust the angle by two more degrees, according to the parameters given by the research lab, even a slight deviation is unacceptable."

This adjustment lasted for three whole days.

Over the past three days, the factory's loudspeakers have frequently broadcast updates on the dryer's production progress: "Day 1: Outer shell mold debugging completed."

"The circuit components arrived the next day."

"On the third day, the assembly line was initially set up."

Although the workers were tired, they were all filled with a strong sense of purpose as they watched the production line gradually transform towards the new goal.

The head chef in the cafeteria specially added a dish of braised pork every day, saying with a smile, "To give everyone some energy, our 'export treasure' depends entirely on you guys."

Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and the team from the research lab returned to the factory, full of energy after their vacation.

As soon as I entered the research building, the production manager, who was waiting at the door, pulled me aside: "We've been waiting for you! There's been a problem in the assembly workshop; several shells from the first batch of trial production have been scrapped. You need to go and give them some guidance!"

Li Chongguang and Zhou Yimin exchanged a glance and immediately led their team to the workshop.

In the assembly workshop, a dozen workers were fretting over a pile of deformed shells.

Xiao Zhang picked up a shell with a warped edge and immediately spotted the problem: "The pressure during stamping wasn't controlled properly. The curvature here is too sharp, and uneven stress on the material will cause it to deform."

He squatted down next to the stamping machine and pointed to the control panel: "Reduce the pressure parameter by five units and slow down the stamping speed by 0.5 seconds to give the material a buffer time."

Old Wang then took out calipers and demonstrated to the welding workers: "The weld points shouldn't be too close together or too far apart. One every two centimeters is ideal. This way, it's strong without affecting folding. Look at this scrapped one; the weld points are crooked, so it cracks as soon as it's folded."

As he spoke, he picked up the welding torch and demonstrated the standard technique on the scrap material, the blue flame dancing steadily in his hand.

Zhou Yimin walked to the circuit assembly area and frowned as he looked at the scattered wires: "The wire sequence cannot be messed up. Red is for live, blue is for neutral, and yellow and green are for ground. There are markings here."

He pulled a small notebook from his pocket, on which were simple wiring diagrams he had drawn during his vacation: "Follow this diagram, and you can't go wrong."

The workers gathered around to look at the drawings, asking a barrage of questions about the details, which Zhou Yimin patiently answered one by one.

Li Chongguang stared at the conveyor belt, observing the speed at which the parts were moving: "It's too fast. The workers don't have time to inspect them. Slow down the conveyor belt by one-third. Every part has to go through quality inspection. Any parts that don't meet the standards should be picked out on the spot and not allowed to go to the next process."

Sunlight streamed through the workshop's high windows, falling on the busy figures.

The technicians in the research lab moved between the various production lines, sometimes demonstrating operations, sometimes explaining with their heads down, while the workers listened attentively and practiced with focused concentration.

By evening, the scrap rate of the new batch of trial-produced parts had been reduced by half. Looking at the qualified shells, neat solder joints, and standardized circuits, Li Chongguang wiped his sweat and smiled at the production manager, "At this rate, we can start mass production tomorrow."

For the next week, the steel mill workshops were operating almost non-stop.

As dawn broke, the production line was already humming with the sound of machines, with workers taking turns on duty, keeping the machines running even when people were resting.

In the stamping workshop, brand-new curved molds work tirelessly, turning thin steel plates into smooth and round dryer shells under pressure, and conveyor belts continuously transport them to the assembly workshop.

The assembly workshop was a scene of bustling activity.

The workers carried out the assembly in an orderly manner, following the standard procedures guided by the research lab.

Some workers were focused on welding the connecting wires, blue flames leaping at the solder joints, each one even and strong.

Some workers are responsible for installing heating elements and motors, working quickly and precisely to ensure that every component is installed in place.

Other workers were making final adjustments, turning knobs to check if the temperature was normal and if the folding was smooth.

The researchers in the lab were also busy, patrolling the workshop every day and providing timely guidance to solve any problems they found.

Xiao Zhang stood guard by the stamping machine, checking the freshly stamped shells from time to time to ensure that the pressure and speed parameters were always kept at the optimal level.

Old Wang wandered around the welding area, patiently correcting the workers' improper operating techniques.

Zhou Yimin and Li Chongguang focused on the overall production progress and quality, summarizing data and reviewing the day's production before leaving get off work each day. After working non-stop for several days, the workers' physical strength was increasingly depleted.

Although the food in the canteen was plentiful, the meat portions were gradually becoming insufficient.

Several young workers squatted in a corner of the workshop, eating steamed buns. One of them couldn't help but mutter, "If only we could have another piece of meat, my arms are almost too sore to swing the welding torch."

These words were overheard by Director Hu, who was on an inspection tour.

He walked toward the cafeteria with a frown, and from afar he could see the head chef looking worriedly at the empty freezer.

"Old Zhang, where's the meat?" Director Hu pushed open the door and entered, a faint aroma of vegetables mixed with a hint of bitterness wafting through the air.

The head chef turned around, still holding a rag in his hand: "Director Hu, the meat in the warehouse ran out yesterday. The purchasing department said that meat supply is tight recently and they can't get any more in the short term."

Factory Director Hu's heart skipped a beat. The workers were working themselves to the bone every day; if they couldn't even get a bite of meat, where would they get the energy to meet the deadline?
He turned and walked towards the purchasing department, his steps quick and heavy.

Zhou Yimin was checking the materials list when he saw Factory Director Hu enter with a serious expression. He quickly stood up and said, "Factory Director Hu, you wanted to see me?"

"Yimin, the canteen has run out of meat." Director Hu sat down in a chair, his tone urgent.

“The production tasks are heavy these days, and the workers are expending a lot of energy. How can they manage without meat? You need to find a way to buy more meat so that everyone can eat their fill.”

Zhou Yimin had already made his plans; he had been watching closely the changes in the cafeteria's food over the past few days.

"Okay, I'll buy some meat tomorrow."

"Just let me know if you need any support. If you don't have enough money, I'll have the finance department allocate funds first." Director Hu clenched his fist.

"Make sure the workers can eat meat tomorrow."

Zhou Yimin nodded, indicating that he understood.

The next morning, Zhou Yimin drove his motorcycle, the back of which was loaded with goods.

Upon arriving at the warehouse, Zhou Yimin directed the workers to move the meat into the cold storage: "Now we can make braised pork, fried meatballs, and stewed ribs for everyone. I guarantee they'll feel completely revitalized after eating them!"

At lunchtime, the aroma of meat wafted from the cafeteria far and wide.

In the large iron basin in front of the window, braised pork belly trembled and steamed, its glistening skin coated in a rich sauce.

The fried meatballs on the other side are golden and plump, bursting with delicious meat juice when you bite into them.

The workers lined up with their lunchboxes, their fatigue replaced by cravings, and even the sounds of them getting their food were filled with joy.

Time slipped away quietly amidst the tense yet orderly production, and a week passed in the blink of an eye.

When the last small dryer passed quality inspection and was labeled as qualified, a burst of enthusiastic cheers erupted in the workshop.

Holding the statistical report, the production manager excitedly announced, "Comrades, after a week of hard work, we have produced a total of 5,000 small dryers, and the pass rate has reached over 98%!"

This number thrilled everyone; they high-fived each other, their faces beaming with tired yet proud smiles.

"That's great!" Li Chongguang said excitedly.

"In order to get market feedback as quickly as possible, we need to get these dryers to the port as soon as possible and ship them to overseas markets."

Factory Director Hu immediately made the decision: "Contact the transportation team right away, and get these 5,000 dryers transported away today!"

Just as the head of the production department was about to make a phone call, he was stopped by Lao Zhang from the transportation department.

Old Zhang rubbed his hands together, looking troubled. "Director Hu, this is going to be a bit difficult. Our transportation department's fleet only has five trucks at most, and two of them are still out delivering goods and haven't returned yet. Even if we use all three of them, we still can't haul all five thousand units in one trip."

Factory Director Hu frowned: "How much can a truck carry?"

"At most four hundred units, three of them would only amount to twelve thousand at most," Old Zhang sighed.

"To transport all 5,000 units to the port, we'll have to make at least four trips, which will take a lot of time."

Just as Zhou Yimin and Li Chongguang were about to suggest asking other units for help, Director Hu raised his hand to stop them: "You two stay at the factory and keep an eye on the loading. I'll handle coordinating the vehicles."

As he spoke, he picked up the phone on his desk and his fingers flew across the dial pad.

"Hello, is this Old Wang from the agricultural machinery factory? This is Hu Zhiguo... Yes, I'd like to borrow a few trucks from you. Our factory's new dryers need to be transported to the port, and we don't have enough of our own trucks..."

"What? There are three spare cars? That's great! They can be transferred over this afternoon? Thank you so much!"

After hanging up the phone at the agricultural machinery factory, he dialed the food factory's number: "Old Li, what are you busy with? Can I borrow two trucks from you? Just one trip this afternoon. I'll return them to you after I'm done, no problem? You're a good friend."

Less than an hour later, Director Hu put down the phone, dusted off his hands, and said, "It's all settled! Three trucks from the agricultural machinery factory, two from the food factory, and the one from the textile factory that was just serviced can come over too. A total of thirteen trucks, just enough to transport them all at once."

Around noon, trucks from all sides drove into the steel plant one after another.

The truck from the agricultural machinery factory was still covered in mud. The driver explained with a smile, "I just finished hauling fertilizer from the countryside and haven't had time to wash it yet. Don't mind it."

The food factory's trucks were even more interesting; the cargo compartments were filled with the faint aroma of bread, making several young workers swallow hard.

Old Zhang scribbled on the ground with chalk: "Our own three trucks, plus the ten we borrowed, make a total of thirteen trucks. Each truck can carry three hundred and ninety vehicles, which is just enough to haul away five thousand vehicles."

As he spoke, he assigned numbers to each truck, saying, "Everyone load according to the numbers, don't mix them up, we'll have to count them batch by batch when we get to the port."

Soon, thirteen large trucks lined up in the warehouse area.

The workers worked together to carefully load the neatly packaged small dryers onto the truck.

Each dryer was packed in a sturdy cardboard box, with an outer layer of plastic film to prevent it from getting damp and damaged during transportation.

The box is printed with the product name and instructions for use in a prominent manner, as well as labels in various languages, making it appear very standardized.

The loading process was tense but orderly. The workers shouted in unison as they steadily placed the boxes into the truck bed.

The researchers also came to help, carefully checking each package to ensure that nothing was missing or damaged.

As the sun set, thirteen trucks loaded with small dryers slowly drove away from the steel plant and headed towards the port.

(End of this chapter)