Rebirth in 1960, My Industrial Age

Chapter 170: Delicacies and hospitality, Li Huaide asks for advice (Subscription required)
"Eat, Mr. Zhou, is there a result so soon?"

On the other side, Deputy Director Li didn't react at first, but he soon figured out why Zhou Fengnian asked him to treat him to a meal for no reason.

If he didn't owe him anything, why would he just want a meal? The treatment of a level 6 engineer is much better than his.

"Okay, Mr. Zhou, when you have time, why don't you come to our factory? Our factory is not working, the cook has run away, I will go outside and fill in a table for you."

Li Huaide said with a smile, already thinking about where to go for dinner.

At that time, most of the famous restaurants were closed, but he was a foodie and had been to most of the famous restaurants in the city, so he quickly thought of one.

"Mr. Zhou, when are you free? How about tonight? Let's go to a private restaurant. This chef only cooks for guests at his own home, so it's convenient for us to talk."

"Okay, but you have to call Deputy Director Bai. In the end, you still have to deal with the machinery department."

Zhou Fengnian agreed immediately and said, "I'll call Deputy Director Bai today."

"Okay, I'll wait for you at XXXX."

After Li Huaide hung up the phone, he kept smiling. Lao Yang was still discussing how to incentivize production, but it was probably useless.

He has already got the result, and given Zhou Fengnian's personality, he is probably absolutely sure of what he said.

Then Li Huaide called his secretary in and asked him to go to the private restaurant outside and book a table for tonight.

Few people go to this place anymore. It was opened by the chef of Hongbinlou after he retired and was bored at home. He only entertained acquaintances, so no reports have been made.

You can eat well and talk about business at the same time. Apart from being a little expensive, there are no other disadvantages. Li Huaide also spent a lot of money today and ordered a dinner for more than 30 yuan.

Zhou Fengnian also called Bai Yujie and invited her over, and asked Bai Yujie to tell Zhou Yan.

If Zhou Yan hadn't had to go back to take care of the children, he would have wanted to take Zhou Yan with him.

After work, Zhou Fengnian asked his security guard to take him to a nearby intersection, and then got out of the car and walked over.

When he arrived at the gate of the yard outside, Li Huaide and Bai Yujie were already there, waiting for him.

Zhou Fengnian said, "I was delayed at the factory. I'm sorry I'm late."

Li Huaide quickly shook his head and said, "We just got here too, so this is a good time. Engineer Zhou, Deputy Director Bai, let's go in and talk."

Then, the three of them walked inside.

This is a courtyard with a main room for resting, a room for entertaining private guests, and a renovated kitchen.

There were only two people inside, an apprentice who prepared and served food and a retired chef. After taking a look around, Zhou Fengnian felt that he was not bad, and was a man who specialized in doing business with the powerful and wealthy.

I guess it will taste good. I can try the cooking skills of other chefs today.

After entering the room and sitting down, Li Huaide personally poured a cup of tea for the two of them, and then asked impatiently:
"Mr. Zhou, have you received a letter yet?"

"I guess so. I've read a lot of information, and our deputy leader Li also told me about this matter. After studying it for more than a month, I think I have some clues."

After saying that, Zhou Fengnian took out the design drawings of the four-roll medium and thick plate rolling mill from his briefcase.

"Deputy Director Li, take a look at this. It is different from the main rolling mill used in your factory now. It is a 4.2-meter thick rolling mill. Its structure and operating principle are also somewhat different from the previous rolling mill. It is mainly..."

After Zhou Fengnian took out the blueprint, he explained the key points to Li Huaide one by one for a long time, and the latter nodded solemnly.

But after a while, when Zhou Fengnian finished speaking, Li Huaide smiled awkwardly and said, "Mr. Zhou, I am not in charge of the technical aspects of the factory. You just need to give me a general summary. This new rolling mill..."

Zhou Fengnian was startled when he heard this, then he coughed and said, "Top in the world!"

These four words were simple enough to let Li Huaide and Bai Yujie know the importance of this rolling mill.

Li Huaide was shocked after hearing this. After coming to his senses, he quickly asked: "Mr. Zhou, is this rolling mill really available?"

"Well, both the precision and output of the steel products produced far exceed those currently used by the Third Steel Rolling Mill. In addition, the thick plates produced by the 4.2-meter rolling mill can be used in many aspects."

Zhou Fengnian gave a brief explanation, and then said affirmatively: "I spent a long time researching before designing it, there must be no problem.

Deputy Director Li, I am a professional, you can rest assured about this."

After hearing this, Li Huaide immediately remembered that a month ago, Zhou Fengnian said that he was an amateur who knew little about it, but in just over a month, he had become a professional.

However, he couldn't understand the machinery and equipment above, and Zhou Fengnian, a level 6 engineer, would not cheat him for a meal.

Although Li Huaide doesn't understand technology, he understands people!

A talent that is so highly valued by the First Ministry of Machine Building will definitely not sacrifice their own reputation to cheat him. What's the point?
Li Huaide asked, "Mr. Zhou, what should we do next?"

“Let’s make it and see the effect. Everything should be based on reality. If the effect is in front of us, no one can deny it.”

Zhou Fengnian said, "Deputy Director Li, you place an order with the Second Machinery Factory in the name of the steel rolling mill and ask them to make the rolling mill. Then you can report the work to the leader!"

It sounds simple, but it doesn't have to be that difficult.

The results are right before our eyes. The quality and output of steel produced by the steel rolling mill have doubled. What else can the leaders of the Ministry of Metallurgy do except praise it?
Li Huaide asked: "Can't our factory produce it ourselves?"

"That's unlikely, Deputy Director Li. Your factory can only do some parts processing at most. Forget about manufacturing complete machines. We don't have the technical capabilities to do that."

Zhou Fengnian pointed out: "It is better for a steel mill to focus on steel rolling. With this rolling mill, you can produce steel with higher standards and more uses.

Parts processing can be phased out over time, but that’s not your advantage, and you can’t compete with a machinery factory that specializes in producing and processing parts.”

After reading a lot of information, Zhou Fengnian finally understood how the problems at the Third Steel Rolling Mill came about.

As a legacy of history, before the public-private partnership, the factory did a little bit of everything. However, after the partnership, the factory leaders not only did not carry out drastic reforms, but instead continued to expand the workforce.

Not only is the staff bloated, but the steel mill's main business has not yet developed.

If there is no reform, this will be the situation. The steel mill can only live off its old capital for a few years, but after more than ten years, if the technology has not improved, the status of the steel mill will become increasingly low.

There are no orders for them, no production, and no income.
After the dishes were served, Zhou Fengnian casually said a few words about the current problems of the steel rolling mill. Anyway, these were all talked behind closed doors and he would not admit anything outside of this door.

But Li Huaide was surprised after hearing this, because he had never thought about this before.

Lao Yang kept getting orders, and then he gave special treatment to make people happy. Then the factory would come to get production tasks, and then he would start production.

Previously, the whole factory was very prosperous relying on this method, but now, according to what Zhou Fengnian said, the steel mill seems to be dying a slow death.

How could a large company with nearly 10,000 employees only last for a dozen years?
Li Huaide was a little bit unconvinced, but he had been a factory director for several years, and after listening to Zhou Fengnian's words, he actually felt that there was some truth in them.

However, Zhou Fengnian only mentioned it briefly and after talking for a while, he turned the topic to the food.

The chef's cooking skills were indeed not bad, to be honest, a little better than his, especially since the ingredients here were really abundant. Eels, turtles, abalones and so on were all available, and Zhou Fengnian was very happy eating them.

Li Huaide kept what he had just heard in his heart, and then talked to Zhou Fengnian about dishes. It was rare for them to have such a topic together, one of them loved food and the other could cook.

Bai Yujie just picked up the dishes and tasted them in an elegant manner, but she would occasionally interject a few words, and Zhou Fengnian would also chat with Bai Yujie.

Finally, let’s get back to the matter of the four-roll medium-thick rolling mill. Bai Yujie is also a comrade who wants to make progress, otherwise she would have just stayed in the Women’s Federation.

Bringing in this kind of machinery and equipment for production is also a credit, and will benefit Bai Yujie in the machinery factory.

The three chatted for a while longer, and after finalizing the details, they decided to disperse and go home.

However, they were full in the middle of the meal, and many dishes were still untouched, so Zhou Fengnian called the apprentice who was serving the dishes and asked for a few lunch boxes to pack up and take home.

It was such a waste to just leave without even touching the food, especially since many of the ingredients were not available to Zhou Fengnian unless through special channels.

Li Huaide smiled and said, "Mr. Zhou, I'll order a few more for you."

"No, these few are enough."

Zhou Fengnian laughed and said, "Excuse me, it's a pity to waste it."

Bai Yujie followed up and said, "It's nothing, Fengnian. If you hadn't spoken so quickly, I would have wanted to pack up and go back."

"Then half for each? Comrade Yujie."

"Okay, give me two then."

Bai Yujie said with a smile, then took the net bag from Zhou Fengnian, took out two and repacked them, then said with a smile: "We don't have to cook when we go back, thank you, Fengnian."

"I didn't do anything. Deputy Director Li invited me to dinner."

After Zhou Fengnian finished speaking, he and Bai Yujie walked out of the house. Li Huaide also paid the bill. The meal cost thirty-six yuan, plus various tickets.

Although the meal was delicious, most people couldn't afford it. Even Li Huaide, the deputy factory director with a special business background, felt very distressed when he ate it.

After paying the bill, he felt secretly sad. If the factory's small kitchen cook was still there, he wouldn't have to find a place outside to entertain the guests.

Old Yang's brain is really spinning, whatever he thinks comes out to him.

After the three of them separated, Zhou Fengnian was also sent back by the security guard. Bai Yujie also lived in Nanluoguxiang, and her daughter was picked up by Zhou Yan today, so she took the bus back with Zhou Fengnian.

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Li Huaide took the rolling mill drawings and left, because he had to place an order with the machinery factory in the name of the steel rolling mill, and no matter who had them, they were all developed by Zhou Fengnian.

This credit cannot be escaped.

Even if Li Huaide said that he developed it himself, no one would believe it!

Before leaving, Li Huaide whispered to Zhou Fengnian that his friend in the Northeast could get a can of tiger penis wine, and he would give him half of it.

After listening to this, Zhou Fengnian gave the drawings to Li Huaide. It was not because of the tiger whip, but mainly because he wanted to have a sip.

However, after returning home, Li Huaide was still thinking about what Zhou Fengnian said at the dinner table. He always felt that what Zhou Fengnian said was an opportunity for him.

"Where did you go just now? Why are you sitting in the study and daydreaming as soon as you got back?"

Li Huaide's wife, Lu Chunwei, came in and asked. She had recently suspected that Li Huaide had something going on outside, and that's why he came back so late today.

However, Li Huaide came back to his senses and asked, "Is Dad asleep now?"

Lu Chunwei was stunned. She didn't expect Li Huaide to ask about her father's condition, but she still said, "He's not asleep. He usually goes to bed very late."

"Then I'm going to go find Dad. I have something to ask him."

"now go?"

"Well, this is very important. Will you come with me?"

After hearing Li Huaide's question, Lu Chunwei shook her head and said, "I'm ready to rest. You can go by yourself. We live close anyway. I can go see him another day."

It was obvious that they were discussing serious matters, so when she went there she could do nothing but wait in a daze and could not get a word in.

After listening to this, Li Huaide left by himself. After a while, he rode his bicycle to where his father-in-law lived.

After being informed by the guard at the door, Li Huaide went in. After arriving at his father-in-law's house, he took a breath and greeted, "Dad, I'm sorry to disturb your rest."

"It's not a break yet. I wasn't busy until ten that day, and it's still early today."

Deputy Leader Lu waved his hand, motioning Li Huaide to sit down, and asked, "Why are you here so late today? What's the important matter?"

"There is indeed something I am unsure about, and I want to ask you for advice; at the meeting held by the Ministry of Metallurgy some time ago, our factory also decided to vigorously respond to the call from the higher authorities.
Finally, I asked someone for help and found Zhou Fengnian, a level 6 engineer in the Mechanical Department."

Li Huaide told his powerful father-in-law all about his thoughts and actions last month, as well as today's gains.

"Dad, that's right. I'm quite concerned about what Mr. Zhou said. But the steel mill has a lot of orders now. If it keeps going like this, it will be a great success."

"You already have an idea, why do you come to me for advice?"

"I listened to what Mr. Zhou said and I think what he said makes sense. The most important thing is that it is different from the policy currently implemented by Director Yang. If it is feasible, I think this is also an opportunity!"

After Li Huaide finished speaking, he took out the steel rolling mill drawings that Zhou Fengnian had given him from his briefcase and continued
"Dad, this was developed by Engineer Zhou. He said that in terms of technology, it is definitely at the forefront of the world."

"Is it done?"

Deputy Leader Lu took it and looked at it for a while, then shook his head and put it aside: Like Li Huaide, he couldn't understand these professional things.

"Let's give it a try. I know Zhou Fengnian. If he were a little young, he would be able to communicate directly with the leaders.
Even now, he is about the same as the rest of us. The technology he developed should be correct. You just need to follow his instructions."

"Dad, the steel mill he mentioned is mainly engaged in..."

"You want to try?"

"miss you!"

Li Huaide nodded and said, "It's different from Director Yang's policy. If we do it well, it might lead the steel mill to take another path."

"Try it if you want. Your factory should have done this a long time ago."

Deputy Leader Lu put down his teacup and said, "Your factory may seem brilliant, but it can be summed up in one word: not doing its job properly!"

(End of this chapter)