Rebirth in 1960, My Industrial Age

Chapter 329: Admit your fear and start working (Subscribe)
".Team Leader Zhou, this is the result. We held a meeting last night. We have removed Zhao Fengnian from his post and have sent people to the cigarette factory to investigate all of Zhao Fengnian's illegal activities."

After Director Qiu finished speaking, he placed their processing documents on Zhou Fengnian's desk.

Zhou Fengnian is now stationed at the FAW Automobile Factory. If he has nothing else to do, he will study the technologies needed to save energy and fuel here.

The factory also prepared an office for him, which was near the technical department, and there was a dedicated assistant. However, when there was something going on, Zhou Fengnian would leave it to Luo Jianye to handle.

After Director Qiu placed the document on Zhou Fengnian's desk, he waited for a few minutes but there was no response. The room was extremely quiet for a while.

"Team Leader Zhou?"

Director Qiu didn't know what Zhou Fengnian meant, and didn't answer him. He just kept writing and drawing.

After he asked the question tentatively, the room was quiet for another two minutes before Zhou Fengnian spoke up, "You did a good job, but it was a little lacking. Let me write you a letter of recommendation, Director Qiu, and you can go to the Disciplinary Inspection Office and learn from them."

"Team Leader Zhou Zhou, I'm..."

"Director Qiu, I told you this on my first day here. I'm telling you again for the last time. I'll deal with anyone who causes trouble!"

Zhou Fengnian's last sentence made Director Qiu's heart tremble. Then he saw Zhou Fengnian stop writing and look at him coldly.

"Give the things to Mayor Zheng and tell him that this is the last chance I'm giving you. If you dare to play tricks again next time, I'll make you fired!"

"Yes, yes, I'm sorry, Team Leader Zhou, I will definitely pass it on, I will definitely pass it on."

Qiu Ze was so scared that he almost broke out in a cold sweat after hearing this. He had a little secret in mind, but he didn't expect that Zhou Fengnian would see through it immediately and give him a direct warning.
If this document were handed over to Mayor Zheng, he would at best be scolded and most likely be punished.

"Take the stuff and leave. If you can't handle it well, transfer yourself to another position!"

"Yes, I understand, leader."

After hearing this, Qiu Ze hurried forward, took the documents, and left Zhou Fengnian's office trembling with fear.

When he walked out, he happened to meet Yang Tianbing who was walking towards him. Seeing that Qiu Ze looked a little off, he asked, "Director Qiu, when did you come? Are you leaving now?"

"Oh, yes, I have something to deal with. You go ahead and do your work, Director Yang."

Qiu Ze's face still looked a little strange. He was really frightened by Zhou Fengnian's aura just now. Now he had to go to Mayor Zheng to admit his mistake, and there was a high probability that he would be punished.

It was all the fault of those bastards at the cigarette factory. They were caught making such a big mistake on the first day by the working group. During the working period, the workers were lazy, violated the rules in groups, and the factory director even had an improper relationship.
All the landmines that should have been stepped on were stepped on, not to mention the issue of misappropriation of cigarettes within the production plan. Qiu Ze originally wanted to narrow the scope of the investigation and focus the incident on Zhao Fengnian alone.

But he didn't expect that Zhou Fengnian saw through his plan and scolded him. Qiu Ze had no doubt that Zhou Fengnian did not take away his power. Even if he had someone behind him, he probably couldn't withstand such a "thunder god".

"Then Director Qiu, please take care. I'm going to meet the leader now."

Yang Tianbing noticed that something was wrong with the way Qiu Ze left, but he didn't think much about it. He went straight to Zhou Fengnian's office door and knocked gently.

After hearing the voice inside, Yang Tianbing pushed the door open and said to Zhou Fengnian who was working with his head down.

"Boss, I have a private matter."

"Tell me what's going on."

"I went to negotiate with the old ginseng farmer I told you about in Sijiu City yesterday and bought the nearly 100-year-old ginseng from him.
But I know that you, the leader, will definitely not take advantage of me, so I bargained for a total of 7,800 yuan, and I will use the factory's money to advance the purchase."

Yang Tianbing really wanted to give it directly to Zhou Fengnian, but he knew Zhou Fengnian would definitely not accept it, so he still had to take the money.

After saying that, Yang Tianbing put the box of ginseng on the table.

"Oh, by the way, there's also the ginseng thing, I almost forgot about it."

Zhou Fengnian looked up and took the box, opened it and looked at it. After studying it carefully for a while, he smiled and said
"Yes, it is well preserved indeed. This participant is quite capable. Comrade Tian Bing, here are my passbook and seal.

You can ask your finance department to transfer the money, and I won’t have to go to the bank, is that okay?"

Zhou Fengnian took out the passbook and seal from the inner pocket of his clothes and handed them to Yang Tianbing.

Fortunately, I brought 8,000 yuan this time, otherwise it would not be enough. Zhou Fengnian didn't expect it to be so expensive, but good ginseng is indeed hard to buy.

He usually only buys ginseng that is five or six years old, as this kind of ginseng is also very rare. However, Zhou Fengnian buys a lot of it and has become an acquaintance with the Sijiucheng Pharmacy, so he can buy it every month.

However, even for regular customers, ginseng that is nearly a hundred years old is very rare, so it all depends on luck.

"No problem, boss. I'll ask the finance department to take care of this."

Yang Tianbing smiled and said that there were quite a few people who wanted to buy ginseng, and all of them were wealthy. He had to use two workstations and spend that much money to buy it.

If the old merchant's sons were not about to start families and in great need of proper jobs, he would not have been able to get them.

"Sit down. I happen to have time to chat with you."

Zhou Fengnian said to Yang Tianbing: "Comrade Tianbing, if everything goes well, the first energy-saving and fuel-efficient car will be manufactured by the end of the year. You can prepare it now.
I can help FAW build good cars, but you, as the factory manager, have to make sure they are sold; if you just use fuel efficiency as a promotional point, you should be able to negotiate a lot of business."

Yang Tianbing was surprised and asked, "Leader, can it be produced by the end of the year?"

"Don't underestimate my accomplishments in automobiles. Next month, I plan to have the workshop try to manufacture one. The end of the year is just to give myself enough time to make corrections."

Zhou Fengnian said with a smile, it has to be said that CC is a city with somewhat deformed development, with the automobile manufacturing industry accounting for 40% of the industrial share and the output value accounting for one-third of the city's total.

If all those with wheels are counted, the industry would occupy half of the city.

Although it is somewhat unhealthy for the industrial development of the entire city, as if the automobile industry fails, the entire city's industry will fail; but it is very convenient for car manufacturing, as any spare parts needed in the morning can be delivered in the afternoon.

Within a month, Zhou Fengnian came up with the two technologies of turbocharging miniaturization and material lightweighting, and was able to get the workshop into production quickly.

There are also material research institutes and smelters, so new alloy materials can be produced immediately after being verified.

"Make good preparations for sales, and try to sell the features of more than 30% energy saving and fuel saving, as well as heavy trucks. These are the two 'punches' of FAW at the end of the year.
Once this is done, we will be able to resume large-scale exports and revitalize all supporting factories. We will also give you pricing power, production and sales autonomy, and the proportion of fiscal retention will also increase.
But don’t ignore technology research and development. The future direction is clear, which is energy saving and fuel saving. Just focus on this direction.”

What Zhou Fengnian said now was just empty talk, but after Yang Tianbing listened carefully, he felt that it was completely achievable.

Who wouldn’t be tempted as long as it can save more than 30% of fuel?

The fuel consumption per 100 kilometers may be less than 6. How much money can be saved in a year? In three or four years, it may be enough to buy a car.

The key now is whether Zhou Fengnian can build such a car.

Yang Tianbing felt that such a great leader, who was also a first-class chief engineer, a member of the Academy of Sciences, and the father of domestic computers.
He can almost be said to be one of the most powerful scientists in the country. Why would a person of this level lie to a small factory manager like him?
Yang Tianbing stood up immediately and said with full momentum: "Leader, don't worry, I will start preparing as soon as I get back."

"Well, I believe in your determination. You invited me to come all the way here instead of choosing to make a fortune yourself. You are already better than most people."

Zhou Fengnian's face turned ugly when he thought about what happened just now: "As for the others, they should be locked up and interrogated!"

"What the leader said is"

Yang Tianbing agreed with a smile, but secretly thought of Director Qiu who had just left. It seemed that Director Qiu was scolded because of this incident.

No wonder he looks so unhappy.

Then Zhou Fengnian talked to Yang Tianbing about some things in the factory. When Luo Jianye knocked on the door and came in, he asked him to leave.

------

In the morning, He Cai and Ding Chengping continued to investigate the situation in the city's factories, still with Director Li from the Industrial Bureau to make a feint to the east and attack in the west.

However, they may have given a temporary notice to all city-owned factories, and at least the work atmosphere has improved a lot.

This made Ding Chengping shake his head. They had fooled the working group. Why bother? They were not here to investigate and hold accountable. They were here to help with industrial reform and turn losses into profits.

Why treat them as enemies?

However, even if the working atmosphere in the factory is restored, the two of them can still investigate a lot of things.

Products cannot be sold, there is no enthusiasm for selling, the technical equipment is backward, the degree of mechanization is low, there is a gap in technical personnel, etc.

A lot of useful information can be obtained from a single factory, and they can make adjustments to the reforms based on this information.

In the afternoon, He Cai and Ding Chengping went to the train station to pick up people again. The second group of working group had arrived, and they were considered to be Zhou Fengnian's additional staff.

It was not until Zhou Fengnian was about to set off that he found out that his leader did not want him to reform only the FAW car factory, but wanted to give Zhou Fengnian the power to reform all the factories in the city.

This is also the provincial capital, and all the province's industries are modeled after it. If Zhou Fengnian can successfully reform CC's factory, other cities will have a reference for this.

After receiving the people, He Cai and Ding Chengping took the second working group back. After reporting to Zhou Fengnian, they held a meeting to discuss what to do next.

"You are really promising, Qiu Ze!"

Zheng Weifeng said to Qiu Ze with an angry look on his face, and he almost reached out to poke Qiu Ze's forehead.

"It's nothing to make a mistake on the first day. Just handle it properly. It won't be your fault. Who told you to fool others? And you fooled Zhou Fengnian.
Do you know what I should call him in Beijing? I should call him Commissioner Zhou! "

What kind of fools are his subordinates? It's fine if they just fool their leaders, but they did it so crudely and let others find out.

They all came from those years, and some of them saw the whole process of what was going on at the cigarette factory. Zheng Weifeng couldn't help but scold people when he used this method.

Zheng Weifeng frowned and thought for a while, then said, "I will call a meeting later. All those involved in illegal activities in the cigarette factory, from top to bottom, will be severely punished. I will let the Discipline Inspection Commission go.
You will be punished and have to write a 3,000-word self-examination and hand it in."

Qiu Ze felt a pain in his heart after hearing this, and then asked: "Leader..."

"There will be no chance for bargaining. From now on, no matter what happens when it comes to the reform of state-owned factories, you must listen to Comrade Zhou Fengnian's opinions. Do you understand?"

Zheng Weifeng warned sternly: "This is the order given to me by the higher-ups, and it is also my order to you. If this happens again, you will be transferred!"

"Yes, leader, I understand. I will definitely respect the opinions of the working group."

After hearing such harsh words, Qiu Ze did not dare to have any thoughts; he would just take the punishment, as long as he kept his position, the punishment would be lifted sooner or later.

"Go down and write your self-criticism. There will be a meeting at 4 pm. I want to see that you have finished writing your self-criticism and reviewed it at the meeting."

".Yes, leader."

When Qiu Ze heard about such an embarrassing thing, he originally wanted to ask if he could review it privately, but after being glared at by Zheng Weifeng, he obediently agreed.

After Qiu Ze left, Zheng Weifeng secretly cursed him as an idiot.

If he dealt with Qiu Ze this time, Zhou Fengnian would probably suspect him. Asking Qiu Ze to send the document to him shows his attitude.

In the afternoon, he must show his support for industrial reform and not let Zhou Fengnian misunderstand him.

Otherwise, he has nothing better to do than to have nothing better to do and is bored because of a few parasites fighting against Zhou Fengnian?
Even if the person arrested was his own nephew, Zheng Weifeng might have given up fighting with Zhou Fengnian because he really couldn't win because Zhou Fengnian's backing was too powerful.

"Team leader, these are the second batch of working group members sent here. They were borrowed this afternoon and are stationed nearby, just over a kilometer away from us."

Ding Chengping introduced himself to Zhou Fengnian, and then the second group of working group members introduced themselves and got to know Zhou Fengnian.

There were ten people in total, all of whom were key figures in economics and policy, and several of them had experience in factory reform and had accompanied the leaders on tours of the Special Administrative Region.

"Well, we are now acquainted. Comrades, you all know what responsibilities we will take on. Comrade He, Comrade Ding, please share what you know with the new comrades."

Zhou Fengnian said that after understanding, you can first select a few typical factories to try.

Now Zhou Fengnian has to be efficient in everything he does. He doesn't want to stay here for a year. His wife and daughter are still in Sijiu City.

"You don't know until you investigate. Once you investigate, Comrade He and I are shocked. We have to say that the local government's control is serious. I think if this is changed, a quarter of the factories can be revitalized."

Ding Chengping said jokingly, but this is exactly what they saw.

To put it nicely, it is a tough folk character; to put it bluntly, it is factionalism.

He Cai then said, "It's too dependent on planned production tasks, and the prices are too high, but the cheaper ones that are not planned are selling very well.

And the bad debt problem must be stopped. If it is not stopped, I feel that most factories will die because of bad debts. It is simply a mess of accounts."

Ding Chengping continued: "Some factories are still profitable, but they are responsible for the expenses of a lot of schools and hospitals.
It has been delayed like this. I think we can ask the companies to pay more profits and let the government take care of these things.”

The two men told the whole situation of the investigation in the past two days one by one for the reference of the people in the room.

They are now in an internal meeting where they can discuss anything they want, and they are given a lot of power by their superiors.

But great power means great responsibility. If the reform fails, hundreds of thousands of workers will not be able to bear the consequences, and even Zhou Fengnian will not be able to bear it.

However, Zhou Fengnian is still somewhat confident about the factory reform. There is a lot of heavy industry here, and a big reason for the backwardness of heavy industry is the backward technology. Technically, nothing can stump Zhou Fengnian.

After discussing for a while, it was already late, and everyone turned their attention to Zhou Fengnian.

After all, Zhou Fengnian is the team leader, and he has to make the final decision.

"I have listened to everything you said. You all have your own reasons and have come up with feasible solutions."

Zhou Fengnian paused, then continued: "For those that do not involve technology upgrades and equipment replacement, we can start with loosening policies and re-establishing incentive mechanisms. Comrade Ding, you can take two comrades to be a pilot in the cigarette factory.

Rewards are divided according to merit, the responsibility of paying the base amount is cancelled, and the government also participates in the dividend distribution. The profits belong to everyone, and the production rights, sales rights and part of the pricing rights are given to the factory. "

The others were stunned after hearing this, even Ding Chengping. After Zhou Fengnian finished speaking, he couldn't help but ask: "Team Leader, isn't this too radical?"

Going directly from a planned economy to a market economy? Even running can’t go that fast.

“I’m not worried at all about the cigarette factory being a pilot project. Do you expect long-time smokers to quit smoking?
The most important thing is the three powers and mobilizing the enthusiasm of the factory; don't let a small number of people get rich as before, but if we want to get rich, we should get rich together.

Of course, we still have to manage it, that’s why we let you settle in the cigarette factory, and we can stop you at any time if the situation is not right.”

Zhou Fengnian explained that there was no problem buying cigarettes. Previously, there were corrupt officials in the factory, and the workers did not earn enough money and had no motivation to work. There were also various other reasons.
The most important things are the production rights, sales rights and partial pricing rights. This is to loosen the reins for the cigarette factories and see what they can achieve without the reins.

"Qiu Ze was scolded by me. From now on, he will definitely cooperate with you wholeheartedly. Comrade Ding, the cigarette factory depends on you. Please communicate with me at any time."

After Zhou Fengnian finished speaking, he turned his gaze to He Cai and said to him: "Comrade He, you continue to investigate and find out all the factories directly under the city. Only when you know the symptoms can you prescribe the right medicine."

After hearing this, the others agreed with Zhou Fengnian's words to some extent. The cigarette factory could be considered a backup plan.

Moreover, Zhou Fengnian is the team leader, and his position is much higher than theirs, so what he said makes sense.

Ding Chengping said, "Team Leader, I understand. I will go and meet with Director Qiu tomorrow and implement it immediately after the cigarette factory selects a new director."

"Well, let's stop here for today. You can have a good rest when you go back. If the reform is effective, I will treat you to a good meal out of my own pocket."

Zhou Fengnian said with a smile, and the other team members were also able to joke and said that they would definitely eat this meal.

After the others left one after another, Zhou Fengnian called Luo Jianye and said, "Jianye, you stay and take another two hours of classes today."

(End of this chapter)