Rebirth in 1960, My Industrial Age

Chapter 330: Robots become famous and achieve initial results (Subscription required)
"Dear workers, we are the commissioners of the Sijiucheng working group. We are here today to change the bad habits of the cigarette factory.

As long as this phenomenon still exists in the factory, any comrade is welcome to report it to us. We have only one attitude towards the existence of such people: those who should be laid off should be laid off, and those who should be sent to prison should be sent to prison.
We will also gradually break the big-pot system, where more work means more pay, less work means less pay, and no work means no pay."

After dealing with a number of cadres and factory bullies in the cigarette factory, new factory leaders and a working group headed by Ding Chengping quickly came to the fore.

Ding Chengping and others also promised all the workers in the cigarette factory that the factory would introduce incentive policies in the future, so that those who worked harder would earn more, and those who were lazy would earn nothing.

If they cannot even complete basic tasks, they will be considered for layoff after failing to do so many times. Cigarette factories do not want workers who eat for free, unless they have special circumstances such as meritorious service.

The swift and vigorous purge operations in the past few days really frightened the workers. Police were going in and out of the factory, and various cadres were tortured and taken away.

But today's factory-wide meeting gave all workers hope. Moreover, after thinking about it carefully, they found that those who were arrested were the cancer and bullies in the factory.

They also posted notices of their crimes in the factory and locked everyone up.

However, it is not enough to simply hold a factory-wide workers' meeting; the policy must be implemented thoroughly to motivate the workers and cadres.

After the factory-wide staff meeting ended, Ding Chengping held another meeting with the new factory leadership team.

"Director Tu, you must let the cigarette factory resume production and sales as soon as possible. The working group has given you a lot of policy support. You don't have to secretly sell unplanned cigarettes anymore. Everyone in the factory can enjoy the incentive policy."

Ding Chengping slowly explained the preferential policies they had provided to the cigarette factory. If they were given so many conveniences but still couldn't do their job well, then there was still something wrong with these cadres.

From the funds seized from Director Ding’s home, Ding Chengping knew that the cigarette factory was performing well, but the profits were embezzled by a few vicious individuals.

A production director made millions by taking advantage of a few years of unplanned production. It's really lawless.

Moreover, in order to make non-planned cigarettes sell better, they deliberately withheld approval for planned-produced cigarettes. Otherwise, as He Cai said, if all bureaucracy were to be overthrown, it would basically be accomplished.

How could there be such a huge loss for such a necessity? It's all man-made.

Director Tu quickly said, "I understand, Comrade Ding. We will definitely resume production as soon as possible and implement the reform policies."

Other factory leaders also assured that the working group had too much power and it was easy to get rid of so many people. More than fifty cadres and workers were killed in one go.

If they don't behave themselves, they will probably be kicked out.

Moreover, after the new policy was promulgated, Director Tu felt that there was no need to take the risk of engaging in corruption.

As the factory director, he can also enjoy the incentive policy. The factory's right to retain funds has increased so much at once. If he can increase the profits of the cigarette factory, he can share the money openly.

Instead of cautiously engaging in corruption and bribery, he ended up living in fear under the nose of the working group.

Ding Chengping led the working group members to carry out drastic reforms in the cigarette factory, while also keeping a close eye on it. If any errors occurred during the reform process, they would stop immediately.

In addition to the cigarette factory, He Cai also led his men to uncover problems in two municipal factories, arrested a group of cadres, and sent members of a working group to the factories to supervise reforms.

Originally they wanted to examine the problem, then summarize and conclude an appropriate "degree", and finally promote it in factories across the city.

But plans cannot keep up with changes, and He Cai didn't know that they would encounter such bad bureaucracy. It's really a small temple but a big evil.

After reporting to Zhou Fengnian, he received instructions to deal with it immediately.

He couldn't tolerate any grain of sand in his eyes. They had been allowed to be the bullies in the factory for such a long time, so how could he not deal with them?

Then Zhou Fengnian’s trip would not have been in vain!
Three relatively important municipal factories were reorganized at once, all of which were star factories more than ten years ago.

There must have been a lot of dissatisfaction and riots among the workers' families as they did this without any reason. However, those who were arrested this time were all bullies in the factory, with solid evidence, and most of them were sent to prison.

The working group was also afraid that too many people would be implicated, so they only arrested the main culprits and let go of the lackeys who had not violated any laws. Otherwise, according to Zhou Fengnian's personality, they would at least have been locked up.

Unfortunately, their goal is to reform the factory, not to catch those who violate the law and discipline.

After the rectification of factory rules and regulations, at least production was immediately restored, and with partial pricing and sales rights, the cigarette factories and food factories all knew how to sell and develop.

The previous price was too high, and the Industrial Bureau did not allow private price changes, so naturally the product could not be sold.

Now they are allowed to set prices freely within a 20% floating range. The two factories directly reduce the price of each product in turn and sell them to rural areas.

Previously, they were only allowed to sell their products at specified prices, in specified quantities and at specified locations. Now, they have been loosened up a bit and given a lot of freedom.

There are also incentive policies. If the factory's performance is good, they will get more shares. If those who do not work are punished three times, they will be transferred to other positions. If they do it again, they will be advised to be laid off.

Encouraged by these policies, the three factories that initially benefited from the reform policies soon regained vitality.

By eliminating the parasites internally and providing incentive policies externally, it will be difficult not to turn losses into profits.

----

Small days, Tokyo.

The International Robot Exhibition has opened for the second day today, but the Huaxia booth is already surrounded by people.

The robot arm runs smoothly, with almost no error in operation accuracy, and the three robots can work interactively.
Why is China suddenly making a big move on robots?

Many foreign bosses involved in the robotics industry came to visit China's platform.

Although the site is not large enough to move the entire unmanned production line here, just by seeing the smooth assembly and disassembly of the industrial assembly robots, insiders will know how difficult it is for robots to achieve this step.

The computing power of the processor alone is a very high requirement.

The robots at other booths could only follow some simple commands, and the technicians demonstrating began to feel complacent. However, when they saw the Chinese robots, they were so shocked that they couldn't stop laughing!
The mechanical movements were so smooth, without any sluggishness or jamming. Moreover, they watched the robot for a whole morning and did not see any errors in its operation.

Starting from the second day, Lu Junfeng was pestered by many people, all of whom wanted to ask him questions about robots.

However, those who asked about cooperation were noted down by Lu Junfeng and pushed to another accompanying staff member. Those who wanted to ask about technology were all fooled by Lu Junfeng.

On the third day, Lu Junfeng began to take the initiative to contact some local precision manufacturing companies in Xiaorizi, intending to sign special parts supply agreements with them.

As for selling robots, there is no such idea at the moment, and maybe not in the next one or two years.

How can we sell it abroad if we haven’t even rolled it out in the country?

Only after domestic car manufacturers, machine tool manufacturers, semiconductor factories and computer factories have established robot production workshops will they consider relying on exports.

Moreover, the robot's control program needs to be customized, and it will not be exported until it is industrialized domestically.

"Then it's a deal, Mr. Sato. After the exhibition is over, we will stay at the embassy's residence for five days. You are welcome to visit us then."

"Liu-san, it's a deal."

After Lu Junfeng got rid of a group of people, he came to Deputy Director Liu of the Foreign Trade Department. After Lu Junfeng sent Sato from Mitsubishi Seiko away, he said, "Deputy Director Liu, how many more are left?"

"We have already negotiated with twelve, and there are four left. I think they are all very interested, so we should be able to negotiate smoothly in a few days."

Deputy Director Liu said with a smile: "Deputy Director Lu, we are really in the limelight this time. Although I don't understand robotics technology, we are the most popular here."

Just looking at the number of onlookers, it was clear that Lu Junfeng was almost unable to get away from the questioning; when he discussed special orders with the precision manufacturing company that made his living, he did not refuse because of the small quantity.

To put it bluntly, small-scale companies see that their robots are powerful and think that there is great potential for them in the future, so they want to occupy a place in the market in advance.

"It's all thanks to Director Zhou and his students. I have to work hard after I return."

Lu Junfeng smiled and said that he had benefited from Zhou Fengnian's help this time. He was not involved in the R&D, but he was asked to appear in the show. If he did not contribute after returning, he might not appear in the show next time.

"I saw that the people in charge of the robot booths in Xiaorizi were all so pissed off, haha. And what kind of robots are they? They can't even stand steadily in battle."

Deputy Director Liu did not hide his ridicule towards the Japanese at all. After all, they spoke Chinese with an accent to encrypt their words.

"But Deputy Director Lu, how much did you sell this time? I saw that many booths signed contracts on the spot."

"We haven't sold any of them. We came here to purchase precision-machined parts and famous ones."

Lu Junfeng shook his head and said: "Our robot industry is still too weak. It can be said that there is no industrial chain at all. It is all piecemeal.
In the next two years, I am afraid there will be no hope of exporting. All robots must be used domestically first. After the domestic market develops, we can consider selling them to foreign countries. This is also what Director Zhou meant. "

"Commissioner Zhou, we really have to listen to him."

Deputy Director Liu didn’t quite understand what was said at the beginning, but he heard the last sentence. Since it was Zhou Fengnian’s intention, it must sound correct.

He just saw that so many people were interested in it, and if it was exported, it would definitely be another foreign exchange point.

If Zhou Fengnian were here, he would definitely say that Deputy Director Liu's view is too narrow. Robots have considerable limitations now, and it will take another ten years for them to be developed on a large scale.

People who live a mundane life are really displeased with Lu Junfeng and his group. This International Robot Exhibition should be their time to shine.

But it became the stage for Chinese robots!

They can already imagine how the domestic news will criticize them. They have spent so much money and received a lot of funding from the Department of Science and Technology. Where did the money go?
You idiots! You are the tax thieves. The police are much more useful than you!

"Jianye, what do you think about turbine miniaturization?"

"Uncle Zhou, I think it is feasible to increase the intake density by supercharging, so that more air can be inhaled without changing the speed."

“Okay, I have some understanding of my own, and I’ve learned a lot recently, but this is only a small part.

The engines needed for aerospace engines and missiles are completely different, and you still need to continue learning."

Zhou Fengnian smiled and said that he recognized this student because he had good talent and worked hard.

I didn't fall behind in mechanical engineering at all. I completed all the lessons and homework on time, and I still had the energy to study thermodynamics and materials science.
Since Luo Jianye wanted to learn, Zhou Fengnian was not reluctant to teach him.

"Have you called home? With you gone, Aunt Li will be the only one left at home. Why not just tell her that you can stay at our house for a while.

At least there is someone to take care of her, Aunt Li is not young anymore."

Luo Jianye scratched his head and said, "I'll tell grandma next time. She's alone at home, and I'm a little worried."

They've been out for more than two months now, and the downsized turbo for the new fuel-efficient sedan has been designed.

Zhou Fengnian also improved the combustion system and intelligent electronic control, which, combined with lightweight materials, can save 42% of fuel consumption on existing cars.

This is the result of Zhou Fengnian's experiment in the simulated space. Even if there is an error, it will not exceed 3%.

"Come on, follow me to the workshop."

After Zhou Fengnian finished speaking, he called Luo Jianye to go to the manufacturing workshop.

Zhou Fengnian used the remaining funds in the factory to purchase machine tools and equipment in preparation for mass production and assembly of cars in the future.

He also asked Yang Tianbing to visit the Sijiucheng Robotics Research Institute and asked FAW Automobile Factory to cooperate with the Robotics Research Institute to build a second unmanned production workshop.

Five days ago, Zhou Fengnian had asked someone to go to the local materials research institute and ask them to test the new alloy as soon as possible.

Once the test data is obtained, production can begin.

It is convenient to have an industrial chain locally. If you want to experiment with something, you don’t have to run around. If you go to a relatively barren place, it may take five or six days just for testing.

Zhou Fengnian is very confident about the new energy-saving and fuel-efficient cars. After starting to manufacture these two models, he will lead the technical department to study heavy trucks.

The trucks produced by FAW Automobile Factory are also quite famous, but the problem of backward technology still exists. The last time I went to Sijiucheng to study, I only learned the technology, but I did not learn to value it.

If we seize the opportunity to make money and invest it in technology research and development, we will be able to maintain the leading position of technology from generation to generation, instead of doing other things for the sake of quick success and instant benefits. Now we are just living off our old foundation and are still thinking about expanding production when we are running out of it.
Zhou Fengnian got furious when he thought of this incident. It was a good thing that the old factory director was not hanging around in front of him, otherwise Zhou Fengnian would definitely point at his nose and teach him a lesson.

The other members of the working group also did a good job, and the cigarette factory, food factory and winery were all revitalized.

In the first month after the reform policy was implemented, there was no significant effect. However, after the end of the second month, the lowest sales volume quadrupled and profits increased by more than three times year-on-year.

Three types of cigarettes are launched: low-priced cigarettes, mid-range cigarettes and high-end cigarettes.

Low-priced cigarettes are intended to be sold in rural areas, with the main selling point being cheapness, five cents a pack, no ticket required.

Mid-range and high-end cigarettes are sold to towns and cities in the province. Although they are high-end, they are only 10% more expensive than previous cigarettes.

The price of mid-range cigarettes is 20% lower, but even with such a big reduction, there is still some profit.

The food factories and wineries were similar, developing new products, reducing prices, and selling them randomly. After several sets of combined efforts, the sales in the second month increased so many times.

In addition, the enthusiasm of workers in the factory has been improved, and production and sales can keep up.

If they continue to produce according to the previous plan, they will not even have the right to develop new products, let alone sell them to rural areas.

After making money, in addition to distributing dividends to the government and all factory employees, the new cadres of the three factories did not forget to update the equipment.

This was also urged by the working group. For example, the equipment in the food factory is seriously aging. Even when they want to develop a sausage product, they don’t have a sausage stuffer.

The success of these three factories gave the working group great hope. After He Cai and Ding Chengping and others reported to Zhou Fengnian, they decided to gradually promote the reform policy in factories across the city.

After the news spread, everyone in the city who was keeping an eye on the special task force was surprised, especially the mayor Zheng Weifeng, who was shocked after receiving the information.

It's only been two months, and there have been such big changes?

Seeing those numbers doubling one after another, Zheng Weifeng suddenly felt excited. If all the factories in the city were like this, then he would get a lot of credit!

At least he is now fully supporting the task force's mission and helping it capture so many criminals. So it seems he has made considerable contributions.

Zheng Weifeng immediately gave an order to the Industrial Bureau that any similar situations could be subject to review by the working group and the Industrial Bureau and related reform policies could be implemented, but they must be subject to supervision.

The three factories did not cause any trouble, but that might not be the case if there were more factories.

Zhou Fengnian also reminded the working group members to maintain stability and not to cause trouble after a good start.

This is just the first step, and it has been quite successful. The next step is that the working group headed by Zhou Fengnian plans to separate the factory’s welfare unit and have it managed by the government.

Each factory has too many things to manage. A factory director has a lot of responsibilities, including managing a school and a hospital. The factory is like a "small kingdom".

Increasing the dividends paid to the government is the first step, and the next step is to hand over all welfare units to the municipal government for unified management.

The factory's responsibility is to make money and develop, and then pay enough financial contributions to the government.

However, this will not be implemented until the end of the year. Now the monthly incentives are only given to employees within the factory, and the money allocated to the government is still in the factory's account and will be distributed uniformly at the end of the year.

Once the FAW car factory completes its transformation, more than half of the city's industries will be revitalized.

(End of this chapter)