1968: Started from breeding

Chapter 307: It's no wonder their agricultural machinery factory was squeezed out of business and couldn't survive!
Until the sun began to set.

Several department leaders then approached Liu Guangde and Su Wenchen with a thick transcript.

A leader from an industry bureau spoke first.

"Director, the matter has been thoroughly investigated."

“The city’s agricultural machinery sector has not been doing well in recent years, and at one point, it was even struggling to pay employees’ wages.”

“Our bureau has tried to facilitate a merger between them and the city’s No. 1 Hand-held Machine Factory several times, but they have always insisted on taking the lead, so it has never worked out.”

"Because these heavy tractors cannot be transported by train as a whole, and Lanshui Farm does not have the technology to assemble tractors themselves, the Changzhou factory commissioned this factory to assemble them before sending them to Lanshui Farm."

"However, after they assembled three units according to the installation manual, some of the experienced workers thought they were capable of doing it themselves."

"After discussing it with the factory leaders, we figured that if we could assemble it, we could disassemble it and put it back together."

"And Wang Youfa also felt..."

"At the time, I thought that after disassembling the technical principles, I would reassemble it and send it to Blue Water Farm, so that no one would know."

"But as they were taking it apart, they ended up taking apart the gearbox and engine as well."

"However, problems arose during assembly. They didn't know what went wrong, but after it was assembled, they found that there were quite a few extra parts."

"After all, what they brought with them was only the installation manual for the major components, not the installation manual for the precision equipment inside."

"So they can only figure it out on their own based on experience, and that's how it's dragged on until now."

Su Wenchen was speechless when he heard this. If it could be activated, he would definitely have sent it to them!

If we send over a machine that's missing parts, it'll probably break down every few days!
"Comrade, those three vehicles haven't had any parts removed from their factory, have they?"

Hearing Su Wenchen's words, the leader of the Industrial Bureau was a little embarrassed, after all, this was a unit under their command, but he still made a guarantee.

"Director Su, don't worry, those three vehicles were all pre-installed. Actually, this kind of installation just involves connecting the joints of these large components and tightening the screws."

"There's not much technical skill involved. Anyone with even a little knowledge of industrial equipment installation could install it. If you're worried, we can send a technician over to take a look!"

Upon hearing this, Su Wenchen immediately spoke up.

"That would be too much trouble for you, comrade! Don't worry, we will definitely take good care of the technicians who came from there."

After all, Su Wenchen also wanted to take this opportunity to have the former technicians teach the tractor drivers in the farm's maintenance department some basic maintenance skills.

Because you can't just contact the manufacturer for every little problem!
These heavy tractors are not easy to transport at all. Even if there is a problem, you can only ask someone else to send someone over to repair them. Not only do you have to do favors, but the round trip also wastes a lot of time.

After pondering for a moment, Liu Guangde spoke directly.

"Now that things are clear, let me talk about your compensation to the farm. Since the agricultural machinery factory is unable to compensate Lanshui Farm, then it's fine for you, as the higher-level department, to make the compensation on their behalf!"

"You go and communicate with Changzhou to send another new car. As for how to negotiate, that's your own business. Do you have any questions?"

Upon hearing Liu Guangde's words, the other party was immediately somewhat helpless, because how could they talk about it? It meant that their bureau would have to pay the price themselves.

But he wouldn't dare to disagree outright, because it's obvious to anyone with eyes that it's impossible for the agricultural machinery factory to compensate the other party for their tractor.

Moreover, he was well aware that in the past two years, the agricultural machinery factory had been relying on the limited orders from the bureau, and the little money it earned was only enough to pay the employees a basic wage so they could make ends meet.

However, he would definitely be unwilling to pay for cleaning up the messes of the departments below him.

Especially after asking around at noon and finding that a group of people had been dismantling the equipment for so long but still hadn't mastered the imitation technique, he naturally didn't want to clean up the mess.

After a moment of silence, he made the suggestion to Liu Guangde.

"Director, our bureau is also facing a tight budget right now. How about this, since the agricultural machinery factory is already in such a state, it certainly doesn't have the money to compensate the farm."

“We’ll have the hand-operated factory merge this place with us, and take over all the employees and production workshops here.”

"As for the compensation for the farm, we will naturally have to accept it as well."

"Furthermore, their Dongfeng-12 hand tractor was originally based on technical drawings and production authorization imported from Changzhou Tractor Factory."

"The two factories have a good private relationship, so it's easier for them to talk to the people in Changzhou about this. For their factory, compensating with a large tractor like this is definitely not a problem."

To be honest, he really didn't have the face to bring this up with the people in Changzhou.

If they truly understand the situation and have the capability to produce, they will be motivated to discuss production lines with others. Because if there is another factory capable of producing heavy-duty tractors, the issue of saving face will not be so important.

But right now we're disassembling and copying other people's machines, and we haven't even figured it out yet. If word gets out, it'll be incredibly embarrassing.

If they open their mouths in the bureau.

I bet the comrades in Changzhou think they were the ones who instructed this!
He figured that when the provincial conference came around, he'd be ridiculed for the rest of his life, so he definitely didn't want to take on this mess.

Liu Guangde frowned.

"Do you think the hand-operated factory will agree? Don't let this drag on. Right here in front of Director Su, I said that the vehicle must be delivered to them within a month at the latest."

"Then you call them over, and I'll ask them myself."

To be honest, Liu Guangde didn't want to strain his relationship with Lanshui Farm over this matter, not even considering future procurement of supplies for the farm. The current promotion of Lanshui Farm's white pigs in their city was already very important to their region.

Therefore, he was well aware that he had to give people a clear explanation; otherwise, if he was vague about this, those below would easily try to deliberately drag it out.

Of course, in his eyes, the hand-held machine factory was different from the agricultural machinery factory.

If things are going well there, he naturally has to consider the factory's perspective. A good kid who can make money and a lazy kid who only spends money will naturally have different statuses in their parents' eyes!

After receiving the notification.

Because the two factories were not far apart, many leaders from the hand tractor manufacturing plant came over.

The other person greeted him familiarly as soon as they arrived.

"director!"

"Director Wu!"

"And Director Su, it's been a long time! How are our factory's tractors? Aren't they good?"

Upon hearing this, Su Wenchen replied with a smile.

"Director Li, spring plowing has only just begun. We'll have to test its effectiveness in practice to know for sure!"

Because the ten hand tractors allocated to them by the city were personally delivered to them by Li Xingguo!

In addition, Su Wenchen thought that he might need to make purchases from the other party's factory in the future, so the two got along quite well at the time.

"Haha, Director Su, you're right. But I have confidence in our factory's products. You can rest assured to test them. If there are any problems, just call me directly."

"I'll send someone to your factory to inspect it. If it's a problem with our factory's production, we'll personally replace it with a new one!"

Upon hearing this, Su Wenchen responded with a smile.

"Director Li, you said it yourself! If anything goes wrong, I really will call you!"

Li Xingguo patted his chest.

"Director Su, don't worry, that's exactly what I said. We have a dedicated maintenance team that goes out for repairs. You can just ask around in this area!"

Su Wenchen thought that if what Li Xingguo said was true...

It's no wonder that agricultural machinery factories are being squeezed out of business and can't survive!
After all, which factory would handle after-sales service back then?
In addition, hand-held tractors are inherently cheaper than regular light-duty wheeled tractors.

Although the horsepower is a bit smaller, it is actually enough for the normal commune to use for plowing and hauling goods. Of course, the most important thing is that the price is cheap enough, so it's no wonder that the local agricultural machinery market has been snapped up!

This forced the agricultural machinery factory to find a way to enter the heavy-duty tractor market.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Liu Guangde asked them if the hand-operated factory was willing to take over the employees and workshops there.

Of course, the most important thing is the mess they've made here.

After hearing Liu Guangde explain the general situation, the other party immediately patted his chest in reassurance.

"Director, no problem. Our factory can take over this area, and we can even cover the compensation for the farm."

"Our factory has only one request: that after the merger, our factory should be the main entity."

"In addition, the employees here must undergo training at our factory before they can start working."

Liu Guangde readily agreed.

"no problem!"

"As long as you take care of the compensation for Director Su's farm, I'll take care of the rest."

Seeing that his superior had agreed, Li Xingguo immediately looked at Su Wenchen.

"Director Su, I heard that one of your large Dongfanghong-75 tractors was dismantled."

"The current factory price for this type of large tractor is 25,000 yuan per unit."

"Look, either our factory will directly compensate you 30,000 yuan, and you can place an order with a factory in Changzhou or another factory."

"If we place an order for you, you'll have to wait a while. You know these days, there are always companies queuing up for these kinds of large agricultural machines!"

"Besides, those who can afford such large agricultural machinery are basically farm units like yours, so it's not easy for us to cut in line!"

"Director Su, what do you think?"

Upon hearing Li Xingguo's words, Su Wenchen frowned slightly.

He knew that what the other party said was true; such large agricultural machinery equipment was usually ordered by large state-owned enterprises.

For example, these four units they transferred over were only able to be transferred directly through the department's intervention.

He knew it wouldn't be easy for their tractor factory to cut in line themselves.

(End of this chapter)