Back to the 80s Machinery Factory

Chapter 501 Holy crap, the factory manager is here!

Zhang Nan greeted them with a smile, "This is the main work area of ​​our repair shop."

"These C6136 lathes, and those two are Soviet-made Z3050 radial drilling machines. The floor-type milling machines near the window are mainly used for drilling holes and fitting grooves for couplings."

"These areas behind are for riveting, welding, and fitter work. They can handle everything from small parts repair and component assembly to complete vehicle overhaul."

"Our factory repairs vehicles regardless of model. Whether it's a Jeep or an older Jiefang model, as long as the parts match, we're willing to take the job."

"Moreover, our repair shop has a lot of parts and complete equipment, and we have also launched a project for standardized parts."

"Currently, three types are in formal production. Once the funds and steel materials are in place after the New Year, three more types will be put into operation immediately!"

"If you come to me for car repairs, as long as it's a common part, I'll fix it for you and you can leave right away. You won't even have to wait for the parts. We're all about speed here."

"Many companies are now talking to us, and they're all coming for this reason."

Zhang Nan acted like a tour guide, introducing each place as they went.

He spoke with particular enthusiasm, especially when introducing standardized components, just like a veteran technician in the factory.

The group listened and watched, their expressions growing increasingly strange.

The repair shop was huge, two stories high. Not only did I not see anyone I knew upon entering, but...

Instead, they were warmly received by a young man who kept referring to them as "from our factory" with an air of self-righteousness.

while walking,

The tall Comrade Wang, who was in the lead, suddenly stopped in front of a lathe, tapped on the machine body, and gave a sharp look:
"Are these three the Soviet-made T616 heavy-duty horizontal lathes?"

"Wow, Comrade Wang, you're truly an expert!!"

Zhang Nan immediately took over, lifting the dust cover to allow everyone to see more clearly.

"These three are indeed Soviet-made T616 heavy-duty horizontal lathes. The guys in the factory brought them back from the scrap yard. They're really good stuff."

As he spoke, he helped lift the dust cover so that the three could see the tool holder and spindle structure.

"It's indeed a good product." Comrade Wang nodded slightly, a look of satisfaction flashing in his eyes.

"Can these three units still be converted into electric starters in batches?"

"Sure! Our technical department got us a new circuit board, and the entire circuit was replaced. It's working perfectly now!"

"Hmm." Comrade Wang nodded, walked to the back of the vehicle, bent down to look at the power cord connector, and then patted it.
"The welding is pretty good."

Ok?
A hint of surprise flashed across Zhang Nan's face.

This person is quite professional!

They even know where to look for the power connector.

Another comrade, surnamed Dong, who appeared to have a darker complexion, also spoke up at this point:

"Comrade Zhang, what's that train carriage used for?"

"That's the metal fatigue testing rig used in our mechanics department's experiments."

Zhang Nan explained, "Our equipment was too big to be transported here, so the repair shop contacted the West Railway Station and arranged for a decommissioned carriage to be brought here and used as a platform."

"The main force is now testing axial pressure, and a round of basic data has been obtained!"

"Tsk." Comrade Wang glanced at it, neither saying it was good nor bad.

Zhang Nan's heart skipped a beat.

This Comrade Wang looks unfathomable.

From the moment they met until now, Zhang Nan has been unable to figure out what this person is thinking.

On the rest of the way, this "Comrade Wang" walked at a leisurely pace, never following behind others, always standing in a position that offered the best overall view.

They might ask a question casually, but every question hits the nail on the head: how are the workstations arranged? What is the usual utilization rate of the equipment? Are there enough spare parts in stock?

Zhang Nan had to stop and explain carefully for every question.

The more Zhang Nan received him, the more she felt this person was no ordinary individual.
The way he walked, talked, and looked at things reminded him of the leaders of large state-owned factories he had met during his internship.

Having nearly finished touring the production area on the first floor, Comrade Wang suddenly stopped and pointed to the room with a white curtain hanging in front of him, asking:

"Is this the kitchen?"

"Yes, it's the kitchen."

Before Zhang Nan could finish speaking, Comrade Wang, without turning his head, blurted out:
"Let's go in and take a look."

Zhang Nan was taken aback: "...Huh?"

He's been at the repair shop for so long, and so many customers have come, but not one of them has asked to watch the kitchen.

As soon as he entered, Comrade Wang's face immediately darkened.

"Who's in charge of this kitchen? They don't even bother to clean it up."

In the kitchen, cabbage and potatoes were piled up in a corner, and there was still dishwater in the large pot.

The clean lunchboxes were lined up wide open next to it.

The stewed tofu in the covered bowl had cooled completely, while in another aluminum bowl, the broth from the braised pork had solidified into a layer of white oil.

"Braised pork? This is a good meal." Comrade Niu smiled and lifted the lid.

Comrade Dong, somewhat gleefully, lifted the lid of another pot: "Not to mention braised pork, there's also chicken stew with mushrooms."

"Hey! It's a big rooster."

The chicken's tail, legs, and feet were all gone, leaving only the head and breast.

Not a single mushroom was left.

"Only pick the best to eat."

Comrade Wang snorted coldly, his gaze casually sweeping over Zhang Nan.

Just that one glance,
Zhang Nan suddenly felt a chill run down her spine and her heart race.

It seems that Comrade Wang sees through everything.

"Is the upstairs your resting place?" Comrade Wang asked casually.

"Yes Yes."

Zhang Nan had just nodded when the three of them started walking up the stairs without saying another word.

"Hey, hey, hey—comrade!" Zhang Nan quickly caught up and reached out to block their way.

“The upper floors are where we sleep and eat, so it’s not easy to entertain guests there.”

"Let's go back to the reception room and sit down."

Comrade Niu laughed and said, "Don't rush to sit down. Let's see how you sleep and eat first."

Zhang Nan's lips twitched, as if she wanted to say something, but before she could speak, the three of them, one after the other, went up to the second floor as if ransacking the house.

What kind of ancestors have come here?!
Zhang Nan stamped her foot in frustration and quickly followed after him.

As soon as Comrade Wang went up to the second floor, he was stopped by a huge pile of craft cards stacked on the ping-pong table and on the floor.

"What are all these things?"

There were stacks of hundreds of craft cards, completely filling the ping-pong table.

Even the corners and the ground were piled up with them.

Zhang Nan reacted quickly; seeing the three people step inside, she hurried forward.

"Don't move! Don't move! These are the process cards for our project. It'll be a problem if they get messed up!"

"Process card?" Comrade Wang glanced at it, his brows furrowing slightly.

"Why did you collect so many cards out of the blue?"

Zhang Nan explained, "Each of these cards corresponds to the processing flow of a single component."

"Because our project is in collaboration with vocational school students, the students' operational precision cannot reach the level of professional workers."

"Our factory's Director Chen suggested using cards to standardize each process and track each test piece to maximize the yield and facilitate problem tracing."

"These hundreds of cards here form the basis of all the data for the second round of trial production samples."

Zhang Nan originally wanted to say "Xiao Chen," but since she was now representing the repair shop, she realized that she was now the one in charge.

Before the words were even out of his mouth, he changed his form of address to "Director Chen".

Unexpectedly, no sooner had these words been spoken than...

Comrade Wang lightly tapped the top card with his finger and suddenly let out a "humph".

"This little bastard, every day he comes up with one crooked trick after another."

"Only he could come up with a method like using process cards."

Zhang Nan was initially a little nervous, but upon hearing this, she was immediately stunned.

Do these people know Chen Luyang?
Before he could react, Comrade Niu next to him laughed:

"Director Chen is truly remarkable. He can meticulously organize so many procedures; it's not something an ordinary person can do."

Ok?
Zhang Nan raised an eyebrow, and a thought suddenly struck her!
If I had some doubts just now, I'm basically certain now.

These three people weren't here to fix the car at all; they were here to scout the area!

Perhaps they are Xiao Chen and Director Lu's leaders in the provincial capital.

Before he could even ask for clarification, Comrade Wang had already put down the card and slowly began inspecting the second floor.

He walked slowly, and every time he reached a room, he would push open the door and take a look.

Before long, they stood at the door of a dormitory room where bunk beds were densely packed together. Comrade Wang frowned immediately: "Why are you all crammed into this room? What about the other rooms? What have they been used for?"

Comrade Wang's voice wasn't loud, but the energy and intimidation contained in his tone were considerable.

His momentum was even stronger than Zhang Diancai's.

Zhang Nan quickly stepped forward to explain, "We've already taken up all the other rooms."

As he spoke, he quickly opened the door to a room next door.

“This is where we live.”

As soon as the door opened, a stench of ink, paper, and foot odor hit me.

The room wasn't large; two wooden tables were pushed together to form a large desk that took up most of the space, and the desk was covered with blueprints.
A pile of blueprint rolls leaned against a radiator pipe in the corner, next to a stack of packed luggage.

Comrade Wang stood at the door without moving, while Comrades Niu and Dong peeked out.

Comrade Niu coughed lightly and asked in a gentle tone, "Did you draw all the blueprints in this room?"

"I drew it all by myself," Zhang Nan replied modestly.

After saying that, he couldn't help but add another sentence to himself:
"I drew all the blueprints for the common parts in the entire repair shop by myself."

"Oh?!" Comrade Wang raised an eyebrow, finally stepped into the room, casually pulled out a drawing and flipped through it.

"You're drawing so many blueprints by yourself? Can you manage to finish them all?"

"I couldn't draw them all... but I managed to draw them all."

Zhang Nan honestly replied, "Actually, drawing isn't the most difficult part."

"The difficulty was that I had never been to a factory before and didn't understand the process. The things I drew always didn't match the workers' operations, so I could only revise them again and again, learning as I went."

Upon hearing this, Comrade Wang, whose face had been cold, immediately softened his tone:
"These are all necessary processes to go through."

"Blueprints are not created behind closed doors; they need to be repeatedly refined through practice."

"In the factory, this job is usually done by engineers and process engineers working together."

"For a student who hasn't graduated yet to achieve this much, it's already quite remarkable."

do not know why,
It was clearly the first time Zhang Nan and Comrade Wang had met.

But upon hearing this affirmation, Zhang Nan felt a strange surge of excitement.

It seems that gaining this person's approval is quite difficult.

Next, led by Zhang Nan, the three of them walked around the factory and finally arrived at the warehouse and backyard.

Unlike the other bustling corners of the factory area, this area appeared much quieter.

Since the first two rounds of trial production had consumed most of the inventory, the warehouse, which was originally full, now only has a few empty iron drums left.

Besides being cold and desolate, it also has a sense of loneliness and desolation, like "a house with bare walls".

In contrast, it became the cleanest and quietest corner of the repair shop.

The group stood at the door and scanned the area.

Comrade Dong, with a dark complexion, commented with a half-smile.
"This Director Chen really doesn't save any money."

Zhang Nan was immediately displeased when she heard someone questioning Chen Luyang, and her tone instantly became more assertive:

"Comrade Dong, you're wronging him."

"Although the warehouse is empty, the materials were not wasted."

"All the materials that the factory had accumulated were given to the technical school to make trial parts."

“Previously, Director Chen led us around asking for help, and the materials we obtained almost filled half of the yard, and the warehouse simply couldn’t hold them all.”

"We only had some free time now because all the materials were taken out for trial production."

Zhang Nan's tone gradually turned serious:

"Now that we have the blueprints and the process has been refined several times, we should be able to start production immediately once we get another batch of materials."

"But there's nothing we can do. We're stuck on materials and funding, so we can't do anything."

"We can only wait for the city to approve the materials and funding..."

Zhang Nan's voice carried a hint of resentment and dejection.

The blueprints are complete, and the production process standards for each component are listed.

It looked like they were about to get things done.

But unfortunately, we're stuck here because we don't have the money or the materials.

This feeling of being anxious but unable to make progress is really unpleasant.

At this moment, Comrade Wang suddenly reached out and patted him on the shoulder.

"Do not be discouraged."

"Nothing ever goes smoothly."

"But as long as the direction is right, keep going and you'll always find a way."

Comrade Dong nodded in agreement, his voice rough yet warm: "Yes, let's go on."

"What I fear most is not the difficulties, but that I lose motivation while doing it."

Comrade Niu, standing to the side, chuckled and smoothed things over, changing his tone:
"Speaking of which, Xiao Zhang, you're already on winter break, why haven't you gone home yet?"

Zhang Nan pointed somewhat embarrassedly to the luggage inside the room.

"I'm taking the train home the day after tomorrow. It's close to the West Railway Station, so I moved my luggage here."

At this point, Zhang Nan remembered the three people's complaints about the kitchen and added a sentence:
"And the food here is better than the school cafeteria. Eating here with everyone is so much better!"

Upon hearing this, Comrade Wang, Comrade Dong, and Comrade Niu all laughed.

"Great! The food here smells delicious, so let's eat more!"

After laughing, Comrade Wang suddenly stopped laughing and asked seriously:
"Young man, how are you doing here? Are you happy or not?"

Zhang Nan nodded without hesitation: "Perfect! Absolutely perfect!"

"Not only do we have work to do here, but we can also learn new things and get paid."

The moment the word "salary" was uttered, the air fell into a subtle stillness.

The three middle-aged men exchanged glances.

Comrade Niu's tone carried a hint of probing, "Is your salary paid by the school?"

Zhang Nan didn't react for a moment, and answered honestly:
"It wasn't the school, it was the factory... It was distributed by our Director Chen."

“I don’t get paid monthly. He just gives us a share at the end of the year after we finish our work.”

Then he added, "Several of us students received them."

The three exchanged glances upon hearing this.

Just as I was about to ask for more details, I heard a loud bang downstairs as the front door was pushed open.

Immediately afterwards, a voice with a familiar, raspy tone resounded throughout the entire building:
"Where are the people!?"

"Where did everyone go?!"

Chen Luyang stamped her feet, brushed the snowflakes off her body, and took off her hat as she walked into the house.

"Here it is!"

Zhang Nan's voice came from the second floor.

"Why are you the only one here? Where are Uncle Zhang and the others?"

"Uncle Zhang and the others went out to buy New Year's goods, so I'm staying here to look after the house."

Chen Luyang was slightly unhappy: "Why didn't they take me with them?"

Just as he was muttering to himself, he heard a familiar voice:

"I think they don't want to take you along because they find you annoying."

Chen Luyang froze, then abruptly looked up at the stairs.

Wang Qingzhou walked down the stairs with measured steps, one by one.

Behind him, two figures also revealed their faces:

One is Dong Jiangchao, the deputy factory director in charge of the flying elevator workshop, and the other is Niu Yong, the office director.

Chen Luyang was stunned for a moment, then everything went black before her eyes, and her heart skipped a beat!
It’s over, it’s over, it’s over…

How could I have forgotten such an important matter?!
Xiao Xu had already told him this on the phone before.

The factory has made significant progress in helicopter development, and Wang Qingzhou and Dong Jiangchao will be coming to Pian'er City before the New Year to attend the commendation ceremony.

At that time, he was still thinking about how to properly arrange the factory, welcome the factory leaders, and try to make a good impression on Wang Qingzhou.

Before long, project reports, academic papers, and feedback from the vocational school all came crashing down on me.

Chen Luyang was so busy that she completely forgot about the matter.

Who would have thought that Wang Qingzhou would actually come knocking on the door himself!

"What's wrong? You've been away from home for so long that you don't recognize anyone at the factory anymore?"

Wang Qingzhou deliberately kept a straight face and slowly walked closer, his tone slightly teasing.

(End of this chapter)