Back to the 80s Machinery Factory

Chapter 558 If you have a way, find another way to survive!
The next morning, the streets in the west of the city were still a bit chilly in the spring air.

The breakfast stalls on the street have already been set up, and the oil in the pan is sizzling and steaming, with the aroma of soy milk and fried dough sticks filling the entire alley.

Qian Chengguo, wearing a slightly worn woolen overcoat for cadres, with his factory badge pinned to his waist and a pipe in his hand, walked toward the processing department.

It's called a processing department, but it's actually a hardware accessories factory.

Several neighbors rode by on their bicycles and, seeing Qian Chengguo, greeted him with smiles.
"Director Qian, so early again?"

"Hey, Lao Qian, I heard your factory's been getting a lot of work lately?"

"I could hear clanging and banging coming from your workshop last night."

Qian Chengguo smiled and replied in a friendly and attentive manner, "Hey, just trying to make a living! If you need anything, just let me know, and I'll definitely help if I can!"

"Hey! Isn't that Little Ma?"

"Why are you leaving so early today?!"

As they were chatting, Qian Chengguo spotted a middle-aged man riding a bicycle out of the alley, holding onto the handlebars.

"Uncle Qian, congratulations! I heard you're now in charge of the hardware factory."

Qian Chengguo quickly waved his hand: "How can I be in charge? I'm just temporarily helping out for a while."

"Director Liu was transferred to the district's repair station before the Lunar New Year, saying he was going to set up a new machine repair shop."

“The higher-ups can’t send anyone for the time being, and the factory can’t be left unattended, so they’ve asked me to take over for now.”

"It's actually just a temporary job, and it's not officially recognized or legitimate."

"By the way, how's the car in your team lately?"

Qian Chengguo asked with a warm expression.

"Don't even mention it." Hearing this, Xiao Ma couldn't help but shake his head.

"How else? After the New Year, a whole bunch of cars in the fleet have developed problems. They're all waiting in line at the repair shop to get their cars fixed."

"I'm going to the repair shop to check this. Could you ask someone to move us a little further?"

This man was none other than Manager Ma from the taxi fleet!
Although the fleet had undergone repairs before the Lunar New Year, people were calling for vehicles every day during that period.

In order to earn more bonuses, the drivers in the fleet of dozens of vehicles were running non-stop.

In addition, the weather was cold, with temperatures below minus ten degrees Celsius, and the oil lines were freezing.

The car keeps failing to start. The battery and carburetor can't take the strain. The new parts I replaced before the Lunar New Year were supposed to last a few months, but after all this trouble, they're all breaking down now.

They originally thought the repair shop wouldn't have much work after the New Year, but when they went there, they found out!
Good heavens, a huge, dark mass of cars.

Not only taxi companies, but also transportation teams, supply and marketing cooperatives, and government agencies have vehicles. The courtyard is three layers deep, and you have to wait in line for several days!
The drivers keep urging us, saying that if their trucks are out of service for even a day, they'll lose a day's worth of revenue.

But what can he, the person in charge, do?

We can't just send everyone home to rest.

Qian Chengguo feigned concern and asked, "When you take your car to the repair shop, is it for a part replacement or repair?"

Manager Ma: "Of course we should replace the parts! The repair shop has universal parts, so it's easy to replace them."

Not to mention that the company has its own repair technicians.

Even those drivers, when they encounter minor problems, they can always give it a good whack!
The problem is there aren't any parts!
"That's easy!" Qian Chengguo's eyes darted around, and his smile deepened!

"I have the generic parts!"

Um? ?

Manager Ma stared at Qian Chengguo in astonishment: "Do you have any generic parts?"

"Yes!" Qian Chengguo called to Steward Ma, "If you don't believe me, come in and take a look."

Manager Ma followed Qian Chengguo into the hardware factory with some skepticism.

When he saw Qian Chengguo take out all the parts, including the nozzle tube, ignition coil, push rod, and sleeve, his eyes widened in astonishment.

He picked it up and saw that it really was a part that the drivers usually replaced.

The size, model, and appearance are exactly the same as the ones from the repair shop!
Whether it was his imagination or not, Manager Ma even felt that the parts here had a more refined feel and details!
"Uncle Qian, where did you get these parts?"

Manager Ma hesitated before speaking, his eyes filled with a hint of wariness.

Qian Chengguo chuckled and flicked his pipe, saying casually, "Don't worry about where the parts came from."

"Anyway, it's the same kind of thing as what you get at the repair shop. The blueprints and concepts are similar. You'll see once you try it."

"If you can't get a turn at the repair shop, I can install it for you right away."

Manager Ma gripped the nozzle tube, his brow furrowed.

The origin of these parts doesn't sound very legitimate. If they're of poor quality and malfunction, causing delays in picking up customers or accidents, the responsibility would be enormous.

However, the wait time at the repair shop is three to five days, and right now all twenty-odd cars in the queue are stuck.

Running one less day can mean losing a significant amount of money.

The higher-ups are pressuring him every day, and he, as the person in charge, is in a difficult position to explain himself.

After hesitating for a long time, Steward Ma finally asked:
"Uncle Qian... how much does this cost?"

Qian Chengguo squinted, tapped his pipe lightly in his hand, and asked first:
"How much does a complete parts kit usually cost when you go to a repair shop?"

"Seventy or eighty," Steward Ma replied.

"The ignition coil costs about twenty yuan, the nozzle tube costs a dozen yuan, the push rod and sleeve cost more than thirty yuan, and with some rubber gaskets, it will cost about seventy to eighty yuan."

It's really expensive, but there's no other way; the car has to be driven.

“That solves it!” Qian Chengguo immediately chimed in, his eyes crinkling into slits with a smile.

"Look at mine, every part is perfect, and the craftsmanship is even a bit more refined. But the price..."

He held out a palm and flicked his five fingers.

"Fifty!"

"A whole set, fifty yuan, I'll install it for you right away."

Manager Ma's heart skipped a beat, and his eyes widened instinctively:
"More than twenty yuan cheaper?!"

"Absolutely!" Qian Chengguo patted his chest.

"If you think it's too much, I can charge you by the piece."

"Ignition coil is 25, nozzle tube is 15, push rod and sleeve are 25 in total, and I'll leave the gasket free."

"You do the math yourself, see if it's suitable or not."

Manager Ma frowned and hesitated for a long time.

He swallowed hard and finally nodded:

"Okay! Let's install one here first and see how it goes."

Upon hearing this, a hint of smugness flashed in Qian Chengguo's eyes, but he still feigned an ingratiating demeanor:
"All done! You wait here, I'll have someone install it for you right away, I guarantee you'll be satisfied!"

……

That afternoon, the taxi company's driver arrived in his car.

They were all queuing up in front of the repair shop, but the line was so long that you couldn't see the end of it.

Manager Ma said that the hardware factory in the west of the city could do repairs and provide parts immediately. After discussing it, the drivers decided to bypass the repair shop and come here to take a look first.

When they arrived at the hardware factory, Qian Chengguo greeted them with a smile, stacking the parts one by one on the table.

"The nozzle tube is ten yuan, the ignition coil is twenty yuan, and the push rod and sleeve are even cheaper, only five or eight yuan."

The drivers exchanged glances, their eyes widening in disbelief.

"So cheap?!"

"It costs over thirty yuan to replace an ignition coil at a repair shop!"

"A nozzle tube costs at least fifteen, but it's only ten here?!"

"Then how should we write our tickets?"

Suddenly, a driver asked the crucial question: "Even if your parts are cheap, it saves money for the taxi company, not for them."

Qian Chengguo interjected: "These are all generic parts. The price you usually charge for generic parts is the same price I write on the bill."

The drivers were stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening, and their faces lit up with joy.

Doesn't this mean they can save themselves a pocketful of money?!

By making one more trip, I can save on gas money!
Upon closer inspection of the workmanship of the parts, they found it to be indeed exquisite. The group immediately decided to buy the parts and have the hardware factory's technicians install them.

Once the car was successfully restarted, the engine chugled and revved along quite well. The drivers shook Qian Chengguo's hand:
"Uncle Qian, you've been a huge help!"

"We'll have to trouble you with vehicle repairs for our fleet in the future!"

Qian Chengguo squinted, twirling his pipe in his hand: "That's just putting it nicely! Just come over if you need anything!"

……

In just a few days, the hardware factory's parts spread rapidly within the taxi company.

Soon, all the taxis that were waiting at the repair shop drove to the hardware factory.

After a busy day, it was getting dark.

Qian Chengguo closed the gate of the hardware factory, called everyone in, slammed the ledger aside, and started clicking his fingers on the abacus.

"Come on, let's settle today's accounts."

"Thirty nozzle tubes, three hundred; fifteen ignition coils, three hundred; a bunch of small parts like push rods and sleeves, two hundred and eighty in total..."

"Today's total comes to over eight hundred!"

……

Hey!
The people in the room widened their eyes upon hearing this!

"They made so much money in just one day?!"

"This is better than what we used to do in a month!"

Qian Chengguo took out a thick stack of banknotes he had collected during the day from the drawer and spread them on the table.

"Come on, everyone who's working gets a share!"

"Old Hu, Old Zhao, you two have worked tirelessly on the lathe and fitter all day long. You deserve eighty yuan each!"

"Old Liu, Little Wang, you two help out, fifty yuan each!"

"Keep some of the rest as working capital; we need to buy materials tomorrow!"

……

With just a few words, the hefty sum of money was divided up clearly.

The workers held the few dozen yuan in their hands, feeling as if they were in a dream.

I counted the money in my hand again and again!
Old Hu held the eighty yuan in his hand, not moving for a long time, as if afraid it would fly away in the blink of an eye.

Only after confirming several times that the money in his pocket was real!

Old Hu sighed:
"If this were in our factory, we wouldn't even see a 30-year-old, let alone an 80-year-old."

“That’s right!” Xiao Wang couldn’t help but chime in.

"The factory started delaying wages before the Lunar New Year. Even after working until the 20th of the twelfth lunar month, we still couldn't afford to buy New Year's goods."

“My wife is making a fuss with me, saying that I should just quit and go back to my hometown to farm.”

Old Zhao, with a half-smoked cigarette dangling from his mouth, muttered under his breath, "What can you expect from that meager fixed salary from the factory?"

“Look at those leaders, they have all sorts of meetings, saying that the collective economy should be self-reliant.”

"But when it comes to us laborers, it all boils down to one word: poor!"

Qian Chengguo tapped the pipe in his hand, his eyes flashing coldly in the dim light.

"Let's not talk about that anymore. We're doing this dirty work now, so let's go all the way! Everyone keep your mouths shut, or if anything goes wrong, we'll all be in deep trouble!"

At this point, the room fell silent.

After a few seconds of silence, Lao Hu suddenly grinned, his voice hoarse:
"It's worth it, even if it's illegal! As long as I can get paid, I don't care what kind of work it is!"

As he spoke, he held up the stack of banknotes in his hand and waved it around, his smile carrying a ruthless edge, like someone who had been starving for a long time suddenly tasting meat.

"That's right! We didn't rob or steal anything, we're just finding another way to make money."

Xiao Wang got more and more excited as he spoke, his eyes widening until they were bloodshot.

"If the repair shop can do it, why can't we?"

When the repair shop was mentioned, almost everyone present turned red in the eyes.

Today they've seen it for themselves: dealing in spare parts can be a really lucrative business!

Today, it's just a taxi company, yet they've made so much money!
If other cars also come to them for repairs, the money they make is unimaginable!

Besides, we are all small factories, and we all have skilled workers!

Their repair shop even has apprentices making the parts, so why should they make the money?

"Besides," Old Zhao exhaled a breath of stale air.

"We old-timers are just as skilled as anyone else. We just lack the equipment and the connections."

"Now that we have a way, let's find another way to make a living!"

Qian Chengguo raised his hand and waved it: "Alright, stop shouting!"

"If you all work for me, you'll be well-paid. Our hardware factory will only get more and more work in the future!"

"it is good!"

Several people, clutching cash worth several times their wages, instinctively clenched their fists.

……

at the same time,

In the teaching buildings of Peking University

Chen Luyang stared unfocused at the formulas on the blackboard, gradually feeling her soul being detached.

Why do we have to take advanced mathematics in the second semester of freshman year?
The constitution doesn't require it, so why does the school?
Chen Luyang originally thought that with his swift and decisive efforts in the first half of the semester, he could quickly catch up with and catch up with the class's advanced mathematics progress at a rocket-like speed.

Facing the new advanced mathematics course in the second semester with ease!
But... what is this teacher talking about?

I can't understand this at all!
Chen Luyang was getting sleepy.

I really want to sleep, but I'm afraid to.

Woohoo.

Finally, the bell rang, signaling the end of get out of class. Chen Luyang, as if released from prison, slumped onto the chair, swung her arm, and let out a long sigh.

become free.

Just as he caught his breath, Cui Shaojie, like a ghost, appeared beside him, carrying his schoolbag.

A pair of eyes looked at him with resentment, as if they held a thousand unspoken words.

"I already said I'd take you back to the repair shop for a ride in a car during the May Day holiday, why are you still staring at me like that!" Chen Luyang was speechless at the stare.

Because he wanted to stay home a few more days, Cui Shaojie bought his ticket relatively late.

When he finally returned to school, dusty and exhausted, carrying his luggage, he couldn't even get a ride in a car, let alone enjoy a meal at the Economics Department's Class 1.

Because of this, Cui Shaojie often complained, regretting his decision every day, saying that he had missed out on a major life event.

Chen Luyang was speechless: "How about I take you for a drive by myself during the National Day holiday?!"

Upon hearing this, Cui Shaojie's eyes lit up!
"You have to keep your word! You can't just talk the talk without walking the walk!"

Chen Luyang scoffed, "Would I lie to people? I'm not bragging, but I trained all the drivers for the cars in our factory."

"Normally only the factory director has ridden in my car. You'll be getting the same treatment as the factory director!"

(End of this chapter)