The Fiery Era: Becoming an Industrial Giant

Chapter 123 Policy Towards Africa [Please Subscribe]

Although Yu Zhongguo had spoken to his family, his current wife and children were not very welcoming of Zhou Zhiqiang's family's arrival.

They were strangers after all.

Fang Mengjie brought out tea and snacks from the kitchen and said with a smile, "Zhiqiang and Yuting are here. Please sit down. The food will be ready soon."

She then poured tea for everyone, and although she spoke with a smile, it was clear that she was forcing it.

"Dad, Zhiqiang and I also brought you some New Year's goods, including wine, pastries, candy, peanuts, and melon seeds."

Guo Yuting's call of "Dad" made Yu Zhongguo extremely happy. He quickly said, "I don't lack anything, so you don't need to buy so many things anymore. But the wine you bought must be delicious. We'll drink these later."

"Jingyu, Xunnan, don't you two like snacks and milk candies? Your older brother and sister-in-law bought some for you, why don't you come out and say hello?"

Seeing that Fang Mengjie was about to go back to the kitchen to help after pouring the tea, Guo Yuting quickly followed suit and said, "I'll go help too, it'll be faster for two people to cook."

"Okay, Yuting, you go too. I'll chat with Zhiqiang for a while and let my grandson take a nap. He looks sleepy."

Yu Zhongguo said with a smile, then carried the child to the study, and called Zhou Zhiqiang to come along.

Zhou Zhiqiang had nothing to do while sitting in the living room, so he followed them over. However, he was taken aback when they entered the study and asked, "Why do you have this kind of stroller in your house?"

"Don't you know? The state-owned woodworking factory in Beijing is selling this kind of baby furniture. Oh, and there's also a car that's selling quite well. I think it's the one your family owns."

Yu Zhongguo said with a smile, "Last time you said you were bringing your children, so I went to buy this in advance. You also bought it from the state-owned woodworking factory, right?"

"I designed this myself, but I was too lazy to do the carpentry work, so I found a carpenter to build it for me."

When Zhou Zhiqiang heard that the state-owned woodworking factory was selling these portable baby cribs and baby strollers, he immediately understood what was going on.

"It seems that the carpenter from last time took the crib and stroller I designed back and used them."

Upon hearing this, Yu Zhongguo immediately became angry and said, "You designed this? How can they say that they invented it themselves? When I went to buy it, they even told me that their master craftsman specially designed it for babies."
No, I have to go and talk to them about this.

"Oh, never mind, it's already Chinese New Year, everyone's on holiday."

Zhou Zhiqiang quickly persuaded Yu Zhongguo to stop, and then continued, "Let them have them. I don't care about this. Besides, it's a state-owned enterprise. Consider it a donation to the country."

"This is no small matter, this is...this is theft, this is stealing!"

However, Yu Zhongguo also realized that today was the day he was having dinner with his son and daughter-in-law, and it was not worth arguing with those people.

But he definitely needs an explanation for this, especially since he stole his son's invention. He'll go talk to Old Chen about it later. Yu Zhongguo remembers that Chen Junfeng is the deputy leader of the Ministry of Light Industry, and happens to be in charge of the state-owned woodworking factory in Beijing.

"Zhiqiang, what have you been up to lately? I wanted to ask Lao Chen to put in a good word for you, but he couldn't find out what you've been doing either."

After Yu Zhongguo put his eldest grandson in the crib, he took out his cigarette case to smoke and offer a cigarette to someone, but then he remembered that Zhou Bocai was also there, so he put the cigarette back.

He had originally wanted Zhou Zhiqiang to change his surname back to Yu, to share the same surname as him, but Zhou Zhiqiang directly shook his head and refused.

His reason was that he was used to the name and was too lazy to change it.

"I'm still busy with industrial projects. I have to keep the details a secret, so I can't say. But I've already been promoted fast enough, so please don't bring these things up again."

Zhou Zhiqiang casually said, "Our factory will soon be directly under the ministry, and the entire factory will be promoted one level. I, as the head of the technical department, will also be promoted to level fifteen."

At that age, he's already a level 15 cadre; there are probably only a handful of that level nationwide, so he doesn't need special treatment.

What he needs now is to complete several large projects to stop people from gossiping.

Once the hydraulic press project is completed, Zhou Zhiqiang's record of achievements will be completely secure.

Although there is no custom of resting on one's laurels in official records, a solid record of achievements can at least prevent others from questioning one's merits.

"Level 15? Then you really don't need any special care."

Upon hearing this, Yu Zhongguo was surprised, but even more so, he felt proud.

A level 15 officer in the military is at least equivalent to a deputy regimental commander. His son is only 24 years old this year, which is much better than his father.

Yu Zhongguo recalled that when he was twenty-four years old, he had only recently joined the army and was learning from the political commissar.

"Can you tell me about your situation abroad? I'm quite curious about things happening out there."

Zhou Zhiqiang suddenly asked, "Our factory recently produced a new agricultural machinery, which we plan to export at the Canton Fair next autumn to earn foreign exchange."

The primary target is likely countries that are somewhat underdeveloped but still need to develop their agriculture.

"I can't talk about my mission, but I can tell you about some of my experiences and observations outside."

After thinking for a moment, Yu Zhongguo said, "Actually, the newspapers have already reported that we have established diplomatic relations with the Pharaoh's country, and that's where I'm stationed abroad. I was previously stationed elsewhere, but I've been transferred there."
It wasn't easy. They gained independence a few years later than our country, and their people lived a very hard life before that. Fortunately, the new leaders of the Pharaoh's Kingdom are very capable.

Yu Zhongguo told Zhou Zhiqiang about his experiences and observations in the Pharaoh's Kingdom, but he only talked about things that could be said. He didn't reveal any of the secret missions that couldn't be told.

However, Yu Zhongguo spoke candidly about other things that didn't require secrecy.

For example, Kexun also sent people to contact many African countries and sent agricultural teams, under the guise of aiding development, and spent a lot of money in Africa.

According to Yu Zhongguo's inquiries, three or four small countries had accepted agricultural aid from the agricultural teams sent by Kaishen.

Therefore, their operations in Africa have not been very smooth, and so far only the Pharaoh's country has made progress.

"We estimate that we will also send agricultural aid soon. It was uncertain before, but now I should be 60 or 70 percent certain."

Your tasks should be a bit easier then, since we can easily copy Kaisheng's methods, and our agricultural machinery is even better than Kaisheng's.”

Zhou Zhiqiang didn't dare to say it before, but now he's very confident.

Previously, when they were still imitating tractors, they were indeed not qualified to send out any agricultural aid teams. Even if they did provide aid, it would only be material assistance at most.

But things are different now. We have agricultural machinery such as tractors, seeders, and threshers, and in terms of technology and mechanical performance, they are no less advanced than agricultural machinery produced by top-tier industrial countries like Russia and the United States.

They are still a major agricultural country, although not as mechanized as America, but they are not bad at intensive farming, and it is more suitable for small African countries.

Zhou Zhiqiang asked, "When are you leaving?" Yu Zhongguo was taken aback, then replied, "I'll start preparing around the end of April, but I'll be going for training after the New Year, so I guess I'll be going to a new place."

"It might still be Africa, but it should be other countries. It probably boils down to two things: helping them 'stand up' and 'get enough to eat'."

Before Zhou Zhiqiang came to this era, he had heard some things about establishing diplomatic relations with Africa; after coming to this era, the news he heard gave him a deeper understanding, and he quickly understood the current policy towards Africa.

He's still a bit stingy; the thought of having to provide so much aid makes him feel a little heartbroken.

However, trade is not very realistic, and Lao Fei would definitely not accept trade.

If it's about trade, why don't they choose America? America has a wider variety of goods and a stronger industry; trading with America would allow them to develop faster.

However, what is lost on one side will naturally be recovered on the other. Zhou Zhiqiang felt that a nobody like him should not get involved in such high-level matters.

He specifically inquired about the agricultural situation in African countries from Yu Zhongguo.

If agriculture is developing poorly, then agricultural machinery and equipment will definitely need to be provided as aid. This is when Dafa Agricultural Machinery Equipment Factory needs to step up its efforts.

If it's government aid, the government will definitely allocate funds; it would never let the factory pay for it and let the workers suffer losses.

For the next few years or even more than a decade, Dafeng Agricultural Machinery Equipment Factory will not lack production tasks.

Zhou Zhiqiang may not be very familiar with the specifics, but he is clear about the overall direction for the future.

As Yu Zhongguo talked with Zhou Zhiqiang, he became more and more surprised. Although Zhou Zhiqiang was a military attaché stationed abroad, he also had to shoulder a lot of responsibilities after arriving at the local area.

What the ambassador cannot resolve will affect all of them, and the division of responsibility among them is not so clear.

Moreover, as a military attaché stationed abroad, he also had some special tasks. After listening to Zhou Zhiqiang's analysis of domestic and foreign policies, he suddenly realized that there were quite a few methods that could be used to accomplish what he was doing.

They chatted until Guo Yuting knocked on the door to call them for dinner, at which point Yu Zhongguo reluctantly stopped and said to Zhou Zhiqiang:
"Zhiqiang, let's eat first. Although it's not New Year's Day, this meal will definitely be better than New Year's Day."

Yu Zhongguo pulled Zhou Zhiqiang toward the dining table, where they saw many meat dishes.

There was chicken, fish, and shrimp, as well as braised pork trotters; it was clear that a lot of effort had been put into it.

"Try your Aunt Fang's cooking. When I was in Beijing, the ministry arranged for cooks, but after I was stationed abroad, your Aunt Fang cooked all the meals at home."

Now her skills have improved, and she's just as good as some of the cooks in state-run restaurants.

After praising them, Yu Zhongguo pulled Zhou Zhiqiang to sit at the table, but when he saw that Yu Jingyu and Yu Xunnan had sat down without greeting anyone, he immediately scolded them.

But Zhou Zhiqiang stopped him quickly.

He didn't care about being called "big brother" or anything like that; he only came because Yu Zhongguo was too persistent. If he hadn't come, Yu Zhongguo might have really blocked his door.

The meal went well. Zhou Zhiqiang praised the food after tasting it, and Fang Mengjie smiled happily and put a few more pieces of food on his plate.

after eating.

Zhou Bocai let Guo Yuting take him away to look after him, while Yu Zhongguo pulled Zhou Zhiqiang aside and started telling him about his past.

He joined the group more than a year earlier than the original owner's mother, and at that time the two were like-minded.

It's quite a coincidence that the original owner's mother's surname was Zhou. Back then, Mr. Zhou from Tianjin was quite wealthy. However, after his daughter's accident and some other changes, he moved his family abroad.

Yu Zhongguo participated in many wars before the founding of the People's Republic of China. After the founding of the PRC, he transferred to the Ministry of National Defense and was then assigned to serve as a military attaché abroad.

Yu Zhongguo isn't worried about his family now, he just misses them a little, but the job change will have to wait a few more years.

There aren't many military attachés stationed abroad, and even fewer qualified and capable ones. Yu Zhongguo hasn't trained a group of people to take over yet, so even if he submits a report, his superiors won't agree.

Fortunately, he is well taken care of at home, and he receives a generous monthly allowance, so he doesn't have to worry about his living conditions or anything else.

Previously, Yu Zhongguo wanted to bring Zhou Zhiqiang home so that he could enjoy the benefits of being a relative of a high-ranking official.

But unexpectedly, Zhou Zhiqiang will become a level 15 cadre next year through his own abilities.

Even without his father, life would be just as good, which made Yu Zhongguo feel both disappointed and proud.

"Zhiqiang, why don't you stay with me for a few more days? I have plenty of rooms, and it'll be more lively with more people."

Yu Zhongguo advised, "I remember Yuting's family went to help with the reconstruction. After you go back, the two of you will be living in such a big place. It will be cold in the big house. It will be more lively here."

I have a few comrades-in-arms with me tomorrow and the day after. I'll introduce them to you then, so you'll have more options in the future.

Besides paving the way for Zhou Zhiqiang, Yu Zhongguo also wanted to show off.

Compared to themselves and their positions, these old comrades-in-arms are all pretty much the same. Their lives are pretty much set, and all they can do in the future is to contribute more to the country.

However, when it comes to the next generation, Yu Zhongguo can be said to have won completely!
Previously, Chen Junfeng's daughter was the most successful; she was a college student and even got into the Ministry of Machine Building through her own abilities.

But now his son is definitely the most capable. He is also a college student and will soon become a level 15 cadre, and he is also involved in many major projects.

Old Chen's daughters all work under his son, and based on that alone, he has to bow down to him.

Moreover, Yu Zhongguo also wants to spend more time with his son and grandson, so he keeps persuading them, coming up with all sorts of reasons to do so.

“Let’s stay for three days. We have to go back after that. It’s impossible for us to stay here for a long time. I work overtime until about 10 p.m. every day. Only Yuting can accept me coming back so late.”

Zhou Zhiqiang thought of something else and continued, "Moreover, if I don't live in the courtyard house for a long time, the neighborhood committee will convert my father-in-law's house into a public rental housing unit."

Someone needs to stay there, so a few days during the Spring Festival period will suffice.

"Then I'll go and talk to the neighborhood office and let it go. It's fine if you can stay for a few days. Come and visit more often in the future. I've already told the security guard that you're family to me."

Seeing the uncompromising expression on Zhou Zhiqiang's face, Yu Zhongguo knew that staying for a few days was the limit, so he had no choice but to give up trying to persuade him further.

However, he still hoped that Zhou Zhiqiang could visit more often during his vacation.

　First update

　　Asking for a monthly ticket!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)