The Fiery Era: Becoming an Industrial Giant

Chapter 179 Mr. Zhou: I'll reply to you in two days.
"Comrade Zhiqiang, the General Office of China Overseas has notified us to go there at 9:30. They have prepared a place."

Early in the morning, before Zhou Zhiqiang had even sat down at the factory, Deputy Leader Wu called.
"The list you submitted has been arranged by the Zhonghai office. Everyone will be there on time at 9:30."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhiqiang asked with some surprise, "Sir, are we going to the Zhonghai office?"

"Such an important project, which was suddenly cut in line and requires the cooperation of so many departments and units, of course Mr. Zhou should be informed immediately."

Deputy Leader Wu said, "Remember to arrive on time and be prepared. If you don't get the chance this time, Comrade Jianhui and I will definitely try to get it for you next year."

Based on the performance of the Second Machine Tool Plant this year, it may be able to generate 70 to 80 million yuan in output value, and by the end of the year, it may be the undisputed number one in output value.

Moreover, the machine tools produced were not only needed by the Russians, but also sought after by various domestic units. They were not machine tools produced in a flamboyant manner that no one wanted.

Deputy Leader Wu saw the future of the Second Machine Tool Plant. Perhaps in a few years, the Second Machine Tool Plant itself would be able to start developing CNC machine tools.

He just didn't know why Zhou Zhiqiang was in such a hurry. The Second Machine Tool Plant was still expanding, and next year's production tasks were already full, but he still wanted to be one step ahead, or rather, three steps ahead, in research and development and production.

"Okay, boss, I'll be right there."

Zhou Zhiqiang hung up the phone after speaking; he had been preparing for this for half a month.

Besides, he had visited so many people before; the foreshadowing wasn't done in vain.

If Zhou Zhiqiang hadn't gone, these technical experts and senior engineers might have felt that the timing wasn't quite right, as they hadn't even determined the direction of their research and development experiments.

But now, they've all heard Zhou Zhiqiang talk about some research and development directions for the next ten to twenty years. It's like a road full of fog that has been illuminated by streetlights.

Now, all you need to do is slowly walk along the streetlights to complete the journey that has taken you more than ten years.

If even this doesn't determine whether now is the best time to research and manufacture CNC machine tools, then Zhou Zhiqiang has no choice but to proceed with production step by step.

After packing his things, Zhou Zhiqiang asked the driver to take him to Zhonghai Courtyard.

Before long, they arrived at the entrance of Zhonghai Institute. Zhou Zhiqiang peeked out and saw that Deputy Leader Wu was waiting for him in front of the door.

Zhou Zhiqiang quickly told the driver to pull over to the side of the road. After getting out of the car, he walked over to Deputy Leader Wu and greeted him, "Leader, why are you waiting at the door?"

"I was afraid you wouldn't know the way, so I'm waiting to show you the way."

Deputy Leader Wu said with a smile, "You're one of the early ones. There are still a few people who haven't arrived yet. Let's go in first."

"Row."

After Zhou Zhiqiang finished speaking, he followed Deputy Leader Wu inside.

After entering Zhonghai, they hadn't walked far when they ran into Deputy Director Wei from the General Office, who was there to take them to the conference room.

So Deputy Leader Wu and Zhou Zhiqiang followed Deputy Director Wei to the conference room.

He pushed open the conference room door and went inside. One of the people inside turned around when he heard the door open, and upon seeing who had come in, exclaimed in surprise, "Comrade Zhiqiang, you're here too?"

"Yes, Deputy Factory Director Zhao."

Upon seeing Zhou Zhiqiang, Zhao Chenghui said with some delight, "Last time you left, it was as if you had disappeared without a trace. After the meeting this time, you must visit the research lab at Factory 190."

Speaking of which, several engineers in our factory would like to talk to you. After reading your research on silicon, they all feel that it has great potential.

Zhou Zhiqiang said with a smile, "Don't worry, Deputy Factory Director Zhao, you'll definitely have time. Professor Yu, thank you for making the trip."

After greeting Zhao Chenghui, Zhou Zhiqiang then greeted Professor Yu Hongye.

Unlike Zhao Chenghui, Professor Yu had a rough idea of ​​what was going on after greeting him.

At first, he didn't know why the China Ocean Academy had notified him to come so early, but after Professor Yu Hongye arrived and talked with Zhao Chenghui, he saw Zhou Zhiqiang as well.

He immediately guessed that they were here because of Zhou Zhiqiang, since he knew that the Second Machine Tool Factory planned to develop and manufacture CNC machine tools, and Professor Yu was very knowledgeable about CNC machine tools.

There are a few more blackboards, just enough.

When Zhou Zhiqiang saw the blackboards in the room, he immediately felt that the people in the Zhonghai office were very considerate.

So he put down his briefcase, went to the portable blackboard, picked up the chalk, and began to write on it.

Zhou Zhiqiang is very clear about the most important and technically difficult parts of CNC machine tools, so he is currently writing and drawing about these parts.

Numerical control systems, servo drive systems, multi-axis linkage and interpolation technology, etc.
"Hey? Comrade Zhiqiang."

When Zhao Chenghui saw Zhou Zhiqiang's actions, he wanted to ask Zhou Zhiqiang what he was going to do, but Professor Yu stopped him and gestured for him to watch first.

Zhou Zhiqiang, taking advantage of the fact that not everyone had arrived yet, wanted to list out all his ideas for developing and manufacturing CNC machine tools, which would save some time.

He arrived early; there was still some time before the time announced by the General Office.

After a while, the others arrived one after another.

Some of them knew him, and some didn't, but everyone who came here knew Zhou Zhiqiang.

After all, Zhou Zhiqiang had privately visited all of them and contacted them during this period.

After everyone had arrived, Deputy Director Wei from the General Office walked in. He was taken aback when he saw Zhou Zhiqiang writing and drawing on the blackboard, but still reminded him, "Deputy Factory Director Zhou, you can begin."

"Okay, I understand, Deputy Director Wei."

Zhou Zhiqiang was almost ready, so he stopped, turned around, and said to the people in the room: "Comrades, you are here because the Second Machine Tool Plant and the First Ministry of Machine Tool proposed to Mr. Zhou the development and manufacturing of CNC machine tools."

I believe we now possess the necessary conditions to successfully manufacture CNC machine tools that can be put into industrial production and used skillfully.

"That's why we invited everyone here to discuss this together."

“Tsinghua University once manufactured a CNC machine tool, but the components of the CNC system were too large to be used in actual production.”

"But the CNC machine tools that our Second Machine Tool Plant is preparing to develop and manufacture are completely different."

Firstly, there's the challenge of the sheer size of CNC systems, because vacuum tubes are too bulky, and germanium transistors are extremely difficult to manufacture and lack sufficient heat resistance.

Zhou Zhiqiang pulled over a blackboard and briefly explained all the ideas and design and development approaches he had come up with over the past few days, from transistors to integrated circuits.

However, it seems that only Zhao Chenghui could fully understand it. Others only have some knowledge of semiconductors, but not enough to understand them so deeply, and they were able to quickly comprehend what Zhou Zhiqiang was saying at such a fast pace.

After listening, Zhao Chenghui immediately raised several production problems in his opinion. After all, theory is theory, and it takes 90% of people to turn theory into practical results.

Zhou Zhiqiang answered each question individually, but detailed explanations would have to wait for private discussions, as time was very limited. Zhou Zhiqiang explained things very thoroughly and quickly, taking into account all the difficulties and challenges they were currently facing in developing and producing CNC machine tools, but also providing solutions.

It may not be the best solution, but it is currently the most suitable way for China to achieve technological breakthroughs.

Time passes slowly, and for those who are focused, it is difficult to perceive the passage of time.

If it weren't for Deputy Director Wei reminding them, they wouldn't have even thought about lunch.

However, Zhou Zhiqiang thought of Professor Yu, an elderly person, in the office, so he decided to pause the discussion and continue after lunch.

Although Mr. Zhou had not spoken yet, leaving Zhou Zhiqiang somewhat uncertain, they had now entered the technical discussion phase.

Whether or not to develop CNC machine tools seems to have become secondary; the discussion then shifted to the development direction of semiconductors, process improvements, and the development direction of CNC programs, among other things.

After a quick lunch, Zhou Zhiqiang and the others continued their lively discussion, focusing on the development of CNC machine tools in several fields.

However, Zhou Zhiqiang felt like Lu Bu in front of Hulao Pass, having to talk to several people at once, and his brain was almost full of information.

the other side.

After finishing his work, Mr. Zhou asked his assistant to call over Deputy Director Wei.

After Deputy Director Wei arrived, Mr. Zhou asked, "How is it over there? Seven hours have passed, haven't they? Have all the researchers who came eaten?"

"It's already been arranged, and they've all eaten."

Deputy Director Wei immediately said, "I reminded them three times at first, but no one moved. Later, I arranged for someone to bring the food over, and only then did they stop eating."

I'm not entirely sure how the specific discussions went; I didn't quite understand the technical details they were using, but the noise inside never stopped.

"Seven hours and you're still not finished discussing it? Then I'll have to go and take a look."

Mr. Zhou glanced at his watch, stood up, and said, "If there's no result today, we can continue tomorrow."

Seeing that Mr. Zhou was about to go to work, the assistant quickly reminded him, "Mr. Zhou, you haven't had lunch yet. Why don't you eat first before you go?"

"I can eat whenever I want. Just have someone deliver it to me, and I'll eat it when I get back from there."

After Mr. Zhou finished speaking, he turned to Deputy Director Wei and said, "Take me to see it."

"Okay, Mr. Zhou."

After Deputy Director Wei finished speaking, he got up and led the way. He also wanted Mr. Zhou to eat first, but he knew that if they didn't get to work done immediately, Mr. Zhou would get angry and scold them.

While on their way there, Deputy Director Wei reported to Mr. Zhou, "Mr. Zhou, there's something else I need to tell you. In the past few days, Deputy Director Zhou of the Second Machine Tool Factory has privately spoken with the other comrades in the room. They had met before."

What did you do when you met?

"We only talked about technology, and most of them I had only met once; we didn't talk about anything else."

Deputy Director Wei said that if their office wanted to find out something, they could definitely find out the details very quickly.

He made a few phone calls and quickly found out what had happened.

"Is that so? Then we'll ask later."

Not long after they finished speaking, Mr. Zhou and his group arrived at the meeting room prepared for Zhou Zhiqiang and his colleagues.

Upon seeing Mr. Zhou arrive, Zhou Zhiqiang was the first to stand up and greet him, "Mr. Zhou, you've arrived."

"Hello, Mr. Zhou."

The others also stood up to greet Mr. Zhou, but Mr. Zhou quickly waved his hand, indicating that it was not necessary.

Mr. Zhou then said with a smile, "Comrades, you are all technical experts in your respective industries. It was my arrangement to bring you here today."

The reason for today's discussion is to find out whether it is suitable for China to immediately develop and produce CNC machine tools.

"I see, Mr. Zhou. Now I understand why Deputy Factory Director Zhou came to see me a few days ago."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Chenghui smiled and said, "He said he was a newcomer interested in semiconductors and wanted to visit our factory to learn more."
However, after they arrived, they brought out a document on the basic theory and process development direction of silicon transistors. After discussing it with Engineer Lin and a few others, we felt that it was very feasible and had great experimental value.

"I didn't understand Deputy Factory Director Zhou's purpose in coming before, but now that you've explained it, I understand completely. He wants to develop and produce CNC machine tools, so he hopes our factory can start with silicon crystals to solve the CNC system of the machine tools and produce integrated circuits."

After Zhao Chenghui finished speaking, he paused for a moment, and then continued to Mr. Zhou: "I didn't really recommend it before, and I don't know much about machine tools."

However, if we only aim to achieve the integrated circuit CNC technology that Deputy Factory Director Zhou envisioned, then there is still a great deal of hope, and my suggestion is that we give it a try.

After Zhao Chenghui finished speaking, Professor Yu also spoke up, saying, "That's what I meant too. Comrade Zhiqiang came to see me and we discussed many driving technologies, all of which have considerable feasibility."
And after hearing this today, I have even more confidence in developing CNC machine tools, Mr. Zhou.”

Others chimed in, and everyone agreed that it was feasible to develop and produce such a product.

Zhou Zhiqiang had done a lot of preparation work, giving a very clear research and development direction, and they all felt that it was highly feasible.

There's absolutely no need to oppose that, and the importance of CNC machine tools goes without saying; their benefits to the country are immense.

Mr. Zhou said with a smile, "It seems that everyone has passed. Comrade Zhiqiang did his homework very well in advance."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhiqiang said, "Mr. Zhou, I went to see you all privately beforehand because I felt that one day was not enough time. It's unlikely that we could finish explaining everything clearly in one day, so I went ahead of time."

“You did nothing wrong, Comrade Zhiqiang; there was no collusion in private, no selfish motives, and you were wholeheartedly dedicated to research and development. There is no need for you to blame yourself.”

After listening to what the others had just said, Mr. Zhou understood Zhou Zhiqiang's purpose.

Like some diplomatic actions, it was all about making preparations in advance, which he saw as nothing wrong with.

Moreover, persuading these people is not something that can be achieved solely through selfishness; if they all agree, it means there is a very high probability of success.

"You've all worked hard today, let's call it a day. If you'd like to continue, the meeting room can still be used, but I hope you don't overexert yourselves."

After giving his instructions, Mr. Zhou paused for a moment, then said to Zhou Zhiqiang, "Comrade Zhiqiang, I will give you an answer about this matter in two days."

The lack of an immediate response disappointed Zhou Zhiqiang, but he quickly realized that he might need to report to a higher-up.

Let's just wait, it's only two days.

However, after meeting Mr. Zhou, they had no intention of continuing the discussion. They could only arrange a time to continue, and then they parted ways.

(End of this chapter)