The Fiery Era: Becoming an Industrial Giant

Chapter 188 The Russians are going to cause trouble again.

"Director Ren, what's the matter?"

When Zhou Zhiqiang knocked on the door and entered the office, his first question was somewhat urgent: what was the reason for this?

The director made it sound so serious on the phone that he rushed over without even having a meal.

After making the call, he waited a while for the car to arrive, made the arrangements, and then immediately took the car over.

Zhou Zhiqiang was still holding a packed lunchbox, which Zhao Chenghui and his group had specially prepared for him after they finished eating—they thought he had returned to the technical department ahead of time because he hadn't come back for a long time.

Just as Zhou Zhiqiang was about to leave by car, he ran into them. Zhao Chenghui handed him the packed food and told him to take it home and eat it.

However, Zhou Zhiqiang had no intention of resting. After finishing his business with the Ministry of Machine Building, he planned to return to Factory 190 immediately to continue working.

"By the way, Director Ren, it's perfect that you called me here. I also have something I'd like to discuss with you recently, but it might be better to talk to someone from the Fourth Ministry of Machinery Industry. Could you help me make an introduction?"

Before Director Ren could speak, Zhou Zhiqiang interjected, "I plan to train a group of semiconductor technicians to be specifically responsible for semiconductor processing technology."
I've recently learned a lot about this topic and feel confident teaching others; however, this kind of work should ideally be led by the Fourth Ministry of Machine Building, so could you please help me contact them?

Upon hearing this, Director Ren swallowed back what he was about to say and instead asked, "Why did you suddenly think of training talent? Don't you have a lot of things to do yourself?"

And if I remember correctly, their semiconductor processing personnel are all engineers, right?

"No, they haven't reached the level of engineers yet, and their treatment is different; strictly speaking, these people should be considered technicians responsible for specific processes."

Zhou Zhiqiang explained: "Because Factory 190 has too few people. A technician in charge of semiconductor processing can only produce a maximum of two hundred components a day. If the pass rate exceeds 40%, then the component is already a treasure in the factory."

To be honest, with this level of production efficiency, even if I successfully developed CNC machine tools, I still wouldn't be able to produce finished products, because no one can supply enough semiconductor components.

"The companies that urgently need transistor components right now are actually computer manufacturers. I don't think we can compete with them for resources."

After listening, Director Ren pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "I really didn't expect the production efficiency to be so low. Your considerations are indeed reasonable."
"But aren't you worried that after you train these people, all the semiconductor components they produce will be used by the computer department?"

"Then let's supply them first, and then supply us when their needs are met."

Zhou Zhiqiang waved his hand and said firmly, "Computers are indeed important, but they can't monopolize the production forever."
Besides, if I can train a group of skilled machining personnel, would the Fourth Ministry of Machine Building still ignore our CNC machine tool project?

"Haha, good job, you're really something. Write a report and have the driver hand it to me, and I'll contact the people at the Fourth Ministry of Machinery Industry for you tomorrow."

Director Ren said with a smile that Zhou Zhiqiang is now even having his driver deliver things for him; the driver is practically becoming his personal assistant.

Moreover, it's best to have a detailed plan and report for this kind of thing; otherwise, it's difficult to express it clearly with just a verbal description, and the work also needs to be documented.

"By the way, Director Ren, you haven't told me what's up. Are you looking for Deputy Leader Wu?"

"Oh right, I almost forgot about that. Deputy Leader Wu is still waiting for us to come over."

Director Ren immediately remembered that he had almost forgotten about this matter when Zhou Zhiqiang asked him the question at the beginning.

Director Ren then quickly got up and led Zhou Zhiqiang toward Deputy Leader Wu's office.

However, as soon as he stepped out of the office, Director Ren noticed that Zhou Zhiqiang was carrying a lunchbox and couldn't help but ask, "Zhiqiang, why did you bring a lunchbox with you?"

"Oh, this? I was just about to go eat when Director Liu said you were looking for me, so Deputy Director Zhao Chenghui got my food. After he finished, he saw me getting into my car and handed me the lunchbox."

Zhou Zhiqiang kept holding the lunchbox in his hand and forgot about it; it was only after Director Ren reminded him that he remembered he was still carrying the lunchbox.

"Didn't have time for lunch?"

"I didn't have time to eat, so I just had a simple breakfast."

"You must remember to eat on time, Comrade Zhiqiang."

After Director Ren reminded him, he didn't say much more, knowing that when scientific research experiments get busy, people often don't have time for other things.

The two arrived at Deputy Leader Wu's office, knocked on the door and went in. Director Ren then said, "Leader, Comrade Zhiqiang has arrived."

"Oh, you're here, Zhiqiang. Why are you carrying a lunchbox?"

When they met, Deputy Leader Wu asked the same question, because Zhou Zhiqiang was carrying a lunchbox that was too conspicuous. Surely he wasn't there to bring him food?

"Comrade Zhiqiang has been busy all day and has barely eaten anything."

Director Ren briefly explained the situation to Zhou Zhiqiang.

After listening, Deputy Leader Wu said with emotion, "You've worked hard, Zhiqiang. But you seem quite happy. Has there been any progress in the experiment?"

"Huh? Boss, you can tell that too?"

Zhou Zhiqiang said in surprise, "I didn't even tell Director Ren. It's because the process experiment at Factory 190 was successful, and now we're preparing to make samples."

Once the silicon wafer samples are successfully manufactured, one-third of the most difficult task for the CNC machine tool will be completed. If everything goes smoothly, the overall task can be completed a little ahead of schedule.

"No wonder you don't have time to eat. I recently asked Director Liu of Factory 190, and he said your team is busy until after midnight every day. Even the security department can't stay up as long as you guys."

After finishing his speech, Deputy Leader Wu pointed to the sofa and tea table and said, "You eat first, don't let the food get cold. You can listen to what I need to tell you while you eat, it won't delay you."

"That's not really appropriate. Why don't you tell me first, boss? I can eat it when I get back."

“What’s wrong with that? Listen to me, I often eat in the office when I don’t go to the cafeteria, it’s perfectly normal.”

Hearing what Deputy Leader Wu said, Zhou Zhiqiang stopped refusing and sat down on the sofa, saying, "Leader, then I'll be polite this once."

The lunchbox contained two dishes and two steamed buns. One of the dishes was shredded pork with green peppers, which was a surprise for Zhou Zhiqiang today.

Deputy Leader Wu said with a smile, "That's more like it. You're so busy with the CNC machine tool project that you don't even have time to eat. If I were to delay your meal because of the rules, what kind of behavior would that be?"

After Zhou Zhiqiang started eating, Deputy Leader Wu continued, "Zhiqiang, you can just eat while listening to me."

At the end of last month, we delivered the first batch of high-precision coordinate boring machines to the Russians, but they have made a new request: they want to visit the Second Machine Tool Plant.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhiqiang showed a surprised expression. After swallowing the steamed bun in his mouth, he asked, "We still need to visit? Is it because of the universal grinding machine?" "Not really. If they want it, we won't hide it from them. Anyway, we're selling it to them to pay off their debts. The more they want, the greater the output value created by the Second Machine Tool Plant."

"But they seem to be heading more towards your factory's precision workshop, probably because they received news about our CNC machine tool development."

Zhou Zhiqiang was startled and quickly asked, "How did they know? Isn't this a completely confidential project?"

"If we could truly achieve complete secrecy, there wouldn't be so many leaks."

Deputy Leader Wu sighed and said, "The attitude of the higher-ups towards the Russians has changed a lot, but it hasn't completely reached the lower levels yet, so many people still think of them as the big brother."
The person who leaked the information said it was unintentional, and that's not entirely unfair; however, he felt there was no harm in telling Big Brother, and fortunately, the leaked information wasn't extensive, leaving the Russians unaware of the specific progress of the CNC machine tools.

After listening to Deputy Leader Wu's words, Zhou Zhiqiang silently understood the reason for the matter.

Some people blindly admire the Russians, believing them to be the core of socialism. They have no idea about the real situation in Russia and have made wrong judgments based solely on propaganda.

The Russians are now preparing to abandon the struggle and intend to coexist peacefully with capitalism. Despite having a powerful army and world-class strength, they are so afraid that they want to surrender.

To call it surrendering might be an exaggeration, but it's not far from the truth.

People who don't understand the Russians but admire them greatly are indeed easily swayed and deceived.

This is also the reason why the anti-Soviet revisionist movement was launched in China later – it was necessary to let more people know that the Soviet revisionists were not good, otherwise the people below would still think that the Russians were still the big brother.

Now their classified project has been leaked, but fortunately the core content of the project has not been leaked; the Russians may only know that they are developing CNC machine tools, but they absolutely cannot know the specific progress.

The specific progress is only controlled by Zhou Zhiqiang and Director Ren, and above them is Deputy Leader Wu; unless the Russians directly pry information out of the three of them.

"Boss, what do we do now? Should we just refuse their visit?"

Zhou Zhiqiang said, "You just come and go as you please? Do you think our Second Machine Tool Factory is a park? You have to buy a ticket to go to a park."

"Don't say such hurtful things. They came here to visit the coordinate boring machine production line, and they also plan to buy a universal grinding machine. They are considered your factory's customers."

Deputy Leader Wu reassured them, "If we don't even let them see this, they'll have even more excuses."

"Boss, to be honest, the Russians have done a lot of things without any reason; for example, they stopped supplying Miss Qiu with materials, and they've also abandoned some aid projects, right?"

Zhou Zhiqiang shook his head and said, "I estimate that after a while, they might just withdraw their people and completely cut off aid."

He remembered it was sometime this year, but he forgot the exact month; however, the engineers sent by the Russians were no longer working, so the month didn't matter to them.

We're currently supporting Russian engineers and technical experts, and they're wasting our food.

Deputy Leader Wu said, "We can't control what they do, but Zhiqiang, you have to keep things under control when the Russians come to visit. Don't you dare throw a tantrum."

"Of course I understand, boss. I'm the factory manager, not a child."

Zhou Zhiqiang clicked his tongue and said, "Why does this leader always think he's going to do something 'big'? Wasn't he always so composed?"

"When they come to visit, I'll lock up the precision workshop for a day to make sure they don't find any clues. Let the department handle the orders."

I'll just show them the production line. Actually, Deputy Factory Director Liu can handle the hosting too; he's experienced and knows how to manage production tasks well.

"Since they have people from last time coming, it's more appropriate for you to step in."

"Alright then, the experiment here was successful, so I don't need to keep an eye on it for the next few days."

Zhou Zhiqiang agreed, saying that the Russians were really troublesome; because their arrival would disrupt his plans for the next few days.

"But don't worry too much,"

Deputy Leader Wu reassured him, "According to the information we've gathered, this visit to your Second Machine Tool Plant was Petrov's decision alone, and he pushed forward it despite opposition from others."

He also wields considerable influence among the Russians.

"Is this guy a patriot who thinks our machine tool factory is a potential threat to their industrial system?"

Upon hearing this name, Zhou Zhiqiang immediately recalled his previous conversation with Petrov.

This guy has a huge admiration for his country, much like the political commissars of the Russians during World War II.

If he believed that the Second Machine Tool Plant's ability to develop CNC machine tools posed an "industrial threat" to their country, he might actually do something like that.

However, he was outnumbered and his efforts were not supported by many.

In the eyes of others, China's industrial level is just so-so, and it will collapse sooner or later without their support; there is no need to inquire about it or take any unnecessary actions.

After Zhou Zhiqiang agreed, he asked, "Sir, is there anything else? If not, I'll go back to Factory 190 and make some arrangements."

"There's nothing else that's important, but your factory should be preparing for the autumn Canton Fair."

Although it's still a bit early, it's always good to prepare in advance; moreover, this Canton Fair is crucial for your factory to showcase its technology.

Deputy Leader Wu then asked, "Zhiqiang, are you planning to go in person?"

"I won't go. Let Deputy Factory Director Sun or Deputy Factory Director Liu go."

After listening, Zhou Zhiqiang shook his head and said, "I'll go back and make arrangements to see which of the two is more suitable to go; as for me, forget it."

The CNC machine tool project team has a ton of work to do and simply can't spare the time.

Deputy Leader Wu said with a smile, "I thought you would be curious about the Guangdong area, since you've never been there before, but you refused so decisively."

Zhou Zhiqiang said, "There will be plenty of opportunities in the future. Let's finish what we're doing now."

Actually, this isn't the real reason; Zhou Zhiqiang had seen all sorts of skyscrapers in his later years, but there's not much to see in Guangdong now, and there probably aren't many skyscrapers left.

Moreover, the train experience in this era is truly the best reason to give up on traveling; even spending two or three days in a soft sleeper carriage is enough to make people unbearable.

(End of this chapter)