The Fiery Era: Becoming an Industrial Giant

Chapter 194 Machine Tools Open the Door to Diplomacy
After meeting his wife at the gate, Zhou Zhiqiang smiled apologetically at the security guard and then led her towards the office.

As they walked towards the office, Zhou Zhiqiang took his wife's backpack and asked, "Yuting, why did you suddenly come to our factory in broad daylight? I'm still working."

He was just talking to two deputy factory directors when his wife arrived. If it weren't for Deputy Factory Director Liu coming to his rescue, Zhou Zhiqiang wouldn't have been able to tell them that he had left the two deputy factory directors to see his wife.

"And you're already three or four months pregnant, how did you manage all this time? I haven't seen your bicycle."

"Of course we'll take the bus. There's a bus stop near your factory, didn't you forget?"

Guo Yuting said somewhat unhappily, "We made dumplings at home yesterday. You haven't been home for more than three months. If I don't come to see you soon, have you forgotten where home is?"

"And how was your food at the factory? I heard from Pingping and Xiaojun's wife that when your factory slaughtered rabbits for meat, you didn't go back. You must have been eating poorly somewhere else, right?"

Zhou Zhiqiang waved his hand and said, "How could the food be bad? I'm the factory manager, how could I let myself go hungry?"

The food there is great; I get to eat lots of meat every week.

He's exaggerating a bit. There might be meat, but each person will only get a tiny bit at most, maybe a little oil.

This is still considered good. The supply from the Fourth Ministry of Machine Building was definitely not as sufficient as that from the First Ministry of Machine Building. Among all the machine building ministries, the First Ministry of Machine Building was the leader, and most of the other machine building ministries were separated from the First Ministry of Machine Building.

The Second Machine Tool Plant was a large factory with an output value of over 100 million yuan in two years, which is why the Ministry of Machine Building gave it special treatment.

Although Factory 190 was a secret factory, the treatment was only above average, and it was unlikely to be comparable to that of the Fourth Ministry of Machine Building.

However, Zhou Zhiqiang could still exaggerate a little, telling his wife that he ate a lot of meat every week at Factory 190, and last week he even ate two chicken legs.

After hearing this, Guo Yuting glanced at her husband, clearly not believing it.

Back in her office, Guo Yuting looked around and couldn't help but say, "Zhiqiang, your office is quite tidy. I thought it would be like your study at home."

Her husband is very good at keeping things organized in other aspects, and he will wash his clothes if they are dirty and in urgent need of changing, but his study is often a mess.

After finishing reading the book, she didn't put it back, and the sketches were just left lying around on the table or chair. Moreover, she couldn't tell whether they were important or not, so she didn't bother to tidy up and simply ignored the study.

I didn't expect the factory office to be so tidy. Although there were still many books, it didn't look messy.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhiqiang smiled and said, "I haven't been back to the factory to work in a long time. I'm back today for a meeting, otherwise you wouldn't have run into me."

The meeting was originally scheduled for Monday, but the other groups encountered technical problems in the previous two meetings. After Zhou Zhiqiang discussed and resolved the issues with each group and learned about their respective research and development progress, the meeting was cancelled.

"No wonder you weren't here when I came to your factory before."

After Guo Yuting finished speaking, she stopped caring about anything else and took out two lunchboxes from her backpack.
"Have some dumplings, I just made and cooked them for you this morning, they're perfect to eat now; and there are pickled cucumbers too, they've been pickling for over two months."

A box of pork and scallion dumplings, and a box of pickled cucumbers—just looking at them makes your mouth water with their tangy and refreshing flavor.

Although he had eaten breakfast, it was almost noon, so Zhou Zhiqiang picked up his chopsticks and took a bite.

"Hmm? There's so much meat filling. This box of dumplings must contain at least four ounces of meat. The cucumbers are also pickled well. They're about two months old, and they have the refreshing taste of cucumbers and the appetizing flavor of pickled vegetables."

After taking a few bites, Zhou Zhiqiang praised the pork and scallion dumplings, saying that they were almost entirely filled with pork filling with no scallions at all.

Even in state-run restaurants nowadays, you can't find these kinds of dumplings anymore; only dumplings with half meat and half vegetables can be considered meat-filled dumplings.

Guo Yuting said with a smile, "You're so busy outside, it's only right that I treat you to good food."

This was a common idea in those days: the best food in the house should be reserved for the able-bodied men; it didn't matter if others went hungry, but the able-bodied men couldn't be allowed to collapse.

If a strong laborer collapses, then it won't just be one person going hungry.

After Zhou Zhiqiang finished eating the dumplings and pickled cucumbers, he drank most of a cup of tea before patting his stomach and feeling full.

Guo Yuting slapped Zhou Zhiqiang's hand in an annoyance and said, "You're full, so why are you touching my belly?"

"Look at the children!"

After Zhou Zhiqiang finished speaking, he remembered that he needed to go to the hospital for a physical examination, so he said to Guo Yuting, "Yuting, what are you planning to do next? How about I take you home? I'm going to the hospital for a physical examination later, and I'll take you home while I'm at it."

I'll go with you.

"You're pregnant, so don't go to the hospital. Just stay home and wait for my news."

Zhou Zhiqiang refused without hesitation, saying that the hospital was crowded with patients, and the current security measures were not as good as in later years. Why would Guo Yuting, a pregnant woman, want to go there and cause trouble?

"Okay then, but you have to tell me the result."

Guo Yuting solemnly instructed, "Don't keep anything from me."

"When have I ever hidden anything from you?"

After Zhou Zhiqiang finished speaking, he began to pack up his lunchbox and also informed the driver.

Guo Yuting took the day off today and didn't need to go to the neighborhood office, so Zhou Zhiqiang had the driver take her home directly.

After sending Guo Yuting back, Zhou Zhiqiang instructed the driver to head to the hospital where he had his last medical check-up.

It took Zhou Zhiqiang nearly an hour more to finish his physical examination at the hospital.

Unsurprisingly, he remains in excellent health. Apart from two data points that are still pending, the doctor who examined him has rarely seen such a healthy body.

Almost exactly what the doctors who examined Zhou Zhiqiang thought last time: if they knew that Zhou Zhiqiang worked sixteen or seventeen hours a day for more than half a year, they would probably be even more shocked.

After the physical examination, Zhou Zhiqiang left the hospital and asked the hospital to send him back to Factory 190.

When they returned to Factory 190, the apprentices who had been learning from Zhou Zhiqiang were undergoing semiconductor production and processing tests.

However, this is just the beginning; a written test is being conducted uniformly.

Seeing that Zhou Zhiqiang had returned so quickly, Zhao Chenghui, who was supervising the exam, handed over the invigilation duties to another staff member from the technical department and came out to ask Zhou Zhiqiang...
"Comrade Zhiqiang, why are you back so soon?"

"Now that the business is done, of course I have to come back and visit. However, I have to go back to the Second Machine Tool Factory tomorrow morning, so I probably won't be back until the afternoon."

Fearing it would affect the exam inside, Zhou Zhiqiang lowered his voice and said, "Comrade Chenghui, will everyone be here by tomorrow afternoon? If so, let's start designing the integrated circuit."

There are three more items to go, which will take at least six or seven months.

Once the integrated circuit is developed and manufactured, there are still many tasks to be completed, such as the development of practical CNC system circuit boards and the integration of CNC software. Although their research and development progress is fast, they still cannot relax. From yesterday to tomorrow afternoon, they have already had a day and a half of rest, which is not a short time.

"Everyone will definitely be here, but Comrade Zhiqiang, did you really go for a medical check-up?"

"Of course I went. The doctor said he'd never seen anyone as healthy as me. Besides, this kind of thing needs to be recorded in my file. If I keep putting it off, they'll come knocking on my door."

Zhou Zhiqiang shook his head and said, "This is actually quite good. Nowadays, some cadres are indeed focused on construction but neglect their own health, and they get exhausted from being so busy."

Unfortunately, medical resources are insufficient; it's wishful thinking to expect every worker and farmer to have access to them.

Upon hearing the first part of the sentence, Zhao Chenghui glanced at Zhou Zhiqiang sideways, thinking to himself, 'So you also know that Gu Jianshe doesn't care about his health, huh?'

However, upon hearing the second half of the sentence, Zhao Chenghui added, "Wouldn't that mean we'd directly enter communism? That day will come, but right now, farmers and workers can't even afford medical checkups, let alone access to healthcare."
My second uncle was sick but he toughed it out. Later, he couldn't take it anymore, so my dad brought him to the city to find me, and finally, we got him admitted to the hospital.

"Hey, Comrade Chenghui, are you from the countryside?"

Zhao Chenghui nodded and said, "Yes, I came from the countryside when I was young, but I wasn't a poor peasant, I was a rich peasant."

"Oh."

After thinking about it for a while, Zhou Zhiqiang decided to pay more attention to Comrade Zhao Chenghui a few years later.

He's a very capable semiconductor R&D engineer; hopefully nothing unexpected will happen to him.

Zhou Zhiqiang wasn't afraid before, and he's even less afraid now. If you were to list all departments and rank their level of security, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would probably be the safest.

After a period of turmoil, things quickly calmed down and work resumed. Zhou Zhiqiang was practically a member of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, so there shouldn't be any major problems.

It wasn't good to talk about this with Zhao Chenghui, so Zhou Zhiqiang kept it in mind for a moment before changing the subject to the test inside the room.

If this batch of apprentices passes the test and is placed on various workbenches on the production line, they can take over the work of some veteran technicians, allowing Factory 190 to implement a two-shift system.

Production efficiency will increase by at least 50%!

With more people, Factory 190 was able to implement a three-shift system, where people took turns resting, but the machines never stopped, doubling or even more production efficiency.

It means Zhou Zhiqiang will be busy for a while, but it's good that he's busy now, as the production capacity of CNC machine tools will increase later.

After the written test came the practical test. This batch of apprentices had already practiced many times before, and many of them should have passed if they performed normally this time.

After Zhou Zhiqiang returned, the task of overseeing the exams was handed over to him.

After everyone had finished the test, Zhou Zhiqiang announced the results shortly afterward.

Not bad, only three people failed and need to extend their studies by three months, and then study with Zhou Zhiqiang for another three months.

It's not that we didn't give them a chance, but if the pass rate is less than 20%, they should learn more. Otherwise, they'll just be wasting materials when they get to the production line.

It's just a three-month delay in becoming a permanent employee; all other benefits remain the same.

The other 67 apprentices have already been assigned to work positions. They will be trained by the factory's semiconductor technology production staff for a period of time, and if there are no problems, they will be able to complete production tasks independently.

Factory Director Liu was overjoyed upon hearing the news and immediately added seventy reserve technical personnel to the factory, which significantly improved the factory's production efficiency.

Although it's already the second half of the year, we can definitely train another batch, and even before the Lunar New Year, half of the second batch could be trained.

Factory Director Liu also approached Zhou Zhiqiang, first inquiring about his health. After learning that there were no problems, he eagerly asked if more people could be added to the next batch of apprentices.

For example, more than ninety people? Or directly, one hundred people?
Before Director Liu could finish his question, Zhao Chenghui cut him off, saying, "Director Liu, you can't use people like this. One or two more people is fine, but adding twenty or thirty at once is."

Even if Comrade Zhiqiang is in good health, you'll make him sick. If Comrade Zhiqiang arrives, the CNC system team's progress will be delayed.”

Factory Director Liu quickly explained, "I didn't mean to tire Factory Director Zhou out; this is just a discussion. If it doesn't work out, then forget it, seventy people will do."

He was thinking that once Factory 190's production efficiency improved, it would help the department complete more production tasks.
However, after being reminded by Zhao Chenghui, Director Liu also abandoned his somewhat greedy idea.

If Zhou Zhiqiang gets too tired, it would really be a case of losing more than you gain.

However, after thinking for a moment, Zhou Zhiqiang said to Director Liu, "One hundred people is too many. The semiconductor workshop for teaching is too small to accommodate them."

Ninety people, I estimate. Ninety people would be a bit crowded, but it's manageable.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Chenghui quickly said, "Comrade Zhiqiang, your workload is enormous."

"It's alright, don't worry, Comrade Chenghui. Whether you're herding one sheep or two, it's all the same. When I was at Dafeng Agricultural Machinery Equipment Factory, I taught two or three hundred people at a time. No problem."

Zhou Zhiqiang waved his hand and laughed, "The more people who can produce semiconductor components now, the more CNC machine tools we can produce in the future. And if I feel tired, I will take a two-day break."

"Yes, yes, if Comrade Zhiqiang is tired, no one will say anything if he asks for leave."

Factory Director Liu quickly assured him, "If anyone dares to say that, I, the factory director, will personally knock a hornet's nest on the head!"

Both agreed that, given Zhou Zhiqiang's excellent health and ability to continue teaching, the number of apprentices to be reported for the next batch would be ninety.

After the report was submitted, the Fourth Ministry of Machine Building even called specifically to inquire about Zhou Zhiqiang.

After confirming repeatedly, the Fourth Ministry of Machine Building began to transfer personnel and arrange for apprentices to enter the factory.

------

After October.

The leaves are falling; autumn is almost over.

However, for the workers who are engaged in front-line production, it is always the same as summer, because the production atmosphere around them is too intense.

The same was true for the Second Machine Tool Plant. Due to a sudden incident in mid-October, Secretary Li, Deputy Director Liu, and Deputy Director Sun were all unsure of what to do.

Finally, Deputy Factory Director Liu called Factory 190 and told Zhou Zhiqiang that it would be best to come back.

It seems that their machine tool factory sold quite a few of their two machine tools at the Canton Fair, and they even managed to slightly improve the diplomatic situation thanks to these two machine tools.

(End of this chapter)