The Fiery Era: Becoming an Industrial Giant

Chapter 201 Factory Director Wang Who Wants to Produce Together

One thing after another, it seems like there's no time to rest at all.

But given the situation in China, taking a break isn't very realistic. There's external pressure, and internal development is still needed.

Zhou Zhiqiang is now at least officially registered, a status that is both an honor and a burden of responsibility.

'If you're so capable, why don't you step up? Are you planning to hide in the back and rest?'

However, Zhou Zhiqiang wasn't tired; he just felt that he had been busy outside all the time and felt a little sorry for his wife and son, especially since his wife was now pregnant with their second child.

After the meeting at the Ministry of Machine Building, they also discussed the heavy machine tool project for a while.

If a final decision is made, it will definitely be between Liaoyang and Wuhan. Although Tianjin has a foundation in producing large machine tools, it is still far behind the other two places.

We'll develop it gradually later. In the next two years, our priority is to develop and manufacture heavy-duty machine tools.

Otherwise, the submarine project would have to be shelved indefinitely, and all the initial investment would be wasted.

Because Zhou Zhiqiang passed all the tests, and when manufacturing heavy machine tools, people from the submarine project team would definitely come to the project team to provide the parameters of the parts that need to be processed.

There was no way to keep it from Zhou Zhiqiang, the deputy general manager, so I decided to tell him in advance; as long as it could be kept secret, it wouldn't matter.

Moreover, Zhou Zhiqiang has impeccable political credentials, having participated in two major national engineering projects and made numerous contributions.

How could they not trust this kind of person? Moreover, revealing some information is also to better manufacture qualified heavy machine tools. After the project is really established, Zhou Zhiqiang will also come into contact with the other side of the other party's people.

After participating in more major national projects, it becomes apparent that the people interacting in the R&D and manufacturing fields are mostly the same group of people.

We got to know each other after going back and forth a few times.

Zhou Zhiqiang had just left the office building of the Ministry of Machine Building and planned to return to the Second Machine Tool Plant first. Now that the research and development of the 190th Factory did not require him to keep a close eye on it, he could instead focus his efforts on other groups.

However, Zhou Zhiqiang was stopped by Director Wang of the No. 1 Machine Tool Factory in Beijing as soon as he stepped out of the building.

"Is Director Zhou going back?"

"Director Wang?"

Upon seeing Factory Director Wang, Zhou Zhiqiang couldn't help but ask curiously, "Yes, are you heading back to the factory, Factory Director Wang? What brings you here?"

"It's almost noon, and I'd like to invite you, Director Zhou, to lunch. Please do me the honor of joining me."

Factory Director Wang said with a smile, "Your factory has helped us so much. We are both machine tool factories in Beijing, so it's no exaggeration to say that we are like brothers."

"Director Zhou, I absolutely must treat you to lunch today. There's a state-run restaurant on Qianmen Street; I know there's a second-level cook there. Let's go there."

Zhou Zhiqiang waved his hand and said, "Director Wang, there's no need for that. That little favor is nothing, and it's mainly the ministry's coordination."

"Yes, yes, you said it's just a small favor, and this is just a small meal for you. It's all small to small, isn't that perfect?"

It wasn't easy for Director Wang to treat Zhou Zhiqiang to this meal; he even came up with this completely incomprehensible fallacy.

Seeing that Director Wang was blocking the way and wouldn't let him pass unless he agreed, Zhou Zhiqiang had no choice but to nod and say, "Then thank you for the expense at noon, Director Wang. However, I don't drink alcohol, so let's have tea instead."

"It's good that you don't drink; I don't actually drink much anyway!"

Upon hearing this, Director Wang immediately spoke up, and at the same time, he stopped reaching for a cigarette; he wasn't sure if Zhou Zhiqiang smoked or not, so he decided to ask him later before taking one.

After Director Wang told Zhou Zhiqiang the location of the restaurant, he let him get into their factory car and had the driver lead the way.

Zhou Zhiqiang also had his driver follow. The two cars, one in front of the other, soon stopped in front of a state-run restaurant.

The restaurant was almost empty. It was a weekday, and during a famine, so it was normal for no one to come all day.

People like Factory Director Wang and Zhou Zhiqiang, who drive over for meals, might only be seen once a month.

Before getting out of the car, Director Wang gave his driver some money and asked him to take Zhou Zhiqiang's driver to another table for dinner.

Ordering one meat dish and two vegetable dishes will make for a very satisfying meal.

"Director Zhou, do you have any dietary restrictions? If not, then I'll just order whatever I like?"

Zhou Zhiqiang said, "Anything is fine with you, Director Wang. I'm not picky about food."

These days, there are cures for picky eaters; even foods you're allergic to can be cured so you won't be allergic anymore.

However, the food in the state-run restaurant was really limited. Zhou Zhiqiang saw that the meat dishes on the blackboard were all marked with a limit of two or three servings.

They sell four meat dishes, a total of ten plates, and then stop selling once they're sold out.

This state-run restaurant is quite large, yet it's so poorly equipped with supplies; you can only imagine how scarce other restaurants are. Some restaurants simply open and sell coarse grain steamed buns with a little bit of pickled vegetables, without a single stir-fried dish.

The place that Director Wang brought him to was a fairly large state-owned restaurant.

We didn't order a lot of dishes, two meat dishes and one vegetable dish. Two adults can eat a little bit, and we definitely won't leave a single drop of oil behind.

Despite being the director of a large factory directly under a ministry, Director Wang is at the same level as Zhou Zhiqiang, and he is not a technician, so he does not receive the special treatment that researchers receive.

Although he holds the same rank as Zhou Zhiqiang, his take-home pay might be about 20% less. Those engaged in scientific research and technology receive priority here.

After ordering and handing over the money, Director Wang sat down next to Zhou Zhiqiang and said with a smile, "There's nothing good to order right now. Luckily, no one has come today. No one has ordered the limited-edition lion's head meatballs."

"Director Zhou, you must try these lion's head meatballs later. The only person in this restaurant who can make them is that second-level cook."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhiqiang smiled and said, "Director Wang, you've really gone to a lot of trouble today."

"It's alright, it's alright. If it weren't for the limited food, a few years ago I would definitely have ordered six dishes and a soup for you, Director Zhou."

After finishing his sentence, Director Wang immediately realized that his previous statement seemed somewhat wasteful, so he immediately stopped talking.

"Things will get better soon. Not only have we used heavy industrial products to pay off our debts, saving a lot of the amount we would have had to pay off with grain, but we're also accumulating more and more foreign exchange."

Zhou Zhiqiang said casually, but his voice was very low, so low that people two meters away from the table definitely couldn't hear him.

"Today, the leader also said that most of the foreign exchange reserves in the past two years have been used to import grain, and most of the foreign exchange reserves next year will also be used to buy grain, in addition to the grain production that we have recovered ourselves."
The issue of reducing the quantity will be resolved soon, either at the beginning or middle of the year.

These were all guesses by Zhou Zhiqiang, and he was just saying them casually to Director Wang. He certainly wouldn't admit to them once he got up from his chair.

"Foreign exchange. Speaking of foreign exchange, Director Zhou, your factory has made a great contribution."

Factory Director Wang then brought up the topic of foreign exchange, praising, "I remember that when you were the head of the technical department at Dafeng Agricultural Machinery Equipment Factory, the agricultural machinery you developed and designed earned you a lot of foreign exchange."

The machine tools we've developed now have made a huge contribution. Director Zhou, we owe so much of our foreign exchange reserves for purchasing grain to you.

"Director Wang, that's a bit of an exaggeration."

After a pause, Zhou Zhiqiang said, "You said it yourself, we are all brother units. Do we have to beat around the bush when we talk to our brother units? That can't be right, Director Wang."

Even if he's completely oblivious, he could tell that Director Wang seemed to have something to discuss with him today; it's just that the guy talks in such roundabout ways.

The fact that they hadn't gotten to the point for so long made Zhou Zhiqiang a little uncomfortable.

"Is it related to heavy machine tools? If so, then you don't need to worry, Director Wang. Beijing doesn't have the basic conditions for developing heavy machine tools."

The implication is that they basically wouldn't choose the machine tool factory owned by Chen Sijiu.

However, after listening, Factory Director Wang smiled and asked in a low voice, "Didn't I hear that the CNC machine tool you're in charge of, Factory Director Zhou, is almost finished? We might have results by June or July next year."

"Director Wang, how come you're so well-informed?"

"Director Zhou, please don't misunderstand. It was a leader who mentioned to me that he wants our two machine tool factories to cooperate sincerely so that we can develop better."

After Director Wang finished speaking, he paused for a moment, and then continued, "Of course, I know that the First Machine Tool Plant is definitely not as good as your plant in terms of technological research and development, but the First Machine Tool Plant will definitely not lag behind in production."
Moreover, our factory has a large workforce, with over 8,000 workers in various trades; Director Zhou, our two brother units are truly a win-win situation.”

That's a bit of an understatement. In terms of sheer production capabilities, the First Machine Tool Plant is definitely among the top three in China.

At the very beginning of the First Five-Year Plan, the focus was on investing in large factories, which was much better than the Second Machine Tool Plant's start.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhiqiang quickly understood that Director Wang must have learned so much from Deputy Leader Wu.

He had previously told Director Ren that it would be completed in April or May, but Director Wang found out it would be completed in June or July. That could only have been revealed to Director Wang by Deputy Leader Wu.

Zhou Zhiqiang said that it was a bit much for Deputy Leader Wu to ask about production efficiency and the number of CNC machine tools needed in China. It was just a prelude.

They went around in circles. If Zhou Zhiqiang had realized it sooner, he would have definitely had Deputy Leader Wu say it directly.

Zhou Zhiqiang certainly wouldn't object to having other factories jointly produce CNC machine tools.

If, twenty or thirty years from now, when the planned economy is about to collapse, one factory develops something good, other factories will try their best to copy it and ride the wave of success.

We were still in the era of a planned economy. Even if you knew a product was good, you couldn't just produce it; you had to report it to your superiors.

Even if you know that the sister factory has good stuff, you can't just copy it and produce it. You have to wait for approval from your superiors. If you produce it secretly and the sister factory reports it to your superiors, the whole factory will be criticized.

Director Wang invited him to dinner today, probably on instructions from above, to ask for his opinion.

"Director Wang, I understand what you mean. I have no objection, but my word doesn't count."

Zhou Zhiqiang said directly to Director Wang: "As I just mentioned to Deputy Leader Wu, the constraint on production efficiency is the Fourth Ministry of Machinery Industry. How much CNC machine tools can produce depends on how many integrated circuits the Fourth Ministry of Machinery Industry can supply."

Without this, it's just a regular machine tool; so if you ask me if we can produce CNC machine tools together, I'll definitely agree, but I don't know how many the factories under the Fourth Ministry of Machine Building can supply.”

He made no attempt to hide anything in his words. Zhou Zhiqiang went to great lengths to train technicians at Factory 190, hoping to increase the production of semiconductor components in the future.

Moreover, CNC machine tools are in great need domestically and can be exported abroad to earn foreign exchange. It is simply impossible to expect the Second Machine Tool Factory alone to meet the national supply.

So there were no problems with Zhou Zhiqiang's side, so the pressure fell on the Fourth Ministry of Machine Building.

After listening to Zhou Zhiqiang's words, Director Wang fully understood the situation. He raised his water glass and said, "I see. Thank you very much, Director Zhou."

Zhou Zhiqiang immediately said, "No need to be so polite, Director Wang. I know that the Second Machine Tool Factory can't supply the whole country, so other machine tool factories definitely need to join in."

Both of our machine tool factories are located in Beijing, so it's convenient for us to travel back and forth, and even sending technicians is very easy. If there are any orders from our superiors, we will definitely carry them out.

(End of this chapter)