The Fiery Era: Becoming an Industrial Giant

Chapter 223 The First Factory of Domestic and Foreign Exchange

"Comrade Zhiqiang? Where is Comrade Zhiqiang?!"

Early in the morning, Shen Changlin arrived at the First Heavy Machinery Plant with a newspaper in hand, repeatedly asking around. Not finding Zhou Zhiqiang in the office, he then inquired with other people.

"Xiang Wen, where is Deputy Team Leader Zhou?"

The technician named Wang Xiangwen quickly replied, "Team Leader Zhou was busy in the workshop all night. He just went to buy breakfast and is probably at the factory canteen now."

Shen Changlin was taken aback upon hearing this: "He was busy in the workshop all night? He didn't go home last night?"

Wang Xiangwen said, "No, Deputy Team Leader Zhou said he needed to keep an eye on the processing of special parts, so he didn't go back. He was still in the workshop at six o'clock this morning, and he's here now."

Before Wang Xiangwen could finish speaking, Zhou Zhiqiang walked in with a lunchbox.

Upon seeing Shen Changlin, Zhou Zhiqiang greeted him, saying, "Good morning, Team Leader Shen. Have you had breakfast yet?"

"Just arrived, haven't eaten yet, Comrade Zhiqiang. Didn't we say that overtime shouldn't be done unless absolutely necessary? Your overtime frequency is completely unlike that of a normal person."

Shen Changlin couldn't help but lecture Zhou Zhiqiang. This rule was specifically for Zhou Zhiqiang; it didn't apply to anyone else.

Everyone else should work overtime as needed. In mechanical R&D and manufacturing, there's no such thing as not working overtime. How can we shorten the R&D time if we don't work overtime?

However, Zhou Zhiqiang often stays up late, sometimes sleeping for six or seven hours and then working for nearly forty hours.

Some people even secretly calculated that their deputy team leader, Zhou, only slept 26 hours a week, averaging just over three hours a day.

After learning of this news, Shen Changlin gave Zhou Zhiqiang the order to avoid working overtime unless absolutely necessary and to work one all-nighter per week.

However, it was basically useless. Zhou Zhiqiang was the deputy team leader. If he wanted to stay and work, they could just kick him out.

Even if Shen Changlin saw it, he could only offer words of advice and admonition; he couldn't possibly have a big argument with Zhou Zhiqiang just to let him rest.

However, Zhou Zhiqiang's overtime work was effective; he was as good as three people. Not only did he have a photographic memory, but he also designed the overall schemes for heavy machine tools.

Zhou Zhiqiang stayed with the project team to check for omissions and fill in gaps, ensuring that there were no mistakes in the daily task progress.

He also planned to persuade Shen Changlin to avoid unnecessary testing time. Naturally, he had to keep track of the project's progress. Basically, Zhou Zhiqiang had to personally inspect every part and every process.

Even if there isn't enough time, he still has to carefully review the test report one last time. He is very serious about this and doesn't allow any errors to occur.

Otherwise, if Zhou Zhiqiang vouches for it and then something goes wrong without any testing, then he, Team Leader Shen, and everyone in the project team will be guilty, and Zhou Zhiqiang will be the one with the greatest responsibility.

"I'm not tired at all, that's why I'm working overtime. Let's not talk about my business anymore. Team Leader Shen, did you need something from me?"

After putting down his breakfast, Zhou Zhiqiang didn't dwell on this trivial matter and instead asked Shen Changlin, "I heard you were looking for me when I came back. Was it about the project team?"

"No, I almost forgot, you're reading the newspaper."

Shen Changlin slapped his forehead, handed the newspaper to Zhou Zhiqiang, and continued, "Didn't your factory tell you?"

"I haven't contacted the factory for over two months, and they're producing so well, there's no need for them to contact me. Eighty-nine million US dollars!?"

Zhou Zhiqiang looked surprised when he saw the news in the newspaper. It was about their Second Machine Tool Factory.
Shen Changlin couldn't help but ask, "You didn't know about the Canton Fair?"

“I knew that I was going to participate in the Canton Fair at the beginning of the year, but they didn’t tell me how much I sold, and I didn’t even know the pricing of the CNC machine tools.”

Zhou Zhiqiang was not lying. He hadn't contacted the factory for two months, and during his time on the heavy machine tool project, he was almost completely cut off from outside communication.

Looking at the news in the newspaper, the Second Machine Tool Plant exported a total of 2,430 CNC machine tools. If we calculate it that way, the price of one machine tool is about 37,000 or 38,000 US dollars.

This aligns with Zhou Zhiqiang's understanding of CNC machine tools. Although the CNC machine tools they developed domestically are medium-scale integrated CNC machine tools with high energy consumption and short lifespan, they are still medium-scale integrated.

In terms of performance, it is no worse than machine tools from Aramco and West Germany, and it is much better than CNC machine tools from small companies.

At that time, only four countries controlled CNC machine tool technology: the United States, Russia, Germany, and West Germany.

The Russians have not made progress in the field of CNC machining, their planned economy is too rigid, and their research and development in the field of electronic components is also insufficient.

Xiao Rizi uses imported Aramco CNC technology, which was only decided to be exported two years ago, and has not yet been implemented on a large scale.

However, Amer's CNC machine tools are very expensive. At this time, CNC machine tools serve the cutting-edge field and are not easily exported. Even if they are exported, the price is extremely high.

In China, a car costs only a few thousand US dollars, but they sell a CNC machine tool for ten times the price of a car, typically between 50,000 and 100,000 US dollars.

Because once you buy this, you can directly produce weapons, military equipment, or other high-end products. It can also be used in civilian industries, such as producing car parts. Many industrial production processes can utilize CNC machine tools, and it can double production efficiency.

If domestic CNC machine tools were priced the same as those of Amazon CNC machine tools, they definitely wouldn't sell. Even if a domestic machine tool had better performance at the same price, buying it might lead to Amazon targeting the domestic market.

They might as well spend more money to buy Amei's CNC machine tools.

Only when the price is cheaper and the discount makes them feel that missing out on this purchase would be a huge loss, will they be able to resist the urge to place an order.

This was Zhou Zhiqiang's suggestion to Deputy Leader Wu and Leader Sheng at the time, but Zhou Zhiqiang did not say how much money it would cost.

He simply said to refer to the prices of CNC machine tools from Xiao Rizi and Amei, and then set prices based on domestic costs, the needs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and other factors.

Once it comes to exporting, the price is no longer something that their Second Machine Tool Plant can set. At most, they have the right to make suggestions, but the foreign trade department is the one that actually finalizes the price.

$37,000 is significantly higher than the cost. The cost of manufacturing a CNC machine tool is only $15,000, and that's in RMB.

Now, a machine tool factory that cost 15,000 yuan is selling for nearly 90,000 yuan. The Second Machine Tool Factory is really about to take off.

"The foreign exchange earnings of the Second Machine Tool Plant?"

"Which machine tool factory is Team Leader Zhou in charge of? How much foreign exchange did it generate?"

"It seems to be eighty-nine million, in US dollars!"

"So much? Team Leader Zhou, can you tell us? Does your factory really earn this much foreign exchange?"

People who came to the project team's office started talking about this, and some who were eager to know directly asked Zhou Zhiqiang.

"Fellow countrymen, comrades, I just learned about this myself. How about this, you read the newspaper first. I don't know much more than what's in the newspaper."

After Zhou Zhiqiang finished speaking, he handed over the newspaper that Shen Changlin had given him and told them to read it from the newspaper.

He didn't know much; he was busy with heavy machine tools in the project team all day and kept the news from the outside world.

If Shen Changlin hadn't brought the newspaper over, Zhou Zhiqiang wouldn't have remembered that the Canton Fair had recently ended.

The heavy machine tool project team only had one day off on National Day; otherwise, they were very busy.

After escaping from the crowd of onlookers eager to know the details, Zhou Zhiqiang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Shen Changlin came to Zhou Zhiqiang's side, patted Zhou Zhiqiang on the shoulder and said, "Zhiqiang, you are really capable. The Second Machine Tool Factory has developed to this point, which can be regarded as a rebirth."

And you might get a lot of calls later, so I think you should go to Director Zhong's office and wait there beforehand.

Now, to contact their project team, you have to go to Director Zhong's office, since Liaoyang No. 1 Heavy Machinery Plant is directly under the ministry.

Zhou Zhiqiang said, "It's not that exaggerated. We can talk about this when I get back. Besides, it was indeed a bit unexpected."

Shen Changlin shook his head and said, "Actually, you should be the one to go, since you were the one who developed it."

"I don't have that idea. I can't take long-distance trains. I can't accept anything longer than three days."

Zhou Zhiqiang shook his head and said, "Besides, there's not much going on at the factory. It's just production, production, and with the other deputy factory directors keeping an eye on things, I don't need to worry too much."

Before he could finish speaking, there was a knock on the office door.

Zhou Zhiqiang turned around and saw that it was Factory Director Zhong's assistant who was knocking on the door. After the room quieted down due to the knocking, Factory Director Zhong's assistant spoke.

"Director Zhou, someone called for you. The factory manager asked me to call you."

Upon hearing this, Shen Changlin immediately said, "See, I told you so. It must be the ministry looking for you. You should go now. Oh, and there's your breakfast too. Why don't you eat it before you go? Or should you bring it with you?"

The congee, pickled vegetables, and steamed buns made from a mixture of wheat and vegetables are actually a bit cold now.

"Let's eat when we get back. No rush, it might only be a little while."

After Zhou Zhiqiang finished speaking, he put down the breakfast he had bought and then followed Director Zhong's assistant toward Director Zhong's office.

Today's news has disrupted Zhou Zhiqiang's research and development plans, but it's good to have such a disruption once in a while, even if it's a bit sudden.

After Zhou Zhiqiang left, Shen Changlin took out a few grain coupons and instructed, "Xiang Wen, go out and buy a few meat buns. We can't let Comrade Zhiqiang eat cold steamed buns."

(End of this chapter)