The Fiery Era: Becoming an Industrial Giant

Chapter 237 The Neighborhood Office That Came to the Door Following the Scent

"Secretary Zhou, the Fourth Machinery Department has prepared the crystal pulling furnace, horizontal diffusion furnace, and other equipment. Once our CNC branch factory's workshop is built and passes inspection, they will be delivered immediately."
The manual lithography stage will be a bit slower, but it should all be in place by the end of November. Now we're just waiting for the factory construction to begin.

Tian Wenguo reported the situation of the CNC branch factory to Zhou Zhiqiang in detail. He had lost weight recently and his face had darkened.

Now that his status has changed, so has the way Zhou Zhiqiang is addressed; if he were still working at the Second Machine Tool Factory, he would be called Director Zhou.

However, now that he is the factory director of the CNC branch, he has to address Zhou Zhiqiang as Secretary Zhou.

After entering October, the sun was no longer so scorching, but the long hours spent supervising and urging progress at the construction site still caused Tian Wenguo, who was in charge of logistics, to undergo considerable changes in his physique.

After reading the document sent by the Fourth Ministry of Machine Building, Zhou Zhiqiang asked again, "How long will it take for the workshops in the factory area to be completed?"

"Actually, three semiconductor component production workshops have already been built, but they haven't passed dust and pollution prevention monitoring yet, so they can't be considered qualified."

Tian Wenguo also put in a lot of hard work during this period, making many trips to the Fourth Ministry of Machinery Industry, and gained a good understanding of the workshops that produce semiconductor components.

Semiconductor component workshops are completely different from ordinary production workshops. They have extremely high requirements for humidity and temperature, and also require proper isolation of impurities.

You could say that you could feel wronged anywhere in the CNC machining plant except in the semiconductor production workshop.

You can spend less money on factory buildings, but you can't do that in the workshop. If a certain test fails to meet the standard, the semiconductor components produced will have a lot of defects.

"Among the buildings that have been completed in the factory, are there any larger spaces that can be used for group teaching?"

After thinking for a moment, Zhou Zhiqiang asked, "I rarely go to the CNC branch factory. I usually only go once every two weeks. The last time I went was sixteen or seventeen days ago."

"A room that can accommodate fifty or sixty people is fine. We need two rooms to take turns using them. As for the workshop, don't even mention it. Don't use the semiconductor production workshop before it passes the inspection."

After listening to Zhou Zhiqiang's words, Tian Wenguo thought for a moment and said, "How about the cafeteria? There's also a conference room; if we squeeze in, it can hold fifty or sixty people."

"Okay, these are the two places. Go and make arrangements, and prepare a few more blackboards."

Zhou Zhiqiang immediately made a decision: "Go and tell the department that the staff should enter the site as soon as possible. Start with training in basic theory. Just training a technician who can perform practical work will take a lot of time."

Time is running out for our factory; we need to get on with the training of our technical production staff as soon as possible.

The core manufacturing process for semiconductor components may take about eight to ten weeks.

From theoretical instruction to equipment demonstrations, and finally to mastering hands-on practice, apprentices must master at least six processes and several safety regulations; otherwise, substandard production could lead to production accidents.

Zhou Zhiqiang was to be not only the chief instructor of theoretical teaching in the CNC branch, but also the chief instructor of process instruction in the branch.

"I'll get on it right away, Secretary Zhou. Try to confirm all factory employees by the end of the month so they can get on site and familiarize themselves with the environment in advance."

Tian Wenguo immediately assured him that the CNC division had already spent nearly ten million yuan.

The equipment and instruments for photolithography are the biggest expense, followed by the construction of the semiconductor workshop, and finally, the branch factory's accounts must retain a year's worth of salary expenses.

Now all these matters are being handled by Tian Wenguo, and the factory director should bear the responsibilities of a factory director.

However, Tian Wenguo also enjoyed it. He was a person who liked power, and he was happy to work when he was in a high position.

Zhou Zhiqiang doesn't dislike this kind of person. As long as such a person is restrained, no matter how high their position, it can only be used for construction, development, and serving the people.

As a factory party official, he was the reins on Tian Wenguo.

After reporting on the work of the branch factory, Zhou Zhiqiang let Tian Wenguo leave.

The autumn Canton Fair has already been held, and this year their factory has sent out a deputy factory director, Liu Wenzhou, which is quite rare.

This way, Zhou Zhiqiang and his team will know the results as soon as the Canton Fair takes place.

The factory's heavy industrial products were participating in the Canton Fair, which they could have easily sent people to, and it would have been a prestigious event.

However, Zhou Zhiqiang himself was unwilling to take the train for long periods of time. Others at the factory also had to stay at their posts at the time. Even if they were away for ten days or half a month, a lot of things would pile up and eventually end up on Zhou Zhiqiang's desk.

The company expands its facilities and production every year, keeping both logistics and production staff constantly on the go.

This year is a bit easier. There are no expansion tasks in the second half of the year. Although there is a task to invest in building a branch factory, it will not affect the production of the main plant of the Second Machine Tool Plant.

Since Zhou Zhiqiang was also overseeing things at the factory, he arranged for Deputy Factory Director Liu to lead a team to eastern Guangdong to participate in the Canton Fair.

Otherwise, other factories would immediately notify them by phone after achieving results, but in their factory, they either found out from the newspaper or were notified by their superiors.

"It's finally finished. Next, the employees will come to the factory and we can start training them."

Looking at the training manual for the six major processes of semiconductor manufacturing compiled in front of him, Zhou Zhiqiang couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.

This is completely different from what he summarized at Factory 190, which consisted of about a third of theoretical explanations.

Zhou Zhiqiang has also put in a lot of hard work during this period. He not only studied it in depth himself, but also constantly collected and deduced information. This led to the compilation of a set of technical process training manuals that are suitable for apprentices at this stage and can help them learn and get started quickly.

As for R&D personnel, they'll have to poach talent from universities, but it's a bit difficult for their branch factory to attract university graduates with relevant majors.

If you can get one or two a year, that's considered a win.

After finishing his work, Zhou Zhiqiang packed up his things and got up to walk out of the office.

It was well past closing time, so he planned to take a walk around the workshop to check on the production schedule.

If there's nothing seriously wrong, he can go home and rest today.

The production process at the Second Machine Tool Plant is now very mature. The workshop director and deputy director take turns overseeing it, and there are also technicians from the technical department on duty. He, as the plant manager, doesn't need to be stationed there all the time.

While walking around the workshop, some workers asked Zhou Zhiqiang technical questions, grabbing him and insisting that he explain.

The workers were very enthusiastic, addressing Zhou Zhiqiang as "Director Zhou" repeatedly. In the end, Zhou Zhiqiang had no choice but to roll up his sleeves and demonstrate how to process precision parts.

Moreover, he was explaining processing techniques and skills while simultaneously working on his own tasks.

Finally, after Zhou Zhiqiang finished explaining the techniques, the work in his hands was also completed.

Zhou Zhiqiang directly had another senior engineer inspect the parameters, and the final result showed that the parameters were exactly the same as those required by the drawings, without any discrepancies.

This immediately drew applause and cheers from the surrounding workers, and even the senior workers were very impressed with Zhou Zhiqiang.

While explaining the technology, he was also busy with the processing, and in the end, the dimensional parameters were measured perfectly.

Even any of them, a level eight skilled worker, couldn't do that. When machining precision parts, everyone is completely focused.

Their factory manager, Zhou, seems to have been away from the workshop for a year or two, but once he gets to work, his skills are enough to shut them all up.

After touring the workshop, Zhou Zhiqiang asked the driver to take him home.

He lingered at the factory for a while, and it's almost lunchtime now, but his family must have left him some food. "Yuting?"

After Zhou Zhiqiang came in, he called out and went into the backyard. He was about to ask Guo Yuting to prepare dinner for him when he suddenly saw two strangers in the yard.

"Director Zhou, hello, hello, we're from the neighborhood committee, we're colleagues of Comrade Guo Yuting."

Upon seeing Zhou Zhiqiang, one of them immediately stepped forward with a smile and said, "I'm so sorry to bother you today, Director Zhou, but there's something I really need to discuss."

"Oh, Director Zheng and Deputy Director Yue, I talked to Deputy Director Yue before, back when we were renting office space. I just couldn't remember."

After remembering the two men, Zhou Zhiqiang smiled and said, "You two came to see me for..."

At this moment, Guo Yuting also came out of the main house and asked, "Zhiqiang, have you eaten?"

"Not yet. I was thinking of asking you to heat up my dinner when I came in, but I ran into Director Zheng and Deputy Director Yue."

As Zhou Zhiqiang spoke, he felt Guo Yuting squeeze his hand, but he didn't know what it meant.

The couple had never used any secret codes before. Zhou Zhiqiang looked at Guo Yuting strangely, then said, "Please heat up my dinner first. I need to talk to the two directors."

"it is good."

After Guo Yuting finished speaking, she walked towards the kitchen.

Zhou Zhiqiang then welcomed Director Zheng and Deputy Director Yue into the main room and, after they were seated, asked, "What brings you two here today?"

"Director Zhou, there is indeed something I would like to ask you—no, I should say, I would like to ask your factory to take care of me."

Director Zheng began by saying, "I heard that the Second Machine Tool Factory is planning to build a branch factory? And they're even recruiting."

"That's true, and they're almost ready to recruit everyone."

Zhou Zhiqiang immediately understood why the two street office directors had come to see him: it was about the recruitment quota.

A few years ago, when the harvest was bad, the number of job openings was cut off for three years; people waiting to be assigned jobs in various sub-district offices could fill an entire street.

However, the total investment for the whole year is limited, and the only factory in Beijing that continues to invest in building factories and recruiting people on a large scale is the Second Machine Tool Factory.

The fact that these two came to our door today and stood in the yard for so long must be about the job openings.

"Director Zheng, Deputy Director Yue, I know why you've come, but our CNC branch is not located in your subdistrict, or even in this district."

Furthermore, regarding the recruitment issue, we have already reached an agreement with the local government and the municipal labor bureau. You can have your district leaders inquire about the situation at the labor bureau.

After saying this, Zhou Zhiqiang paused for a moment, then added, "If nothing unexpected happens, the Municipal Labor Bureau will definitely allocate a portion of the quota to your district."

There are over a thousand slots, divided among various districts. The district where Jiaodaokou is located will receive at least one or two hundred slots.

"Yes, our neighborhood office did allocate some jobs, but compared to the people still waiting in line for work, it's really a drop in the ocean."

Director Zheng, with a fawning smile and a very humble attitude, said, "Director Zhou, could you perhaps give our subdistrict office some consideration?"

The conversation suddenly shifted to "our subdistrict office," which startled Zhou Zhiqiang.

Zhou Zhiqiang said, "It's not very convenient. If I bypass the Municipal Labor Bureau and contact you directly, can your subdistrict office withstand the Municipal Labor Bureau's pressure?"

"This"

"Alright, you're all Yuting's superiors. I still have some job openings that I haven't given out yet. They're not many, so I'll give them all to your street office to allocate."

After Zhou Zhiqiang finished speaking, he immediately saw joy on the faces of the two men. However, he then said, "But Director Zheng, Deputy Director Yue, I have two conditions that you must agree to."

"Director Zhou, please say so. Our neighborhood office will definitely agree!"

"It's not a difficult condition for you. We are all revolutionary comrades. There are thirty positions in total. You all know the recruitment requirements: you need to have a certain level of education, at least a junior high school diploma."
Secondly, priority will be given to impoverished families and families of military martyrs.

After a pause, Zhou Zhiqiang continued, "I only have these two requests, nothing else. In short, please take care of more families in financial difficulty."

"If those impoverished families need workers and there are really no people with higher levels of education available, they can be transferred to logistics positions, but no more than twenty of them should be transferred."

He can only manage twenty logistics positions; there's no room for anyone else.

Zhou Zhiqiang also thought that it might be difficult for impoverished families to produce a high school student, so he provided them with some assistance.

"No problem, absolutely no problem!"

Director Zheng readily agreed, saying, "Director Zhou, you truly always think of the people. I assure you that this matter will be handled with priority given to impoverished families and families of martyrs, provided that the applicant has a certain level of education."

"If you can't do that, come to the Jiaodaokou Subdistrict Office and slap me in the face."

Zhou Zhiqiang waved his hand and said, "Hey, it's not that serious, Director Zheng. We're all serving the people. It's not right to slap someone in the face like that."

The CNC branch factory also investigates the family circumstances of apprentice workers entering the factory. Whether the Jiaodaokou Subdistrict Office is lying to them can be found out with a simple investigation.

If they truly prioritize solving the problem of difficulty in recruiting workers within the jurisdiction of the subdistrict office, they will definitely give priority to impoverished families and families of martyrs and soldiers.

"Thank you so much for today, Director Zhou. On behalf of all the staff of Jiaodaokou Subdistrict Office, I thank you!"

"Thank you, Director Zhou."

Director Zheng and Deputy Director Yue stood up together to bow and thank Zhou Zhiqiang, but Zhou Zhiqiang quickly stopped them.

"Never mind, Director Zheng, Deputy Director Yue, the job was given to us by the government. I'm just making arrangements. Please don't do this."

After stopping the two, Guo Yuting brought out the heated dinner around the same time.

Upon seeing this, Director Zheng and Deputy Director Yue also took their leave.

They were already staying quite late, and now that the matter was settled, they didn't want to bother them any longer and quickly left.

"Zhiqiang, did they agree to what they told you?"

As soon as the others left, Guo Yuting couldn't help but ask, worried that her husband would be put in a difficult position, and also because she was an officer of the Jiaodaokou Subdistrict Office and couldn't refuse.

“Agreed. It’s a small matter anyway. The factory has a certain number of self-recruiting positions. Giving it to that poor family is not a bad thing.”

Zhou Zhiqiang then smiled and said to Guo Yuting, "But were those two pinches you gave me just now a secret signal?"
"We've never used any code words before, and suddenly you're making these pinching gestures. I have no idea what you're trying to say. Have you been watching too many war movies?"

Guo Yuting patted Zhou Zhiqiang a little embarrassedly and said, "I just wanted you to be more careful, I didn't give you any secret code."

(End of this chapter)