The Fiery Era: Becoming an Industrial Giant

Chapter 285 We're Not Easy Guys

dong dong!

"come in."

Zhou Zhiqiang, who was engrossed in his work, spoke casually after hearing the knock on the door.

After the others came in, Zhou Zhiqiang asked without looking up, "Yaoguo, what is it?"

"Factory Manager, this is the branch factory's production plan approved by Deputy Factory Manager Liu, which needs your review and signature; also, this is a notice from the department that two newly manufactured composite CNC machine tools will be taken away tomorrow."

As Zhang Yaoguo spoke, he placed the documents on the table in front of Zhou Zhiqiang. However, there was very little space to put things in this office, and many documents and drawings were piled up.

Zhang Yaoguo is now helping Zhou Zhiqiang clean the office, but he hasn't touched the desk.

He couldn't understand the technical drawings Zhou Zhiqiang had made, and he was afraid of messing up the documents and such. Usually, Zhang Yaoguo would only help organize them under Zhou Zhiqiang's direction when there were too many piles up.

"Okay, wait for me a moment."

Zhou Zhiqiang didn't think it was anything particularly time-consuming, so he called out to Zhang Yaoguo and then picked up the documents to read them.

Now, Zhou Zhiqiang can read documents at a glance, reading ten lines at a glance without missing any information.

After reading the document and thinking for a moment, Zhou Zhiqiang signed his name and handed the document back to Zhang Yaoguo.

After a short while, Zhou Zhiqiang finished processing all the documents that Zhang Yaoguo had brought and began to speak.

“There’s more over there, the ones you brought the day before yesterday. Take them to the trade union and the women’s federation.”

"I'd also like to speak with Director Wang of the labor union and ask her to restrain the women's federation staff. Punishment should be done in a proper way; I don't want this kind of behavior—watching the melons in public—to happen a second time."

Zhou Zhiqiang was talking about something that happened a few days ago. A worker in the factory was flirting with other female workers. After getting drunk at home, his wife questioned him and eventually beat her so badly that she had to be sent to the hospital.

Then the neighbors reported him to the factory, and then the factory's women's federation intervened. In the end, I don't know how the women's federation questioned him, but they directly stripped the worker naked and paraded him through the factory.

Zhou Zhiqiang neither supports nor opposes this kind of vigilante justice for wrongdoing. He stops it if someone complains, and pretends not to see it if no one complains.

However, the march in the factory caused several workshops to stop work and come out to watch the spectacle, which delayed production for two hours.

Finally, because there were too many people gathered in the factory, Zhou Zhiqiang had them stopped and even reprimanded Director Wang of the Women's Federation.

The document Zhang Yaoguo delivered to the Women's Federation today was a notice regarding the punishment of the offending worker.

That means receiving a major demerit and having to participate in labor reform after get off work; dismissal and wage reduction are not acceptable. The labor bureau will not allow dismissal, and the labor union will not allow wage reduction because they need to consider the livelihood of the worker's family.

Then the only option is labor reform. Zhou Zhiqiang set a relatively long period of fifty days, which should be enough for that person to learn a lesson.

After taking the document, Zhang Yaoguo said, "I understand, Factory Director."

"By the way, how's the work progressing with Liu Jingchuan? Any updates?"

Zhou Zhiqiang was asking about the three people he had transferred from the technical department who helped him organize the finished parts needed for car manufacturing and contact domestic car manufacturers.

Zhang Yaoguo said, "I asked them yesterday, and it seems they've completed less than a quarter of the work. They've been on the phone these past two days. I'll go ask them again later."

"No need, let them continue with their work."

Zhou Zhiqiang waved his hand and said that it seemed a bit tight for three people to complete such a large workload, and that none of the three of them knew much about car manufacturing, so they had to look up relevant information and blueprints one by one.

However, the technical department cannot spare too many people, otherwise it will affect the work arrangements of the main factory.

After Zhang Yaoguo finished his report, just as he was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something and turned back to say, "By the way, Factory Director, Deputy Factory Director Sun seems to have something to discuss with you. He just asked me if you're busy right now."

If he's not busy, he'd like to report something to you, but it doesn't seem very important; Deputy Factory Director Sun said that if you're busy, he can come later.

Without hesitation, Zhou Zhiqiang said, "Let him come. I'm focused on handling things at the factory right now."

He is currently busy with two main areas: overseeing production at the factory and keeping an eye on Party and government policies, and things are going smoothly until the end of the year.

Another thing he needs to do is build cars. However, building cars is a side business that Zhou Zhiqiang wants to do. He can be busy with research and development and car manufacturing, but he can't neglect the factory's affairs.

"Okay, factory manager, I'll go and tell Deputy Factory Manager Sun right away."

After finishing his sentence, Zhang Yaoguo turned and left the office to deliver a message to Deputy Factory Director Sun. A short while later, Deputy Factory Director Sun knocked and entered, smiling as he sat down in the chair opposite the desk. He said, "Factory Director, did I disturb you?"

Zhou Zhiqiang laughed and said, "Talking about work is no bother. What is it?"

"It's nothing major. The second phase of the residential complex has already been planned, and the construction company has been contacted. Here are the specific documents."
Another problem is a bit troublesome. The transportation bureau blocked our application for the route, saying that our factory is not qualified to operate official vehicles.

While reporting, Deputy Factory Director Sun took out the rejection reply from the Transportation Bureau and handed it to Zhou Zhiqiang.

“It was rejected. Oh well, if they won’t do it, they won’t do it. It’s better to save the bus drivers from putting the cart before the horse. It would be bad if the bus only picks up passengers from outside the factory after it starts operating.”

After glancing at the rejection, Zhou Zhiqiang shook his head and said, "Then let's just pick up the workers and their families from our factory and Dafeng Agricultural Machinery Equipment Factory."

"For this bus route, a section-level department will be set up within the factory. Deputy Factory Director Sun, you'll be in charge. Its tasks are different from the transport team, so it will be managed separately."

Setting up a science and technology department is too troublesome; you still have to submit reports to higher authorities and wait for approval. But with a single word from someone in the factory, a department can be established.

"We've also communicated with Dafeng Agricultural Machinery Equipment Factory. Since they can't provide operating subsidies, the factory will have to contribute more. Actually, operating the equipment doesn't necessarily mean making much money; at most, it'll just cover the wages of a few drivers."

Deputy Factory Director Sun nodded and said, "That's right. It was originally intended as a welfare benefit for the workers. However, the Transportation Bureau is also very unfriendly. I called their deputy director, and he wasn't very friendly either."
It's as if they're blaming us for overstepping our bounds; they're not exactly friendly either.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhiqiang glanced at Deputy Factory Director Sun. How could someone so unpleasant dare to say such a thing?

Strictly speaking, their factory is no pushover.

Now they're trying to get a piece of the pie from the Transportation Bureau's pot, and they're even taking on some of the tasks. The Transportation Bureau might be even angrier, and they could be yelling at them after they hang up the phone.

However, this is a characteristic of the times, and there's nothing we can do about it.

The factory is like a semi-closed ecological park, where workers and their families depend on it for survival. The factory then takes care of the workers' and their families' jobs, expenses, and even their children's schooling and medical care.

Moreover, the factory wasn't even the most closed off; when it comes to being truly closed off, no one can compare to the railway department.

They even have their own military units, as well as police stations and courts for trials. Is this a description of the "Iron Boss" or is it true?

In comparison, their Jiuzhou Machine Tool Factory is still a small player.

------

One day.

As it was nearing the end of the workday, Zhou Zhiqiang finished his tasks and stood up to stretch.

I've almost finished everything I needed to do today. I can continue the engine design and development tomorrow. Car manufacturing is a side job, so there's no pressure to meet deadlines.

He originally intended to call the driver to take him home, but Zhou Zhiqiang suddenly thought of the three technicians, so he got up and went downstairs.

A short while later, Zhou Zhiqiang arrived at the office in the technical department that had been set aside specifically for the automotive project. He knocked on the door and then pushed it open and went inside. At that moment, Liu Jingchuan and two other technicians were organizing documents.

"Director!"

When the three saw Zhou Zhiqiang enter, they quickly stood up to greet him.

"Sit down, don't be so polite with me."

Zhou Zhiqiang waved his hand and said, then pulled up a chair and sat down, continuing to ask, "How's the progress?"

Liu Jingchuan quickly found a prepared document and reported, "Factory manager, we have contacted twelve relevant factories in China and have confirmed that nearly 30% of the auto parts can be purchased."

These are all the items that are available for purchase, but they don't handle shipping; we have to pick them up ourselves.

Zhou Zhiqiang took a look and confirmed that there were indeed many parts, and they were all located in Jilin Province in Northeast China. He could send people there to purchase them in bulk.

"What about the car body frame and chassis?"

Zhou Zhiqiang pressed further, explaining that this was quite important and troublesome because he planned to design it himself and then find a factory to order it.

"I've already asked."

Another technician chimed in, "Ansteel said they can customize steel according to our requirements, and the Second Machinery Plant of Beijing is willing to undertake casting, welding, and other related work. They'll treat it as an unplanned task, but it might not be cheap."

(End of this chapter)