Courtyard House: Initial Donation of 50 Million

The stunning debut of the Hongqi Xingyao S600L Guard at the National Day ceremony was like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, creating ripples across the industrial, military, and political spheres of the new China, and even more widely. Its extraordinary presence and absolute sense of security instantly ignited long-suppressed demands from all sides.

First, there was the demand for vehicles for key leaders in the central government, major administrative regions, and important provinces and cities. The existing imported vehicles were old, difficult to maintain, and lacked sufficient safety. The emergence of the Hongqi Xingyao perfectly solved these problems. When the order to produce an additional 100 Hongqi Xingyao S600L Guard vehicles (for use by deputy leaders and important agencies), as well as the Hongqi Xingyao S300 (a low-end version with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine) and the Hongqi Xingyao S600 (a high-end version with a 3.0-liter V6 engine, these two models were for use by local leaders) was issued to the Hongxing United Industrial Corporation, the entire leadership team of the factory felt both extremely honored and under immense pressure.

Following this, military orders poured in. The Red Star Warrior performed remarkably well in the rigorous tests organized by the General Staff and the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense: its formidable off-road capabilities, comfort far exceeding that of Jeeps (thanks in no small part to Wang Huanbo's insistence on suspension tuning and seat design), and excellent adaptability for modification (easily fitted with machine gun mounts, radio equipment, ambulance facilities, etc.) completely won over the generals present. The test report's comment that "its performance comprehensively surpasses all currently serving vehicles of the same class, with some indicators reaching or even exceeding the advanced level of similar international equipment" left the military leaders in awe! The initial order of 500 vehicles was just the appetizer; a massive procurement plan of thousands of vehicles annually was already on the agenda, aiming to gradually replace the aging American-made Jeeps and Soviet-made GAZ-69s.

Almost simultaneously, an urgent need arose from the Ministry of Public Security. The vehicles equipped by the public security system were a motley crew, with varying conditions, severely impacting the efficiency of patrols, VIP protection, and criminal pursuit. The Red Star Warrior's powerful engine, spacious interior, excellent off-road capability, and durability perfectly met the needs of public security officers. Especially in border regions and mountainous areas with complex road conditions, a reliable off-road vehicle is crucial. The Ministry of Public Security promptly placed an initial order for 1000 vehicles, requiring priority allocation to key cities, border defense units, and units undertaking special missions.

In addition, units in arduous industries such as geological exploration, oil extraction, and forestry fire prevention also took action and sent people to contact them, hoping to purchase the Red Star Warrior as a field operation vehicle.

In no time, the sales department of Hongxing Automobile Manufacturing Plant was practically worn down by visitors! The phone rang non-stop from morning till night, and purchasing agents from all over the country stationed in Beijing tried every means to find connections and pass notes, just to get orders as soon as possible, even if it meant waiting for several more months! Hongxing Plant instantly went from "worried about not having orders" to "worried about insufficient production capacity"!

Faced with this sudden and overwhelming surge in demand, Yao Jianghe, Party Secretary of Hongxing United Industrial Corporation, and Yang Weimin, General Manager, were both delighted and worried. They were delighted that their products had received top recognition and were in high demand; however, they were worried because their newly built production lines, still in the break-in period, could only produce a mere 20 Hongqi Xingyao and 50 Hongxing Mengshi vehicles per month. This was woefully inadequate to meet orders that often reached hundreds or even thousands of vehicles! Even operating at full capacity in three shifts, it would take several years to reach that demand!

"Engineer Wang! The situation is pressing!" Yang Weimin, holding a thick stack of order summary sheets, found Wang Huanbo, who was studying the mass production process of V6 engines at the technical center. His brows were furrowed. "These orders are booked for three years from now! Comrades from the military and the police are coming to urge us every day. Even if we had three heads and six arms, we couldn't keep up!"

Wang Huanbo put down the blueprints in his hand, his expression calm. He had long anticipated this day. "President Yang, don't worry. This is a good thing; it means we're on the right track. The production capacity issue needs to be addressed by both expanding production and improving efficiency."

He presented his pre-prepared plan: "First, immediately launch the second phase of the expansion plan, submit a report to higher authorities, and build a larger final assembly workshop and supporting stamping and welding workshops, aiming to increase total production capacity fivefold within three years! Second, tap into internal potential, optimize production processes, implement assembly line operations and standardized management, reduce unnecessary waste and waiting time, and strive to increase efficiency by another 30% based on existing equipment. Third, and most importantly—large-scale recruitment! We need to recruit not only experienced master craftsmen, but also a large number of educated young apprentices, provide them with systematic training, and build our own sustainable talent pool!"

"Yes! Recruitment!" Secretary Yao also came over and chimed in, "This is urgent! We need to openly recruit from the community, especially from the children of factory workers and the surrounding neighborhoods! We need politically reliable, healthy, and ambitious young people! Engineer Wang, you have a good eye; you need to oversee the recruitment and training!"

"No problem!" Wang Huanbo readily agreed. This was part of his plan. Only by cultivating a large number of highly skilled industrial workers could China's industrial foundation be truly solid. And this recruitment drive would also cause quite a stir in that small courtyard house in Nanluoguxiang.