Courtyard House: Initial Donation of 50 Million

The news of the Red Star sedan's instant success in the Southeast Asian market, with the first batch of 300 vehicles selling out instantly, was like a thunderclap in the somewhat stagnant foreign trade sector of the newly founded People's Republic of China! At $800 a car, although far lower than comparable models in Europe and America, the profit margin was astonishing compared to its cost of 600 yuan (approximately $240). More importantly, this marked the first time the People's Republic of China had truly exported industrially manufactured goods—especially high-tech automobiles—on a large scale to a capitalist market! Its political and economic significance far exceeded the transaction amount itself!

When the news reached China, jubilation erupted from the Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill to the First Ministry of Machine Building, and even in Haizi! The report was relayed up the chain of command, eventually landing on the gentleman's desk. Looking at the telegram's words like "sold out," "demand exceeding supply," and "customer praise," the gentleman laughed heartily and said to his comrade beside him, "Look! I told you, that little fellow Wang Huanbo can create miracles! A small car has pried open the imperialist blockade! This is yet another victory for us in breaking the blockade through self-reliance!"

Soon, the highest directive was issued: Give full play to the export of the Red Star brand sedan, making it a key product for foreign exchange earnings! At the same time, high praise and gratitude were expressed for the crucial role played by Comrade Wang Huanbo and his family in this matter. Of course, all of this was conducted under strict secrecy and through specific channels.

The steel rolling mill held a factory-wide mobilization meeting. Director Yang stood on the stage, his voice trembling with excitement: "Comrades! Our Red Star brand cars have broken out of Asia and gone global! Foreigners are scrambling to buy them! What does this show? It shows that we Chinese are no less capable than others! We can produce world-class cars! The higher-ups have ordered us to go full steam ahead and expand production! This is a political task, but even more so, a glorious task to earn foreign exchange and bring honor to our country!"

Thunderous applause erupted from the audience, the workers were filled with fervor! Especially the veteran mechanics in the auto workshop, who stood ramrod straight, their faces beaming with pride. Before, we were the ones buying foreign goods; now, foreigners are lining up to buy our "Red Star" cars! This pride, held in for so many years, has finally been rekindled today!

Watching all this unfold from the stage, Wang Huanbo felt gratified, but mostly calm. He knew that the foundation of their current "success" was still very weak. Production capacity was the biggest bottleneck! A monthly output of 350 vehicles was simply a drop in the ocean compared to the enormous international market demand. And the key limitation on production capacity lay in the production efficiency of the body panels. Currently, it mainly relied on forgers (like Uncle Liu Haizhong) manually hammering them one hammer blow at a time, which was time-consuming, labor-intensive, and difficult to guarantee in terms of precision and consistency.

"We must get large-scale stamping equipment up and running as soon as possible!" Wang Huanbo made up his mind. "It's time to bring out the technology for the 20000-ton hydraulic press!"

However, the tree may wish to remain still, but the wind will not cease. The successful export of Red Star automobiles quickly attracted the attention of certain parties. The first to become restless were the Soviet expert team that was providing assistance in China.

That day, several Soviet automotive industry experts, accompanied by their colleagues from the ministry, visited the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill, drawn by its reputation. The leading expert, Ivanov, was a bearded man with a rather arrogant attitude. He circled the Red Star C501 several times, then test-drove it, his face showing disbelief.

"Comrade Wang," Ivanov said to Wang Huanbo in heavily accented Chinese, his tone scrutinizing, "this vehicle... was it really designed entirely independently by you? Its engine technology, especially the valve train and fuel system, seems... somewhat special? And the body shape, it doesn't resemble a GAZ, nor a Volga..."

Wang Huanbo was prepared and calmly replied, "Expert Ivanov, the Hongxing sedan was indeed independently developed by us, combining the wisdom of domestic technical personnel, referencing various international models, and adapting to my country's actual road conditions and user needs. Regarding the engine, we made some adaptive improvements. As for the styling, we believe that automotive design should also conform to the aesthetics of Eastern people."

Ivanov, still somewhat skeptical, requested a tour of the production line. When he saw the workers primarily relying on manual hammering to assemble the car bodies, a barely perceptible sneer appeared on his lips: "Comrade Wang, with this kind of workshop-style production, I'm afraid it's difficult to guarantee production capacity and quality stability, right? Our Soviet automobile factories have long since achieved full mechanization and automation. If you need technical assistance, we can provide more advanced stamping production lines and technical guidance..."

These words carried an air of condescension and superiority. Factory Director Yang and Secretary Wang, standing nearby, looked rather displeased. Wang Huanbo, however, smiled slightly, neither humble nor arrogant: "Thank you for your kind offer, experts. We are indeed currently facing a production capacity bottleneck. However, we are independently developing large-scale press equipment, and we believe we will be able to solve this problem soon. Self-reliance is our consistent principle."

Ivanov shrugged and said nothing more, but the disdain in his eyes did not diminish. In his view, the Chinese wanting to develop a large-scale press on their own was simply a pipe dream.

After the Soviet experts left, Factory Director Yang said to Wang Huanbo with deep concern, "Huanbo, what the Russians said may be unpleasant to hear, but it's the truth. Our manual hammering isn't a long-term solution. Are you confident in your large press?"

"Don't worry, Factory Director," Wang Huanbo said firmly. "I've repeatedly worked through the blueprints and principles; it's technically feasible. What we lack now is the processing capacity for materials and large components. We need to collaborate with several large factories that have heavy machinery manufacturing capabilities to overcome these challenges!"

Meanwhile, the news of the car exports caused a stir in the courtyard of No. 95 Nanluoguxiang. Although the specific details were kept confidential, the news that "Red Star Motors is making a lot of money selling cars abroad" spread like wildfire.

The happiest person was none other than Uncle Liu Haizhong! He was one of the "chief forging masters" in the car body workshop! Although he was so tired from wielding the sledgehammer every day that his arms could barely lift, he was overjoyed! Hearing that the factory was going to set up a special car branch, he thought that as a level seven forging worker, he could at least become a workshop director or even a deputy factory director, right? His ambition for advancement was burning brightly again! When he got home from get off work, he didn't even bother to scold his son; he was only thinking about how to "advance."

Xu Damao, on the other hand, was jumping around, boasting everywhere about how close he was to Chief Engineer Wang, as if he had contributed to the automobile exports. He was also thinking about whether he could pull some strings to get a job as the head of the publicity department at the automobile branch.

Yan Bugui rattled off the abacus: "A car sells for $800, which is over 2,000 RMB! The cost is only 600! How much profit is that! How much bonus will Huanbo get? I'll have to make him treat us next time!" He started plotting how he could get a piece of the action.

Yi Zhonghai fell even more silent, occasionally glancing towards the west courtyard with a complex expression. His decades of hard work had yielded less glory and tangible benefits than a young man's few inventions. A sense of powerlessness, of being abandoned by the times, enveloped him.

The Jia family remained shrouded in gloom. After Jia Dongxu became disabled, they barely survived on the factory's pension, his monthly salary, and Qin Huairu's work pasting cardboard boxes on the street. Seeing the potential benefits other families might receive from Wang Huanbo's influence (such as slightly improved welfare due to the factory's good performance), Jia Zhangshi felt even more resentful and cursed the injustice of fate.

Wang Huanbo had no time to deal with the turmoil within the institute; he devoted all his energy to the preparation and development of the 20000-ton hydraulic press. He knew that this tough battle—a race against time and a contest against the technological gap with foreign countries—had only just begun. The foreign exchange earned from Hongxing Automobile's exports would provide valuable "ammunition" for the large-scale industrial construction to come.