Sail across the sea

Chapter 370: Good or Bad?

Gao Yiping really wanted to pick up the wastepaper basket and dump it on his son's head.

But he lacked both the courage and the reason to do so.

His son was indeed more capable than him. From initially assisting Zhou Xiaoyun in proposing the new ammonium-to-urine conversion plan, to securing pilot qualifications for Canghai Fertilizer Plant from the Ministry of Chemical Industry, and now creating a provincial fertilizer industry company out of thin air and quickly resolving the promotion work that the Department of Chemical Industry had been unable to handle, all of these things were done by his son. He, as the father, was just following behind his son and picking the fruits of his labor.

What reason would he have to slap his son?

Having figured this out, Gao Yiping calmed himself down and asked his son, "Tell me, what are some things we need to get started on?"

Gao Fan said, "The Ministry of Chemical Industry's plan is to complete the first batch of ammonium chloride to urine conversion projects nationwide within three years. The province has given you two years. My suggestion is that you speed things up a bit and try to complete it within one year, so that by this time next year, all four plants will be built and put into operation."

"A year? Have you been blinded by victory? Don't you understand the basic laws of production?" Gao Yiping finally had a chance to teach his son a lesson. "I discussed it with Director Xu. Two years is quite a tight timeframe. The department said they would give us two years, but that's just a goal. In reality, if we can complete it in two and a half years, that would be a great success."

Gao Fan said, "There is potential to be tapped in all these aspects, including demolition, civil engineering, equipment manufacturing and installation, and debugging. I have also discussed this with Aunt Zhou, and she believes that if we hurry up, it is entirely possible to complete the renovation within a year. If that doesn't work, two or three more months will be enough."

“We have four factories operating at the same time, and the production capacity of Maoming Chemical Machinery cannot keep up,” Gao Yiping said.

Gao Fan said, "This is also what I wanted to tell you. The fertilizer company can consider investing some funds in Maoming Chemical Machinery to help it merge with several struggling machinery companies and expand its production capacity."

"The fertilizer company has orders for four sets of ammonium phosphate conversion equipment, of which Maoming Chemical Machinery can handle more than 4000 million yuan worth. With such a large order, building a new chemical equipment plant would not be a problem."

"Xiao Fan, aren't you being a bit too ambitious?" Gao Yiping grinned. "The fertilizer company manages five small nitrogen fertilizer plants. Once all of them are renovated, the original value of their fixed assets alone will be over 100 million yuan. The renovation of those four nitrogen fertilizer plants hasn't even started yet, and you're asking me to invest in Maoming Chemical Machinery. Aren't you afraid that the Chemical Industry Bureau will just take my job as general manager?"

Gao Fan smiled slightly and said, "Dad, do you know that several provincial chemical engineering bureaus have been reorganized into chemical industry companies?"

Gao Yiping was taken aback, then nodded and said, "I do know about this. You mean..."

Gao Fan nodded, indicating that Gao Yiping's guess was correct. He said, "You must have all studied the decision on economic system reform that the Central Committee just released. The pace of national reform will only accelerate, and the future trend is to gradually reduce administrative intervention. Various industrial ministries and industrial bureaus will be reorganized into industrial companies or industry associations."

"The establishment of the fertilizer industry company by the province is actually a pilot project. The Chemical Industry Department will definitely be abolished within two years, and then it will be a matter of who controls more resources."

Gao Yiping was shocked. Recalling what Xu Ying had told him, that the department planned to abolish the fertilizer division and transfer its functions to the fertilizer company, he suddenly realized that Gao Fan's guess was correct, and the department was actually preparing for a complete reorganization.

"Xiao Fan, do you think this is a good thing or a bad thing for the fertilizer company—well, I should say for me?" Gao Yiping asked sincerely, setting aside his airs. Gao Fan replied, "There are two possibilities. If the Chemical Industry Bureau is abolished, one possibility is that the fertilizer company will be renamed the Chemical Industry Company, with the bureau chief becoming the general manager, and you condescending to be the manager of a fertilizer branch. Your existing independent accounting authority will be taken away by the bureau."

Gao Yiping nodded. This was exactly the situation he was worried about; it fell into the category of bad things.

“Another possibility is that the Chemical Industry Department will establish a separate chemical industry company, on par with the fertilizer company. All fertilizer-related business in the province will be transferred to the fertilizer company, while the chemical industry company will handle other business,” Gao Fan continued.

Gao Yiping hesitated and shook his head: "If that's the case, this chemical industry company will be in a very passive position. Our province's chemical industry is very backward. Apart from fertilizers, other businesses are very small. There are several large chemical companies, but they are all under the ministry. If this plan is followed, Director Chen's power will be less than mine in the future. How could the Chemical Industry Department possibly do this?"

Despite saying that, he secretly hoped for this outcome. The thought of being in charge of a company with fixed assets worth 100 million yuan, without the Chemical Industry Bureau acting as his "mother-in-law," made Gao Yiping feel uneasy.

Gao Fan laughed and said, "Anything is possible. If the fertilizer company can complete the transformation of four nitrogen fertilizer plants within a year, then start the second phase of ammonium to urine conversion, and at the same time hold the only chemical equipment manufacturing plant in the province, then it will be too difficult for the Chemical Industry Department to downgrade you to a fertilizer branch company."

"At that time, there will be a third option: the Chemical Industry Bureau will be reorganized into the Chemical Industry Association, and all production operations will be transferred to the Fertilizer Company, which will then be directly upgraded to the Chemical Industry Company."

"You're getting more and more absurd!" Gao Yiping scolded, though he could clearly suppress a smile.

There was nothing he could do; the scene his son described was just too beautiful. Gao Yiping felt like he was committing a crime just thinking about it.

"In short, you need to demonstrate your work ability to your superiors. The Chemical Industry Department also has superiors. If the province believes that you are more suitable than Director Chen or Director Xu to manage the province's chemical industry, think about it..."

Gao Fan continued to tempt his father.

"Whether I'm a leader or not, I don't really care," Gao Yiping said. "I just feel that I'm a college student from before the Cultural Revolution, and I've worked in chemical engineering for half my life, so I still hope to do more."

"Now that the department has put me in this position, I am undertaking an important task related to the national economy and people's livelihood. It is my duty to do my best to do the job well."

"You said you could complete the transformation of four companies in a year. I just analyzed it and I think it's quite possible. Even if it can't be completed in a year, dragging it out to a year and a half would still save a lot of time compared to the two years the department gave me."

"If it can be completed in a year and a half, these four nitrogen fertilizer plants will be able to produce urea before the spring planting in 86, which will be a great boon to agricultural production in the whole province."

As Gao Fan watched his father speak in official jargon with such seriousness, a strange feeling welled up inside him:
This child is teachable...

(End of this chapter)