Restarting life in Siheyuan

There was a lot of noise in the vehicle factory's laboratory. An engine was working on the test bench and the technicians were conducting intensive experiments. A technician hurried over and shouted at Professor Xu who was checking the experimental data.

"Chief Engineer Xu, Coach Zhu is here."

"Who? Xiao Zhu?" Professor Xu put down the data and asked loudly. The technician nodded.

Professor Xu turned his head and looked outside the laboratory. Zhou Wenwen was walking over with Zhu Xuefeng. Professor Xu adjusted his glasses and went out to greet them.

In the office, the two were communicating about the progress of the car project. In order to complete the thesis and prepare for the exam, they had not paid attention to it for a while. They only knew that the progress was smooth, but they did not know the specific progress. Lou Xiao'e had sent letters several times asking him to go to the vehicle factory to share the joy of the interim results, but he declined.

"That's the situation now. Overall, the progress is going smoothly. We can't believe that a brand new design has not encountered any major problems so far. It's much smoother than trucks. It seems that we don't need to wait until before National Day. We are confident that we can complete it ahead of schedule."

Zhu Xuefeng could only smile. He had seen through Xiangjiang's Yinyun car many times and referred to a lot of mature designs. Of course, the progress was smooth. At that time, there were no successful models for him to refer to when designing trucks. The performance of this car was even better than Yinyun, not to mention the appearance. It borrowed the appearance of the later B-class car, which made it more stylish and novel.

"That's good. It seems that I should give Director Yang an explanation before I leave, so that he won't blame me later."

Although the news that Zhu Xuefeng was going to study abroad had not spread, only Sha Zhu and his wife knew about it in the compound. With Lou Xiaoe around, Professor Xu certainly knew about it.

"Don't worry about that. I'll make sure you can travel with ease to study abroad. It's just a pity that you won't be able to catch up with the experiments on engineering vehicles."

"With you here, there will be no problem. Your small team has been successful with two models in a row, so they should be well-trained. There will be no problem taking over the engineering vehicle. The requirements there are not as high as those for this car."

The requirements for cars are naturally the highest. Xu's small team can overcome the minor defects and problems, so engineering vehicles will naturally not be a problem for them.

"By the way, I have good news for you." When Professor Xu saw Zhu Xuefeng, he wanted to share the joy of success. These were the results of their many discussions, and he couldn't help but share them.

Although the steel rolling mill's trucks lost at the Canton Fair, they won the favor of the General Assembly due to their excellent performance, strong power and easy operability in the logistics equipment selection in June. The General Assembly directly required that the steel rolling mill provide no less than 800 vehicles each year in the next two years, and would continue to expand procurement in the future to gradually complete the replacement of old and dilapidated trucks seized before liberation.

The Ministry of Machinery Industry also received the news and recently came to the factory for inspection together with the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Commerce. Finally, they decided to reduce the import of medium-sized trucks from Daye and replace them with diesel trucks from the steel mill, which can save a lot of foreign exchange. At the same time, they asked the steel mill to continue to design larger-power heavy-duty trucks to replace imported heavy-duty trucks. Now they are required to produce no less than 400 vehicles per year.

"Such a large quantity? Our factory can't produce more than a few dozen vehicles a month now. The general assembly plant gave us all the orders? What about FAW? What about Huanghe?"

"We can't handle it even if we get all of them. This was discussed personally by the leaders and the ministry. FAW seems to have 600 vehicles, 200 less than last year. Huanghe was more affected. They, like us, sent diesel vehicles, and it seems that they only received orders for 200 vehicles, also 200 less than last year. They originally planned to make a comeback this year and surpass FAW, or at least catch up with FAW, but they didn't expect that the original task would be cut in half."

Zhu Xuefeng could only express regret for what happened to the Yellow River. It was because the steel rolling mill chose the diesel engine for its first model. When the gasoline engine trucks are unveiled next year, FAW will probably also be affected.

"Mr. Xu, you have to take care of the other types of trucks behind, including dump trucks and heavy trucks. I will go to the Materials Research Institute to check it out. If everything goes well, I will stay here for a few more days before going out on other business."

Professor Xu patted Zhu Xuefeng gently, "It's good to stay at home for a thousand days, but it's hard to go out for a while. It's also good to make more preparations. By the way, I heard that you are going to study abroad in East Germany. My brother-in-law studied in Germany. Do you want me to take you to meet him? I think you borrowed his information. Oh, you can also let Xiaona take you to meet him. Don't you know Xiaona?"

Because of his relationship with Xia Yuhong, although not many people at the vehicle factory knew about it, with Director Xia and Professor Xu around, Zhu Xuefeng still didn't dare to reveal his relationship with Lin Na, for fear of a conflict between the two sides, so he was hesitant at this moment.

"Lin Na took me there. Professor Lin talked to me a lot and introduced some elders. I will visit them one by one when the time comes."

Professor Lin told Zhu Xuefeng that although he and Teacher Xu had returned, more overseas students had chosen to wait and see and had not returned to China. These people were spread across various industries including mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, and electronics, and it was a pity for them to be away from home. He asked Zhu Xuefeng to visit them one by one when he went abroad to study, to see if he could persuade some of them to come back so that they could build their home together.

"Well, that's good. I'll wait for you to come back after you finish your studies. Then we can work together to design a more suitable vehicle. However, since you have free time these days, don't just focus on the Materials Research Institute. Come over when you have time. Let's talk about heavy trucks. This requires a large engine, which is another challenge."

"Okay, you apply for a heavy truck first and let us have some reference."

Seeing Zhu Xuefeng's agreement, Chief Engineer Xu was also very happy, "Okay, I'll go find the leader about this matter and let Director Yang come forward. This matter shouldn't be difficult for him."

"Professor Xu, shouldn't you go to Director Xia first and have him go to Director Yang?"

Professor Xu was stunned and asked in confusion, "Is there any difference? Director Yang comes here almost every day now and repeatedly tells me to ask for help if I have any difficulties. This is considered a difficulty, right? Why can't I ask him for help?"

Zhu Xuefeng was speechless and could only nod, "Okay, of course. If he comes here more often, it will be more convenient to find him."

Director Yang, as they called him, was worried in the meeting room at this time. He rarely lit up a cigarette in the meeting place. Also present were the secretary, Deputy Director Jiang, Deputy Director Xia and other factory leaders and several key workshop directors. The main problem was that the new task greatly exceeded the existing capacity of the steel rolling mill. Since March, the steel rolling mill has undertaken a large number of confidential equipment processing tasks. It is said that the equipment is for a large foreign exchange earning project. This cannot be vague and requires delivery in September and shipment to Jinhai Port for loading.

The steel rolling mill carried out a mobilization and capacity allocation. With the strong cooperation of the majority of employees, the task should be completed on schedule. However, now they have received large orders from the general assembly and machinery departments. This is too difficult, and Lao Xia is powerless. Now the vehicle factory has to complete a new production line to ensure truck production.

With the current capacity, we can barely produce 30 vehicles per month, but the plan is to produce no less than 100 vehicles per month, and it may continue to expand in the future. Lao Xia said that even if he was ordered to do so, he could not squeeze out such a large production capacity. As a result, he was criticized by the secretary for his improper attitude.

The atmosphere in the entire meeting became strange. The secretary gave a long lecture on the determination to overcome difficulties, but he could not come up with any specific and effective plans. This made the old employees of the steel mill extremely disgusted. They had followed their previous leaders in doing things in a down-to-earth manner, and they did not appreciate this kind of leader who talked big but had no constructive suggestions.

"Old Yang, in my opinion, under the current conditions, with the existing equipment and personnel, we simply do not have the ability to increase production capacity threefold in a short period of time. Workers are not machines. Even if they work 24 hours a day, they cannot meet the above requirements." Director Sun of the third workshop was the first to speak when he saw the meeting hall fell into deathly silence. With his experience in Hong Kong, although his position remained unchanged, he was already the one with the most say among all the workshop directors.

Secretary Liu was somewhat dissatisfied, but he still looked at Director Sun and said slowly, "Old Sun, you are also an old party member. I don't need to mention the importance of these tasks. You also know that they are not only related to the construction of national key projects, but also directly related to national defense and the combat effectiveness of our troops. There is no need to say these meaningless words. Think more about how we can complete the tasks and live up to the trust of the party."

Old Sun didn't care about Secretary Liu's attitude. "That's what I'm talking about. This is the truth. Since we can't complete the task even if we work ourselves to death, we can't just focus on ourselves. Why can't we seek external assistance?"

"Wait, Lao Sun, let me remind you that the reason this glorious mission was assigned to the steel mill is because the organization trusts us. The General Assembly and the Mechanical Department gave us the task because they trust us, not other units. What do you want to do?"

Secretary Liu's attitude became very serious. To him, this was a matter of right and wrong. He would not allow Old Sun to be careless. If he asked other units for help with the product, could this product still be considered the product of the steel rolling mill?

"It is very important that our superiors are interested in the products of the steel rolling mill. The products cannot be produced by other units. This is a red line! We must be worthy of the trust of the organization and cannot engage in fraud below." Secretary Liu stated with a dark face. The conference room was filled with whispers. Old Yang thought about it and decided to speak.

"Secretary, I disagree with what you said. This is assistance, not fraud. The automobile project is a large project that requires the cooperation of multiple systems. It is impossible for the steel rolling mill to complete it by itself. I think not only you, but everyone here is very clear about this."

Old Sun's suggestion immediately opened up Director Yang's mind and gave him a new idea, but the red line drawn by Secretary Liu was an inappropriate shackle.

Secretary Liu's face turned red. In his anxiety, he forgot that the truck project was originally a collaborative project among multiple units. For a moment, he was at a disadvantage. But it was impossible for him to personally deny the red line he had just drawn with such confidence.

"Everyone, please be quiet and listen to my thoughts. Lao Sun's suggestion just now has inspired me. The fact that our truck can stand out has surprised many people. In everyone's eyes, the truck with the most powerful diesel engine is the Yellow River truck. This is true, right? In fact, the General Logistics Department also admits that their trucks have made many breakthroughs compared to last year."

At this time, everyone present heard the hidden meaning of Director Yang's words. He wanted to combine production with Jinan Automobile Factory. It was indeed a good idea. Jinan Automobile Factory suffered a setback this year and the workload was only half of what it used to be. However, it had all kinds of equipment and skilled workers, and the technical capabilities were sufficient.

"Do you want to cooperate with Huanghe Car?" Secretary Liu asked in disbelief, and Director Yang nodded.

"They have equipment, technology, workers, and half the workload. They have production capacity. As long as they strictly follow our drawings and technical requirements for production, and conduct acceptance and assessment according to our quality requirements, they will definitely achieve the same performance as us and meet the needs of the General Logistics Department and the First Ministry of Machine Building."

Lao Yang's explanation caused a lot of discussion in the meeting place again, but it did not make Secretary Liu give in. Secretary Liu lowered his head and gently scraped the floating tea leaves with the cup lid. After a while, he raised his head and raised his doubts.

"If they have this kind of strength, why are the Yellow River trucks they produce so much less powerful than ours? Old Yang, I understand your feelings, but we can't act too hastily. If such a big thing fails, none of us can take the responsibility. We should be cautious and let the vehicle factory think of a solution. It would be better if other workshops in the main factory provide manpower support."

"Secretary, our vehicle factory thinks the director's idea is very good. What makes us better than them is the precision of the new equipment and the design team, as well as a complete set of experimental assessment and verification mechanisms. As for the technical ability and proficiency of our workers, they are probably not as good as these old truck production workers."

Secretary Liu narrowed his eyes and did not express his opinion, but Deputy Secretary Gu spoke up, "Old Xia, facing challenges head-on is our tradition. It is not our style to retreat when faced with difficulties. Can you represent thousands of workers in the vehicle factory alone? Like the secretary, I believe in the consciousness of our broad masses of worker comrades. We, the working class, can overthrow the three mountains. With this little pressure, I don't think our worker comrades will voluntarily admit defeat. So I suggest that you should follow the secretary's requirements and further mobilize the masses to complete the glorious task assigned by the superiors."

Secretary Liu nodded imperceptibly, and Deputy Secretary Gu spoke up, and the effect was much better than if he had personally taken action. Old Xia was also alarmist, exaggerating the difficulties unilaterally, and he looked down on him. He thought he was an expert in production organization? He backed down at the slightest pressure, and failed to live up to the organization's training.

Deputy Director Jiang, who wanted to speak, hesitated for a moment when he saw Secretary Gu speak, but finally shut up silently. Deputy Director Liu, who was in charge of administration, closed his eyes without saying a word and did not participate in the debate, looking as if he was staying out of it.

Many cadres who stood up and wanted to speak had no choice but to sit down again after hearing what Deputy Secretary Gu said, and the meeting hall fell into silence again.

Old Yang was very angry. According to his idea, he wanted to speak out directly, "Leaders and departments related to production should stay, and everyone else can adjourn the meeting." But he couldn't say that because although he was in charge of production, the secretary was the top leader.

"Secretary, let me suggest this. We should follow your suggestion and focus on internal development, and contact Jinan Automobile Factory for cooperation as a backup. It's better to be prepared. We should come up with two plans. The backup plan will be planned by the vehicle factory. As for the plan of internal development and mobilizing the enthusiasm of the majority of employees, since Deputy Secretary Gu has a lot of ideas and she is also responsible for the employees' thoughts, how about letting her plan it?"

(End of this chapter)