Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 596 Hot
Just after 9 o'clock, the secretary came to inform us that guests had arrived.

Factory Director Yang didn't waste any time, stood up to pack his things, and looked at Chen Fan, "Want to come along?"

Chen Fan immediately waved his hand, "No thanks, I'm not used to it."

He paused for a moment, then said, "Tell Deputy Factory Director Li and the others not to tell anyone I'm here."

Factory Director Yang chuckled and gestured to him, "Then you can stay here without worry. Go to the canteen in the back for lunch. They all know you anyway, so you can arrange it yourself."

Chen Fan: "Don't worry about me, I might leave in a bit."

Factory Director Yang thought for a moment and said, "That's fine. I've been quite busy these past few days. When you come over again, I'll treat you to a meal at a restaurant. Let's go to Wangjiang Tower."

After saying that, he strode out.

After he left, Chen Fan walked to the window and looked at the open space inside the factory gate not far away, wondering if the name of Wangjiang Tower had been changed back.

Starting last year, some time-honored brands that had changed their names have gradually reverted to their original names. For example, the famous Donglaishun Restaurant was renamed Minzu Restaurant in 69, which was related to the large number of Hui people who ate meat there. It was not until 79 that it was restored to Donglaishun Restaurant.

Wangjianglou is similar; it was renamed Gongnong Restaurant around that time. Judging from what Director Yang just said, it seems that it will be renamed Wangjianglou again this year.

This reveals the inclinations of the leaders in the Yunhu area.

Many similar time-honored brands didn't change their names until the 1980s or even the 1990s, which gives us a glimpse into this phenomenon.

On the surface, it's just a simple name, but what it reflects is the attitude of the local leaders.

He watched from the window upstairs as more and more people began to gather in the open space inside the factory gate.

Unlike later generations with grand stages, the ceremonies of this era had a very amateurish, makeshift feel.

Each employee carried a small stool, and upon arriving at their designated spot, they all placed it down and sat down.

The men and women were all the same, sitting on stools with their legs spread apart, grinning and whispering to each other, laughing more happily than if they had won the lottery.

A table was placed at the very front, which served as the leaders' seating area. Behind the leaders' seating area, another row of chairs was placed, which were the seats for the cadres from the machinery factory and automobile factory attending the ceremony.

After the tables and chairs were set up, Director Yang led a group of people over to sit down.

Without much pre-meeting small talk, the propaganda department brought over a large microphone with a cable and a stand, placed it in the center, and Director Yang began his speech, "Comrades, today is a good day..."

"Today is a good day, all my wishes will come true..."

Chen Fan pulled up a chair, turned it over, sat on the back of the chair, lit a cigarette, and watched the commotion with a smile.

This grand opening ceremony didn't even feel as lively as the National Day celebration in Lujiawan last year.

However, it's still worth watching; the workers are quite disciplined these days.

Chen Fan glanced at the armed guards standing at the entrance and the quad machine gun on the roof of the assembly workshop across the way, thinking that the security force was quite impressive.

One leader after another spoke, and one procedure after another was followed.

Finally, it was time for the product to be presented.

Without hesitation, Director Yang stood up, held the microphone stand, and shouted, "Comrades, bring the car out!"

As the workshop door opened and the first car slowly drove out, all the staff and employees craned their necks and applauded.

Under the blazing sun, the black car body flashed a streak of light, dazzling the eyes.

As one car after another drove out, the applause grew louder and louder.

After ten cars drove off, a minivan followed behind.

Ten minivans, each with an open cargo bed in the back besides the driver's cab. Behind them are ten fully enclosed minibuses, their fully enclosed compartments tightly sealed, their bodies spotlessly clean, and through the bright glass windows, you can see seats covered with thick fabric.

Once all the cars had parked in the open space next to them, some people finally couldn't sit still anymore. They kept looking over there and glancing towards the leaders' seats.

With a ruddy complexion, Director Yang stood with one hand on his hip and the other holding a microphone, saying, "Now, please welcome all leaders and guests to visit our Yunhu Automobile!"

Inside the window, Chen Fan's face fell.

Why not just call it Yunhu Auto? Can't you come up with a better name?

Even if it were called Changjiang Automobile... Oh, Changjiang was a brand used by the Chongqing Changan Automobile Factory in the 50s. Later, the BAIC 212 absorbed some technology from the Changjiang 46 Jeep.

That long red?
Forget it, let's go with Yunhu.

Chen Fan silently took out a cigarette, wishing Yunhu Auto could stand out and survive into the next century.

In the square in front of the factory, leaders at all levels, cadres and employees, as well as representatives from units who came specifically to buy cars today, all circled around the vehicles.

Today, Deputy Director Feng from Unit A in the provincial capital came in person, ostensibly to support the development of the local automobile industry, but in reality, he was just here to watch the spectacle.

Just to watch the excitement, he quietly took the seat on the far side. As soon as Director Yang finished speaking, he rushed to the car, opened the door, and got in.

The driver, who was unbuckling his seatbelt, was startled and turned to look at him. Just as he was about to get out of the car, Deputy Director Feng grabbed him and asked curiously, "What's that in your hand?"

The driver paused for a moment, then his expression changed. He coughed and adopted a look of utter disbelief. "Well, this is called a seatbelt," he said.

He tugged at the strap as he spoke, "See, you can pull it out gently like this, but if you pull too hard..."

As soon as he finished speaking, he exerted a sudden force, "See? You can't pull it anymore."

He then unbuckled his seatbelt. "This is for passenger protection. It's only installed on a very small number of Hongqi cars in China, so it's normal that you haven't seen it."

my country mandated the use of seat belts in cars in 1993, and only required drivers and front-seat passengers to use them; there were no such requirements before that.

As for the 70s, it was normal for cars not to have seat belts. Anyone who has ridden in an old Jeep 212 knows that it didn't have seat belts.

Only Hongqi limousines are equipped with this feature, primarily for the convenience of foreign dignitaries; it is not found on ordinary Hongqi vehicles.

So it's normal that Deputy Director Feng had never seen this before.

Not only Deputy Director Feng, but everyone else was in the same boat.

In another car, Section Chief Wei from Unit B curiously tugged on the seatbelt and found that it could indeed be pulled slowly, but wouldn't budge when pulled hard. He immediately became curious and started to test the seatbelt.

In the car next to him, Deputy Director Ma from Unit E, after consulting about various functions, asked the driver to leave and tried to start the car himself.

They have a driver's license, and they didn't do anything reckless.

Moreover, he didn't release the handbrake; he just tried it out. After a while, he nodded repeatedly, "Great, great, this car is great." The prefectural leaders, taking advantage of their location, had already seen the finished car. Now, they each accompanied the provincial leaders, vying to introduce it to them.

"Boss, look at the gaps in this car, aren't they very tight? I had someone bring over all the cars in the unit and compare them. Whether they're domestic or foreign, the quality of our Yunhu cars is second to none!"

The provincial leader immediately became very interested, "Oh? Tell me about it quickly."

"Okay. Look here again, this leather is buffalo hide, soft and breathable. And look here, this velvet is... it feels just like velvet. Oh, it's velvet."

Director Yang and others stood aside, looking quite smug.

These people in front of me are not country bumpkins who have never seen the world. Whether they are from the province or the region, they are all cadres who have traveled all over the country. What kind of nice cars haven't they seen?

Today, however, they all act like country bumpkins. Look at that one, sitting on the back sofa and pressing down with his butt.

Hey, you're actually pressing down with your butt? You're still pressing down?

Factory Director Yang was unhappy.

Then he saw the man wave at him and say, "Director Yang, our department store wants this car!"

Oh my god, it turns out to be Section Chief Ren from the purchasing department of the provincial capital's department store.

Factory Director Yang immediately ran over, grinning, and said, "Section Chief Ren, you're so generous. Your provincial capital department store is the first unit to buy our Yunhu sedan. I'm afraid only you could get the car license from the Department of Commerce so smoothly."

Section Chief Ren grinned and laughed heartily, "That's right, I'm not bragging to you..."

At this moment, a deputy director of the provincial grain bureau, surnamed Wang, wearing a white shirt, black trousers, and black leather shoes, and carrying a briefcase, walked over. He calmly opened the briefcase, handed over an approval form, and said with a friendly smile, "Director Yang, this is the approval document for two Yunhu sedans. Where do we make the payment?"

He would be even more handsome if he didn't glance sideways.

Factory Director Yang gasped and quickly pulled Deputy Factory Director Li over, "Old Li, hurry up and help Director Wang with this."

Section Chief Ren was displeased upon hearing this. "Hey, Lao Wang, that's not fair. Shouldn't there be a proper order of arrival?"

Your grain bureau is powerful, but is our department store any less so?
Deputy Director Wang chuckled and said, "Oh, don't say that. When buying things, it's all about first come, first served, but I didn't stop you. Look, you want to buy a car, right? Show me the permit, bring the cash, and once the money is paid, the car will be gone."

Before Section Chief Ren could speak, Factory Director Yang quickly stopped him, saying, "No need to rush, the supply is plentiful, we guarantee we'll have everything!"

As he spoke, Director Yang couldn't stop smiling.

Look, this one works for the grain bureau, that one works for the department store, and over there are the post office, telephone office, water transport company, passenger transport company...

Which of these unit leaders doesn't look down on people with their chins?
Today, everyone obediently bowed their heads in front of Old Yang. What does that mean?
This means our Yunhu Automobile Factory is doing well!

A few minutes later, the leaders of these various units were taken to the office building to complete the formalities, and many employees were also taken back to the workshop, ready to work hard.

Once everyone had mostly dispersed, Deputy Factory Director Li waved his hand and ordered, "Go!"

The logistics staff from the nearby machinery factory immediately swarmed over.

Each of the thirty cars had a banner tied to it, and then the drivers borrowed from the passenger transport company boarded the cars one by one. After they were "full", they all honked their horns and then slowly drove away amidst the deafening sound of gongs and drums.

After the commotion subsided, the leaders and guests were invited to dine at Wangjiang Tower.

When Director Yang returned to his office during a break, he saw Chen Fan leisurely lying on the sofa drinking tea and smoking. A wave of sadness washed over him. "Can't you be a little more proactive?"

Chen Fan threw away his cigarette butt, shook his head, and said, "I can't be more proactive."

Factory Director Yang was speechless. He wanted to say something, but then there was a knock on the door. He turned around and called out, "Come in."

Deputy Factory Director Li pushed open the door and entered, his face flushed, waving several sheets of paper in his hand. "Old Yang, guess how many we just sold?"

Before Director Yang could speak, he excitedly lowered his voice and shouted, "We've sold 36 cars and 122 vans, and they all say they'll recommend them to other units in the same system. There are still many people who want to buy!"

Director Yang's words were swallowed back, but when he heard what he said, he didn't care about anything else. He immediately grinned, looked up, and laughed, "What's so special about this? Which unit doesn't want to buy a car these days? As long as they have the means, they all have to curry favor with the car factory and hope that they can get the cars approved in advance so they can drive them away."

It's only because we're all from Yunhu, from the same place, otherwise I wouldn't bother with them!

Chen Fan nestled on the sofa, chuckling as he watched.

Who would have thought Uncle Yang would have a time like this, boasting and bragging?

If only I didn't have a cell phone, I would definitely record a video of him as a keepsake.

At this moment, Deputy Factory Director Li said again, "However, Lao Yang, we don't have enough cars."

Factory Director Yang was taken aback.

We prepared 200 vans, but only 20 sedans. Now they want 36, and we definitely can't deliver the extra orders on time.

It's not that he didn't want to stock up more. This number was determined based on the different production capacities of the two models. The production process of vans is simple and quick, while the production process of sedans is more complex, especially since many key components require skilled workers to hand-mold them with special steel, which is extremely inefficient and naturally results in low output.

On the other hand, it also takes into account the actual sales situation of car factories in other small places.

Although it is currently a seller's market, many small factories in various regions are also experiencing poor sales.

For example, the Jiangnan Automobile Factory in this province is one such example.

They obtained the blueprints for the BAIC 130, but couldn't build a car as good as others. Their failure rate was higher than others, and no unit with the means was willing to buy from them. As a result, they could only rely on local subsidies to survive. Every year, the cars produced were bought by small units in various counties of the province.

To put it bluntly, it's about getting a subordinate unit to support this car factory, which is also a way to save face for Jiangnan Province and show that our province has a car factory.

Therefore, Director Yang and his team were cautious this time and did not produce too many cars.

Unexpectedly, a fire broke out today, resulting in the sale of so many cars.

36 vehicles. There aren't that many units that came today, which means that many units bought more than one vehicle.

Now is not the time to think about that; the most important thing is production.

He immediately ordered, "Command the workshops to operate at full capacity to ensure supply!"

Deputy Factory Director Li didn't say much, just "Okay."

He immediately turned around and left.

At this point, Chen Fan didn't linger any longer. He stood up, took the two packs of cigarettes that Director Yang had given him, waved to him, and said, "Uncle Yang, I'm going back to Lujiawan now."

(End of this chapter)