Development of productivity started in 1981

Chapter 36: Hot-selling lighters

1981年9月13日，农历8月16日
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Wang Jiankun put on the sweater knitted by his mother and the rabbit fur hat made by his grandmother, and headed to Dexing with his father.

The vehicle was loaded with 1.4 lighters, 1 of which were green-painted, 2 were galvanized, and 2 were brass.

After selling this batch of lighters to Peter, he will have 14.7 US dollars in his account at the Hong Kong branch of UBS.

Then talk to Peter and see if I can ask him to buy some scientific journals and magazines.

It would be great if I could buy IBM's new computers and Motorola's latest communication equipment such as pagers. Then I would have a reference and a technical source for cooperation with the authorities.

On the way, Wang Jiankun first tested the communication distance of the text machine. Before leaving, he agreed with his mother that they would send each other a message every 2 minutes. If no message was received within 2 minutes, it meant that they had exceeded the communication range.

When the car drove to Tuokou Brigade, the information was received on time, but when it arrived at the Huayuan Brigade in Qinghua Town, no information was received.

After passing the Huayuan Brigade, he received two more messages that he had not received before. After arriving at Qinghua Town, he did not receive any messages. Wang Jiankun knew that this was beyond the communication range.

Calculated from the straight-line distance, the road that turns back after the garden is about 15 kilometers away from the base station, which indicates that the current communication range between this base station and the terminal is 15 kilometers.

After passing Tsinghua University and losing the signal, Wang Jiankun put away his text machine and talked to his father about the changes in the team.

I was busy when I got home yesterday, and most of the time was spent installing and testing the base station and text machine.

My father briefly explained the current situation of the team. First of all, the seven production lines of the lighter factory have moved into the new factory building. The canteen is also under construction and will probably be completed and put into use by the end of this month.

As for the second phase of the factory building, the team held a meeting and decided to start construction on National Day. It is expected to take one month to complete.

My grandfather was going to tell Wang Jiankun to contact the equipment last night, but he forgot about it because he was drunk.

According to Wang Jiankun's design, the second phase of the lighter factory also has 7 production lines. If all subsequent punching is done with iron bars, the monthly capacity of the second phase plus the first phase will be 40 pieces. If overtime is used, the monthly capacity will be 60 pieces.

By then, the team will receive 24 yuan in processing fees every month. After deducting the approximately 3.6 yuan in wages paid to workers, the team will have a surplus of more than 20 yuan every month.

The team has decided to buy a truck. Otherwise, if we produce 60 lighters every month and my father can only transport 30, it will definitely not be possible.

This time, my father’s mission was to find the driver who taught him to drive and use his connections to see if he could buy two more cars. If not, just one would be fine.

In addition to buying trucks, the team also decided to buy tractors for plowing the land, as well as rice transplanters and harvesters to mechanize the team's agriculture.

In fact, you don't have to buy these machines, and just stop the lighter factory during the busy farming season. But when you calculate the input and output, it's still more cost-effective to buy machines for farming.

Wang Jiankun didn't expect the team to be so courageous. It seems that the last inspection did have an effect, and the team cadres have become much more open-minded.

Otherwise, they would most likely think of stopping work and engaging in agricultural production, but now they will calculate the input-output ratio.

Wang Jiankun asked when and where he planned to buy these farming machines.

My father said that after the National Day, when the processing fees for September are settled, the team will have a surplus of more than 9 yuan. Then we will go to Raozhou Agricultural Machinery Station to place an order, pay the balance before the Chinese New Year, and get the machinery and equipment, so that they can be used in the spring after the Chinese New Year.

The team's arrangements are quite reasonable and all aspects have been taken into consideration, so there is no need for Wang Jiankun to make any comments.

Then we talked about building a new house. My father said that he had written a letter to my eldest uncle at the beginning of the month and received a reply. The three of them will come over next week to help build the house. The house is expected to be completed in three months and we can move in before the New Year.

Wang Jiankun told his father about asking Hu Xiyang to help buy cement, and told him to remember to go find him when he has time. He said it would be done by the end of the month.

My father said he already knew about it. Hu Xiyang told him last time that the cement would be delivered by the end of this month.

And he will help transport the iron coils on the 20th of next week, because one truck should only carry more than 1 tons. If it exceeds that, the truck might break down. It is not a good idea to transport 7 tons of iron coils in two batches.

He happened to be free on the 20th, so he helped transport a load of lighters to Raozhou and then hauled 3 tons of iron rolls back. Wang Jiankun was relieved to see that his father had a plan.

We went to the scrap recycling station in Wuyuan County and loaded a base station to be shipped to Raozhou for installation, and two text machines to be given to Cheng Yong and Cheng Xing.

Wang Jiankun set off on a motorcycle from the county town. He first went to the front station to talk to Peter and check whether the payment for the goods had arrived.

It was around 9 o'clock when they arrived at the cable factory. Peter was waiting for Wang Jiankun at the entrance of the office building. When he saw him arrive, he didn't ask him to come into the office to drink some water, but asked him where his lighter was.

Wang Jiankun thought that the last batch of goods made him a lot of money, and now he was in a hurry to get the goods.

Wang Jiankun said that the goods are on the truck at the back and will arrive in half an hour. Let's go and see if the payment has been received.

Peter then happily hugged Wang Jiankun and said that the payment for the goods had been transferred three days ago and must have arrived in his account.

Wang Jiankun would definitely have to confirm it personally before he could feel at ease, after all, it was such a large sum of US dollars.

He rode his motorcycle with Peter to the post office, called the Hong Kong branch of the Swiss Bank, and reported the account number and the agreed code word.

There was a female voice on the other end of the phone. She said that 14.7 US dollars had been deposited into her account the day before yesterday, and asked Wang Jiankun if he wanted to invest, and she could help him handle it.

Wang Jiankun thought to himself, I haven't even met him, and you want to touch my money? That's definitely not possible. He doesn't understand anything about investment at the moment, and who knows what the other party will do. Maybe in the end all his money will be wasted.

I quickly told the person on the phone that I would not invest and would just earn the interest during the life span, and that no one was allowed to touch his account without his permission.

The other party quickly said that they would definitely not do so and they would definitely do it according to the customer's requirements.

After hanging up the phone, Wang Jiankun hurriedly took Peter to the guesthouse.

I just spent a lot of time calling Hong Kong, but I only spoke for less than 2 minutes. In this short period of time, I spent more than 30 yuan.

It is really expensive to make long-distance calls these days, especially to call abroad. I wonder whether the mobile communication system designed can be widely used in the future. If so, how much benefit it will bring.

His father's truck had already stopped at the door of the guesthouse, and Wang Jiankun asked Peter if he was unloading the goods at the same place as last time.

Peter said that he would still unload the goods at the same place as last time and send them via air logistics, which would be faster and the single freight would not be very high.

So he asked his father to drive behind them, and when they arrived at the destination, they unloaded the seven cargo boxes, and Peter found someone to tow the boxes away.

After finishing all these, Wang Jiankun asked Peter when he would return to the United States and whether he could help buy some scientific journals and electronic components after returning.

Peter said that he would go to the United States in a week, but would go to work at the Hong Kong branch at the end of the month. He hoped to find Wang Jiankun in Hong Kong to place an order by then, and he would find a contact person in Dexing to help with customs clearance and shipment.

Magazines and electronic components can be purchased in Hong Kong and shipped to us. Hong Kong is currently a free trade port, and many American companies have branches in Hong Kong. We can help purchase small quantities of insensitive components.

Wang Jiankun said, "That's great. Tell me the purchase cost and I'll deduct it from the subsequent payment. I'll also pay a labor fee based on the quality and quantity of the magazines."

Peter said, "Wang, you are my good friend and important partner, so I don't need to pay for your services. Just reimburse me for the purchase." "Okay, I'll call you when the time comes. By the way, can you help me buy the latest IBM personal computer and Motorola pager when you go to the United States this time?"

"A personal computer and a pager, right? No problem. I'll take them to Hong Kong and mail them to you at the end of the month."

"Great, but unfortunately I have to go to Raozhou today, otherwise I should have a drink with you."

"There will be opportunities in the future, right? Your future achievements are limitless. In such a place where information is blocked, you actually know that IBM released the latest personal computer last month."

"Thank you for the compliment. Goodbye then. I wish you a safe journey."

"Goodbye."

After saying goodbye to Peter, Wang Jiankun and his father rushed to Raozhou and finally arrived at lunch time.

After a quick meal near the guesthouse, we went to Cheng Xing’s shop.

Cheng Xing's shop no longer sells shoes. The profit from selling shoes in a month is not as much as that from selling a batch of lighters.

The store has been renamed "Lighter Wholesale and Retail Department".

Cheng Xing saw Wang Jiankun coming over and asked happily, "Jiankun, long time no see. How many lighters did you bring this time? The last batch is almost sold out, so we need to restock it quickly."

"I didn't bring a lighter today, so I brought something interesting. Where's your brother Cheng Yong?"

"Ah? You didn't bring any? Then can you send a batch tomorrow? My brother is going to learn how to drive. Are you looking for him? If it's not urgent, he will come over later."

"It's not urgent, it's just that the things I brought need to be connected to electricity to use, and it's best to find a high place to install it for the best effect."

"Somewhere higher? How high?"

“At least as high as a department store.”

"That's harder to find. The only tall buildings in the city are the department store and the Raozhou Radio Station. The others are at most three stories high. And we don't have the connections to get you to install it in these two places."

“It doesn’t have to be in the city, a hill nearby with easy access to electricity will do.”

"Yes, Yunbi Peak across the river should be good. I have a relative who lives in the mountains over there and has electricity. I can get electricity from his house. I think your thing can be powered by the city electricity."

"It can run, it uses 220 volts, and the maximum power is 100 watts. It doesn't consume much power in standby mode. I can give your relative 5 kWh of electricity every day as compensation."

"It should be possible. I'll take you to ask later."

"What's okay? What do you want to ask?" Cheng Yong walked in and asked.

"Jiankun said that there is an electrical device that needs to be installed here, and it needs to be somewhere relatively high. I recommend installing it on Yunbi Peak and getting electricity from my relative."

"Yes, it doesn't consume much electricity, but it only works well at a higher place."

"So what are you waiting for? Go now."

So my father drove a truck and took a few people to Yunbi Peak. The journey was very short and they only had to cross a bridge to get there.

Cheng Xing first went to the mountains to find his relatives and told them that Cheng Yong was in the car with Wang Jiankun and his son.

He said that the sales of lighters have been getting better and better recently, and he plans to take the initiative to open wholesale departments in several coastal cities in Guangdong Province and Fujian Province, and then directly engage in wholesale and retail there.

People there are very rich now. Fishermen and small business owners have all become wealthy in the past two years.

There are also many overseas Chinese who send money and gifts to the mainland. If we can get through their connections and sell lighters overseas, we can make a lot of money.

Wang Jiankun didn't expect Cheng Yong to be so bold and daring, and even thought of exporting lighters.

He expressed his support for Cheng Yong's actions and said that he would ask his family to increase production when he returned.

Last time, my father had told the Cheng brothers that their production team was able to assemble lighters. Because the driver who was delivering goods saw the factory, my father would have told them when he came back even if he didn't say it.

My father asked if he could help buy a few more trucks, otherwise if sales increased, it might not be possible to transport the goods in time.

Cheng Yong said he would go and ask around, and found out that the old Jiefang trucks in transportation companies and some factories were being sold one after another and were preparing to buy new ones.

He is also learning to drive and planning to buy a truck, which will make it convenient to deliver goods to the coastal areas.

After a while, Cheng Xing came back and said there was no problem, and asked Wang Jiankun to see how to install it.

Wang Jiankun followed Cheng Xing up the mountain and arrived at a valley. Cheng Xing's relatives' home was halfway up the mountain, with three families living around it. It was about 3 meters away from the top of the mountain.

Wang Jiankun followed the mountain road to the top of the mountain, measured the required length of the wire, and then went out of the mountain with Cheng Xing.

He asked his father and the Cheng brothers to wait here, and he would be back soon after buying some electrical wires.

I rode my motorcycle to the department store and bought more than 100 meters of electrical wire, some nails and a hammer.

After returning to the parking spot, I asked my father and the Cheng brothers to help carry the base station and the text machine into the mountains.

Wang Jiankun and Cheng Yong worked together to lay the cables, while Cheng Xing and his father went to the top of the mountain to install a fixed base station. The two tasks were carried out simultaneously and very quickly, and the installation was completed in about an hour.

After turning on the power, Wang Jiankun solved the mystery, handed two text machines to the Cheng brothers and instructed them on how to use them.

The two brothers were shocked to see such high-tech stuff that allows them to send and receive text messages anytime and anywhere.

Cheng Yong reacted quickly and asked Wang Jiankun if he could give him more of this text machine and whether it could be installed and used in other places, such as the coastal city he was going to.

Wang Jiankun answered Cheng Yong's question: "It is still in the testing stage and is not perfect yet and needs to be kept confidential. As for coastal cities, the distance is a bit far. If we relay them one by one, we will have to install a lot of them. It is not safe in places where we are not familiar with the place."

"It should be possible when we develop a longer range transmitter in the future. Now we will use it in Raozhou first. You can go farther to test the communication range later. I tested it in my hometown and it's within 15 kilometers. I don't know how it works here."

When Cheng Yong heard what Wang Jiankun said, he had to give up the idea in his mind, nodded and said that he would go to test it later and contact him through the text machine then.

Now that the installation test was completed, Wang Jiankun and his father prepared to leave Raozhou and return home. Wang Jiankun also had to rush to the county town for evening self-study.

(End of this chapter)