In 1978, I was admitted to Harbin Institute of Technology

Chapter 290 Is this old lady here in Northeast China for "disaster relief"?

"Xie Wei, we have strong manufacturing capabilities...we can manufacture many parts...we're producing fewer military products right now..."

When Huo Guoqiang heard Xie Wei say that most of the parts would be manufactured by other machinery factories, he immediately became anxious.

Factory 122 produces light bombers and helicopters, and its mechanical manufacturing capabilities are very strong.

Developing the automotive industry is also to utilize the entire factory's manufacturing capacity and avoid being unable to pay wages due to a lack of production tasks.

Xie Wei has been handed over to other factories, so what will happen to Factory 122?
"Director Huo, if most of the parts are manufactured by Factory 122, can Factory 122's current production capacity meet the processing needs of 3 vehicles per year?"

Xie Wei raised an eyebrow and asked Huo Guoqiang with a playful expression.

"We can build up production capacity!"

If we build up production capacity, the factory will grow.

"Do you have the cost to build production capacity? Also, if you need to produce 200,000, 500,000, or even 1 million vehicles per year, are you going to build all the production capacity yourself? Putting aside whether you can raise the construction funds, just how much land does Factory 122 have to provide for the production capacity construction? Can you solve the related industrial worker training?"

Xie Wei was almost laughing in exasperation.

When the Third Front construction began, all units were "preparing for war and famine," ready to fight World War III.

This has led to many units having complete supporting facilities from the very beginning of construction, and some even being able to produce their own soy sauce.

In such an environment, the construction of each unit is very complete, and it can produce independently even if it loses external supply.

Factory 122 was not a third-line unit; in fact, there were third-line units serving as backups for Factory 122. However, during the initial construction period, in order to accommodate families and to enrich the supply in an environment of material scarcity, there were many supporting small factories.

The machining workshop is naturally enormous.

Under such circumstances, it is understandable that Factory 122 proposed that all mechanical parts be produced and processed in the factory's mechanical workshop.

The problem is that this is not conducive to the development of large-scale mass production.

Xie Wei knows better than anyone else in this era just how big the automotive industry is.

Any car manufacturer can easily produce a million vehicles per year.

Even with its frantic expansion and relentless efforts to build up production capacity, Factory 122 could never achieve such a level of capacity.

Division of labor and cooperation is the key!
Faced with Xie Wei's questioning, Huo Guoqiang and Liu Jianyun, along with other leaders and cadres of Factory 122, remained silent.

"To accomplish great things, we can't just think about our own development; we must make full use of the surrounding resources... With reform and opening up, the production of various factories is no longer based on production plans given by superiors and produced according to those plans. Instead, it is based on market demand. This has led to many products that were previously produced not meeting the needs of users, and at the same time, units with inferior product quality have lost orders..."

The period of reform and opening up is not long.

With a large number of planned orders canceled, many factories are struggling.

In recent years, the country's infrastructure construction has created a great demand for heavy industry. Northeast China is the best heavy industry base in the country in terms of conditions and foundation. The only ones that will decline are some uncompetitive processing plants.

More than a decade later, with the development of the country's overall industrial strength, coupled with the fact that other regions have better regional advantages than the Northeast, the decline of the Northeast, this old industrial base, will be unstoppable.

In fact, this is also largely related to the fact that the Northeast region did not truly utilize its strong manufacturing capabilities in the early stages of reform and opening up.

Factory 122's idea is common.

"If we want to truly develop, industrial specialization and cooperation are the only way forward! If you can't do that, I'd rather not cooperate!"

Xie Wei's attitude hardened.

In a collaboration, he must take the initiative from the very beginning.

Otherwise, all sorts of trouble will follow.

"Xie Wei, we'll keep the core processing business, and let them take over the rest. We'll contact the relevant departments when we get back..."

Huo Guoqiang was afraid that Xie Wei was young and impulsive, and if things really came to a head, he would have nowhere to turn for help.

"Alright, it's settled then. But when looking for an outsourcing factory, we must find one with a solid foundation and make sure they process the parts strictly according to the drawings! If the parts are out of tolerance, even if they're usable, we absolutely cannot accept them!"

Xie Wei emphasized this.

The domestic automobile industry is still underdeveloped, and standardized production has not yet begun.

There is no unified domestic standard.

In such an environment, parts are hardly interchangeable, and many vehicle malfunctions cannot be fixed simply by replacing parts.

This places higher demands on logistics and maintenance.

Those who didn't live through this era can't understand, but Xie Wei is clear about it: decades later, with intense competition in the domestic manufacturing industry, soaring labor costs, and even a bag of instant noodles coming with a free stainless steel bowl, if a vehicle has any malfunction, they won't repair it at all, but will directly replace the parts.

Meanwhile, in Pakistan at the same time, if a car part had a problem, the parts were repaired directly. Even if core components like the drive shaft broke, they were simply welded, machined, and then reassembled for use.

"To reduce production costs in mass production, standardization is essential... We can no longer operate as before, where even if a part doesn't meet the blueprint requirements, as long as it can be reprocessed and the two parts fit together... To quickly capture the market, we must establish after-sales service points in areas with high sales volume..."

"You mean, if a part has a problem, you don't repair it, you just replace the part directly?"

Huo Guoqiang's eyes widened as he looked at Liu Weiming with displeasure. "How much will that increase the cost?"

"As long as production volume is high enough, the cost of replacing parts is perfectly acceptable! The key is that our maintenance personnel don't need such a high level of technical skill! Where are we going to find so many highly skilled maintenance personnel?"

Xie Wei said with a sneer.

Huo Guoqiang wanted to say something more, but Liu Jianyun, who was next to him, tugged at his sleeve and stopped him from continuing.

“Principal Zhang, the contract terms have already been agreed upon. There’s no one in the school-enterprise cooperation office right now. Could you please arrange for someone to liaise with Director Huo and the others?”

After saying that, Xie Wei turned and left.

He really didn't want to waste time on things that were important to him.

"Principal Zhang, does Xie Wei usually assign you work directly like this?"

Huo Guoqiang looked incredulous after Xie Wei left.

Anyone who didn't know better would think Xie Wei was Zhang Mingqiu's superior.

Zhang Mingqiu said dismissively, "Xie Wei has a lot on his plate. As leaders, our job is to provide logistical support for them... It's not a matter of making arrangements..."

Xie Wei assigned jobs regardless of status or position; not only Principal Zhang, but also Liu Debao, had long been accustomed to this.

Early the next morning, Xie Wei pulled the reluctant Xie Rou into the car and they headed to the station together.

Harbin is located in the northeast, and the average temperature in October is only a few degrees Celsius.

It's only a few degrees warmer than Chengdu's winter.

Xie Wei was worried that his mother would get cold, so he held onto a military overcoat. Xie Rou, who was beside him, looked very unwilling.

"Honestly, you should have just come and pick Mom up yourself. This trip took more than an hour. Even if I didn't study, I could have slept a little longer!"

Xie Rou complained.

It wasn't that she had a problem with her mother, but rather that she knew her mother was sent by her brother to keep an eye on her.

Even now, she still hasn't given up.

"Just wait patiently, I'll be out soon... God, what's going on here..."

Before Xie Wei could finish speaking, he saw Liu Mei walking to the exit and was completely stunned.

"Brother, is that really Mom? She wasn't kicked off the train like that?"

Xie Rou's eyes widened in disbelief.

At the exit of the station, Liu Mei was carrying a huge canvas bag on her back, another canvas bag on one arm, and a cage in her other hand, which was filled with several roosters!
How can I avoid embarrassing people?
"She's probably moved her whole family here..."

Xie Rou never expected that her mother would be traveling thousands of kilometers from Chengdu to Northeast China with several live chickens!

Xie Wei's lips twitched, and he hurriedly ran over. "Mom~"

With her hands full, Liu Mei saw her son appear and sniffled, "Why is it so cold here?"

"Did you move your whole house here?"

As Xie Wei took the bag from Liu Mei's shoulder, he complained, "You can buy chickens here; some of the ones in the market that they raise themselves don't require ration coupons..."

"Can that compare to the ones I raise myself?"

Liu Mei glared at Xie Wei, "The roosters we raised last year, you weren't back, and your dad ruined them all..."

"Mom~"

"You heartless bastard, you've been out here and haven't even written a single letter, let alone gone home..."

Seeing Xie Rou made Liu Mei furious.

Haven't seen your daughter yet? You think about her every day.

Upon seeing it, they immediately became disgusted.

"Hurry up and get on the bus..."

"Son, what's wrong?"

Looking at the 212 Jeep beside her, Liu Mei looked at Xie Wei with some concern.

Xie Wei is still in school. Don't let him secretly drive the school car out to pick me up. That kind of mistake will affect his future.

"I borrowed it from the school's logistics department. Hurry up and get on the bus, I have to return it later."

Liu Mei didn't hesitate. After putting the things in the car, she took a good look at the two children. Xie Wei hadn't changed much, but Xie Rou had grown much taller, though she had become incredibly thin: "Luckily, I brought a few chickens with me. I'll make some soup for you two to help you recover..."

What could Xie Wei say?
Xie Rou rolled her eyes.

With my mother here, I'm afraid things won't be easy for me from now on.

Liu Mei had already heard about Du Guowang's family situation. Xie Wei took his mother to Du Guowang's house, explained the situation to Liu Mei, asked Xie Rou to stay and keep his mother company, and prepared to return to school himself.

As soon as I arrived at the door, I saw Du Guowang carrying two large roosters, a basket of meat and vegetables, and a bundle of vermicelli.

"Wild game is hard to buy. I went there early this morning, but I couldn't find any at the market..."

"No, my mom brought five lively roosters from her hometown."

"What the hell?"

Du Guowang thought he had misheard.

"This……"

"It wasn't just a few live chickens, but also dried cowpeas, dried vegetables, preserved eggs, fermented bean paste, and even a jar of lard... Anyone who didn't know better would think there was a famine in Northeast China..."

Xie Wei said with a wry smile.

Upon hearing this, Du Guowang tossed the chicken to Xie Wei, saying, "I have other things to do. I'll be back to see my mother-in-law tonight..."

He really didn't know how to face Liu Mei, who had come to "help with the disaster."

Liu Mei had never traveled far from home before, and she rarely even went back to her parents' home after getting married. For the sake of her children, she traveled so far alone and stayed in someone else's house. Xie Wei was afraid that she would ask why he had invited her, so he didn't dare to stay with Liu Mei for long.

Fortunately, Xie Rou wasn't too busy and spent time with Liu Mei.

Once settled in at Du Guowang's house, she immediately asked Xie Rou to take her to the nearby food station and vegetable market to buy groceries to cook for Du Guowang and Xie Wei. However, she gave up the idea after learning that they were all busy and wouldn't be back for lunch.

He then grabbed Xie Rou and questioned her about why she didn't go home or write to her family.

This made Xie Rou want to run away.

It wasn't until the afternoon, when Wang Yuting finished her work and came over, that Xie Rou felt much better.

"Brother, I don't want to go with Mom tomorrow, I have a lot to do..."

When Xie Wei returned home that evening, Xie Rou started complaining.

Xie Wei simply ignored her.

He then went into the kitchen to help his mother.

As soon as I entered the kitchen, my gossipy mother annoyed me: "Xie Wei, is Xiao Wang your boyfriend?"

"Mom, don't talk nonsense! Wang Yuting and Xie Rou have the same mentor..."

Xie Wei glanced around the kitchen and, not seeing Wang Yuting, hurriedly said, "If word gets out, it won't be good for Senior Sister Wang."

"If she's not your girlfriend, why is she coming to keep me company? Apparently, she's been coming to see me every day since she had free time... You're not getting any younger, it's time to settle your personal life. I'm still young, I can still help you take care of your kids..."

"..."

Xie Wei suddenly realized that having his mother keep an eye on Xie Rou was a mistake!
I am already 23 years old.

These days, you might not be considered late to get married, but you're pretty much considered an older single person.

"Mom, Senior Sister Wang was arranged by Second Sister's mentor to take care of her... You know Second Sister is good at everything except studying..."

At this moment, Xie Wei was still glad that Mo Lingyu hadn't arrived first.

Otherwise, I'm afraid my mother would question why I acted like Chen Shimei (a notorious figure in Chinese folklore known for abandoning his wife).

"Mom, hurry up and prepare the food. Uncle Du and Uncle Liang will be back soon, and they need to eat before going back to school!"

Xie Wei could only quickly change the subject.

"So busy?"

"It's not..."

Xie Wei said, "They are all department heads, and they not only have to supervise students and conduct research, but also take charge of some administrative work."

Xie Wei helped his mother pick vegetables while explaining the situation.

When will you have time to go back?

"???"

Xie Wei was stunned by his mother's sudden remark.

What do you mean?
Could it be that they want me to go back and go on a blind date?

“Your dad has been eating and drinking outside all the time since the Lunar New Year this year… He just lets the factory workers do whatever they want… The rumors outside are really awful…”

With no outsiders around, Wang Yuting went back to school, and Liu Mei told Xie Wei about Xie Jianguo's situation.

"My dad wouldn't do that, would he?"

Xie Wei frowned.

The Hongguang Factory is not as important as it was at the beginning, but Xie Wei handed over the production of CNC systems to the Hongguang Factory for future planning.

Vice Minister Hu had previously told Xie Wei at the school that foreign CNC machine tool suppliers had begun negotiating with domestic companies to establish joint venture factories.

If something goes wrong at Hongguang Factory, the consequences will be severe.

"No way? He's changed so much I don't even recognize him anymore!"

Liu Mei snorted coldly, "Every time I try to advise her, she says I'm just a woman and don't understand..."

(End of this chapter)