My Lord, you need to stand up!

Chapter 967 The Gears of Fate Finally Began to Turn Silently

The biggest problem with the Shanghai factory is that it has almost no room for expansion.

Even though their docks and slipways are all in Pudong, the surrounding area is still crowded with dormitories, factories, residential buildings, and streets that have been built up over the years.

Meanwhile, two or three factories in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang section, including the Jinling factory, are located along the wide riverbank, allowing them to expand and build new facilities at any time.

Ships that are too large cannot be launched into the water by sideslip or skid-in; they must be launched into a super-large dry dock that can be filled and pumped out.

For such a super-large shipyard, the Panamax is over 200 meters long, and the dock and slipway must be 300 meters or even longer.

The fact that Wei Dong once proposed a length of nearly 400 meters beyond that of the Panamax class is a long-term weakness that the Shanghai plant will be unable to achieve in the future.

This was also their instinctive reaction when they were so opposed to developing a super-Panamax project.

Therefore, many academic and technological disputes are ultimately conflicts of interest.

Wei Dong's calm and collected demeanor as he watched the two or three factories argue and compete without comment immediately silenced everyone.

They were probably all secretly astonished: was the big boss really that unfathomable?
After all, Wei Dong is now the lord who has led thousands of troops to fight his way here.

I'm not some weakling who has to scheme to avoid getting caught even when selling a piece of cured meat.

He waited until everyone quieted down before speaking: "Everyone, remember this: although you still have your status within the system, we manage you according to the model of private enterprises. If you are not up to par, you will be dismissed immediately. If you can't handle the challenges, resources you are unwilling to share, or territory you can't conquer, someone else will be replaced immediately. On the contrary, the size of the factory area is a minor issue. Since the Bidding and Investment Bureau is confident in assisting Shanghai in building a brand-new deep-water port, it also has the capability to build brand-new shipyards anywhere along the Yangtze River. If any factory cannot make a contribution, it is not impossible for it to be canceled and bankrupted."

In the warm sunshine of the mountains in the gorge in March, everyone actually felt a little chilly.

The ruthless capitalist face of private enterprises is beginning to show its true colors.

Let Wei Dong summarize the first half: "In short, both the China International Import Expo and China Ocean Shipping Group will build their own ocean container fleet, including the inland river container ships at this stage, all of which will serve as feeder lines for this new fleet of ships that will be at least several million tons. I will also try my best to encourage Hong Kong shipping companies and shipping magnates to build ships at Changjiang Shipping Heavy Industry. As long as we can crack the tough nut of large container ships, the next ten, twenty, or thirty years will be a great achievement for everyone here. Anyone who hinders this war will be dealt with by military law!"

Just like the Jiangzhou Factory under our feet, which once undertook the task of producing torpedo boats.

These shipyards almost all have military backgrounds.

But regardless of what kind of ships were built before, they have all been clearly mobilized and grouped onto the container ship line.

Hearing Rang Weidong say this made the future situation clearer.

The applause has disappeared, replaced by a solemn and focused atmosphere before a major battle.

The engineers held their breath in concentration.

Dong Xueqing, hiding on the second floor of the nearby building, kneeling by the bed and peeking through the window, still looked just like the girl she was a few years ago, her eyes filled with adoration for her "brother-in-law".

This silly son of mine, Chongchong, even wanted to climb onto his mother's shoulders to see what was so special outside.

He was sent flying with an elbow strike, and upon landing, his sister delivered a flying kick to him. Damn it!
Ram quickly suppressed her laughter and carried the siblings from behind to the lawn to play, so as not to disturb their father...

He did indeed have a bit of a domineering air about him: "I know there are still many objective problems at this time. Only Shanghai Steel has started producing special steel. Jiangzhou Steel Plant, Echang Steel Plant, and Jinling Steel Plant, do you have the manpower to handle social and technical relationships to ensure the supply of steel? That's your problem!"

"Do you have enough skilled workers? Are the older ones still capable of fighting on the front lines? Have you brought in new technical personnel? These are questions that test your ability to manage a large factory!"

"Finally, the ability to manage funds effectively—whether you can make the most of every penny and maximize revenue generation—that's where your personal business acumen comes in!"

"If it's not working, then offer to step down sooner rather than later. There are plenty of people waiting to rush up and plug the gap!"

The factory leaders all looked serious, prompting Wei Dong to raise his final sword:

"We just talked about increasing revenue, and now we're talking about cutting costs. I can tell you all clearly that the bidding bureau can simultaneously initiate the construction of ten Panamax-class cargo ships and mobilize tens of billions of yuan to invest in shipbuilding, but if this money is spent like it was during the era of state-owned enterprises, it's like using a sieve to scoop water..."

At this point, he even pointed to the surrounding sanatorium.

With such a large family business, employing tens of thousands of people in two factories, setting up a sanatorium like this is just commonplace for them.

In many third-tier factories, the mountains were far from the central government's reach, and the factory director was like a local tyrant.

If you admit to having misconduct or financial irregularities, you might be reported.

If everyone in the factory shares in the comfort, will they all just keep quiet?

The Third Front factories were where a generation dedicated their youth, throwing themselves into the vast mountains for the country.

However, there are also quite a few who slack off and become lazy.

Living away from big cities and indulging in the beauty of nature is also a kind of peaceful life.

Therefore, the deputy director of Xishan Factory, who was already very familiar with various third-line factories, pressed down the guillotine with steady, accurate, and ruthless precision:

"To cut costs, all factories must now accept the asset verification team dispatched by the investment bank to conduct a thorough investigation. All assets, personnel, equipment, and accounts must be turned upside down. During this period, you will stay here temporarily. You can discuss any issues or problems in advance."

Everyone's expression changed drastically!

I never expected this to be a trap.

These days, no one has cell phones, so there's no need to worry about unauthorized communication. It's easy to cut off... In modern terms, this is called detention, or double regulation.

Within the specified time, provide explanations and clarifications on the specified issues.

Some people have already started to tremble uncontrollably!
Some might think that with a new governing body, there would be some investigation and rectification.

But I didn't expect it to come so quickly and forcefully. These are generally factories with thousands or even tens of thousands of employees.

How big is it? Well, this machine factory at the foot of the mountain, which produces anti-aircraft guns, is hidden in the valley between two mountain ranges.

The initial design and site selection may have been based on the idea that enemy air raids would only last a fraction of a second, leaving no time for bombing or strafing.

Therefore, the factory area stretches for more than five kilometers in a longitudinal direction!

One end connects to the railway, and the other end borders the Yangtze River.

These past two days, I had Weidong visit the place following Lao Cheng's suggestion; it was huge.

Then there are also many obvious management problems.

Consider it as the shipyards submitting a poor report card.

This alerted the head of the bidding bureau in advance.

If we don't act decisively and swiftly, these seven factories employing tens of thousands of people will be like sieves, riddling the shipbuilding steel plates with holes.

In the eyes of capitalists, these are tens of thousands of mouths that are used to eating from the same pot.

So, in the three or four days that the factory leaders arrived, the financial staff of the branch offices in several provinces and cities cooperated with the nearly two hundred people transferred from the Pingjing Financial Center and the Pengzhen West District Settlement Center to silently investigate and wait outside the seven shipyards.

While the meeting was in session, Dong Xueqing called to inform everyone to bring in an official letter for an investigation.

Most of these cities are provincial capitals or prefecture-level cities, and we have branch offices and sales companies. In the past three or four days, we have also done a basic survey of the major local factories.

Representatives were sent to all relevant sites, main office buildings, and financial entities to request access.

Anyone obstructing entry can call the relevant factory leaders to provide proof; those who unreasonably obstruct entry will bear all responsibility.

At this time, the various parts of Changjiang Heavy Industry no longer belonged to the former Sixth Ministry of Machinery Industry and China Shipbuilding Corporation, but were completely transferred to the Bidding and Tendering Bureau.

The official letter was sent to each factory when the factory leaders were summoned to Jiangzhou for a meeting. Now that they have the official letter from the bidding bureau, they are prepared to have the provincial and municipal leaders step in to settle things with each factory.

As a result, only two phone calls came to the guesthouse.

After receiving the factory leaders' consent over the phone, all seven factories fully opened up for investigation.

All I can say is that this point in time is still 1988.

The downturn in the international shipping industry that Lao Fang mentioned to Wei Dong over the phone, which lasted from the Middle East energy crisis and the Iran-Iraq War in 1975 to around 1987, coincided with the transition period after China's reform and opening up.

For the shipbuilding industry, both domestic and international periods are fraught with difficulties.

Old Cheng and his team started reducing orders in 1981, and Old Geng and his team were required to stop working in 1983.

The reason this phase collapsed is because all previous orders and projects were only government-arranged plans.

Before the market economy takes off and there are no orders from society, this transition period is inevitably a blank.

Shipyards have been struggling for years due to a lack of national ship orders, but they haven't reached the point where some have gone bankrupt and been divided up.

Shipyards are not so easily divided up.

So there are definitely issues with food and drink, but major problems like embezzlement are relatively rare.

After all, this kind of factory is like a small society where everyone knows each other, and everyone is watching what the management does.

The main focus is on violations of various sizes.

A significant portion of them have been driven mad by poverty in recent years and are willing to do anything to revitalize their factories.

This actually reveals the responsibility and competence of some factory leaders, while others seem to have no problems at all, yet the factory workers are full of complaints and curses.

Further investigation revealed that the Sixth Ministry of Machine Building and the State Economic Commission both sent people to request a summary report of the investigation.

Because before this, no powerful department had ever conducted such a thorough inventory of all of a company's assets.

The accuracy is down to the centimeter level for illegal constructions!
Lao Wang and Xiong Guoming both brought people from China Merchants Bank and China Merchants Insurance to participate.

It's obvious that after the investigation and crackdown on illegal activities, banks will be waving "foreign capital" to inject funds and resume production, insurance companies will be establishing social insurance and housing provident fund for everyone, and even ship insurance for the production process...

When Xiong Guoming called Wei Dong to apply for the insurance, the lord was so angry that he cursed, "Aren't you robbing me?"

If the production vessel goes smoothly and is launched without any accidents, the insurance company will make a clean profit from the insurance premium!

But we have no choice but to give it up, that's how it is when everything is formalized and in line with international standards.

At this stage, the gears of fate finally began to turn silently.

Rang Weidong, who had been living on the mountain, sent Wu Shengyun, as the head of a shipping company, to assist in the establishment of the bidding and tendering shipping company.

This led to a meeting between Wu Shengyun and Xiong Guoming.

(End of this chapter)