Courtyard House: Starting as a mediocre engineer

In the courtyard of the Labor Bureau, a group of people were curiously watching the motorized tricycle.

"Zhuang Ke, could we borrow your bikes for a few more laps?"

"sure!"

"It's just a tricycle with an engine."

"Yes! So I chose the cheapest one, which also has the simplest structure, using a two-stroke engine. Actually, you can give it a try too. I can recommend the street service company that did the assembly to you right now."

"Alright then, Zhuang Ke. We definitely trust you. Our unit needs one, so please help us out to avoid any future problems."

"That's fine. It's settled then, 1450 yuan. The main engine still needs to be ordered from the manufacturer."

"Okay! We'll take two of them."

"I'll give you one too! If you're satisfied with it, I'll recommend it to others."

"..."

And you know what? When Zhuang Zhongchen returned to his unit, his colleagues from other units followed suit and conducted a detailed investigation of this type of motorized tricycle.

However, when these people heard that this type of motorized tricycle is classified as a non-motorized vehicle and doesn't require a motorized vehicle license plate, and that it only costs around 1500 yuan, what was there to hesitate about?

Currently, industrial products are quite expensive.

Since bicycles have only recently become domestically produced, the cost alone is over 600 yuan. Tricycles are even more expensive, over 1000 yuan. This is only slightly more expensive than a tricycle? And it even emits smoke from its exhaust? Isn't that practically getting a small truck for free?

Here, a discerning eye might notice why the prices of industrial products are so distorted. Especially these hand-built, DIY-style motorized tricycles—how could they possibly be priced similarly to ordinary tricycles?

This is actually the inherent law of a large-scale industrial system. The specific reasons are very complex and extensive, enough to fill a thick textbook. I won't go into detail here.

However, giving an example can help deepen understanding.

For example, a car. This is a real event that occurred in China in the 90s in another dimension.

At that time, the most famous domestic car brand was undoubtedly Santana—owning a Santana meant you could go anywhere without fear. And the price of the domestically produced Santana remained around 15 yuan.

However, there was a master technician in Tianjin who couldn't understand why cars were so expensive.

So they purchased engine, transmission, tires, and other parts, spending over 2 yuan. All other spare parts were made by hand, including the cost of renting machinery, which also cost over 2 yuan. In the end, they produced a car of similar class to the Santana for less than 5 yuan.

Then a miraculous scene unfolded. The Tianjin Automotive Research Institute conducted a comprehensive inspection of this hand-operated car, confirming it met national motor vehicle standards. Furthermore, the traffic management department issued it a license plate. Even newspapers reported the news…

Surprised? You can produce a car worth 5 yuan by hand-rolling 15 yuan.

At this stage, hand-making was much cheaper than large-scale industrial production. This was also the initial stage of the industrial system.

So here's the question—why hasn't anyone noticed this blind spot? Can't we just rub it by hand?

Actually... of course there are! Smart people are everywhere, don't underestimate the heroes of the world, okay?

Then a boss from the south came along who made some outrageous remarks—what's so difficult about making cars? Isn't it just four wheels, an engine, and a metal shell on top?

That's right, this brand later became very famous, it's Geely Automobile.

This is actually the second stage of the industrial system. A prototype made by hand is transformed into hundreds of thousands of mass-produced vehicles.

We need to address standardized production, quality inspection, ensuring universal compatibility of all parts, and after-sales service...

It's important to understand that compared to hand-rolling, the difficulty increases exponentially, and the cost also skyrockets.

The logic is simple: if you're making parts by hand, and one of them breaks, are you going to make another one by hand? An industrial system can solve this problem well by establishing a complete upstream and downstream industrial chain.

Because the investment is so large, the costs are also relatively high. But this stage is unavoidable.

As for the third stage? That will definitely be the maturity of the industrial system, the continuous reduction of costs, and ultimately, a cost far lower than that of hand-made products.

And the milestone of this stage – the Xiaomi phone!

It's important to understand that Xiaomi is not just a smartphone brand; it has also given a shot in the arm to STEM students in China!

What the hell? They can do that? Did they really think our domestic industrial system was this strong? My confidence soared, shattering the myth that foreign brands were invincible.

So, a massive, unbridled revolution erupted, blossoming across every industry. In the end, even those tech-savvy geeks couldn't comprehend it anymore, and it ultimately transformed into an indescribable industrial Cthulhu…

Now that we're back to the point, you should all understand, right? The establishment of an industrial system is not something that can be accomplished overnight; it's not simply a matter of inventing a prototype and calling it a success. At best, it's just a very good start.

Without a doubt, we're currently in the manual development stage. Even if Zhuang Zhongchen wanted a second or third stage, I still couldn't do it!

……

A few hours later, Zhuang Zhongchen arrived at the street, where he chatted happily with Director Wang and Niu Kesi.

"Chenzi, we have established a new assembly production team, and the monthly assembly volume should be able to reach more than 10 vehicles."

"Aunt Wang, Brother Niu, what about the engine? We can't expect to get something for nothing anymore, can we?"

"Leave it to us. It's not like we're dealing with tens of thousands of units. We only produce a few hundred at a time, so the factory is willing to help."

In reality, Director Wang and Niu Kesi wield considerable influence. Even if the local street office is ineffective, they can leverage the resources of the district and city governments. Manufacturers are willing to give face to even these small, "leftover" products. They're even far more effective than Zhuang Zhongchen.

"By the way, Chenzi," Director Wang said with a smile, "the people from the neighborhood can manage to organize production, but we really don't understand the technology. Could you lend a hand and act as our technical consultant?"

Zhuang Zhongchen considered for a few seconds, then readily agreed: "Okay!"

Although these consultants are helping on a voluntary basis, it's always good to maintain a good relationship with the neighborhood.

Director Wang and the others were also very happy. Niu Kesi then asked, "Chenzi, what should we do next? The number of tricycle parts is limited, we can't keep going like this."

"Let's focus on completing the immediate orders first. From now on, we'll take small, quick steps."

"Small steps, quick pace?"

"Yes! We need to keep making small improvements and prioritize increasing the self-sufficiency rate of spare parts. Our conditions aren't too bad; at least the street factory has its own machinery and equipment. Let's see if we can make use of it. I have a few ideas here..."

"Alright then! Chenzi, I don't know anything about this! I'll leave it to you then."

"No problem. We'll solve anything together."