Courtyard House: Starting as a mediocre engineer

In the small canteen of the steel rolling mill, a group of people were drinking and chatting animatedly.

A beautiful young woman smiled and served the dishes: "Steamed pork with rice flour, fish with fermented black beans, please enjoy!"

"Liu Lan, don't we still have mutton?"

"Director Li, Chef He just said that the mutton should be braised a little longer."

"Alright! Xiao Zhuang, I'll have a few more drinks with your Brother Li today."

"Brother Li, I salute you. Just call me Chenzi."

"That's good, then we brothers won't stand on ceremony."

"..."

Zhuang Zhongchen glanced at Liu Lan without making a sound, and then the famous figures in Qinman Courtyard began to appear one by one.

The gazelle, like other wild animals, takes at least three years to mature, but it's not uncommon now. Just a few years ago, to supplement the meat supply in Beijing, some organizations drove jeeps to the grasslands of Inner Mongolia and directly used machine guns to mow down herds of gazelles.

In reality, the harm caused by private hunting was not particularly significant. It wasn't until the 8s and 90s, when motorcycles and cars were available to travel deep into the mountains and forests, and refrigerators were available to sell wild animals, that large-scale extinctions of wild animals in China began.

Ultimately, industrialized hunting is the real enemy!

"Chenzi, come visit me more often when you have time."

"Alright! I'll have to trouble you then, Brother Li."

"..."

After a hearty meal, the two became inseparable, waving goodbye with obvious reluctance.

But just as they stepped out of the small canteen, they ran into Qin Huairu. The pretty widow's beautiful eyes flickered, and she asked suspiciously, "Director Li, Chenzi?"

Li Huaide, standing to the side, seemed to be deep in thought: "Is this Comrade Huai Ru from the Security Section? Do you two know each other?"

"Yes! We live in the same courtyard house. Please take good care of me, Brother Li."

"Great! Huai Ru did a great job; we've actually been watching her closely."

"Thanks."

"hehe."

"..."

Qin Huairu was completely bewildered. She couldn't understand how Director Li and the dead man had suddenly become brothers.

Zhuang Zhongchen ignored the pretty widow. He smiled and nodded, then brushed past Li Huaide...

So, no matter how good an actor's acting skills are, only a scumbag truly understands another scumbag's heart. Those few short words exchanged just now revealed a tacit understanding between the two scumbags.

That said, this trip to the steel rolling mill immediately gave Zhuang Zhongchen an idea. If the steel rolling mill was so interested, wouldn't other organizations be interested too? If he could make a lot of friends, he could play a huge game of mahjong!

Mm-hmm! Spicy Mom, let's fight to the death!

In the following days, Zhuang Zhongchen visited many organizations and indeed reaped considerable rewards. He never complained about receiving too much or too little—whether it was ten or twenty thousand. Some provided supplies, others personnel…

It must be said that showcasing the three trump cards—the leading group, the military, and the steel mill—was indeed quite intimidating. Many units genuinely wanted to follow suit; who doesn't know how to gain some political credit?

In the end, Zhuang Zhongchen found another heavyweight unit – BAIC Motor!

"What? Why should a steel mill take the lead? We at BAIC are the professionals in making motor vehicles. I refuse to accept this!"

"Uh... calm down. We still need to follow the principle of first come, first served."

"Why should it be first-come, first-served? Your superiors are biased, and we're not even allowed to voice our grievances!"

"Oh, what's there to be wronged about? We're all from the same unit in Beijing, so the benefits are still with us."

"Why should I? Boss Zhuang, I'm not threatening you, but if you don't give me an explanation, we at BAIC guarantee you won't leave the factory alive!"

Seeing several BAIC executives gesticulating wildly in front of him, Zhuang Zhongchen was both amused and exasperated.

This is actually a common phenomenon in this era—every organization pursues large-scale and comprehensive development, wishing to control all industries.

By the time of the Industrial Revolution, wouldn't the goal be a complete domestic industrial chain? But during this period, almost every sector was pursuing a small-scale complete industrial chain. The mentality was not only to avoid being held hostage by foreign countries, but also to absolutely avoid being held hostage by other powerful entities. Ultimately, this became like a psychological disorder, passed down through generations.

For example, the Ministry of Metallurgical Industry was responsible for the steel rolling mills. The Geological Bureau was also under their jurisdiction. Apart from the Ministry of Coal Industry for coal and the Ministry of Petrochemical Industry for petroleum, all other mines in the country were under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Metallurgical Industry.

The Ministry of Metallurgical Industry even oversaw semiconductors? Can you believe it? You read that right. China's semiconductor industry was developed by a few metallurgical research institutes. This also includes the first-generation lithography machines.

At the time, China's first-generation lithography machines were quite advanced, second only to a few developed countries like the United States. And a large number were exported to the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries. Can you believe it?

Imagine, steel mills even research and produce semiconductors, so what's the big deal about adding a three-wheeled vehicle?

What about the automotive industry?

Without a doubt, in any industrialized country, the automotive industry is one of the most important pillar industries. It's incredibly important!

Because it's so important, every department is scrambling to get their hands on it, resulting in a fierce battle where no one succeeds. So, the automotive industry has become like a brothel where anyone can just walk in and touch a woman?

By the late 70s, there were over 100 car manufacturers of varying sizes in China. Of course, most of them produced less than 100 cars a year. Various departments stepped in to help, because no matter how low the output, at least it was a car produced domestically.

This included the Ministry of Light Industry, the State Space Administration, the Ministry of Ordnance Industry... Basically, it was a chaotic mess.

By the way, Chang'an Automobile, originally under the Ministry of Ordnance Industry, gradually grew into a large and powerful company. It is considered one of the well-known domestic car brands.

Therefore, faced with the steel rolling mill's aggressive tactics, this abuse seemed endless. The BAIC plant was also helpless and quite aggrieved.

That being said, all those actions just now were nothing more than a performance; BAIC Motor wanted to gain more benefits for itself.

Seeing that the performance was almost over, several leaders from the BAIC factory shouted, "Nonsense! How could we at BAIC engage in factionalism? Men, drag them away! Give them a serious reprimand! Put them in solitary confinement!"

Changing the subject, the leaders smiled at Zhuang Zhongchen and said, "Young Leader Zhuang, we apologize for not educating our employees properly. However, this is also the voice of the people, and we can't let our staff down!"

"You should discuss how to cooperate with the steel mill yourselves. Our project team will remain neutral. Besides, the higher-ups are watching. There's no rule saying that only one factory in Beijing can produce tricycles, is there?"

"Alright! We'll contribute 10 in fees too."

"I also need you to send a few more technicians, I need..."

"Okay, okay! We agree! But Manager Zhuang, you have to keep your word!"

"..."

The meeting was finally over. Zhuang Zhongchen organized all the materials and returned to the leadership team.

"Huh? Xiao Zhuang?"

"Director Pei, I have important work to report to you. It concerns the project preparation for the establishment of agricultural freight tricycles."

"Wow! Huh? 43? Where did you get so much money?"

"..."