78: Bringing his wife and children to Harbin Institute of Technology

Chapter 150 Review

Five days later, the review notice arrived. The review meeting was scheduled for Wednesday morning in the conference room of the Municipal Economic Commission. The materials would be reviewed in the morning, and the experts would come to the site in the afternoon.

Ye Bingwen took Chen An with him. Before they left, Master Li instructed him, "Little Ye, don't be nervous when you get there. Just say what's on your mind."

"I understand," Ye Bingwen replied.

The two rode their bikes to the municipal government building and went up to the third floor. There were already people waiting at the door of the conference room. When Ye Bingwen signed in, he saw the list of the review panel and his heart skipped a beat.

The review panel was headed by a deputy director of the Municipal Economic Commission, surnamed Zhou, and consisted of five members: a division chief from the Municipal Science and Technology Commission, a professor from Harbin Institute of Technology, Section Chief Wang from the Credit Department of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, a representative from the Credit Department of the China Construction Bank, and a section chief from the Municipal Finance Bureau.

Ye Bingwen recognized the representative from China Construction Bank. The vice president who had asked the question at the last government-enterprise meeting was not here. Instead, a section chief surnamed Liu, in his forties, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, and looking very serious, was present.

Ye Bingwen thought to himself, "Is this person here to nitpick again?"

The meeting started at nine o'clock. Deputy Director Zhou made a few opening remarks, and then Ye Bingwen introduced the company's situation. He repeated what he had said at the last government-enterprise matchmaking meeting, but this time he explained it in more detail.

After the presentation, the expert panel began asking questions.

The director of the Science and Technology Commission spoke first, asking, "How does your factory's technology compare to that of other factories in the same industry in China?"

Ye Bingwen thought for a moment and replied, "I can't say exactly what level it is, but the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense had a part that other units couldn't make in a month, but we made in two hours."

"That was just a special case under emergency conditions. Can the quality be guaranteed during mass production?" the director of the Science and Technology Commission pressed.

"We've already produced 80 out of the 150 products in the second batch, and they're all up to standard," Ye Bingwen said.

Chen An handed over the test report, and the director of the Science and Technology Commission glanced at it, nodded, and didn't ask any more questions.

The professor from Harbin Institute of Technology then asked, "Are there standardized documents for the process parameters?"

"Yes, every batch of products is recorded, and the parameters are all compiled into tables," Ye Bingwen said.

Chen An handed over the process record book. The professor flipped through a few pages and asked, "Who made this record?"

"I did it, and Liu Xiaojun also made a copy. We checked it together," Chen An replied.

"Is the temperature control curve saved?" the professor continued to ask.

Ye Bingwen paused for a moment, then turned to look at Chen An. Chen An quickly said, "Yes, Liu Xiaojun records the temperature every half hour. There are twelve points for each batch. Connecting these points forms a curve." After hearing this, the professor didn't ask any more questions.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) Director Wang asked about the source of repayment, "When will your first batch of payments arrive?"

"It will reach 84,000 by the end of this month," Ye Bingwen replied.

"The second batch?" Section Chief Wang asked again.

"150,000 by the end of next month," Ye Bingwen said.

"It adds up to 234,000. Paying back the 100,000 loan shouldn't be a problem, but your wages are in arrears and you also owe money for materials. You need to pay those back too," said Section Chief Wang.

Ye Bingwen said, "The back pay will be issued this month, and the material payment will be settled next month. As long as the loan is in place, we can increase production capacity and keep up with subsequent orders." Section Chief Wang nodded after hearing this.

At this moment, Section Chief Liu from the Construction Bank spoke up. He flipped through the financial statements, adjusted his glasses, and asked, "Director Ye, how much money does your factory have in its accounts right now?"

Ye Bingwen paused for two seconds before replying, "Several hundred yuan."

"Several hundred yuan? How much exactly?" Section Chief Liu pressed.

"Three hundred and forty-two dollars and seventy cents," Ye Bingwen said.

Section Chief Liu put down the report and said, "We can't pay wages, we owe money for materials, we owe money for electricity, what can you use to guarantee production?"

"We have orders in hand and have been working. The first payment will arrive this month. We're just one step away from completion," Ye Bingwen said.

"Just this one last push? Director Ye, if you were in my position, if you were a bank, would you dare to lend this money?" Section Chief Liu retorted.

The meeting room fell silent. Chen An clenched his fists, wanting to speak but holding back.

Ye Bingwen looked at Section Chief Liu and said, "Section Chief Liu, you're right. If I were a bank, I might not dare to lend money either. But we're not just messing around here without orders or technology. We're actually doing real work. Eighty of the second batch of 150 products have already been made, and they're all up to standard. You can go to the site and see for yourself; the products are all there."

"You've passed the test, but your funding chain has been cut off. How will you continue working? What if your factory goes bankrupt? Who will repay the loan?" Section Chief Liu pressed on relentlessly, but Ye Bingwen didn't respond.

Seeing that the atmosphere was getting a bit tense, Deputy Director Zhou stepped in to smooth things over: "Let's note this down and discuss it later. Does anyone else have any questions?"

The section chief of the Finance Bureau asked, "Who owns the factory building?"

"It belongs to the school; we rented it," Ye Bingwen replied.

"Equipment?" the section chief of the Finance Bureau asked again.

"Most of them are the school's fixed assets; we only have the right to use them," Ye Bingwen said.

"Do you have any collateral?" the section chief from the Finance Bureau asked. Ye Bingwen shook his head: "No." The meeting room fell silent again.

Deputy Director Zhou made a few notes in his notebook, then looked up and said, "Let's stop here for now. We'll go check out the site this afternoon."

After the meeting, Ye Bingwen and Chen An stood downstairs. Chen An couldn't help but say, "That Section Chief Liu from the Construction Bank, he's obviously here to nitpick."

"What they said is true, our factory really doesn't have any money," Ye Bingwen said.

"But we have orders and technology," Chen An said somewhat unwillingly.

"Orders and technology are nothing to banks," Ye Bingwen lit a cigarette, took two puffs, and then stubbed it out. "Let's go back and prepare. The experts will be coming to the site this afternoon."

At 2 p.m., the expert team arrived at Hongqi Factory. The car stopped at the factory gate, and Ye Bingwen went to greet them. Deputy Director Zhou walked in front, followed by the director of the Science and Technology Commission, the professor from Harbin Institute of Technology, the chief section chief, Section Chief Liu, and the section chief from the Finance Bureau. Ye Bingwen led them to the workshop.

Liu Xiaojun was already prepared. He stood next to the mixer, wearing clean work clothes, and looked much more energetic. Master Li was working in front of the milling machine without looking up. The milling cutter was turning, and iron filings were constantly flying out. Chen An stood in front of the testing table, with the finished products that had just been made today in front of him.

The expert team entered the workshop. Deputy Director Zhou looked around and saw that the workshop floor had been swept, the tools were neatly arranged, and the equipment was polished to a shine. The repainted press was at the very back, its gray-white shell reflecting the light.

The director of the Science and Technology Commission walked to the testing station, picked up a finished product, and asked, "Was this made today?"

Chen An said, "Yes, it was just done this morning, and the tests aren't finished yet."

"Go ahead and do your testing, I'll just take a look," said the director of the Science and Technology Commission.

Chen An picked up calipers and began measuring the length, width, thickness, and aperture of the products one by one. After measuring, he reported the measurements, and Zheng Shuyun recorded them. The director of the Science and Technology Commission watched Chen An measure three products without saying a word.

A professor from Harbin Institute of Technology walked over to the press, squatted down to examine the steel mold, and asked, "Who made this mold?"

Ye Bingwen said, "The mold factory made the rough mold, and we did the finishing work ourselves."

1

"What equipment is used for finishing?" the professor asked.

"It's that milling machine, the one Master Li used," Ye Bingwen replied.

The professor walked over to the milling machine, and Master Li stopped the machine. "Master, did you mill this mold?" the professor asked.

Master Li nodded: "It's me."

"How much finishing allowance was left?" the professor asked again.

"Thirty strands," Master Li replied.

"One cut?" the professor continued.

"First, rough mill, leaving five threads, then finish mill, in two cuts," Master Li said. The professor nodded after hearing this.

Section Chief Liu stood in the middle of the workshop without moving, looking around. He looked at the two mixers, then at the press, and then at the pass rate curve on the wall. Finally, his gaze fell on Liu Xiaojun.

"What do you do?" Section Chief Liu asked.

Liu Xiaojun said, "I am responsible for equipment maintenance and process parameters."

"What educational background do you have?" Section Chief Liu asked again.

"I graduated from a technical school," Liu Xiaojun replied.

"A technical school?" Section Chief Liu repeated, somewhat surprised.

"Yes, he graduated from a technical school," Liu Xiaojun said confidently. Section Chief Liu didn't ask any more questions, turned around and walked to the testing table, picked up a finished product, looked at it over and over, and asked, "Is the surface smooth enough?"

Chen An said, "That's enough. The smoothness is one level higher than ▽7."

"What did you use to measure it?" Section Chief Liu asked.

"Roughness tester," Chen An said, taking the roughness tester over and measuring it in front of Section Chief Liu. The reading on the instrument was indeed up to standard. After putting the finished product down, Section Chief Liu walked up to Ye Bingwen and asked, "Director Ye, most of your equipment is secondhand. Can you guarantee stable quality?"

"Yes, old equipment doesn't mean the products are bad. That press has been used for more than ten years. If the parameters are adjusted properly, it can still produce qualified products," Ye Bingwen replied.

"But now we're not producing one or two pieces, we're producing in batches, over a hundred pieces. What if the equipment is unstable?" Section Chief Liu pressed.

"We have contingency plans for unstable equipment. If the temperature fluctuates too much, we adjust the parameters; if the mold is worn, we polish it; if the heating rod is worn out, we replace it. That's how we made the first batch of one hundred pieces, and we did the same for the second batch," Ye Bingwen said. Section Chief Liu did not respond.

Deputy Director Zhou asked, "Xiao Ye, your product yield rate is 100%, do you have any inspection reports from the quality inspection department?"

"When Engineer Sun from the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense came to inspect the samples, he randomly checked twenty items, and all of them passed the inspection. There are records on site," Ye Bingwen said.

Chen An pulled out the acceptance record and handed it to Deputy Director Zhou. After Deputy Director Zhou looked at it once, he passed it on to the others. After it was passed around, no one asked any more questions.

The expert team stood in the workshop for a while. Deputy Director Zhou said, "Okay, that's enough for today." Ye Bingwen saw them off to the factory gate. Before getting into the car, Section Chief Liu looked back at Ye Bingwen, said nothing, closed the car door, started the car, and drove away.