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

Chapter 162 The Troubles of Having Money (Part 1)

"Our factory's success today is not due to my abilities alone, Ye Bingwen, but rather the result of everyone's collective efforts."

"I can't say that the factory's future development will always be good, but I will always treat you all like brothers."

After Ye Bingwen finished speaking, everyone raised their glasses and drank them down in one gulp.

It was around nine o'clock after dinner.

After Ye Bingwen came out of the restaurant, a gust of wind blew by, and Ye Bingwen was sobered up by the wind.

On the other hand, Master Li, Liu Xiaoan, and Chen An were all enjoying their drinks and had a great time. They went home together.

Old Hu the carpenter lived nearby, so he walked back by himself.

After saying goodbye, the apprentices went back to their dormitories together.

After everyone left, Ye Bingwen took Zheng Shuyun and An'an home.

Halfway there, Ye Bingwen took out a red velvet box and a silver bracelet.

"Shuyun, for you."

Zheng Shuyun took it without saying anything, just smiling and looking at Ye Bingwen.

The next morning, Ye Bingwen called Chen An to his office.

"Chen An, settle all the bills."

"All settled? Not a single thing left?"

"It's all settled, we can't keep dragging this on."

"Boss Deng, Boss Zhou, is everything settled?"

"It's all settled."

Chen An hesitated for a moment, then turned and left.

After Chen An left, Ye Bingwen sat down and began to calculate the accounts ruthlessly.

The total payment for the goods was 84,200 yuan, and it's all settled. After paying off all the debts, I only have about 70,000 yuan left. Oh, and with the money arriving next week, the total is 170,000 yuan. How should I spend this 170,000 yuan wisely?

Before I knew it, it was ten o'clock, and Fatty Deng arrived.

When Ye Bingwen saw that Fatty Deng had arrived, he quickly came out to greet him.

"Director Ye, is the money ready?"

Ye Bingwen didn't say anything, he just smiled and looked at Fatty Deng.

"Come on, let's talk in the office."

Fatty Deng didn't stop immediately but stopped at the door.

"Director Ye, I have something to tell you."

"I was rude last time, please forgive me."

Ye Bingwen waved his hand.

"Old Deng, how could I take it to heart? You were forced into it by your factory director."

Seeing that Ye Bingwen didn't mind, Fatty Deng went inside.

Not long after he went inside, Chen An came back with the money and gave it to Fatty Deng.

After taking the money and counting it, Fatty Deng wrote a receipt.

"Director Ye, if you need anything next time, just come to me and I'll give you the bottom price."

"Okay, Lao Deng, no problem."

After putting away the money, Fatty Deng exchanged a few more pleasantries with Ye Bingwen before leaving.

"That fat Deng changes his expression way too fast."

Ye Bingwen simply smiled.

"Oh, right, everything was cleared out from Boss Zhou's side too."

Chen An hummed in agreement and turned to leave.

At 3 p.m., Ye Bingwen called Master Li and the others to his office to discuss the matter.

Ye Bingwen got straight to the point, saying, "There's currently 68,000 in the account, and the 100,000 will arrive next week, bringing the total to about 170,000."

Upon hearing this, Liu Xiaojun said, "Uncle Ye, we've never seen so much money before."

Ye Bingwen smiled but didn't respond, instead continuing, "This money needs to be spent wisely; let's plan it out carefully."

Upon hearing this, Master Li was the first to speak, saying, "Xiao Ye, that old press is no longer usable and needs to be replaced."

Liu Xiaojun continued, "The press is indeed unusable; now it can only be adjusted manually."

Chen An expressed his agreement.

"The last batch of work almost had problems because of the large temperature changes. It was almost ruined, but luckily it was thanks to Engineer Liu that it didn't go wrong."

After listening, Ye Bingwen made his own calculations.

The solution is to replace the old press with a new one, and also to inspect the equipment.

Chen An added, "We can only measure dimensions now; we can't measure internal defects. We have to borrow a machine every time we need to measure them."

Old Hu the carpenter listened without saying a word.

Ye Bingwen wrote all these problems down on paper: a press, a testing device, expanding production capacity, and adding more workers.

"Old Hu, what are your thoughts?"

Old Hu the carpenter cleared his throat and said, "Xiao Ye, I have no objections."

Ye Bingwen then inquired about the steel mold.

"Over there with the steel mold—"

"The steel mold is ready, and the wooden mold is ready too. If there is a problem with the steel mold, the wooden mold can be used as a replacement at any time."

"Okay, it's settled then."

After the meeting, Liu Xiaojun approached Ye Bingwen.

"Uncle Ye, the new press should be computer-controlled, right?"

"We'll know when we buy it."

Liu Xiaojun scratched his head and then went out.

After finishing work in the evening, Ye Bingwen took a very small box out of the drawer.

It was noon when Zheng Shuyun went to the department store to buy royal jelly and malted milk powder.

That evening, Ye Bingwen went to Old Hu the carpenter's house.

Old Hu lives in an old neighborhood, and there are many pieces of wood in front of his door.

Old Hu opened the door and saw Ye Bingwen.

"Xiao Ye, what brings you here?"

"Master Hu, I've come to see you."

Ye Bingwen placed the items on the table.

"What is this?"

"You need to take supplements."

Old Hu the carpenter kept staring at the box.

"Xiao Ye, don't be like this."

"Master Hu, I owe you fifty yuan. I'll make it up to you when I get my year-end bonus. I bought this myself, so don't worry about it."

"Xiao Ye..."

""

"If you don't want it, then you're looking down on me."

Old Hu the carpenter had no choice but to accept it.

Ye Bingwen sat for a while longer before leaving.

The next morning, Ye Bingwen took Chen An to the Municipal Machinery and Equipment Company.

A large sign hangs on a five-story, gray-white building belonging to the Municipal Electromechanical Company, located near the river in Daoli District: "HEB"

"Municipal Machinery and Equipment Supply Company".

Upon entering, I found the lobby deserted. There were people sitting behind a few desks, some reading newspapers and others drinking tea.

Ye Bingwen went to a table and asked a question.

"Comrade, I'd like to learn about hydraulic presses."

The staff member raised his head.

What kind of company do you work for?

"From Hongqi Machinery Factory"

The staff member frowned.

"The Harbin Institute of Technology's affiliated factory?"

"School-run factory".

The staff's attitude changed; they took a catalog out of the drawer and threw it on the table.

Ye Bingwen felt uncomfortable, but he didn't say it out loud.

Ye Bingwen looked at the catalog and saw that there were domestically produced presses and imported presses.

There are a few domestically produced ones that look pretty good.

"Comrade, how much is this?"

The staff member looked up at Ye Bingwen and said, "120,000."

Do you have it in stock?

"In stock? What are you thinking? There's definitely no stock available."

Chen An chimed in, "Why isn't it in stock?"

"Only a few manufacturers nationwide can produce this machine, and their orders are already booked until the second half of next year."

"What about the imported ones?"

The staff member glanced at the catalog and said, "This one is good; its performance is even better than domestically produced ones."

"How much?"

"Two hundred and eighty thousand, and it has to be settled in foreign currency."

Chen An was startled when he heard the price of 280,000.