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

Chapter 169 Don't Focus on One Leg

The next morning, Ye Bingwen went to the factory early.

After entering the factory, Ye Bingwen looked at the new machines and suddenly remembered many of the things Vice Mayor Liu had said.

The number of orders in the military industry is not small, but the progress of these orders is rather slow.

Even with the fastest processing speed, it takes about two months for payment for a batch of goods to arrive in the account.

This is before any policy changes have occurred.

If there are changes in policy, then this timeframe may need to be extended further.

"Don't put all your eggs in one basket."

Ye Bingwen murmured a sentence.

Actually, it's not that he hadn't thought about it.

However, before that, I had no money and had no intention of seriously considering this matter.

But now the factory has the money, and the new machines have completed their final debugging.

Ye Bingwen was thinking about those things when Chen An came out of his office.

"Director Ye, what are you doing squatting here so early in the morning?"

When Ye Bingwen saw that it was Chen An, he did not intend to hide it from Chen An.

"Chen An, what else do you think our carbon fiber can be used for besides making parts for the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense?"

Upon hearing these words, Chen An was immediately stunned, and then he looked at him with considerable surprise.

After thinking for a moment, Chen An said, "When I went to Harbin Institute of Technology to deliver the boards last time, Professor Cai mentioned this to me."

He said that in the south, carbon fiber has already started to be used in civilian applications.

Upon hearing what the other party said, Ye Bingwen's eyes immediately lit up.

Tell me more details.

Chen An held up two fingers at the other person and said.

Ye Bingwen was speechless, but he still took out a cigarette and handed it to the other person.

After lighting a cigarette, Chen An took a deep drag and waited a while before slowly saying, "Professor Cai said that there are factories in the south that specialize in making high-end fishing rods. They used to use fiberglass, but now they use carbon fiber, which is both light and strong. A single rod can sell for two or three hundred yuan."

"And this is only domestically produced. If it were exported to Japan or Hong Kong, one could sell for at least a thousand."

"What good would it do me to lie to you?"

After hearing these words, Ye Bingwen stood up, glanced at Chen An, and said nothing.

Seeing his expression, Chen An couldn't help but ask, "Director Ye, you also want to develop your business in this area, right?"

Ye Bingwen nodded, and this time he didn't hide anything: "Of course, although the military industry is a stable path, we can't rely on just one leg to walk."

"With the new machines set up, production capacity has tripled compared to before. We've completed the second and third batches of orders, and there's still some left over."

Chen An said, "Then how about we go to the south to investigate and learn from their relevant experience?"

"Let's not rush into the investigation. Let's see if there's any relevant information in the city first, so we don't have to run around."

"Okay, I'll go to the library this afternoon and ask around in the city."

"Okay, go ahead then."

Chen An strolled back to his office.

Ye Bingwen was still squatting there, stroking his chin and thinking about the conversation he had just had.

The new machine is great, but it's all nonsense if there are no orders.

At noon, Liu Xiaojun came to call Ye Bingwen to have lunch.

Ye Bingwen then suddenly realized that he had been squatting there all morning without realizing it!

Then Ye Bingwen waved to Liu Xiaojun, beckoning him over.

As soon as Ye Bingwen called him, Liu Xiaojun came running over eagerly.

Liu Xiaojun walked over: "Uncle Ye, what's up?"

Have you heard of any factories making carbon fiber civilian products recently?

"I have a classmate who works as a sales clerk in a sporting goods store in Daoli. He told me a few days ago that his store received a batch of new fishing rods, which he said were brought from the south, and each one costs more than eighty yuan."

"Over eighty."

"Yeah, he said they sold three fishing rods on the very first day they arrived at the store."

Ye Bingwen, a little excited, asked, "What's your classmate's name?"

"Zhang Weidong".

"Could you take me to his shop this afternoon?"

"Okay."

At 2 p.m., Liu Xiaojun took Ye Bingwen to a sporting goods store in Daoli.

In a shop that wasn't very big.

Zhang Weidong saw Liu Xiaojun walking over, and then Zhang Weidong saw Liu Xiaojun.

Immediately afterwards, Zhang Weidong came out from behind the counter.

"Xiao Jun, what brings you here today?"

"Old Zhang, let me introduce you. This is my Uncle Ye, who is also the factory manager of our factory."

"Director Ye, hello."

Ye Bingwen shook hands with him and then got straight to the point: "Comrade Zhang, I heard from Xiao Jun that you have carbon fiber fishing rods from the south."

"Yes, yes, Director Ye, this way please."

Zhang Weidong led Ye Bingwen to the innermost part of the room. There, they found a counter.

Several fishing rods were placed on this counter.

Ye Bingwen leaned closer to take a look and said, "Comrade Zhang, could you take it out and let me handle it?"

"Of course you can."

Ye Bingwen saw Zhang Weidong take something out of the counter.

Ye Bingwen took it and weighed it in his hands.

It was indeed lighter than he had imagined.

Ye Bingwen inspected the joint of the rod.

The craftsmanship was indeed very exquisite; the seams were almost indistinguishable.

"How much is this?"

"This is ninety-eight."

"How are sales?"

"It's doing great, Director Ye. We have to restock twice a week. The fishing group now recognizes this product, saying that it feels much better to throw than fiberglass and is less likely to break."

Ye Bingwen examined the pole from all angles, then asked with some excitement.

"Where did you get this stuff from?"

"There's a factory in Guangzhou that specializes in making fishing gear, called Nanhai Sports."

Ye Bingwen had already responded, and Zhang Weidong then returned the pole to Ye Bingwen.

Thank you.

"Xiao Jun is my buddy, no need to be so polite, Director Ye."

After leaving the store, Ye Bingwen and Liu Xiaojun didn't waste any time and immediately rode their bikes to the factory.

"Uncle Ye, are you making fishing rods?"

"Whether we do it or not is still undecided. We need to go back and discuss it to see what we should make."

"But I think this thing is quite profitable."

"Making money is indeed possible, but I always feel that it's not as simple as we think."

That's what he said, but Ye Bingwen had actually already started thinking about making fishing rods.

Around four o'clock in the afternoon, Ye Bingwen and Liu Xiaojun returned to the factory.

Chen Anye returned from the library.

"Director Ye, I've looked at some materials."

"Let's talk in the office."