Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 959 Oil-fired Boilers

Because the elders were quite familiar with each other, Xiaowei and Chen Hui became the younger generation's nephews and nieces, so Commander Hu didn't feel comfortable forcing them to drink. In addition, the old dean was rather unhurried when it came to drinking, so the two of them finished the meal without any major incidents and quickly said goodbye and left.

After dropping off the slightly tipsy old dean, Xiaowei and Chen Hui drove back to Zhongjie.

The move is still ongoing and will probably take a whole day, as it's quite a lot of tedious work.

After watching for a while without being able to help, the two went to Oguri Min's office to talk.

Chen Hui said, "Why did you suddenly go over there? And you even brought back a piece of land?"

Xiao Wei said, "Supermarkets and cake shops are really suitable for opening in schools. I asked Lao Xu from Liaoning University to ask other schools for me. He said, 'Why would I need to ask the police academy and the electrical engineering college?' I thought that made sense, so I went to take a look. I didn't expect it to actually work out."

Chen Hui asked, "How was that land acquired?"

Xiao Wei said, "He wants to build houses for us and run a transportation business, so giving us the land is just a favor. By the way, Dean Zheng said that our mooncakes, including the molds, designs, and packaging, can be patented. Brother Liang, you understand, right?"

Chen Hui said, "What's the use of patenting that thing? He should understand it. If he doesn't, he can find someone who does. That's something."

Xiao Wei said, "Then let's register. I think what he said makes sense. We should pay more attention to this kind of thing in the future."

Chen Hui said, "I thought only trademarks could be registered."

Xiao Wei asked, "You'll have no problem getting into the electrical engineering program, right?"

Chen Hui shook his head: "No problem, what problem could there be? That used to be our bureau's cadre training center. You don't need to worry about that. You should focus on the warehouse and Shenshui Bay. I'll handle that. At most half a month, we'll have definite news from all the universities in Fengtian, okay?"

Xiao Wei asked, "When will the person my aunt arranged arrive? The relocation of the trade city is finished, and he needs to be there by then. How should we change things?"

Chen Hui said, "Let's dismantle it first. We need to empty the whole thing out. I'll call and ask tonight."

Xiao Wei said, "If we want to install a bathhouse, we'll also need a boiler. You know more about that than I do, so figure out what kind of boiler to install, including hot water and heating for the upstairs. I don't even know if there's enough space in the backyard."

Chen Hui said, "That's obvious, it'll definitely be fuel oil, diesel. Burning coal is too dirty; you'd need a big chimney and a coal yard, and it'd leave ash everywhere. This boiler needs to run all year round, so fuel oil is much better—no ash, and much less noise. It's just a bit more complicated to design and install. By the way, does Hao Xiaodong know anything about fuel oil boilers?"

Xiao Wei shook his head: "I don't know, I don't even know what an oil-fired boiler is."

Chen Hui blinked at Xiao Wei and said, "Do you know anything about water heaters?"

Xiao Wei said, "I know, we installed it at home, didn't we?"

Chen Hui said, "It's similar to the previous one, but it uses oil instead, either diesel or kerosene. You need to be professionally trained to operate it, otherwise it's dangerous. At worst, burning coal will just cause the furnace to go out, but this could explode. Just think about what would happen if a gas station exploded. This one also requires underground oil tanks."

Xiao Wei thought for a moment and said, "Then it's like a bomb has been planted, and a big one at that."

Chen Hui said, "It's not that exaggerated. Diesel and kerosene aren't that dangerous, but improper operation can be disastrous, understand?"

Xiao Wei said, "How come you seem to know everything?"

Chen Hui arrogantly raised an eyebrow at Xiao Wei: "Aren't you impressed?"

Xiao Wei glanced at Chen Hui and asked, "Do you even know whether eggplants are transplanted from seedlings or sown from seed? What about sweet potatoes? And when is the first harvest of chives?"

Chen Hui thought for a moment, then stood up and said, "I'll call Hao Xiaodong and ask. You can ask Commander Hu if he can help get a boiler; the military does it quickly, well, and cheaply. If he can't, I'll contact the bureau. We need to install the boiler before we can do the renovation work."

Xiao Wei raised his middle finger at Chen Hui.

However, the phone call still had to be made. In those days, if you didn't have connections with the manufacturer, you could only go to the materials bureau to buy large industrial equipment. It was a real hassle, slow, expensive, and the service was terrible. This was the main reason why the materials system collapsed so quickly after the market economy was liberalized. The unusual prices in the 90s were entirely their doing.

A car that sells for several thousand US dollars internationally costs over two hundred thousand in China, a motorcycle starts at twenty thousand, and a bicycle costs over four hundred. There are too many to list. Units that should be serving the people and facilitating the flow of goods have instead become little experts at hindering the flow of goods and driving up prices.

In fact, many functional units are doing things that are contrary to their original purpose, but what can you do about it?

Commander Hu readily agreed, saying he would immediately contact the manufacturer for Xiaowei and have them come over for surveying and design.

Xiao Wei said, "Uncle Hu, could you arrange for someone to demolish everything on that piece of land, and then put up the fence? We can settle the cost together when it's time to build. I'll come up with a plan after the demolition is done. Right now, I don't even know what the whole plot of land looks like."

Commander Hu laughed and said, "Alright, I'll arrange for it to be leveled for you right away, and I'll get this wall done as neatly as possible. It'll be done in a few days, and I'll have someone contact you then."

After hanging up the phone, Chen Hui received the results: Hao Xiaodong knew how to operate fuel oil; he had learned it during his boiler operator training and had also practiced it. Xiao Wei sighed and said to Chen Hui, "It seems Hao Xiaodong will be inseparable from boilers for the rest of his life."

Chen Hui said, "What, you look down on boiler operators? That's a special job, the most skilled of the skilled, especially for these large oil-fired boilers. Do you know how much the salary is? It starts at three hundred, and even in the factory, it's a solid seven or eight hundred yuan a month, understand?"

In 1992, a typical worker in a steel company earned a basic monthly salary of over 190 yuan. With performance bonuses and other incentives, the total monthly salary could reach around 400 yuan. 700 or 800 yuan was definitely considered a high salary.

Xiao Wei asked, "Has Hao Xiaobo been discharged from the hospital?"

Chen Hui waved the phone: "They left a while ago. They went home the day after we got back. Hospitalization wasn't really helpful anyway. They said they'd move over tomorrow or the day after, the whole family. Hao Xiaodong and Hao Xiaobo want to come and work to earn more money, but their parents felt they'd offended someone and wanted to leave. I asked him to go find Peanut to handle the household registration. Please give them a heads-up over here."

Xiao Wei said, "Hao Xiaodong said his elderly relatives wanted to run away as soon as possible?"

Chen Hui nodded and said with a smile, "You panicked as soon as you heard you'd offended the old man who runs the heavy machinery factory. What are you going to do now? Where are you planning to go for a stroll? You'll be awesome if you manage to get another piece of land."

Xiao Wei said, "That's free money, isn't it? You don't pay people for construction projects? It just shows they know how to get things done. Compared to projects worth hundreds of millions, what's 100,000? Are you alright?"

(End of this chapter)