Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 398 Take them all
Two days later, the first crew member to finish the water transport company training, pass the examination of the local water transport training school, and be issued a ship driver's certificate finally returned to Lujiawan and sailed the refurbished 23-meter wooden boat to Gufeng County.

(Why aren't the inland waterway vessel driver's certificates being issued?)
The most reasonable way to put all six drivers together for the exam was to have them take the test together. However, Lujiawan was in a hurry to get people, and the Prefectural Committee Water Transport Training School happened to organize a temporary exam on September 30 to celebrate National Day. So they sent Yang Junyi, who was the most confident, to the exam, and he got his certificate on the 2nd.

As a result, I was dispatched early this morning, which can be described as being on the front line at the last minute.

As for the other five people, let's save them for next time!
In the ship's wheelhouse, Yang Junyi stared intently ahead, his expression suggesting he was terrified that a group of enemies might appear in the woods ahead, or that a water monster might suddenly leap out of the water.

Chen Fan calmly tuned the radio and said with a smile, "Relax. You've been learning from the master craftsman at the water transport company for a month, and you already have a driver's license. What are you afraid of?"

Sailing a boat isn't actually that difficult; the key is to be bold and careful. Most importantly, when approaching the shore, avoid damaging the boat. It's better to turn off the engine early and then adjust the direction to approach than to use excessive force.

Yang Junyi turned to look at Chen Fan, who was two years younger than him, and gave a stiff smile. "Okay."

Then he turned back to keep staring.

However, Chen Fan's interruption eased her tension a little.

He glanced at Secretary Yang, Captain Ye, and Cadre An, who were sitting on the deck smoking, and vaguely understood why the brigade leaders liked to consult Teacher Chen about everything.

Not only is he highly educated, but his courage alone is also exceptional.

Chen Fan tried several times to find the clearest channel, and then decisively plugged in the radio's connector.

Suddenly, the large loudspeaker on top creaked open, startling the three leaders on deck. Before they could react, they heard the loudspeaker's voice again.
"...According to reports from the Chinese community, Malaysian mathematician Chen Jingrun, in his research on number theory, meticulously analyzed and scientifically calculated the Goldbach Conjecture, proving that any sufficiently large even number can be represented as a prime number plus at most two prime numbers (referred to as "1+2"). This problem has remained unsolved for over two hundred years despite the continuous efforts of many scientists."

The book "Sieve Methods" co-authored by British mathematician Halberstam and German mathematician Riesta originally had ten chapters. After it was printed, Chen Jingrun's paper on "1+2" ​​was found, so an eleventh chapter was specially added and titled "Chen's Theorem".

Chen Jingrun's outstanding contributions have written a glorious chapter in the development of mathematics, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences promoted him to the rank of researcher. Chen Jingrun's world-leading position and tremendous achievements in number theory research have been recorded in the annals of the People's Republic of China.

After the news faded, Secretary Yang turned to the security department and asked, "Who is Chen Jingrun? Why can someone become a researcher just by writing '1+2'?"

Anquan looked confused and shook his head. "I don't know."

Ye Shubao turned to look at Chen Fan in the driver's seat and shouted, "Who is Chen Jingrun?"

Chen Fan was taken aback when he heard this, and silently wondered how he should explain to them who Chen Jingrun was.

After a two-second pause, he stuck his head out of the window and shouted, "A model worker in mathematics!"

Secretary Yang and Captain Ye looked at each other in bewilderment. "Can you become a model worker just by being able to write 1+2?"
Is there something wrong with this?

Anquan's eyes twitched as he stood to the side. He wanted to correct Chen Fan's statement, but then he thought it didn't seem wrong.

The large ship chugged forward, parting the waves of the river to both sides.

The propeller made all the difference; the wooden boat went upstream at a much faster speed than the small, assembled rowboats with sails. An hour later, it entered the Yangtze River and then went downstream, arriving at the prefectural committee soon after.

Yang Junyi was tense all over, concentrating on controlling the rudder, and slowly brought the wooden boat to a stop at the cargo dock.

Immediately, two sailors ran to the bow, each picked up an iron bar, inserted it into the vertical winch, and pushed the winch like a millstone to slowly lower the anchor.

(Vertical winch)
They lowered the anchor and then worked together to lift a gangplank and place it on the dock.

A person dressed in blue walked over and called out from a distance, "Which unit are you from?"

One of the sailors ran over quickly, pulling out a cigarette before even arriving, saying, "We're from Lujiawan, Nanhu."

Upon hearing that it was from Lujiawan, the man reached out and took the cigarette. His expression quickly changed, and he said with a smile, "Weren't you guys using small boats pieced together? You've upgraded from ragtag boats to big ones now!"

He wasn't going to delve into the details; he just said something casually, rambled on for a bit, then jotted it down in his notebook before leaving with a pack of cigarettes.

The wharf is also under the management of the shipping company. Lujiawan delivers goods here every day and has long been registered at the wharf. Although he is a stranger today, there is no need to make things difficult for him.

Generally speaking, you can't just dock anywhere; otherwise, if a cargo ship comes ashore, wouldn't that be taking up someone else's spot? So many temporary vessels can only dock on wild shores far from the dock.

He only gave them face because the boats from Lujiawan came every day, and he also heard that they had a relationship with Manager Zhao of the company. Otherwise, he would have just kicked them out.

……

After docking, Chen Fan jumped off the deck from the corridor in front of the cockpit and headed to the agricultural machinery factory with Secretary Yang and the others.

The agricultural machinery factory is also right next to the Yangtze River embankment, but it's still a distance from the dock, though not far.

After walking along the dike for more than ten minutes and then down a slope, we arrived at the Gufeng County Agricultural Machinery Factory.

After the gatekeeper informed the factory manager, the factory director of the agricultural machinery factory quickly came out to greet them with two other people.

Upon meeting, there was naturally a warm greeting.

However, Secretary Yang and his team were there on business. After exchanging pleasantries, they asked the factory director to take them to see the goods.

Chen Fan walked among the crowd, silently observing the factory.

It's a fairly large courtyard with four buildings inside. Three of them are factories, and one is a two-story office building. The four buildings are arranged in pairs: two factories on the east side, and an office building and a warehouse on the west side.

But looking around, there were hardly any people in the entire factory area.

Chen Fan didn't care; the important thing was the machine, and nothing else mattered.

A short while later, the factory manager led them to the factory building behind the office building, had someone unlock the iron lock on the gate, pushed open the warehouse door, and turned on the lights. A row of machines appeared in front of them.

The factory manager walked ahead and introduced the situation, saying, "We're all locals, so I won't go into any boasting. You already know a bit about the situation. We used to have 38 harvesters that combined harvesting and threshing. All we needed was a tractor to serve as a cargo hold, and we could harvest rice directly from there."

Moreover, our harvester has been miniaturized to adapt to the local natural environment. It can also be towed from the rear; by removing the front harvesting wheels and attaching the matching machine, it can be transformed into a rotary tiller or rice transplanter – truly a multi-purpose machine!

Chen Fan rubbed his nose beside him.

What happened to not bragging?!
Secretary Yang, being more mature and composed, maintained his cheerful expression without any change, simply tilting his head back and chuckling without saying a word.

The factory manager wasn't embarrassed at all, and continued with a smile, "Unfortunately, our technology wasn't mature enough at the time. After the machine was built, it encountered some problems, so the leadership decided to suspend the project."

He pointed to the neatly arranged farm machinery in the warehouse, "But later, a few were sold one after another. The rest are all here. There are 26 in total. Take a look and pick one."

Chen Fan smiled slightly, then involuntarily looked away.

How many units have been sold?

Haha, it's less, but whether it's actually sold or not, it's hard to say.

However, this matter was none of his concern; what he needed to do was check the condition of these agricultural machines.

In order to get rid of these machines, the factory director was also trying his best to promote them. "Secretary Yang, you are also an older person who has been around since the land was distributed. I won't lie to you. In the early years, let alone such advanced agricultural machinery, even manual harvesters pulled by livestock were very rare. I'm afraid you've never seen them before."

Secretary Yang laughed and said, "I actually know about that thing. It's a copy of the Polish swing arm harvester, and there's also the Czech one. It has to be pulled by a horse or ox. It has a wheel and two harvesting blades in the back, like wings. A person holds the machine from behind and shakes it hard. It can harvest a large area at a time."

The factory manager was immediately startled. "You've seen him before?"

When did Gufeng County ever have this? Even he didn't know?

Secretary Yang seemed to get interested. He immediately tossed his coat back, put his hands on his hips, and said with great enthusiasm, "I've seen it, of course I've seen it! I saw it in another place. That thing was too inefficient, and the livestock walked in front of it, trampling the crops. It wasn't worth it, so it was phased out later."

Then the country bought combine harvesters from the Soviet Union. They were huge machines, and everyone who used them in the plains said they were great. Later, the Kaifeng Harvester Factory copied a batch, and then they transferred them to the Siping Harvester Factory, giving them a name like Dongfeng something. Unfortunately, our area is full of ditches and bumps, so those big machines simply couldn't move.

It was after that that the government said it would research and develop small harvesters suitable for our own needs; the BJ-3, XJ-3, and XJ-5 models all came out around that time.

Upon hearing Secretary Yang's words, the factory director clapped his hands excitedly, "Wow, I never expected you to know so much about harvesters, you're amazing!"

Secretary Yang laughed heartily, his eyes practically closing into slits.

It wasn't for nothing that we kept pestering Xiao Chen to explain the ins and outs of the harvester; look, it's come in handy now!

When buying things, the worst thing is being taken for a fool. After these few words, will the agricultural machinery factory stop trying to fool people?!
The factory director not only didn't treat him like an outsider, but also like a confidant. He immediately took Secretary Yang's hand and said with emotion, "Our factory's Gongnong-3 harvester was developed based on the BJ-3 model. However, the leaders said at the time that since we were standing on the shoulders of giants, we should go further and make better machines. We can't be worse than others."

Therefore, based on the BJ-3 model, we added threshing and cleaning functions. Except for the lack of an attached grain bin, it almost caught up with the functions of a combine harvester!

It's a pity, later...

(BJ-3 harvester)

Chen Fan listened to his boasting while silently checking the condition of the machines.

After a long while, the factory manager finally finished telling the story, and Chen Fan had already inspected all the agricultural machinery.

When Secretary Yang saw Chen Fan make a subtle hand gesture, he immediately turned to the factory director and said, "I understand. These machines are indeed excellent, and you also provide training and maintenance, which is something other factories can't match."

The factory manager clapped his hands excitedly and said, "Brother, you've hit the nail on the head! I'm telling you, every machine breaks down eventually. If you buy our machine, it's guaranteed to be repaired. But if you buy one from out of town, do you think they'll come and fix it for you? Impossible!"

Secretary Yang nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, yes, that makes sense."

He paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "However, purchasing agricultural machinery is a big deal. After we come to take a look today, we will go back and discuss it further. We will definitely give you an answer by tomorrow at the latest."

Hearing this, the factory manager had no choice; he couldn't force people to buy, could he?

At this moment, Secretary Yang asked softly, "Factory Director, this price?"

The factory manager immediately made a gesture, "We're all on the same side, so I won't beat around the bush. 2000 per unit."

Secretary Yang's face stiffened. "So expensive?"

The factory manager looked troubled. "Oh dear, I didn't collect the money, and I didn't set the price. What can I do?"

He clenched his hands, hesitated for a few seconds, and said, "When this batch of machines first came out, the county set the price at 4000 yuan per unit. Later, some problems arose, and it was put on hold for several years before the price dropped to 2000 yuan."

However, you probably already knew before you came that the county provides subsidies for purchasing locally produced agricultural machinery.

Before Secretary Yang could ask a question, he gestured and said, "Each one costs 800 yuan, so if you want to buy one, it only costs 1200 yuan."

1200?

Secretary Yang frowned; this was 200 yuan more than he had originally planned!

However, he didn't say much, just chuckled and said, "I understand. We'll go back and discuss it, and give you an answer as soon as possible."

After saying that, he took his leave.

If it's a new machine, the price is whatever it is, with no room for negotiation. But this is used stock, or a defective product with frequent problems. So the price is more flexible. The exact price depends on how you negotiate.

Once they left the agricultural machinery factory, Ye Shubao immediately asked, "Xiao Chen, how did it go?"

Chen Fan extended his palm and clenched it. "Secretary Yang, Captain Ye, my suggestion is to take them all."

Take them all?

Secretary Yang was stunned and stared at him in astonishment. "He has 26 machines here. Can we possibly use them all?"

Ye Shubao, however, looked pleasantly surprised. "You can fix these problems with agricultural machinery?"

Safety's eyes lit up too, "If you can really fix it and submit the design plan, you'll have made a great contribution!"

Chen Fan waved his hand and said to them, "These agricultural machines are simply impossible to repair."

what?
The three of them stared at him, stunned for a long while, before Secretary Yang finally said, "Then...then you still said you bought them all?"

Chen Fan glanced at the entrance of the agricultural machinery factory, waved, and walked towards the embankment.

Once they reached the levee and saw that there was no one around, Chen Fan grinned and said, "I just checked, and all of these agricultural machines use the same diesel engine, with a power of 25 horsepower. Although it's not as good as the one we bought from the water transport company, it's much better than the one I picked up from the prefectural committee's scrap metal recycling station!"

Upon hearing this, Anquan immediately understood. "You mean, this batch of diesel engines alone is worth the price?"

Although the diesel engine at the water transport company only cost 800 yuan, that price included a personal favor. Moreover, that machine had been used for over 20 years and was quite worn out. In contrast, this batch of agricultural machinery had hardly been used, and the diesel engines were practically brand new. A single diesel engine could be worth 2000 yuan.

The agricultural machinery is produced by a local agricultural machinery factory, but the diesel engine is from a large manufacturer, so there shouldn't be any problems. Considering that, it's definitely worth it!

Moreover, aside from the harvesting and rotary tillage equipment, the tractor alone, which is the main agricultural machinery, is worth far more than 1200 yuan.

At this point, Chen Fan said, "I said this batch of agricultural machinery cannot be repaired because the design itself is unreasonable. Even a large company like Beijing Agricultural Machinery Factory, with so many good technicians working there, can only design and produce small self-propelled harvesters."

Our small county town actually demands that we add more functions to their existing systems. Isn't that ridiculous?

Furthermore, I noticed that the materials used in those machines weren't particularly high-quality stainless steel; they looked more like they were hand-hammered.

Secretary Yang immediately nodded, "Yes, that's true. I heard that their cutting tools and plowshares were all hammered out by the county farm implement factory."

Chen Fan's lips twitched slightly. He wiped his face and continued, "In short, the problem with these agricultural machines is that they've gone in the wrong direction. As long as they don't pursue too many functions, like the 108-type rice and wheat harvester produced by the Shanghai Agricultural Machinery Factory, focusing on a single function and redesigning the matching cutters and plowshares, these agricultural machines can be used normally."

(Hand-held Type 108 Rice and Wheat Combined Harvester and Dryer)

After hearing Chen Fan's words, Secretary Yang and the other two were speechless for a moment.

Anquan wiped his face, and said with a wry smile, "So the biggest problem with these agricultural machines is that they have too many functions?"

Chen Fan shrugged. "You could say that."

Just like our first satellite, the scientists involved wanted to include every possible function, but even with all those functions, no matter how they calculated, they couldn't successfully launch the satellite.

Later, Mr. Sun Jiadong said that our first step was to solve the problem of sending it up, and then we could gradually solve the problem of what it would be used for.

Subsequently, all functions of the satellite were removed, leaving only the "singing" function, which was irrelevant to the overall situation—a fixed radio wave.

Needless to say, the first satellite was successfully sent into its designated orbit, and the mission was completed perfectly.

The situation is similar for agricultural machinery factories now.

Or rather, this is the case in many agricultural machinery factories across the country.

If they hadn't been so ambitious and had instead been down-to-earth, conducting experiments in the fields with the production teams, they probably could have developed agricultural machinery that met the actual needs of farmers, just like some of the better agricultural machinery manufacturers, instead of struggling to survive like they are now.

(End of this chapter)