Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 660 Reading by Ear
Normally, whether it's production or research and development, factories are only qualified to carry out tasks after receiving instructions from their superiors.

For example, most domestically produced agricultural machinery equipment is produced by tasks assigned to factories by higher-level ministries.

Only with a task in hand are we qualified to purchase relevant raw materials and equipment to carry out the next stage of research and development.

However, under normal circumstances, principles are meant to be broken.

In fact, there are quite a few factories that "take matters into their own hands". Otherwise, they would rely on tasks from their superiors to survive, and where would they get extra money?
Without extra income, how can there be breakthroughs? Without breakthroughs, how can there be achievements?!

The higher authorities also adopted a laissez-faire attitude towards the independent research and development of various factories and units.

As long as you have the ability, don't ask me for this or that, and achieve results, I will give you a reward.

Ahem, if you cause trouble, you have to take the blame.

Yunqi Factory is a case in point. The machinery factory used its own resources to produce a few prototype vehicles, which actually passed the evaluation of the Ministry of Machinery Industry. What else is there to say?

Of course, resources were allocated accordingly. Whatever the machinery factory needed, Jiangnan Province and the First Ministry of Machine Building provided it, and in just six months, a car factory was established.

Now, Yunhu Machinery Factory wants to replicate the miracle of Yunqi Factory. Although it may not be able to build another incubator factory, even just one more workshop would be a good start for Deputy Director Xue, who is about to take charge of the machinery factory.

Moreover, if the Ministry of Agriculture really takes this seriously and issues a document to promote it, then the addition of another incubator factory is a foregone conclusion.

Old Xue has a bright future ahead of him.

So, Yang Kangnian took the initiative and asked him to treat everyone to a meal. Without saying a word, Lao Xue led everyone to Wangjiang Tower.

"Looking at the river from Wangjiang Tower, looking at the river, looking at the river from Wangjiang Tower."

Yang Kangnian withdrew his gaze from the Yangtze River, turned to look at Deputy Factory Director Xue, and smiled, "Old Xue, if this matter is accomplished, then you will be 'forever remembered by the river tower, forever remembered by the river'!"

Old Xue laughed and said, "I'd like to."

He turned to look at Chen Fan and said seriously, "To say that you don't want good grades would be a lie. Who doesn't want good grades?"

However, I sincerely hope that all farmers in rural areas can raise chickens and eat eggs, and ideally, get rich through raising chickens.

I also come from the countryside. Let alone in the past, even now, what does an egg mean?

Looking around at everyone, Old Xue's expression gradually turned serious. "It means 5 cents, which can be exchanged for oil, salt, and vinegar. If you save up a few pounds of eggs, that's a year's tuition for your child."

If a family had a hen that lays eggs, they could support a college student.

He pointed to his nose as he spoke, "My mother used two chickens to send me to school and pay for my vocational high school education. But..."

At this point, his eyes reddened slightly, and he chuckled twice. "Don't laugh at me, but before I started working, my family had never tasted the eggs laid by their own chickens. They used all of it to pay for my education."

Having worked for 20 years, he still feels emotional whenever he thinks about these things.

Chairman Zhao of the trade union sat next to him. Hearing this, he reached out and patted his shoulder, sighing, "Most people from rural areas are like this. There are only a few places with plenty of fish and rice. If you don't find a way to do a side job in other places, how much are your work points worth at the end of the year? So you can only find a way to earn a little money on your own."

He paused for a moment, then laughed again, "Our Yunhu is considered lucky; it allows raising chickens and they can keep them. Many places want to raise chickens but can't because they don't have the resources. There's not even enough food for people, so where would they get feed to raise chickens?"

As he spoke, he turned to look at Chen Fan, his gaze quite complex, "Consultant Chen, your incubator is a good thing; it can solve the problem of insufficient chicks. At the same time, that method of raising chickens with mixed feed is also a good thing, no worse than an incubator."

One is in charge of hatching, the other is in charge of raising them; the two complement each other and are indispensable. You've accomplished a truly remarkable feat!

Chen Fan smiled and said, "Please don't say that. I just came up with an idea. To build the incubator, we still need to rely on the technicians and workers at the machinery factory."

He turned to look at Deputy Factory Director Xue and said seriously, "I will write down the functional requirements and general design ideas of the incubator. This machine is not complicated; the key is temperature control."

It should be possible to design it quickly using purely mechanical and manual operation methods, but this type of simple incubator requires relatively high skill from the operator, who needs to constantly monitor the temperature inside the incubator.

If possible, I would like you to add circuit board control to the purely mechanical equipment to achieve full electrical automation. Given the current technological capabilities, this is achievable.

If your machinery factory can develop a fully automated, mechatronics-integrated incubator, it will not only impact the domestic aquaculture industry, but could even be exported to earn foreign exchange, affecting the entire world.

Furthermore, think about it, what did we export in the past? Agricultural products, light industrial goods, and raw ores—all relatively basic items. If we could export modern machinery and equipment, wouldn't that change some people's stereotypes about us?

Before Deputy Factory Director Xue could speak, Yang Kangnian slammed his hand on the table and said excitedly, "Of course!"

The people present became even more excited. If they could really achieve this, not to mention the results, they would be proud of themselves.

We've made a contribution to the country!
The next second, Deputy Factory Director Xue picked up his wine glass and stood up. "Advisor Chen, this glass is for you."

Before Chen Fan could speak, he gulped it down.

Chen Fan also stood up, saying, "Please don't force me to drink; I still want to go home today."

Deputy Factory Director Xue laughed and said, "You're not going home today."

Chen Fan feigned great surprise, "Why?"

Deputy Factory Director Xue gestured for him to sit down, and then sat down himself, smiling as he said, "Didn't you order a batch of industrial sewing machines last time? Those things are indeed a bit difficult to handle, mainly because the motors are hard to get. We submitted a report to the provincial department, but they couldn't solve the problem unless we wait until next year."

However, since you asked us to do something, we couldn't just ignore it when we encountered difficulties. We overcame the difficulties, so we managed to buy two prototype industrial sewing machines. Then, together with the engine factory under the automobile factory, we cracked the motor technology. We also mastered the production process of industrial sewing machines by disassembling and reassembling them.

So, the 300 industrial sewing machines you requested have already been produced, and they all rolled off the production line yesterday.

I was originally planning to notify Lujiawan to come and pick up the goods, but since you're here today, I might as well go and take a look. If everything's okay, we'll take it all back tomorrow.

He paused for a moment, then chuckled awkwardly, "However, these industrial sewing machines aren't cheap. Even at cost price, each one costs over 700 yuan. The main reason is the expensive motor, and there are some spare parts that we haven't produced before, so the production efficiency is low, which naturally increases the cost."

He suddenly pointed at Yang Kangnian and said, "If you think it's too expensive, go talk to the factory manager. The motors make up the bulk of the cost. If he's willing to lower the price, it can be cheaper."

Upon hearing this, everyone burst into laughter.

Yang Kangnian retorted irritably, "You old Xue, you're charging cost price, do you think I'm going to add a markup?" Chen Fan chuckled along, and after the laughter subsided, he asked, "How much does this kind of industrial sewing machine usually cost on the market?"

Deputy Factory Director Xue immediately said, "The price is not fixed. It mainly depends on the function. Therefore, when the State Planning Commission sets the price, it sets it between 900 and 1200 yuan based on the function and the size of the factory."

Currently, the price of a household sewing machine is similar to that of a bicycle, ranging from around 120 to 200 yuan.

Industrial sewing machines cost around 1000, which is a relatively reasonable price.

The industrial sewing machines of the future will be truly expensive, with the cheapest costing several thousand yuan, several times the price of a household sewing machine, and the more complex ones costing tens of thousands of yuan.

However, this is not a good comparison, as it is related to technology and supply chain, and cannot be simply compared horizontally.

Chen Fan pondered for two seconds and said, "In that case, my suggestion is that you submit a report to the higher-ups to set up an industrial sewing machine production line, and the price could be set at around 1000."

He paused for a moment, then looked up and smiled, “Before coming here, I happened to visit the cotton mill. Uncle Jiang said they were also going to add a down jacket production workshop to their subordinate garment factory. I estimate that it won’t be long before he asks you about the industrial sewing machine situation.”

Moreover, a working conference is currently being held in Beijing, and it has been clearly stated that the focus of work will be shifted to economic development in the next stage.

If you can develop industrial sewing machines, there will definitely be a market for them in the future.

As he spoke, he turned to look at Yang Kangnian, then turned back and laughed, "Maybe it can be like Yunqi Factory, with people lining up to buy from us."

Deputy Factory Director Xue nodded slightly at first. After Chen Fan finished speaking, he looked up at Yang Kangnian and smiled, "How about it, Lao Yang? Why don't you stay and work at the machinery factory? My place might not be any worse than your car factory in the future."

Yang Kangnian rolled his eyes in annoyance. "You're already showing off before you've even started. Wait until you've built the incubator and set up the industrial sewing machine factory before you come and brag to me."

Deputy Factory Director Xue laughed heartily, "Just you wait, within six months, I'll not only show you the incubator, I'll also show you what a fully automatic, circuit-controlled incubator is!"

Although he is now in a management position, he used to be a technician.

Or rather, these days, there's no one on the production line who doesn't understand technology. Even the leaders on the administrative line are mostly from technical backgrounds. Otherwise, how could they manage production if they didn't even understand the product? What kind of "production first" is that?!
As everyone ate and chatted, the room was filled with the warmth of wine and laughter, while outside, the mighty Yangtze River flowed by, and a cool breeze blew in, instantly stirring feelings of pride and comfort.

At times like these, work is usually not discussed; instead, casual conversation is the main focus.

Deputy Factory Director Xue recounted an amusing anecdote from his last trip to the provincial capital, Chairman Zhao then talked about miscellaneous matters within the factory, Director Qian of the Women's Federation mentioned the results of the employee matchmaking event the day before yesterday, and Secretary Zhang of the Party Committee spoke about the hobbies and trends of young people today, lamenting how fast the world is changing and how he himself is falling behind.

For some reason, Yang Kangnian suddenly perked up, lowered his voice mysteriously, looked around at everyone, and said, "Everyone, have you all heard about this?"

Everyone turned to look at him.

Chairman Zhao, being the oldest and a long-time partner, immediately said, "What have you heard out of the blue?"

Yang Kangnian chuckled and said mysteriously, "The day before yesterday, some customers from Sichuan came to our car factory to buy cars. I heard a strange story from them."

Chen Fan leaned back in his chair, took the cigarette that Deputy Factory Director Xue threw to him, lit it, looked at Yang Kangnian, and smiled without saying a word.

Seeing that everyone was staring at him, Yang Kangnian chuckled and said, "I heard that there's an extraordinary person in Dazu County, Sichuan, who can read with his ears!"

Upon hearing this, almost everyone exchanged bewildered glances, except for Chen Fan, who frowned slightly and remained silent with his head lowered.

Can you read with your ears?

Chairman Zhao looked at Yang Kangnian, pointed to his ear, and asked with a strange expression, "You mean, there is someone who can close his eyes and tell what words are written just by listening?"

"Correct."

Yang Kangnian nodded, his tone very firm.

But the next second he chuckled and said, "Anyway, that's what I heard from them. They said it with absolute certainty. They said that if you write a few words on a piece of paper, fold the paper up, and the person doesn't even need to open it, they can just listen to what the words are and what color pen it was written with. It's no different from seeing it."

Director Qian looked incredulous. "Really? That's too outrageous!"

Yang Kangnian laughed and said, "I've never even seen it, how would I know if it's real or fake?"

He then shook his head. "Anyway, what they said sounded so real. They even said that the person was a student from Tuanjie Commune in Dazu County, only 12 years old this year. This ability was discovered by their school teacher, and it caused quite a stir in the local area."

One of those guests was from the Unity Commune. He had just returned to his hometown before his business trip and claimed to have seen it with his own eyes. He said everything I just said was what he told me, and he even swore an oath that he would face severe consequences for lying.

As he spoke, he picked up a cigarette, lit it, exhaled a puff of smoke, and laughed, "If he hadn't said that, I wouldn't have brought it up. After all, this stuff, to put it bluntly, is more or less feudal superstition."

While others dismissed it as a joke, Section Chief Sun of Finance said thoughtfully, "It's not exactly feudal superstition."

As soon as these words were spoken, the focus instantly shifted from Yang Kangnian to him.

Section Chief Sun looked at everyone and said, "From ancient times to the present, there have been legends of extraordinary people and events in folklore, some of which are even recorded in official history. What if this young student is one of them?"

The crowd looked at each other.

A moment later, Deputy Factory Director Xue looked at him and laughed, "Old Sun, you don't actually believe this thing is real, do you?"

Section Chief Sun smiled and said, "I was just saying that. Whether it's true or not, we'll see how the local authorities handle it."

He looked at everyone and continued, "The local authorities definitely won't ignore this kind of thing. The truth will out, and the lie will out. If it's fake, it will probably be exposed very quickly."

He paused for a moment, then, like Yang Kangnian, he became mysterious and lowered his voice, saying, "But what if it's true? It might get reported, or even published in the newspaper. After all, this matter has already reached here; it's impossible to hide it now, so it's better to make it public."

Yang Kangnian agreed with him, nodding slightly and saying, "Hmm, that makes some sense."

He turned to look at the crowd and said, “When that man said it, he didn’t seem to be joking, after all, he swore an oath. But even if he was fooled, he certainly can’t fool the local government. Let’s just wait and see.”

After he finished speaking, he suddenly noticed that Chen Fan seemed to be thinking, and a thought struck him. He asked, "Xiao Fan, what do you think about this?"

(End of this chapter)