The Fiery Era: Becoming an Industrial Giant

Chapter 24 Rural Remediation
The meal was very enjoyable. Apart from introducing the final application of the new alloy and his initial ideas, Zhou Zhiqiang basically just ate.

Their factory doesn't have private kitchens, so it's rare to get a free meal, and it would be a waste not to eat it properly.

Finally, Xie Desheng and the others quickly finished their meal, clearing out all four dishes and soup on the table. Professor Zhang Deli also ate quite a bit.

After the grain quota is set, it becomes less convenient for individuals to purchase supplies; it's certainly not as convenient as for large factories directly under ministries like the Second Steel Rolling Mill.

They have the authority of the government and can contact all counties and townships to freely purchase supplies.

After dinner, Liu Fuhua discussed the specific details of the project team with Xie Desheng, mainly wanting to include more people.

Xie Desheng initially agreed, but Liu Fuhua kept thinking about it and was eventually driven away by Xie Desheng.

However, today's gains were significant; at least Liu Fuhua felt that the matter was very stable.

Before leaving, Zhang Deli, a professor at the industrial university, gave Xie Desheng a word of advice.

"If the Second Steel Rolling Mill is truly in a difficult position, he will consider, in the name of Beijing Industrial University, reporting to higher authorities to facilitate the establishment of a dedicated project team."

This sentence solidified Xie Desheng's decision.

They are not the only steel mills; there are several with considerable strength in Beijing and other places as well.

If they can't make a decision, they might not even get a taste of the first soup.

After seeing Liu Fuhua and Zhang Deli off, Xie Desheng took the information on the new alloy to the factory director.

Moreover, on his way to find the factory manager, he was still thinking about how to persuade the factory manager to agree to let Zhou Zhiqiang from Dafeng Machinery Factory participate and become the person in charge of the project team.

Although this will distribute some of the project team's honors, at least the results will remain in their factory.

If the new alloy is successful, they can use the first batch to apply for expansion from their superiors, which seems like a good thing. The prerequisite is success.

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After sending Zhang Deli to the Industrial University, Liu Fuhua and Zhou Zhiqiang headed to the factory.

While traveling in the car, Liu Fuhua suddenly said, "Comrade Zhiqiang, I estimate that the Second Steel Rolling Mill will reply within a week. You should be prepared then."

Zhou Zhiqiang asked, "Factory Director, will it take another week? I think Deputy Factory Director Xie is quite keen on this, and it would be very beneficial for them to succeed."

"They worry about defeat before they even fight; they always consider what will happen if they fail first, and then consider what will happen if they succeed."

Liu Fuhua waved his hand and said, "Besides, Lao Xie is just a deputy factory director. The key to this matter lies with their factory director and secretary."

But don't worry, with Professor Zhang's parting words, the Second Steel Rolling Mill will almost certainly agree; the only question is how long it will take to consider it.

"By the way, they might have to report to their superiors. After all, they need to use a production workshop for the experiment, and if the production target isn't met, they'll definitely need to give their superiors an explanation."

"It seems that even large factories directly under ministries face unseen difficulties."

Liu Fuhua shook his head and said, "Even if it's difficult, it's still better than us. There are more tangible benefits."

The obvious benefits account for 90%, while the unseen difficulties only account for 0.5%. If Dafeng Machinery Factory had the opportunity to become directly under the Ministry of Machinery, the factory director and party secretary would be overjoyed.

After returning to the factory, Zhou Zhiqiang went straight back to the technical department to continue working, but he first reported to Section Chief Lü.

After all, he was his direct superior, and even if he was about to achieve results, he couldn't just ignore Section Chief Lü arrogantly. Section Chief Lü, on the other hand, was very enthusiastic. When he saw Zhou Zhiqiang return to report to him, he immediately invited him to sit down and chat, and even got up to pour him a glass of water.

After handing over the water, Section Chief Lü asked with a smile, "Zhiqiang, is the new material process settled?"

"Section Chief, it's not certain yet. Today I just spoke with Deputy Director Xie of the Second Steel Plant. Deputy Director Xie still wants to bring it up at the Second Steel Plant's Party Committee meeting."

Zhou Zhiqiang paused for a moment, then continued, "However, Deputy Director Liu said it's probably 80% certain, but it will take some time. After the Second Steel Company's meeting, it will probably have to report to the higher authorities and wait for their approval."

"It is true that we have to wait. It's true that their large factories directly under the ministries are not as free as ours, but they also have many advantages."

Section Chief Lü paused for a moment after saying this, as if he had something to say but didn't know how to say it.

Upon seeing this, Zhou Zhiqiang asked, "Section Chief, is there any task?"

"Well, you could say that. Zhao Jiabao and Li Shun probably made a mistake while repairing agricultural machinery in Hongshu Township and damaged someone's tractor."

Section Chief Lü sighed and explained, "That's the most valuable agricultural machinery in Hongshu Township. Now the owner has refused to work with it, but Zhao Jiabao and his team don't have the ability to repair it."

You're the person in our factory who knows the machinery best, so I wanted to ask if you could go, but you're currently waiting for other assignments.

“Hongshu Township doesn’t seem too far, I’ll go there.”

Zhou Zhiqiang said, "If things go smoothly, I can be back in three or four days. I can rush over in half a day, fix it in a day or two, and then come back. But I have to go over there first to see what's wrong. If I can't figure it out, then I'll have to ask other factories for help."

Section Chief Lü nodded and said, "That's true, but we absolutely cannot ask other factories for help until the very last step, or the factory director will criticize us."

If word got out that their factory was going to send technicians from other factories to fix things that were broken, it would be a laughing stock.

After thinking for a moment, Zhou Zhiqiang asked, "Section Chief, when should I leave?"

"Today... Forget it, if we leave today, we won't get to Hongshu Township until at least tonight. Let's do it tomorrow."

Section Chief Lü considered the time; it would be quite dangerous to travel after dark, so there was no need to rush.

"I'll write you a note first. Go pick up your things later. You don't need to come to the factory tomorrow morning. Just leave."

Zhou Zhiqiang nodded and said, "Okay, then I'll head straight to Hongshu Township tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Section Chief Lü patted Zhou Zhiqiang on the shoulder happily and said, "Zhiqiang, we still need you at crucial moments. You're the pillar of our section now, but we haven't been able to make you a permanent employee due to regulations."

Their Dafeng Machinery Factory has only been a joint public-private enterprise for a few years, and its technical department has also been established for a short time. Currently, Zhou Zhiqiang is the most educated and technically skilled person there.

Moreover, Zhou Zhiqiang's performance was outstanding. If the technical department wants to develop in the future, it will probably have to rely on Zhou Zhiqiang.

Others can only keep the technical department running; they can't achieve any real technological innovation.

After get off work, Zhou Zhiqiang took his rural allowance and certificate and rode his bicycle home.

If I'm away from home for four or five days at a time, I always have to let my wife know.

The couple has been very affectionate lately, and their newlywed relationship is very harmonious.

(End of this chapter)