Great Power Industry: You're a private company building an aircraft carrier?

The welders in the factory were extremely busy, their faces were blackened by the smoke, and their lungs were starting to feel uncomfortable. Some of them were coughing incessantly, but they still insisted on working.

A month passed quietly.

The workers, who had been toiling for a month, had all gone home to rest, and the goods had been shipped out, leaving the factory empty.

Looking at the place that used to be filled with steel pipes in the open now empty, Qin Jianguo had an indescribable feeling.

I'm out of trouble!

The $2.5 million deposit has been brought back. At an exchange rate of 5.8, that's $14.5 million in RMB!

The factory workers lined up outside the accounting office, waiting to receive their wages.

"In addition to the back wages, the factory also gave everyone 500 yuan in overtime pay, which is really great!"

"Yeah, that's equivalent to two months' salary. Holding that money in my hands...it's burning my nerve!"

"Everyone has worked hard during this time."

Qin Chuan looked at everyone and said sincerely, "Everyone, work hard in the factory from now on, and you'll definitely earn more than the county officials!"

Everyone laughed.

"Xiao Chuan, this is all thanks to you!"

Li Runping came out from inside, smiled, put his arm around his shoulder, and led him outside.

"We've paid off our debts, distributed salaries and bonuses, and still have over ten million yuan left! Plus, the goods have reached the customers, and we still have over ten million yuan in outstanding payments!"

"Uncle Li, next we'll open an account in Hong Kong, and the remaining payment will be transferred to our overseas account by the client!"

"From now on, if we want to buy anything from abroad, we can just transfer the money directly from our overseas account."

"Don't be fooled by how easy it is for us to earn foreign exchange for the country; it's much harder to apply for and spend that foreign exchange."

Qin Chuan smiled and made arrangements for what to do next.

"Hmm." Li Runping had long admired Qin Chuan to the point of worship, and Qin Chuan would do whatever he asked.

Moreover, Qin Chuan wasn't wrong.

Earning foreign currency is easy, but applying to spend it is difficult. Keeping it in a foreign account avoids these restrictions.

Of course, most companies know the benefits of doing this, but they can't do it because their profit margins are low.

Once foreign exchange is received, it must be converted into RMB. This is necessary to pay employees' salaries, purchase goods, and for businesses to expand. It is also essential to convert the foreign exchange into RMB.

Only with profits of ten times or more, like ours, will there be a surplus!

"Xiao Chuan, do you think our firecracker business can continue in the future?"

At this moment, Qin Jianguo also strolled over, his eyes full of anticipation.

"Of course, but we still have a batch left in our warehouse. Just in case, we should use up this inventory before we start producing water pipes."

There will definitely be more customer orders. Although Qin Chuan tried to persuade Amar to buy more by saying that he would be restricted in the future, it's not a big problem in reality, since they can dig tunnels over there.

His concern is that domestically, once the news spreads, many steel pipe factories will follow suit and engage in price wars, making it difficult to continue selling at high prices.

"Hmm." Qin Jianguo now completely obeyed his son's every word: "Then let's wait a little longer. The factory has recovered a lot of funds this time. Xiao Chuan, what do you think we should do next?"

doing what?

Qin Chuan's eyes darted around: "Let's continue making gas cylinders!"

Qin Jianguo's eyes lit up: "That's right, a gas cylinder!"

"Our country's economy is getting better year by year. People in the city are using gas, and people in the countryside are starting to use gas as well. There is definitely a demand for gas cylinders. This is really a good route!"

Although gas was already in use in China before liberation, its development was slow. In that era of material shortages, families in cities with gas cylinders only used them when guests came over, and continued to use honeycomb briquettes at other times.

The widespread adoption of gas in Chinese cities began in 1988, and by 1992, many rural families, whose living conditions had greatly improved, also started using gas.

Therefore, manufacturing gas cylinders must be a viable solution!

"But... Ogawa, we've never built a gas cylinder before! This thing is a pressure vessel; if it's not made properly, it'll explode!"

"I can."

Qin Chuan said, "Since we can't get a good price in the domestic market, we've manufactured gas cylinders and are continuing to sell them to Amar and his people."

"As for the poor quality and the fear of it exploding... Amar and the others won't mind."

What's there to complain about? A good gas cylinder is one that can explode!

"Really? How do we do it?" Qin Jianguo's eyes lit up with excitement.

"First, we need two and a half thick steel plates. Dad, many of the uncles and elders in our factory were brought here by you from Shougang. The steel smelted in our own steelmaking furnace is about enough. Our factory also has a rolling mill, so I don't need to worry about this."

Qin Jianguo nodded: "When we make water pipes, we first make steel plates and then roll them up. Making steel plates is no problem, of course. Next, we also put them on the rolling machine, right?"

Qin Chuan shook his head: "No, the plate rolling machine will have gaps, and it will definitely explode if gas is put in it. We need to use a 500-ton stamping machine."

The manufacturing process of gas cylinders is not difficult. Cut a steel plate into a circle, stamp it, and half of the gas cylinder is punched out. Then grind the edges, join the top and bottom, and weld them together to form the main body of the gas cylinder. Weld the base at the bottom and the handle at the top, and cut an opening on top to connect the gas nozzle. It's that simple.

Of course, there are many details to consider if you want to make the gas cylinder safer. For example, you need to use an automatic welding machine when welding the upper and lower parts to ensure concentricity and welding quality. The manufactured gas cylinder needs to be heat-treated and pickled, etc. However, if it is a disposable product exported to Amal, these can be omitted.

The other factories can handle it, except for one...

"Our factory doesn't have a stamping machine."

"If you don't have one, just buy one."

“That’s right. We have money now. If we want a hydraulic press, we’ll just buy one. Even if it costs over a million, we don’t care!”

With money in hand, he felt confident! Qin Jianguo's face was full of pride.

"We don't need millions." Qin Chuan looked at Li Runping: "Uncle Li, after paying the workers' wages, how much cash do we have left?"

"We still have about 500,000 yuan left. It's mainly because it looks nice to have money out there," Li Runping said with a smile. "Once we've paid the workers their wages and bonuses, we need to deposit the money in the bank before dark."

"No need to deposit it. Give me this 500,000 yuan, and I'll go get a 500-ton hydraulic press." Qin Chuan said, then looked at his father: "Dad, am I entitled to this money?"

"Xiao Chuan, you solved the factory's crisis and earned the money. You can take whatever amount of money you want. This factory will all be yours in the future," Qin Jianguo said magnanimously.

"Okay, Dad, I'll go then. Jianshe, let's take the money and run some errands. I can ride my motorcycle there!"

Li Jianshe had just come out of the office and waved to Qin Chuan from a distance. Qin Chuan saw his gesture and then asked his father for money.

"Okay, Brother Chuan, we're both 125, but I still think yours is cooler, with its dual exhaust..."

Watching Li Jianshe fiddling with Qin Chuan's motorcycle, Qin Jianguo thought of something else: "Now that the factory has money, it's time to get a means of transportation. Xiao Chuan, what do you think, should we buy a Xiali sedan or a Tianjin Dafa minivan?"

"A minivan, I'd say, it can also be used to haul goods."

"Yeah, that's what I thought too."

Pfft! Li Jianshe burst out laughing.

"Jianshe, what are you laughing at?"

"It's nothing, it's nothing," Li Jianshe quickly waved his hand.