Chapter Fourteen: Half Success and Semi-Success

  "If you don't come back soon, I'll be torn apart."

  Zhang Yu saw a tall man coming out of the cabin and immediately realized that this guy must be Zhang Yusheng. In this era, the average height of Chinese people was less than 1.7 meters, and suddenly there came a big man who was nearly 1.8 meters tall, combined with the fact that he had come by boat, Zhang Yu naturally knew that his brother had arrived. As soon as they met, he immediately complained.

  "I just heard that the railway is about to open, so I rushed back. Otherwise, I would have liked to stay there for a few more days. And, your busyness here doesn't mean it's quiet on my side. The group's busy-ness has always followed the increasing enthusiasm of consumers, you're not unaware of those situations..." After exchanging pleasantries, the two people boarded the truck and sat in the bumpy vehicle still having endless topics to chat about.

  "You've been stuck in this poor and remote place, you might not even know some news from other places. This year, as the end of the year is approaching, all the big things that could happen have happened. Generally speaking, there have been quite a few changes in politics over the past two years. For example, Yuan Shikai's plot to seize the presidency, from the Beijing coup to the Senate's formal agreement on his terms, the establishment of the "Martial Law" to suppress local resistance forces and consolidate his power, and the Song Jiaoren case also quickly triggered the first anti-Yuan crisis. In short, except for no new movement in Europe, China's dynamics are really just like what we knew, I guess if it develops like this, our China will still be lively!"

  The two people sitting in the back of the swaying truck had never thought that they were already worth hundreds of millions of dollars and controlled the livelihoods of nearly 100,000 people as the top leaders of a large conglomerate. Instead, due to the constant bumps, their conversation became even more intense and vicious.

  "You come back to supervise, and what you supervised is this kind of road? Is it because of embezzlement of public funds for construction? You're so stingy that you even cut corners on the materials, and what comes out is a massage road that's about to collapse!!"

  "Am I embezzling public funds?" Zhang Yu pointed to his own nose, staring fiercely at his older brother and said: "This road was originally non-existent, it was temporarily built as a gravel road for the transportation of various materials. With tens of thousands of tons of cargo transported back and forth, it's strange that it didn't collapse!" As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Yu, who was holding onto the railing, almost got thrown into the air.

  After a bumpy ride, the two finally arrived at their destination, which was the temporary office building of the auto base.

  "I heard that Lu Rongting is very happy about our construction of his territory?" Zhang Yu Sheng said, patting the dust off his body, to Zhang Yu who was sitting there drinking tea to quench his thirst. "Not even leaving me any, who's the guest after all! I was asking you a question just now!"

  Zhang Yu didn't respond to the big brother's question, and the result was a burst of anger. Of course, after Zhang Yu finished speaking with a smile on his face, he said: "This guy is indeed very enthusiastic. On the day of the highway completion ceremony, he came wearing a marshal uniform, thinking he looked handsome, but unexpectedly not many people recognized him. He came to take a stroll around and was not as loud as one of our employees shouting for wages! Oh, right, his big assistant, Liu Guoxiang, who is currently the head of Liuzhou, Liu Zongbing, is also a very greedy master. Only Tang Guixin can handle him, I'm scared by his appetite, and now that you mention it, I'm also shivering with fear!!

  Zhang Yu originally wanted to build the automobile base, but the land requisition and relocation of residents were not going smoothly. Many people became "nail households" who refused to move out, demanding high compensation. Zhang Yu knew this, but he was indeed intimidated by their demands. Who would pay $10 per square meter? Even in New York, it wouldn't work. Otherwise, how could there be thousands of acres of industrial parks? This matter was left to Tang Guisheng, who was good at negotiating, to resolve. However, Zhang Yu was left with a deep impression that these corrupt officials were beyond description, and the word "corrupt" couldn't even begin to describe them.

  "One day I'll make them spit out everything they've swallowed, and more!" Zhang Yusheng's fists were clenched so tightly that his hands were almost sweating, revealing the depth of his hatred for these scoundrels. "By the way, where is the security team you brought back? I've also brought back part of the second batch of team members, they're waiting to be arranged!"

  "Oh, they all sent me out to do surveying work. Just the other day I just learned how to survey military maps, so let them draw a map of the entire Guangxi, it's estimated that they will come back two months later. Their barracks are in Warehouse District 2, and the second batch of team members can temporarily live there!"

  After finishing, Zhang Yu seemed to remember something. "Right, you'd better go and hand over to Tang Guixin now. He rushed back from the US to manage such a large group for you, although I believe he has the ability, but it's been so long since he left the group, there must be some things he doesn't know. You should go and hand over to him, I'll go to the port to pick up the second batch of team members. Tang Guixin should be packing his things in the house now, room 205 on the second floor, hurry up!"

  "He'll definitely come looking for me himself after a while, no need to rush!" Zhang Yusheng said with a chuckle after taking a sip of water.

  "I'm telling you to hurry up because they still need some private space, do you understand what private space means?! The time the ship is docked at the port is limited, and yet you're waiting for him to come and report back to you so you can hand over work. With all this coming and going, how much time does he have left to spend with his wife?! Our company's first couple is finally about to be born, we can't let them miss out on too much! Hurry up!!" Zhang Yu said with a smile to his older brother.

  "Unexpectedly, this kid has done a good job, and there's a reason for it. It seems that we also need to work harder and try to find ourselves a good wife, the power of love will help us achieve our dreams faster!! I'll take the opportunity to gain some experience, haha!" With a sigh, Zhang Yusheng immediately put down his teapot and rushed upstairs to hand over to Tang Guixin, while Zhang Yu also rushed to the port to pick up someone.

  On November 20, 1913, after more than a year of frantic construction, the Liuzhou-Nanning-Qinzhou railway was fully connected. When the steam train, emitting bursts of white smoke, pulled out of Liuzhou Railway Station with steel materials specially prepared by Liugang for the railway opening ceremony and sped south towards Nanning, it marked the official completion of the freight main line railway with an investment of $3.5 million. The thunderous firecrackers celebrating the occasion almost merged with the firecracker sounds from the groundbreaking ceremonies of the Liuzhou-Guilin and Liuzhou-Hechi railways, reaching a climax simultaneously with the completion ceremony of the Liuzhou-Qinzhou line and the opening celebration of the Liuzhou-Hechi and Liuzhou-Guilin lines.

  As a return gift, Qinzhou Railway Station also prepared rubber imported from Southeast Asia as cargo, and a steam train whistled all the way to Liuzhou. From that day on, the flow of goods between the two places was never interrupted again, always accompanying the growth and takeoff of Western industry. The main railway line played a strong supporting role. Of course, today is just the completion ceremony, and no one knows how much benefit and convenience this railway will bring.

  For the old employees of Yema Group, they are no longer particularly excited about the completion or commencement of these infrastructure projects. What they care most about is the super-large automobile manufacturing base in Liuzhou. From the very beginning, everyone hoped to manufacture a car in their own country, whether it's a truck or a sedan. Everyone has been working hard for this goal.

  The vehicle assembly plant with large-span structures as the main body, and the fuel-powered manufacturing plant with solid structures. The two major manufacturing plants under it, diesel power and gasoline power, have completed all equipment debugging, but the required materials and power supply are not up to normal production standards, especially electricity. The same is true for the production of other parts, such as standard part manufacturing plants, which have materials but no power supply. Everyone thought that the automobile manufacturing base would be built and put into production soon, but who would have thought that all this would lose the opportunity to transform into a butterfly due to energy problems at the moment of breaking out of the cocoon? Everyone's attention has been slowly drawn to the power plant being repaired near Laibin, which has been ignored by many people for a long time.

  "Maybe it's because I've been in the US for too long, but everyone else has entered the industrial electricity era, with sufficient power to guarantee normal production. But here in China, if we want minerals, we have to dig them up ourselves; if we want roads, we have to build and repair them ourselves to transport goods out; and if we want electricity, of course we need to generate it ourselves!" Zhang Yusheng said to a group of people in the power company's dispatch room.

  "Tomorrow, electricity can be transmitted to the car manufacturing base, and our cars can start domestic production normally. However, this simple two-day line trial run delayed the expected production time of the car base, perhaps it was a good delay. It directly pointed out our current shortcomings, not only the scarcity of materials but also energy problems. As production capacity increases in the future and orders come in like snowflakes, can we do it like in the US? Increase machine equipment to expand production line capacity, or even open another production line. But here, we need to consider more things!"

  In front of everyone, Zhang Yu-sheng admitted his own mistakes. As the saying goes, attitude determines fate, and details determine success or failure. At first, Zhang Yu-sheng obviously underestimated the cruelty of domestic reality, not only worse than he imagined but even worse, so there were some things that appeared to be insufficient in budget, however, electricity is not like other things, it can't be supplemented in a short period of time if it's lacking, and although they could smelt steel, aluminum, and manufacture various rubber products, all the materials needed for car manufacturing could be produced by themselves, but this electricity problem was not something that could be easily eliminated.

  "At present, the power plant's generating capacity is sufficient to meet our electricity demand, but we must consider some future scenarios. The group's current scale is too large, so I plan to downsize and let the US side's business become independent, domestically reorganize the management organization, including setting up a separate group."

  After solving the power problem, the automobile manufacturing base can definitely operate normally. However, the exciting feeling was soon dissipated by the limited electricity supply, which made it impossible for people to express their enthusiasm freely. They had no choice but to follow the arrangement and were divided into two shifts during the day, making rational use of the limited electricity supply. On the way back to Liuzhou, Zhang Yusheng began to discuss this issue with his younger brother.

  "Indeed, the group's scale has become enormous. The US side actually has little direct connection with the domestic side, while domestically there are not only cement, steel, transportation, mining, automobile manufacturing, clothing and other enterprises, but also a large engineering construction team. Relying on the administrative team on the US side and using management theories from that side will definitely not be suitable for the domestic situation. Integrating group resources and setting up an independent domestic management institution is imperative!!"

  "I also hold this view, many domestic companies might as well be managed under a single group, and the US side and this side should be independent to develop and grow better. At home, it can also reduce dependence. Anyway, milk is something that cannot be cut off for the time being, but management must be cut off. In addition, the domestic power problem must be solved, it seems we need another subsidiary, a pure power development company!"

  On the way back, due to the excellent road quality and the superior car quality, the smooth road surface made people in the car feel like they were driving on a cement road. "This road is well-maintained, isn't it? It's wide and flat! Driving feels great!" Zhang Yu exclaimed while driving, still gloating about his brother's previous words that had left him unhappy.

  "If it were asphalt or cement road, it would be even better. You wouldn't have to drive at a speed of only 40 yards." Zhang Yusheng also felt that the road was not bad, but as someone who was used to taking fast cars, he still thought that good roads were more enjoyable to drive on, especially highways.

  "Hold on tight, when did I say this car can only run at 40km/h? You'd better fasten your seatbelt, let's speed back!" After that, Zhang Yu started to fasten his own seatbelt and supervised his brother to do the same. Then he slowly accelerated, pressing the clutch, shifting gears, and giving gas. He kept speeding up until Zhang Yusheng yelled stop.

  "How's that, bro? This car is pretty good, right?" Zhang Yu said with a smile as he reached 83km/h. The "Yazhi" sedan, which had incorporated many classic mechanical technologies of its time and later generations, was capable enough to allow Zhang Yu to reach this speed on the two-way four-lane road, but the bumps along the way were definitely not small either.

  "Slow down, do you want to kill me?! One of our car buyers died in a car accident because of speeding, I don't want to be the second one! Zhang Yusheng's loud shout quickly made Zhang Yu slow down, and the speed slowly dropped to 60km/h before Zhang Yusheng felt safe. For something without advanced safety features like airbags and anti-lock braking system, Zhang Yusheng still had some doubts, even though it was touted as a good car with driving performance that wouldn't fall behind in thirty years."

  "This gravel road has been changed to a cement road, let's speed up again and we can definitely reach 180, believe it or not!" Zhang Yu concluded, then slowed down the car to 40 because a large fleet of trucks was coming from the front, with individual heads and body types that were much more arrogant than his own. "Thanks, buddy, without your reminder, I would have crashed into them at 83km/h on the highway! Haha!" Zhang Yu said with a smile, honking the horn, and the drivers of the fleet knew who was in the car, and Zhang Yu also knew that these drivers were definitely old employees of his own group, so they quickly exchanged horn blows and flashing lights.

  Forty minutes later, the car stopped smoothly in front of the office building. As soon as Zhang Yu got out of the car, he shouted: "I'll never ride your car again, you madman!" After that, Zhang Yu slammed the door shut with a bang.

  "Do you know, this car door has been tested with nearly 10,000 strong impacts? With your strength, it's better to save some effort! It can't be broken." Zhang Yu locked the car and smiled as he turned the key, following behind Zhang Yusheng. "If you really don't want to sit in it, why did you have it shipped all the way back from America for me? Are you planning on giving it away as a gift? Is it for your wife or some important person? But I still think the possibility of giving it to an important person is higher. You won't be able to find a wife with this kind of attitude, but Lu Rongting will definitely like such an expensive gift."

  "You're absolutely right, I was planning to give it to him." Zhang Yusen turned around and said fiercely. "You'd better be prepared to ride a bicycle to work in the future, I finally found that building a bicycle factory actually has another use, let a car maniac like you change to a bicycle as your vehicle, and it will definitely make the highway quiet!"

  "Nonsense, my next ride is a 'Huarui', the first domestically produced sedan, representing luxury and enjoyment, 'Huarui'!!" With that, Zhang Yu twirled the keys in his hand and ran upstairs with a clatter.

  "Salute to your ancestors eighteen generations!!" A high-quality scolding quickly dispelled Zhang Yusheng's discontent. Living on the first floor, he wouldn't have to climb up and down like Zhang Yu who lived on the third floor. By the time Zhang Yu was still climbing the stairs, he had probably already closed the door and was preparing to take off his shoes.

  In the United States, AMC had three automobile assembly plants, two major engine manufacturing plants, and four independent product manufacturing facilities. The Liuzhou Automotive Industrial Park in China was naturally designed and built according to this model. The actual production capacity of the US-designed plant was not much different from its design capacity. By December 24, 1913, the end of the production year, the group had produced a total of 137,814 vehicles, including 51,920 "Rambler" cars and 10,118 "Hudson" cars. The four new products with huge profits - tractors, excavators, bulldozers, and light and heavy cranes - were put into production later, so they only produced 45,912, 3,590, 3,021, and 3,028 units respectively. Unlike the sales volume of engineering vehicles such as bulldozers, the production and sales volume of trucks reached an astonishing 206,225 units, including many special-purpose trucks, such as oil tankers sold to Mobil Oil and long-haul heavy-duty trucks used by Federal Steel to transport steel bars.

  To compare with the huge achievements in the American direction, what Luoyang needs to strive for is not just a little bit simple. Even if all the factories it covers have started normal production, the first Yadi sedan was successfully rolled off on December 9, 1913, and the first 8-ton dump truck, tractor, Huari sedan, crane, excavator, etc. were successively manufactured from various factories. However, to safely, sustainably and stably reach the designed production capacity, there are still many aspects that need to be worked on, especially in the face of the increasingly chaotic situation at home.

  For Zhang Yusheng and others' plan, perhaps a good start has already proven that the plan is half successful, but there are still many things that have not been properly resolved in the plan, it can only be said to be half successful.

  PS: It's been a week since formal classes started, and with more time, I'll definitely update more. Just hope for more support.