Take advantage of the fire to loot

  "Director Zhu, extremely wonderful news!"

  Lin Zhenhua rushed into Zhu Tiejun's office with excitement and said.

  "What good news is this?" Zhu Tiejun asked.

  Lin Zhenhua handed a telegram to Zhu Tiejun and said, "Director Zhu, our Shanghai sales office reported that the first batch of 1,000 electric fans shipped to Shanghai has been sold out, and we have received new orders for 5,000 units. According to estimates by business insiders in Shanghai, by next summer, the sales volume of our electric fans in Shanghai will be at least 1 million units."

  "1 million units?" Zhu Tiejun laughed with his mouth wide open, "Little Lin, you're really something. If there are 1 million units, based on your cost and ex-factory price, the profit would be 80 million! My god, that's equivalent to what our Hanhua Machinery Factory has made in several decades!"

  Lin Zhenhua said with satisfaction: "It's not just that. Now, Chu Hongyang is attacking the Wuhan market, and Lan Wufeng is attacking the Nanjing market, both of which have achieved some results. However, the purchasing power of these two places is slightly weaker than Shanghai. Shanghai has not only the purchasing power of local people but also many people who come to Shanghai on business trips will buy things there, so the market is very large."

  "Great, great. Little Lin, you must hurry up production and expand the scale. Can't let the profit that's within your grasp slip away."

  Lin Zhenhua said, "Director Zhu, this is also one of the reasons I came to find you. Look, our Hanhua Industrial Company has only four mu of land originally allocated to us by the factory so far, which is not enough at all. Now that our production scale has expanded, we can only pile raw materials and finished products in the open air, and I have to ask Comrade Su Yingsheng to arrange for militiamen to stand guard at night, which is really too inconvenient."

  Zhu Tiejun thought for a moment and said, "This problem is not easy to solve. The factory has many idle places, but they are all scattered and cannot be used as workshops."

  Lin Zhenhua smiled and said, "Director Zhu, to be honest with you, I've also walked around the entire factory over the past few days, taking a look at several places. Just as you said, none of them are suitable for our workshop. So, I was thinking of asking the factory for help, to find a location outside and rent it or even better, buy it, as a future development space for Hanhua Industrial Company."

  "What have you set your mind on?" Zhu Tiejun asked, he could tell from Lin Zhenhua's eyes that he had already made up his mind. This young man was full of ideas in his head and had a taste of planning before acting.

  Lin Zhenhua said: "I've actually found a place that was introduced to me by Chu Hongyang, and I later went to take a look at it specifically. I think it's very good. I don't know if the factory can help us get this place."

  "Where?"

  Jiujiang Bicycle Factory.

  "Ziyang Bicycle Factory?" Zhu Tiejun was somewhat surprised. "That's in Ziyang City, are you going to move the factory there?"

  Lin Zhenhua nodded: "That's right, Director Zhu. After our production scale expanded, we felt the bottleneck in transportation. Fenghua only has one railway line, and the railcars are very tight. We got to know the comrades at the train station through Director Liang's introduction, so we were able to transport the goods on time these few times. But I think we can't always rely on this method for transportation. Moreover, the freight cost of rail transportation is also very expensive, although we can spread it into the profit of each electric fan, but that's still a lot of money."

  "So you've set your sights on Xinyang?"

  "That's right," said Lin Zhenhua. "The history of world industrial development shows that large industries are always first developed in places near the ocean or major rivers. Our Jiangnan Province is not by the sea, but we have the Yangtze River navigation route. I've asked about it, and during the flood season, even 5,000-ton ships can dock at Xunyang Port, which will greatly help us reduce transportation costs."

  "But why did you set your sights on Xinyang Bicycle Factory?"

  Lin Zhenhua said, "Director Zhu, you should also know that the bicycles produced by Jiujiang Bicycle Factory have been severely unsold due to quality problems. They are now in a state of complete shutdown, and even paying wages is extremely difficult. I think it's better to sell their factory to us and convert it to produce electric fans, isn't that good?"

  Zhu Tiejun said: "This idea is not bad, but what's the use of telling me? My hands are too short to reach Jiangdu anyway?"

  Lin Zhenhua smiled and said, "Director Zhu, I want to ask you to go to the Light Industry Bureau for instructions. My words are light and may not be effective. The Xunyang Bicycle Factory is also under the jurisdiction of the Light Industry Bureau, and my personal feeling is that the Light Industry Bureau is now also headache about this factory, and it's eager for someone to take over."

  Zhu Tiejun said, "Speaking of the Light Industry Bureau, I was just about to go find you, but got distracted and forgot. Quick, Xiao Lin, go call Old Fan, we'll all go together to the Light Industry Bureau. Director Xie just called, saying there's an urgent matter that requires our presence."

  "Thank you, Director?" Lin Zhenhua was a bit confused.

  "Hey, it's Xie Chunyan, she just got promoted to deputy director. Perfect timing, let's go congratulate her. This old Xie is a bit awkward, but he's actually not bad." Zhu Tiejun said, forgetting that he himself was also quite awkward and not bad either.

  "Did Director Xie say what the urgent matter was?" Lin Zhenhua asked.

  Zhu Tiejun said, "It seems to be the last time we processed the main shaft. Director Xie said that an outside unit has taken a liking to our processing capabilities and wants us to help process a few special parts. She specifically mentioned your name, but it's also understandable, you know, that five-axis thing or whatever, I couldn't explain it clearly with Old Fan."

  Nothing more could be got out of Zhu Tiejun, so Lin Zhenhua went back to change his clothes and then set off with Fan Shibin in a jeep, following Zhu Tiejun south to Nandu.

  They arrived at the Lihua Hall and rushed to Xie Chunyan's office. Xie Chunyan had just been promoted to deputy director, and her office had also changed to a new one, which was slightly larger than before, but the furnishings in the room were still very old-fashioned. The desk used by Xie Chunyan was also an old-fashioned "two-head sink", with the surface varnish almost worn off.

  When Zhu Tiejun and his party arrived, Xie Chunyuan was very happy. She was able to be promoted to deputy director, and this time the 210,000 yuan ice machine breakthrough had some connection with her. Sun Changyuan's life-and-death gamble with the Japanese did not cause any diplomatic disputes, and it ultimately came to nothing. Xie Chunyuan personally organized the breakthrough, saving a large amount of foreign exchange for the country and boosting national prestige. This achievement was reported to the Provincial Economic Commission and the Provincial Government as a political achievement, ultimately making Xie Chunyuan stand out from several competitors and take the position of deputy director.

  "Lao Zhu, you've arrived so quickly?" Xie Chunyan said with a smile, while calling over a secretary to hurry and pour water for the guests.

  Zhu Tiejun smiled and said, "You thank the director for calling us, dare we delay? Good fellow, Wang Qihu had a great time today, driving all the way at 80 kilometers per hour, saying he was afraid the director would be anxious."

  Xie Chunyan smiled and said, "It's not that urgent, mainly an out-of-town unit heard that our subordinate enterprise can do five-axis machining, they want to understand the technical details. So, I invited you over."

  "Where are they?" Zhu Tiejun asked.

  "They went to the reception room to rest first, I've already asked someone to invite them, they'll be here soon." Xie Chunyuan said.

  Taking the opportunity to wait for people, Xie Chunyan said to Lin Zhenhua: "Little Lin, I heard that your electric fan is selling very well in Shanghai. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you."

  "Hehe, this is all thanks to the provincial leaders' concern." Lin Zhenhua was very flattering.

  Xie Chunyan said: "Your electric fan, I've seen it too. I even bought one for my relatives. It's really beautiful and the quality is very good. I have a question that I don't understand, Xiao Lin. Why do you produce electric fans that sell very little in the province, but instead go all the way to Shanghai to sell them?"

  Lin Zhenhua smiled and said, "Thank you, Director Xie. I'm doing this for the greater good. If my electric fan can sweep through the Shanghai market, it can naturally sweep through the Jiangnan Province market as well. The manufacturers in the Jiangnan Province market are all part of our Light Industry Department's system. If I were to squeeze them out of business, wouldn't you be worried too, Director Xie?"

  Xie Chunyan said: "So it seems that you still have a good heart, I wronged you?"

  "I dare not, I dare not. According to Lin Zhenhua's First Law: Leaders are always right at any time."

  "Hehe, what about Lin Zhenhua's law? This is the first one, what about the second?" Xie Chunyuan asked with a smile.

  "The second clause is: If the leader is wrong, refer to the first clause."

  "Hahaha!" Xie Chunyan burst out laughing, "Really yours, where did you learn all these smooth words?"

  Lin Zhenhua and others laughed with Xie Chunyuan, and then said: "Director Xie, this time I came to the Light Industry Hall, I just happened to have something to report to you. Is that okay?"

  "Just say it simply, they will be here soon."

  "The first thing, our product sales are very good now, if nothing unexpected happens, next year's sales will exceed 200,000 units, so we hope that the Light Industry Bureau and the Material Bureau can coordinate again to solve the problem of raw material supply for us."

  "Is it such a large quantity?" Xie Chunjuan was somewhat surprised and hesitated, "So many materials are not easy to handle."

  Zhu Tiejun said, "Thank you, Director. Xiao Lin's Hanhua Enterprise is also one of our Light Industry Department's enterprises. We've made a preliminary estimate that if they sell according to the sales volume calculated by Xiao Lin, next year they can turn over more than 2 million yuan in profits to our Hanhua Factory. A portion of this money will also be turned over to the Light Industry Department."

  "A profit of 2 million?" Xie Chunyan was attracted, "Hmm, that's very good. If you can give the country a profit of 2 million, then I have reason to go find the Material Hall to intercede."

  "The second thing is that our site is a bit insufficient, with an output of 2 million units, we must go into mass production, so we hope the Light Industry Hall can help us solve the problem of the site." Lin Zhenhua continued.

  Xie Chunyan asked: "What do you mean? Do you want the Light Industry Bureau to approve funds for you to build a factory?"

  "Not at all," said Lin Zhenhua. "We don't dare to let the Light Industry Bureau spend money unnecessarily. What I mean is, I've taken a fancy to a factory building and want to buy it, so please give me an opportunity."

  "Oh, what kind of factory is this?" Xie Chunyuan asked curiously.

  Jiujiang Bicycle Factory

  "Zhouyang Bicycle Factory?" Xie Chunyan repeated, tilting her head and thinking for a few seconds before suddenly understanding the whole thing. She couldn't help but chuckle: "Little Lin, you're quite sharp-eyed. Zhouyang Bicycle Factory is indeed in trouble now. Are you trying to take advantage of the situation?"

  It's all clear to you... Lin Zhenhua thought with a scowl. He put on a smile and repeated what he had said to Zhu Tiejun to Xie Chunyuan, finally patting his chest to indicate that Hanhua Industrial Company would absolutely not take advantage of the state by one cent, these factories, whether rented or bought, would all be paid for at market price. As for the equipment and workers of Youyang Bicycle Factory, he could also take them over completely.

  "This idea of yours is not bad, it can also help the hall solve some practical difficulties." Xie Chunyuan said, turning her head to Zhu Tiejun: "Old Zhu, you don't know, the 300 or so people from the Jiujiang Bicycle Factory are now a headache for our Light Industry Hall. If Xiao Lin and his team can pay out these workers' wages, it would be a contribution to the hall. However, you're a collective enterprise, swallowing up a state-owned enterprise, isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

  Lin Zhenhua had also considered this issue thoroughly. If time could be pushed back five to ten years, then the merger of state-owned enterprises would not be a big deal, and even some local authorities would be eager for someone to take over these loss-making factories. At that time, however, merging state-owned enterprises was tantamount to treason, and the government would rather have banks constantly transfuse blood to these enterprises than let them go bankrupt or be taken over.

  "In response to Xie Chunyuan's questioning, Lin Zhenhua replied: 'Director Xie, actually we didn't plan to merge with Jiuyang Bicycle Factory. We just want to borrow its site, as well as its personnel and equipment. From the organizational structure point of view, this enterprise is still intact, not a single worker less. But its business will be entirely our responsibility, its workers will be managed by us, we pay labor costs according to the workers' contributions, and then the factory pays wages to the workers. What do you think?'"

  Zhu Tiejun chimed in, "This is equivalent to the Xinyang Bicycle Factory taking on a project. They send people here to do things at Xiaolin's place, and both sides still rely on each other."

  Xie Chunyan nodded: "This can be done. Next time we have a meeting, I'll bring it up and listen to what other leaders think. Alright, let's stop here for now. You see, this is the comrade from that unit that came from outside..."

  As everyone turned around, they saw three people walking in from the outside. The first one was an old man, over 60 years old, with a straight waist and a smile on his face, but he had an aura of dignity that commanded respect without being angry.

  "Is this comrade from Hanhua Machinery Factory?" the old man asked, "Let me introduce myself, my name is Zhang Zhifang, business manager of Shanghai Huaping Machinery Company."

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