Chapter 69: Virtuous Cycle
Meanwhile, as Wang Ye was busy distributing wages to the girls...
In Yanjing, at the Fifth Machinery Department, in a meeting room, a round-faced, kind-looking elderly man sat at the head of the table, with a faint smile on his face as he scribbled something on the notebook in front of him.
Occasionally, the door of the meeting room would be pushed open, and people would enter one after another.
"I say, Lao Zhou, how can you still manage to smile?"
"Take a look! Just take a good look! It's been almost a month now, and our stationed work team has been nothing but trouble and difficulty!"
"Sigh!"
At that moment, a middle-aged man with square face, deep wrinkles, and graying hair walked in, and as he spoke, he casually slapped a document onto the table, finally sighing heavily.
Seeing this scene, an elderly man sitting down with reading glasses chuckled and said, "Lao Liu, why are you so impatient?"
"It's only been a month, familiarizing ourselves with the personnel, getting to know the situation, investigating the market, and half of the month has already passed."
"In the end, it's all just problems and difficulties, isn't it? If there were no issues, that wouldn't be normal! If there really weren't any, then these third-line factories of ours wouldn't be burdens, they'd be assets!"
"If it's falsely saying there are no problems, then that means we're still just engaging in empty talk and not reporting the real challenges!"
"That kind of reform is never going to succeed!"
Hearing the voice of the elderly man with glasses, a chorus of agreement erupted in the meeting room, although there were also murmurs of concern.
"That's all well and good, but the problem is, we're running out of time!"
"Yes! The Economic Department has been sending inquiries almost every day now, not just sporadically!"
"Hmph! Are we supposed to listen to them? They even threatened to shut down these factories directly! Do they think national defense can just stop?"
"Haha! Look at this! Lao Liang is getting so worked up he's swearing! Hey, we're all in a hurry, what can we do?"
"I've heard from above that by the end of this year at the latest, we must have a concrete plan for major reforms, or else by next year, who knows what will happen!"
"What's the military's stance on this? What are they planning to do?"
Amidst the discussions in the meeting room, the elderly man with a round, kindly face continued to write without saying a word. It wasn't until the meeting room was nearly full with about a dozen people, and the time had reached two o'clock in the afternoon.
"Is everyone here? Good, then let's begin the meeting!"
Finally, the elderly man sitting at the head of the table put down his pen, looked around with a smile, and spoke in a calm tone.
"Look at that! Look at how calm Lao Zhou is!"
"If only I had his composure, I might have become a minister by now!"
As soon as the elderly man finished speaking, the room erupted in laughter at his leisurely demeanor.
"I've heard everything you all were saying earlier."
"Regarding our stationed work team, we'll discuss that at the Monday meeting. Anyway, the situation is real, there's been no deception or concealment, so all we can do is face whatever challenges come our way."
"I called you all here today for another reason."
"Xiao Zhao, distribute the copies to everyone and take a look!"
With the elderly man's voice, the secretary next to him sighed and handed out the pre-printed documents to everyone present.
"Two million dollars?"
Just as half of the people had received their copies, including the elderly man with deep wrinkles, there was an exclamation!
"What two million dollars?"
"I say, Lao Liu, could you stop being so jumpy?"
"Quickly, what's going on?"
With that exclamation, the curiosity of those who hadn't received the documents yet was piqued!
However, they didn't have to remain curious for long because the elderly man with deep wrinkles directly scanned the room, then turned to look at the elderly man at the head of the table, and explained quickly:
"In addition to the five guidance teams we dispatched for the third-line factory reform..."
"...there's another one, the Red Star Machinery Factory in Luqi Province, the one that little Wang Qing went to!"
"I was strongly against him going initially. A young lad like him, only understanding technology and not management, what's he going to do there? Isn't he just going to cause trouble? It was only with Lao Zhou's approval that he was allowed to go."
"But as soon as he arrived, this lad played some tricks and managed to sell gas cylinders for four hundred dollars each, even though they cost less than ten dollars to produce. And the African customers were actually happy about it! I was laughed at by Lao Zhou for days."
"Local time, the day before yesterday, there was chaos in the capital of Dodoma, and yesterday, we received a telegram from there."
"They want to continue purchasing gas cylinders, this time several times more, directly requesting five thousand, two million US dollars!"
"The key point is, Kiwete asked Wang Ye for ideas!"
"What kind of independent industry is this?"
The old man with deep wrinkles finished speaking and scanned everyone in the room. Many people were dumbfounded, while those who had just received the documents were busy reading.
"Hey! There's even a quotation mark. I don't think this is just industry, maybe it's military industry?"
"How did Wang Ye deceive Kiwete in the first place?"
"The crucial thing is the telegram Wang Ye sent back. New products? Each for a thousand dollars without specifying anything? The moment they ask, it's a thousand units? Supplying and processing for sale in Africa? Expansive market? And a comprehensive plan?"
"This guy talks big, it's intimidating!"
After the old man with reading glasses finished his exclamations, the first old man coughed lightly and said:
"The new product Wang Ye mentioned should be a type of 'agricultural product' they tested before."
"I heard from the military side that it costs at most thirty to fifty yuan, produced using water pipes, and it looks a lot like the 81-style 122mm rocket artillery we're working on."
As soon as this was said, everyone in the meeting room was completely silent, including the impatient old man with wrinkles, who could only open and close his mouth.
Under everyone's gaze, the first old man's face lit up with a glimmer of hope as he said:
"Actually, today I just want to discuss a possibility."
"If future development really goes as Wang Ye says, can our third-line factories still produce various parts? Not only to sustain themselves but also to contribute to the country?"
"Moreover, for some of the factories that do need to transform, can the entire factory's equipment be exported as a whole?"
"In this way, wouldn't it form a virtuous cycle?"
As soon as the first old man finished speaking, at that moment, everyone present was no longer calm!
The room fell silent, but from the expressions on everyone's faces, it was clear that their hearts were anything but calm!
Today, the transformation of military-civilian integration is already at a critical point, with less and less time left for the Ministry of the Fifth Machinery and the Ministry of National Defense. The country's future focus is shifting to economic development, and these "dragging cans" must be dealt with.
As for the people present, those who were once called "dragging cans" by countless others were also those who had worked hard to build them up. They were also those who had sacrificed and shed blood to establish this country!
Therefore, how to better transform the third-line factories, rather than abruptly shutting them down, is the common pursuit and dream of these people.
It is precisely because of this that when they heard this, they were so unsettled.
Because this is a new possibility and direction!
More importantly, this possibility and direction are not just theoretical, but have a certain chance of success!
"What do you think, is it feasible?"
After a few seconds of silence, the impatient old man with wrinkles scanned everyone and asked with hesitation.