Chapter 41 Steel Pipe Rocket

Laoyang Steel Plant, Office Building, Factory Director's Office.

The room was filled with smoke as four people sat there, smoking cigarettes and looking worried.

"Lao Liu, this won't work! If we wait till the end of the year, we'll have to tighten our belts!"

"If not, let's go to the City Industrial Bureau again, straight to Director Li's office!"

"I agree. They're quick to make decisions in their office. They just decide to export and make foreign exchange. With our capabilities, what foreign exchange can we make?"

"They say we're not using our brains. With our brains turning to mush and this limited equipment, can we produce anything good?"

"I don't think so. Let's just sell the steel! We're starving anyway, might as well sell it off!"

"Well... that might not be a good idea. If we can't account for it later, it'll be troublesome!"

Sitting behind the desk at the head of the room was Liu Hai, the director of the steel plant, a man not yet fifty years old but with hair already turning grey. He listened to the complaints of the others while puffing on his cigarette.

"Selling it off definitely won't work. If it doesn't work out, I'll go sit in Director Li's office tomorrow..."

After a few seconds of contemplation, Director Liu Hai said so. Just then, the phone on the table suddenly rang.

"Hello? What? The director of the Hongxing Machinery Factory is here?"

"Saying he wants to discuss something?"

Answering the phone, Liu Hai listened to the voice on the other end, his face showing a puzzled expression, but he still nodded and said, "Please come in right away!"

Then the gatekeeper opened the door, and the Jeep drove straight into the factory.

Sitting in the car, Wang Ye looked outside. The entire factory area was more like a big village than a steel plant, with vegetable fields and chickens and ducks everywhere, except for the industrial atmosphere of the blast furnace factory in the distance.

After a while, the Jeep stopped in front of a two-story building, where four people were already waiting.

"Old Senior, long time no see!"

"You're still as efficient as ever!"

Seeing the old factory director get out of the car, Liu Hai walked up with a smile. Although they were not in the same system in the past, they were both in the industrial sector. Moreover, in the early 1970s, the steel plant had produced parts for the machinery factory, so they were quite familiar with each other.

"Hey! It's not as good as it was a few years ago!"

"Now, I've retired to the second line. I'm taking it easy while I still can."

The old factory director said with a smile. After shaking hands, they exchanged a few words of simple greetings. After that, the old factory director introduced, "Director Liu, this is the new director of our machinery factory, Comrade Wang Ye."

"He was specially dispatched by the Fifth Machinery Department to handle military-civilian conversion matters."

Immediately, Liu Hai and the people at the steel plant showed surprised expressions, while Wang Ye smiled and extended his hand, saying straightforwardly, "Director Liu, hello. I came to visit today mainly to discuss some business with our steel plant."

"Do you mind if we sit down and talk about it?"

With these words, the four people at the steel plant showed expressions of confusion.

Whether it was the steel plant or the machinery factory engaged in military-civilian conversion, they were both state-owned factories. If there were any production exchanges, it would be coordinated by the Industrial Bureau. How could they come directly and discuss business? What kind of business could they have?

However, in an instant, Liu Hai controlled his expression and made a welcoming gesture, saying with a smile, "Sure! Director Wang, please!"

After a while, everyone returned to the meeting room and sat down. Then Liu Hai hesitated and asked, "Director Wang, what did you mean by the business you mentioned just now?"

It wasn't that Liu Hai didn't understand what business meant, but he didn't understand what business the machinery factory and the steel plant could have.

Seeing the puzzled expressions of the people at the steel plant, Wang Ye smiled, took out a drawing, and said at the same time, "Take a look at this. Here's a part. I wonder if our steel plant can produce it."

"If it can be produced, we'll provide the steel ourselves, and in the end, we'll pay the steel plant processing fees per piece."

"This is considered excess production and doesn't violate the regulations above. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, the people at the steel plant involuntarily gasped, their faces showing expressions of surprise and joy. On the one hand, they were shocked that the machinery factory would ask for ten thousand pieces right off the bat, which was quite a large quantity. On the other hand, they were happy because if the machinery factory provided the materials, then the processing fee of ten yuan per piece was quite profitable for the steel plant!

After all, the coal used by the steel plant was planned, and there was still a lot left over that couldn't be used up. In addition, water, electricity, and labor were not a problem. Most of the steel plant workers were idle now. The cost per piece was at most six or seven yuan.

According to what Wang Ye said, the profit from ten thousand pieces amounted to thirty to forty thousand yuan, which was already quite a large income for the steel plant with only a few hundred employees and a total of about three thousand people!

"It's feasible! It's feasible!"

Director Liu Hai immediately nodded in agreement. He didn't pretend to haggle over the price, as the price was already quite high. He was afraid that if he showed any reluctance, the deal might fall through in the end!

"Let's do it! Let's do it!"

Director Liu Hai nodded and agreed in a hurry. He didn't pretend to haggle over the price, as the price was already quite high. He was afraid that if he showed any reluctance, the deal might fall through in the end!

"Then we'll deliver the first batch in two to three days."

After ensuring that all the terms were acceptable, the two sides signed the agreement. Then Wang Ye left with his team, leaving behind the people at the steel plant who still seemed to be dreaming.

"Lao Liu, Lao Liu? Am I dreaming?"

"Haha, should I slap you? Of course not!"

"Huh? What's going on? Is the machinery factory getting rich?"

"Who knows? Anyway, we can breathe a sigh of relief. Haha!"

Then a loud laughter came from the office, while Wang Ye sitting in the Jeep also breathed a sigh of relief. With a total processing fee of one hundred thousand yuan, it was not too much or too little for the steel plant, which had only six or seven hundred employees and a total of about three thousand people. It was not too much to make them really recover, but it was enough to let them taste a little sweetness, which was convenient for his subsequent plans.

Back at the machinery factory, Wang Ye continued to focus on the design of motorcycle engines and rotorcraft.

Over the next few days, the entire machinery factory entered a healthy mode of operation, with most of the workers busy, while Wang Ye took the time to visit Quancheng City and visited the motorcycle engine production line that would soon belong to the machinery factory.

Indeed, as Director Li had described, the production line was brand new, only having undergone trial production. However, Wang Ye still had reasonable demands and scrutiny, leaving the person in charge on the other side speechless and gaining the benefit of free delivery.

May 27th.

Early in the morning, Wang Ye had just sat down in his office when there was a knock on the door.

"Director! Director! The steel pipe samples from the machinery factory have arrived!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Ye's eyes lit up, and he stood up directly, saying, "Prepare the manpower and start the trial production of our rockets."

"Also, prepare the cameras!"