AWB Chapter 220 Isn’t this just a troublemaker?
Chapter 220 Isn’t this just a troublemaker?
On the wall of the factory, the red propaganda slogans are still faintly visible, but the paper has turned yellow and is damaged, making rustling sounds in the wind.
Some of the glass in the office building's windows had been broken, and the cold wind rushed in, making a "howling" sound.
Most of the office doors were open, the tables and chairs inside were tilted, the doors of the filing cabinets were half open, and documents and drawings were scattered on the floor, blown all over the place by the wind.
The warehouse on the other side of the factory had its door closed, the lock was rusty and covered with green moss.
Lin Panpan sighed and said, "This machinery factory is quite large. How come it eventually went bankrupt?"
"This factory was very prosperous in the early years. Orders kept coming in, and the workers worked in three shifts without stopping the machines."
He slowly said:
"But who could have imagined that a new leader, sent by the higher-ups, who was supposed to take the factory to the next level, would start causing trouble right from the moment he arrived."
"He didn't understand the technology, but he gave blind orders. The factory's old products were of excellent quality and had a good reputation in the market, but he insisted on stopping production, saying he wanted to keep up with the trend and develop new products.
Without conducting any market research, they blindly invested large amounts of money in purchasing new equipment and materials, and even hired so-called experts from outside at high salaries.”
"The R&D process was a complete mess. Experts disagreed, plans were revised again and again, money was spent like water, but the product never came to fruition.
The orders were gone, the customers were gone, but the R&D expenses were still increasing, and the capital chain was suddenly broken."
"In order to maintain operations, the factory had to borrow money from everywhere, but the interest kept piling up, and the hole got bigger and bigger.
The bank was demanding payment, suppliers were coming to ask for payment, and workers’ wages couldn’t be paid. Everyone was discouraged and resigned one after another.
In the end, the machines stopped, everyone left, and it became what it is now." He shook his head helplessly.
Lin Panpan shook her head and said, "I'm afraid that's the case. Isn't this just a troublemaker?"
"That's right, those people at the Red Star Machinery Factory are still angry!
At that time, they could earn 50 or 60 yuan a month in the factory, but now they can’t even support their children.
I have a brother who couldn't find a job after leaving the Red Star Machinery Factory for several years. Later, he had to follow me and work in the scrap business.
By the way, Sister Pan, all those things are piled up in the warehouse. How about I take you to the warehouse to have a look?"
Lin Panpan strolled around the workshop and asked, "I didn't expect that mechanical equipment has reached this point now."
She thought that the machinery factories at this time in 1973 were relatively backward, but now she realizes that the equipment in these machinery factories is already very good.
Zhang Xiang's men waved their hands and said:
“I’m really not very proficient in this area.
How about this! Please wait here for a moment, I'll go get some people.
They live in the family compound not far from the factory, and they are all veterans.”
"Okay!" Lin Panpan nodded.
Soon he came in with six old masters. Zhang Xiang introduced them, "These are all old masters from the machinery factory. If you have any questions, you can ask them."
Lin Panpan smiled and said, "I just want to ask, what are these devices and what can they produce?"
A gray-haired old master pushed his glasses on the bridge of his nose and said:
"Miss, my last name is Nian, everyone calls me Master Nian. Our factory has always been engaged in agricultural machinery."
He raised his hand and pointed towards the workshop, then continued to introduce:
"Look, those over there are C620 ordinary lathes, which can turn round steel into shaft parts of various shapes according to our requirements.
Take the drive shaft of a walking tractor, for example. It's made with it, and its dimensional accuracy is incredibly precise, ensuring smooth transmission of power to the wheels."
Master Nian walked over to a milling machine and patted it gently:
"This is the X62W universal milling machine. It is used to mill the complex gears in the gearboxes of our small four-wheel tractors.
The spacing and angle of each tooth must be precisely milled, so that the tractor can shift gears smoothly without any jamming."
He turned and pointed to a radial drill press:
“This Z3040 radial drilling machine is mainly used to drill holes for various parts.
For example, the tractor frame and the connecting parts of agricultural implements all rely on it to drill precise holes so that the big things can be assembled together."
Master Nian narrowed his eyes slightly and said with a smile:
“With the parts made by these devices, coupled with detailed and accurate drawings.
We can definitely build a small walking tractor or a small four-wheel tractor."
Lin Panpan's eyes lit up: "Master, are these machines still usable now?"
Master Nian sighed and said:
"It's been left here for a few years, and I'm not sure if it can be used. I'll try it after it's powered on.
That year, a new leader came in. He was ambitious as soon as he took office and said he wanted to make our factory bigger and stronger.
At that time, agricultural machinery was expensive and had huge profit margins, so he asked us to assemble the parts directly into agricultural machinery and sell them.”
He shook his head helplessly, his eyes full of disappointment:
"But he had no idea how easy it would be! Although our factory had lathes and milling machines at the time, we were still a long way from being able to make a complete agricultural machine!
The parts of agricultural machinery are complex and diverse, and each one is related to the performance of the entire machine.
In the past, we could only make simple accessories, but now we have to build an entire machine from scratch, and we encounter many technical challenges one after another."
Master Nian paused, looking towards the corner of the workshop, as if he had returned to those difficult times:
“There was no existing technology to draw on, so we had to figure out all the parts design and assembly processes on our own.
A group of us spent day and night in the workshop, pondering the drawings over and over again, trying again and again, and failing again and again.
During those days, everyone worked themselves to the bone, but progress was very slow.”
"Time passed day by day, and we invested a lot of manpower and material resources, but we still couldn't produce a qualified product.
With no orders coming in and the capital chain broken, the factory's operations became increasingly difficult.
In the end, we couldn't hold on any longer and had to close down." Master Nian couldn't help but feel sorry for the company. If it had just been selling spare parts, the factory would have certainly been successful.
Lin Panpan thought for a moment and said, "If I had the blueprints for agricultural machinery, could you guys make it?"
She really had the drawings of these agricultural machines. Not only agricultural machines, but in her previous life, when Zhou Rong applied for the mechanical design major, she also studied with him. She mastered the complex mechanical knowledge bit by bit and taught it to Zhou Rong.
During this process, she devoted herself to studying everything from agricultural machinery to automobile mechanical design.
Later, through various channels and her own efforts, she even came into contact with mechanical design information related to aircraft and satellites.
After Zhou Rong was admitted to Tsinghua University, her academic requirements became higher. Every time she needed special drawings, Lin Panpan would try her best to collect and organize them, and stay up late to hand-draw them.
Over the years, she has studied these drawings repeatedly and is familiar with the details of the parts of agricultural machinery and automobiles. Now it is easy for her to draw the parts diagram of an agricultural machine.