Chapter 731

In the new workshop of the First Branch Factory, Li Ye was leading a technical team headed by Professor Zhao to familiarize themselves with the production line.

"Professor Zhao, the technical strength of our First Branch Factory is too thin. It's quite difficult to fully implement the new production standards, so I have to trouble you all..."

Professor Zhao said humorously, "It doesn't matter. As long as you keep your promise and follow the Changbei standards, the more of this trouble, the better."

Professor Zhao was Tang Mingtai's teacher, and Tang Mingtai was now the technical manager of Changbei Machinery Company, so this time, when Li Ye was conducting management and technical reforms at the First Branch Factory, he naturally thought of these capable people.

Logically speaking, a 130 truck production line wasn't worth someone like Professor Zhao leading a team to "take action."

But Li Ye's "action" was too generous.

Professor Zhao was a big shot in the industry and might not care about those few banknotes, but the technical talents at the associate researcher and researcher level in the institute couldn't resist the temptation of this "legitimate income."

Since 1984, inflation in the interior had been non-stop, and many professor-level senior engineers had to take second jobs after work to subsidize their household expenses.

They were afraid of running into acquaintances when setting up stalls at the night market late at night.

Now Li Ye was giving them this opportunity: work outside for a month, formulate scientific and detailed production standards for a production line, and they could get nearly a thousand yuan in "legitimate income."

And the workers even called them "Engineer Li" and "Engineer Zhang" one after another; this kind of spiritual enjoyment was even more moving than the banknotes.

As Wu Yan, a disciple brought by Professor Zhao this time, put it: "Money isn't the point; at least it saves our face. You ask a group of engineers to sell tea eggs—isn't that ridiculous?"

People like Wu Yan would rather spend all their energy carefully measuring and refining the best production method for a production link than simply doing "eggs for four mao, three for a yuan."

Wu Yan walked down from the workshop crane, not bothering to wipe the sweat off his face, and guaranteed to Li Ye: "Wu Kezhang Li, don't worry! Give us twenty days, and I guarantee your First Branch Factory will reach a production volume of eight hundred vehicles per month."

"Eight hundred vehicles?"

Li Ye frowned and asked, "Old Wu, can it be higher? We're old acquaintances; you can't hold back."

Zhang Liangshan paused and said rigorously, "Li Ye, more than half of your workers are new to the job. To ensure quality and grade, eight hundred to one thousand vehicles is the most reasonable production volume."

Wu Yan had joined Changbei as a technician three years ago and had very rich experience with industrial assembly lines, and he had gotten drunk with Li Ye several times, so he definitely wouldn't hide anything.

So since he said it could only be eight hundred vehicles per month, it really was eight hundred vehicles.

Li Ye thought for a moment and said, "Then you can design it according to a two-shift, twenty-hour production mode to maximize production capacity."

Wu Yan looked at Li Ye and said helplessly, "Li Ye, sometimes I really don't understand you and Li Li Dayong. You squeeze the potential of the workers to the extreme."

"But if I were to call you evil capitalists, the workers in the whole factory could choke me to death. Now the workers at Changbei are fighting to work overtime; whoever doesn't let them work overtime is everyone's enemy."

"Go, go, go, get out of here. Have you forgotten how you got your own house and motorcycle? How many hours of overtime did you work last month? How much overtime pay did you earn? Can a thirty-year-old man speak properly?"

Professor Zhao kicked Wu Yan away with a feint.

His little apprentice had high research talent, but sometimes he offended people without knowing it.

Li Ye smiled and said, "Wu Yan is just an honest man. I especially like talking to him; it doesn't take any brainpower."

"He just happened to meet Tang Mingtai and Li Li Dayong..."

Professor Zhao scolded him with disdain and then asked Li Ye suspiciously: "Your Light Automobile Company's total production last year was only twenty thousand units, right?"

"Your First Branch Factory has so few people—can you be dissatisfied with an annual production of ten thousand units? How many production tasks has your General Factory assigned to you now? How many vehicles have they promised to help you sell?"

Li Ye shook his head: "Our factory hasn't given us any production tasks, nor will they help us sell. Our factory sells independently."

Professor Zhao was stunned and asked again: "Then how many vehicles have you sold so far?"

Li Ye shook his head again: "Not yet. We produce first, then sell."

"."

Professor Zhao was speechless. Although he was a mechanical expert, he also understood some business common sense.

You haven't even anchored any customers, yet you're blindly producing at full capacity—and eight hundred, one thousand vehicles at that? Are you going to let these cars line up neatly on the playground and rust?

And the workers working around them also pricked up their ears.

They knew better than Professor Zhao the estrangement between the First Branch Factory and the General Factory. If the products produced couldn't be sold, that wouldn't be a good thing for anyone.

After all, in the past few years, whenever the factory held a big meeting, it was always "poor efficiency" and "tiding over difficulties together." How to tide over difficulties together? Wasn't it by cutting benefits and delaying wages?

For a moment, everyone had different expressions and their own thoughts.

But just at this moment, the First Branch Factory Director, Lu Lu Zhizhang, ran into the workshop in a hurry, panting and red-faced.

"Li Ye, Li Ye, good news, good news! Our new car has an order—a big one, a full thousand vehicles!"

"."

Professor Zhao looked at Li Ye strangely, then at Lu Lu Zhizhang, wondering if the two of them were putting on a double act.

Just said not a single car had been sold, and then a big order came?

Li Ye tucked the folder under his arm and smiled: "My Factory Director Lu, if there's an order, there's an order. Why are you shouting? Are you afraid others won't know?"

Lu Lu Zhizhang walked quickly to Li Ye, panting while nodding: "I am afraid others won't know! You're busy grabbing procurement and technology all day, so you haven't heard a single bit of the rumors spreading in the factory!"

"Heh, rumors again."

Li Ye mocked, and then, without asking what the rumors were, he said something extremely "arrogant."

"I always feel that if someone is always spreading rumors about you, it's nothing more than three reasons."

"First, you possess something they don't, and they are jealous."

"Second, your standard of living is far higher than theirs, and they are envious."

"Third, your level is something they can't reach, so they can only stare."

Li Ye pointed at himself: "Think about when they were spreading rumors about me at the beginning—did it fit these three points? I have a private car, I sold a script for twenty thousand, and I became a deputy section chief in half a year..."

Li Ye pointed at the workers around him: "Why are they spreading rumors now? Because we promised the workers that wages would rise by ten percent every year for at least five years... They are jealous, so they can't wait for us to go bankrupt!"

"Everyone is in the same factory; if we're poor, let's all be poor together. Why do you eat well and have high wages? So they spread rumors!"

"."

The workers around were all stunned; only Professor Zhao raised the corners of his mouth, looking at Li Ye with a smile.

Lu Lu Zhizhang was between laughter and tears, pulling Li Ye's arm as they walked out: "Stop saying these things. If you say any more, they'll hold another one of their little meetings tomorrow. Hurry and come with me to implement the order..."

"No, why are you grabbing me to implement the order? I'm the Procurement Wu Kezhang and Deputy Leader of Technical Reform..."

Lu Lu Zhizhang had no choice but to lower his voice and say to Li Ye: "It's an order from COFCO. They just called and want us to send someone over to implement it."

Li Ye stopped and said in surprise: "An order from COFCO? That's not right!"

Lu Lu Zhizhang said strangely: "What's not right? They told me personally that they want us to go over today or tomorrow, because it's almost the end of the month, and if we dawdle, they won't be able to settle the advance payment for me this month."

Li Ye frowned and didn't speak. He followed Lu Lu Zhizhang back to the First Branch Factory office, picked up the phone, and dialed a number.

"Hello, Dad... I received the notification from your unit, but why is it only a thousand vehicles?"

"."

Lu Lu Zhizhang stood to the side, looking at Li Ye speechlessly, really wanting to give him a big "respect."

When he attended Li Ye's wedding, Lu Lu Zhizhang hadn't used his chopsticks much, only focusing on "scouting the enemy situation."

He only needed to see how Wen Wen Qingsheng treated guests of various levels to know what kind of background Wen Wen Qingsheng had.

That was definitely not a figure who had climbed up without roots or foundation.

But look at the tone Li Ye was using to talk to his father-in-law now—how was it even more casual than his own tone with his father-in-law, who swung a sledgehammer?

【Others say you, Li Ye, are too arrogant—it really isn't just a reputation! You, this 'son-in-law party' member, are really different from others.】

Lu Lu Zhizhang had been in the factory office for many years, responsible for reception and peer networking, and didn't know how many anecdotes he had heard.

But he had truly never heard of a "son-in-law party" member who dared to talk to his father-in-law like Li Ye.