Chapter 601

In Meng Hu Ling Township now, signs of labor shortages had indeed appeared. There were already more than a dozen foreign enterprises investing in Meng Hu Ling Township, and the vast majority of their workers were recruited locally. This was also because these enterprises were basically labor-intensive industries that didn't require workers to have high skills; otherwise, the worker problem would be even harder to solve.

These dozen or so enterprises varied in scale, with each on average recruiting dozens or hundreds of local workers. Adding these up meant over a thousand laborers. It didn't seem like much, but it was actually quite a lot.

Meng Hu Ling Township was vast and sparsely populated. In an area of several hundred square kilometers, there were only about 30,000 people. Among them, there were at most fewer than 10,000 strong laborers, and that was even counting the middle-aged women.

Now Meng Hu Ling was vigorously engaging in special breeding and special planting, especially special planting, which required a very large number of laborers. In the future, those foreign enterprises would expand their scale, and new enterprises would be introduced, all of which would need labor. Although labor seemed sufficient now, one had to plan ahead.

In addition, special planting consumed too much labor if relying solely on manpower, and labor efficiency was low. If agricultural machinery could be used on a large scale, it would certainly be able to significantly improve labor efficiency and increase output by quite a bit.

Speaking of this, Zhang Kaishan's eyes lit up and he said, "This is also a good thing for the County Machinery Factory!"

Su Xinghui smiled, "Uncle Zhang is wise!"

Zhang Kaishan pointed at Su Xinghui and laughed, "You brat, you're deliberately trying to make me say that, right? You must have thought long ago that this would be good for the machinery factory, right?"

Su Xinghui nodded, "It seems nothing can be hidden from Uncle Zhang!"

The County Machinery Factory was currently in a predicament. The main reason for this predicament was basically the same as other state-owned enterprises in this era: poor management, overstaffing, heavy burdens, backward technology, and an inability to compete with foreign-funded and private enterprises. Now they were in a semi-stagnant state, and it was basically very difficult to pay wages in the factory.

The County Machinery Factory lacked technical strength and was unable to produce large-scale mechanical equipment, making it even less capable of competing with those large enterprises. And producing that kind of small machinery had no advantage compared to private enterprises, especially in terms of cost. How could they compete with them like this?

The local demand for machinery in Shangjun County wasn't large either, so even if the county government helped them, those few orders wouldn't be enough to feed them.

Previously, the Shangjun County Machinery Factory had always been a thorn in Zhang Kaishan's side. There were over a thousand workers in the machinery factory, plus hundreds of retired workers. Not being able to pay their wages was a huge pressure on the county government. Zhang Kaishan had also been thinking about how to solve the machinery factory's problem, but for a moment, he had no good ideas.

If the local demand for agricultural machinery increased significantly, it would certainly be a good thing for the County Machinery Factory. At least they could get more orders.

Su Xinghui said, "Now it's not just our Meng Hu Ling, Lingxiang and Wangjiapu Township are also engaging in special planting. The several townships east of the county seat are all large plains, which are also very suitable for promoting the use of agricultural machinery. And several other counties in the city are also promoting the Meng Hu Ling model, which will also be a huge market for agricultural machinery in the future. If the County Machinery Factory can seize the market opportunity, it might be possible to save it!"

Zhang Kaishan nodded slowly, "What you say makes a lot of sense. This matter is a big deal. If the machinery factory can be saved, according to this method, perhaps other enterprises in the county can also be saved."

Su Xinghui added, "Uncle Zhang, even if there is this opportunity, it won't be easy to successfully save the machinery factory. The machinery factory's problems are deeply rooted. To save it, we must put in huge efforts."

Zhang Kaishan thought for a long time and nodded, "This time the county government will make the greatest determination to transfer the county's elite troops to the machinery factory, put great effort into technical innovation for the machinery factory, transform equipment, and compress costs. Otherwise, I'm afraid it will be hard to compete with those private enterprises even within the county."

Su Xinghui said, "Yes, Uncle Zhang, the County Machinery Factory has too many problems. Without great effort, it's hard to compete with those private enterprises. But now we also have an advantage, which is that those near the water get the moonlight first—Meng Hu Ling Township is in our county."

Zhang Kaishan said, "Xinghui, speaking of management, I really am not as good as you. Can you give the County Machinery Factory some ideas on how to compete with those private enterprises?"

Su Xinghui said, "Uncle Zhang, you are really overpraising me."

Zhang Kaishan waved his hand, "You brat, stop saying those empty words. If you really have ideas, tell me quickly."

Su Xinghui pondered, "Cost, technology, quality, management—I don't need to say much about these; these must be done well. What I want to say today is demand."

"Demand?" Zhang Kaishan asked suspiciously, "What kind of demand?"

Su Xinghui said, "Of course, it's user demand. The machinery factory can send sales personnel to our Meng Hu Ling to understand the specific needs of using these agricultural machines. They can also ask agricultural science and technology personnel, especially professors from Jiangcheng Agricultural University, to see what kind of agricultural machinery is both easy to use and can maximize labor efficiency, and then design agricultural machinery that best meets user needs. In this way, wouldn't they have seized the market opportunity?"

Zhang Kaishan nodded, "Yes, as long as they can design machinery that meets user needs, it will certainly be very popular with farmers."

Su Xinghui added, "The produced agricultural machinery can be further improved after being used by farmers, making them more in line with actual usage needs. In this way, the machinery factory can always stand at the forefront of the market and won't be eliminated by the market."

Zhang Kaishan became more excited as he listened: "Developing like this for a few years, the machinery factory can get on the right track. In the future, perhaps it can even produce large-scale machinery through technical accumulation."

Su Xinghui said, "As long as we can seize this opportunity, I believe the machinery factory has the possibility of reaching that step."

Zhang Kaishan's expression became solemn again: "Yes, the most important thing is to seize the opportunity. I will treat this matter as a priority. After New Year's Day, I will convene a county magistrate's office meeting to study and discuss how to adjust the leadership team of the County Machinery Factory. All things can be attributed to people. If the leadership team is handled well, all work can be handled well."

Su Xinghui nodded.

Zhang Kaishan said, "Do you have any good recommendations for the leadership team of the machinery factory? Liu Changlin, whom you recommended last time, has already taken office, and he is doing well at the tourism development company."

Liu Changlin was the shareholder representative recommended by Su Xinghui to Zhang Kaishan to be sent by the county government to the tourism development company. After the tourism development company was established, he had officially transferred to the tourism development company to serve as deputy general manager, mainly supervising the financial aspects of the tourism development company without interfering in specific management. He was very proficient in financial knowledge and was indeed doing well there.