Chapter 227

Within half a month, Ye Manzhi had articles about the laundry service station published in three newspapers.

However, all three articles fell into oblivion.

No leaders, either provincial or municipal, have commented on these three articles.

No one says that producing washing machines is okay or not.

Huang He scratched his head and asked, "What do the leaders mean? Can we even get a washing machine?"

"If it doesn't say it's OK, then it's not OK," Kang Jian said, cigarette in hand. "This thing is too risky. I think we should just forget about it. Director Ye, what do you think?"

Ye Manzhi nodded helplessly: "Forget it then."

There are many types of industrial products, and she doesn't want to take such a big risk and commit a crime against the law.

If all else fails, we can produce some hardware parts and sell them ourselves, which are just right for use in electric fans and televisions.

Shuguang Factory gave up the idea of ​​producing washing machines, but a few days later, Ye Manzhi was visited by her elder sister.

"Laiya, is that washing machine mentioned in the newspaper produced by your Shuguang factory?"

"We did produce it, but only sporadically. We haven't achieved mass production."

Ye Manjin asked, "Can you produce one for our guesthouse? Washing bedsheets and pillowcases is a huge undertaking. Currently, we rely on the laundry team to wash them manually, which requires a lot of workers, and sometimes they still don't wash them clean enough."

"If we only produce one, the factory price will be very high. Besides, washing machines are very labor-saving. How will you arrange for the laundry workers at your guesthouse?"

"Of the six laundry workers now, three were employees of the drama troupe. When the troupe closed down, everyone had no other work, so they moved to the guesthouse laundry team," the older sister said with a smile. "But the city has restored the drama troupe, Peking Opera Theater, and Pingju Theater, and those laundry workers have recently returned to the troupes."

Hearing this, Ye Manzhi asked anxiously, "Sister, what are your plans? Are you going back to work in the drama troupe?"

My eldest sister was very fashionable when she was an actress. Every time she came back to her parents' home, she would wear the most fashionable clothes, comb her hair into curls, and put on lipstick. She was the most stylish in the family.

When Ye Manzhi was studying, she regarded her elder sister as a role model and hoped to live a life like her in the future.

The eldest sister shook her head and said, "I haven't been an actor for a long time. If I go back to the troupe, I'll just be doing behind-the-scenes work, which might not be as comfortable as me in the guesthouse. Although the drama troupe has resumed work, what if they close us down one day for a disagreement? Then I'll have to find another unit to take us in. So, I'll just stay in the guesthouse."

Her biological father's family background was not good, so she didn't dare to make trouble.

She pulled her sister aside and asked, "Can you sell us a washing machine? I have to go back and ask the director for credit!"

Ever since she brought back two televisions to the guesthouse last time, the director has valued her even more.

She was living well in the guesthouse, so she was not in a hurry to return to work in the drama troupe.

Ye Manzhi smiled and said, "If you only want to buy one washing machine, then don't buy it from our factory. Let Youyan make one for you. We can't start production just for one washing machine. We need at least four or five."

The eldest sister was surprised and asked, "Youyan can also make a washing machine?"

"Yes, she has already made three washing machines for home use. They just don't look very good, but they all function the same way."

Youyan made one for her own home, there is one at the Wu family's old house, and she also made one for the laundry group of her former kindergarten.

Except for the motor and washing tub, which are brand new, all other parts are recycled, and the production cost is much lower than that of the Shuguang factory.

"I'm buying this for my company, so it's business-to-business," the older sister said. "Wait a minute, I'll contact a few more companies and we can start production once we have four, right?"

Ye Manzhi nodded.

My eldest sister was very proactive. She contacted other guesthouses to purchase washing machines as soon as she returned that day.

A week later, I called Ye Manzhi and said, "The Drama Troupe Guesthouse, the Peking Opera Theater Guesthouse, the Enamel Factory No. 3 Guesthouse, and the Red Star Machinery Factory Guesthouse. We four units have purchased seven washing machines. Can we start production now?"

"Sister, you're amazing. You can actually contact so many guesthouses!" Ye Manzhi joked, "You can come and work in the supply and marketing department of our factory."

"Haha, it's a good thing to love what you do. I'm not just idling away my time at the guesthouse. I've met a lot of people," the older sister said proudly. "I've contacted seven or eight companies, but only these three have responded to me so far. I guess there will be more companies looking to purchase from me later, so just hold on."

Ye Manzhi put down the phone with a smile and thought about it for a while. He felt that his elder sister's approach was not bad.

The commercial sector has a large amount of laundry work, and the demand for washing machines in guest houses, hotels, and inns is no less than that in convenience service stations!

The key is that they have money!

After discussing with other team members, Ye Manzhi went to the Municipal Bureau of Commerce.

"Director Liu, recently many companies in the city have wanted to order washing machines from our Shuguang factory. However, we are a manufacturer after all. Occasionally selling one or two unplanned products is fine, but if we sell too many, it would be inappropriate to always bypass our commercial department."

Director Liu nodded, saying that it was good that Shuguang Factory had this awareness.

"But they have purchasing needs. We can't just ignore them, responding to the Chairman's call for streamlining administration and reducing labor costs." Ye Manzhi suggested, "Can our Commerce Bureau organize a washing machine ordering conference? Invite all the guesthouses, hotels, hostels, and even hospitals and grassroots communes in the city to participate. Let everyone place orders through our Commerce Department."

Director Liu hesitated for a moment and said vaguely, "I remember someone said before that this washing machine serves the bourgeoisie?"

"Oh, you're talking about household washing machines, right?" Ye Manzhi said calmly, "Ours is an industrial washing machine. It has greater power and capacity. Installing it in the laundry groups of various units can improve work efficiency and save labor costs. There were reports in the newspapers a while ago that many units have already started using industrial washing machines, and the response has been very good."

"When did you develop this washing machine? Why haven't I heard of it before?"

"It was made a few months ago for the laundry service station in the Badayuan residential area," Ye Manzhi said cheerfully. "Washing machines aren't our main business, so we originally didn't want to produce them. But recently, so many companies have been placing orders with the factory, and we're stuck. It would be best if the Commerce Bureau could organize this."

Director Liu sent people to the Shuguang factory to check out the prototype. The power and size were indeed quite large, and it shook the earth when it was running. It didn't seem like it could be used at home.

However, the Commercial Bureau did not hold a special order conference for Shuguang Factory's washing machines.

During the planned economy period, the commercial and industrial systems had to achieve quarterly production and sales balance, and the commercial bureau had to place orders with the industrial sector 45 days before the quarter.

It was the end of the year, the time when the Business Bureau was making plans for the next quarter.

Therefore, they placed an order directly with Shuguang Factory for 300 washing machines, which was considered the production task for the first quarter of 1974.

Everyone at Shuguang Factory was stunned.

Huang He was surprised and said, "It's OK for us to produce a dozen or so units sporadically, but how can we produce 300 units at once?"

"I heard there are 100 more in Zhongjiang and Dehua districts."

"We produce an average of three units a day, which is not bad," Kang Jian said. "First, we need to organize some manpower to set up a washing machine workshop. We also need to quickly place an order with the motor factory..."

Shuguang Factory did not have a washing machine production line, so they were forced to set up a small washing machine workshop.

Ye Manzhi felt that it was actually not a big deal, as washing machines were not products that the government had specially approved to be operated at a loss.

The Commercial Bureau prices washing machines very high.

As long as someone is willing to pay for it, they can make a profit by producing washing machines.

At the very least, we can make use of the surplus labor force and recruit 20 children of Factory 833 into the factory.

*

A small workshop was set up in the washing machine workshop, and there were four task forces in the TV workshop, imitating the two imported production lines.

Ye Manzhi didn't understand the technical matters, so she handed the work over to several male comrades, and she turned her attention back to business management.

At the end of the year, there are various summaries, reconciliations, and reimbursements. In order to facilitate work, she moved her office back to the factory office.

There were two large piles of account books and reports on the table, and Ye Manzhi's eyes were sore from looking at them.

She walked to the door and called out "Yanping", and soon a head popped out from the office diagonally opposite.

"Director, what's the matter?"

Sun Yanping is the secretary assigned to Ye Manzhi by the factory office. She usually works in the factory office and is only called when the leader needs her.

"Is the detailed usage of this reserve fund for this year?" Ye Manzhi asked.

"Yes, I have sorted them by year and month."

“Then why are this year’s expenses about the same as last year’s?”

Sun Yanping stuttered, looking confused, "Because the cost of using it over the past two years has been about the same. Apart from the cost of buying diesel tickets, there are no other expenses."

The Shuguang Factory's fleet occasionally has to take on some transportation work from outside units.

However, each unit has a quota for diesel consumption, and needs to purchase diesel with diesel tickets issued by the city.

The diesel quota of Shuguang Factory can only meet daily transportation needs. If we take on work from outside, we will have to find another way to get diesel tickets.

Diesel tickets are a scarce resource for most units. If you want to get diesel tickets beyond the quota, you will inevitably have to spend some money.

However, this money is not an expense that can be recorded in the financial accounting, so in recent years it has been withdrawn from the reserve fund of the factory revolutionary committee.

Ye Manzhi frowned subconsciously, feeling that something was wrong with the account book.

She said nothing more and returned to the office.

Wang Zaofu managed the fleet for two and a half years and ran it successfully.

The money earned from taking work from outside units not only covers the gas and maintenance costs of the fleet, but also was used to buy a new car a few months ago.

Therefore, Ye Manzhi never interfered in the work of the team, and let Wang Zaofu do it if he was willing to do it.

The cost of using connections to buy diesel tickets is also paid from the reserve fund, which costs about thirty or forty yuan each month.

The expenditures in the previous two years were reasonable, but this year Shuguang Factory obtained the right to use the military railway.

In the past few months, most of the products sold to other places were loaded directly onto trains from the factory.

The workload at the car fleet side has been reduced a lot, so a lot of diesel should be saved, but why doesn’t the money Wang Zaofu spend on diesel tickets decrease?

Almost the same as last year!

Ye Manzhi became suspicious and paid special attention to the transportation work of the fleet.

When she went to the city for meetings, she occasionally took a ride with the team.

"Master Xu, are there many transportation tasks from other factories recently?"

"It's okay, pretty much the same as before. It's all the same tasks for the same few fixed units anyway."

Ye Manzhi asked with a smile: "Hasn't there been an increase in transportation tasks by the end of the year?"

"No, it's cold and the roads are slippery. If there's no urgent work, the company doesn't want us to use the car."

Ye Manyi nodded and stopped asking.

It seems that there has been no significant increase in transportation tasks in recent months, so there will be a big problem with the reimbursement of diesel tickets.

However, a diesel ticket worth a few dozen yuan may not be able to do anything to Wang Zaofu.

She observed it sporadically for a month.

After New Year's Day, another diesel ticket expense was added to the reserve fund account book.

Only 20 yuan, half of what it was in the previous two months.

Ye Manzhi began to wonder again. Could it be that she had wrongly blamed Wang Zaofu?

"Master Xu, are you going into town today? I'd like a ride."

"Hey, Director Ye, wait a moment!" Master Xu said enthusiastically, "I'll go get some gas first, and we'll be leaving soon."

The weather has been cold recently, and Master Xu occasionally takes Director Ye to the city. He is of course happy to have the opportunity to build relationships with the leaders.

He let Director Ye get in the car to warm up while he hurried to contact the refueling truck.

Ye Manzhi sat in the passenger seat and just as she put her hands in the pockets of her cotton-padded jacket, she heard Master Xu politely call out, "Director Ye, there's a diesel ticket in the glove box. Could you please help me get it?"

Ye Manzhi opened the glove box in front of him and rummaged around for a while before he pulled out a few diesel tickets from the bottom.

The denominations are all 5 liter and 10 liter.

She had never filled up her car with gas, but she knew that the diesel tickets used in the factory were mostly 50 liters, and there were very few such small denominations.

And what’s strange is that the unit that printed the tickets was actually the “Binjiang City Grain Bureau”!

If you don't look carefully, you might think it's a food stamp.

Ye Manzhi opened the car door and handed a few tickets to Master Xu. She asked curiously, "Are the diesel tickets issued by the Grain Bureau valid?"

"Haha, what's wrong with that? They just collect the tickets and sell the gas. The fleet has used it several times."

Ye Manzhi wanted to ask the staff on the refueling truck, but after hesitating for a while, she held back.

When she returned home that night, she told this strange thing to two people named Wu.

"The diesel tickets I've seen are either province-wide or city-wide, or issued by oil companies. I've never seen one issued by the Grain Bureau. How could they have such authority? Why would they print diesel tickets?"

The fuel coupons Wu Zhengrong used were all military ones, and occasionally there were also those used throughout the province. This was the first time he heard of diesel coupons from the Grain Bureau.

"Are you sure that's a diesel ticket, not cooking oil?"

"Of course I'm sure," Ye Manzhi said confidently, "I saw with my own eyes those two staff members taking the ticket and filling up the car with gas."

Wu Yuzhuo sipped the juice from his frozen pear and raised his hand to speak: "I've seen this kind of diesel ticket!"

"Where did you meet him?"

"Last year, I went to the production team with Yi Yi and Zhou Mo to visit Sister Lulu. At the time, their production team had just paid their public grain tax and, on top of their assigned grain, they also contributed a significant amount of grain. Then, the team leader went to a meeting at the commune and was rewarded with two diesel coupons, issued by the Grain Bureau."

“…”

Zhou Lu is the second child of the Zhou Suo family next door. He went to the countryside to work in a commune near Binjiang.

"Are you sure that the diesel ticket was really printed by the Grain Bureau?"

Wu Yuzhuo nodded, "Sure, Sister Lulu is the tractor driver of their production team. The diesel coupons are just enough to fuel the tractor. The team leader was very happy. We rode the tractor together to get the diesel back."

"..." Ye Manzhi was puzzled. "There must be at least five or six diesel tickets, and they're all connected. They definitely weren't bought from the production team. The production team needs diesel themselves, so who would easily sell diesel tickets?"

Wu Zhengrong was speechless. "Did your factory buy its diesel tickets from the Grain Bureau? If that's true, then they were probably issued specifically for the countryside to encourage members to pay more grain."

Ye Manzhi also fell silent.

It would be fine if they printed extra diesel tickets, but the worry is that some places were blocked from information and the production teams had no idea that they could get diesel tickets as a reward by paying more grain.

If the production team can’t get it, then won’t it benefit others?

Wang Zaofu spends dozens of yuan every month to buy diesel tickets. The diesel tickets have no face value, but they are actually hard currency.

All major factories, especially those with a large number of vehicles, have to exchange diesel tickets privately.

Anyone who has so many diesel tickets would be rich.

The next day when she went to work, Ye Manzhi went straight to the factory office door, wanting Director Ding to go to the guesthouse to inquire about the situation.

However, before she could say anything, she subconsciously held it back.

He turned around and returned to his office and called Zhou Ruyi.

"Director, what can I do for you?" Zhou Ruyi smiled and sat down across from her. "Are you going to give me some extra New Year's benefits?"

"Well, I can send you more," Ye Manzhi also smiled, "but you have to help me find out something first."

"What's the matter?" Zhou Ruyi asked seriously.

Although she is no longer Director Ye's secretary, she had followed Director Ye to Shuguang Factory and had the Ye Manzhi label on her body. The two of them were like grasshoppers on the same rope.

Director Ye usually doesn't assign her special tasks, but if he does, they must be very important.

She is the person Director Ye trusts the most in the factory.

"Can you help me ask the factory guesthouse who Wang Zaofu has invited to dine at in the guesthouse in recent months? Is there anyone from the Grain Bureau?"

In order for Wang Zaofu to buy diesel tickets from the Grain Bureau, he must have treated everyone to a meal and used his connections to do so.

The guesthouse actually has records of every dinner hosted by the factory leaders. They usually write down who the host and guest are and how much money was spent to facilitate future reconciliation.

But Ye Manzhi has always been cautious about Wang Zaofu's affairs and will not check his accounts unless he is sure.

Zhou Ruyi heard that she didn't want people to pay attention to the account audit, so after taking the task, she did not go directly to the guesthouse to inquire.

When she took her children to Shuguang Park on the weekend, she "accidentally met" the deputy director of the guesthouse and the two had a pleasant conversation.

As soon as she started work in the new week, she brought the news to Ye Manyi.

"Director Wang hasn't invited comrades from the Grain Bureau to the guesthouse recently, but when he was working on military railway projects, he would occasionally invite his brother-in-law to accompany him."

"His brother-in-law?"

"Well, his brother-in-law seems to work at the Grain Bureau. However, he hasn't been to our guesthouse in the past few months."

Ye Manzhi frowned and thought about it.

Wang Zaofu was her key target, and of course she had carefully inquired about his family relationships.

He has a brother-in-law in his own family, and he also has a brother-in-law on Zhao Weihong's side.

But both of these brothers-in-law work in factories. Could it be that the person he is treating is his cousin's husband?

Ye Manzhi shook his head and said, "Since we haven't invited the comrades from the Grain Bureau, then forget it."

She thanked Zhou Ruyi and asked him to go back to work first.

I turned my attention back to the documents I had to sign today.

After a busy morning, when she was about to go to the cafeteria for lunch, she stood up and sat back in her chair, opened the drawer of her desk and took out a notebook.

It records Wang Zaofu's family relationships.

This is what she found out two years ago.

However, considering the way Deputy Director Zhao promoted his son-in-law, would he adjust the job of his eldest son-in-law during this period?

She wrote down the other person's name, and after lunch, she strolled to the post office and called the Municipal Grain Bureau.

Claimed to be looking for Comrade Lu Minghao.

The person who answered the phone said Lu Minghao was from the Materials Department and asked her to call the Materials Department.

Ye Manzhi thanked him with a smile, paid the phone bill and left the post office.

Wang Zaofu’s brother-in-law actually works in the Materials Department of the Municipal Grain Bureau?

Then, in all likelihood, he got the diesel ticket from his brother-in-law.

The diesel coupons from the Grain Bureau are only issued after the autumn harvest, and are valid for about three or four months.

According to Master Xu, half of the diesel tickets Wang Zaofu received every month in the past two or three months were from the Grain Bureau.

The driver doesn't care where the diesel ticket comes from, as long as it can be used.

But Ye Manzhi thought a lot. Wang Zaofu got a few diesel tickets from his brother-in-law every month. Did he still need to pay for it?

Where did his brother-in-law get the diesel tickets?

Why does he have so many diesel tickets specially rewarded to rural production teams?

Does their father-in-law, Deputy Director Zhao, know about this?

Ye Manzhi's mind was incredibly clear and calm. After pondering for the entire afternoon, he went home and said to Wu Zhengrong, "I might be going to do something big this time."

After hearing her plan, Wu Zhengrong was silent for a moment and asked, "Don't you want to keep Wang Zaofu?"

"I can't keep him anymore," Ye Manzhi sighed. "There's no such thing as a thief who steals for a thousand days. If Wang Zaofu wants to be director, he can get his father-in-law to transfer me to Anyang County. That experience was enough to make me unforgettable. I don't want to go through it again, and I don't want to be on guard against such a villain all the time. Last time, I temporarily suppressed the matter with a letter of complaint, but they are family after all. When Deputy Director Zhao has no one else to rely on, will he be willing to give this son-in-law another chance?"

“…”

Wu Zhengrong felt that the other party was not so stupid as to promote such a person even though he knew there was a problem.

Ye Manzhi said, "Besides, he has been at Shuguang Factory for more than three years. Unless I stay at Shuguang Factory forever, if I am transferred to another unit, he will be the top boss. I don't want to hand over Shuguang Factory to such a person."

Wu Zhengrong spoke frankly, "If I were his father-in-law, I would probably keep him in this position forever."

"..." Ye Manzhi asked with wide eyes, "According to this logic, then doesn't that mean I can't get promoted either? Only by holding this position can Wang Zaofu remain at the regular section level without affecting the relationship between father-in-law and son-in-law, or husband and wife."

Wu Zhengrong: “…”

It's possible.

Ye Manzhi was determined to make a big fortune, but the Chinese New Year was approaching and she didn't want to delay everyone's celebration, so she only learned about Wang Zaofu and his brother-in-law in private.

*

Shuguang Factory also had to celebrate the revolutionary Spring Festival. Work in the factory could not stop, and several factory managers had to take turns on duty every day.

Ye Manzhi and Wang Zaofu were on duty on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day respectively.

On the morning of the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, a brand new big-character poster appeared on the bulletin board of Shuguang Factory.

Someone reported that Wang Zaofu and his brother-in-law, at the instruction of their father-in-law, resold diesel tickets from the Grain Bureau that were specifically supplied to rural areas, infringing on the interests of farmers in extremely large amounts.

Wang Zaofu and his brother-in-law worked together to get free diesel tickets and cashed out hundreds of yuan at the Shuguang Factory.

Kang Jian was on duty the night before. When he saw the big-character poster clearly in front of the bulletin board in the morning, he shrank his neck as if he had not seen anything. He strolled out of the factory and went home to catch up on his sleep.

Because there was no on-duty leader to intervene and Deputy Director Wang himself did not come to work, the content of the big-character poster quickly spread among the employees of Shuguang Factory.

When Ye Manzhi came to work, she just saw the big-character poster and asked someone to take it down quickly to avoid further impact.

Director Ding from the factory office came running over and said, "Director Ye, the Municipal Party Committee called. They said there's also a big-character poster with Deputy Director Wang on it. Look at this..."

Ye Manzhi feigned surprise and said, "Really? Then I have to hurry to the city to explain to the leaders. Although our factory used the diesel tickets from the Grain Bureau, we were completely unaware of this before! Well, I'll just consider this as my apology..."