Chapter 694 New Idea That night, Zhou Fang told him everything he had heard: the Second Textile Accessories Factory was indeed not doing well and was eager to cash out, so the package price they offered sounded extremely tempting.

The person in charge of handling this matter was a deputy factory director named Ling. He spoke in a lot of flowers and praised the equipment as if it was almost new.

Lu Qingyang listened but did not express his opinion immediately. He only asked a lot of details: the specific model of the equipment, its service life, when it was last repaired, and whether it can still be operated for demonstration.

Zhou Fang could answer some of the questions, but was unclear about others.

"Hearing is believing, seeing is believing. Tomorrow morning, we will go directly to the factory to see the real thing." Lu Qingyang finally made the decision.

The next morning, just after daybreak, the two of them came to the textile accessories factory that had stopped production.

The factory was in a state of desolation, overgrown with weeds, and only a few skilled workers were on duty.

Deputy Director Ling was waiting at the factory gate early. He was a middle-aged man who looked very smart. As soon as they met, he enthusiastically shook Lu Qingyang's hand:

"Oh, this is Comrade Lu, right? He's really young and promising. Don't worry, our factory's equipment is excellent. If it weren't for the superiors asking for transformation, we really wouldn't be willing to sell it!"

As he spoke, he led the two of them into the dusty factory.

Rows of sewing machines, overlock machines, and overlock machines were parked there quietly, seemingly in good order.

Deputy Factory Director Ling patted the head of a sewing machine and said, "These are good machines. If they are regularly maintained and oiled, they are as good as new. If the factory were not doing well, I would never sell them at this price."

He was eloquent and tried his best to sell the product.

Zhou Fang was a little moved by what he heard, and whispered to Lu Qingyang: "Qingyang, it looks quite neat..."

Lu Qingyang had no expression on his face. He walked to the nearest industrial sewing machine, squatted down, and wiped the guide rail and feed dog with his fingers. His fingertips were immediately covered with a mixture of cotton wool and oil. This was not a normal maintenance state at all.

He motioned Zhou Fang to get a wrench, randomly selected a few machines, and asked him to open the side panels and back covers to look inside.

Deputy Director Ling's smile froze a little: "Comrade Lu, this... this is no problem, just look outside..."

Lu Qingyang ignored him and took action himself.

Once the side panels were opened, the problems were exposed: the gears were severely worn, rust was evident in many places, wire scraps piled up like a mountain, and the electrical wires were old and cracked...

Lu Qingyang stood up, his voice cold. "You call this 'well-maintained'? The wear and tear on this machine is at least three years past its service life! And this one too."

He pointed at the spindle and said, "It's obvious that it's been deformed by a severe impact or long-term overload. It can't be repaired and can only be scrapped. All of your machines are broken and old. You can't buy precious ones. A lot of them need constant repairs and replacement of parts to barely operate. They are broken, or even won't start at all!"

Deputy Factory Director Ling's expression changed instantly, cold sweat oozing from his forehead. He tried to argue, "Comrade Lu, what you said is wrong... It's second-hand equipment, so it's normal to have some minor problems. The price is negotiable..."

Lu Qingyang interrupted him, his tone firm: "This is not a minor problem, this is a fundamental problem. For this batch of goods, don't even mention the price you offer, even if you cut it in half and give it to me for free, I won't buy it. Shipping it back takes up space, and repairing it is more expensive than buying a new one. It's a pure waste of time and resources!"

Zhou Fang, who was listening nearby, was stunned and had a layer of cold sweat on his back.

Only then did he realize that he had almost been deceived by the low price.

If Lu Qingyang had insisted on coming to check it out in person, the pit would have been confirmed.

When Deputy Director Ling saw that his plan had been completely exposed, his face turned pale and blue. He knew that he had met an expert, so he stopped talking in a sullen manner.

The negotiations ended in a bad mood.

On the way back, Zhou Fang was filled with both fear and admiration: "Qingyang, thanks to you, I really didn't expect it to be so rotten inside. I almost got fooled by the appearance."

Lu Qingyang shook his head: "When doing business, it is taboo to be greedy for cheap things, especially when it comes to production equipment and food supplies. If the quality is not up to standard, there will be endless troubles."

He did not blame Zhou Fang too much. After all, this kind of professional equipment testing was beyond Zhou Fang's experience.

"Blame me, blame me."

Lu Qingyang patted his shoulder and said, "How can I blame you? But since we're already here, we can't make this trip in vain."

Zhou Fang scratched his head. "What's the matter? Qingyang, what new ideas do you have?"

Lu Qingyang looked at Zhou Fang's annoyed expression and smiled, but his eyes were cast into the distance, with a confident look in his eyes: "Since the ready-made machines purchased outside are not to your liking, then we can make them ourselves, or in other words, customize a batch that suits your needs."

"Customize it yourself?" Zhou Fang was surprised. These days, privately customizing industrial equipment sounds like a fantasy.

"This...is this even possible? Who can do it? Where are the blueprints? This is no small matter!"

"What do you mean by that? I remember you said you knew a skilled worker at a suburban machine repair shop. He's very skilled and can handle some small parts processing?"

"There's a factory called Lao Wangtou's. It's not very big, with only about ten people, but the craftsmen there are really good. They used to work in state-owned factories, so they can fix any difficult or complicated problem, and they also secretly do some private work."

Zhou Fang recalled: "Can they... build a whole machine?"

"We don't build the entire machine. We provide the design and requirements for the core components, and they help with the imitation, assembly, and debugging. We also outsource some standard parts, and they are mainly responsible for processing key components and final assembly."

Lu Qingyang had already thought of a countermeasure, "Please help me contact someone and tell them that there is an order, but it must be kept strictly confidential and a confidentiality agreement must be signed. The price can be higher."

Although Zhou Fang thought this idea was too bold, looking at Lu Qingyang's confident eyes, he chose to believe it: "Okay! I'll contact him right away!"

Then he locked himself in his temporary residence, using the excuse that he needed to think about the design alone.

His consciousness sank into the space in his mind, and he used the accumulated exchange points to carefully exchange for several detailed structural drawings of more advanced industrial sewing machines, professional overlock machines, and sewing machines, instructions for heat treatment processes for key components, and most importantly, a schematic diagram of the core principles of the electronic control system.

A few days later, in the unremarkable, even somewhat dilapidated machinery repair shop in the suburbs, Lu Qingyang and Zhou Fang met the person in charge, Old Man Wang.

Old man Wang is in his fifties, with dark skin, rough but extremely flexible fingers, and his eyes reveal the shrewdness and pragmatism unique to an old technician.

After looking at the "improved" drawings and precision processing requirements for some key components provided by Lu Qingyang, Old Man Wang studied them for a while while wearing his reading glasses. The more he looked, the brighter his eyes became. Sometimes he frowned in thought, and sometimes he was amazed.

"Comrade Lu," he put down the blueprint and looked at Lu Qingyang solemnly, "your blueprint... is quite interesting. The structure of the cloth feeding mechanism and the design of the thread hooking method... are brilliant, much more reasonable than the machines currently on the market. And the material requirements and heat treatment process... are really demanding. But if it can be made, this machine will definitely be durable."

He changed the subject and asked doubtfully, "Did you really come up with this idea yourself? And where did you get it from?"