Chapter 52 Autumn Fair
At the Guangdong Autumn Trade Fair in 1982, red flags were flying outside the exhibition hall, and the slogan "Develop the economy, ensure supply" was particularly eye-catching in the autumn sun.
Geng Yunye and two young men who came with the team walked through the revolving door, and were greeted by a mixed smell of ink, cloth and machine oil.
The exhibition hall was bustling with people, speaking Cantonese, Mandarin and English. Under the fluorescent lights decorated with colorful crepe paper, there was a dazzling array of goods.
The furs at the Northern booth glowed with an amber luster, and the spotlights behind the models made the mink hair shine brightly; the semiconductor radio in the Coastal Exhibition Area was playing "Homesickness", and several young people in bell-bottom pants were swaying to the rhythm; in the Machinery Exhibition Area, blond-haired, blue-eyed foreign businessmen were bargaining fiercely with Chinese personnel, and the translator was quickly recording professional terms; the salesperson at the specialty counter was skillfully packing canned lychees.
Geng Yunye was wearing a neat dark blue Dacron shirt, and his posture was as straight as a pine tree, which made him particularly eye-catching among the people in suits and leather shoes. He had sharp eyes and ignored the TVs and VCRs around him. He walked straight through the bustling crowd and went to the textile machines in the machinery exhibition area.
He leaned over to check the degree of wear on the gears, gently stroking the edge of the gears with his slender fingers, his eyes focused and sharp, and he was not even aware of the oil getting on his fingertips.
Geng Jiankang and Geng Aiguo, who were traveling far away for the first time, were dazzled by the new and novel things in front of them.
Geng Aiguo stood next to Geng Jiankang, looking around nervously, rubbing the torn seam on the inside of his Liberation shoes against the tile floor nervously, for fear of being discovered: "Cousin, am I dreaming? A color TV costs 1,200 yuan!" His voice was filled with disbelief.
Geng Jiankang swallowed his shock and shook his head: "It's not a dream."
There were only two televisions in their team, but here they had a row of color televisions, priced at a shocking $1,200.
Geng Yunye wiped his fingers with a handkerchief and said in a steady tone: "The purpose of our trip is to find a way for the brigade to get rid of poverty and become rich." He pointed to the textile machine, "This machine can help us build an underwear factory. City people are particular about clothing, and there will always be a market for underwear."
As soon as he finished speaking, Geng Jiankang and Geng Aiguo's faces turned red.
Geng Aiguo stared at the ground, kicking his toes uncomfortably, his Adam's apple rolling up and down several times.
Geng Jiankang scratched the back of his head in panic, the tips of his ears flushed red, and he stammered, "Is this possible..."
Geng Yunye strode towards the knitting machine booth, and the two hurriedly followed. Soon, they were attracted by Geng Yunye's focused expression. He skillfully flipped through the manual, accurately found the parameter page, and used a key to gently scrape the gear to test the wear.
"Uncle," Geng Aiguo leaned in and asked in a low voice, "Can this machine really make...that kind of clothes?" Although he was embarrassed, curiosity eventually prevailed.
Without even looking up, Geng Yunye pointed at the running prototype and replied, "This machine rotates 120 times per minute, and each needle barrel ejects needles six times per rotation. If our team only has ten machines, the daily output can reach thousands of pairs."
With red faces, the two of them came closer to observe. Geng Jiankang carefully touched the soft knitted fabric and whispered, "I can't believe it was woven by a machine..." They thought that such thin fabric could only be sewn by women stitch by stitch.
As the guide gave a detailed introduction, the two gradually forgot the embarrassment just now and began to seriously discuss the prices and outputs of different machines, taking out wrinkled notebooks to record key data.
Geng Yunye found old equipment from the Red Star Cotton Mill in the corner.
"Are these machines still working?" He lifted the dust cover, revealing a plaque with the words "Made in Shanghai in 1978" engraved on it.
The old worker in charge of the sales sneered, "Why not? We have already upgraded to the third generation of technology. It would be better to sell the old machines as second-hand equipment if they are left to take up space in the warehouse after they are scrapped."
Geng Yunye squatted down to check, unscrewed the oil hole, turned the pulley, and had a rough idea in his mind. These old equipment discarded by large factories were the key to their opening up the market.
"My uncle knows so much..." Geng Jiankang couldn't help but sigh in a low voice.
Suddenly, Geng Aiguo grabbed Geng Jiankang's arm and pointed to a silver metal box not far away that was surrounded by a crowd of people. Several foreign businessmen in striped suits were operating the machine, and with a beep, a paper tape with red numbers printed on it was spit out. The demonstrator in a white coat held up a loud speaker and shouted, "The latest Casio calculator! It can calculate statistical variance!"
Geng Aiguo took a deep breath, thinking of the accountant struggling to use the abacus, and turned around to see his uncle talking to a foreign businessman. At this moment, he suddenly realized that the outside world was much broader than he had imagined, and what they wanted to bring back to Gengjiawan was not only textile machines, but also opportunities to catch up with the times.
In the next three days, Geng Yunye and his two brothers rushed back and forth between the exhibition hall and the guesthouse day and night. He stood in front of the Red Star Cotton Mill booth for half a day, carefully recording the parameters of each device with the mechanical knowledge he had learned temporarily, and compared the drawings under the incandescent light of the guesthouse late at night.
Geng Jiankang looked at his bloodshot eyes and advised, "Uncle, why don't you try another store?"
Geng Yunye closed the notebook filled with data and said: "The port is only a few kilometers away from the brigade. After these machines are repaired, it will be convenient to transport the raw materials. This is a rare opportunity."
At the negotiation table, the purchasing director of the state-owned Red Star Cotton Mill put down the enamelware pot and said earnestly: "Comrade Geng, your brigade can't even guarantee a stable power supply, how can you operate these equipment?"
Geng Yunye calmly unfolded the blueprint and circled the location of the transformer to be installed in red. "We have reached an agreement with the power supply bureau, and the dedicated line will be pulled to the factory next month." He also showed the transportation contract: "We have found a transport ship to go directly to the brigade dock. The entire lifting process will be operated by a professional team, and we will bear the loss ourselves."
Geng Aiguo quickly pushed forward the notebook, on which were detailed records of the transportation and reinforcement plans for each machine.
Geng Yunye tapped the equipment list with his fingertips: "The needle cylinder of this knitting machine is a little worn out, but we can replace the parts from scrapped equipment of the same model. I will personally lead the team to be on duty during the debugging period."
The purchasing director stroked his chin and thought: "Even if the equipment is in place, can you operate it? Does anyone know how to repair it?"
Geng Yunye answered with ease, "Before I retired from the army, I was responsible for ship instrument maintenance. The transmission principles of these machines are similar to those of ship equipment." He took out a handwritten training course schedule from his shoulder bag and said, "We have contacted the teachers of the Textile Technical School in advance, and we will start training as soon as the equipment arrives."
Geng Yunye added, "No matter how sophisticated the equipment is, it can be repaired as long as the principle is understood."
The conference room fell into silence, with only the ticking sound of the wall clock being particularly clear.
Geng Jiankang was so nervous that his nails dug into his palms, and Geng Aiguo clenched his fists and placed them on his knees. However, Geng Yunye kept his back straight and his expression calm.
The director looked at him for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said, "Comrade Geng, I'll sign the contract for your serious attitude! I hope you won't let me down."
Geng Yunye signed his name and looked out the window at the Pearl River, where the ferry whistled past. Witnessing the separation of his family members on the shore, he couldn't help but think of Cheng Xin. When the machines were shipped back, he would be able to provide her with a better life without leaving his hometown.
Geng Jiankang and Geng Aiguo looked at each other, their eyes full of admiration and worship for their uncle.
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