Chapter 322 Chess Pieces: Each with Their Own Thoughts
Although in the 1980s, the Soviet government tried every means to import Toshiba machine tools, which led to the infamous Toshiba incident.
In fact, the Soviet Union's machine tool industry was not lacking in anything remarkable.
For a long time, the Soviet Union was a world leader in the field of precision machining. Advanced concepts such as electrolytic machining, spark cutting, and magnetic abrasive polishing were first proposed by the Soviet Union.
Among them, the Moscow Red Revolutionary Machine Tool Plant, a century-old factory, was a star of the Soviet machine tool industry.
At its peak, the machining geometry precision of its machine tools approached the limits achievable by cutting tools at the time. Its products were best-sellers in established industrial powers such as West Germany, the United States, Japan, and France.
As a result, the United States had to find ways to curb the Soviet Union's international market share by raising tariffs on Soviet machinery and equipment to 38%, eight times that of Western countries, and by restricting import quotas.
Given the glorious history of the Red Revolutionary Machine Tool Factory, Mayor Luzhkov's agreement to transfer the factory's technology to Jiangdong can be described as a display of utmost sincerity.
Moreover, the Red Revolutionary Machine Tool Factory and Huaxia Industry had a honeymoon period together.
Back then, the Shenyang No. 1 Machine Tool Plant used the Hongji (Red Machine Tool) as a model for its modifications. At that time, the Hongji Plant and its technicians shared all their knowledge and skills.
But time flows like a long river, with new waves pushing out the old, and new people replacing the old.
The workers at the Red Machine Tool Factory are currently experiencing a surge of nationalist or populist sentiment. The intense sense of humiliation and failure caused by the failure of economic reforms makes Russia need an external enemy to unite the nation's strength.
The car stopped at the factory gate. It was Wang Xiao's first time visiting this factory.
Like most Soviet industrial heritage sites, the machine tool factory's cast-iron gate has a faded hammer and sickle symbol hanging crookedly next to a peeling red star. The mottled slogan "Glorious Labor" on the wall has been covered by graffiti, leaving only the word "Glorious" faintly visible among the peeling paint.
It seemed like the last act of defiance from the Hongji Factory.
Several hundred employees were densely packed in the open space behind the gate.
Some people held up homemade signs that read, "Technology is our lifeline," "Never sell out the future of workers," and "Russia belongs to Russians."
Some people craned their necks, anxiously peering out.
The moment the car came into view, the crowd erupted in a deafening roar: "They're here!"
Even though Wang Xiao had already anticipated that the employees of the Red Machinery Factory wouldn't welcome them, she still hadn't expected to be bombarded with eggs, tomatoes, and rotten vegetable leaves as soon as she stepped into the factory's gates, or even before entering the auditorium.
The bodyguards were also caught off guard, because the boss was accompanying Secretary Fang and his group of leaders, so it was inconvenient for the bodyguards to stay close to him.
So despite their glorious feat of blocking a pot of boiling oil-splashed fish in Tokyo, they still couldn't stop the egg from being smashed directly in the boss's face.
Honestly, you can't really blame the bodyguards. They did their best, but they couldn't stop the boss from stopping them on behalf of Secretary Fang.
The moment Wang Xiao was hit, her mind went blank. Thick egg liquid dripped down her face, carrying a strong fishy smell.
She instinctively pulled out a handkerchief and slowly wiped her face.
The Moscow deputy mayor, who accompanied the foreign guests to the Red Machine Factory, was also not spared. With his head covered in tomato juice, he roared, "My God! Look at what you're doing! Can't you talk things out? Where's your manners? Gentlemen, where's your manners? How can you treat a lady like this?"
The workers, not to be outdone, yelled back, "Get out! Get out! Get out! Leave our factory and don't take anything with you!"
As the roaring occurred, eggs and vegetable leaves flew towards the unwelcome person.
This time, the bodyguard was not prepared, and Xiao Gao even caught an egg that flew towards him.
Wang Xiao took the egg and shouted, "Who? Who smashed the egg?"
"Me!" A loud voice rang out from the crowd of workers, and a brightly lit head appeared.
This young man didn't have a receding hairline; instead, he had a completely shaved head, was dressed in all black, and wore a skull pendant.
His eyes were sinister as he glared fiercely at Wang Xiao: "Russia is Russia for Russians! All Chinese, Armenians, Vietnamese, and Central Asians, get out of here!"
Wang Xiao completely ignored him and continued at her own pace: "Did you smash the eggs? Where did you buy them?"
"What's it to you?" the skinhead youth exploded like a lit firecracker, yelling, "Get out! Get out of here now!"
"Feeling guilty?" Wang Xiao had bodyguards protecting him, so he wasn't afraid of him at all. He turned around and shouted back without any politeness, "Otherwise, why don't you dare to answer my question?"
"These are eggs laid by my own chickens!" the skinheads shouted defiantly. "You even want to steal our Russian eggs?"
Wang Xiao scoffed, "You're lying!"
She held up the egg, pointed to the quarantine stamp on it, and sneered, "Do you have to send the eggs laid by your own chickens for quarantine? You don't dare to say it's because you bought these eggs at the vegetable market in the container market!"
An uproar immediately erupted at the scene.
Wang Xiao's gaze, sharp as an icicle, swept across the faces of all the workers: "It's not just the eggs. I bet you bought the tomatoes and cabbages from the container market! Because only there are vegetables cheap, so cheap that you can carelessly throw them away as garbage!"
She waved her arm forcefully, "If you don't need it, please don't buy it anymore! Because there are many elderly people with meager pensions who have to rely on these cheap foods to survive!"
The uproar subsided, and some workers turned away awkwardly.
But Wang Xiao didn't let them off the hook. Instead, he pressed on, "Why are eggs, vegetables, milk, meat, and fruit so cheap in the container market? Because they're all brought directly from the farms every day, without any markups."
"Did these foods and drinks fall from the sky? No, they were grown and raised by people, farmers from China! They work more than 10 hours, even 12 hours a day, to ensure that the residents of Moscow who cannot afford expensive goods have the food needs."
"Without them, you can go and see for yourselves how expensive things are in other markets, three times the price of those in the container market."
“The Mafia buys pork from farmers for 1,500 rubles per kilogram and then sells it for 5,000 rubles.”
"It's the same in Moscow, it's the same in St. Petersburg, it's the same everywhere!"
Wang Xiao made no attempt to hide his contempt: "Since you hate them so much, then please maintain your integrity and don't eat anything they grow or raise!"
The factory was completely silent.
Moscow in August is already in early autumn, with clear skies and crisp air. Even in broad daylight, when the sun is shining, you can't hear the cicadas chirping.
In the deathly silence, a man who looked like an engineer spoke up: "We're talking about factory technology, don't try to change the subject by talking about farms."
Wang Xiao was waiting for this very question, and immediately retorted: "Thirty years ago, industry on this land had already begun to support agriculture. Now, are we trying to reverse things and rely on the price scissors to develop industry?"
The engineer was speechless, but the deputy mayor seized the opportunity to smooth things over: "Alright, we've come here to ask you about the factory's technology transfer."
The deputy mayor's intention was to get everyone to the auditorium, not to stand at the factory gate and shout like that.
There's no reason to negotiate like this in the world.
But as soon as he said that, the employees, who had just felt a vague sense of guilt about the farm's cheap food, immediately started to riot again.
The skinhead even shouted, "Don't even think about it! We Russians will never give up our technology!"
"Why?" Wang Xiao stood up directly. "More than forty years ago, you dared to provide the technology for the 1A61 lathe, which was at the top level of precision at the time. Why are you so timid now?"
The skinheads roared, "That's because the CCP deceived us and harmed Russia!"
“Is that so?” Wang Xiao retorted. “But this country has not declined because of this, and the machine tools produced by your factory are selling well all over the world. The reason you dare not do so now is because you have lost confidence. You believe that you are not as good as your predecessors and that you are no longer able to make greater technological progress. Only the strong are not afraid of being overtaken by those who come after them.”
The lead engineer said impatiently, "Provocation won't work on us. We will never sell out the factory's technology."
Wang Xiao pressed further, "So you won't sell to anyone, no matter who it is?"
"Of course!" The skinhead youth made no attempt to hide his disgust. "All outsiders, get out of here! You're not welcome here!"
As he spoke, he encouraged the other workers to start walking quickly toward Wang Xiao and his group, trying to drive these annoying guys out of the factory gate.
Wang Xiao shouted, "You're trying to kick people out by lying? Are you afraid I'll expose your lies?"
Enraged, the skinhead rushed up to her, yelling, "What nonsense are you spouting? When did I lie? The egg thing doesn't count!"
Seeing that he was acting like a naive child, Wang Xiao backed down: "Okay, let's not talk about eggs. Let's talk about machine tool technology. Can you honestly say you haven't transferred it to the United States?"
The skinheads looked at her like she was crazy: "What nonsense are you talking about? When did we transfer technology to the Americans?"
In fact, if we have to trace the origins, the technology of the Red Machine Tool Plant and even the entire Soviet Union's machine tools had traces of American technology.
During the Soviet era, it was through various means of learning American machine tool industrial processes and technologies that the Soviet machine tool industry later grew strong.
"No?" Wang Xiao didn't care about this history and only talked about topics that were beneficial to him. "In the 1960s, you developed magnetic abrasive polishing technology. By adjusting the strength and direction of the magnetic field, you can precisely control the movement trajectory of the abrasive and achieve a high-efficiency and uniform polishing effect."
She waved the documents her assistant handed her, pointing to the highlighted content: "This technology is particularly suitable for high-hardness materials such as alloys, as well as workpieces with complex geometric shapes, such as optical lenses and precision instrument components."
She emphasized, "Until the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States did not master this technology, relying on chemical polishing and traditional mechanical polishing. However, last year, the United States produced a prototype of magnetorheological polishing, verifying the high-efficiency, high-precision, and low-damage optical polishing capabilities of magnetorheology. How did it achieve such a breakthrough in less than two years?"
The skinhead youth was dumbfounded, completely at a loss for words.
"It's normal that you don't know; you're a worker."
Wang Xiao looked at the leading engineer and said, "You probably already know, this is a major event in your industry."
The engineer actually knew, and he even knew the key figure in this major event—Koldonsky of the Minsk Institute for Heat and Mass Transfer.
Even when the Soviet Union was still in existence, the research institute verified that a properly formulated magnetorheological fluid could be used for optical polishing in a magnetic field. They also created a prototype of the magnetorheological polishing technology.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Kordonsky immigrated to the United States and joined the Optical Center at the University of Rochester, which led to the development of the prototype of the magnetorheological polishing principle in the United States.
From this perspective, it's not entirely unreasonable for the Chinese to accuse them of transferring technology to the United States.
"Did you get a single penny?" Wang Xiao always took advantage of people's weakness, rubbing salt into their wounds. "So you didn't like normal technology transfer and wanted to give it away for free."
When the skinhead youth first heard about the prototype of the magnetorheological polishing principle, he immediately became agitated and even started fighting amongst himself, accusing the engineers: "It's you educated people who like to betray Russia!"
The engineer vehemently denied it: "Don't make baseless accusations. Besides, Mingsk is in Belarus!"
The skinheads, with nowhere to vent their anger, took it out on Wang Xiao: "Minsk is Minsk, not our Moscow!"
“Of course.” Wang Xiao nodded. “Even if modern magnetorheological polishing technology is formally established in the United States, it will have nothing to do with the Institute of Heat and Mass Transfer in Minsk. But Moscow is different.”
The workers were confused by her words and had lost interest in listening any further. They impatiently shooed her away, saying, "What's the difference? You're all thieves and swindlers trying to cheat us out of our skills!"
"Of course we're different!" Wang Xiao retorted loudly. "The difference is that once the technology is in our hands, and after it's improved and upgraded, Hongji Factory will enjoy the same technology because we have cross-licensing. We share our technology!"
Secretary Fang was stunned, but not because of the cross-authorization that Wang Xiao mentioned.
To put it simply, her generation has a very weak awareness of patents and almost no concept of intellectual property rights.
Moreover, people who grew up in a planned economy are accustomed to the master-apprentice succession model.
This master-apprentice system implicitly assumes that the apprentice should give back to the master after graduation.
Moreover, in 1994, although everyone said that the Soviet Union after its collapse had gone from a dragon to a dozen worms, its tiger-like power was still there.
It's fair to say that the precipitous decline of the Russian economy in the 1990s completely surprised the world's mainstream expectations.
Everyone thought that even a starved camel is bigger than a horse; as the eldest son, it inherited the most from the Soviet Union.
This perception led Secretary Fang to completely disregard the fact that if Jiangdong's machine tool technology advanced in the future, it would have to be shared with the Moscow Red Revolutionary Machine Tool Factory.
All she can think about now is that magnetorheological polishing technology.
Although she didn't understand what kind of technology it was, she firmly believed that powerful people would favor good things.
The United States is now widely recognized as the world's leading technology country. The technology that the Americans themselves couldn't develop, and which they only managed to acquire after outlasting the Soviet Union, must be top-notch.
Moreover, this technology is used in the processing of optical lenses and precision instrument components.
What Jiangdong Province initially wanted to make was a lithography machine, and the key component of a lithography machine is the optical lens.
Therefore, they even set their sights on unemployed Zeiss technicians in East Germany, hoping to poach them to work there.
With this magnetorheological polishing technology, wouldn't it be like adding wings to a tiger?
So without hesitation, Secretary Fang immediately picked up where Wang Xiao left off and assured him on the spot: "That's right, we share our technology. Even if we only take one step, we won't keep it all to ourselves; we'll definitely bring you along."
The Jiangdong delegation members next to her nodded in agreement.
Wow, this Mr. Wang actually had such a trump card up his sleeve. He didn't let a word of it slip by before, keeping it a top-notch secret.
That's true. On Russian territory, the KGB has been nominally disbanded, but it has never actually disappeared.
There are countless eyes watching them; they really should be extremely careful.
However, Secretary Fang's words hurt the fragile national pride of the Hongji Factory workers, and someone immediately mocked, "We dare not count on this step; we will move forward on our own."
This time, Wang Xiao didn't use a sarcastic remark. Instead, he clapped his hands, his face beaming with joy: "I also think you can do it. So—"
She looked puzzled. “Mitsui doesn’t mind transferring their technology from five years ago to us because they’ve already taken this step and can continue to take the second and third steps. So Hongji can be just like Mitsui without any psychological burden.”
These words put the Hongji Factory in a difficult position again, leaving the engineer on the other end speechless.
Mitsui is Mitsui, and Red Machine is Red Machine. Can we all eat at the same table?
Wang Xiao took advantage of the moment when the other party was speechless to give an analysis.
"Therefore, there are two possibilities."
"One possibility is that, like Mitsui, Hongji can take another step forward on its own and transfer technology without worrying about losing its advantages."
"One possibility is that Hongji is temporarily unable to take the next step, and Jiangdong's partner company will take it, and then follow suit."
"In either case, the Red Machine will be a step further than it is now."
"Therefore, there is no reason to object. As members of the Red Machine team, who wouldn't want a better future for Red Machine?"
No one answered Wang Xiao's question; the silence was eerily profound.
The early autumn wind rustled through the leaves; the roar of machines echoed from deep within the factory workshops behind—thankfully, the Red Machinery Factory hadn't completely shut down, though the machine noise was intermittent; and the sounds of vehicles passing by on the road outside, all intermingled, making the silence all the more deafening.
The deputy mayor was the first to break the silence: "Alright, now that we've addressed all the concerns, please come with us to the meeting room. If you have any further questions, we can resolve them on the spot."
In fact, he did not believe that the Jiangdong cooperative factory would be able to improve the technology provided by the Hongji factory.
He understands the situation in China; he has read a lot of materials and analyzed the motherland through the group of speculators.
At least in 1994, China could only be said to have just entered a state of basic subsistence. Most importantly, education was severely lacking; the vast majority of its adult population had only a junior high school education or below, and a large number were even illiterate.
Such a talent pool means that it would take them at least twenty years to reach the current level of scientific and technological talent in Moscow.
Twenty years is more than enough time for Moscow to recover from the growing pains of transition and move forward with great strides.
Where is the apprentice's feedback needed?
Whether others need it or not is one thing, but one's own attitude is another.
Wang Xiao said that cross-licensing of technology means he really intends to do so.
She has no problem sharing the upgraded technology with machine tool factories in Moscow.
China has become the world's factory, accounting for 35% of global industry, because of its large-scale production and cost control.
With the same level of technology, these two points enable China's industry to be invincible.
She echoed the Moscow deputy mayor's words: "Yes, if anyone has any questions, please sit down in the auditorium and discuss them."
The protesting workers looked at each other blankly, while others stared ahead in bewilderment.
Finally, an elderly worker stepped forward and said, "I want to see what kind of tricks you're up to."
"Where's the factory manager?" the deputy mayor shouted, cursing the man in his mind.
Damn it, after all this chaos, the leaders of the Hongji Factory are like cowards, not a single one of them has shown up.
The deputy mayor shouted all the way as he walked, and almost fainted from anger when he entered the auditorium.
Because the factory director of Hongji Factory was sitting on the stage, looking very serious as if he was waiting for the meeting to start.
The deputy mayor couldn't hide his sarcasm: "Mr. Factory Director, so you're here? I thought you weren't at the factory."
The factory manager adjusted his reading glasses, seemingly nonchalant: "Didn't we agree to hold the meeting in the auditorium?"
He pointed to the employees who had already taken their seats below the stage, saying, "Of course, the factory needs to ask everyone's opinion in advance."
The members of the Jiangdong delegation instinctively sensed something was wrong. This was like going on a pilgrimage to the West, where they had just captured a few demons only to be met with a few more monsters. It was a war of attrition.
Wang Xiao went straight to the point: "So, after asking around for so long, the factory must know what everyone means now, right?"
The factory director nodded, took off his glasses, and began to recount the glorious history of the Hongji Factory.
It is the oldest machine tool manufacturing company in Russia, and it has created countless miracles.
The factory now manufactures 28 different types of machine tools, including CNC machine tools that it started producing a decade ago. In addition to machine tools, the factory also manufactures robots and produces a range of computers.
This scene was originally meant to be touching, even heartbreaking.
But Wang Xiao remained unmoved deep down; she had come to negotiate, not to pay homage.
After rambling on for a while, the factory manager finally revealed his true intentions: "Debt. Our demand is to resolve all of our factory's debt issues."
Wang Xiao almost burst out laughing on the spot.
Indeed, the bolder a person is, the more they can achieve; they dare to make any request!
Do you think this requirement is not high?
Yes, yes, compared to the Gill Truck Factory, the Red Machine Factory was pitifully small, with only 5,000 employees.
Being small in scale means it borrows less from banks.
After all, although the Russian government provides loans to these state-owned enterprises in the name of enabling them to maintain or even expand production, in reality, almost all of these loans are used to pay wages.
In the face of economic collapse, how many factories have the courage to expand production? Without orders from the military and government, factories don't know who to sell their products to.
only--
With so little debt, is Wang Xiao really going to take it over? What kind of unparalleled saintly figure is she, about to ascend to immortality?
She's gone mad!
Why would she use her own money to support this red factory director in front of her?
In the privatization process in Moscow, much like the state-owned enterprise reform in China, a large number of former factory leaders attempted to take over the factories where they worked at the lowest possible price.
They were referred to by Russians as "Red Factory Directors" and "Red Managers".
Given that the Communist Party has lost power in this land and is even hated and cursed by extremists, these two terms are definitely not positive.
They represented the old bureaucrats of Soviet-era factories and were considered the biggest force trying to maintain a planned economy and strongly resisting factories moving towards the market.
In other words, the cabinet does not welcome them to become the owners of the new factories. The cabinet's ideal factory owners are Russia's new elite class—the cabinet believes that only they understand what a market economy is.
However, whether they are newly rich or former factory owners, they all need to prepare three sums of money if they want to become the owners of a new factory.
One payment was for purchasing factory shares, the second was for resolving the factory's debts, and the third was for the factory's future development.
Given the chaotic state of wealth accounting during Russia's privatization process, the amounts of the first and third sums of money are highly variable, but the second sum is a legitimate debt, and its figure cannot be arbitrarily altered.
The newly rich have money, so they probably don't care.
However, not all of the factory directors were millionaires, and some were unwilling to spend their own money. Therefore, the debts owed by the factories became the biggest obstacle for them to transform themselves and sit on the new factory director's seat.
The factory director of Hongji Factory is really dreaming. Taking advantage of the Jiangdong delegation's desire for machine tool technology, he wants to transform himself.
Wang Xiao remained calm and shook his head decisively: "Sir, that's not realistic. Business is about equal exchange."
She's not in a hurry.
The people who should be worried now are Punonin and his cabinet.
How interesting! They're trying to use the factory workers to obstruct the cooperation plan.
As a result, they turned around and used you as a pawn to pursue their own path to success.
He's hoisted himself up by his own petard. I wonder if Major General Tax Police is pleased with this?
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The Red Revolutionary Machine Tool Factory is based on information from the Moscow Red Proletarian Machine Tool Factory, including its history and workforce size. However, due to incomplete data, I have only extracted the information I could find, creating a fictional Red Revolutionary Machine Tool Factory.
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