Chapter 155
Seeing Ye Manzhi in front of the Industrial Hall early in the morning made Chen Teye feel something was wrong.
After a few words, his guess was confirmed. The other party was also coming for the Japanese soda production line!
He couldn't help but sigh in his heart, this time he was in trouble.
What you fear will come true!
The fact that the light industry department has provided the province with a Japanese soda production line has not been announced to the public.
The main reason why he was able to come to the department to submit the application form was that their director was quite capable and had obtained accurate information from Deputy Director Li.
According to their director's instructions, they must submit an application to the Industry Department as soon as possible and keep this production line in their Binjiang City before other special zones and the Municipal Industry Bureau react.
However, Ye Manzhi was the secretary of the deputy director, so it was easier for him to get information about the Industry Department than for the director.
Didn’t they meet at the gate of the Industrial Department?
"Director Ye, forget about this soda production line. The city has other plans for it."
A gleam of intelligence suddenly appeared in Ye Manzhi's eyes.
Oh my, she actually guessed it right!
Chen Teye really came to the provincial department to apply for a soda production line!
hey-hey.
"So how does the city plan to arrange this production line?" Ye Manzhi asked.
Chen Teye was assigned by the director to submit the application, so he couldn't reveal too much to Ye Manzhi. He only said vaguely, "Anyway, just know that the city has made arrangements."
Binjiang No. 1 Food Factory is an enterprise directly managed by the Department of Industry.
Although many businesses are managed by Binjiang City, such as taxation and production safety, the province takes the majority of the profits turned over, and the personnel power is also in the hands of the provincial department.
The First Food Factory is to Binjiang like a child sent by relatives for foster care.
It’s okay to use an extra pair of chopsticks when eating, but when it comes to dividing the property, there’s no way this child will get a share!
Therefore, it is absolutely impossible to ask the Municipal Bureau to hand over this production line to the First Food Factory.
It was already a great gain for Ye Manzhi to be able to get information about the production line from him.
As for the ownership of the production line, we can consider it in the long run.
Chen Teye is only the deputy section chief and cannot make the decision on such matters. It would be embarrassing to discuss it with him.
She entered the office building with Chen Teye, then parted ways with him on the second floor. She went to Comprehensive Department 3 alone to chat with Peng Jiayin.
"Sister Jiayin, I heard that our hall has a soda production line brought in from outside. Do you know the details?"
"Have you also taken a fancy to that production line? It was just allocated to our province less than a week ago. You're really well-informed. Several comrades from various regions have come to the department to inquire about the situation in the past two days." Peng Jiayin introduced, "The production line was imported from Japan by the Ministry of Light Industry. There are two in total. One was allocated to Guangdong, and the other was allocated to us."
"Wow, that's amazing! This production line doesn't cost any money, right?"
"Of course it's free! This is the production line that Director Luo personally commissioned for the department. It's said to be able to produce 150 bottles of soda per minute, or over 70,000 bottles per shift. The department leaders are very concerned about this line, but we still need to discuss which unit to assign it to."
Ye Manzhi said with a smile: "Our Binjiang No. 1 Food Factory is the daughter of the provincial department. If they have a production line, who else can they give it to if not us?"
"That's not necessarily true. Leaders from other prefectures and cities are also taking this very seriously. Yesterday, the deputy commissioner of the Dehua prefecture personally visited our department to secure this production line. Their prefecture only has one small soda factory, and most of their soda is sourced from outside. The department leaders will definitely take the actual conditions of each region into consideration."
Ye Manzhi: “…”
Looking at Chen Teye's expression, I thought Binjiang had already secured this production line!
I didn't expect the competition to be so fierce! Even the deputy commissioner came to the department to ask for equipment.
The deputy commissioner is a deputy department-level cadre, which is the same level as the deputy mayor of Binjiang!
Ye Manzhi was secretly shocked. He borrowed some data about the province's soda production from Peng Jiayin before rushing to the conference room for the meeting.
*
After receiving the first-hand information, Director Xiao Ye did not immediately inform the rest of the factory leadership team.
She took the information back and pondered it for a few days, intending to wait until the right time to inform Niu Enjiu.
Fortunately, she didn't have to wait too long. The opportunity came after just one weekend.
"Director, Section Chief Meng from the Supply and Marketing Department is here." Zhou Ruyi knocked on the door and came in to report.
"Please invite Chief Meng in!" Ye Manzhi smiled and stood up, shaking hands with the tall man who had just entered. "Chief Meng, welcome, welcome!"
Meng Lie said enthusiastically, "Director Ye, from now on I will be your soldier. I will definitely follow your orders in all actions!"
"Haha, the whole nation is learning from the PLA and the results are quite good. They're even shouting out slogans!"
After Zhou Ruyi poured tea for the guests, Ye Manzhi asked, "Have you been to Director Niu's place?"
"Yes, I went to report to Director Niu first, and then I'll go to the other three deputy directors to pay my respects." Meng Lie sighed, "Director Ye, thanks to your help this time, I really don't know how to thank you. If it weren't for this opportunity, it would be harder than climbing to the sky to transfer from our small place to the provincial capital."
"You don't have to thank me. Thank your wife instead. Sister Queqiao and I have known each other since the first day we entered university. She was the branch secretary and I was the class monitor. We were in the same class and dormitory together for four years. It wasn't easy for her to live alone these past few years. Now that your family is reunited, she finally feels happy after all the hardship."
It is indeed not an easy task to transfer Meng Lie from his hometown winery to Binjiang.
Ye Manzhi himself does not have this ability.
She asked Bian Queqiao and his wife to use their connections in their hometown, while she went to the Department of Industry and came empty-handed to ask Director Xia for help.
The head of the supply and marketing section of the First Food Factory is at the deputy section level. There is no such level as a deputy section chief. At most, he is a section-level cadre and still receives a clerk's salary.
The winery where Meng Lie works is not a big factory, and his position as the head of the supply and marketing department is not a formal rank.
Transferring a clerk from another place was difficult for Ye Manzhi, but for the deputy director of the Industry Department, it was just a matter of a word.
After she became deputy factory director, she never asked Mr. Xia for help.
Moreover, Xia Zhuyun's attitude towards the 2.27 fire was very subtle. When the team held a meeting to discuss it, she expressed support for Niu Enjiu's dismissal.
After Ye Manzhi figured out Mr. Xia's attitude, she felt that there was a chance that he would agree to her request, so she shamelessly came to him for help.
Niu Enjiu is in charge of production and operations, and directly manages the work of the supply and marketing department. She and Liu Sheng have some old grudges.
If she didn't find a breakthrough in the supply and marketing department, she would be worshipped by others and become a signing deputy factory director.
Instead of promoting Niu Enjiu to deputy section chief from the supply and marketing department, it would be better to arrange Meng Lie in.
Meng Lie is as his name suggests, big and strong, with a great alcohol tolerance. He is very successful in the supply and marketing department of the winery. There is no problem with his personal ability. On May Day this year, he was awarded the title of "Advanced Individual in Learning from Daqing in Industry" in their district.
This ensures that Ye Manzhi will not feel insecure when recommending and Xia Zhuyun will not feel insecure when transferring people.
Meng Lie said a little nervously, "Director Ye, transferring me from my hometown to the provincial capital must have caused you a lot of trouble. Do you think we should express our gratitude to the leadership?"
He tried for several years but was unable to be transferred to Binjiang for work.
Now, not only has he been successfully transferred to Binjiang, but he has also been transferred to a large state-owned factory like the Food Factory as a deputy section chief. He can be said to have picked up a great bargain.
Although Ye Manzhi was his wife's classmate, he must have used a lot of favors to help them accomplish such a big thing.
You can't let others pay for the gifts, right?
Ye Manzhi waved her hand and said, "I didn't give any gifts to the leaders, so there's no need to express anything. When you get here, just focus on your work and take charge of the supply and marketing department. The canning workshop has been promoting the Anshan Iron and Steel Constitution recently, implementing the "two participations, one reform, and three combinations" policy. You can spend some time on this and familiarize yourself with the factory's work as quickly as possible."
While the two were communicating in the office, several other factory managers were also wondering about Meng Lie's background.
Especially Niu Enjiu, who just asked the Human Resources Department to recommend a candidate for a vacant position last week. A few days later, he received a notice from the provincial department that the department had arranged a deputy section chief for the supply and marketing department of their factory!
This arrangement is really confusing.
According to convention, the provincial department usually only appoints the factory director and deputy factory director, and other positions are arranged by the factory itself. However, this time the provincial department directly brought in a deputy section chief.
Combined with the recent chaos at the food factory and the punishments he and Chen Qian had just received, it was hard not to think too much.
Either the provincial and ministerial leaders are dissatisfied with the current situation of the food factory, or someone wants to take advantage of the situation.
After all, the factory has a deputy director who has close ties with the Department of Industry.
When he was beginning to have doubts, the deputy factory director suddenly ran into his office.
Ye Manzhi said excitedly: "Director, I just got some big news!"
"Oh," Niu Enjiu asked with a smile, "What big news?"
Ye Manzhi lowered his voice, deliberately creating an air of mystery. "I just heard from my colleagues at the provincial department that the province has just acquired a Japanese soda production line from the Ministry of Light Industry! Now the department leaders are discussing which unit to hand over this production line to!"
"Really?" Niu Enjiu no longer cared about the deputy director of supply and marketing and asked, "When did this happen?"
"It seems to be in the last few days, I'm not sure exactly," Ye Manzhi said excitedly, "Director, that production line doesn't cost any money!"
This sentence accurately grasps Niu Enjiu's pain point.
The food factory is large in scale and has many places to spend money.
Especially the recent reconstruction of the canning workshop has cost money like water.
If there is free equipment, of course the factory will strive for it!
"The soda production line is great! It can fill the gap in our factory's business!"
Although Niu Enjiu has the final say in the factory, he almost agrees with Ye Manzhi on expanding the scale of production.
The two people's goals can be said to be completely consistent.
Ye Manzhi revealed: "There are at least three companies competing for this production line. In addition to Binjiang, Dehua District and Zhongjiang District are also working hard to obtain it. It's actually a bit late for us to take action now."
Niu Enjiu wandered around the office for a while, frowning and saying, "Binjiang now has two soda factories. One is the Binjiang Soda Factory, and the other is the Second Brewery. They have a soda workshop. These two soda factories can supply almost half of the city's soda demand. Are there soda factories in Dehua and Zhongjiang?"
"There is a small soda factory in Dehua District, but no soda factory in Zhongjiang District. The soda in these two areas mainly relies on external imports."
"This is troublesome," Niu Enjiu said, stroking his chin. "Binjiang already has two factories. If we give Binjiang another production line, our sister companies will definitely object. The province may favor Dehua or Zhongjiang District. If we want to settle this production line in Binjiang, it's best to cooperate with the Municipal Industry Bureau and work together."
Ye Manzhi said: "I asked my colleagues at the Industrial Bureau, and they said that their leaders have made arrangements for this production line."
"The production line may not even be built in Binjiang. What the hell are they planning?"
Ye Manzhi: “…”
Niu Enjiu first called the Municipal Industrial Bureau, then hung up the receiver and walked around the office.
"The Industrial Bureau wants to assign this production line to the Binjiang Second Food Factory."
Ye Manzhi asked, "Do they have the production capacity?"
The names of the First Food Factory and the Second Food Factory differ by only one character.
But the scale of production can be said to be very different.
The Second Food Factory was originally named the Grain and Oil Food Factory. It had only two or three hundred employees in total and mainly produced grain products such as noodles, rice cakes, cooking oil, etc. It only started producing soy sauce and vinegar in the past two years.
This has nothing to do with soda production!
Niu Enjiu cursed and muttered, "How would we know if they have the production capacity? But Liu Renhe from their factory is the brother-in-law of Director Zhang from the Municipal Industrial Bureau!"
Ye Manzhi: “…”
No wonder Chen Teye ran to the Department of Industry to submit an application early in the morning. It turns out that there are other arrangements for this production line!
"We're not a municipally-managed enterprise. If the city gives us this production line, it would be a favor to someone else. Since the Industrial Bureau has already decided to secure the production line for the Second Food Factory, I think we shouldn't just try to curry favor with them," Niu Enjiu said. "Let's each do our own thing and fight for it with the provincial government based on our own abilities!"
*
I have to say that Niu Enjiu is very proactive.
After receiving the news the day before, he submitted the application form to the provincial department the next day and had dinner with the director of the company in charge of this matter.
When he returned drunkenly from the provincial department, the four deputy factory directors had not yet gone home from get off work and were all waiting for news from him in the conference room.
Niu Enjiu took the strong tea brewed by his secretary, chewed a large mouthful of the leaves, then rubbed his face and said, "Including us, five units have already submitted application forms. Besides, neither Zhongjiang District nor Huicheng District has a soda factory. The province may be more inclined to Zhongjiang District."
Ye Manzhi said, "I inquired with colleagues from the provincial department this afternoon about the situation. After the soda production line clears customs, it will not be sent to Beijing. Instead, it will be delivered directly to our province via a dedicated railway line. A lot of comrades have been running to the provincial department these days, and some have even contacted the provincial party committee. The department will probably give us a result within two weeks."
"This is too fast!" Jiang Wenming said, "We just heard the news yesterday and haven't prepared anything yet!"
Chen Qian sighed, "The longer it takes, the more leaders will come to greet us, and it might be difficult to resolve the situation."
"The provincial department will hold a special meeting next week, and all units that submitted applications must send representatives to attend and speak," Niu Enjiu said. "Let's ignore others and list the advantages of the First Food Factory first and do our best to secure it at the meeting."
Wang Shihu smiled and said, "Our factory has obvious advantages. That production line can produce 70,000 bottles of small soda per shift, so it takes up a lot of land. Building new factories in other areas would take quite a while, wouldn't it? It would take at least half a year before production could begin. But our factory's canning workshop has been under construction for over four months, so it should be completed in another month or two. Since the canning equipment isn't complete yet, we can use the canning workshop to produce soda when the time comes."
"And like canned goods, soda production depends on the water source. Ours is a long-established cannery, so we have a readily available water source. We can start production as soon as the machines are delivered. The soda formula is very simple: just add saccharin, flavorings, and food coloring to water, then inject carbon dioxide, and you have soda," said Jiang Wenming, Deputy Factory Manager for Equipment. "It's not a very technical thing; the real value lies in the production equipment. Producing tens of thousands of bottles a day puts very high demands on the equipment."
Niu Enjiu glanced at the silent Yu Youfang and asked, "What do you think, Chief Engineer Yu?"
"Producing soda is definitely a good idea, as it expands the factory. But producing flavored soda isn't very interesting. Why not leverage our factory's unique characteristics and create fruit juice soda? The sodas at our soda station are incredibly popular, with many residents saying they'd love it if they had a little bit of a carbonated flavor."
Yu Youfang explained, "The canning workshop has implemented the Anshan Iron and Steel Constitution. These past few days, the workshop workers and factory engineers have been working on a small soda mixer to add some carbonated water to sugary drinks. If this carbonated juice can be mass-produced, it could become our factory's next flagship product."
Ye Manzhi put down his pen and said, "Mr. Yu, this is a good idea. If there were fruit juice soda on the market, as a consumer, I might buy some to try."
Several people discussed in the conference room for several hours, and by the time the meeting ended, the clock had already pointed to ten o'clock.
Ye Manzhi and Yu Youfang are female comrades and can ride the factory bicycles to go home.
Others either had to spend the night in the duty room or walk home. There was no car available.
When they said goodbye at the factory gate, Niu Enjiu said, "Director Ye, we'll all go to the special meeting next week. You can speak on behalf of our factory then. Women are more approachable, so you have a certain advantage in this regard."
Moreover, the First Food Factory had just been registered with the department recently, and the department leaders had some opinions about them.
Ye Manzhi was a cadre from the Industrial Department and had some standing in the department, so it was more appropriate to let her speak on behalf of the factory.
"Okay, then I'll prepare well in the next few days. If you have any new ideas, please communicate with us in time."
Ye Manzhi was riding alone on the dim city streets. She was very tired, but the working atmosphere of unity and everyone working together for the same goal made her very happy.
After working in the food factory for so long, I finally found a sense of belonging today.
She pedaled hard while thinking about the soda production line. When she finally got home, the left-behind child Wu Yuzhuo immediately ran out from Zhou Suo's house next door.
Holding Lihua in his arms, and Sunflower following behind him.
Ye Manzhi thought inappropriately, isn't this considered her daughter being surrounded by girls?
"Mom, why did you come back just now?" Wu Yuzhuo asked with concern. "Mom, have you had dinner? I ate three bean buns at Aunt Fangfang's house today!"
"I ate at the factory. Why did you eat so much?" Ye Manzhi went next door to thank Zhou and his wife, and then took her daughter, cats and dogs back home.
"Yiyi eats so much too," Wu Yuzhuo asked, "Mom, why are you back so late? If you don't come back soon, I will sleep with Aunt Fangfang."
Ye Manzhi revealed a jealous expression at the right moment and said, "That won't work. You have to sleep with me! I'm researching the production of soda in the factory. If I succeed, you can drink fruit soda!"
Hearing this, Wu Yuzhuo asked anxiously, "Do you have cherry soda?"
Compared with peach water, she prefers the sweet and sour cherry water.
"Maybe. There will definitely be a lot of flavors by then."
"Then I'd like to drink grape soda and hawthorn soda." Wu Yuzhuo ordered boldly.
"Um."
Ye Manzhi responded casually.
She boiled a pot of hot water and sat on a bench with her daughter to soak their feet.
Wu Yuzhuo, however, refused to accept the suggestion and asked, "Aren't we taking a shower today? We didn't take a shower yesterday!"
"Let's wash it tomorrow. Your dad isn't home and I can't move the bucket."
When Wu Zhengrong was at home, the mother and daughter took a bath every day, since Wu Zhengrong helped to deal with the water in the bathtub.
Now it is Ye Manzhi's turn to take care of the baby alone, and she finds that she is not that fond of cleanliness.
Taking a bath every two or three days is enough, she really doesn't like dealing with the bath tub.
Wu Yuzhuo splashed the water with his feet and sighed in a condescending manner: "When will Dad come back? I've been lying for two days!"
"Your dad's in Shanghai on some important business, and I've been pretty busy lately. Just go to Aunt Fangfang's house for dinner. Once Mom gets the approval for the soda production line, I'll treat you to ten bottles of soda!"
*
After Ye Manzhi made such a bold statement in front of her daughter, she became more concerned about the soda production line.
We have been discussing the plan in the factory for several consecutive days.
Niu Enjiu's one-man show finally showed some positive effect at this time.
He summoned the heads of all business departments to provide advice and ammunition support to the newly established "Soda Production Preparatory Leading Group".
The provincial and ministerial leaders seemed to be really afraid of complications, and after being contacted by more leaders, they convened a special meeting less than a week after receiving the application.
In addition to the Enterprise Department responsible for convening the meeting, the participants included two deputy directors of the Industry Department and representatives from the five units that submitted the application.
Among the five units, only Binjiang No. 1 Food Factory is an enterprise.
For the other four units, either the Industrial Bureau or the Deputy Commissioner of the Special District will come forward personally.
Anyway, the scene was quite grand, making the preparatory group of the First Food Factory look particularly vulnerable.
They came with five factory managers and one chief engineer, but the combined rank of the six of them was not as high as that of one of them.
The first person to speak on stage was the Industrial Director of Zhongjiang Special District.
Director Wang first talked about how urgently Zhongjiang needed this soda production line. After all, it was a bit shabby for such a large area to not have a proper soda factory.
They also explained their advantages, such as the district's full cooperation with the soda factory, finding the most suitable water source for factory construction, and deploying the most experienced workers and technicians...
Moreover, Zhongjiang has a tradition of making dried and candied fruits. If a soda factory is built in Zhongjiang, they will give full play to Zhongjiang's characteristics and study suitable formulas to produce fruit juice soda.
Ye Manzhi exchanged a glance with several members of his team. Their method actually collided with that of the Zhongjiang Special District?
Yu Youfang said, "It doesn't matter. They can talk about theirs, and we can talk about ours. Director Ye, don't be nervous. It's just fruit soda. Everyone can produce it."
Ye Manzhi nodded, quickly went over the speech in his mind, and then adjusted the content slightly.
Binjiang No. 1 Food Factory was the third to speak.
Ye Manzhi walked to the front of the conference room amidst the uninspiring but enthusiastic applause from her colleagues.
"Leaders, comrades, unlike the previous two units, our Binjiang No. 1 Food Factory applied for this soda production line not to solve any difficulties. In fact, our No. 1 Food Factory's production and operation are very good, so there is no need to complain!"
"We came to the department to apply for this production line mainly because we want to use our own advantages to maximize the value of this soda production line."
"Binjiang No. 1 Food Factory is a well-established food factory with a fifty-year history. We have accumulated half a century of experience in canned food production. Our Binjiang and Great Wall brand canned foods have not only earned us foreign exchange through exports, but are also popular both within and outside the province, and have gained nationwide recognition."
"If this Japanese soda production line runs at full capacity, 200,000 bottles of soda can be produced every day. This output can not only meet the soda demand in Binjiang City, but also be supplied to other provinces and cities."
"Binjiang No. 1 Food Factory is the largest food factory in our province. Without being modest, we are not as well-known as any other food factory in the province. Beijing has Beibingyang Soda, Tianjin has Shanhaiguan Soda. If we could leverage the popularity of our Binjiang and Great Wall brands and produce Binjiang or Great Wall soda, it would likely make our own branded soda popular throughout the country."
"For a long time, the people of Binjiang have been 'eating grain from Guangzhou and drinking water from the Haihe River.' Biscuits were shipped from Guangzhou, and soda was shipped from Tianjin. Since Binjiang No. 1 Food Factory started producing biscuits, our reliance on Guangzhou grain has been greatly alleviated. If the soda production line is handed over to our No. 1 Food Factory, we will also be able to solve the problem of drinking water from the Haihe River..."
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