Chapter 220
Ye Manzhi trotted back to the office and told others the news he had just received.
"Director Pan, is there any hope for our factory to produce color televisions now?"
Under everyone's tense gaze, Pan Kunlun hesitated and said, "It's hard to say. It depends on the color TV development progress of other manufacturers. The production process for color TVs is several times more difficult than that for black and white TVs. Currently, no manufacturer in China can mass-produce color TVs."
Tian Chunshan asked anxiously, "What about the trial production progress of other factories?"
The color TV production line has a close connection with the Shuguang Factory.
As early as two years ago, when the central government started the campaign to tackle key issues in color television, it put this big piece of fat meat in front of everyone.
But at that time they felt that the battle to develop color TVs was too long and that it would probably be a waste of time in a few years, so Ye Manzhi went to the province to mediate and secured a black-and-white TV production line.
Looking back now, this decision was a wise one.
Color TVs have not yet been mass-produced, but Shuguang brand black-and-white TVs have been on the market for a year, with an annual output of 26,000 units.
Pan Kunlun said, "Although mass production progress is slow, several color TV research and development centers have achieved impressive trial production results. Our Shuguang factory only participated in the initial major effort for a few months before shifting its focus to black-and-white TVs. Compared with factories in other provinces and cities, our advantages are not obvious."
"That's okay," Ye Manzhi said confidently. "This production line will be allocated directly to the company by the central government, and Shuguang Factory is the only factory in the province with experience in television production! In other words, the province only has Shuguang Factory as a card to play for the time being. This opportunity is rare!"
When she left the provincial bureau, leaders from several chemical plants and fertilizer plants were blocking the door, all wanting to compete for imported equipment.
The Shuguang Factory was the only manufacturer of complete television sets in the province and was not troubled by competition within the province.
They just need to go out and compete with their counterparts in other provinces and cities.
Miao Sufen supported the idea, saying, "It was very difficult when we first secured this black-and-white TV production line, but we still managed to overcome every obstacle. Such an expensive color TV production line will definitely have to be paid for by the central government, so let's give it a try!"
Although everyone thinks the success rate is low, but who cares!
What if you succeed and get a great deal?
Therefore, no one in the factory leadership team objected, and everyone unanimously supported Ye Manzhi to go to Beijing to fight for it.
This time I’m going to Beijing, and I don’t know when I’ll be able to come back, so Ye Manzhi has to arrange the work in the factory properly.
There was nothing else to worry about, the only thing that worried her was Wang Zaofu.
"Director Wang, if we really get the color TV production line back, our TV production will surely increase exponentially. Selling large quantities of TVs to other provinces is exactly where that military railway comes in handy. Have you made any progress there?"
Wang Zaofu has been working on that military railway for more than a year.
He spent more than two hundred yuan just on entertainment expenses at the factory guesthouse.
Sometimes his monthly entertainment allowance of 20 yuan was not enough, and he had to borrow from Ye Manzhi.
Hearing her mention the railway, Wang Zaofu said gloomily, "We had some progress, but the Materials Group of the Municipal Revolutionary Committee's Production Command has been transformed into the Materials Bureau this year. The director is no longer the original head of the Materials Group, and the heads of several specialized companies have also changed. We have to start all over again on setting up a comprehensive supply station."
Looking at his increasingly round face, Ye Manzhi sighed, "Well, then hurry up and negotiate. Once the negotiation is successful, your contribution will be recorded in the factory annals!"
She knew the difficulty of this matter. In fact, the handover between the military and the local authorities was the most difficult.
Deputy Director Zhao was reluctant to help his son-in-law, probably because he thought it was too troublesome.
She didn't care whether she could get the right to use the railway, but she must not let Wang Zaofu have a free time!
Wang Zaofu actually didn't want to be in charge of the military railway anymore, but Ye Manzhi would bring it up from time to time in meetings with employees.
Now everyone in the factory knows that he is helping the factory apply for railway access and is waiting to hear good news from him, which puts him in a difficult position.
…
That night he made an appointment to have dinner with a deputy director of the Municipal Materials Bureau, and it was already past ten o'clock when he returned home.
Zhao Weihong asked dissatisfiedly: "Why are you back so late again?"
"I have an appointment tonight. I'm having dinner with Deputy Director Chen from the Materials Bureau."
Zhao Weihong hummed and teased, "Where did you eat? Wasn't it the steel plant guesthouse?"
"Of course we ate at the Shuguang Factory guesthouse!" Wang Zaofu said helplessly, "Didn't I explain everything to you a long time ago? What's the point of you always being so sarcastic?"
Last year, Zhao Weihong heard the news from somewhere, and not only discovered Wang Zhuoya, but also found out that he had transferred Wang Zhuoya's job.
Wang Zaofu told her the speech he had prepared in advance, and she chose to believe it at that time. However, for the next six months, Zhao Weihong would always find an opportunity to make sarcastic remarks about him, just like she did today.
Zhao Weihong squinted at him. "Why am I being so sarcastic? Weren't you the one who reassigned the actress' job first?"
"Oh, I'm almost fed up with work," Wang Zaofu said with feigned impatience, "I don't have the energy to care about actresses or actors!"
Anyway, there is no conclusive evidence, and he hasn't contacted Wang Zhuoya for a long time. As long as Ye Manyi's "explicit report letter" that he doesn't know whether it exists or not does not appear, he has nothing to worry about.
He changed the subject and said, "Can our dad help me think of a solution?"
"What do you want to do?"
"The right to use the military railway."
Zhao Weihong frowned and asked, "Why are you thinking about that military railway again?"
"Shuguang Factory wants to develop color televisions and expand production, and they need this railway."
"The Shuguang Factory doesn't belong to you alone, so why are you the only one fighting for the right to use it? Count it up yourself. How many drinking parties have you organized for this railway? Aren't you afraid of ruining your health by drinking yourself to death?"
Wang Zaofu said insincerely, "It's for work. Ye Manzhi is a woman, how can she go to the dinner party to drink? I'm the second in command, so of course I have to go. If we can make achievements at Shuguang Factory, it will be proud for you and Dad! My brother-in-law is not very useful, so Weidong and I will have to support each other in the future."
Ye Manzhi is actually willing to delegate power at work.
We had agreed to hand over the fleet to him, so we really handed it over to him.
He is now in charge of the supply and marketing department, logistics department and the factory's fleet.
He has been personally managing the fleet for more than a year, adding five second-hand cars and organizing a service team, which has gradually given him a taste of the business.
But he is the second-in-command of Shuguang Factory after all, and it is embarrassing for him to only manage a fleet of vehicles. If he can win the railway, then all the transportation business will be under his responsibility in the future!
*
When Wang Zaofu was planning to go back to his wife's parents' home with her on the weekend, Ye Manzhi had already started preparing to go to Beijing.
She didn't know how long she would be gone this time, so she prepared a lot of things.
Wu Yuzhuo followed her around and helped her pack her luggage.
"Aunt Su said she'll bake you three pies tomorrow so you can eat them on the way."
"Which Aunt Su?"
"She's Chen Weixing's mother."
Ye Manzhi quickly refused: "Why should I let others make pancakes for me? We can make pancakes ourselves!"
"Auntie Su's pancakes are delicious," Wu Yuzhuo explained as he put a few sets of clothes into his luggage. "I traded eggs with Chen Weixing!"
"Oh, that's alright."
Ye Manzhi no longer refused.
Her daughter has been raising chickens since kindergarten and has extensive experience in poultry farming.
Not only can they be fed scientifically, but they can also be hatched scientifically. At its peak, her family had eight pullets.
A few years ago, her breeding business was interrupted for a period of time because of cutting off the capitalist tail.
However, the management in the yard was not so strict this year. She followed the example of her neighbor Zhenfang and also set up a chicken coop in the house and raised two hens.
Occasionally, I would barter with good friends, exchanging eggs for things I needed.
"Are Aunt Su's pancakes really that delicious?" Ye Manyi asked.
“It’s delicious,” Wu Yuzhuo said, giving a detailed evaluation. “It’s almost the same as what Grandma Liu at the Guangming Street Convenience Service Station makes.”
"That should be delicious."
Ye Manzhi was looking forward to the meat pies made by Chen Weixing's mother. Her train was the next morning, so Wu Yuzhuo went out early the next morning with the jar of eggs she had stored.
Before my parents went to work, I brought back three freshly-baked meat patties.
As a result, Wu Zhengrong sat at the table with his legs stretched out and ate a meat pie as soon as it was served.
Wu Yuzhuo was almost mad at her father, "I brought that for Mom to eat on the road!"
"She's leaving with several leaders and colleagues, and you only brought her three pancakes. How are they going to be divided?" Wu Zhengrong thought the pancakes were indeed well-made and nodded, saying, "They won't taste good if they're cold. It's better to eat them while they're hot."
Ye Manzhi swallowed and said, "Girl, let's eat together. I'll go to the service station and buy some buns to take with me."
Wu Yuzhuo held the meat pie in her hand and thought that all her good intentions of secretly saving ten eggs were in vain!
However, the meat patties made by Aunt Su are really delicious!
…
After enjoying her daughter's filial piety, Ye Manzhi bid farewell to her family and embarked on a journey to Beijing.
This time the team going to Beijing is quite large, with 12 people!
Ye Manzhi was a little surprised by this lineup at first. After all, all provinces and cities are controlling the number of people on business trips. If they are not attending designated meetings, it is rare to send so many people at once.
However, after the group arrived in Beijing, she quickly understood the reason why a large number of people were dispatched.
The Beijing offices of various provinces and cities have actually ceased operations!
Without the help of comrades from the Beijing Office, I have to take care of all the trivial matters myself!
They are unfamiliar with Beijing, and if they only rely on three or five people to run errands, they probably won't be able to get anything done.
In order to facilitate their work, the 12 people found a guesthouse on Chang'an Avenue.
After a short break, Xia Zhujun called everyone together for a small meeting.
"Starting tomorrow, we'll split up and act according to what we agreed on at home. We'll try to build relationships with relevant ministries and commissions, and summarize our work progress every evening."
The production director of the provincial bureau gave each enterprise a detailed list, introducing the ministries and commissions responsible for introducing the relevant production lines.
Ye Manzhi and Pan Kunlun sat together and studied the detailed list.
This time, four units were responsible for introducing color TV production lines from abroad - the Fourth Ministry of Machine Building, the Ministry of Foreign Trade, the Broadcasting Bureau and the State Planning Commission.
Then they have to go to these four units to smooth over the relationship.
Compared with key projects such as petrochemical fiber, fertilizer, power plant, and steel plant, the importance of the television project was placed last by the province.
Therefore, although Xia Zhuyun brought the Shuguang factory to Beijing, her main focus was on winning those super-large projects.
As early as when they were in Binjiang, Xia Zhuyun told Ye Manzhi clearly that her energy was limited, and if they wanted a color TV production line, they would have to rely more on Shuguang Factory itself.
Ye Manzhi expressed her understanding of this. If she were in the other person's shoes, she would also give priority to obtaining large projects that the province urgently needs.
However, she was worried in her heart. They were unfamiliar with Beijing and what should they do next?
Of course, it is not entirely true to say that they are unfamiliar with the place.
Ye Manzhi and Pan Kunlun had both been to Beijing for work, and they had some acquaintances, but no one had a say in these four departments.
After breakfast the next day, Xia Zhuyun took her people out to keep an appointment, and leaders from other factories also went out one after another to build relationships.
Until nine o'clock, only Ye Manzhi and Pan Kunlun remained in the guesthouse.
"Director Ye, what should we do next?"
Pan Kunlun is an academic, and most of his connections are in education departments and research institutions. This time, when he goes to the ministry to run a project, Ye Manzhi has to make the decision.
Ye Manzhi thought for a moment and said, "The Ministry of Foreign Trade, the Broadcasting Bureau, and the State Planning Commission are all responsible for planning imports from abroad, but the Fourth Ministry of Machine Building has the final say on which company to hand over the production line to. Besides, our black-and-white TV production line comes from the Fourth Ministry of Machine Building, so we have some ties to them. Therefore, we should focus on the Fourth Ministry of Machine Building and go over there first."
In order to fight for the production line, we must first let our superiors know that they have this intention.
Therefore, the first step they need to take is to submit the completed application form.
With a goal in mind, the two of them quickly took their materials and went out.
I registered at the entrance of the Fourth Machine Department and followed the guard's instructions to find the Planning Department on the second floor.
It is a bit difficult for local enterprises to go to the ministries and commissions to build relationships. It is impossible to meet the minister or director, and even the director may not be able to meet him.
Since there was no section chief in the ministry, Ye Manzhi, a deputy division-level cadre, could only be received by the clerk.
When they arrived, there were two non-local cadres in front of them submitting applications.
I don't know what the application is, but it's taking a long time.
Ye Manzhi's legs were sore from waiting at the office door, but the person in front of her hadn't finished talking yet.
After waiting for a long time for the middle-aged cadre to come out, Ye Manzhi moved forward a little and took a look into the office.
It was no accident that he saw the clerk put his application form into a pile of similar forms.
Judging from the thickness, there are at least forty or fifty sheets.
She quickly chased after him and asked, "Comrade, what project are you applying for?"
"Surveillance camera." The middle-aged cadre uttered these three words with dignity and left.
Ye Manzhi stood there for two seconds. The female comrade who just came in seemed to be applying for some radio.
She turned around and took a look. The female comrade was very efficient. She handed in the form and left.
This form is also placed together with that stack of forms.
Pan Kunlun reminded: "Director Ye, it's our turn now, hurry up!"
Ye Manzhi stood outside the door and smiled apologetically at the clerk. "Comrade, I don't think I've filled out the form yet. Please come back after I've finished filling it out."
After saying that, he winked at Pan Kunlun and quickly walked down the stairs.
Pan Kunlun followed her out, wondering, "What's going on? Should we submit our application?"
"Yes, but you can't do it like this!" Ye Manzhi pointed at his watch, "Look at what time it is now."
"Ten o'clock."
"Yeah, they've only been working for an hour! We've been waiting outside for at least half an hour. How could they possibly receive forty or fifty applications in such a short time?"
Pan Kunlun said, "You mean those applications might be from yesterday?"
"Well, maybe it's been stuck for several days." Ye Manzhi frowned and said, "We submit the application form. If the clerk can hand it over to the leader on the same day, that's fine. But if it takes three to five days, or even a week, to get it over to the director, then how long will we have to wait?"
Above the director is the director general, and above the director general is the minister.
Are we going to let them wait in Beijing for ten days or half a month?
What if other units get ahead of them and contact the ministry leaders while they are waiting, then wouldn’t their efforts be in vain?
Pan Kunlun pondered for a moment and said, "Relying solely on us submitting applications from the bottom up is too slow. Since we're here with the provincial leaders, we should try to use their connections. It would be best if we could get Director Xia to write us a note!"
Ye Manzhi didn't know whether Xia Zhujun had any connections in the Fourth Ministry of Machine Building, but asking the leader to write a note was indeed more efficient than their own way.
Then let’s go back and look for Director Xia.
However, they went back and waited for most of the day, and everyone else came back one after another, but Xia Zhujun was nowhere to be seen.
Ye Manzhi ran into someone from the Zhongjiang Fertilizer Plant in the corridor and casually asked, "Director Gao, how are you doing today? Any progress?"
"Haha, what progress can we make! I ran into several sister companies from other provinces today, the competition is fierce!"
Ye Manzhi comforted the other person with a few words, then turned around and ran to Pan Kunlun's room and knocked on the door.
"Director Pan, the color TV production line incident is such a big deal. Even we've heard about it, so other units should have heard about it too, right? Shouldn't Tianjin have received the news long ago?"
"Beijing and Tianjin are so close, they must have known about it."
"How about we call Director Guo from Factory 712?"
Factory 712 was managed by the Fourth Ministry of Machine Building. Compared with municipal enterprises like Shuguang Factory, it was like a close relative.
Therefore, if Director Guo wants to meet with the department leader, it will definitely be more convenient for him than for them, and he does not need to submit an application to the clerk.
Pan Kunlun did not hesitate. He went back to the room to find the address book and went to the post office with her to make a long-distance call.
The call was connected, but the person who answered the phone was not Director Guo himself, but his secretary.
According to the secretary, Director Guo is on a business trip.
Ye Manzhi asked with a warm tone, "Director Guo is in Beijing, right? When did he come? Where is he staying? We still want to get together with Director Guo."
"He went to Beijing three days ago," the secretary apologized. "Director Guo didn't return the factory's call, so I can't reach him for the time being."
The secretary can’t contact the leader?
That's impossible.
As soon as Ye Manzhi arrived in Beijing, he called the factory back and informed the factory office of his whereabouts and contact number.
It is impossible for Director Guo not to report his whereabouts to the factory.
However, Ye Manzhi did not continue to pester him. He thanked her and hung up the receiver.
Director Guo from Factory 712 came to Beijing on a business trip, which must be for the color TV production line, so he had to report to the Fourth Ministry of Machine Building.
If they wanted to find Director Guo, they just had to keep an eye on the gate of the Fourth Ministry of Machine Building.
So, the next morning, Ye Manzhi and Pan Kunlun arrived at the Fourth Ministry of Machine Building before nine o'clock.
One guarded the east side of the gate and the other guarded the west side of the gate.
After waiting for a whole morning, they did not see Director Guo, but the two were not discouraged. They took turns going out for lunch at noon and continued waiting in the afternoon.
Although the method of sitting back and waiting is a bit stupid, it really works!
After standing guard in Beijing for most of the day in early winter, they finally saw Director Guo walking slowly towards them at around three o'clock in the afternoon.
Ye Manzhi's face was frozen, but he still pretended to have met the other person by chance and went forward to greet him.
"Director Ye, Director Pan, why are you here too?"
"Haha, it's such a big event, I have to join in the fun."
After a brief greeting, Ye Manzhi followed Director Guo to register.
Seeing that he wrote "Planning Department" and "External Affairs Department" in the column for the office departments, she followed suit and wrote these two departments.
The two followed Director Guo into the gate and casually asked, "Director Guo, what's the situation now? Has the department reached a decision on who will own that color TV production line?"
"We're just getting started! There's no sign of a production line yet, so how can we decide on a company so quickly? However, it seems we might have to choose a company from several battle zones in the color TV research and development campaign."
Upon hearing this, Ye Manyi's heart suddenly froze.
Binjiang's television industry started relatively late and was not the main battlefield for color TV research and development. Shuguang Factory only sent people to support the Tianjin battlefield, and they returned in less than half a year.
Director Guo did not go directly into the office building, but stood by the flower bed at the door and lit a cigarette.
"Did you also receive a notice to attend the meeting? Why didn't I see your Shuguang Factory at the meeting the day before yesterday?"
"Haha, Binjiang is too far. I didn't even get to Beijing the day before yesterday. I'll hand the application form to my boss today."
Ye Manzhi thought to himself, he is indeed his biological son. He actually came to the department for the meeting only after receiving the notice.
The companies that can attend the conference should be those that the Fourth Ministry of Machine Building prefers, which is equivalent to entering the preliminary round.
And Shuguang Factory couldn’t even find the registration method!
The gap is too big!
Ye Manzhi and Pan Kunlun looked at each other and saw helplessness in each other's eyes.
The meeting was scheduled for 3:30, so the two of them accompanied Director Guo to smoke by the flower bed.
Soon, several more company leaders came over to greet Director Guo.
These companies also came to attend the meeting and all had code names.
In addition to Factory 712, there are five other factories including Factory 780, Factory 305, and Factory 192.
The day before yesterday, the day when Binjiang and his team arrived in Beijing, the Fourth Ministry of Machine Building had organized a meeting and selected these five companies from the many registered companies to attend today's meeting.
And the selected factories, without exception, were all military factories!
In recent years, the central government has proposed the policy of military-to-civilian conversion, and the products of many military factories are a combination of military and civilian.
Being able to pick out these five factories, it seems that the department leaders still believe in the strength of military factories!
Pan Kunlun jokingly whispered, "If we let Factory 833 come over, maybe we can maintain the formation."
"Tsk," Ye Manzhi whispered back, "It hasn't been finalized yet. The ministry leaders instructed that they trust the quality and efficiency of the military factory more, but they didn't say that the production line must be handed over to the military factory!"
The preliminary round hasn't started yet, let's see how it goes first.
However, no matter how the preliminary round goes, Shuguang Factory’s urgent task now is to register first!
As the meeting time approached, she followed representatives from five factories to the Planning Department's meeting room.
She didn't go in, but waited not far from the meeting room with Pan Kunlun on either side.
Five minutes before the meeting started, footsteps were heard on the stairs.
Ye Manzhi looked up and found that the person who came was a tall and thin middle-aged man, accompanied by a man who looked like a secretary.
Knowing this person must be Deputy Director Zhang, who was to preside over today's meeting, she composed herself and greeted him with a smile, "Hello, Director Zhang. I'm Ye Manzhi from Binjiang Shuguang Machinery Factory. Sorry, we're a day late and missed the meeting the day before yesterday!"
Then he handed the application form to the secretary next to him.
Deputy Director Zhang was slightly startled when he heard this.
The ministry actually did not organize a meeting for enterprises. It’s just that too many enterprises have submitted applications to the ministry recently, and the leaders of the enterprises have to run around too frequently, so they had to organize a temporary meeting to eliminate some enterprises that were not under consideration.
This will also save each other's time.
Ye Manzhi didn't care for his leader's silence and quickly continued, "Director Zhang, our Shuguang Factory was fortunate enough to receive a black-and-white TV production line allocated by the Fourth Ministry of Machine Building, and it officially went into production last year. Thanks to the joint efforts of our engineers and students from the Workers' University, our factory has completely reversed its loss-making situation. Not only do we no longer need government subsidies, we're also making a profit of over ten yuan per unit."
"Our annual production of Shuguang black-and-white televisions has now reached 26,000 units, ranking first among all television manufacturers in China. Next year, after increasing production shifts, our output is expected to exceed 40,000 units. By then, our output will exceed the total output of all other television manufacturers!"
Military factories like Factory 712 and Factory 305 have heavy military industrial tasks, and their television production has always been low.
The television factories built in various places in the past two years have not had very high annual outputs because they still need financial subsidies to cover their losses. Some even have only a few hundred units.
An enterprise like Shuguang Factory that sells at low prices and high volumes is almost unique in the country!
Deputy Director Zhang listened to her introduction in silence, then looked at the application form in the secretary's hand, glanced at his watch, and said, "The meeting is about to begin. Please come in first."
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