With the help of Uncle Qin, they easily obtained the pilot qualification.
Now we need to find a suitable factory.
With the letter of introduction, they came to Feihong Garment Factory in Suicheng.
The factory gate had two rusty iron doors, with a wooden sign with red characters on a white background hanging next to it.
In the guard room, an old man in washed-out work clothes was dozing off while listening to the radio.
After showing the letter of introduction, the old man lazily raised his eyelids and pointed to a gray three-story office building inside: "Looking for Director Xu? Here, at the eastern end of the first building."
In the office on the first floor, which was piled with reports and cloth samples, they met Director Xu from the factory.
Director Xu was in his fifties, with gray hair. He wore a navy blue Mao suit with the cuffs worn to a shine. His face showed the sorrow of long-term hard work and a deep sense of powerlessness.
Seeing the letter of introduction from the Industry Bureau, he forced a smile and asked the two to sit down while he busied himself looking for cups and pouring water.
"Comrades, please sit down. The conditions in the factory are poor and I'm sorry for the inconvenience." Director Xu's voice was a little hoarse and full of fatigue.
As he poured boiled water, he couldn't help but sigh, "Well, to be honest, our factory...now Wang Xiao is getting worse and worse."
Lu Qingyang took the enamel cup and said straight to the point: "Director Xu, we came here this time to learn about the situation in the factory."
Director Xu seemed to have found an outlet to vent his concerns, and the wrinkles on his worried face deepened. "You can see that all the orders from above have been arranged for another garment factory with new equipment. We are going to close here, and so many workers will be laid off."
"Look, the equipment is still a few dozen years old pedal sewing machine, but without orders, good machines are useless! We have no choice, all orders are arranged by the higher-ups, if we are not given the order in the plan, we have no choice."
Lu Qingyang proposed to visit the factory in person.
Director Xu naturally had no objection, and personally accompanied the two of them to walk around the empty factory area.
The afterglow of the setting sun stretched the shadow of the factory building into a long and slanted shape, adding a sense of desolation.
The factory area is indeed not small, with several rows of red brick workshops and factories arranged neatly, but most of them have their doors and windows closed, and the iron locks are rusty.
Looking inside through the dusty window, you can see old machines covered in thick dust and piles of miscellaneous items, and it is dead silent.
"Alas, this workshop used to make shirts," Director Xu pointed to the last row of factory buildings, his tone bitter, "it stopped operating a while ago because there are no more orders. The one over there that made work clothes also stopped operating..."
Only when we walked to a row of relatively new factory buildings near the office building could we hear the sporadic "da da da" sound of sewing machines coming from inside.
Director Xu pushed open a half-open door, and the scene in the workshop came into view:
The light was a little dim, and less than half of the dozens of sewing machines were running.
Most of the workers were listless and moved slowly.
Some were sewing extremely old-fashioned blue overalls, while others were just chatting or staring out the window.
When he saw Director Xu bring them in, he just glanced at them lazily without stopping what he was doing.
There were some semi-finished products and cut fabrics piled up in the corner, making it look a bit messy.
"This is the only workshop that still has some work, making workwear for a few small factories and mines nearby."
Zhou Fang's heart was pounding as he watched this; it was so different from the bustling factory scene he had imagined.
The staff is lax and the equipment is old and there is no management at all.
He quietly tugged at the corner of Lu Qingyang's clothes, his eyes full of worry: Can this factory really work?
There was no hopeful expression on Lu Qingyang's face, but he looked at it very carefully.
After leaving the factory, the two of them went to the Municipal Bureau of Industry without stopping, hoping to get some clear policy support and resource allocation. However, the deputy section chief who received them had a rather subtle attitude.
"Comrade Xiao Lu, Comrade Xiao Zhou," the deputy section chief said slowly, holding a teacup, "we will definitely support the policies from above."
He changed the subject and his tone became evasive. "But, specifically regarding this factory pilot, the Bureau's attitude is: in principle, we support it, but the expenses of funds, equipment, and labor will all be borne by you and the Hong Kong businessmen. The Bureau's finances are also very tight now, and we can't afford to support it. Moreover, since it is a reform pilot, it must be carried out according to market rules and be responsible for its own profits and losses!"
"What about policy guidance? For example, the right to use land and factory buildings? The approval of power capacity expansion? The social security relationship of workers?" Lu Qingyang asked.
"These...are all issues related to specific operations." The deputy section chief spoke in an official tone, "You should first talk to the Hong Kong businessmen and the factories, and come up with a detailed and feasible plan and report it to us. The bureau will study it, and as long as it does not violate the principles of the government, it will be approved.
But the premise is that you can't cause trouble to the bureau, and you can't ask for money or things! Do you understand?"
He emphasized the last sentence, and his meaning was very clear: If you do it yourselves, and if it succeeds, the bureau will benefit from it; if you fail, you will bear the responsibility yourself, and don't drag us down.
Walking out of the slightly imposing building of the Industrial Bureau, Zhou Fang was filled with anger and could not help complaining: "What is this? It seems that they only give us a title, but no actual support? We have to pay for the money, equipment, and workers' wages ourselves? The factory can hardly pay the wages now, how can it afford all this? How can we carry out this pilot project? Qingyang, this is a hot potato!"
The more he thought about it, the more pressure he felt: "My uncle gave me a lot of money, but that's not enough to cover the entire factory renovation, equipment introduction, and workers' wages. Isn't that a drop in the bucket? And what if I mess it up..."
Zhou Fang didn't dare to think about it. For the first time, he really felt the heavy weight of the four words "own profits and losses".
"Zhou Fang, the attitude of the Industry Bureau is actually not unexpected. In the early stage of reform, the higher-ups wanted to cross the river by feeling the stones, and it was normal for them to avoid taking responsibility and shirking their responsibilities."
"Can 놆..."
"Don't worry, I heard that this may seem like a disadvantage, but from another perspective, it is precisely our greatest bargaining chip and room for maneuver!"
"Ah?" Zhou Fang was stunned, completely unable to follow Lu Qingyang's train of thought.
"Look." Lu Qingyang analyzed in detail: "There are so many idle areas in the factory, and those vacant workshops are now under our care. It is equivalent to helping them to revitalize their idle assets. In the cooperation negotiations, we can ask for free or symbolic payment of extremely low rent to obtain the long-term use rights of these factories and land! How much cost savings is this?
There are workers in the factory who have no work to do and cannot get paid, but for us, there is a ready-made labor force with sewing basics!
We can ask to only accept the key workers we need, re-sign labor contracts that meet the management requirements of the new factory, and completely break the iron rice bowl and the multi-pot meal.
Although the Industrial Bureau did not give money, its attitude of "upholding in principle" and "approving as long as it does not violate the principle" gave us a lot of flexibility and freedom in specific operations! As long as we can really revitalize the factory and make achievements, they are happy to see it happen and will not hinder us too much.
He stopped and looked at Zhou Fang with burning eyes: "So, the conditions of the Industry Bureau are not shackles, but give us a blank sheet of paper to redraw! As for the funding issue, it doesn't matter. We have our own ways. We have been cooperating with your uncle in the first place, and we would feel bad if we didn't provide the funds."
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