Siheyuan: I earned foreign exchange in the heyday

Chapter 1067 How to Spend Foreign Exchange

It had not been long since the last meeting chaired by Director Zou, but the atmosphere in the meeting room had changed drastically.

At the beginning, Director Zou was full of confidence and felt that the new TV factory would be put into production and earn foreign exchange just around the corner.

The two deputy directors who had joined Director Zou were also talking freely and arrogantly at the time.

But how much time has passed since then, and the content of the meeting has not changed, it is still about how to use this foreign exchange.

But not only did the person presiding over the meeting in the conference room change, but the attitudes of the two of them also changed.

Chen Changan had just taken office, and in order to avoid having to work in the Veteran Cadres Bureau, the two of them still came to the meeting with smug looks on their faces.

Unfortunately, the two of them kept their heads down and said nothing.

I hope that such actions will result in Chen Changan not suppressing me.

Without Director Zou, there were only six people participating in the entire Standing Committee, and the only one who was truly in agreement with Chen Changan was Director Jiao.

As long as the two of them join forces and win over one of the neutral deputy directors or the chief engineer, they can replicate Chen Changan's feat.

But they also knew that if they offended Chen Changan at the meeting, there would likely be an extra Standing Committee member in the meeting room the next day.

It is even possible that the two of them will follow Director Zou to the Veteran Cadre Bureau to take up their posts tomorrow.

They were unwilling to take the initiative to attack until Chen Changan made a fatal move.

"Chief Engineer Gao, please tell me, what are our biggest shortcomings right now?"

Chief Engineer Gao didn't think there was anything wrong with it. He welcomed the fact that a technically savvy leader like Chen Changan could take the position.

To put it bluntly, the previous Director Zou didn't understand technology at all. Before Chen Changan came, his words were not of any reference value at all.

After several attempts of persuasion, there was no effect at all. He felt pained when he saw the huge amount of foreign exchange being used for useless purposes.

Now that Chen Changan is in charge of the work, his opinions will be listened to first, which makes Chief Engineer Gao a little excited.

“Judging from the current situation, our country has no shortage of machinery factories.

Machinery factories of all sizes have already sprung up all over the country.

However, the current situation of these machinery factories is very bad. There are even many factories like the Central South Machinery Factory that have not been able to pay wages for more than half a year.

The root cause is that the equipment in these factories is too old.

Some factories are even still using various equipment left over from the Republic of China and even the Qing Dynasty.

These devices are not just old, but also lack accuracy due to lack of maintenance.

Even if the workers are excellent and the drawings designed by the designers are good, how can they use the parts produced by these equipment?

You should know that the higher the end of the product, the stricter the requirements for the precision of the components.

If we cannot produce these high-end products, we can only produce low-end products.

Bicycles and electric fans, which do not require much technology, have become the main products of these factories.

Everyone rushed to produce the same product, which eventually led to serious product homogeneity, and the factory naturally could not develop.

Let alone airplanes and tanks, they can't even produce trucks and tractors. How can these factories develop well?"

Look at the car factory, it can produce all kinds of cars and make a lot of money.

Look at the Jialing factory today, isn’t it because it can produce all kinds of motorcycles?

With the equipment and technology, these factories are doing extremely well.

As Chief Engineer Gao finished speaking, the two deputy directors who were lowering their heads couldn't help but curl their lips.

Although Director Zou is no longer around, the two of them have long been accustomed to commenting on various proposals in meetings.

Although the current situation is extremely unfavorable to them and they dare not express any opinions, they scoff at Chief Engineer Gao's statement in their hearts.

There are so many manufacturers across the country, and each of them needs to update their equipment. If the ministry is responsible for solving the problem, the figure will be astronomical, and the foreign exchange we have is not enough.

Besides, even if we provide them with enough equipment, can they produce good products?

There are many things involved here. Not only does it require a visionary factory leader, but it also requires enough skilled workers.

There must also be sufficient technical talent, and even geographical location considerations.

Do you really think that having a good device can produce good products?

In preparation for war, many small factories were built in the mountains.

Apart from anything else, the transportation cost alone can make your product uncompetitive.

As expected, Chief Engineer Gao only focused on equipment and technical issues, and his vision on how to develop a factory was limited.

Director Jiao standing by was also frowning. The poor performance of subordinate units had always been a problem for the department.

It is naturally not enough to rely solely on continuous subsidies from the ministry, but Chief Engineer Gao’s suggestion is also not feasible.

Although Director Jiao is a staunch supporter of Chen Changan, he is also more inclined to build a new factory that is internationally competitive.

In this way, at least in terms of political achievements, it will look much better, and it can also help some factories get rid of poverty and become rich.

For example, an automobile factory, as its products are exported overseas, has also driven the development of several subordinate machinery factories.

After years of development, the combined number of workers in several machinery factories is now no less than that of the automobile factory.

Seeing that Director Jiao and Chen Changan did not say anything about Chief Engineer Gao's suggestion, Deputy Director Zhongli spoke after ignoring the other two.

“Old factories cannot rely solely on the ministry; they also have to find ways to save themselves.

The country needs to develop, but funds are limited, and many emerging industries need to develop as quickly as possible.

If we could have a second car factory, I think our lives would be much better.

There will also be more money to help those factories in difficulty.

The examples of Factory 618, Jialing Factory, and even the Central South Machinery Factory tell us this vividly.

There is no factory that cannot be saved. It just depends on whether you have the vision and the courage to change.

With the country's investment in education in recent years, more and more college students have left campus.

Although they lack experience in factory management, their vision and courage are much better than those of the older generation of factory managers.

I think we should issue a document to encourage the older generation of managers to listen more to the opinions of college students.

We also hope that ambitious university graduates will go to the grassroots level to lead those companies facing difficulties and help them achieve successful transformation.”

The neutral factory director's words were nodded by Director Jiao.

This was a time when people were superstitious about college students. Many people thought that college students were the chosen ones of heaven, and as long as they were willing to work at the grassroots level, they would definitely achieve something.