Rebirth 76: Industrial Internet Empire

Hong Tao wrote down almost every word of his conversation with Yang Mo and submitted it to the internal reference, except for the conversation where he had to bargain over money...

After the internal reference was submitted, Hong Tao began a long wait. With his political wisdom, he knew that this would not be accomplished overnight. The arms sales of both parties involved in regional conflicts were not a simple business behavior in any era. It is not an exaggeration to say that a national strategy can affect the whole body in one blow!

For decision makers, this is an extremely difficult decision!On the one hand, it has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for revival, and on the other hand, it is trapped in the quagmire of international political games. Every step it takes may cause irreparable impacts.

No one knew what kind of heated discussions had taken place at the meeting. Hong Tao only learned five days later that after three long enlarged meetings, consensus still failed to be reached. In the end, senior leadership overcame all objections and approved the decision. The arms sales plan he presented.

At the same time, the General Armament Department transferred Hong Tao back to the headquarters again with a transfer order. As a special liaison, he was responsible for the integration of military exports of the entire system!

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At the factory meeting of Haicheng Iron and Steel Plant in Haicheng City, Northern Province, when the new chairman Yao Qiang saw the procurement report submitted by Gu Haitian, the manager of the R&D Department, he almost jumped up as if his tail had been stepped on: "What? A laboratory budget $280 million? With that kind of money we can build another steel furnace!"

Gu Haitian said calmly: "Dr. Yao! This is the budget of a basic basic steel materials laboratory. It is still far from being able to truly build a first-class metallurgical materials laboratory! 280 million is just a fraction, barely maintaining the normal operation of the laboratory. That’s all…”

"U.S. 280 million is just a fraction of that? When we signed the contract, we promised that all of your Zhiyuan investment of 1500 million U.S. dollars would be used to upgrade the technical equipment of the harbor plant. I think the construction of the laboratory can be put aside first. , Expanding Hainan Iron and Steel's production capacity is the top priority!" Yao Qiang said with a frown.

"Dr. Yao, I think the plan proposed by the R&D department to rebuild the Haigang laboratory is feasible. Haigang is a medium-sized steel plant with an annual output of only about 100 million tons of steel. Our future development direction should be in special steel. Instead of blindly pursuing crude steel output!" Gao Hongming, the new general manager of Haigang, explained patiently.

"It doesn't cost that much to build a laboratory, right? At most 30 to [-] is enough, Mr. Gao! We have to spend every penny wisely. Technology is developed by people, not experimental equipment. ..." Yao Qiang insisted.

"Two, 30? Are you kidding? The most basic experimental materials are not enough! What else to do? Use your imagination?" Gu Haitian said in broken Mandarin.

Gu Haitian's "rude rebuttal" made Yao Qiang frown even deeper, but after years of hard work in officialdom, Yao Qiang could not express his emotions or anger, and he still said calmly: "Isn't this what our Hainan Iron and Steel technicians rely on?" Has the equipment overcome many technical problems? Before obtaining the correct research and development direction, technicians still have to verify various physical properties based on data, experience, and calculations. It is not too late to apply for experimental funding after making significant progress. If it doesn't work, it's okay. Let’s use the laboratory of the National Iron and Steel Research Institute to complete the experiment!”

Gu Haitian had all the good and bad things to say, and Yao Qiang helplessly shook his head when he saw that the oil and salt were not enough. He regretted coming to Hainan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. to take this trip in the muddy water. He still missed the days in Xiangjiang. The rules set by Yang Mo, the research and development expenses and finance It must be approved and released as soon as possible, and the priority is even before the purchase of iron ore!

Gao Hongming glanced at Gu Haitian and told him to be patient first. After all, the joint venture had only lasted less than three months and there was always a process of getting used to it.

After Gu Haitian and others left, Gao Hongming shook his head and said, "Oh! This Gu Haitian is good at everything, but he has such a bad temper. He only has eyes for his R&D projects. The same goes for Zhiyuan Steel Company, which requires R&D funds." It’s not even a day late…”

Gao Hongming is preparing to give both parties a step down. After all, they will have to work together for a long time in the future. Making the relationship too rigid will be detrimental to the future development of the company.

But Yao Qiang didn't think so. He was not originally a technical cadre. There was no big difference in his eyes whether the laboratory budget was US$280 million or US$180 million. He would reject it anyway.

Even if you budget $80, he will still reject it without any reason. As the new chairman of Haigang, he just wants to let Gao Hongming know who has the final say of Haigang by rejecting Gu Haitian's application report!

After the employees of Hainan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. experienced the novelty of transitioning from state-owned enterprise employees to joint venture employees, they found that except for a slight increase in wages, there was no difference.Haicheng Steel Plant is still operating basically according to the original equipment and production processes. In this era of steel shortage, it is possible to live a comfortable life.

Chief Financial Supervisor Yaru also felt very aggrieved. For three months after coming to Haigang, Xu Jing, the former financial section chief of Haigang, under the instruction of Yao Qiang, kept using various excuses and refused to go through the handover procedures.

Gao Hongming saw it all, but had nothing to say. According to the contract, the chairman was in charge of personnel, normal fund exchanges, and the financial affairs department. When it came to the use of large amounts of funds, there was no one like Yao. If she nods in agreement, Xu Jing will create obstacles in various ways...

The so-called general manager was responsible for making a dead letter. Gao Hongming was anxious, but he was unwilling to report it to Luo Binghui and Yang Mo right away. Wouldn't that make him appear incompetent?

It has been three months since he came to Haicheng. He is entangled in personnel battles every day. Gao Hongming has accomplished almost nothing. The production department's application report for ordering powder metallurgy equipment from Germany is locked in the drawer of Yao Qiang's desk and has not been approved.

Yao Qiang's reason for refusing to approve is very good. Why should Zhiyuan International Consulting Company earn service fees when he can handle the matter by himself?

In fact, those who are familiar with the rules of officialdom know what Yao Qiang has in mind: taking advantage of the opportunity of Hainan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. to import powder metallurgy equipment, and organizing a free trip to the Federal Republic of Germany for related households of the Northern Province Metallurgical Department. , he doesn’t care about the service fee.

But Gao Hongming, who was born as a technician, didn't know these mysteries of the mainland officialdom, and he was very stubborn. He thought that just buying some powder metallurgy equipment, and sending three people from the production department and purchasing department of Haigang Plant would be enough.

The powder metallurgy equipment could not be implemented, Zhiyuan's patented authorized production became a dead letter, and Haigang strangely returned to the way it was before the joint venture.

Gao Hongming needs an opportunity to break this strange balance and put Hainan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. on the fast track of development...