Return to 2001 to pursue dreams

On the day agreed with Guan Peng, Gao Hongda directed the rented car to the Agricultural University early to pick up Guan Peng and rushed to the southern suburbs without stopping. After twisting and turning, we entered an old industrial area. From a distance, it looked like a refugee camp. The roads were full of potholes, and there were rows of French paulownia trees on the roadside. The withered and yellow weeds in the corners of the roadside still made people imagine the arrival of spring. It will definitely be much more prosperous than this industry. The driver frowned and kept cursing the damn broken road.

After a bumpy ride, I finally found the chemical factory Guan Peng was talking about. I was shocked by the momentum of the place before I got off the car: the cast iron railings on the fence were rusty, and many rusty and rotten places were covered with wires wrapped around bamboo poles. The ground has been repaired, but if the wind blows, it may break at any time. The wall is covered with withered grass. The gatehouse is a low red brick house. Through the double-sided reinforced steel gate, the scenery inside the factory can be seen. At a glance, there was an old yellow dog tied behind the door, lying in the hay and shivering. When he saw someone coming, he barked like crazy. Apart from this dog, there was no one watching the door. It seemed that this dog was the guard. Hearing the barking of a dog, an old man walked out of a row of brick houses more than ten meters away. The sleeve of his clothes on the left was empty. He stood at the door and asked who was coming. After learning the purpose of his visit, he used his only remaining hand. He opened the factory door with difficulty, turned around and shouted to the row of houses: "Director Zheng's guests are here."

An old man in his late sixties walked out of the door in a hurry, leaning on a pair of old wooden crutches. Director Zheng was an old man in his late sixties, and the vicissitudes of his face were in perfect harmony with the dilapidation of the factory. Guan Peng stepped forward and introduced him, saying that this was factory director Zheng Yunsheng. Gao Hongda tried his best to suppress his inner dissatisfaction and stepped forward to shake hands.

Director Zheng enthusiastically brought the two of them into the old office. The office was also an old brick building. The chairs in the room were wooden benches with a layer of tattered cotton cushions. It was a sofa, and the paint had long since fallen off. As soon as I sat on it, the whole chair squeaked, as if there was a mouse pressed under the legs of the chair. Director Zheng insisted on pouring water for the two of them while leaning on crutches. Peng grabbed the kettle and made enough food and clothing by himself.

Director Zheng said that this factory was originally an old state-owned food factory. It was restructured a few years ago and no one was willing to take over. The government originally planned to close the factory. It was not profitable and now it has become a burden. Director Zheng really Not willing to let the workers in the factory lose their jobs, he gritted his teeth and contracted it, and now produces some cellulose to maintain operations. During the conversation, I couldn't hide my helplessness. Sales couldn't keep up, there weren't many orders, I wanted to update the equipment, but I didn't have the money.

Gao Hongda said in his heart that when talking about business, other manufacturers always emphasize their own strengths and forcefully put gold on their faces. You old man is better. You talk about yourself so pitifully and act like a beggar in front of customers, so that you can get orders. That's weird. But he did not show his dissatisfaction. He really couldn't bear to see this kind old man disappointed.

Director Zheng suggested taking the two of them for a walk around the factory. He picked up the crutches beside him and was about to get up when Guan Peng stopped him and told him that we should go alone and you should just sit and rest.

The weather in this deserted old industrial area became even colder. The two of them walked around the small factory area with their heads hunched and rubbing their hands. The roads inside the factory area were not much better than outside, and there was also a factory building. It has collapsed into ruins. It has obviously been stopped for a long time. The insulation materials outside the various pipes outside the factory, which is the only one where the roar of the machine can still be heard, are in tatters and falling, swinging in the wind. The exposed iron pipes are rusty, and the valves are out of place. Steam is constantly leaking out and making a chirping sound. The old boiler makes people look worried that it will explode at any time. There was a pile of coal in the shed. Gao Hongda took a look and saw that there was more coal gangue than real coal, and some were simply white stones. It seemed that this factory was working hard to save money.

He really had no interest in wandering around anymore, so he took Guan Peng back to the so-called office.

Seeing the two of them coming back, Director Zheng took out a bottle of wine from under the table, a bare bottle without packaging, and invited them to go to the canteen to have some food and continue talking in the afternoon. The old canteen also opened Gao Hongda's eyes. The three brick buildings were low and dilapidated. There were two large pots sitting on the cement stove. The dining table in the restaurant was obviously an old desk picked up from the school. The workers held There were some deformed aluminum lunch boxes lined up to eat. Most of the workers here had obvious disabilities. When they saw Director Zheng coming, they all greeted him very warmly. Director Zheng nodded and responded with a smile. That was a little. The shelves are all wrong. The four people, including the driver, were sitting at the only square table in the corner. It seemed that this was just for the factory director.

The chef of the canteen personally brought two side dishes, cold cucumbers and spring onions with tofu. The two hot dishes were the same big pot dishes as the workers, stewed beef with potatoes and stewed cabbage and pork with vermicelli. If you pick carefully, you can still see the meat. Yes, the driver's face was obviously a little bad. Just as he was about to open his mouth to complain, Gao Hongda kicked him with his foot. The guy curled his lips and stopped talking. The manager was not polite and took the initiative to unscrew the bottle and pour it for the three of them. Serve the wine.

The host toasted, and Gao Hongda almost held his nose and drank the wine. Suddenly he felt that the wine had a special taste, a little soft and not dry, and it also had a sweet aftertaste. He asked quickly what kind of wine it was, and Director Zheng was obviously very interested. Excited: "I prepared this myself. The edible alcohol is ready-made in the factory. I make it with ingredients myself. You can make it as strong as you want. All the workers in the factory drink this."

After a few sips of wine, Factory Director Zheng obviously started to talk too much. He pointed at the workers and said, "You have also seen it. This is why I am struggling. I have to give them a bite to eat. They are all from the welfare home." The children brought out of the factory, if the factory is gone, they will all have to beg for food!" After saying this, he took a sip of wine, which was so spicy that he gritted his teeth, "I am an old man who is about to retire, and the children at home are also very good, and they are all in the government. I can get a little subsidy for my job every year. Last month, the industrial zone notified me that it needs to be relocated 20 kilometers away. Although I can exchange land for land, I can get a little subsidy and can barely build a few factories, but I don’t know how to do it myself. My confidence is gone. I have been working in this factory all my life. When I am old, I am old and can no longer keep up with the new situation. If there are young people who can take over this factory and let them survive, my old man can be regarded as... It can also be regarded as a tribute to Marx and other old people. There’s an explanation!”

Oops, this is a typical misfortune. Gao Hongda glanced at Guan Peng, who understood and said to Lao Zheng: "Old Zheng, don't go too far when we talk about ordering tea powder today. "

Director Zheng quickly apologized, drank a drink as a punishment, and then continued: "I'm an old man. He likes to mumble something about what's there and what's not when he drinks alcohol!"

Because there were still things to talk about in the afternoon, the meeting ended shortly after lunch, and there was really nothing to eat, so the snacks and drinks were a bit shabby. When I walked out of the cafeteria, the sky had already begun to snow. This must be the first snow in 2002. Daolang's song of the same name will also be popular in the streets.

Gao Hongda was a little excited. He had not had the opportunity to experience the baptism of heavy snow in many years. He had never had the opportunity to experience such hearty snow in his hometown. A few snowflakes every year is considered a gift. It is really too perfunctory to disrespect winter at all.

In the office, Guan Peng came up with the formula and process requirements. Director Zheng put on his reading glasses and discussed with him with a very serious expression. After a long while, he took off his glasses and said confidently: "No problem, the current production The equipment can be used for production, and the centrifuge, cleaning equipment, dryer and reactor can be fully used. I recommend small batch trial production."

Gao Hongda felt a little relieved. He was really worried that the dilapidated factory building would make him despair, and you must not blow up that old man's boiler!

The price given is also very attractive, provided that an advance payment is made, and the raw materials and packaging must be ordered and customized in cash, which is not a problem for Gao Hongda.

During the conversation, a middle-aged woman walked in. There was no need to knock on the broken door, and it was not closed tightly at all. The door leaf was deformed, and drifting snow came in from time to time. There was already a light accumulation of snow on the threshold.

Factory Director Zheng quickly introduced: "This is my daughter named Zheng Yuling, who is the director of the management committee of our industrial zone."

"Zheng Yuling?" Gao Hongda felt that the name was a bit familiar. Yes, there is a star in Hong Kong with this name, but he felt a little want to laugh.

Zheng Yuling obviously knew Guan Peng. She first said hello: "Classmate Guan Peng is here to help the poor again. Is this brother your classmate?"

Guan Peng quickly introduced: "This is our big customer, here to place an order."

Director Zheng Yuling hurriedly stepped forward to shake hands and said, "I'm too young. I misunderstood. Where did we talk about it?"

Hearing that the order had been basically finalized, Director Zheng seemed a little unhappy and said to Factory Director Zheng in a complaining tone: "Dad, can these shabby machines you have here still produce? We can't produce a bunch of pulp for people." paste."

Lao Zheng threw his glasses and raised his voice and said, "Who are you looking down on? There are still 3 nails in the broken ship. How could you try to undermine me like this?"

Zheng Yuling was not in a hurry. She pulled up a stool and sat down, muttering: "If Professor Liu hadn't given a few orders from time to time over the years, this broken factory would have been disbanded long ago. Boss Gao, I won't hide it from you. We are planning to build a new one." In the industrial zone, the old man just doesn’t agree with the land and payment over there. You have a lot of experience, so please help me with some advice.”

Factory director Lao Zheng quickly said: "I want to relocate too. Where can I find the money? The few oceans you paid are only enough to build the factory. What about the equipment? That's a big deal. Even if you dismantle all the workers in the factory and sell their bones, it won't be enough." Money to buy a boiler.”

Zheng Yuling's tone was a little anxious: "I still need the boiler! We have a power plant for central heating over there, so we don't need to buy a boiler at all. As for the funds, you can get a loan!"

"What if I borrow a woolen yarn and can't pay it back? By then, these people will have no place to eat!" Lao Zheng expressed his worries.

Zheng Yuling said helplessly: "Dad, you still refuse to accept your old age. Your old management ideas can no longer keep up with the situation. How can you run a business if you are so timid? Do you expect to live here in rags?"

Lao Zheng took a sip of water and continued to quarrel with his daughter.

Gao Hongda stared at the snowflakes outside the window in a daze for a while, listening to the quarrel between the two men. Outside the window, a worker was holding a cane and carrying a snakeskin bag of items on his shoulder, walking with difficulty in the snow. The jumping posture made his eyes wet. Turning around, Leng Buding said to Guan Peng: "Are you willing to be the factory director?"

Guan Peng was startled by this sudden question: "What the hell?"

Gao Hongda stood up and waved his hand to silence the quarreling father and asked Factory Director Zheng: "Comrade Zheng, how many acres does the new factory cover?"

Zheng Yuling took the lead and said: "There are 60 acres of land. My dad said it was too big to use. Everyone else wants a bigger one, but he is a stubborn old man!"

Gao Hongda continued: "How much funding gap is there?"

Factory Director Zheng felt proud, and said to his daughter in a mocking tone: "It's hard to tell. If you don't understand the situation, don't make nonsense. Comrade Xiao Gao, to be honest, the equipment alone will cost about 200 million. The demolition can A supplement of five to six million would be good, but it would be a waste for us to only build one factory in such a large factory..."

Gao Hongda said decisively: "Director Zheng, because of your love, I have invested in the new factory. All 60 acres of land will be used. I will fill all the funding gaps!"