Siheyuan: Taking over the steel mill

A senior workshop manager asked a question.

He had heard of the old stubborn man's reputation when he was an apprentice, so he just responded calmly without arguing.

"Most residents in the 49th district are unwilling to invest in gas cylinders, as they are not very practical. Instead, they prefer economical honeycomb briquettes..."

Another person in charge also expressed his own opinion, frowning, full of suspicion. Was Su Chen lacking common sense and acting on his own? It was simply absurd!

"Yes, several factories have gone bankrupt because of producing similar products. It is definitely unwise for steel mills to get involved in this product field!"

Almost everyone expressed concerns and doubts in unison, and agreed that manufacturing gas cylinders would not win market favor.

In the mid-70s, even in the relatively prosperous urban areas, household consumption capacity was quite limited. Purchasing honeycomb coal for daily cooking was already a luxury. Many poor families lived in simple houses and spent the winter wrapped in old quilts. How could they afford gas cylinders? Who could accept the development and production at this moment?

Although the managers were full of doubts and reservations, Su Chen remained calm and did not show any panic: "Don't worry about the sales problem, I can handle it. Now please arrange for workers to batch produce some trial products for inspection."

Such a confident attitude can't help but remind people of the image of a general who can plan and win battles thousands of miles away. The workshop directors looked at each other and agreed to do it.

After all, if a new leader's first work instruction is rejected by his subordinates, he will be subjected to cold words or disguised suppression. In order to protect himself, he will not rashly refuse.

Although they knew that they might lose all their money if the project went into production, the final responsibility would be borne mainly by the manager and their own duties would not be involved, so they simply agreed to implement the plan.

"Okay, then let's assign it to production line number three. These drawings are not complicated and we should be able to get results soon."

The workshop director of production line No. 3 nodded with determination.

Seeing this, Su Chen waved his hand and asked them to go back and deploy.

For him, this is a step towards better development of the steel rolling mill in the future, so he does not seem to be in a hurry.

Although these designs are good, the final effect still needs to be tested by the finished product.

There is no doubt that the production level of the steel mill is high, but when trying a product that has never been produced before for the first time, the ideal results may not be achieved at the beginning.

Su Chen was also mentally prepared for the possibility of failure in the first few experiments.

All things are difficult at the beginning, but with the help of the system, subsequent production will become smoother and smoother.

After several workshop directors left, they immediately went to production line No. 3 to arrange personnel and start related work on the production of gas cylinders.

These people are not worried about sales issues - since there are people in the market who need this thing, they just need to focus on increasing production.

Director Li and others, including "Silly Zhu" who had a grudge against Su Chen

, and has been paying attention to his new moves for a long time, especially "Silly Zhu"

, was feeling dissatisfied after being criticized by Su Chen this morning.

When they learned that Su Chen was going to arrange for the factory to mass-produce gas cylinders, everyone looked at each other and felt that what he was doing was totally unreasonable.

“This is bullshit!”

Director Li stamped his feet angrily.

He still remembers that a few years ago a factory was forced to close down because it blindly produced gas cylinders.

At that time, even he and his colleagues laughed at the management's decision, saying it was too impulsive and stupid, but they did not expect that the same problem would now appear at the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill.

"It's still popular to use gas cylinders nowadays; they are troublesome and expensive.

I don’t understand what’s going on in his mind.”

Hearing this, the second uncle's face could not help but become gloomy. He lived and worked well in the factory, and what he feared most was seeing anything happen that might lead to his financial instability - especially as it might threaten his pension collection.

"I think he is crazy. No one will buy our products if he does this."

Sha Zhu said angrily that he guessed in his heart that Yan Jiecheng and his wife might be secretly planning something unfavorable, which made him attach great importance to this job.

If the steel mill goes bankrupt, he will also be unemployed and homeless.

The more he thought about it, the more he suspected that Su Chen's move was just an attempt to create trouble by taking advantage of the deposit.

“I dare say he has no intention of running this place seriously.

He spent so much money on security deposit just to mess up the factory and then withdraw! It seems he won't be able to do this for long."

Sha Zhu pounded his legs in anger. If he had not come to the workshop to find out the inside story, he might not have noticed Su Chen's foolish decision.

Even as the current factory owner, such words still sounded incredible. After all, if it weren't for their own tight financial situation and the belief that operating such a large steel rolling facility was unprofitable, perhaps even Second Uncle would want to try out the feeling of being in a leadership position.

"That's true, but he paid 10,000 yuan as a deposit. Is that the reason he messed up the production process?"

Director Li seemed puzzled by this situation.

“I guess he has ulterior motives.

Maybe he had already planned the market sales before taking over."

Xu Damao, who arrived at the scene later, said this through gritting his teeth.

He finally figured it out. It must be that Su Chen knew that the factory was in financial difficulties and raised some investment from outside, so he was so bold to take over this mess.

"I dare say that within a month, he will be gone and arrested!"

"With his actions, our factory will only have more debts. He is our legal representative and he will not be able to escape responsibility when the time comes!"

Sha Zhu was almost swearing.

The others also had their own thoughts and looked heavy-hearted.

Seeing the workers working happily, although they could not stop it, the more they watched, the more upset they felt, so they simply walked away.

Su Chen didn't care what other people thought, nor did he want to guess their intentions.

After arranging the accountant and workshop director, he rushed to the industrial department without stopping.

After a night of thinking, he decided on a strategy that would revive the steel mill, and he planned to implement it today.

Fortunately, the industrial department was not far from the steel rolling mill, so Su Chen asked the driver to take him to the gate.

As reform and opening up are about to come, the industrial sector will also play a key role, so he came here with full confidence.

"Hello, please let me know. I am Su Chen, the director of the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill. I would like to meet your supervisor."

He said to the guard in front of the gate.

The guard who thought that the person in front of him was just an ordinary citizen who came to watch the fun, when he heard that it was Su Chen who introduced himself, he immediately straightened up and said:

"Comrade Su, please wait a moment. I will go and notify them now."

This is the director of the once popular Red Star Steel Rolling Mill!

Although the current situation in various places is not good and even many state-owned factories are facing the risk of bankruptcy, this is not the case with the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill.

Even this security guard had hoped to become a glorious worker, but unfortunately he did not have the opportunity to enter the Red Star Factory.

Soon, after receiving the notification, Su Chen was allowed to enter.

Su Chen arrived at the office of his supervisor very smoothly.

The current head of the industrial department is named Zhang, but this name does not leave much impression on him.

After all, this is a fictional world with no connection to reality, and bumping into familiar celebrities here is even more unusual.

At this time, Manager Zhang was drinking tea in the office. He didn't expect that the director of a large factory would come to see him.

If it weren't for the fact that the director of the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill did have a certain status, Manager Zhang might not have wanted to see Su Chen at all.

"Manager Zhang, I came here this time hoping to get your support."

As soon as Su Chen entered the office, he said a few flattering words to Manager Zhang, and then went straight to the point and stated the reason for his visit.

But after hearing this, Manager Zhang showed an embarrassed expression and waved his hand:

“It’s not that I don’t want to help, it’s that we can’t provide any help at the moment.

With a steel mill of this size, the industrial sector is powerless to manage it even if they want to.”

Manager Zhang actually didn’t care at all what kind of help Su Chen wanted.

Recently, many physical enterprises have come to the department for help. When they saw Su Chen, they could already guess 70 to 80 percent of the situation and were just waiting for him to explain the situation.

Su Chen knew in his heart that his supervisor would definitely reject him, so he was not surprised and did not show any disappointment.

"Please listen to my specific request, there is only one.

Listen to it and see if you can make it happen.”

Su Chen behaved calmly, which made Manager Zhang look at him with admiration, but he still shook his head.

"Comrade Su, the country is in a difficult situation right now, and we really can't place so many people in the steel mill."

Su Chen smiled slightly and said, "I don't need the country to help arrange workers for my province, but I would like to ask you to help invite the consul of Camel Country to visit our Asian Steel Plant."

After hearing this, Manager Zhang asked curiously, "Why?"

Zhang, the manager of the industrial department, had contact with Camel Country before, but he didn't understand why he needed to invite them to visit the steel mill?

"We have developed a new batch of new products at our steel rolling mill. Once the consul visits, we can conclude a deal and increase our revenue."

Su Chen's words were full of confidence and he seemed quite calm.

However, Manager Zhang shook his head again.

"Are you sure? Forget it. I'm afraid the consul is not interested in buying it."

Manager Zhang felt that there was no hope for this matter and did not want to waste his efforts.

Manager Zhang, who is cautious in his duties, knows that every step he takes will be watched by everyone.

Seeing him like this, Su Chen said, "Manager Zhang, our new product can not only increase our income, but also earn foreign exchange for the country."

Su Chen's words made Manager Zhang's eyes light up, and he made the decision without thinking.

"Well, can you really sell this batch of goods?"

"That's for sure. I'm the director of a steel mill and I wouldn't say anything irresponsible."

Su Chen answered confidently.

Manager Zhang nodded with satisfaction: "Okay, not bad.

Wait for the news. I will contact the consul of Camel Country and invite him to visit the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill!"

At this time, the country is facing a currency crisis and urgently needs foreign exchange. Su Chen's proposal comes at the right time, and this is exactly the focus of Manager Zhang's attention.

The inflation of the US dollar is affecting the country's foreign exchange reserves and the local currency pegged to it, requiring more foreign reserves to get out of the predicament.

Therefore, in order to improve the situation and increase foreign exchange reserves, ** is taking various measures to encourage the growth of foreign exchange earnings.

Su Chen's proposal is exactly in line with this trend.

Therefore, at this point, Manager Zhang had no reason not to agree immediately.

A consul's visit alone wouldn't be a big deal if it could bring in a lot of profit...

Su Chen felt relieved after dealing with these matters.

Fortunately, everything went smoothly as planned.

This means that Su Chen can basically confirm that he will ensure the continued operation of the steel mill!

Excited, he decided to enjoy a good meal to commemorate the beginning of it all, so he waved to the driver to go back first and walked to the nearby market to buy some fresh ingredients to take home.

When he returned home with the food, he found that brothers Liu Guangtian, Liu Guangfu and Liu Haizhong were in a stalemate at home...

Instead of closing the door like in the TV series, they started arguing in the yard.

Su Chen heard it clearly.

Seeing these people blocking the way, Su Chen had to stop and wait temporarily.

Their voices were louder than each other.

"How could you say such outrageous words to your father?"

"You kid..."

The second aunt grabbed her son Liu Guangtian by the collar and scolded him loudly.

Before she finished her words, Liu Guangtian pushed her hard and threw her aside.

"I can say whatever I want to say, and you have no right to interfere!"

Liu Guangfu's wife, who was standing by, quickly interrupted upon seeing this.

"Guangfu, he is being unfilial, hurry up!"

"You, how could you treat our mother like this!"

Liu Guangfu's eyes were bloodshot, and he rushed forward and gave Liu Guangtian a loud slap in the face.

In an instant, several people twisted into a ball.

The woman yelled, "Stop hitting me, stop hitting me"

, the men’s roars rose one after another.

The scene immediately became extremely chaotic.

Faced with such a chaotic situation, Su Chen stood aside and watched quietly, without stepping forward to dissuade or help.

No matter what he had seen of Liu Haizhong's family in the original drama, or what he had personally experienced in this world, he never had any good feelings towards Liu Haizhong's family.

This family is cruel and ruthless, the father is unkind and the son is unfilial, so it's no wonder that they end up like this.

While everyone was fighting, Liu Haizhong was knocked to the ground by one of them.

Suddenly the second uncle fell to the ground and couldn't get up.

"Old man! Old man!"

The second aunt reacted immediately and rushed over crying.

While crying and shouting, she cursed at the two brothers: "You two have no conscience! Stop it! Come and see your father!"

She tried to call out, but she cried even louder.

After seeing all this, Su Chen decided to ignore it and even thought about moving somewhere else.

As soon as the chaos subsided a little, he immediately went to his room.

We can no longer stay in a place where family fights are constant. It is very upsetting to watch the family drama they play out every day.

Su Chen returned home and made a fire to cook.

This era has many advantages, but it also has one inconvenience - you still have to cook for yourself.

It would be great if we had a rice cooker right now.

Su Chen shook his head, knowing that by the time electric rice cookers were available in China, he would probably be old.

Without thinking about these questions anymore, he quickly started cooking.

By the time all the dishes are cooked, the rice can be served.

Su Chen is now well-off and no longer needs to buy old rice like before.

Now his rice jar is full of high-quality new rice.

Other families may not have such abundant food reserves. Fortunately, he lives alone and does not eat much.

After washing the rice and starting to steam it, Su Chen also prepared the fresh vegetables he brought back.

Having reduced his meat intake over the past few years, Suchen plans to have meat at every meal in the future.

He is still young, and improving his nutrition may make him stronger.

Even if he was fighting against that idiot who was said to be the strongest in the academy, he might be able to handle it easily.

The meat was quickly prepared, marinated and set aside.

Su Chen then dealt with the vegetables that had not been picked yet.

In a moment, all the preparations were completed.

All the ingredients are prepared and the pot is heated. Pour the hot oil into the pot and with a sizzling sound, the aroma fills the air.

Today's dishes are braised pork, stir-fried cabbage and a bowl of winter melon soup.

After a busy period, Su Chen was finally able to start eating.

Although the meal was not rich due to his limited cooking skills, he hadn't cooked for a while and now felt that it was the most delicious meal he had ever made.

"It's still best to cook it yourself."

Thinking so in his heart, Su Chen happily picked up the bowl, filled it with large pieces of braised pork, and ate the rice with relish.