Chapter 16

For Hu Jiefang, it was truly a courageous act to break through the current facade of warmth and harmony in Factory 501.

Was it better to have everyone be happy, or to brave the complaints of all and forge a path in the market? In 1984, this was a very difficult choice.

Hu Jiefang smoked three cigarettes in the meeting room, then suddenly walked to the window, pulled open the already peeling and rusted window frame, and quietly gazed at the entire view of Factory 501.

This was the large meeting room next to the factory manager's office on the top floor of the office building. From here, the entire 100-acre Factory 501 could be seen at a glance. In the 1950s and 1960s, his father Hu Shiwu used to love doing this, when Factory 501 was so prosperous!

Whenever the factory whistle blew, the workers, dressed in neat blue work uniforms, would rush into the workshops. This scene still often flashed through Hu Jiefang's mind.

But at some point, when the factory whistle blew, the sight of workers rushing into the workshops disappeared. Instead, workers would come out of the bicycle sheds in groups, dawdling into the workshops, and the sound of machines starting up would be heard only after a long time.

Clearly, the conditions in the 1950s and 1960s were much harder than now. But back then, the workers found happiness in labor and truly treated the factory like a home.

Now, the factory buildings were taller, there were more machines, and the workforce had grown, but the production efficiency was a fraction of what it used to be. Even worse, under Hu Jiefang's management, the factory had issues with unpaid wages, unreimbursed medical expenses, and unresolved living expenses. Workers were stealing from the factory, and it was no longer the factory it once was.

Was it better to die with a smile or to live in pain? This was the question.

"Survival has always been painful. Our country's workers have hidden in the factories for too long, forgetting how cruel the world can be. Or look at those who returned from the countryside, those educated youth, and see what they can do for a job and a meal? Dad, you always think I'm just a child, but to me, you workers are the ones who have been overly protected. In this world, there's no room for sentimentality if you want to live. To put it bluntly, if I can't even get respect for my talents, why should I save those who look down on me?"

"No, no one looks down on you, but you are still a child..." Hu Jiefang weakly defended.

"But I am a child capable of saving all the people in Factory 501. Is it wrong for me to demand respect that matches my abilities?"

"They are your elders, you can't..."

"No, they are parasites, objects of my charity, incompetent people dependent on my talents, pests of the state's salary, obstacles to the country's progress, and rocks that cannot see the future direction."

Hu Wenhai, leaning on the meeting table, looked at Hu Jiefang silently for a moment before hesitantly speaking: "Dad, I didn't want to say this, but I don't want you to live the rest of your life in guilt and regret. If you still can't bear to change the current state of Factory 501, you will regret it for the rest of your life."

Hu Jiefang felt a bit dizzy and steadied himself by the window. Then he exhaled the last bit of smoke from his lungs, threw the cigarette butt on the ground, and stomped it out.

"Alright, let's do it your way!" Hu Jiefang swallowed, his gaze gradually becoming firm: "The R&D team of the Technology Department will be under your command!"

Hu Wenhai nodded lightly and smiled.

The Technology Department of Factory 501 had its own small building, two stories high, covering about 600 square meters. The entire department had 15 people, all working on the second floor, while the first floor had been converted into an archive and data room, filled with more and more documents.

The head of the Technology Department, Hong Yijue, was a big fat man. To maintain such a physique in the living standards of the time, he must have been quite capable.

Since he became the head of the Technology Department six years ago, Hong Yijue had given up on further advancement. He knew his limits; his position as head of the department was due to his associate degree. But what was the value of an associate degree in the early 1970s? If it were from the 1950s or 1960s, or even the 1980s and 1990s, it would have been quite valuable.

But an associate degree in the early 1970s—meaning he studied in the 1960s and graduated in the 1970s—was a different story. During this period, China underwent significant changes.

Hong Yijue was not a regular college graduate but a worker-peasant-soldier student. In the 1960s and 1970s, this was a glorious title, but by the 1980s, it marked the end of his career advancement.

So, by now, Hong Yijue had no ambition. However, Hu Jiefang's project for a simulation machine had actually "deceived" a significant amount of money from the higher-ups—allegedly over ten thousand yuan. If this money could resolve the unpaid wages for the past few months, then...

"Manager, it's not that I, Hong, am not working, but our Technology Department has only received 50% of our wages for the past two months. Now that the factory has money, can we settle this debt first?"

"Hong, this money is specifically for the simulation machine project, to develop new products for the factory!" Hu Jiefang's frown was quite intimidating, making Hong Yijue shrink back: "As long as the simulation machine project continues, when we get orders from the Air Force, will the factory treat you, the contributors, poorly?"

"Who knows if this simulation machine can even be developed, and if it does, will it meet the Air Force's requirements?" Although Hong Yijue was intimidated, he still argued: "Manager, once the money is in the factory's account, isn't it up to you how to spend it? Look at how long everyone hasn't had meat. Can you bear it? Are you going to let so much money be wasted by your son while your colleagues suffer? Can you live with that?"

Hu Jiefang looked past Hong Yijue at the other employees in the Technology Department. Although they avoided his gaze, their expressions clearly agreed with Hong Yijue.

Sometimes, he really didn't want to continue as the factory manager. It was like being caught between a rock and a hard place, with no one caring about the factory's future. Why was he doing this? He had worked himself to the bone for the workers, yet they didn't understand him.

"The team is scattered, and it's hard to lead!"

For some reason, Hu Jiefang's mind suddenly recalled a phrase Hu Wenhai often said. He didn't know where his son had learned these things. They sounded nonsensical but sometimes hit the mark. Perhaps he shouldn't be so concerned with maintaining his dignity as a father and should admit that he had a son who was better than him. What was wrong with that?

Hu Jiefang shook his head, clearing his mind of these thoughts. Hong Yijue's complaints were still powerful. Perhaps from the workers' perspective, it was better to let the money go to his son's antics than to solve their practical problems.

"I think everyone in the factory has heard about Hu Wenhai's abilities," Hu Jiefang decided to try again, speaking to Hong Yijue in a gentle and consultative tone: "Although he is a child, his grandfather has been training him in technical skills since he was young. Today, I am speaking as a factory manager, not as a father. Please evaluate Hu Wenhai's technical level. How does his ability compare in the factory?"

When Hu Jiefang asked this, all the employees in the Technology Department were speechless. Although Hu Wenhai often seemed to be causing trouble, his troublemaking was indeed skillful. In a department where high school graduates were considered highly educated, no one had the vision to do anything more advanced.

Take the time when Hu Wenhai caused the most trouble, with a 1.5-meter-long coil electromagnetic cannon, powered by dozens of aluminum electrolytic capacitors. In those days, materials were strictly controlled, and there were no spare electronic components in the military factory. Hu Wenhai made the capacitors himself from raw aluminum. The experiment, conducted secretly in a corner of Factory 501, resulted in a cannon shot that hit the factory office building, creating a large hole in the iron antenna on the roof...

Fortunately, it was just luck; otherwise, if the projectile had hit a residential building, it could have caused a major disaster.

After the incident, the Technology Department compared Hu Wenhai's homemade capacitors with the factory's, and found that his capacitors performed even better than the military-standard ones!

In the eyes of the Factory 501 employees, Hu Wenhai was almost at the level of "someone else's child." He wasn't cursed by the children of Factory 501 because his troublemaking was too advanced to be a role model.

Seeing that no one spoke, Hu Jiefang felt a bit relieved and continued: "I am not avoiding favoritism. Honestly, as a factory manager, don't I know to avoid conflicts of interest? If Hu Wenhai were not my son, I would support his project even more. If we divide this money, it might solve our immediate problems, but how much would each of the thousands of employees get? If the simulation machine project succeeds, the factory will come alive. Wages will be paid, medical expenses will be reimbursed, bonuses and holiday gifts will be given, and everyone's tables will have meat and vegetables. Isn't that better?"