Chapter 78

Although the old masters all expressed that they had never seen such a "luxurious" factory building, they still took action enthusiastically at Hu Wenhui's command. ●⌒

Especially Luo Likou, the former party secretary of Factory 501, who now only held the title of consultant in the new Kexin Company—this old man was 58 this year. Hu Wenhui originally wanted to invite him to continue serving as the party secretary, but he firmly refused, only wanting to finish these last two years and then retire to enjoy his twilight years. No one could persuade him otherwise.

Though nominally a consultant, Luo Likou was still fully committed to the new Kexin Company, just as he was in Factory 501.

In terms of dedication, these old masters from Factory 501 were indeed admirable.

Luo Likou, after receiving the task, immediately went to Xiu Cheng Petrochemical Plant Six and brought back a truckload of transparent plastic boards that same evening. This showed how extensive his connections were in Xiu Cheng's industrial sector. If he were to become a middleman, he could easily become wealthy.

Xiu Cheng Petrochemical Plant Six was a large group with over 100,000 employees, and it had many firsts in China's petrochemical system.

For example, the well-known synthetic fiber fabric "Nylon" was named so because the first domestic production of this fiber was achieved by a chemical plant under the Xiu Cheng Six Plant system.

However, despite this solid background, the relationship between Plant Six and Factory 501 was relatively good. Both were not under the jurisdiction of Xiu Cheng, and Plant Six had to rely on Factory 501 in many ways. However, in recent years, Factory 501 had fallen from grace, which is why their interactions with Plant Six had decreased.

But Factory 501 had treasures like Hu Shiwu, an eighth-level worker, who had made many of Plant Six's equipment. Even if their equal status was gone, some old connections still remained.

Therefore, as the party secretary of Factory 501, Luo Likou still had some influence. This allowed him to succeed in this planned economy era, bringing back the plastic boards with just a call.

If it were any other township or small collective enterprise, they might not have been able to get these materials even if they paid.

What made Hu Wenhui happy was that not only did the progress on the light-transmitting panels go smoothly, but other matters also progressed well.

This demonstrated the power of Factory 501's long-term penetration into Xiu Cheng's industrial system. Need wooden floors? No problem, Suizhong County's wood factory was aided by Factory 501; they just needed to cut a few more trees. A phone call, and they even offered to choose from poplar, pine, or locust trees! Need clear varnish? No problem, we'll apply it and deliver it to Factory 501! If there's even a splinter, we won't charge!

To repair the walls of the second workshop and install roof ventilators, Hu Wenhui simply called Wang Yichun, asking if the city construction company could help.

Not long after he made the call, the city construction company's engineering team arrived at the Kexin Company's factory in the afternoon, driving a large truck with over a hundred people.

"I mean to demolish everything here and install large glass windows to improve lighting in the workshop. However, considering the cold winters in northeastern Xiu Cheng, the sealing must be done well, and we need double-layered windows."

A team leader from the city construction company followed Hu Wenhui, listening to his instructions on the specific plans for the second workshop's renovation. He had already filled a notebook with notes but still hadn't finished recording all the projects. The team leader hadn't expected such a simple workshop renovation to have so many details.

Such a requirement for double-layered windows was truly unique to the wealthy Kexin Company.

But compared to other renovation projects, this wasn't the most extravagant. Hu Wenhui originally planned to cover the exterior walls with wooden boards and fill the middle with rock wool insulation boards. This extravagant plan was ultimately stopped by the old masters.

Mr. Hu, your ideas are too grand. Even if money isn't an issue, Suizhong's wood factory can't provide that many boards, and rock wool insulation boards are in extremely short supply. How can they be used for factory insulation!

Xiu Cheng did have a rock wool insulation board factory, but it was a supporting enterprise for Bohai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry, producing insulation and fireproof partitions for ships. They wouldn't use much on ships, let alone for your factory.

Hu Wenhui awkwardly rubbed his nose, never expecting his ordinary renovation plan to be called "extravagant." What a great injustice!

If they knew he was planning to build a full steel structure color steel plate workshop using cold-rolled thin steel plates, these old masters would go crazy!

He didn't dare tell them, so he asked the team leader from the city construction company about the situation.

"Thin steel plate factory? Full steel structure?" The team leader was stunned, shaking his head vigorously. "Mr. Hu, we can't do that! Not only do we lack experience, but no company in Xiu Cheng has ever done it! Besides, how will you insulate a thin steel plate factory? Although it's light and can easily create large-span workshops, you still need a foundation, which means waiting until April!"

"Even if we ignore that, where will you get the cold-rolled thin steel plates? They are extremely expensive!"

The team leader sincerely patted his chest. "If you trust us, Mr. Hu, and want to build a new workshop, we can do a concrete and steel frame structure. We guarantee to complete it in two... no, one and a half years!"

The team leader had some business sense and knew how to bring in business for his company. He could tell that the person in front of him was not short of money, and this was a rare opportunity to make a big profit.

However, when he quoted a one-and-a-half-year construction period, Hu Wenhui had already crossed the city construction company off his list.

What a joke! The new products of Kexin Company must be produced quickly! Any delay, regardless of the material cost saved, is a complete waste of time!

Building a new brick and concrete factory in a year and a half would mean losing out on the profits from a thousand full steel structure factories during that time!

"Wait a moment." Hu Wenhui stopped and frowned. "You said you've seen this kind of cold-rolled thin steel plate?"

"Uh, yes!" The team leader thought for a moment and nodded. "I remember it was Ansteel. Last year, during the renovation of the railway station platform, I saw their train cars carrying cold-rolled steel coils."

"Alright, let's go over the work again." Hu Wenhui, hearing this, immediately reviewed the specific plans for the second workshop's renovation with him, then patted his buttocks and left.

Hu Wenhui, without hesitation, called Wang Yichun again after leaving the construction site, asking him to use his government connections to get the phone number for Ansteel, and then called immediately.

He got the general number for Ansteel's sales department. After calling over ten times, he finally got through. A slow and steady female voice asked,

"Hello, who is this?"

Good, the number is correct. Hu Wenhui relaxed, knowing that the tone of owing 200 yuan could only be faked by a state-owned enterprise.

"Hello, is this Ansteel's sales department? I'm from Xiu Cheng Kexin Company. I heard you have cold-rolled steel products, and we want to buy some."

"Xiu Cheng Kexin Company? Never heard of it. Do you have a quota? What level of enterprise are you?"

"Quota..." Hu Wenhui smiled bitterly. "No, we are a private enterprise."

"Private enterprises can't buy cold-rolled steel without a quota!"

Click! Beep beep beep—

Hu Wenhui was stunned, holding the phone for a long time. Am I buying something or begging?

In his mind, since 1984, some industrial production materials in China had been subject to a dual pricing system. Buying cold-rolled steel at the market price for a steel structure factory was not a waste of money.

But who would have thought that Ansteel would be so arrogant, hanging up the phone as soon as they heard it was a private enterprise, clearly not even considering selling them any quota-free products.

Reluctantly, Hu Wenhui had to bring out Mayor Wang Yichun again—this man had recently exchanged another million dollars from him, and it was a favor to use.

After a day of phone calls and negotiations, Wang Yichun, as the mayor of Xiu Cheng, had to admit that he couldn't help.

Yes, the hall-level leader Wang Yichun indeed couldn't influence the vice-ministerial-level Ansteel. Moreover, they were not in the same system, and it was only because they were both from Bohai Province that he could find someone to inquire.

The reason was simple: Ansteel's cold-rolled steel was in high demand. Two years ago, China still had to import this thin steel plate, and Ansteel only started producing it in 1983.

In less than two years, Ansteel's production capacity for cold-rolled steel had not fully developed, and the market was still in a state of supply shortage.

Even larger state-owned enterprises were not fully supplied, so there was no extra capacity for private enterprises. That's why Ansteel hung up the phone as soon as they heard Hu Wenhui's identity and the request for cold-rolled steel, a highly sought-after product.

He sat in his office, thinking for a long time. What to do? The first batch of equipment for the new product line could be installed in the renovated second workshop, but to truly produce the products, a new workshop had to be built as soon as possible.

To save time, a steel structure color steel plate workshop was necessary. But the most important raw material was in short supply.

"Right!"

Suddenly, Hu Wenhui had a flash of inspiration, excitedly slapping the table.