Chapter 59

On the evening of November 24, 1978, in the early winter, 18 of the 20 households in Xiaogang Village were present, with only Guan Youde and Yan Guochang, the heads of two households, absent as they were out begging. The 18 farmers, in a manner akin to entrusting their children to others in case of death, took a great risk and signed a life-and-death agreement, pressing their red fingerprints on the land contract responsibility document. This act created the "Xiaogang Spirit" and marked the beginning of China's reform and opening up.

Before 1978, Xiaogang Village was known throughout the county as a "three-reliance village" that "depended on grain for food, money for relief, and loans for production." Almost every household would go out to beg for food after the autumn harvest.

At the time, the relevant policies stipulated: "No household production quotas, no division of land for individual farming."

Xiaogang Village, however, divided the land for individual farming, with each person receiving 4.5 acres. The farmers' enthusiasm increased significantly. The following year, the total grain production of Xiaogang Village reached 133,000 pounds, equivalent to the total grain production from 1966 to 1970. The total oilseed (peanut) production was 35,000 pounds, equivalent to the total production of the past 20 years. Xiaogang Village's annual grain procurement task was 2,800 pounds, and in the past 23 years, they had not delivered a single grain. That year, they delivered 24,995 pounds, more than seven times the target. Due to the increase in production, the villagers' income increased significantly, with a total income of 47,000 yuan, averaging 400 yuan per person, 18 times the previous year.

At this time, in the northeast, Lin Qiangsheng, on a cold day at the end of November, was in a small village under the Hongqi Commune, recruiting his first batch of people!

Wang Guoxi had finished debugging the equipment at the watch factory and began to vigorously replicate famous domestic brand watches, the Shanghai brand, producing a total of 23 mechanical watches. This watch adopted a style similar to the Shanghai brand, but the strap was made of leather, which was easier to produce.

Wang Guoxi immediately rushed to the Hongqi Commune, called Lin Xiangrong's office using the commune phone, and found Lin Qiangsheng, excitedly asking him to come to the village to see the watches he had made.

Lin Qiangsheng was naturally very happy, driving his car very fast and arriving at the village in less than an hour. That day, in Wang's house, Lin Qiangsheng and Wang Guoxi discussed recruiting 15-16 smart and willing young people the next day, along with Wang Guoxi's two sons, Wang Zhenqiang and Wang Zhenjun, to start the small watch factory.

Due to the tight electricity supply in the village, only a few machines could operate. According to Wang Guoxi's estimate, with a few people and a few machines, if there were sufficient raw materials, they could produce tens of thousands of watches per month.

Lin Qiangsheng was already very satisfied with this production capacity. If the workers became more skilled, the watch production could increase significantly. Or, he could recruit more people, which was also an option.

The Shanghai brand watch sold for 125 yuan each. His watches sold for 90 yuan, and Lin Qiangsheng felt it was reasonable, even thinking it was too profitable. However, if Lin Qiangsheng sold the watches at a low price, it would cause a significant impact on the watch market, which would be too high-profile!

Lin Qiangsheng dared not do that!

At the end of the 1970s, Vice Premier Gu Mu said that the cost of a watch was only 9 yuan, but it sold for over 100 yuan, with a high profit margin and strong market demand. He suggested that more factories be established nationwide.

The all-steel shock-resistant 17-jewel Shanghai brand watch sold for 125 yuan, with a state-determined cost of 8.5 yuan. If the records are correct, the profit margin of the Shanghai brand watch was as high as 1288.88%! Such a profit margin was truly excessive!

In 1968, the most prosperous year for the Swiss watch industry, the profit margin reached 80%.

Comparing 1288.88% and 80%...

The wicked Swiss capitalists, who produced the highest quality watches in the world, had a profit margin of only 80%, while the profit margin of domestic watches was so high! And this was after the state had adjusted the prices several times and declared that watches were no longer high-priced goods.

Even if labor costs and equipment depreciation were included, with each watch costing 20 yuan, there was still a sixfold profit.

Lin Qiangsheng's small watch factory, producing 10,000 watches per month, with a cost of 10 yuan per watch and a retail price of 90 yuan, had a profit of 80 yuan per watch.

So, 10,000 watches would yield a monthly profit of...

Lin Qiangsheng counted on his fingers, muttering, "80 times 10,000 equals 800,000?... 800,000 yuan!"

No matter how Lin Qiangsheng calculated it, it seemed to be a monthly profit of 800,000 yuan. Thinking about this astonishing amount of money, Lin Qiangsheng was dazed.

"What the hell! I'll be naked, and my whole body will be covered in my watches!" Lin Qiangsheng roared in his heart.

That morning, a table was set up next to the village primary school gate. When the villagers heard about it, they all ran out of their homes and gathered at the gate to watch the commotion.

On one side of the primary school gate, a new signboard was hung, reading "Guoxi Watch Factory."

Wang Zhenqiang held a small string of firecrackers, standing beside the table, but Lin Qiangsheng told him not to light them yet.

"Secretary Xu, come, let's stand here and take a photo first!" Lin Qiangsheng invited Village Secretary Xu Zengliang from the crowd, then took out a DF1-type Peacock camera produced by the Bincheng Instrument Factory, handed it to a young villager, and taught him how to take a photo and press the shutter.

The young man held the camera nervously, having never seen such an expensive item, let alone held it in his hands!

He held the camera towards the three of them, but his posture was awkward. He ended up in a shooting stance, with one foot forward and the other back. The onlookers laughed at his comical actions.

Xu Zengliang was happily invited to stand between Wang Guoxi and Lin Qiangsheng, laughing and saying, "Wow, this is quite a grand occasion!"

"Click"

The camera clicked, and the three of them, standing in front of the school gate under the blue sky, laughing and talking, became a precious memory.

After the photo, the small string of firecrackers was lit, and the Guoxi Watch Factory officially opened. The name of the factory made Master Wang Guoxi very excited.

Lin Qiangsheng stood at the factory gate and loudly called out, "Fellow villagers, the Guoxi Watch Factory is officially open! I am the factory manager, Lin Qiangsheng! I won't say much, thank you all for your support. Our factory plans to recruit a few people from the village, aged 30 or younger, with good eyesight! Everyone is welcome to sign up!"

"Ah!" The villagers were all shocked and soon began to cheer.

Some of the older men were eagerly asking others, while some of the women started recommending their children.

"Buzz, buzz, buzz"

The noise quickly became chaotic, and Xu Zengliang waved his hand and shouted, "Everyone, stop the noise, one by one! If anyone wants to work at the factory, talk to the young Lin Qiangsheng!"

Lin Qiangsheng and Xu Zengliang had already discussed the recruitment, and Xu Zengliang strongly supported it, even sending his younger son, Xu Chao, to the factory.

If the factory had not just opened and he did not want to recruit too many people, Xu Zengliang would have even sent his two daughters to the factory.

Lin Qiangsheng nodded and called out to the villagers, "Let me say this: the first two months will be a learning phase, as apprentices! Those who do well will stay and get paid. Those who do poorly will not get paid!"

"Oh!" The villagers started to cheer again, making Xu Zengliang glare at them.

The villagers thought about it and discussed it among themselves. They all agreed that it was reasonable to be apprentices at any factory. Their children were not much different from others!

An old woman pulled her son and rushed to Lin Qiangsheng, shouting, "Manager, let my child join the factory, he will definitely do well!"

Lin Qiangsheng saw that it was the young man who had taken the photo earlier, who was about 21 or 22 years old. At this age, in the countryside, he was already quite old. But in this era, he could only farm in the village, with no other prospects. In the winter, it was so cold in the northeast that there was nothing to do, and he could only stay at home.

Lin Qiangsheng nodded, looked at the young man's eager eyes, and smiled, "Sure, come to my factory and learn from Master Wang Guoxi. Once you are proficient, you will get paid!"

"Good! Count my child too!" An old man pulled his child and hurriedly stood in front of Lin Qiangsheng.

Lin Qiangsheng smiled and agreed, and immediately the villagers became excited, rushing forward to sign up.

Wang Zhenjun, Wang Guoxi's second son, sat behind the table, recording the names.

Lin Qiangsheng originally planned to recruit five or six people, but the villagers all wanted their children to sign up, and the number quickly exceeded the plan!

The village had over a hundred households, and if each household sent one child, there would be over a hundred.

Lin Qiangsheng loudly called out, "We don't need that many! We don't need that many!"

The older men and women all pleaded, "Manager, you can take any child, but please take ours!"

These people's clamor left Lin Qiangsheng no choice, so he shouted, "The first two months will be as apprentices, with no pay. Those who do well will stay, and those who do poorly will be dismissed!"

"Good! Ha, that's the way to go, young Lin Qiangsheng!" Xu Zengliang was glad that the young men and women in the village would have something to do in the winter, which would save him a lot of trouble.

As a result, Lin Qiangsheng's recruitment plan was seriously overstaffed. What was supposed to be a quiet start turned into a grand recruitment in the village.

The small watch factory, using four classrooms as the factory, ended up recruiting over 200 people!

Fortunately, the village primary school still had some desks and chairs, and those who did not have them brought chairs from home, making do with what they had. The recruited workers, like radish heads, were squeezed into the few classrooms, where Master Wang Guoxi and his two sons taught them how to assemble watches.

Master Wang Guoxi held up a small gear from the watch, showing it to the workers, who were amazed at how small the watch parts were. His explanations were often interrupted by their amazement and laughter.

It took about half a month for the workers to start formally assembling the finished products. By then, the factory had sufficient raw materials, and the watch parts were being produced continuously, giving the workers plenty of practical training opportunities.

Twenty female workers were selected to sew the leather straps. Lin Qiangsheng bought 20 sewing machines from the city and let the sewing group take the machines home to free up space.

Lin Qiangsheng's generous behavior immediately caused a sensation in the small village!

Many young women and housewives ran to the female workers' homes to help for free, just to learn how to use the sewing machines.

Lin Qiangsheng also selected seven or eight clumsy young men from the workers, equipped them with 28 heavy-duty cargo bicycles and tricycles, and assigned them to transport raw materials and finished watches between the village and the city.

These young men no longer had to squint to assemble the watch parts. They were relieved and excited to be the first to receive the factory's wages, 20 yuan per month, along with soap, face cream, and snake oil ointment coupons.

As a result, the young women in the village often visited these young men's homes, making the rough men's body hair stand up in excitement.

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