Chapter 73

Chen Geng said, "It's the Third Military Equipment Repair Factory of the East China Military Region."

"Right, right, it's this unit. I remember now," Master Xia suddenly realized, then asked with concern, "By the way, Xiao Chen, what position do you hold now?"

Chen Geng modestly replied, "Thanks to the trust of the military leadership, I am now the deputy factory manager of the Third Military Equipment Repair Factory and the manager of the joint venture company, Runhua Industrial Development Co., Ltd."

"Already a deputy factory manager and a manager?" Master Xia's face was filled with joy. As Chen Geng's former mentor, he genuinely felt happy for him: "But it's only natural. You are a top student from Huqing University, you should have stayed in the capital to work in a leadership position. Being a deputy factory manager now is a bit of a waste."

After a pause, the old man asked with concern, "What business are you here in Shanghai for? If there's anything I can help with, just let me know, don't be shy. Although I'm just an ordinary worker, I've been a worker all my life, but I've still managed to train a few apprentices. Your senior brothers might be able to help you a bit."

In the old man's view, since Chen Geng had found him and the other old masters, he must have something he wanted to ask for help with. Although he was just an ordinary worker and might not be able to help much, since it was his former student asking for help, he would have to think of a way to help, no matter what. After all, he had lived in Shanghai all his life and had more connections than a young man who was new to the city.

As for Chen Geng's previous words, he naturally assumed it was just a young man being shy and not wanting to say it.

Chen Geng could feel the deep concern in Master Xia's words, not just empty talk, and was deeply moved. He respectfully said, "Master, I'm here in Shanghai to discuss cooperation with Zhengtai Rubber Factory."

"Oh, Zhengtai Rubber Factory, I see," the old man nodded, "That's even better. They are a cooperative unit of our SAIC Group. Do you need my help?"

"Master, really, there's no need. We are buying tires, in large quantities and for long-term cooperation. They should give us a good price," Chen Geng quickly replied.

"Oh, a large-scale, long-term project. That's no problem," the old man immediately felt relieved.

The old man was reassured, but Chen Geng was troubled. Seeing the current dire situation at SAIC Engine Factory, with so many experienced and skilled old masters idle at home, retiring early or on medical leave to let their children take over, Chen Geng was almost drooling: What a waste! This is a huge waste of talent!

For a technical worker, the age of forty to fifty is the peak of their experience, skills, and physical condition, the golden age for technical workers. These skilled workers are the most valuable assets of a company and a country. How could Chen Geng bear to see such a waste? After chatting with Master Xia for a while, he couldn't hold back any longer: "Master, you're still so young, haven't you thought about finding another job? Even if it's just to earn some extra money for the family, or just to have someone to talk to and chat with."

Master Xia's eyes brightened at this, but then the light dimmed, and he sighed, "I understand what you're saying, but where can I find a job? We're all old men, we can't match the energy of young people, our hands and minds aren't as nimble as yours, and we can't learn as quickly. What else can we do besides operating machine tools? But Shanghai is not short of workers who can operate machine tools.

Don't laugh, but I did think about retiring and finding another job, even if it paid less, to buy a couple of books for my grandson. But at our age, let alone finding a good unit, even finding a job as a gatekeeper or warehouse keeper is a blessing."

At the end, a bitter expression appeared on the old man's face.

Chen Geng was relieved that Master Xia still wanted to work in his old profession. He tentatively asked, "Then, may I ask you a question, Master? If there's a position elsewhere, with a decent salary, still in your old profession, would you be willing to go?"

"Go elsewhere?" Indeed, hearing Chen Geng's words, the old man squinted and smiled, "Brat, you're not trying to get me to work at your unit, are you?"

Chen Geng's little scheme couldn't fool him; time had given him the greatest wealth.

"I knew I couldn't hide it from your keen eyes," Chen Geng said with a sheepish smile.

"Ha ha..." The old man laughed, squinted, and thought for a moment without answering, but then asked curiously, "Your unit in Haizhou isn't too far from Shanghai, but isn't it a military unit? Can I, an outsider, go in? And what could I do there? I've only ever been a machinist, but your unit is a repair factory, what could I do there?"

As for whether it would be embarrassing to work for his own apprentice, it wasn't even a consideration for the old man: In this era, there were no private units; everyone worked for the country. Chen Geng coming to recruit people represented his unit, which was normal. In the context of the national chessboard, people were recruited through family, colleagues, and apprentices, and no one would think twice about it.

Chen Geng took a deep breath, "Master, to be honest, our factory is planning to make engines."

"You? Make engines?" Master Xia was surprised.

A military equipment repair factory directly under the military region making engines? This was completely beyond Master Xia's imagination. As someone in the engine industry, he knew how difficult it was for a company with no foundation to produce qualified and stable engines. The Third Military Equipment Repair Factory was just a unit for repairing military vehicles, and they wanted to make engines. Were they being unrealistic and ambitious, or were they fearless because of their ignorance?

"Yes," Chen Geng nodded, "Master, I didn't have time to explain earlier, but our situation is a bit special now. If you're interested, I can tell you more, and then you can decide whether to go or not, okay?"

"Alright, go ahead," the old man agreed.

The old man thought, "I've lived for so many years, what big waves haven't I seen?" He didn't think Chen Geng would say anything that would move him. But he was wrong. When Chen Geng explained the nationwide military downsizing, the transformation of military enterprises into military-industrial enterprises, and how he, as the deputy factory manager of the Third Military Equipment Repair Factory of the East China Military Region, had invested the modified 212 Jeep into the factory's third industry office and become its manager, Master Xia was completely stunned.

If Chen Geng hadn't said it himself, he would have thought someone was making it up.

But even so, he still found it hard to believe: "I seem to have heard about the 212 Jeep modification. You said you used the suspension and tires from the Volkswagen Santana?"

Chen Geng nodded, "Yes."

Clucking his tongue, the old man asked, "How did you manage that? The Germans are very stingy. I don't know how you convinced them to give you the parts, but I'm sure the quantity was limited, right?"

He was extremely curious about this.

"Indeed, it's not enough to meet our needs," Chen Geng nodded, "So I designed a torsion bar suspension system to replace the coil springs."

As a machinist, Master Xia knew about torsion bars. Hearing that Chen Geng had chosen torsion bars to replace the coil springs from the Volkswagen Santana, his eyes immediately brightened, "Yes, torsion bars can be used, but the overall comfort of the vehicle will be worse, right?"

Chen Geng shook his head, "There is a difference, but it's small. The performance of the torsion bars meets my requirements, and on paved roads, it's almost unnoticeable."

"That's a high requirement for the torsion bars," Master Xia immediately said. Being a technical person himself, he understood that to meet Chen Geng's requirements, the performance of the torsion bars would have to be very high. However, China had a lot of experience producing torsion bars, more than producing automotive coil springs, so it wasn't a big problem: "But you're just doing modifications now, and suddenly producing engines, isn't that a bit too big a step?"

He didn't want to say that Chen Geng was being overly ambitious.

"You misunderstood. We don't plan to start by producing car engines; that's not practical. My idea is to start with small gasoline engines, train the team, and then move on to automotive gasoline engines."

"Small gasoline engines? That would be motorcycle engines," Master Xia nodded.

Starting with small gasoline engines was a good idea. In terms of technical difficulty, motorcycle engines are a highly simplified powertrain. Because of their small displacement, the parts experience less stress, so the technical requirements for the parts are not as high as those for automotive parts. However, this doesn't mean that motorcycle engines can be easily produced. After all, any engine that can run stably and smoothly is a highly precise machine. Let's not even talk about the development of materials that won't deform under high temperature and high pressure; just choosing the right material for the cylinder block is a science in itself.