Chapter 327 Industrial Development
In Liujiazhuang, agriculture is the source of prosperity on this land, nourishing the land and the people.

However, with the changes of the times, relying solely on agriculture can no longer meet Liujiazhuang's growing development needs.

As a result, light industry quietly emerged on this land, injecting new vitality into Liujiazhuang.

However, the future is an era full of challenges and opportunities. If Liujiazhuang wants to gain a foothold in that era, it cannot stand still and must bravely move towards cutting-edge scientific and technological fields such as heavy industry, electronics industry and biomedicine.

Only in this way can Liujiazhuang keep up with the pace of the times and avoid being eliminated by the times in the future.

No one can yet imagine how fast and drastic the changes in the future will be. However, Liu Zhiye has experienced it.

In Liujiazhuang, while everyone was still intoxicated by the flourishing flowers before their eyes, he had quietly prepared for a rainy day and made careful plans for the future.

Time flies, and more than ten years pass in a flash, but the more prepared they are, the more successful they will be in the future.

At the end of May, Liujiazhuang once again welcomed the grand completion of a factory.

This factory is different from other light industries in the village. It is a light industrial machinery processing enterprise that focuses on the production of small hardware products. Its birth marks the official entry of Liujiazhuang into the industrial field.

This factory in Liujiazhuang is completely different from the small collective enterprises in villages and towns in the south. From the very beginning, it was determined to become a formal large-scale hardware processing enterprise.

To this end, Liujiazhuang invested nearly 15 million yuan to build factories and purchase professional processing equipment.

These major production equipment include C618, C620 lathes, belt lathes, shapers, punching machines, sheet metal machine tools, and 2-meter gantry planers.

These equipment are currently mainly used for the production of hardware processing machinery, meeting the Liujiazhuang factory's demand for hardware product production.

Thanks to the good relationship with the Red Star Factory, all the metal processing raw materials needed by the "Hardware Factory" are provided by this factory.

In the early stage, Red Star Factory also vigorously assisted the Liujiazhuang "Hardware Factory" in training workers and provided the hardware factory with skilled workers. All of this enabled the production of the Liujiazhuang "Hardware Factory" to proceed smoothly.

The factory in Liujiazhuang is undoubtedly their largest investment so far. It is highly specialized and cannot be compared with ordinary food processing, brewing or building materials factories.

The investment in this factory not only demonstrates Liujiazhuang's determination for industrial development, but also invisibly improves the industrial level of the entire western Beijing mountainous area.

When Liu Zhiye first proposed to build a "hardware factory" in the village to promote industrial development, he was opposed by some village committee cadres for the first time.

These opposing voices mainly came from cadres who were later merged into the village. They did not oppose just for the sake of opposing, but out of caution and policy considerations, they were reserved about such a huge investment amount.

The starting point is good. Their view is that they hope Liujiazhuang can develop steadily and avoid unnecessary risks.

Although these village committee cadres had a certain respect and trust for Liu Zhiye, their respect and trust were far less than that of the original leading cadres of Liujiazhuang. They had an extremely blind worship of Liu Zhiye.

As long as Liu Zhiye made a decision, the original village committee cadres would do their best to support it even if they did not care about or understand it, and his decision would be proved to be correct afterwards.

In the end, the minority obeyed the majority, and the village committee approved the proposal and decided to take another gamble in industry.

"Zhiye, building a hardware factory is easy. The land and capital are easy to solve, but what about the machinery and equipment and skilled workers?" Liu Yuanhai said worriedly.

Then he raised another key question: "So, how will the sales of the hardware products produced be solved?" As the head of the village committee, he has always been a supporter of Liu Zhiye.

If the investment fails, his prestige will suffer a severe blow. In the worst case, Liu may lose control of the village committee.

Liu Zhiye also knew that given the political environment of Liujiazhuang, the benefits of merging villages and towns were that this move not only solved the problem of labor shortage in Liujiazhuang, injected new vitality into the village's development, but also led more people to the path of poverty alleviation and prosperity.

However, everything has its two sides. Accordingly, Liu's control over the village committee is gradually weakening.

Today, the Liu family only occupies half of the seats on the village committee. This is a clear turning point, foreshadowing the change in the power structure of the village committee, and it will no longer be the Liu family's one-man show.

Therefore, the "hardware factory" project is of vital importance to the Liu family, and its success or failure is directly related to the Liu family's position in the village committee.

Once the project is successful, the Liu family will continue to sit firmly on the throne of the village committee, and Liu Zhiye's lofty ambitions will become possible.

On the contrary, if this project encounters a serious setback, the Liu family's influence in the village committee will gradually weaken, and the future blueprint that Liu Zhiye has carefully constructed over the years may die halfway.

Liu Zhiye took a deep breath, raised a confident smile, and said firmly: "Don't worry, I have done market research. Now that people's living standards are improving, they have money to buy metal products. In addition, the country's construction is changing with each passing day, and hardware products are in short supply."

"As you know, the hardware store in our village is always out of stock. Whenever there is a market, this store always has the most customers."

The third uncle nodded and said, "That's right. I went to buy a box of nails a few days ago, but they were out of stock. I heard I have to wait a few days..."

After hearing what Liu Zhiye said, Liu Yuanhai's confidence was instantly doubled. The urgent demand for "hardware" products in society is unquestionable, which can be clearly felt from the market response and consumer enthusiasm.

At the very beginning, Liu Zhiye was full of confidence in opening a "hardware factory".

Huaxi Village, later known as "the first village in China", gradually came to prominence and accumulated the first pot of gold for its development by opening a small "hardware factory" two years later in 66.

In the southern part of Xia State, there are many people with an annual income of 10,000 yuan who have achieved the original accumulation of wealth through handicraft workshops producing small "hardware".

The name "hardware" may not sound very broad, but it covers all aspects of people's lives and construction, and has a wide range of uses.

Common hardware products are divided into two categories: large hardware and small hardware. Large hardware refers to steel plates, steel bars, flat irons, universal angle steels, channel irons, I-beams and various types of steel materials.

Small hardware includes construction hardware, tinplate, locks, nails, wire, wire mesh, wire cutters, household hardware, various tools, etc.

According to the nature and use of hardware, it should be divided into eight categories: steel materials, non-ferrous metal materials, mechanical parts, transmission equipment, auxiliary tools, work tools, construction hardware, and household hardware.

The uses of small hardware are further subdivided, such as locks, handles, door and window hardware, home decoration hardware, plumbing hardware, building decoration hardware, and tool hardware.

In today's society, only large state-owned enterprises produce this kind of products, plus some small-scale workshop-style production in the private sector.

Liu Zhiye had also worked in this industry in his previous life and knew that the hardware industry has always played an important role in meeting people's daily life and work needs.

From locks and plumbing equipment to future power tools and building hardware, the hardware industry offers a wide variety of products that cover every aspect of people's lives.

In the future, with the acceleration of urbanization and the continuous advancement of infrastructure construction, the market demand for the hardware industry will grow explosively, and the industry prospects are very broad.

Therefore, he firmly believes that as long as the people of Liujiazhuang are down-to-earth, hardworking, and steady, after more than ten years of first-mover advantage, they will definitely be able to have a place in this industry in the future.

In Liujiazhuang, the commissioning of the "Hardware Factory" is not just an ordinary industrial event. It symbolizes the entire village's firm steps towards large-scale industrialization and has become an important milestone in the village's development history.

In order to commemorate this historic moment, the village committee carefully prepared a grand groundbreaking ceremony.

The celebration was attended by not only villagers, enterprise workers, teachers and students, but also leaders of higher-level government departments, as well as representatives of many partners and enterprises and institutions. People gathered together to witness this new beginning.

On that day, the sun shone on every inch of land in Liujiazhuang, covering the earth with a layer of gold. The sky was blue and cloudless, as if cheering for the hardware factory's production.

Everyone was dressed in their best clothes, with smiles of joy and pride on their faces. They gathered in front of the hardware factory, waiting for the ceremony to begin.

With the sound of enthusiastic firecrackers, the groundbreaking ceremony officially kicked off. First, a leader from the Ministry of Industry delivered an enthusiastic speech, "The commissioning of the hardware factory in Liujiazhuang not only indicates... but also represents that the construction of a new socialist countryside has reached a new level. For this reason, on behalf of the Ministry of Industry, I will..."

Uncle Liu Yuanhai, the third uncle, also expressed his most sincere gratitude to all the guests on behalf of Liujiazhuang.

In his subsequent speech, he reviewed the development history of the village, looked forward to the bright future of the hardware factory, and expressed his gratitude to everyone for their hard work.

The noise of the celebration gradually faded away, leaving only the leader of the Ministry of Industry and a group of expectant eyes.

He pulled the switch without hesitation, and the electric current, like a fountain of life, instantly flowed into the machine tools and equipment in each workshop.

With the roar of the machines, the "Hardware Factory" officially went into production. This is a new beginning and also the starting point of a legend.

Afterwards, under the leadership of the factory director Wu Youfu, the crowd surrounded the leaders and distinguished guests from cooperative units and entered the various workshops of the "Liujiazhuang Hardware Factory" together.

At this time, the machines in the workshop were roaring, the workers were busy and orderly operating various equipment, and the whole factory was full of vitality.

Wu Youfu, 38 years old, is a well-known expert in the industry. After Liu Zhiye's unremitting efforts and connections, he was finally invited to the factory to serve as the factory director.

This guy is truly a technical expert. During the Japanese occupation, he worked as a skilled worker in a hardware factory run by the Japanese in Northeast China.

With his intelligence and eagerness to learn, he gradually emerged and eventually became an outstanding engineer.

After the founding of New China, he joined a military-industrial enterprise and was quickly promoted to senior engineer and workshop director with his outstanding technical and leadership skills.

Wu Youfu passionately introduced the current situation of their factory to everyone: "The first phase of our factory covers a vast area of ​​about 200 acres and has five production workshops. Each workshop focuses on producing different types of hardware products." His voice was full of pride and expectation, as if the future glory was within reach.

The leader of the Ministry of Industry smiled and nodded. He asked, "How many employees do you have at present?"

Wu Youfu listed the personnel composition of the factory without hesitation: "There are more than 500 front-line production workers, 32 factory office staff, 20 technical and engineering team members, 18 security staff, and 40 logistics staff." His words were concise and clear, as if a factory organizational chart emerged in the listener's mind.

The leader's eyes flashed with surprise, and he exclaimed: "Not easy, your team actually has engineers, it's really rare. Can you tell me what their educational backgrounds are?"

Wu Youfu briefly introduced the personnel composition of the factory: "The front-line workers are all locals. Most of them have completed primary school education, and some have also attended night school education and training. The factory office staff have at least junior high school education, and the technicians and engineers are from technical colleges or universities."

Upon hearing this, an accompanying guest couldn't help but exclaimed: "Wow! There are so many college students in your factory. There are only a few in our company with more than 2,000 people..." He said in disbelief.

The third uncle responded to Director Zhao cheerfully: "Director Zhao, most of these college students are from our village. Most of the students from the village who were admitted to the University of Science and Technology are here."

"That's amazing. You would rather give up the favorable treatment outside and return to your hometown to benefit your neighbors. Not everyone can make up their mind. The education in your village is good!" Director Zhao shook his head and said with emotion. College students are very popular and there will be people flattering them wherever they go.

The leader keenly grasped another key piece of information, which was that Liujiazhuang's education had made remarkable achievements. He asked curiously, "Secretary Liu, I heard that your Liujiazhuang has invested a lot in education in recent years. Can you give us a detailed introduction to the specific situation?"

Liu Yuanhai reported briefly: "Leader, the educational situation in Liujiazhuang is as follows: 11 college students have graduated, 36 college students are currently studying, 323 high school students, 256 technical secondary school students, more than 1,200 junior high school students, and 1,500 primary school students."

When the leader heard the data, he was shocked and asked with wide eyes: "Is this data accurate? How could so many people in a rural area receive higher education?" He was a little bit unbelievable. The more he learned about Liujiazhuang, the more surprised he was.

As far as he knows, in a county with good economic conditions and a population of several hundred thousand, there are not so many people receiving higher education.

The fact that Liujiazhuang has invested huge amounts in education and that the investment is increasing year by year has deeply shocked the leaders.

When the leader learned that the average annual income of the villagers exceeded 1400 yuan and almost every family had an annual income of yuan, he finally took a new look at the educational achievements of Liujiazhuang and believed the data.

"When the granaries are full, people know etiquette; when they have enough food and clothing, they know honor and disgrace"

In Liujiazhuang, adults have been receiving continuous literacy education and night school training for many years.

This kind of education was so widespread that almost everyone, young and old, could read and write.

Liujiazhuang attaches greater importance to the education of minors. From kindergarten to high school, there are also several higher technical secondary schools.

In the whole of China, except for some big cities, there is no place that can compare with the education in Liujiazhuang.

Therefore, the village was able to develop industrialization thanks to the qualified and educated real estate workers.

They have become the backbone of the village's industrialization and are driving the modernization of the village, while agriculture is mainly undertaken by a small number of locals and migrant workers.

To this day, other village-run enterprises in the village continue to promote the deepening of education.

From the initial elimination of illiteracy, to primary school diploma, to secondary school diploma, and finally to high school diploma, each step has been steady and continuous improvement.

Finally, some people choose to participate in university adult education to lay a solid foundation for their future.

Although doing so may not produce any scientists or high-level talents, it will provide sufficient basic talents for the vigorous development of various undertakings in the future until the next generation grows up to perfection.

In this land, the power of education has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people and has laid a solid foundation for the future prosperity of the village and the wealth of the villagers.

…………

On that day, hardware products from Liujiazhuang poured out like a tide, with a total volume of dozens of tons and an output value of more than one million yuan.

The village's transport team was like industrious ants, delivering these hardware products quickly and orderly to supply and marketing cooperatives, hardware companies and various sales outlets in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

Liujiazhuang's transport team now has a brand new look and is no longer the simple lineup of a few tractors of the past.

After years of development, they have grown into a small transportation company with fifteen large Liberation trucks and more than thirty large tractors.

This team enjoys a high reputation in Liujiazhuang and even the surrounding areas, and has become a force that cannot be ignored in the local logistics industry.

Liu Cuiyu, the sister of "March 8th Red Flag Bearer" Liu Zhiye, became the first woman in the village to drive a tractor with her extraordinary courage and diligence.

Her outstanding performance not only won praise from the villagers, but also won her many honors.

Today, she is the deputy manager of the company and also serves as the transport captain, demonstrating the power and value of women with her actions.

“Women can hold up half the sky!”

Sister Liu Cuiyu's outstanding performance also put a lot of pressure on brother-in-law Liu Fusheng.

Liu Fusheng, a former veteran, has now transformed into a member of the village committee of Liujiazhuang, Minister of Armed Forces, and concurrently serves as the chief of the public security section. He holds great power and is in charge of the area.

Under his command, a regiment of militia is well-organized, disciplined and well-trained, guarding the peace of Liujiazhuang and surrounding areas.

In addition, he also manages more than 100 security personnel from various factories and units in the village. They are like Liu Fusheng's right-hand men and women, jointly maintaining order in the village and enterprises.

(End of this chapter)