Chapter 189 Procurement Channels
The construction speed of the laboratory was much faster than Xu Qiang expected.

In just less than three days, most of the equipment had been installed and debugged.

After all, it was the factory director Liu Biao who had been keeping an eye on the progress of this laboratory and came to check on it almost every day. Under his supervision, the supply and marketing department also contacted the manufacturer in a timely manner and delivered the equipment to the factory as quickly as possible.

Seeing the newly built chemical laboratory, Xu Qiang became more and more excited.

All the equipment here was purchased according to the list he provided earlier. In addition to the basic glassware, there are also many modern chemical instruments, including spectrophotometers, ovens, gas chromatographs, spectrophotometers, etc.

In the current domestic market, chemical instruments and equipment are still developing well. Except for some cutting-edge instruments that need to be imported, most instruments can be produced domestically.

For example, the gas chromatograph purchased from BJ this time. China began to conduct research on gas chromatography in 1955. The first to conduct gas chromatography research was the Dalian Petroleum Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Later, some research institutes of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in BJ, Shanghai and Changchun also participated. After a few years, the research and application of gas chromatography became popular.

Other chemical equipment also began to be developed and produced in the 50s. By the s, many domestic instruments had reached or were close to the international advanced level.

In general, there is still a big gap between the domestic chemical industry and the international level these days, but in terms of chemical instruments, the gap is very small. At least when it comes to basic research, domestic equipment is sufficient.

After the equipment was gradually put in place, the next problem Xu Qiang faced was the procurement of chemical raw materials.

In today's domestic situation, any chemical product is actually uniformly allocated by the state. Although it can be purchased freely in small quantities, when the quantity reaches a certain level, it is necessary to apply for purchase from the relevant department. Only after obtaining the approval slip can one purchase from the manufacturer according to the quota.

In fact, the procurement of chemical raw materials has always been a difficult problem for Xu Qiang. The main reason is that currently his peat field only has one salesman, Erhu, and he is also responsible for the task of delivering goods to Fuzhou, so he has no time to do other things at the moment.

In addition, Erhu, the salesman, went out to purchase goods under the banner of Xiazhuang Village Fertilizer Factory. Although village-run enterprises are also collective enterprises, they are also discriminated against by large state-owned enterprises. If they do not treat guests, give gifts, or use backdoors, the other state-owned enterprises will not even be willing to receive them.

Relatively speaking, if you can purchase from other domestic companies under the banner of Shengli Machinery Factory, that would be another matter. First of all, Shengli Machinery Factory is a large factory with tens of thousands of employees, and it is also ranked highest in the entire Jiangxi military industry system. In addition, compared with ordinary state-owned enterprises, military enterprises have many special procurement channels and can purchase some scarce raw materials and products, which other state-owned enterprises cannot compare with.

If Xu Qiang wants to purchase some chemical raw materials in the future, he can only go through the factory to purchase them, but there are also some problems.

The first is the issue of daily management rights after the laboratory is built.

This matter was discussed at the last factory leadership meeting. Factory Director Liu Biao meant to let Xu Qiang manage this department, but the problem was that Xu Qiang was just an ordinary worker and was not part of the cadre establishment, so he did not have the qualifications to independently manage a department. So Li Cunzhu raised objections and demanded that this chemical laboratory be under the jurisdiction of the technical department. At that time, Li Cunzhu also said that unless Xu Qiang could be admitted to university, he would not agree to let him independently manage this new department.

Secondly, the supply and marketing department of the factory has always been overstaffed, and most people are just trying to get by. Except for some raw materials that the factory continues to supply, applications for other purchases have been delayed as much as possible. If this is the case, when Xu Qiang launches a project to develop new products in the future, the raw materials needed will not be in place, which will greatly affect the research and development progress. This is also something that must be taken into consideration.

Finally, Xu Qiang also wanted to use the factory's purchasing channels to solve the problem of purchasing raw materials at the peat field. This was actually a bit of misuse of public resources for personal gain, but in order to make a lot of money, Xu Qiang had to give it a try.

Previously, Xu Qiang purchased chemical raw materials from the Materials Bureau through Wang Zhong, director of the town supply and marketing cooperative. However, the county Materials Bureau had a limited variety of chemical products, so Xu Qiang had to find other purchasing channels.

After much thought, Xu Qiang felt that he must establish good relations with the leaders of the supply and marketing department of the factory, starting with He Yong, the director of the department.

That night, Xu Qiang set up a table in the private room of the factory's Wuqi Restaurant.

"Xiao Xu, you just started working for a short time and you don't get paid much, so there's no need to spend this money. If you have any questions, just tell me directly. If I can do it, I'll help you. If I can't, there's nothing I can do."

Sitting face to face with Xu Qiang, He Yong went straight to the point.

As the head of the Supply and Marketing Section, He Yong has been a popular figure in the factory over the years. Many people ask him to buy things from other places, most of whom are leading cadres at all levels in the factory. Therefore, almost every time He Yong goes on a business trip, he brings back some things in large and small bags.

However, he is also a very powerful person. If ordinary workers ask him to do something for them, he will simply ignore them unless they "pay tribute" to him. It is precisely because of this that he does not have a good reputation among grassroots workers, but this does not seem to affect his work and future.

As for Xu Qiang, He Yong had actually given him enough face by accepting the invitation today. After all, Xu Qiang had been very popular in the factory during this period, especially since he was a favorite of the factory director Liu Biao. If it were any other worker, He Yong would simply not bother to pay attention to him.

He Yong thought that Xu Qiang wanted him to bring something back from his business trip, so he was very straightforward when he arrived. To put it bluntly, he didn't want Xu Qiang to say something sarcastic about him in front of Liu Biao, so he just treated it as helping him with something small.

"smokes!"

Xu Qiang did not reply directly, but took out a box of Zhonghua cigarettes from his pocket and handed it to He Yong.

Xu Qiang knew that He Yong, a salesman, traveled all year round and had a wide range of knowledge. In order to discuss business, he often smoked cigarettes and could drink a lot. "Zhonghua..."

After taking the cigarette, He Yong took a look at it and was stunned.

He Yong naturally knew about the Zhonghua cigarettes produced in Shanghai.

Nowadays, Phoenix cigarettes are considered quite high-end cigarettes, belonging to Class A cigarettes. A box costs 90 cents, which is unaffordable for ordinary people.

The price of Zhonghua cigarettes is even more outrageous, costing two or three yuan a box, and they are the kind of cigarettes that cannot be bought even if you have money. Even the supply and marketing cooperatives in the county can only purchase one pack at most in a year. Only big leaders and high-ranking officials can afford them.

Even He Yong, who has become extremely wealthy in the past two years, cannot afford to smoke this kind of cigarettes. When he goes out to discuss business, he usually carries Phoenix cigarettes. He has only seen this kind of cigarettes on the counter.

As for the Zhonghua cigarettes in Xu Qiang's hand, he bought them in a department store when he and the factory director Liu Biao went to the provincial capital. He bought five boxes at that time. If he wanted more, he would need a ticket. He himself seldom smoked and would only bring a box when encountering some special occasions.

"Why, you can't get used to smoking?" Xu Qiang asked.

"Yes!" He Yong took out a match, lit it, and said in surprise: "Xiao Xu, your cigarettes are of good quality. Where did you buy them from?"

"I bought them last time when I went to the provincial capital with the factory director. We were going to have dinner with our superiors, so I bought two boxes of good cigarettes." Xu Qiang smiled slightly and continued, "Actually, I don't smoke at all. If you like to smoke, this box is for you."

As Xu Qiang spoke, he threw the box of Zhonghua cigarettes in his hand to He Yong.

Xu Qiang could see that He Yong was not fond of him and also knew that He Yong was a snob. The reason why he said this was, on the one hand, to demonstrate his own strength, and on the other hand, to remind He Yong that he had a good relationship with the factory director and was familiar with the provincial leaders.

"This... I'm so sorry..." Holding the box of cigarettes, He Yong hesitated.

He Yong has a special liking for things like tea and cigarettes, but after all, he is not familiar with Xu Qiang, so He Yong doesn't want to accept Xu Qiang's things.

"What's there to be embarrassed about? We are all from the same factory. We see each other every day. I'm sure I'll need you to do things for me more often in the future. What's a pack of cigarettes to you?" Xu Qiang said with a smile.

"Yes, yes, yes!" He Yong nodded with a smile and then accepted the box of Zhonghua cigarettes.

"Waiter, serve the food quickly!" Xu Qiang shouted outside the private room.

Compared with the state-owned restaurants outside, the service attitude of the Wuqi Restaurant in the factory area is much better. After all, it is a tertiary industry contracted project. Without repeat customers, this business will not last long.

After a while, plates of fragrant chicken, duck, fish and meat were served on the table, and the wine was the best local Site wine.

"Xiao Xu, what's the matter?" Seeing this scene, He Yong finally realized something was wrong, so he asked in surprise.

"Let's talk while we eat." Xu Qiang kept it a secret, then filled his and He Yong's glasses with wine, and said with a smile: "This is the condition of our factory restaurant. If we have a chance in the future, let's go to the county town to eat seafood together."

"No, you're... too expensive. This table is expensive, right?"

"It doesn't cost much, actually. I can't compare with Section Chief He. You've traveled a lot and seen the world. I'm just an ordinary worker who likes to eat, drink and make friends."

If there is a gap in status, asking someone to do something for you means you have to look at their face. If the strengths are equal, then you can cooperate. Only when both parties can use each other can the friendship be long-lasting and solid.

So at this time, Xu Qiang also intended to show off his financial strength.

"I remember now. I heard that you and Wang Yongsheng's gang were often together. The small business in the factory must have made a lot of money, right?"

After a moment, He Yong suddenly said with a smile.

(End of this chapter)