Chapter 217: Change of Thinking
Xu Qiang's successful development of aramid paper did not seem to attract much attention in the factory.

In fact, at a previous factory meeting, Xu Qiang’s new product had already been defined as a fireproof material similar to asbestos. It had application prospects, but did not seem to have much connection with military industry.

Moreover, after being elected as a model worker and being admitted to university, Xu Qiang's "popularity" in the factory began to gradually cool down, which also led to a decrease in the attention paid to him by people including the factory leaders. Therefore, even though the samples of the new project have been made, basically no one pays attention to it.

What's more, the Chinese New Year is just over a month away, and all workshops and departments are busy dealing with some end-of-year matters, including work summaries, employee welfare, Spring Festival activities, etc., and have no time to take care of other things. So this gives Xu Qiang a rare quiet time, allowing him to do other things.

Taking advantage of this time, Xu Qiang went to the Xinhua Bookstore in the county town and bought a large number of reference books related to chemical engineering and machinery, as well as some martial arts novels such as those by Jin Yong and Gu Long, quickly filling up the bookshelves at home.

The entertainment life in those days was far less rich than that in later generations. There was no Internet and no various entertainment venues. But in fact, people could still live a fulfilling life. There were all kinds of enthusiasts groups in the factory, including philatelic homes, literary societies, calligraphy and painting societies, chess clubs, table tennis clubs, and many other small groups like these.

The factory union also organizes various activities, such as football, basketball, tug-of-war, chess, table tennis... There are competitions almost every day of the year, so as long as you have a hobby, life after eight hours will definitely not be boring.

As for Xu Qiang, he has been busy with work and career since his rebirth. He often drinks and socializes after get off work, especially some time ago, after he was admitted to university, he had drinking parties almost every night. But now, everything has begun to return to normal.

But Xu Qiang was not really idle.

There was no patent law in those days, so Xu Qiang's aramid paper technology would eventually belong to the factory and the country.

But Xu Qiang also masters many more advanced technologies.

For example, the aramid paper 1414 made by the wet copying and hot pressing method can only be regarded as the first generation of aramid paper. Some of the processes also have defects. For example, the cutting of aramid staple fibers required the use of very expensive machines in the past. The aramid paper made in this way would have stronger toughness and tearing properties, at least about one-third higher than it is now.

In addition, Xu Qiang has mastered the key processes of using aramid spinning to make aramid cloth with better performance, and aramid 1313 with still better fire resistance. With these technologies in hand, if the national policy is relaxed in the future and he has sufficient funds, Xu Qiang can quickly establish an aramid production enterprise with a domestic monopoly, and the profits will naturally be astonishingly high.

So now after completing his tasks at the factory, Xu Qiang begins to use the factory's laboratory to develop some cutting-edge technological products on his own.

Among these, the manufacturing of production equipment is very critical. Since having He Yonghong as his helper, Xu Qiang has begun to let him draw the spinning equipment for aramid 1414 and the production equipment for aramid 1313.

Xu Qiang took all the finished drawings back to his home.

Once the country has relevant patent protection, Xu Qiang will register the patent domestically and even overseas.

All of this was done without the knowledge of outsiders. Since the development of the bulletproof vest was completed, Xu Qiang has not applied for any new projects.

In fact, Xu Qiang did not owe the factory anything. After all, aramid paper could be said to be a big gift from Xu Qiang to the factory. It could be said to be an explanation from Xu Qiang to the factory director Liu Biao, and it was also a reward for the factory's establishment of a chemical laboratory for him.

So far, Xu Qiang and He Yonghong have completed the design drawings of some equipment for the aramid 1313 production line, and these drawings are now placed in the bedside cabinet in Xu Qiang's new home.

In the evening, Xu Qiang and He Yonghong started drinking in a restaurant.

"Qiangzi, our bulletproof vest project has been completed. What new project do you plan to apply for next?" He Yonghong said to Xu Qiang at the dinner table.

"I don't plan to develop new projects for the time being." Xu Qiang stuffed a peanut into his mouth and said, "Why? Do you still want to work overtime?"

"Haha, who can be addicted to working overtime?" He Yonghong smiled and said, "I just think that you are so young, if you want to climb up, you still need to do more product research and development, which will be good for your future..."

"Lao He, I know you care about me, but things are not as simple as you think." Xu Qiang paused and said, "When I first came to the factory, I worked very hard to develop product technology. I even dared to sign a military order in front of all the factory cadres. Do you know these things?"

"Everyone in the factory knows about your deeds. Even the aunt in the cafeteria knows that there was a man named Xu Qiang who became a model worker just two months after joining the factory. You were really popular at that time." He Yonghong shook his head and said, "I had no choice at that time. I was a successor and a temporary worker. My father had worked in the factory for more than ten years and still hadn't been promoted to a regular employee. I didn't want to follow his old path. I wanted to be a regular employee and didn't want to be a porter all my life. So at that time I had to fight. If I didn't fight, I would never get ahead..."

"So now that you're a model worker and have been admitted to university, you don't have to work hard anymore?"

"That's not the case. Director Liu has been very good to me. He has given me a lot of support despite the pressure, including the newly built chemical laboratory and this project that cost more than 100,000 yuan..." Xu Qiang pondered for a moment, then continued: "Of course, now the factory has given me what I want. They helped me transfer my urban hukou and allocated me a house. It's not as fast as before, but I also returned the favor by helping the factory develop several product projects. It's just that we need to control the pace now..."

"Control the rhythm, control what rhythm?" He Yonghong was a little puzzled.

"Eating too much can cause indigestion. Developing products is just the first step. We need to transform the technology into production. After the products enter the market, we need to continue to control the cost and quality of the products. This is a long process." Xu Qiang paused and continued, "For example, the technical transformation I did for the chemical workshop before. The superiors just allocated funds some time ago. The whole transformation will take at least a month. Then the whole workshop will be transformed into fertilizer production. Many things need to be improved. Without half a year to a year, it is difficult to significantly reduce the product cost... You said that just this kind of technology transformation will take so long. If we develop seven or eight products in one go, how much manpower and time will it take to transform them?"

"Yes..." Upon hearing this, He Yonghong suddenly realized.

"So we who work in technology can't just keep our heads down and work, we also have to look up and see the opportunities and environment."

"I really didn't expect that you know so much..." He Yonghong looked at Xu Qiang with some approval.

There are only two formal staff members in the chemical laboratory now, Xu Qiang and He Yonghong, so Xu Qiang also has a partner with whom he can communicate in depth, and everything needs to be discussed together.

This is just like walking on two legs. You must unify your thoughts so that you can walk steadily and quickly. This is also the reason why Xu Qiang often looks for him to drink at night.

"Also, we have too many product projects under development, so they are not valuable."

"How do you say this?"

"Let me tell you a story." Xu Qiang picked up his chopsticks and took a bite of food, saying, "When I first came to work in the factory, I was a porter in the chemical workshop. The rule was to move five tons of raw materials a day, but some people worked very hard to please their leaders and show off, and they could move eight tons a day, or even more..."

"There are people like this in every workshop," He Yonghong interjected.

"Yes, and it's a lot." Xu Qiang smiled and continued, "But the problem is that when I first came to the workshop, I clearly followed the workshop regulations and moved five tons of raw materials, but the leader said I was lazy and thought I did too little, and almost fired me..."

"Hahaha!" Hearing this, He Yonghong laughed, then nodded and said, "I understand what you mean."

"We who are engaged in technology research and development bear a lot of pressure and risks, but if you produce too many results too quickly, then in the eyes of the leaders, the research and development results will be as cheap as cabbage!" Xu Qiang curled his lips and continued, "And if you make a mistake, all the previous achievements may be wiped out. So we must slow down the pace and seek stability. We can develop a project, transform a project, and produce one result a year. This way, we will not delay the factory's awards and will be worthy of the salary given by the factory. In the remaining time, we can spend more time with our wives and children. If we don't have a wife and children, we can drink a little wine and have a date. Life is not just about work, we also have to know how to live..."

The reason why Xu Qiang said these words was that he actually wanted to slow down the R&D work at the factory and shift the focus from new product development to product transformation.

Although Xu Qiang mastered many advanced chemical technologies from his previous life, he would never contribute all of his technical patents to the factory. On the one hand, he had his own business outside and it was impossible for him to do such intensive research and development work every day. On the other hand, the factory could not digest so many product technologies. By then, the superior department would definitely transfer part of the technology to other production values, and Xu Qiang did not want to make wedding dresses for other factories.

Therefore, a steady and long-term approach is the safest.

"Hahaha, you're right! Come, let me toast you a glass." He Yonghong raised his glass and said to Xu Qiang.

The next moment, the two clinked their glasses together and drank them both in one gulp.

"There is one more thing I want to discuss with you." After putting down the wine glass, Xu Qiang said seriously.

(End of this chapter)