Chapter 220 Special Mission
"This is what I should do. For the development of our factory, working overtime is nothing." Li Cunzhu said with a smile.

"If other brother units in our province had talents like Lao Li, I wouldn't have to worry so much." Luo Tao sighed and continued, "In fact, the third-tier enterprises in Jiangxi are still in good shape. The aid-building enterprises are all from the Northeast and Shanghai. They have trained a large number of technical workers over the years. It's a pity that few companies pay attention to product research and development and improvement..."

"There's nothing we can do about it. There are only so many people in a small factory, and one product project is enough to support them. They don't have money for research and development. It's not like a large factory like our Shengli Machinery Factory with tens of thousands of employees. In order to support so many people, we need not only a large number of products, but also high-quality ones. If we don't develop new products, we won't have enough food to eat..." Liu Biao interjected at this time.

What Liu Biao said is indeed true. In Jiangxi, most third-tier enterprises had neither the need nor the ability to engage in research and development in the past.

Most of the factories in Jiangxi are small factories with only a few hundred people, and their annual profits do not exceed 100,000 yuan. However, the current military product research and development costs thousands or tens of thousands of yuan, or even hundreds of thousands of yuan. So even if they have such talents, they do not have abundant funds to do this.

In addition, in the planned economy era, the military product technology of most third-line enterprises came from the support of scientific research institutes of superior departments. They had no technical support from superiors, and no orders from superiors. It was a completely "all-inclusive" business model. Now that these enterprises are allowed to convert from military to civilian use and take the market-oriented path, they will naturally not be able to adapt to the local environment, and may even be on the verge of bankruptcy.

As for the Victory Machinery Factory, even if the military-civilian reform will face great difficulties, it is still better than those small enterprises. At least they still have talents and funds to save themselves. As for those small factories, they can only rely on the support of higher-level departments.

"You're right. Our Shengli Machinery Factory has done very well in this regard. With a stabilizing force like Lao Li and a rising star like Xu, our factory has a bright future..." Luo Tao nodded and continued, "Last year, your factory has achieved many successes, including the renovation of the chemical workshop, the successful development of military batteries, and Lao Li's project. The superiors will allocate funds to build a new production line. I think your factory should have no shortage of orders in the next two to three years..."

"This..." Liu Biao heard that Luo Tao seemed to have something else in his words, so he quickly said: "Right now, our factory has only received funds for the renovation of one chemical workshop, and other projects have not yet been allocated funds for construction. The situation this year may still be a bit severe..."

Liu Biao has long been a shrewd person. Luo Tao, as a superior, wants to get rid of them as a burden, but he will naturally not agree. Even if the factory's performance is good, he must cling to his "mother's home" tightly.

"I say, Lao Liu, you can't keep doing this..." Luo Tao frowned and said, "The province has been very considerate of your factory. You should know that starting from this year, most companies in our province will reduce their military orders by about half. Your factory has only reduced it by one third, which is already very good."

"Thank you, Director Luo." Liu Biao said quickly.

"You don't have to thank me. Actually, I came here this time because I have something to discuss with you..." Luo Tao glanced at Liu Biao and said, "From the second half of last year to now, your factory has successively applied for several new product projects. It is estimated that it will take about a year to mass-produce these new products. So I thought that if Lao Li and Xu Qiang could go to other factories to provide some technical assistance and transformation, it would be of great help to the brother units in our province, and it would also enhance the friendship between our factory and other units..."

Hearing Luo Tao say this, Xu Qiang, who was sitting opposite him, suddenly realized.

Luo Tao said so many polite words just now, but only now did he reveal his real purpose.

From the very beginning, Luo Tao joined Shengli Machinery Factory for this purpose.

At present, the military-to-civilian transformation of the province's third-line enterprises is very difficult, as most of them do not have the product R&D capabilities and equipment transformation technology. However, Shengli Machinery Factory is full of talents, especially Xu Qiang and Li Cunzhu, who completed the R&D of multiple new product projects within a few months, reversing the problem of the factory's subsequent lack of development strength. Therefore, such talents should naturally be used more.

Especially in Luo Tao's view, many small factories only need to improve their equipment or develop a new product to turn their factories from danger to safety. If Li Cunzhu and Xu Qiang take action, some of the third-tier small factories may be able to be saved.

But when the factory director Liu Biao heard what Luo Tao said, he suddenly said nothing, picked up a piece of meat, put it in his mouth, and started eating without raising his head.

"Old Liu..." Seeing Liu Biao not speaking, Luo Tao's brows immediately frowned.

"Director Luo, try this braised hairtail. It's just brought back from the factory. It's quite fresh..." Liu Biao said as he picked up a piece of plump hairtail and put it in Luo Tao's bowl.

"Actually, your factory's help won't be in vain. If Lao Liu and Xu Qiang help brother units in the province to complete technical improvements, I can also consider going to the ministry. Just relying on my reputation, I can ask them to postpone reducing the number of orders for your factory for one year..." Seeing that Liu Biao was not willing to respond, Luo Tao said lightly.

"Really?!" Liu Biao was immediately cheered up when he heard that.

"Old Liu, we have been together for so many years. Is there ever a time when I don't keep my word?" Luo Tao said, looking directly at Liu Biao.

Even as a superior, Liu Biao, the head of a large factory with 10,000 employees, did not dare to give orders easily. The core of management has always been the art of balancing interests. Even if you have two sticks, you can't hold them in both hands. At least you have to prepare some candy in the other hand.

"In fact, I, Liu Biao, am also a person who considers the overall situation!" At this time, Liu Biao put down his chopsticks and said, "Speaking of which, our third-tier enterprises in Jiangxi are all one family. When a friend is in trouble, we should lend a helping hand, not to mention the brother units that are like family members!"

"Hahaha, right! Old Liu, you are more aware!" Luo Tao laughed when he heard this, and then he said, "Then I think we should start after the New Year. By then, we will organize Chief Engineer Li and Xiao Xu to visit various factories, and then ask them to give some suggestions and come up with some plans..."

"Director Luo, I have a question..." Li Cunzhu suddenly said at this time.

"What questions?"

"Since our province also has a technical research institute, why not let them participate?" asked Li Cunzhu.

Hearing Li Cunzhu ask this, Xu Qiang on the opposite side also looked confused.

Logically speaking, the province has a research institute directly under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, and they should also be involved in such matters, rather than first transferring technical personnel from enterprises.

"Some things are not as simple as you think..." At this point, Luo Tao frowned and said, "Let me tell you the truth. At present, the research directions of the provincial research institutes are seriously disconnected from the front-line production. I have also contacted their leaders before, and they agreed very readily, but there has been no results for a long time, and they rarely visit the enterprises below, and we have no right to manage them..."

"Uh." Hearing this, everyone suddenly understood.

To put it bluntly, the provincial research institutes have the same problems as many current state-owned enterprises, that is, loose management and too many people.

Moreover, since the Provincial Industrial Technology Research Institute is a directly affiliated institution of the JX Provincial Government and is not affiliated with the Provincial Defense Science and Technology Office, Luo Tao can only seek a cooperative relationship with them but cannot directly command the unit.

For a long time, the technology of the third-line enterprises came from the earliest aid-building units, while the later product production and research and development relied on the overall management of the Fifth Ministry of Machine Building. Now, as thousands of third-line enterprises across the country are facing transformation and reform, the Fifth Ministry of Machine Building has no time to take care of them, so Luo Tao could only draw talents from enterprises in the province to provide technical assistance to each other, which is also a very helpless thing.

"By the way, Director Luo, there is one more thing I want to tell you. Comrade Li Cunzhu is the chief engineer of our factory after all. It is impossible for him to be away from his job for a long time. As for Comrade Xu Qiang, he will report to the university after the new year and will also have to leave the factory..." Liu Biao said.

"It won't take them too long. I need them to visit the factories first, and then write a proposal for technical reform as soon as possible. There are a total of seven units that need help this time, and all of them can be inspected in half a month at most." Luo Tao said.

"That's okay." Hearing this, Liu Biao nodded.

"But..." Li Cunzhu was still a little hesitant at this time.

"If your technical reform plan is effective and of great help to the enterprise, the provincial bureau will give you some rewards." Luo Tao pondered for a moment, then continued, "In previous years, our provincial bureau has recommended two provincial model workers. When it comes to implementation, each factory can only have one quota. I think everyone is equal in front of opportunities. The key is to see who has made the greatest contribution..."

Luo Tao still used the open conspiracy that he was best at, but it always worked. The reason was very simple, that is, the reward was attractive enough.

You know, if you can be elected as a provincial model worker, it is a great thing. Promotion and salary increase are not a problem. You will even receive special treatment after retirement. Your pension will increase by 10% and you can get several dozen yuan in allowances every month!
Sure enough, when Li Cunzhu and Xu Qiang heard Luo Tao say this, their eyes suddenly lit up.

For Li Cunzhu, if he wants to realize his career ambitions, he needs some significant honors, and the honor of provincial model worker will make future promotion easier.

As for Xu Qiang, he may not look down on this little money at the moment, but if he has the title of provincial model worker, it will undoubtedly make it easier for him to get in touch with higher-level people, which will definitely serve as a stepping stone for him to acquire power and accumulate important connections!
(End of this chapter)