Chapter 229 Major Events
"Director Chen, what's the matter?" Secretary Tian soon appeared at the door of the office.

"Take a look..." Chen Zhitao pointed to the product catalog in his hand and said to Tian Feng, "This is it... Product number 0271, aramid paper... Ask the laboratory to send the sample and test report to me immediately!"

"Okay." Tian Feng took the product catalog, turned around and left the office.

More than ten minutes later, when he returned to the office again, he was holding a piece of light yellow aramid paper and a test report in his hand.

“This is the sample and test report of the product.”

"Is this the aramid paper?" Chen Zhitao asked after taking the sample.

"Yes, there is a number on it, and there is also this inspection report. There are two copies in total. One is issued by the JX Provincial Defense Science and Technology Office, and the other is the re-inspection report from our institute. The results of the two reports match, so it should be a qualified product."

"Okay, you can go out." Chen Zhitao signaled to the secretary that he could leave.

Holding the inspection list, Chen Zhitao carefully checked all the test data and read it over and over again twice.

At the end, the hand holding the test form began to tremble slightly, and the corners of his eyes became a little moist.

After a moment, Chen Zhitao picked up the phone and immediately dialed the number.

"Hello, this is the secretariat of the Fifth Ministry of Machine Building. Who are you looking for?" Soon, a young man's voice came from the other end of the phone.

"I'm Chen Zhitao, deputy director of Institute 201. Please tell Minister Zhang that I have a major incident that I need to report in person. I wonder if he has time now?"

"Minister Zhang is in the office right now. He has no other work arrangements for the time being. You can just come over."

"Okay, I'll be there right away." Chen Zhitao said, then stood up, put on his coat, put the test report into his briefcase, and quickly left the office...

……

At the same time, thousands of miles away, at the 9345 Chemical Factory in Ji'an, Jiangxi Province, as soon as Xu Qiang, Liu Siying and He Jie got out of the car, the factory director Wang Jianmin and several other factory leaders immediately came to greet them with smiles on their faces.

"welcome!!"

Compared with last time, Wang Chien-ming was obviously much more enthusiastic this time.

In addition to Wang Jianmin, several technical personnel from the factory also came to greet them. They were the first to help with the luggage. Then, the group followed Wang Jianmin directly to the office building.

"Please sit down, Xiao Li, pour tea for the guests!" Factory Director Xu Qiang and others sat down, then took out a can of West Lake Longjing tea from his drawer and asked his secretary to make tea for them.

"Director Wang, the rectification plan I gave you last time..." Xu Qiang asked directly after sitting down.

"Ah, we have completed the rectification. According to your requirements, all the equipment has been carefully cleaned and disinfected, and all have been installed in the new workshop." Wang Jianmin said.

"So fast?" Xu Qiang and Liu Siying were surprised when they heard this.

"It has to be quick..." Wang Jianmin smiled and continued, "The factory's performance has not been very good in the past two years. The workers have been waiting for the New Year to come. This year, I borrowed money from the bank to pay their salaries. Otherwise, the equipment would not be cleaned and put in place like this..."

If the leader has no money, even his farts won’t make any noise.

It is indeed not easy for Wang Jianmin to be the factory director.

The last time Xu Qiang and his team came here, they had actually already noticed the predicament of this enterprise. At off-get off work time, no one was interested in the meat stall in the vegetable market, and the workers in the workshop were all listless. When they saw him, the factory director, come in, no one even greeted him.

However, this situation is not limited to the Ji'an Chemical Plant. The situation in several other small factories visited by Xu Qiang is similar. The wages are not high, but they can be paid barely. Don't even think about bonuses. The employees will not starve to death, but they are definitely not rich.

This is completely different from the arsenal that Xu Qiang saw in later generations. You know, in later generations, arsenals were definitely very good, and the salary and benefits were much higher than those of ordinary state-owned enterprises. The reason for this was mainly because China's economy became more and more developed and military expenditures increased. In this era, when the big rivers have no water, the small rivers will naturally be on the verge of drying up. The provincial bureau had no choice but to carry out this kind of technical support for civilian products.

"Have you bought all the ingredients?" Xu Qiang asked.

"I've bought almost all the things, but some ingredients are not available at all..." Wang Jianmin frowned slightly and continued, "For example, there seems to be no manufacturer of guar gum and caramel color..."

"What about the other ingredients? What did you buy?" Xu Qiang asked.

"The products that have arrived so far include vanillin, thickener, flavoring, carrageenan, meringue, tartrazine, and leavening agent." Wang Jianmin thought for a moment and then said, "In addition, there are main ingredients such as milk powder, liquid maltose, sugar, and starch. These can be purchased from the Material Bureau here." "Okay." Xu Qiang nodded and said, "These things are enough. How about this? I want to instruct you to conduct trial production now. Do you think it is convenient?"

"Comrade Xiao Xu, you have come all the way here, you should at least have a meal and rest first..."

"Director Wang, this is not the first time I come to your place. How about this, you arrange for the two female comrades to have a meal and rest, and I will go to the workshop with you. We will make the first batch of milk candy today!" said Xu Qiang.

"I want to go with you too." Liu Siying said at this time.

"Who are you looking down on? We female comrades are no worse than you men. I must go too!" He Jie said with her eyes wide open.

"Haha, okay, let's go together." Xu Qiang said with a smile.

"Well... okay." Wang Jianmin smiled and led them to the workshop.

Knowing that Xu Qiang and his group were coming, Wang Jianmin had already made preparations in advance.

As soon as he entered the workshop, Xu Qiang's eyes lit up.

It is obvious that Wang Jianmin put a lot of effort into the new workshop. The whole workshop is not big. It was just a converted warehouse. The walls inside have all been painted, the window glass has been wiped very clean, and some parts of the ground have been re-coated with cement. The amount of work is quite large.

As for the machines inside, they were all wiped very brightly, without any stains or rust. They were made completely in accordance with Xu Qiang's requirements.

This touched Xu Qiang to some extent. It was obvious that Wang Jianmin still trusted him very much and really regarded him as his life-saving straw.

Since the manufacturer is so cooperative, Xu Qiang naturally has to do his best to ensure that the candy samples they make are absolutely qualified.

"Comrade Xiao Xu, I really didn't expect the production cost of this toffee to be so high." At this time, Wang Jianmin pointed to a bucket of carrageenan he bought and said, "Such a bucket of condensed milk costs more than 50 yuan, and this carrageenan is produced in Hainan. The shipping cost of a bucket alone is more than 10 yuan..."

"Good things are like this. They cost a lot, but they are also expensive. If you want to make a lot of money, don't be afraid to invest." Xu Qiang smiled and continued, "The mixed sugar on the market has a low production cost. It is made by heating white sugar to make syrup, and then adding some flavors and pigments. But the problem is that it doesn't make much money. With the few machines your factory currently has, it can only produce five or six tons a day at most, and it also needs packaging and transportation. The transportation cost alone is much higher than that of ordinary food factories. They have more equipment and can produce dozens or even hundreds of tons a day. Do you think you can compete with them?"

Xu Qiang has some business acumen. The reason he designed the production of milk candy at the chemical factory was actually because there are very few high-end candies in the country. Moreover, the factory has limited equipment and cannot adopt the strategy of selling low-end candies at low prices and in large quantities. Therefore, it can only rely on ingredients and technology to compete for the high-end market.

Although people have low incomes these days, there is still a great demand for high-end candies. Otherwise, people wouldn't have to take a train to big cities like Beijing and Shanghai to queue up to buy candies when they get married. Therefore, high-end candies are still a very good project at present.

"That's right! That's indeed the case." Wang Jianmin nodded in approval.

"Then let's get started." After Xu Qiang finished speaking, he began to direct the workers to prepare the ingredients.

The general process of making traditional milk candy is to boil sugar and maltose syrup, add condensed milk, cream, gelatin emulsifier to slurry and stir, mix with milk powder, cool and set. It is a kind of semi-soft air-type candy with a relatively loose structure. The candy contains tiny pores, has a certain toughness and elasticity, is chewy, has a soft and delicate taste, and is rich in nutrition.

The core technology of making milk candy lies in the step of boiling the sugar.

The temperature for boiling sugar is not fixed. It needs to be determined according to the ratio of maltose and fine sugar in the ingredients. The less maltose and the more fine sugar in the syrup, the harder the sugar will be, and vice versa.

The higher the temperature when boiling sugar, the harder the sugar will be. The lower the temperature of the sugar, the softer the sugar will be.

The humidity in the room, different seasons, and temperature will all affect the softness and hardness of the finished sugar product. The higher the humidity, the higher the sugar temperature must be. This should be adjusted accordingly based on actual conditions when making sugar.

Xu Qiang first asked the workers to weigh and mix the raw materials, especially the ratio of maltose and fine sugar, which directly affects the temperature of the subsequent sugar boiling and the softness and hardness of the finished product, so it needs to be precisely controlled.

"Watch Master Xu's operation carefully. Ask if you don't understand. Write down all the processes for me!" Seeing Xu Qiang directing the operation, Wang Jianmin on the side quickly asked several technicians present to record.

Even at this moment, behind Xu Qiang, there was a person taking pictures with a Seagull camera, probably to leave behind images of the on-site operations.

As for Liu Siying and He Jie who came with them, they couldn't get a word in at all. They just watched Xu Qiang direct the work quietly.

"Our place is relatively dry in winter, so when boiling sugar, the temperature is lower. If the workshop is humid in summer, the temperature can be raised by two to three degrees Celsius..."

Seeing Xu Qiang working meticulously and seriously, Liu Siying's eyes flashed with a bright color...

(End of this chapter)