bookrebus Chapter 698 So that's how it is. There is backup, but they've gone to serve others.
Chapter 698 So that's how it is. There is backup, but they've gone to serve others.
Changping, the back garden of Beijing.
As dawn broke, the outline of the watch factory gradually came into view. In stark contrast to the heaviness and hustle and bustle of the heavy industrial base like the Red Star Machinery Factory, the factory area here appeared exceptionally clean and quiet, even possessing a touch of pastoral tranquility.
It must be said that the location chosen by this watch factory is really good, nestled against the Jundu Mountain and overlooking the Wenyu River.
The factory is situated in an open area, with several rows of small, red-brick bungalows arranged neatly, their large glass windows gleaming warmly in the morning light.
The surrounding area consists of farmland that has not yet fully awakened and scattered villages. A paved road leading to the city is the main thoroughfare, and the shadow of the railway line in the distance is faintly visible in the thin mist.
On the gray pebble wall, bright red slogans read "Self-reliance and striving for excellence."
The jeep slowly pulled up in front of the small iron gate. Jiang Xia peered through the gate and couldn't help but complain, "Seriously? You're saying this is a factory area? It looks more like a staff and employee housing compound to me! This is way too... rustic!"
Having grown accustomed to the tall and spacious workshops of the Red Star Factory, Jiang Xia found the rows of low-rise bungalows before him to be like a rural resort from a later era.
“Be content! When this factory was first built, there were only 21 cadres and workers. They were basically all transferred from the Xuanwu District Public-Private Joint Watch Factory…” Secretary Liu, who was driving, immediately retorted.
"Don't look down on them! To celebrate the 9th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, they produced the first batch of watches despite having no factory, no equipment, and no funds, relying solely on their experience in developing and producing alarm clocks!"
As she spoke, Secretary Liu pointed to the watch on Jiang Xia's wrist.
"Huh? No way, you're saying this watch was made by them too?" Jiang Xia looked at the bright ROAMER logo on the watch and twitched the corner of his mouth.
At the same time, Xiao Dai Mao secretly clenched his fist, thinking that if Secretary Liu dared to nod, he would give him a big red envelope on the head.
Do you think I don't know where ROAMER watches are made?
The trend of extravagance must not be allowed to continue!
“Of course it’s not the original,” Secretary Liu laughed. “They made a replica based on this Swiss watch! They only made 17 in total! But don’t be fooled by the small number, they’re all three hands, 17 jewels, and they’re waterproof, shockproof, and antimagnetic! They’re top-notch!”
"I see..." Jiang Xia muttered. The craftsmen here are indeed quite skilled to be able to replicate watches of this quality. This gave him even more confidence in cooperating with the watch factory.
Unlike the Red Star factory, the watch factory's main gate wasn't guarded by armed soldiers. There was only a clean and bright guardhouse.
Inside, a security guard, around sixty years old, wearing faded dark blue overalls and a red armband, was reading a newspaper. Seeing the jeep stop, Jiang Xia approached. The guard put down his newspaper, opened the small window, and wore the characteristic, neither servile nor overbearing, polite demeanor of a state-owned factory security guard.
"Comrade, who are you looking for? What's the matter?"
Jiang Xia quickly pulled out his letter of introduction and his work ID and handed them over: "Hello, sir! I am Jiang Xia, an engineer from Hongxing Machinery Factory. I have some technical cooperation needs and would like to visit your factory's leaders and technical personnel..."
The security guard took the letter of introduction and the documents, examining them very carefully. He ran his fingers over the bright red official seal of the Red Star Factory to check its texture, and then carefully verified Jiang Xia's ID photo against his identity.
After confirming that everything was correct, his smile became more genuine: "Oh, Comrade Jiang from Hongxing Factory! Welcome, welcome! Please wait a moment, I'll call the factory office to let them know."
A moment later, the security guard hung up the phone: "Comrade Jiang, the factory director would like to invite you to his office, which is the first room in the building ahead."
After thanking the security guard, Jiangxia and his group quickly walked toward the factory director's office, following his directions.
The three hurried by, oblivious to the gatekeeper behind them who was watching their retreating figures, shaking his head and muttering under his breath, "Technical collaboration? Sigh...they're all gone, what's the point of collaboration..."
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The factory director's office was equally simple. Director Wang Zhenhua was a middle-aged man in his forties, wearing black-rimmed glasses and possessing a refined demeanor. He warmly invited the three of them to sit down and personally poured several cups of hot water into white porcelain jars.
Welcome! Welcome to the colleagues from Hongxing Machinery Factory for your guidance!
"Your Red Star Factory has been making big moves lately, and its reputation is spreading far and wide! Some of the young people in our factory are really eager to work there, and they keep asking how to get transferred to your factory!"
Jiang Xia exchanged a few pleasantries with a smile before getting to the point: "Director Wang, you flatter me. We've come here because we've encountered a major technical hurdle and urgently need your factory's strong support in ultra-precision micro gear machining! The development of a key piece of equipment is stuck, and we'd like to see if we can collaborate on its development..."
When Wang Zhenhua heard Jiang Xia mention joint research and development, his heart skipped a beat.
I had heard that there was a young and generous engineer in the former steel rolling mill, now a machinery factory, and I suppose this is the one standing in front of me.
But thinking about the current state of the factory, he could only sigh silently, take off his glasses, and wearily rub his temples.
Seeing that Director Wang was somewhat reluctant to shirk his responsibility, Jiang Xia quickly showed him the blueprints for the micro gear assembly of the pipette.
Seeing that Director Wang still looked distressed, Jiang Xia was about to pull out the execution order with a bunch of stamps when Director Wang finally spoke:
“Comrade Jiang Xia, the task at your Red Star Factory is undoubtedly of utmost importance. Logically, we should fully support our brother units in times of difficulty. However…”
"But now, we don't have a single one of our factory's key technical personnel left..."
"what?!"
Factory Director Wang looked at the three men who remained noncommittal, and sighed again. He reached into his desk drawer, rummaged around, and pulled out a photograph.
"Before the Lunar New Year, our factory sent all its technical personnel to watch factories in Shanghai for inspection and learning. We hoped they would bring back advanced watchmaking technology..."
"But halfway there, they were all gone..."
"Gone! Did something happen?" Jiang Xia was stunned, looking at the black and white group photo with some regret. There were three rows of people; the first two rows were all women, and the back rows were all men.
Behind them, the Waibaidu Bridge on the Bund of Shanghai lies quietly, and further behind is the Shanghai Mansion.
Factory Director Wang looked at Xiao Daimao with pity and knew he had misunderstood, so he quickly explained:
"It's not an accident! A very high-level order came down from above! It requires our factory to immediately! Right now! Assign all of our top precision machining technicians to form a special technical support team and report to the designated location within a specified time! Leave no one behind!"
"All the top ones? Not a single one left?"
"Yes! All of them!" Director Wang nodded heavily, his tone very solemn. "The backbone of the technical department, the key technicians, the lathe operators... everyone with exceptional skills who can do micron-level precision work is on the list! The transfer order is extremely strict, requiring unconditional execution, no delays, and no inquiries!"
As he spoke, Factory Director Wang pointed helplessly to the quiet workshop outside the window: "The factory's core technology has been almost completely drained! Only young workers are left to maintain daily production. The kind of precision-level micro-gears you want..."
"With the factory's current technical capabilities, we are truly... powerless to help! We are extremely sorry!"
Jiang Xia and Secretary Liu exchanged bewildered glances. Li Tiejun, arms crossed, examined the photograph closely, then suddenly pointed to one of the people in the photo and asked:
"Hey, Director Wang, hasn't this person returned either?"
"Tie Jun? You know him?"
"Hmm! If I remember correctly, this man's surname is Yuan, and his given name is Gongpu. He visited our machinery factory last time. But this guy is quite skilled! He's very good with the machine tools; even Master Ning Dawei from our factory says he can't compare to him!"
"Yuan Gongpu?"
A flash of inspiration struck Jiang Xia: Wasn't this the "Three Knives" old man?
Wait a minute, isn't this senior colleague from the Shanghai Automotive Chassis Factory? How did he end up in a watch factory?
However, if it really is him, and considering the transfer order described by Director Wang as "extremely high-ranking" and "not to be inquired about," the whereabouts of this group of top technicians seems self-evident.
Hmm? They're already using talent in precision manufacturing? If it really comes to this, doesn't that mean the young lady's debut is just around the corner?
Thinking of this, Jiang Xia's lips involuntarily curled into a barely perceptible smile.
But despite the excitement and the pleasant surprise, the harsh reality hit them like a bucket of cold water. The micro-gears he desperately needed were still nowhere to be found! The three of them bid farewell to Factory Director Wang and walked out somewhat dejectedly.
"Hey! Engineer Jiang..." Factory Director Wang took a step behind the three of them, his voice hesitant, as if he had something to say.
Jiang Xia stopped and turned back in confusion: "What? Director Wang..."
Wang Zhenhua's lips moved, his eyes flickered a few times, but in the end he just waved his hand and forced a smile: "No... nothing. Be careful on the road... Uh, also, since we're here, would you like to visit the workshop? It wouldn't be right for us to come here without having lunch."
Jiang Xia shook his head. Although he had learned from the side that the "young lady's" progress was very fast, his own needs were still not met, and he did not want to delay the production of medicinal nitroglycerin.
If the watch factory in Beijing doesn't work, there's always the watch factory in Shanghai. You can't put all your eggs in one basket.
Jiang Xia was preoccupied with how to connect with the factory in Shanghai, and had no interest in visiting the workshop or having this meaningless lunch.
"Thank you! No need! Maybe next time!" Jiang Xia politely declined Director Wang's usual small talk and invitation to stay.
"Oh, okay, okay..." Factory Director Wang's face was full of regret. He reached out his hand, as if he wanted to stop them, but in the end he didn't dare, nor did he have any reason to stop the engineer from the machinery factory. He could only watch helplessly as the three thanked him again and turned to leave.
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