"The business is insufficient, and the factory can't pay wages. ”

Feng Fei said to Feng Xiaochen in a sigh-like tone.

It turned out that Dongxiang Machinery Factory, where Feng Fei was located, was a third-tier military enterprise, and like many third-tier enterprises at present, it was facing the dilemma of a significant reduction in military orders and unsustainable business operations.

Since the 50s, China has implemented a path of industrialization development that puts the emphasis first on the light, and the military before the people. The so-called "giving priority to the military before the people" means giving priority to the development of heavy industry and despising the development of light industry; and the so-called "putting the army first before the people" means giving priority to the use of more resources for the military industry, and civilian industries often have to make way for the military industry.

In the 50s-70s, such a strategic choice, of course, made sense. As a big country, it must also have an independent heavy industry system and a military industrial system, so as not to import bullets from abroad as a "largest democracy" with a population of 1.2 billion, as our neighbors in South Asia in later generations did.

However, the impact of the road of putting more emphasis before light, and putting the army before the people, is also very large. Light industry not only has the function of meeting the daily needs of the people, but also an important sector for accumulating funds. Ignoring the development of light industry, China's industrial accumulation has to rely on the "scissors gap" of agriculture for a long time, and the support that agriculture can provide is limited after all, and eventually the development of heavy industry is becoming more and more unsustainable.

The impact of the military first and then the civilian population is even greater, and the military industry is a purely consumer industry, which is difficult to create profits. The state has invested a large amount of money in the military industry and established a strong military foundation, including two bombs and one satellite, but the corresponding civilian industry has failed to develop, resulting in a deformed industrial structure.

To a large extent, China's strategic model was learned from the Soviet Union. As a teacher, the Soviet Union neglected light industry and civilian industry for a long time, which led to the resentment of the people against the country's economic development, and eventually led to the collapse of the Soviet Union.

In addition to the reform of the economic system, another important aspect of China's reform and opening up is the adjustment of industrial strategy. At the end of the 70s, the country resolutely gave up the idea of giving priority to the development of heavy industry of "ten Anshan Iron and Steel and ten Daqing", and launched a large number of heavy industry enterprises to support the development of light industry, providing rich daily necessities for the people, and also increasing the country's financial resources.

By the mid-80s, the state made another decision, that is, based on the strategic judgment that "a large-scale war is unlikely to occur in the near future," it proposed to let the military suffer some grievances, abandon the traditional idea of putting the army first and then the people, and divert the funds originally used for the development of the military industry to civilian use. During this time, many military projects were put on hold, and some third-tier enterprises were in trouble, and Dongxiang Machinery Factory was one of them.

Later generations have made many comments about the fact that the military made way for economic construction. Some people believe that this move has greatly affected the development of China's military industry and led to a further widening of the military gap between China and the West, which is a short-sighted move. Some people also cite the example of two bombs and one satellite, saying that as long as everyone tightens their belts and saves a little money, they will be able to ensure the continuation of such and such a project, and then China will be able to master such and such technology several years ahead of schedule and achieve the goal of destroying Japan and destroying the United States.

This statement is actually just a complaint from military fans. Without economic accumulation, the development of the military industry cannot be sustained. Tightening the belt can create two bombs and one satellite, but it is impossible to explode the sea of tanks and planes, and it is impossible to support the construction of warships like dumplings. It's like playing Red Police, if you don't build ten or eight mining trucks, you just know that you can build a tank with a little money, and you can only end up with it.

Feng Xiaochen is a person who has experienced two lives, and before he crossed over, he had already witnessed the revival of China's military industry, so he did not have any resistance to the current policy of letting the military industry make way. However, he also knew that there were many things that could have been painful during this time, and that if he had foresight and done some necessary remedies, things might have turned out better.

Feng Fei didn't know Feng Xiaochen's thoughts, he was still chattering and recounting: "In the first two years, the state implemented the policy, increased everyone's wages, and also allowed the factory to use production profits to build houses, and everyone felt that life was better than in the past. Who knows, the good times will not last long, since last year, the country's orders have been reduced, and the volume of tasks is less than half of what it used to be. In the first half of this year, orders were further reduced, and the appropriation for the development of new equipment, which had been allocated every year, was also suspended, and the life of the factory suddenly became difficult. At present, it is barely able to pay wages, and if it is delayed for a few more months, it is estimated that even the salary will be enough. ”

"Wouldn't you? You are a third-tier enterprise, and your salary can always be guaranteed, right?" Feng Xiaochen asked.

Feng Fei said: "At present, it can be guaranteed, but the higher-level department said that now the state calls on our third-tier enterprises to engage in diversified operations and generate their own income." The higher authorities gave us the task of generating 30% of the plant's expenditure every year, and the state reduced the allocation by 30% accordingly. But what kind of income can we make in that place, in the big ravine?"

Feng Xiaochen thought for a while and said, "Second uncle, I've also heard about this matter. The state encourages some third-tier enterprises to convert military to civilian use and develop civilian products, do you have nothing to do in this regard?"

Feng Fei said: "That's why I came to you." The factory leaders also said that the state wants the military industry to make way, and the military to civilian is our only way out. But where exactly to turn is a big problem. We inquired in the system, and the brother units are engaged in everything, some make motorcycles, some make refrigerators. The radar factory in Shancheng gave full play to its expertise and built a television set, and I heard that the benefits were not bad. There are also some hungry people who don't choose to eat, and make children's toys and gas stoves for the localities, what do you think is the matter? We are also a key military industrial enterprise of the state, and our technology is not worse than that of the big brother of the Soviet Union, so can we go to the township enterprises to grab food?"

"But I still don't understand, what can I do to help you?" Feng Xiaochen asked, he actually vaguely guessed Feng Fei's intention, but it was just inconvenient for him to say it himself.

Feng Fei said: "Now the factory has decided to engage in civilian products, but it is still uncertain what exactly it will do." The factory leaders proposed to brainstorm and let everyone go out to find the market and see what good products are on the market. I thought that you had worked in the Heavy Equipment Office and were familiar with domestic enterprises, so I volunteered to come to the capital to ask you to see if you could give our factory a move. ”

Looking for me is the right person, Feng Xiaochen thought in his heart. In fact, whether he is working in the reloading office is not his biggest advantage, his advantage lies in his understanding of the future market. In the 80s, it was difficult for people to figure out what products they would need in the future, and most people could only smash around like headless flies and pay a lot of tuition fees based on the performance of the market. Feng Xiaochen is different, he knows the market trend, and when necessary, he can also propose some new products that will only appear in later generations, so that Feng Fei and their factories can seize the opportunity. However, before that, he still needs to understand one thing, that is, what Dongxiang Machinery Factory does and what kind of advantages it has.

"Second uncle, after talking for a long time, I still don't know what your factory does, is this matter a secret?" Feng Xiaochen asked with a smile.

Feng Fei shook his head and said: "There is nothing secret about this, our factory makes artillery, specifically howitzers, and other guns can also be made." ”

"Howitzer ......" Feng Xiaochen was speechless, this seems to be a bit out of step with civilian products.

"Second uncle, this cannon ...... What kind of technology do you need? Or what kind of advantages do you have?"

"That's a lot. Feng Fei came to the momentum, "Xiaochen, let me tell you, artillery is the god of the battlefield, all countries attach special importance to artillery, and the development of artillery technology is also changing with each passing day. To build a good artillery, specifically, it involves artillery design, materials, precision machining, and manufacturing of large castings and forgings, and our technology in these aspects is very strong. You haven't been to our workshop to see, in recent years, the imported machine tools have been replaced, and the machining accuracy is second to none in China. ”

"Is that so?" Feng Xiaochen muttered to himself. He is no stranger to precision machining and large-scale castings and forgings, and the equipment companies contacted by the Heavy Equipment Office need such technology. Since the country's artillery orders have decreased, it seems that it is possible to let professional artillery factories help those equipment companies to do some outsourcing processing of precision parts.

However, it is really troublesome to contact such a business, because each company must be able to solve the problem of mass-produced parts, and the number of parts produced in a single piece is too small, which means that many customers need to be contacted. Feng Xiaochen has contacts with many equipment companies, and it is also possible to help Dongxiang Machinery Factory pull the strings. But with all the effort, each company is just a few sporadic small orders, and the input-output ratio is too low, to be honest, Feng Xiaochen is really not willing to do such work.

"Our factory also has some ideas. Feng Fei said sneeringly, he was not a person who was good at words, and he was begging his nephew for help, his face was a little unbearable, and his speech was even more embarrassing.

"Now there are more motorcycles on the market, and there are also companies in our system that are engaged in motorcycles. Our factory director said that we can also try. Feng Fei said.

"I don't think it's better to try. Feng Xiaochen shook his head and said, "First, building a motorcycle itself is not without a threshold, and the precision manufacturing requirements for making artillery are not the same thing as building a motorcycle." Besides, motorcycles pay attention to beauty, comfort, easy operation and safety, and you have no advantages in these aspects, and you can't make a name for yourself in motorcycles. Both will soon be saturated with the motorcycle market, and now motorcycles are being carried out everywhere, both large and small, and some have the protection of local governments, so you may not be able to compete with local enterprises. ”