After his son’s drawings were completed, Liu Shitang immediately took them to have them drawn and blueprinted. Nowadays such work was done by specialists, unlike the past when factories had to employ draftsmen and maintain blueprint rooms reeking of ammonia.
When the drawings came out, Liu Jun happened to be away. Liu Shitang took them to show Old Huang, Old Xu, and others. As soon as Old Huang and the others saw the tolerances marked on the drawings, they shoved the blueprints back into the boss’s arms, saying there was no need to discuss it. That precision couldn’t be achieved with several old machines that had lost half their paint.
Liu Shitang also looked worried. “Ah Jun says only Shi Yiji’s Japanese lathes can do it. Our factory can only make rough blanks.”
Old Xu said, “If key processes are all done at Shi Yiji, might as well give them everything from material cutting onward to save transportation back and forth, reducing handling steps and transfer costs.”
“What do you think, Old Huang?”
“Let the young master calculate first before deciding. Don’t let us unrelated people get all worked up before the process is even designed.”
Liu Shitang laughed, “How are we unrelated? No matter how much Ah Jun has studied, he still lacks workshop experience. We old-timers still need to help him make corrections.”
“Boss, you don’t understand your young master. The young master can do both scholarly and practical work. Working the same machine to make a part, he might not do as well as I, but he won’t make any mistakes in process design. Boss, you can retire.”
Liu Shitang couldn’t tell for a moment whether Old Huang was speaking seriously or sarcastically. “Hehe, Old Huang flatters Ah Jun. The kid has some skills, but he’s far from independent. He still needs you uncles to help him.”
Before Liu Shitang finished speaking, Liu Jun strode in. “Perfect timing that Uncle Huang and Uncle Xu are both here. Could you two help me look at the process arrangement?” Liu Jun had already scheduled time with Mr. Wang, but since his father had repeatedly instructed him to respect these two uncles, he’d give them more opportunities to shine.
Uncle Xu smiled, “We were just looking at your drawings. Tell us how you think the processes should be arranged.”
Liu Jun agreed, found a piece of chalk from the chaotic toolbox, and seeing the oil-stained floor was impossible to work with, he kicked debris off a steel plate and wrote out his conceived processes on the steel plate. Uncle Xu nodded repeatedly while watching, saying to Liu Shitang, “Boss, you really can retire.”
But Old Huang pointed with his toe at one process, saying contemptuously, “This cut removes six or seven millimeters – what kind of super blade is that?”
Liu Jun, having grown up rolling around the workshop, knew “mili” was a transliteration of the English “millimeter,” meaning millimeters. Reminded by Old Huang, he thought about it and laughed, “My brain is stupid, trying to cut six or seven millimeters in one go. Thanks for Uncle Huang’s guidance.”
Having spent years abroad, Liu Jun had learned to speak while looking people in the eye. Old Huang wasn’t used to this; being stared at by Liu Jun made him laugh nervously, his gaze darting around like he’d done something wrong. Liu Shitang watched from the side, finding it strange. He’d expected his son to be disciplined by Old Huang, but the two seemed to have already reached some understanding. Liu Shitang was quite happy – this showed his son had abilities, abilities different from his own. Only Uncle Xu felt awkward.
Liu Jun quickly cut the materials, but it was still a step too late. By the time he walked into the workshop carrying several pieces of steel for samples, Old Xu’s shift had ended, leaving only Old Huang’s people in the entire workshop. Liu Jun found Old Huang quite troublesome, but since he’d entered the workshop, he could only approach Old Huang first. Even his father admitted that it was Old Huang’s territory.
Old Huang held the blueprint in one hand and the steel in the other, looked for a while, then said, “You come, I’ll watch.”
Liu Jun remained truthful. “It’s not CNC – I can’t achieve concentricity on the lathes here. Need Uncle Huang to step in.”
Old Huang glanced sideways but said nothing, found a machine, kicked his apprentice away, and began changing cutting heads. Liu Jun carefully attended on the side. Whenever Old Huang was about to throw something, he’d quickly catch it and gently set it down. This drew frequent glares from Old Huang. Liu Jun could only pretend not to see, his scalp tingling as he worried the volcano Old Huang might erupt again. Unfortunately, the buffer – his father – had already gone on a business trip.
This time, Old Huang was also careful. After processing one piece, though he wouldn’t comply with Liu Jun’s wishes to gently place it on the ground, he knew such precision items couldn’t be carelessly thrown, so he handed them to Liu Jun to handle himself. To onlookers, Liu Jun appeared to have become Old Huang’s assistant, which greatly satisfied Old Huang psychologically.
After completing rough blanks for all ten sets of samples, Old Huang had worked for a full four hours. Liu Jun sincerely praised, “Fast and good.”
“How do you know?”
“Anyway, I’m telling the truth.”
Old Huang glanced at Liu Jun sideways. “What’s the next step? I need to supervise, don’t want what I did well to be messed up by others later.”
“I’ve arranged to meet Mr. Wang from Shi Yiji tomorrow to go to their suburban branch for processing. Uncle Huang, why don’t you go home early today? I’ll come pick you up at seven tomorrow morning.”
Liu Jun truly didn’t understand why Old Huang wanted to follow along, but not forgetting those who dug the well, since the man had offered, he naturally had to accept, lest Old Huang get angry at his ingratitude and storm off again. He discovered that being an heir was quite difficult – he had to diligently serve everyone above and below, much harder than his previous days as a small boss, increasingly unable to act naturally.
The next day, after picking up Old Huang first, Liu Jun wasn’t one for small talk, and Old Huang maintained a non-violent non-cooperation attitude, so the two rode in silence to Shi Yiji to pick up Mr. Wang. As soon as Mr. Wang got in, he put on reading glasses and carefully examined a set of blanks Liu Jun had placed in the back seat. Mr. Wang was an expert who had led trials for this type of component, so he naturally understood at a glance. “Little Liu, your design for this auxiliary reinforcing rib is excellent thinking – it reduces the finished product volume considerably.”
“Countless experiments plus calculations finally yielded this optimal value. Unfortunately, other components in the series can’t follow the same approach – materials and designs need to be changed. I’m working on the first set these days. One person can’t handle it all, so I can only do them one by one.”
“Your final product can be more precise than what we originally planned to imitate. Very beautiful – market response will be excellent. Can it retain low-viscosity oil?”
“Yes, I’ve calculated thermal expansion coefficients for each connection point and verified through testing.”
Old Huang listened on the side in a fog – the conversation between the two men, front and back in the car, was beyond what he usually encountered.
“My father’s factory lacks processing capability, so we’ll probably need Shi Yiji to do contract manufacturing. But Mr. Wang, my father says that probably before we finish our first batch, this product will get copied. I did so many tests, obtained countless data, but only one set will be useful in the end – copying is too easy. Right?”
“Correct, that’s the situation. If Shi Yiji doesn’t copy, other manufacturers who catch wind will poach someone from Shi Yiji to copy – impossible to prevent.”
“But I have contracts and patents?”
“Contracts, hehe. Patents – you haven’t applied yet, have you? Be careful. You might apply today, and tomorrow the whole nation knows about it.”
“My God.” Liu Jun had initially thought his father was being cunning and overthinking, but here was Mr. Wang saying the same thing. “My father must regret investing so much in R&D.”
Mr. Wang smiled knowingly. “That’s why when R&D costs reached 500,000, Mr. Yang immediately backed out. He’s a very shrewd businessman who absolutely won’t do anything even slightly disadvantageous. But don’t be afraid. You can make the first batch short and fast, build up volume, set reasonable prices, and consider recovering R&D costs in one go. After the first batch is done, knockoffs from everywhere will probably emerge, and your prices won’t be able to go up.”
Liu Jun listened with deeply furrowed brows, almost speechless. After a long pause, he murmured, “I guess the first imitator will be Shi Yiji. Mr. Yang is already eyeing us like a tiger, with multiple measures underway.”
Mr. Wang chuckled, “I came out today with a mission. But looking at your rough blanks, fortunately, as long as you control the final process tightly, no one can do anything to you.”
“My father’s factory has no heat treatment workshop.”
“Your father also has no money to build one.” Old Huang interjected here. “You want to increase volume for the first batch – difficult. Where’s the money for raw material procurement coming from?”
“Uncle Huang, will my father regret investing so much in R&D?”
“Don’t know. That’s between you, father, and son.”
Liu Jun thought for a long time before saying, “I won’t let my father regret it.”
Mr. Wang said kindly, “With a son like you, your father will never regret anything in this lifetime.”
Liu Jun couldn’t help asking, “Doesn’t Mr. Yang think stealing others’ knowledge and labor is immoral?”
Mr. Wang sighed, “That’s why I’ve always envied you – you at least have some autonomy. I’m now only assigned the ‘important task’ of imitation. Shi Yiji used to have quite a few good products of independent R&D and design. Sigh…”
“If no one does R&D, do our country’s products have any future? There should be solutions.”
“Little Liu, you’re still somewhat idealistic. Your father rarely supports your idealism. But I still remind you – when you truly enter practical operations, be extremely cautious. Discuss with your father before making decisions. If you trust me, you can also consult me.”
Old Huang in front couldn’t help turning to look at Mr. Wang behind, then at the disheveled Liu Jun, thinking these two had connected. Old Huang kept glancing sideways at Liu Jun driving, lost in thought. Others, Old Huang didn’t respect. But this Mr. Wang was a renowned expert in the city, revered like a patriarch by the entire industry. Many of Shi Yiji’s new products had been developed under Mr. Wang’s leadership – Old Huang could only look up to him. Therefore, when the car reached the branch factory entrance, Old Huang said to Liu Jun alone, “Listen to what Mr. Wang says. Mr. Wang is a person of great status, much more prestigious than their Boss Yang.”
Liu Jun nodded his thanks and went alone to the back seat to get the ten sets of samples. Old Huang didn’t hesitate and went to lend a hand. But Mr. Wang waved, and someone already pushed a flatbed cart over, with many hands carrying the samples into the workshop. Old Huang followed in, seeing for the first time advanced Japanese equipment under a factory building constructed by the Japanese. What most shocked Old Huang was the workshop floor, smooth as a mirror and virtually dust-free, completely different from Qianjin Factory’s oil-stained floors. Liu Jun saw Old Huang’s confusion and explained, “Some equipment here has extremely high dust and vibration protection requirements, so the ventilation systems inside the workshop need special design. Like that one over there that’s stopped – if the foundation beneath wasn’t specially treated, even vibrations from flatbed carts passing would cause precision drift.” Liu Jun didn’t need to continue – Old Huang already understood that finished products absolutely couldn’t be thrown in such a place. No wonder this young master had stopped him initially. Even without Liu Jun’s further explanation, Old Huang couldn’t suppress his frequent nodding, mechanical as a pecking chicken.