Chapter 132: Money, I Have Plenty of It

Under Shen Guodong’s leadership, the renovation project of Fengcheng First Factory was progressing vigorously.

First, Baldy’s company, Dafa Real Estate Development Co., Ltd., moved directly into the factory site. Although Shen Guodong felt somewhat embarrassed by the company’s name, seeing how motivated Baldy’s team was, he decided not to comment further.

After having the land thoroughly cleaned, they immediately instructed the workers to start bringing in the necessary construction materials. With nearly two months remaining, the top priority was to build the factory as quickly as possible.

They planned to complete the factory building within two months, then spend about half a month allowing the materials inside to set before moving in the machine tool production lines.

Regarding the machine tool production lines, Shen Guodong decisively chose to purchase the latest models from the United States, whose performance was about 15% better than before.

Though the cost might be higher in the future, Shen Guodong had already devised a solution.

Having absorbed some postmodern ideas, he understood that the US and some island nations were truly masters at finding ways to profit.

Even though European powers had significantly advanced their craftsmanship and technology in this postmodern era, Shen Guodong had a way to handle it.

They would simply underreport the number of machine tools they ordered, which would avoid any trouble.

“Given today’s technology, the US can’t possibly install surveillance devices here, so there’s no evidence at all.”

After all, the molds produced by these machine tools were identical; only the output speed would increase, with no other changes.

Of course, under normal circumstances, this would be considered contract fraud and could lead to lawsuits if reported. But Shen Guodong was well aware that his tenure managing the factory probably wouldn’t be very long.

So for now, the focus remained on improving the factory’s overall efficiency—it was destined to become Fengcheng’s premier factory.

Shen Guodong didn’t say much more, quietly unfolding his grand vision.

During this time, he frequently communicated with the veteran factory director who was mentoring him. The old director generally agreed with Shen Guodong’s proposals and insights.

For a moment, Shen Guodong wondered if the old man was simply agreeing with everything he said, no matter what.

Though puzzled, Shen Guodong was solidly grounded in his role as acting factory director, dutifully reporting daily matters and decisions to the veteran director.

The next day, Baldy summoned workers from nearby construction companies, and large quantities of building materials were transported to the site.

The workers energetically threw themselves into the work, yet this did not disrupt the factory’s normal operations. On Line One, Old Wang had nearly completed his ideological work.

Upon meeting Old Wang, he immediately led his team to halt the operation of the first machine tool.

Their remaining parts inventory was only sufficient to sustain losses for about half a month to a month.

Shen Guodong and Old Wang held a meeting.

“If we wait until the new factory is completed, Lines Four and Five will likely become the focus for installation. For now, we should withdraw Line One.”

The area that had previously been a landfill had been leveled, marking the official start of the factory renovation.

As the machines ceased operation, many veteran workers on Line One fell into silence, each feeling a heavy sense of loss.

They had watched these machines run for nearly ten years.

Over the past decade, the machines had been like their own children, always accompanying them.

Now, suddenly, the machines could no longer run—anyone would feel unsettled.

Seeing Old Wang trembling with emotion, Shen Guodong came over and patted his shoulder, saying, “It’s alright.”

“Just look on the bright side. There’s a saying: ‘Out with the old, in with the new.’ Tomorrow, a shipment of parts from the US will arrive, and we’ll begin installation.”

Old Wang, probably the most affected of all, nodded and said, “Alright, let’s spend tonight disassembling and repairing these machines.”

“It seems the Second Factory wants to claim this machine.”

Hearing this, Shen Guodong was puzzled. “Why would they take a machine from the Second Factory? This machine only has about a month’s lifespan left.”

Old Wang shook his head. “I’m not sure exactly. Maybe they want to use it for parts.”

Shen Guodong nodded thoughtfully. That made sense.

After all, the Second Factory had never been very profitable, and its workforce was both smaller and less skilled than the First Factory’s, making it the perennial bottom-dweller among Fengcheng’s machine tool factories.

It had even been exposed for producing poor-quality machine tools.

Knowing that another company was taking over this machine helped Old Wang regain some composure.

If no one had wanted it, the blow to Old Wang would have been devastating.

After comforting Old Wang, Shen Guodong left Line One, realizing he couldn’t waste too much time there.

Glancing at the surrounding construction, the foundations were gradually rising.

Baldy had generously hired 100 workers.

After all, Shen Guodong had secured a renovation fund of one million yuan—a sum more than sufficient to refurbish a small factory even in this postmodern era.

Moreover, the wages paid to these workers were quite low, though Shen Guodong ensured Baldy’s employees received relatively higher pay.

In Fengcheng, the average annual salary hovered around 100 yuan.

To pour out one million yuan for renovation was a considerable effort on the part of the steel factory’s director.

So Shen Guodong directly ordered Baldy that if the factory could be completed with guaranteed quality and quantity within a month, their wages would be secure.

Baldy, having heard that Shen Guodong had nearly several hundred thousand yuan allocated for this project, was understandably excited.

He had initially invested about five to six hundred thousand yuan to support Shen Guodong.

Now, he expected to reap significant benefits from this construction project, which explained his generosity in deploying 100 migrant workers to the site.