Chapter 23: Uncovering a Troublesome Situation for the Machine Shop

Chen Qiang sat on the sofa, smoking a cigarette, while Wu Wei tried to persuade him, "Chen Qiang, the incident is in the past now. Gao Hongze has already been punished, and Director Su wants you to return to work. He even offers a promotion to team leader with a salary increase of more than ten yuan per month."

Director Zhao also chimed in, "Chen Qiang, finding a job outside is difficult, and with your son, Chen Xiao, about to take the college entrance examination, he'll need money for university. Staying at home isn't a viable option."

Wu Wei and Director Zhao didn't truly want Chen Qiang to return to work at the factory. The real issue was that they asked the technical department to replicate the circuit diagram from the motherboard of the machine tool, but the attempt ended in embarrassment.

One of the major drawbacks of state-owned enterprises at this time was the prevalence of nepotism. All the employees in the technical department were related to each other, yet none of them could reproduce the circuit diagram from the motherboard.

As a result, Su Desheng, the factory's director, became furious. He needed the blueprint to redeem himself in front of Zhang Biao. If he couldn't retrieve the blueprint, even without explicit punishment from Zhang Biao, his career would surely suffer.

In this context, Su Desheng asked Chen Qiang's boss and Director Zhao to persuade Chen Qiang to return to the factory.

Chen Qiang was a determined man who could work overtime for days without complaint due to poor overtime pay.

On the other hand, he lacked determination in certain aspects. He couldn't afford to lose what he had in the present, nor could he dare to think about the future. He could only take one step at a time.

Chen Xiao understood his father's situation well. It was the environment in which he lived that limited him.

After facing some hesitation, Chen Qiang seemed to consider returning to the factory. The promotion to team leader and increased benefits were appealing factors.

Moreover, being close to home and able to take care of the family were crucial for Chen Qiang.

Putting out his cigarette, Chen Qiang expressed his frustration, "This matter has caused me great harm. I was willing to help, but Gao Hongze hurt me like this! If my son hadn't made those motherboards, I might have ended up in jail!"

Director Zhao quickly nodded, saying, "You're right, those motherboards you made took a lot of effort. Director Su understands this and is willing to compensate you with a hundred yuan."

Watching the situation, Chen Xiao narrowed his eyes, suspecting that the two weren't being as kind as they appeared.

Seeing that Chen Qiang was about to give in, Chen Xiao interjected, "I apologize to both of you. My dad has already found a job in Jiangzhou City, where he earns several times more than at the machinery factory. I won't trouble you any further."

"Xiaozi," Chen Qiang responded.

The expressions of Director Zhao and Wu Wei quickly turned sour, and they couldn't help but laugh.

Unconcerned about their reaction, Chen Xiao continued, "It seems Director Su prefers people like Gao Hongze, skilled flatterers with first-class card-playing abilities, rather than my father."

Chen Xiao called out, "Mom, I'm going to study now. Why are there so many people in the house? It's so noisy."

Lin Hui, who was in the kitchen, couldn't stand the commotion and came out to ask the guests to leave. "I'm sorry, Director Zhao and Squad Leader Wu, my son is preparing for the college entrance examination and needs a quiet environment to study. Please excuse us."

Embarrassed, Director Zhao and Squad Leader Wu left the Chen family's home.

As soon as they got downstairs, Director Zhao began to complain, "Who does this surnamed Chen think he is? Does he really believe that the Jiangcheng Machinery Factory can't survive without Chen Qiang?"

Squad Leader Wu said in frustration, "Director Zhao, the situation is just like this. The motherboard Chen Xiao obtained works even better than the original one, but the circuit design is incredibly intricate and complicated. Even with a microscope, we couldn't decipher it."

Director Zhao grumbled again and returned angrily.

In the Chen family's living room, Chen Xiao took away the red plum cigarette case on the table and urged his father, "Can you smoke fewer cigarettes? Even if you don't care about your own health, you should think about me and mom, as we are inhaling secondhand smoke every day."

Lin Hui, putting the dishes on the table, touched Chen Xiao's head and said, "Exactly! We, mother and son, are exposed to your secondhand smoke every day."

Seeing that Chen Qiang was still a little worried, Chen Xiao decided to share some information to ease his father's concerns.

"Dad, don't worry too much about work now. Brother Wang Xiang can look into it first, and you can decide later."

"The main board of the CNC machine tool I designed is suitable for this batch of Demag CNC machine tools and other equipment for domestic machine tools."

"After discussing it with Brother Wang, we plan to share the shares in a cooperative manner or sell the drawing patents directly. The price could be tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands. Don't worry about it."

Chen Xiao mentioned shares, domestic equipment, and patent fees worth tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands, which puzzled Chen Qiang.

Chen Xiao, however, didn't tell his father one more thing.

When he visited the machinery factory to install the motherboard that day, he found that there were over 100 Demag equipment in the Jiangcheng Machinery Factory. Most of these machines had been used for five or six years, with some even purchased as second-hand equipment from Germany, having already been used for several years before. In other words, the equipment in the factory was already past its ten-year lifespan, yet the factory neglected to adhere to the necessary usage and maintenance requirements, causing the equipment to deteriorate significantly.

Gao Hongze's use of a high-power electric oven on that day may have seemed like an accident, but considering the aging circuitry and improper equipment maintenance, it turned out that the machines were already at the brink of damage.

As the weather turned colder, power usage increased, and it was highly probable that this batch of defective motherboards would be burnt out.

When that happened, the maintenance costs would be substantial. How Su Desheng planned to address it was beyond Chen Xiao's control.

Between 1999 and 2000, there was a critical period for the lifespan of a large number of overseas used CNC machine tools. Chen Xiao believed that domestic machinery companies had already taken note of this opportunity.

The motherboard circuit diagram would be invaluable.

Lin Hui was also surprised, "You're saying that the board you designed is worth tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands?"

Chen Xiao, while eating, replied, "Perhaps even more."

Chen Xiao had faith in Wang Xiang and Delong, believing they would honor their business commitments and respect his intellectual property rights.

Above all, he trusted Wang Xiang's character.

Even if Wang Xiang and Delong betrayed him, Chen Xiao still had a last resort. He could submit the design drawings and receipt date to the Intellectual Property Office, ensuring his victory in a lawsuit.

However, if the world was as dark and corrupt as rumors suggested, with government agencies compromised, then Chen Xiao wouldn't have any options. In that case, he would be better off lying low, focusing on his C language programming, and making money that way. But even then, the odds were still slim.