Reborn in 1977

Two days later, the first crew member who completed the water transport company's training and passed the examination of the Prefectural Committee Water Transport Training School, receiving a ship's pilot certificate, finally returned to Lujiawan, piloting the renovated 23-meter wooden boat to Gufeng County.

(Why can't the inland waterway vessel pilot certificate be issued?)

Originally, it would have been most reasonable for all six pilots to take the exam together, but Lujiawan was in urgent need of personnel. Coincidentally, the Prefectural Committee Water Transport Training School organized a temporary examination on September 30th to celebrate National Day, so they sent Yang Junyi, who was the most confident, and he received his certificate on the 2nd.

As a result, he was dispatched early this morning, a true baptism of fire.

As for the other five, they'll have to wait until next time!

In the ship's wheelhouse, Yang Junyi stared intently ahead, his expression as if he feared a band of enemies would appear in the forest ahead, or a monster would suddenly leap out of the water.

Chen Fan calmly tuned the radio, smiling as he said, "Relax a little. You've been learning from the master instructors at the water transport company for a month, and you have a pilot's license now. What are you afraid of?

Driving a boat isn't really that difficult. The key is to be bold and careful. The most important thing is not to damage the boat when docking. It's better to cut the engine early and adjust the direction to approach, rather than using too much force."

Yang Junyi turned to look at Chen Fan, who was two years younger than him, and forced a smile, "Okay."

Then he turned back to continue staring ahead.

However, Chen Fan's interruption slightly eased his tension.

He looked at Secretary Yang, Team Leader Ye, and cadre An, who were sitting on the deck smoking, and vaguely understood why the brigade leaders liked to consult Teacher Chen for everything.

Not only was his education level high, but his courage was also a cut above the rest.

Chen Fan adjusted the radio several times before finally finding the clearest channel, and then decisively plugged in the radio's connector.

The loudspeaker on top suddenly squeaked, startling the three leaders on the deck. Before they could react, they heard the loudspeaker announce:

"...Xinhua News Agency reports that Chinese mathematician Chen Jingrun, in his research on number theory, meticulously analyzed and scientifically calculated the 'Goldbach Conjecture,' proving that any sufficiently large even number can be expressed as the sum of a prime number and the product of at most two prime numbers (referred to as '1 + 2'). This problem has remained unsolved for over two hundred years despite the continuous efforts of many scientists.

British mathematician Halberstam and German mathematician Richert, in their book 'Sieve Methods,' originally had ten chapters. After the book was printed, they saw Chen Jingrun's '1 + 2' paper and specially added an eleventh chapter, titled 'Chen's Theorem.'

Chen Jingrun's outstanding contributions have written a glorious page in the development of mathematics, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences has promoted him to researcher. Chen Jingrun's world-leading position and great achievements in number theory research have been written into the Chronicles of the People's Republic of China."

After the news ended, Secretary Yang turned to look at Anquan, "Who is Chen Jingrun? Why can he become a researcher just by writing 1+2?"

Anquan looked blank, shaking his head, "I don't know."

Ye Shubao turned to look at Chen Fan in the wheelhouse and shouted loudly, "Who is Chen Jingrun?"

Chen Fan was taken aback, wondering how he should explain who Chen Jingrun was to them.

After a couple of seconds, he stuck his head out of the window and shouted, "A model worker who does mathematics."

Secretary Yang and Team Leader Ye exchanged glances, could someone become a model worker just by writing 1+2?

Was there something wrong with that?

Anquan's eyes twitched slightly, wanting to correct Chen Fan's statement, but on second thought, it didn't seem wrong?

The big boat chugged forward, splitting the river water into waves on both sides.

The thruster was different. The wooden boat went upstream, but its speed was much faster than the assembled small boats with sails. An hour later, it entered the Yangtze River, and then went downstream, arriving at the prefectural committee in no time.

Yang Junyi was tense, concentrating on controlling the rudder, slowly docking the wooden boat at the freight wharf.

Immediately, two sailors ran to the bow, each picking up an iron bar and inserting it into the vertical winch, pushing the winch like grinding a mill to slowly lower the anchor.

(Vertical winch)

After lowering the anchor, they worked together to lift a gangplank and set it up on the dock.

A person wearing blue clothes walked over and shouted from afar, "Which unit are you from?"

One of the sailors quickly ran over, offering a cigarette before he even arrived, "We're from Lujiawan, Nanhu."

When the man heard it was from Lujiawan, he took the cigarette, his expression quickly changing, smiling as he said, "Aren't you guys using boats made of small rafts? You've upgraded your equipment?"

He wasn't trying to investigate, just saying it casually. After chatting for a few words, he recorded it in his notebook and then left with a pack of cigarettes.

The wharf was also managed by the water transport company. Lujiawan came to deliver goods every day and had long been registered at the wharf. Although today was a new face, there was no need to make things difficult.

Generally speaking, boats couldn't be parked at the wharf casually, otherwise, if a cargo ship came to dock, wouldn't that take someone else's spot? Therefore, many temporary boats could only dock on the wild banks far from the wharf.

Only Lujiawan's boats came every day, and they heard that they had a relationship with Manager Zhao of the company, so he gave them face, otherwise, he would have driven them away directly.

......

After docking, Chen Fan jumped off the deck directly from the corridor in front of the cockpit and went to the agricultural machinery factory with Secretary Yang and the others.

The agricultural machinery factory was also close to the Yangtze River levee, just a bit of a distance from the wharf, but not far.

After walking along the levee for more than ten minutes, and then walking down a slope, they arrived at the Gufeng County Agricultural Machinery Factory.

After asking the gatekeeper to inform them, the factory director of the agricultural machinery factory quickly came out with two people to greet them.

Of course, they exchanged enthusiastic greetings when they met.

However, Secretary Yang and the others were here to handle business today. After the greetings, they asked the factory director to take them to see the goods.

Chen Fan walked in the crowd, silently observing the factory buildings.

It was a large yard, with 4 buildings inside, 3 of which were factory buildings, and one was a two-story office building. The 4 buildings were arranged in pairs. The two factory buildings were on the east side, and the office building and a warehouse were on the west side.

However, looking around, there were not many people in the entire factory area.

Chen Fan didn't care. Anyway, the focus was on the machines, and everything else was not important.

After a while, the factory director led them to the factory building behind the office building, asked someone to open the iron lock hanging on the door, pushed open the warehouse door, and turned on the lights. A row of machines appeared in front of everyone.

The factory director walked in front to introduce, "They are all locals, with a clear understanding of the situation. I won't brag too much. You also know some of the situation. There were originally 38 harvesters, integrating harvesting and threshing. You only need to equip a tractor next to it as a cargo compartment, and you can directly harvest rice.

Moreover, our harvester has been miniaturized to adapt to the local natural environment. In addition, you can also hang a traction device on the back. Remove the front harvesting wheel, install the matching machine on the back, and it can be converted into a rotary tiller and a rice transplanter. It can be used for multiple purposes!"

Chen Fan rubbed his nose next to him.

Weren't we not going to brag?!

Secretary Yang was still more mature and steady, with no change in his smiling face, just raising his head and laughing, but not saying anything.

The factory director wasn't embarrassed either, continuing with a smile, "Unfortunately, our technology was not mature enough at the time. After the machines were manufactured, there were more or less some problems, and the leaders decided to suspend the project."

As he spoke, he pointed to the agricultural machinery neatly placed in the warehouse, "However, a few units were sold one after another later. The rest are all here. There are still 26 units in total. Look and choose as you like."

Chen Fan pursed his lips and smiled slightly, involuntarily shifting his gaze.

A few units were sold?

Heh heh, there were few, but whether they were sold or not is hard to say.

However, this matter has nothing to do with him. What he has to do is to check the condition of these agricultural machines.

In order to sell these machines, the factory director was also working hard to promote them, "Secretary Yang, you are also an old man, a person who came from the time of land distribution. I won't hide anything from you. In the early years, let alone such advanced agricultural machinery, even the manual harvesters dragged by livestock were very rare. I'm afraid you haven't even seen them."

Secretary Yang laughed and said, "I really know that thing. Imitation Polish rocker harvester, and Czech ones too. You have to use a horse or an ox to pull it, with a wheel in the back and two harvesting blades, like wings. People hold the machine in the back and shake it hard, harvesting a large area at once."

The factory director was shocked, "Have you seen it?"

When did Gufeng County have this thing? Even he didn't know?

Secretary Yang seemed to get interested. He immediately flicked the hem of his clothes back, put his hands on his hips, and said with great interest, "Seen it? How could I not have seen it? I saw it in other places. That thing is too inefficient, and the livestock walk in front, trampling the crops. It's not cost-effective, so it was eliminated later.

Then the country bought combined harvesters from the Soviet Union. Those were big guys. People in the plains said they were good. Later, the Kaifeng Harvester Factory imitated a batch, and then they transferred it to the Siping Harvester Factory, and named it Dongfeng something something.

It's a pity that there are ditches and bumps everywhere here, and those big guys can't move at all.

It was after that that the country said it would research small harvesters suitable for our own use. The BJ-3, XJ-3, and XJ-5 models all came out at that time."

The factory director was so excited when he heard Secretary Yang's words that he clapped his hands repeatedly, "Oh, I never thought that you, old brother, knew so much about harvesters. Amazing!"

Secretary Yang laughed so hard that he couldn't see the slits of his eyes.

It's not in vain that I pestered Little Chen to talk about the tricks of harvesters. Look, isn't it useful now!

The biggest fear when buying things is being treated like an amateur. With these few words, their agricultural machinery factory won't fool people anymore, right?!

Not only did the factory director not treat him as an amateur, but he also regarded him as a confidant. He immediately took Secretary Yang's hand and said with emotion, "Our factory's Gongnong-3 harvester was developed with reference to the BJ-3 model. It's just that the leaders at the time said that since we are standing on the shoulders of 'giants', we should go further and make better machines that are no worse than others.

So, on the basis of the BJ-3 model, we added threshing and cleaning functions. Except for the lack of an attached grain bin, we were almost able to catch up with the functions of a combined harvester!

It's a pity that later..."

(BJ-3 Harvester)

Chen Fan listened to his bragging and silently checked the condition of these machines.

After a long time, the factory director finally finished telling the story, and Chen Fan had also checked all the agricultural machinery.

When Secretary Yang saw Chen Fan secretly give him a gesture, he immediately turned to the factory director and said, "I understand. These machines are indeed good, and you also offer training and maintenance, which other factories can't compare with."

The factory director clapped his hands and said excitedly, "Old brother, you've hit the nail on the head. Let me tell you, as long as it's a machine, it will break down. If you buy our machines, you can get them repaired. If you buy from other places, can they come over to repair them for you? Impossible!"

Secretary Yang nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, yes, yes, that's the logic."

After a pause, he smiled again, "However, buying agricultural machinery is a major event after all. We've come to see it today, and we still need to go back and discuss it. At the latest, we'll give you an answer tomorrow."

Hearing this, the factory director had no choice. He couldn't force people to buy, could he?

At this time, Secretary Yang asked softly, "Factory director, what about the price?"

The factory director immediately made a gesture, "We're all our own people. I won't lie to you. It's 2,000 yuan per unit."

Secretary Yang's face stiffened, "So expensive?"

The factory director looked embarrassed, "Alas, I don't collect the money, and I don't set the price. What can I do?"

He clenched his hands tightly, hesitated for a few seconds, and said, "When this batch of machines first came out, the county set the price at 4,000 yuan per unit. Later, didn't some problems arise? They were left for several years before they were reduced to 2,000.

However, you should have also learned before you came that the county will provide a subsidy for purchasing local agricultural machinery."

Before Secretary Yang could ask, he gestured, "800 yuan per unit, so if you want to buy, you only need 1,200 yuan."

1,200?

Secretary Yang frowned. This was 200 yuan more than he had imagined!

However, he didn't say much, just laughed, "I understand. In this way, we'll go back and discuss it and give you an answer as soon as possible."

After saying that, he said goodbye and left.

If it were a new machine, naturally it would be whatever the price was, and there would be no room for bargaining. But this is second-hand goods, and still defective products with frequent problems. How to determine the price is more flexible. How much it costs depends on how you negotiate.

After leaving the agricultural machinery factory, Ye Shubao immediately asked, "Little Chen, how is it?"

Chen Fan directly stretched out his palm and then clenched it, "Secretary Yang, Captain Ye, my suggestion is to take them all."

Take them all?

Secretary Yang was stunned and looked at him in surprise, "But there are 26 machines here. Can we use them all?"

Ye Shubao looked surprised, "Can you fix the problems with these agricultural machines?"

An Quan's eyes also lit up, "If you can really fix them, and report the design plan, you can make another great contribution!"

Chen Fan waved his hand and said to them, "It is impossible to repair these agricultural machines at all."

Ah?

The three of them looked at him together, stunned for a while, before Secretary Yang said, "Then, then you still said to buy them all?"

Chen Fan glanced at the entrance of the agricultural machinery factory, waved his hand, and walked towards the levee.

After reaching the levee and seeing that there was no one nearby, Chen Fan grinned and smiled, "I just checked, these agricultural machines all use the same diesel engine, with a power of 25 horsepower. Although it is not as good as the one we bought from the shipping company, it is much better than the one I picked up from the prefectural committee's waste recycling station!"

Hearing this, An Quan immediately understood, "You mean, the diesel engines alone are worth the price?"

Although the diesel engine from the shipping company only cost 800 yuan, it involved some personal favors. Moreover, that machine had been used for more than 20 years and was seriously worn. This batch of agricultural machines had not been used much, and the diesel engines were almost new. A single diesel engine is worth 2,000 yuan.

The agricultural machinery is produced by the county's agricultural machinery factory, but the diesel engines are products of a large factory, and there will be no problems. From this point of view, it is indeed very worthwhile!

Moreover, apart from the harvesting, rotary tillage, and other supporting equipment, the tractor, which is the main body of the agricultural machinery, is far more valuable than 1,200 yuan.

At this time, Chen Fan said again, "I said that it is impossible to repair this batch of agricultural machinery because the design itself is unreasonable. The BJ Agricultural Machinery Factory is such a large unit, and there are so many good technicians working in it, and they can only design and produce small self-propelled harvesters.

Our small county actually requires adding functions on their basis. Isn't that ridiculous?

Secondly, I don't think the materials used in those machines are particularly good refined steel. It looks a bit like they were knocked out by hand."

Secretary Yang nodded immediately, "Yes, that's right. I heard that their cutting knives and plowshares are all hammered out by the county's farm tool factory."

Chen Fan's mouth twitched slightly, he wiped his face, and continued, "In short, the problem with these agricultural machines is that the direction is wrong. As long as they don't excessively pursue too many functions, and like the Shanghai Agricultural Machinery Factory's 108-type rice and wheat dual-purpose harvester, they only focus on a single function, and then re-manufacture the supporting cutting knives and plowshares, this batch of agricultural machinery can be used normally."

(Hand-held 108-type rice and wheat dual-purpose harvester)

After listening to Chen Fan's words, Secretary Yang and the other three were speechless for a while.

An Quan wiped his face and said with a wry smile, "So the biggest problem with these agricultural machines is that they have too many functions?"

Chen Fan shrugged, "You could say that."

This is like our first satellite sent into space. The scientists involved couldn't wait to install all the functions, but after adding these functions, no matter how they calculated, it was impossible to successfully send the satellite into space.

Later, Mr. Sun Jiadong said that the first step we need to solve is the problem of sending it up, and then slowly solve the problem of what it is used for.

Then all the functions of the satellite were removed, leaving only the non-essential "singing", which is a fixed radio wave.

The ending is naturally self-evident, successfully sending the first satellite into its intended orbit, and successfully completing the mission.

The situation of the agricultural machinery factory is similar now.

Or rather, the situation of many agricultural machinery factories across the country is like this.

If they were not so greedy and comprehensive, but down-to-earth, and experimented with production teams in the fields, I am afraid that they would have been able to develop agricultural machinery that meets the actual needs of farmers, just like some excellent agricultural machinery factories, instead of surviving like they are now.