Reborn Industrial Tycoon

Chapter 267 A cool song for you (two-in-one, please subscribe)

Small four-wheel tractors were very popular in the 1990s.

Compared with walking tractors, small four-wheel tractors have better driving comfort, more reliable control, smoother driving, stronger stability, and safer transportation.

Small four-wheel tractors in the 1990s still used oil pump engines. When the throttle was opened, the torque was very large. But today's small four-wheel tractors all have electronic injection engines, and they are not as powerful as the old tractors when driving.

Moreover, tractors in the past were heavier, so they had full grip on the ground. However, today's tractors are lightweight and compact. They are light in weight and have poor grip on the ground. The load-bearing force is not as good as that of the old tractors in the past.

When farmers buy a small four-wheel tractor, they can plow the land, plant seeds, or go to the river to pull a truck of water to irrigate the fields during busy farming periods. On weekdays, they can haul home-grown fruits and vegetables to the city for sale; they can also run around during slack farming periods.

Transportation, pulling some sand and bricks to the construction site. It is definitely not a dream to become well-off in three years.

It can be said that at that time, the small four-wheel tractor was the most important production tool in the hands of farmers.

The best domestic small four-wheel tractor is the Dongfanghong small four-wheel tractor produced by the First Tractor Factory.

The First Tractor Factory is the eldest son of China's agricultural machinery industry. It is a key project of the "First Five-Year Plan" and its technical level is definitely second to none in the country. The First Tractor Factory also participated in the development of the Type 59 tank.

In 1982, the First Tractor Factory launched the Dongfanghong small four-wheel tractor based on China's national conditions. The cumulative sales of this tractor exceeded two million units.

You must know that FAW's national car, Xiali, has been on sale for 18 years, and its cumulative sales have only exceeded one million units. However, the Dongfanghong small four-wheel tractor can sell two million units, which can be said to beat any domestic model.

Precisely because the Dongfanghong small four-wheel tractor was deeply loved by farmers, the small four-wheel tractor model quickly became popular. After entering the 1990s, many domestic agricultural machinery factories launched their own small four-wheel tractors.

Jinxing Agricultural Machinery Factory is one of them. The director of the factory, Zhao Zitian, took a fancy to the market for small four-wheel tractors, so he took out a loan of 4 million yuan and introduced a production line for small four-wheel tractors. They were modeled after the Dongfanghong small four-wheel tractors.

Counterfeit machine.

It is said to be a production line, but in fact it is an assembly line at most. After all, it only cost 4 million yuan, how could it be possible to buy a qualified tractor production line!

In the early 1990s, a microwave oven production line cost RMB 5 million. A tractor production line costing only RMB 4 million must be cheap but not good. It is surprising that the quality of the tractors produced can meet the standard!

The structure of small four-wheel tractors does not seem complicated, but the manufacturing process is not simple, because small four-wheel tractors are used for farm work, and the requirements for the durability of parts are very high. If the technical level is not up to standard,

, it is natural for small four-wheel tractors to break down frequently.

The fact that YTO Factory can participate in the development of main battle tanks shows that their technology is military-grade, and the quality of the Dongfanghong tractors they produce must meet the standards.

However, county-level agricultural machinery factories like Jinxing Agricultural Machinery Factory require technology but not technology, and they need craftsmanship but not craftsmanship. They are reluctant to spend more money to introduce production lines, and the tractors they make will definitely be inferior and defective products.

Li Weidong had previously learned from Manager Wu that Jinxing Agricultural Machinery Factory had introduced a production line for small four-wheel tractors, and he knew that this was a big pit.

With the technical level of Jinxing Agricultural Machinery Factory, if you want to fully understand the production technology of small four-wheel tractors, the difficulty is similar to that when FAW built Santana.

At that time, FAW engineers had to learn step by step from the Germans for three years before they learned how to build Santana. Jinxing Agricultural Machinery Factory spent 4 million yuan to build a production line and wanted to forcefully launch a small four-wheel tractor, but it could only give a song

"Liang Liang".

However, what Li Weidong did not expect was that the quality of the small four-wheel tractors produced by Jinxing Agricultural Machinery Factory was so poor!

Dongfanghong's small four-wheel tractor will last three to five years without breaking down if it is properly maintained. Li Weidong feels that no matter how poor the quality of Jinxing Agricultural Machinery Factory's tractors are, they can still be used for a year and a half!

As a result, Jinxing Agricultural Machinery Factory's tractors began to have various failures after only three months, and this also gave Li Weidong an opportunity.

…

Whenever agricultural machinery is sold at an agricultural machinery station, there will generally be records of who the buyer was and which town and village he came from.

Because agricultural machinery is subsidized, not only at the national level, but also at the local government level. There are also many types of agricultural machinery subsidies. Some are regular, some are temporary, some are paid annually, and some are paid quarterly.

Some subsidies are given to manufacturers, some are given to farmers, some are given when purchasing agricultural machinery, and some are given after a period of time.

Based on the reason for issuing subsidies, agricultural machinery stations will also register customer information.

Moreover, grassroots agricultural machinery stations also need to undertake certain agricultural machinery maintenance services, and for this purpose they also need to master customer information.

At that time, there was no awareness of protecting customer privacy. Li Weidong found someone to go to agricultural machinery stations in various counties and districts, and gave the administrators some tobacco, alcohol and snacks, and then got the customer list of Venus Tractor.

Immediately afterwards, Li Weidong sent people to conduct door-to-door statistics. The situation was as expected by Li Weidong. Those purchased for more than one month had more or less minor problems, while those purchased for more than three months had been returned to the factory for overhaul.

.

…

In Gaoqiao Township, Old Man Zhao drove his tractor slowly into the village. After parking the tractor at the door of his yard, Old Man Zhao walked into the house.

In the yard, Li Erniu from the same village was sitting there, chatting with Old Man Zhao's wife.

Seeing old man Zhao coming back, Li Erniu quickly stood up to greet him: "Uncle Zhao, I heard from my aunt that you went to repair the tractor. Is it repaired now?"

"It's fixed! Replace it with something like an iron piece, called a swing lock, and the tractor is repaired!" Old Man Zhao replied.

"Uncle Zhao, the iron piece you replaced is called the swing shaft positioning lock piece, right?" Li Erniu said.

"It seems to be the name. You young people have good memories. Unlike me, you can't remember it even after locking it several times." Old man Zhao replied.

Li Erniu continued: "Uncle Zhao, I remember that you only bought this tractor for more than two months. Do you know why the swing shaft positioning lock plate broke after only two months?"

"How could I know this!" Old Man Zhao shook his head.

"It's because the swing shaft positioning locking piece is too thin, so it won't hold up and will break after two or three months."

Li Erniu paused and then said: "Although you have replaced it with a new one now, it is still so thin and unusable as before. Maybe it will break again in three months!"

"If it breaks down, just replace it! It doesn't cost anything to repair the tractor anyway. It just costs some gas to go to the county. By the way, you can bring some vegetables to sell and you can make money back." Old man Zhao said.

"Uncle Zhao, you didn't spend any money to repair the tractor this time because you only bought it less than three months ago. The manufacturer has given you a warranty, but it is impossible for the tractor manufacturer to give you a lifetime warranty!"

Li Erniu paused for a moment, then continued: "After the warranty period, if the tractor breaks down again, don't you have to pay for repairs yourself? The swing shaft positioning lock plate you replaced may cost dozens of dollars! You have to

How many vegetables do you need to sell to make money back?"

When he heard that he had to spend money to repair the tractor, Mr. Zhao couldn't sit still.

Li Erniu said: "Uncle Zhao, I also bought this Venus tractor and had it repaired twice in three months. The old Wang family in the village also bought a Venus tractor. The day before yesterday, it suddenly couldn't turn. I also

I went to the next village to inquire and found out that the Jinxing tractor they bought was always having problems! In my opinion, the quality of this Jinxing tractor was simply substandard!

Now we have just bought it and it is still under warranty, so they will repair it for free for us. What happens later? After one or two years, the warranty period is out. Don’t we have to pay for the repair of the tractor ourselves? Then we can just replace the parts.

We spent dozens of dollars on repairing the tractor!"

"What should we do?" Old Man Zhao asked with a panicked look on his face.

"I have discussed it with people from other villages who have bought Venus tractors. We have to find an explanation from the manufacturer! Uncle Zhao, will you go when the time comes?" Li Erniu said.

"I'll go, even if the manufacturer can't let the manufacturer repair it for free for life, it still has to have a warranty period of ten or twenty years!" Old man Zhao nodded and said.

"Uncle Zhao, you still think repairing the tractor is not troublesome enough!" Li Erniu paused and then said: "Since the quality of this tractor is not up to standard and it breaks down every three days, we definitely can't have it! So we

We have to ask for a return and let the manufacturer refund the money to us!”

Old man Zhao thought about it carefully. If he returned it, it would be equivalent to the tractor he had bought for more than two months. If he gets the refund later, he can buy a new tractor. This deal is definitely a good deal!

So Old Man Zhao nodded: "You young people still have more ideas, so let's go and return it!"

This Li Erniu is just a farmer with his face turned to the earth and his back turned to the sky. He has not gone to school for a few days and his knowledge is very average. Of course, he cannot think of an idea to go to the manufacturer to return the goods.

So when I went to the agricultural machinery factory to return the goods, Li Weidong secretly sent someone to give me advice.

This kind of deliberate provocation does not require the use of a lot of manpower. By finding two people in each township who are willing to take the lead, other farmers who have been harmed by inferior tractors can be mobilized to participate.

…

In the office of the factory director at Jinxing Agricultural Machinery Factory, Zhao Zitian looked at last month's sales with a hint of worry in his eyes.

"Sales dropped again last month!" Zhao Zitian sighed, secretly wondering if he should lower the price by another 200 yuan.

In the first two months after its launch, the sales volume of the Venus tractor was indeed very good. After all, the price was more than 400 yuan cheaper than the Dongfanghong tractor.

But starting from the third month, the sales of Venus tractors took a sharp turn because various minor problems gradually appeared.

Ordinary people are not fools. They save some money and finally buy a tractor. They definitely want something strong and durable. Although the price of Venus tractors is cheap, it has many faults and has a bad reputation. Naturally, fewer and fewer people choose Venus tractors.

Just when Zhao Zitian was thinking about whether to increase sales by cutting prices, there was a rapid knock on the door.

"Director, what's wrong, a large number of people came from outside! They all bought tractors from our factory!"

"Are you here to repair the tractor again?" Zhao Zitian frowned impatiently and said, "Just repair it for them. By the way, tell the maintenance workshop that if the parts can still be used, don't replace them. You can exchange them for second-hand ones."

Don’t replace it with a new one!”

"Director, they are not repairing the tractor this time, they are returning it!"

"Return the goods!" Zhao Zitian stood up fiercely, thinking to himself how could he have such a shameless request!

The next second, Zhao Zitian said: "Let's go and see what's going on!"

…

In the large yard of Jinxing Agricultural Machinery Factory, hundreds of people and dozens of tractors gathered.

The technical director was walking among the people.

"Brother, what's wrong with your tractor?" the technical director asked.

"Turn the steering wheel, but the tractor won't turn!" the man replied.

"It's the steering wheel spinning." The technical director nodded. He had seen this problem many times, so he said: "This should be the problem of the steering arm slot being worn. Just replace the connecting slot! It will be fine in a while.

You drive the tractor to the maintenance workshop at the back and I’ll have someone replace it for you!”

But the man shook his head: "If you don't want to exchange it, I want to return it!"

"Return the goods? I can't make up my mind about this." The technical director walked to the next person and asked: "Little brother, what's wrong with your tractor?"

"The differential is worn out!" the man replied.

"Then just change the differential!" said the technical director.

"It was replaced last week!" The man paused and then said, "I'm not here to repair the tractor today, but to return it!"

The technical director asked around and found that all the people who came were returning tractors. He already realized that this was not something he could solve.

At this moment, Zhao Zitian finally appeared.

Zhao Zitian came to the crowd and said, "Fellow folks, we are the directors of Jinxing Agricultural Machinery Factory. If you have any demands, you can tell me!"

"We want to return it!"

"Yes, return the tractor and give us the money!"

Everyone said in a hurry.

"Everyone, please be quiet!" Zhao Ziti motioned for everyone to be quiet, and then said, "Why do you want to return the goods?"

"Isn't it because of the poor quality of your tractor?" the leader said.

Of course, Zhao Zitian could not admit that the quality of his products was poor, so he retorted: "The quality of the tractors in our factory is absolutely guaranteed!"

"The quality is guaranteed, so why does it break down every three days?" Another person said.

Zhao Zitian immediately said: "This tractor is a machine, and if it is a machine, it will break down! If it breaks down, just repair it!"

"But I've had it repaired twice this month! If the tractors from your factory were of good quality, would I have to repair them twice?" the man continued.

"Little brother, have you ever thought that it might be caused by your improper operation?" Zhao Zitian asked.

"If it's just me, it might be from the operation department, but there are so many of us here, and their tractors always break down. How do you explain it? Are all of us operating it improperly? Isn't there a quality problem?

!" This guy is also sharp-tongued.

The topic of product quality was not good for Jinxing Agricultural Machinery Factory. Zhao Zitian did not want to continue to dwell on it, so he immediately changed the topic and said;

"Fellow folks, as I said just now, the machine will break down. If it breaks down, it needs to be repaired. Your tractor is broken. It's not like our factory won't repair it for you. There is a special repair workshop behind us. Whose?

If something goes wrong with the tractor, take it to the repair shop and our factory will definitely fix it!"

"We don't need you to repair it, just return it to us! We don't want your junk!" the leader repeated his request.

Zhao Zitian shook his head: "This tractor has been sold to you, and you have been using it for a while. It doesn't make sense to just return it now!"

"It doesn't make sense. You sold us inferior products. Why can't we return them?"

Zhao Zitian curled his lips. He did not intend to continue reasoning, but said directly: "I said you can't retreat, so you can't retreat! I am willing to help you repair it, which is already the most benevolent thing! If you want to repair it, just go

In the maintenance workshop at the back, if you don’t want to make repairs, just leave immediately and don’t affect the production of our factory!”

After Zhao Zitian finished speaking, he turned around and left.

The domestic "Product Quality Law" was only implemented in 1993, and the Three Guarantees policy was implemented even later. Before that, the laws and regulations for product quality supervision were relatively lacking. If there were quality problems with the products, it would be troublesome to complain.

matter.

For example, what is the warranty period, what is the warranty scope, whether it costs money to replace parts, whether the product can be directly exchanged, and whether it can be returned, these are all decided by the manufacturer.

Therefore, as long as Jinxing Agricultural Machinery Factory insists on "repairing without returning", there is really no way for these farmers who have been harmed by inferior tractors.

At this moment, a man had already blended into the crowd. He was carrying a bag, a camera hanging around his neck, and a notebook in his hand.

"Comrade, I am Ma Chiyu, a reporter from "Qinghe Daily"! I would like to interview, what happened here?"

…

This reporter from "Qinghe Daily" was naturally found by Li Weidong.

Li Weidong also knew that it was impossible for Jinxing Agricultural Machinery Factory to return the goods.

Even in later generations, the Three Guarantees policy has been very clear. It is still very troublesome to return large-scale machinery and equipment such as agricultural machinery. Dealers and manufacturers can always find reasons not to return the goods due to various excuses.

And in the 1990s, when there was no "Product Quality Law", how could the Jinxing Agricultural Machinery Factory return the goods? If it really returned the goods, it is estimated that the Jinxing Agricultural Machinery Factory would go bankrupt immediately.

So Li Weidong informed the newspaper in advance and asked them to send reporters to interview and create a public opinion offensive.

But Li Weidong would never have imagined that the person who came was the same Ma Chiyu from back then!

Five years ago, when the transportation company divided the houses, Li Weidong was in the wrong position. Someone deliberately caused trouble and wrote a report letter to the newspaper to report Li Weidong. Ma Chiyu, who had just started working at the time, felt like he had found a treasure after seeing the report letter.

And he took the initiative to invite Ying for an interview, but the interview eventually turned into a farce.

Now five years have passed, and Ma Chiyu is no longer the silly little reporter back then. Now Ma Chiyu has grown into a very experienced senior reporter.

As a senior reporter, Ma Chiyu certainly knew the focus of news reports, so the next day, a report titled "Inferior tractors harm innocent farmers" appeared in the newspaper.

…

Zhao Zitian looked at the newspaper report about "Inferior Tractors Harm Innocent Farmers" and was so angry that he was trembling all over.

"This is slander! This is slander!" Zhao Zitian roared.

In fact, Zhao Zitian also knows that the quality of Jinxing Agricultural Machinery Factory's tractors is very poor. But there is a saying that if you hit someone, don't slap someone in the face, and if you scold someone, don't expose your shortcomings. Although I am very bad, but you dare to tell the truth, then it is your fault!

Moreover, once this report comes out, it will definitely affect the sales of Venus tractors, and then Venus tractors will be even less able to be sold!

At this moment, the phone on the table rang.

"Hello!" Zhao Zitian answered the phone with an unhappy look on his face.

"Director Zhao? I am Sun Weimin of the Municipal Agricultural Machinery Bureau." the other party said.

"Director Sun, I am Zhao Zitian!" Zhao Zitian's attitude immediately softened.

On the other side of the phone, Sun Weimin asked: "There is a report in today's newspaper called "Inferior Tractors Harm Innocent Farmers," which is about the tractors produced by your factory! Have you read it?"

"I just saw it too," Zhao Zitian said.

"Is the content in the newspaper true?" Sun Weimin asked.

"Of course it's false! Those contents are all fabricated! The quality of the agricultural machinery produced by our factory has always been guaranteed, how could it be possible to produce inferior agricultural machinery!" Zhao Zitian quickly denied it.

Sun Weimin, who was on the other side of the phone, sighed lightly, and then said: "Director Zhao, let me tell you the truth. The leaders of our bureau have already read this report, and the leaders have given instructions to review this report.

We are investigating the content on the website. Since it is an investigation, it is impossible to just listen to your side of the story.”

Zhao Zitian's expression instantly turned pale, and he stammered and explained: "Director Sun, a tractor is a kind of machinery. As long as it is a machine, it will break down. So the tractors produced by our factory must have minor breakdowns.

, this is a bit of a glitch, it can’t be considered poor quality, right? And as long as it is sent for repair, we have fixed it, and we have not harmed the farmers!”

But Sun Weimin said: "Director Zhao, what you tell me about whether it is an inferior product or not doesn't matter. Our Agricultural Machinery Bureau has experts who will evaluate the tractors produced by your factory."

Hearing the expert's assessment, Zhao Zitian was so frightened that he almost stopped holding the phone in his hand.

Zhao Zitian certainly knows the quality of his own products. If experts use the Dongfanghong tractor as a criterion, then the tractors of Jinxing Agricultural Machinery Factory are really inferior products.

However, the appearance of the Jinxing Agricultural Machinery Factory's tractor is copied from the Dongfanghong tractor. Experts will most likely use the Dongfanghong tractor as a reference standard.

At this time, Zhao Zitian only felt a tightness in his chest.

"It's over, I'm afraid I won't be able to pass this level!"

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