’Xie Changning is dropping me a hint!’

Wang Guofu glanced at Director Zhao. Seeing that the director had no intention of refusing, his eyes lit up. He led the two of them to the nearest workshop. "We haven’t had any orders lately. All the machines are idle, and we can’t even pay the workers’ wages..."

Wang Guofu explained the factory’s difficulties to Director Zhao.

"Don’t worry about the orders." Director Zhao didn’t explicitly say he would solve the problem, but Wang Guofu understood his meaning.

While listening to Wang Guofu, Xie Changning was observing the factory’s machinery. The equipment was old, and the workers’ skill levels were generally not high. Most were only Level 2 Technicians.

"Director Zhao, I need to ask you for a favor."

Director Zhao, who had been listening to Wang Guofu, turned his head and gestured for Xie Changning to speak.

"I need to borrow some high-level technicians."

Her words silenced everyone present. They couldn’t help but turn their gazes to Xie Changning, not understanding what she meant.

Director Zhao frowned. "Aren’t you one yourself?"

"I can only train one group of people on my own. For the children of our factory’s employees, I want to find teachers so they can undergo a period of systematic training." The factory was small, so it didn’t have its own vocational school.

Anyone who wanted to learn had to do so from the elders in their family.

The technicians at a small factory like this weren’t highly skilled—the best were only Level 3 or 4. Naturally, the children’s skills wouldn’t be very good either.

Now that Xie Changning had taken over the machinery factory, she couldn’t let it stagnate. She had to ensure the employees’ children built a solid technical foundation, were strict with themselves, and produced high-quality products.

After all, the things the Anong County Machinery Factory would be making in the future would all be precision items.

Their skills had to keep up.

"To be honest with you, I’m preparing to research color printers. This is a very delicate piece of technology, and I need to lay a good foundation for the future." As for the current workers, she could help them improve their skills during the manufacturing process.

But she didn’t have time to teach their children.

Most importantly, they needed to undergo systematic training.

Some of the larger factories had their own technical schools. That was her target. She wanted to send the employees’ children who were passionate about technology there to be assessed and enroll in the schools.

On her very first day, the new director was already working to secure benefits for the factory. This stirred the workers’ already restless hearts, leaving them overwhelmed with excitement.

They were incredibly thrilled.

They were all technical workers. They had all more or less heard about printers from relatives who had gone to other cities to help out at affiliated factories.

They heard that even foreign production numbers were low.

If their factory could develop a printer, foreign exchange... would be absolutely no problem!

Director Zhao was thinking the same thing. He looked a little excited. "You already have a plan?"

"There are some difficulties. The factory’s machinery is old, so creating a fully automated assembly line is likely impossible. In the initial stages, the workers will need to fabricate parts by hand," Xie Changning stated the reality of the situation, not making any blind promises.

"Whether we can succeed will depend on the difficulties we encounter during production."

’Fabricating parts by hand?’

The workers exchanged glances.

’No problem! We’ve been technicians for so many years, what kind of hardship haven’t we faced?’

Back in the most difficult times, they had to hand-craft every single joint. As long as it would help the factory develop, they were more than willing!

Director Zhao’s expression also calmed down. He nodded. "Alright. I’ll go back and talk to a few of the technical schools in Chuncheng. I’ll ask them to expand their enrollment. When the time comes... it will be up to the skills of your factory’s children!"

For a technical school, skill was what mattered most.

If their skills were good, they’d be accepted.

If their skills weren’t up to par, the schools wouldn’t take them, even if he put in a good word.

"You just need to help me make the inquiry. I’ll handle the rest."

"Deal!"

Xie Changning wanted to make a printer, and Director Zhao took the matter to heart.

Printers were a rarity right now. Once it was developed, the Anong County Machinery Factory wouldn’t just avoid being shut down and merged, it would receive priority support!

Director Zhao walked a lap around the factory with Xie Changning. After confirming the extent of the Anong County Machinery Factory’s predicament, he got into his car and left, leaving Xie Changning behind to get acquainted with everyone.

"Hello, everyone. I’m Xie Changning, your new factory director."

As soon as Director Zhao left, everyone gathered around Xie Changning.

"Hello, Mr. Xie!"

"For the foreseeable future, everyone will be fighting alongside me. The times ahead will be very difficult, so I hope you all can understand." Xie Changning stood on a raised platform, giving them a heads-up.

Hearing her say this, someone asked.

"Director, by ’difficult times,’ are you talking about the period when we’re developing the printer?"

"That’s right! We’re starting from scratch, so we’re bound to run into many difficulties..."

Xie Changning’s idea was to form a small, elite team dedicated to making a breakthrough on the printer experiment. The other workers would be placed on the assembly line to ensure the factory’s daily output.

Thinking of output, Xie Changning’s brow furrowed slightly.

’I’ll have to go out and drum up some business, get those big factories to let a few orders slip through their fingers for me.’

’I can’t let my workers starve right after I’ve taken over.’

"Director, I heard you were the one who developed the titanium alloy screws?" Someone with good sources had dug up some information about Xie Changning.

Titanium alloy screws were needed for military applications and strategic reserves. If possible, they hoped the factory could also produce some military-grade products to ensure its cash flow.

"Yes."

Xie Changning was very patient, answering everyone’s questions one by one.

After she had calmed everyone down, she led the management team of the Anong County Machinery Factory back to her office for a small meeting.

"First, report to me on the current situation. How long has the factory’s production been halted? How many technicians do we have, and what are their respective skill levels?" Xie Changning fired off a series of questions, and the management team didn’t dare to be complacent.

They hurried back to their offices to get their materials to report back to Xie Changning.

Initially, everyone had been somewhat dismissive of Xie Changning’s appointment. They thought a young person like her would have no management experience and that they had most likely been abandoned.

That was until they heard what Xie Changning said to Director Zhao today.

She was someone Director Zhao held in high regard. Her assignment to their factory wasn’t a sign of abandonment—it meant he was preparing to give them a new, important role!

And so, everyone cast off their dejected mood and began to rally their spirits!

After getting a handle on the factory’s basic situation, Xie Changning spoke to Wang Guofu. "Uncle Wang, please prepare a sample of work from every Level 3 and Level 4 technician in the factory. I want to see their skills."

"Got it!"

"Oh, and have the factory workers fill out a questionnaire. You can just give this task to the workshop supervisors. I’ll provide them with a template. They should have the workers copy down the questions from my template and write their answers."

"Okay!"

On Xie Changning’s first day, the Anong County Machinery Factory began to stir back to life.

The workers in the factory also had a newfound sense of anticipation.

They hoped that in the future, their factory could produce printers.