Rebirth of the Industrial Tycoon

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

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

In the 1990s, the small four-wheel tractor still used the oil pump engine, and the torque was very large with a big throttle. Today's small four-wheel tractors are all EFI engines, and they are not as powerful as the old tractors.

In addition, the weight of the tractor in the past was also larger, so the grip was full, and the current tractor is light and compact, light in weight, poor grip, and less negative than the old tractor in the past.

Farmers buy a small four-wheel tractor, and they can plough and cover crops during busy farming season, or go to the river to pull a truck to water the land; on weekdays, they can pull their own fruits and vegetables to sell in the city; they can also run around during the slack. Transport, bring some sand, bricks and the like to the construction site. Running into a well-off society for three years is definitely not a dream.

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 small four-wheel tractor in China 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, a key project of the "First Five-Year Plan", and its technical level is definitely second to none in China. The development of the Type 59 tank also involved the first tractor factory.

In 1982, according to China's national conditions, Yituo launched the Dongfanghong small four-wheel tractor. The cumulative sales volume of this tractor exceeded 2 million.

You must know that FAW's national car, Xiali, has been sold for 18 years, and the cumulative sales volume has exceeded 1 million units, while the Dongfanghong small four-wheel tractor can sell 2 million units.

It is precisely because the Dongfanghong small four-wheel tractor is very popular among farmers, so the small four-wheel tractor model quickly became popular. After entering the 1990s, many domestic agricultural machinery factories have launched their own small four-wheel tractors.

Jinxing Agricultural Machinery Factory is one of them. The factory director Zhao Zitian took a fancy to the small four-wheel tractor market, so he loaned 4 million yuan and introduced a production line of small four-wheel tractors. Cottage machine.

It is said that it is a production line, but it is actually 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 5 million yuan, and a mere 4 million yuan to buy a tractor production line must be cheap and not good.

A small four-wheel tractor

It seems that the structure is not complicated, but the manufacturing process is not simple, because small four-wheel tractors are used for farm work, and the durability of the parts is very high. If the technical level is not up to standard, it is natural that the small four-wheel tractor made will fail frequently.

The fact that Yituo 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 make must meet the standard.

For a county-level agricultural machinery factory like Jinxing Agricultural Machinery Factory, it has no technology and no craftsmanship, and it costs more to introduce a production line. The tractors produced are definitely inferior and defective products.

Earlier, Li Weidong learned from President Wu that Jinxing Agricultural Machinery Factory had introduced a production line of small four-wheel tractors, and he knew that this was a big hole.

With the technical level of Jinxing Agricultural Machinery Factory, it is almost as difficult to understand the production technology of small four-wheel tractors as that of FAW Santana.

At that time, the engineers of FAW followed the Germans for three years to learn how to build the Santana. The Jinxing Agricultural Machinery Factory spent 4 million yuan to build a production line, and wanted to force a small four-wheel tractor, so it could only send a song "Liang Liang".

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

Dongfanghong's small four-wheel tractor will not break down for three to five years if it is well maintained. Li Weidong felt that the tractors of the Jinxing Agricultural Machinery Factory, no matter how unbearable the quality, can still be used for a year and a half!

As a result, the tractors of Jinxing Agricultural Machinery Factory began to have various failures in just three months, and this also gave Li Weidong a chance.

...

As long as the agricultural machinery sold by the agricultural machinery station, who the buyer is, which town and which village it belongs to, there will generally be records.

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, some are paid quarterly, some are subsidized to manufacturers, some are subsidized to farmers, some are issued when agricultural machinery is purchased, and some are issued after a period of time.

Based on the reasons for granting subsidies, the agricultural machinery station will also do a good job in the registration of customer information.

Moreover, the grass-roots agricultural machinery station also undertakes a certain agricultural machinery maintenance business, and for this reason, it is also necessary to master customer information.

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

Immediately afterwards, Li Weidong sent people to do door-to-door statistics. The situation was as expected by Li Weidong. There were more or less minor problems for those purchased for more than one month, and those purchased for more than three months were returned to the factory for overhaul. .

...

In Gaoqiao Township, Old Man Zhao drove a tractor slowly into the village. After parking the tractor at the gate of his own courtyard, Old Man Zhao walked into the house.

In the yard, Li Erniu from the same village was sitting there, chatting with Zhao Laohan's daughter-in-law.

Seeing the old man Zhao coming back, Li Erniu quickly got up to greet him: "Uncle Zhao, I heard from my aunt, you went to repair the tractor, and now it's repaired?"

"It's repaired! I changed something like a piece of iron, what is the swing lock called, and the tractor is repaired!" Zhao old man replied.

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

"It seems to be called this name. You young people have a good memory. Unlike my age, you can't remember it after locking it several times." Zhao old man replied.

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

"How do I know this!" Zhao old man shook his head.

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

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

"If it's broken, just replace it! Anyway, it doesn't cost money to repair the tractor. It just costs a little bit of oil to go to the county. By the way, I will take some food and sell it, and I will earn it back." Zhao Laohan said.

"Uncle Zhao, you didn't spend money on repairing the tractor this time, because you bought it for less than three months, and the manufacturer will give you a warranty, but the tractor factory can't guarantee you for a lifetime!"

Li Erniu paused, then said: "After the warranty period, if the tractor breaks down again, you can't repair it yourself? The swing shaft positioning lock you replaced may cost dozens of dollars! You have to pay for it. How many vegetables do you have to sell to earn back?"

Hearing that he was going to pay to repair the tractor, the old man Zhao couldn't sit still.

Li Erniu said, "Uncle Zhao, I also bought this Venus tractor, and I went to repair it twice in three months, and the old Wang's house at the head of the village also bought a Venus tractor, but it suddenly couldn't turn the day before yesterday. I went to the village next door to inquire, and the Venus tractor they bought was always faulty! In my opinion, the quality of this Venus tractor is simply not up to standard!

Now we have just bought it, and it is still under warranty, so they will repair it for free with us. Can we do it later? After a year or two, the warranty period is out. Can't we pay for the tractor ourselves? At that time, it will be good to replace a few parts. Let's make some money and spend it on repairing the tractor! "

"Then what should we do?" Zhao old man asked with a flustered face.

"I've discussed it with the people who bought Venus tractors in other villages. We have to go to the manufacturer to discuss it! Uncle Zhao, will you go?" Li Erniu said.

"I'm going, even if the manufacturer can't make the repairs free for life, it still has a warranty period of ten or twenty years!" Zhao old man nodded and said.

"Uncle Zhao, you still think it's not enough trouble to repair the tractor!" Li Erniu paused, and then said: "Since the quality of this tractor is not up to standard, and it breaks down twice in three days, then we must not have it! So we We have to ask for a return and let the manufacturer return the money to us!"

The old man Zhao thought about it carefully. If he returned it, it would be equivalent to prostituting a tractor for more than two months. When he went back and took the refund, he could buy a new tractor again. This transaction is definitely worth it!

So the old man Zhao nodded: "You young people have more ideas, let's return it!"

This Li Erniu was just a farmer who faced the loess and turned his back to the sky. He hadn't gone to school for a few days, and his knowledge was average. Of course, he couldn't think of an idea to return it to the manufacturer.

So going to the agricultural machinery factory to return the goods was secretly sent by Li Weidong.

This kind of deliberately provocative behavior does not require a lot of manpower. Each township can find two people who are willing to take the lead, and can mobilize other farmers who have been trapped by inferior tractors to participate.

...

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

"The sales dropped again last month!" Zhao Zitan sighed deeply, thinking in his mind whether to lower the price by another 200 yuan.

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

But starting from the third month, the sales of Venus tractors plummeted, because various small problems gradually appeared.

Ordinary people are not fools. After saving some money to buy a tractor, they definitely want a sturdy and durable one. Although the price of Venus tractors is cheap, but there are many faults and poor reputation, naturally fewer and fewer people choose Venus tractors.

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

"Factory director, it's not good, a large number of people came outside! They all bought tractors from our factory!"

"Are you here to repair the tractor again?" Zhao Zitian frowned impatiently, and said, "Just fix it for them, by the way, tell the maintenance workshop, if the parts can still be used, don't replace them, you can replace them with second-hand ones. Don't replace it with a new one!"

"Director, this time they are not going to repair the tractor, they are going to return it!"

"Return!" Zhao Zitian stood up abruptly, thinking in his heart how could there be such a brazen request!

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

...

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

The technical director was passing through the crowd.

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

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

"It's the steering wheel idling." The technical director nodded. He had seen this problem a lot, so he said, "This should be the problem of the wear of the steering arm slot, just replace the connecting slot! You drive the tractor to the maintenance workshop at the back, and I will have it replaced for you!"

The man shook his head: "If you don't change it, I want to return it!"

"Return? 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, then continued; "I'm not here to repair the tractor today, but to return the tractor!"

The technical director asked around, all the people who came here were returning the tractor, and he already realized that this was not something he could solve by himself.

At this moment, Zhao Zitian finally appeared.

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

"We're going to return it!"

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

Everyone said in a hushed voice.

"Everyone be quiet!" Zhao Zitian motioned for everyone to be quiet, and then he said, "Why do you want to return it?"

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

Of course Zhao Zitian couldn't admit that his products were of poor quality, so he retorted: "The quality of our tractors is absolutely guaranteed!"

"The quality is guaranteed, so what's the point of failure every three days!" Another person said.

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

"But I have repaired it twice this month! If the tractor from your factory is of good quality, I will have to repair it twice?" The man continued.

"This little brother, have you ever thought that it may be caused by your improper operation?" Zhao Zitian asked back.

"If it's just me, it might be the operation department, but there are so many of us here, and their tractors always fail, how do you explain? Are all of us operating improperly! It's not a quality problem. !" This guy also has sharp teeth.

The topic of product quality is not good for Jinxing Agricultural Machinery Factory, and Zhao Zitian didn't want to continue to struggle with it, so he immediately changed the topic and said;

"Dear folks, as I said just now, the machine will break down. If it breaks down, repair it. Your tractor is broken, and our factory doesn't stop repairing it for you. There is a special repair shop behind it. If there is a problem with the tractor, take it to the repair shop, and our factory will definitely fix it!"

"We don't need you to fix it, you can just return it to us! We don't want your junk!" The leader repeated his appeal.

However, Zhao Zitian shook his head: "This tractor has already been sold to you, and you have used it for a while, and it is not reasonable to say it is returning it now!"

"Why doesn't it make sense, you sell inferior products to us, why can't we return them!"

Zhao Zitian curled his lips, and he didn't intend to continue to reason, but said directly: "I said that I can't retreat, so I can't retreat! I'm willing to help you repair, it's already benevolent and righteous! If you want to repair, just go. In the maintenance workshop at the back, if you don’t want to repair it, you should leave quickly, so as not to affect the production of our factory!”

After Zhao Zitian finished speaking, he turned and left.

The domestic "Product Quality Law" was only implemented in 1993, and the three-guarantee policy was implemented later. Before that, the laws and regulations for product quality supervision were relatively lacking, and the products had quality problems. It is also a hassle to complain. matter.

For example, how long is the warranty period, what is the scope of the warranty, whether it will cost money to replace the parts, whether it can be directly exchanged, and whether it can be returned, these are all determined by the manufacturer.

Therefore, as long as the Jinxing Agricultural Machinery Factory is killed by "repairing and not retreating", there is really no way for these farmers who have been harmed by inferior tractors.

At this moment, a man had mixed into the crowd at some point. He was carrying a bag, a camera was hanging around his neck, and he was holding a notebook in his hand.

"Comrade, this is Ma Chiyu, a reporter from "Qinghe Daily"! I want 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-guarantee policy has been very clear. It is still a very troublesome thing to return large-scale machinery and equipment such as agricultural machinery. Dealers and manufacturers can always find reasons for not returning the goods.

In the 1990s, when there was no "Product Quality Law", how could Jinxing Agricultural Machinery Factory possibly return it! If it is really returned, it is estimated that the Jinxing Agricultural Machinery Factory will close down immediately.

Therefore, Li Weidong greeted the newspapers in advance and asked them to send reporters to interview and create a public opinion offensive.

It's just that Li Weidong could never have imagined that it happened to be the same Ma Chiyu back then!

Five years ago, when the transportation company divided houses, there was Li Weidong. Someone deliberately did bad things and wrote a report letter to the newspaper to report Li Weidong. Ma Chiyu, who had just started working at the time, saw the report letter and took the initiative to ask Ying for an interview. As a result, the interview eventually turned into a farce.

Now that five years have passed, Ma Chiyu is no longer the silly little reporter he used to be. Now Ma Chiyu has grown into a very experienced senior reporter.

As a senior reporter, Ma Chiyu certainly knew where the focus of the news report was, so the next day, a report titled "Inferior Tractor Harming Innocent Farmers" appeared in the newspaper.

...

Zhao Zitian was trembling with anger as he looked at the newspaper report "Inferior Tractors Harming Innocent Farmers".

"This is slander! It's slander!" Zhao Zitian roared.

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

And once this report comes out, it will inevitably affect the sales of Venus tractors, and Venus tractors will not be able to sell at that time!

Just then, the phone on the table rang.

"Hey!" Zhao Zitian answered the phone with a displeased expression.

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

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

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 fake! Those contents are all fabricated! The quality of 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 give you the bottom line. The leaders of our bureau have already read this report, and the leaders have instructed to report on this report. The content on the website is investigated. Since it is an investigation, it is impossible to listen to only one side of your words.”

Zhao Zitian's expression turned pale in an instant, and he explained stutteringly: "Director Sun, a tractor is a kind of machine, and as long as it is a machine, it will break down. Therefore, the tractors produced by our factory must have some small faults. , this is a little faulty, so it can’t be considered inferior, right? And as long as it is sent for repair, we have repaired it, and we have not harmed the farmers!”

Sun Weimin said, "Director Zhao, whether it's a low-quality product, it doesn't matter what you told me. Our Agricultural Machinery Bureau has experts who will evaluate the tractors produced by your factory."

Hearing the expert's assessment, Zhao Zitian shuddered with fright and almost didn't hold the phone in his hand.

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

However, the tractors of Jinxing Agricultural Machinery Factory are copied from Dongfanghong tractors in appearance. Nine times out of ten, experts will use Dongfanghong tractors as a reference standard.

At this time, Zhao Zitian only felt chest tightness.

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