Facing Chen Hua's doubts, Li Donglai smiled lightly and said: "Maybe the masters from the First Bicycle Manufacturing Factory in Beijing are more cooperative."
That indifferent attitude, if Chen Hua hadn't worked in a car factory and understood the entire process of car production, he would have believed it.
It takes at least five or six years for a car to go from project establishment to design drawings to final production of the finished car.
Even if the structure of an electric bicycle is relatively simple and not as complex as a car, it will take at least two years to produce it.
Li Donglai finished it in less than two months. This was just the cooperation of the workers and masters, but it was not enough.
It's just...Chen Hua doesn't pay attention to this issue at the moment.
She understands the performance of electric bicycles. If she can have an electric bicycle, she won't have to work hard to commute to get off work.
After dinner, Chen Hua helped Ding Qiunan wash the dishes. While playing with Wei Dong and Wei Guo, he asked with a smile: "Brother-in-law, what are the requirements for buying an electric bicycle now?"
Li Donglai put down the enamel jar, stretched out comfortably, and said with a smile: "Because the initial production capacity is limited, electric bicycles are temporarily sold on a ticket basis."
"Electric bicycle tickets? Under what conditions can people get tickets?" Chen Hua sat upright and stared straight at Li Donglai.
"Tickets for electric bicycles are distributed by superiors. Although our laboratory does not know the specific standards, we can estimate based on the production volume that the first batch of people issued include the directors, deputy directors, and advanced workers of major factories.
Comrades who have made great achievements, as well as leaders of major departments in the capital."
After hearing this, even though he knew that the standard must be very high, Chen Hua still felt a little disappointed.
When Ding Qiunan saw Chen Hua's look, he knew that this little girl wanted an electric bicycle.
but.
She did not speak for Chen Hua.
The reason is simple. Ding Qiunan knows that Li Donglai has always been a person who distinguishes between public and private matters and will never destroy the system set by the ministry for the sake of his relatives.
Now that he proposes to help Chen Hua buy an electric bicycle, he is causing trouble for Li Dong.
Neither of them said a word, but the expressions on their faces showed their thoughts.
Li Donglai took a sip of tea and laughed loudly: "Chen Hua, do you also want an electric bicycle?"
"Ah?!" Chen Hua was surprised at first, then waved his hands to deny it: "Brother-in-law, I don't meet the standards and can't get a ticket for an electric bicycle. Besides, I'm still young, so I can just ride a bicycle."
"We have some samples in the laboratory..." Li Donglai said slowly.
"Ah, brother-in-law, are you selling it? Selling it?" Chen Hua stood up suddenly, ran to Li Donglai, knelt down and asked.
That eager little look is like a child who wants candy.
"Of course it can be sold, but the price is not cheap. Even though it is a sample, the cost of an electric bicycle is about 250 yuan."
Li Donglai did not deliberately take care of Chen Hua. In the process of developing electric bicycles, in order to test the quality of electric bicycles and test various standards, the laboratory manufactured a large number of electric bicycles.
The researchers in the laboratory were all given a task to ride electric bicycles and wander around the laboratory walls for half an hour every day.
Now that the electric bicycle is about to be officially released, these samples are no longer useful. According to the laboratory's rules and regulations, they can be sold directly to the outside world.
"Two hundred and fifty yuan..." Chen Hua hesitated for a moment and nodded heavily: "Brother-in-law, I want to buy one, and I have to ask you to help me."
Chen Hua's family is in a good condition and she is not the kind of person who is short of money. In addition, she is different from ordinary girls.
The average girl likes beautiful clothes and red headbands with cream, but she only likes this kind of sophisticated high-tech products.
"sure."
Li Donglai agreed in one breath.
Those batches of sample cabinets were disposed of in the laboratory. As the director, Li Donglai had the right to decide who to sell them to.
In fact, he also planned to buy two cars, one to ride himself and one to give to Ding Qiunan for transportation.
The night is getting darker.
Considering that Chen Hua was a little girl, Li Donglai, under the supervision of Ding Qiunan, personally sent Chen Hua back to the car factory.
On the road, Chen Hua raised a question: "Brother-in-law, since bicycles can be driven by batteries, if we buy more batteries, can we also build an electric car?"
Li Donglai held the cold handlebar, shook his head and said: "Chen Hua, we have also considered this suggestion you made, but with the current technical conditions, we still have no way to manufacture a battery that meets the requirements."
“Won’t the battery on the electric bike work?”
"The energy density is too low. Even if dozens of batteries are connected in series, there is no way to drive a car. Moreover, as the number of batteries increases, the load on the car will inevitably increase."
Chen Hua is a regular college student. He has studied relevant knowledge and understood it instantly.
"It looks like we still have to wait a few more years."
"That day will come sooner or later."
In fact, Li Donglai has already started research on electric vehicles after completing the research on the electric bicycle project, and has also established a special electric vehicle battery research group for this purpose.
Just because of backward technical conditions and equipment, the research on electric vehicle batteries has not been able to achieve ideal results.
....
Early the next morning.
The Jingcheng Department Store was completely surrounded by customers.
The residents of Beijing learned about the upcoming release of electric bicycles from newspapers two days ago. Although they cannot afford them, it does not affect their enthusiasm to join in the fun.
Zhang Xingming from the coal factory is one of them.
In order to see the true appearance of the electric bicycle, he even took a day off. Of course, this may be because taking leave in a state-owned coal factory will not deduct wages.
But he didn't expect there to be so many people in the department store.
It was only six o'clock in the morning, and the large square in front of the department store was already crowded with people. Some young men even regarded this place as a place to take pictures of their wives. When they met a young girl, they would always rush over and whistle a few times.
.
This makes the gay men next to the young girl dissatisfied. At this time, the words "what are you looking at" often become the starting point of the fight between the two parties.
Soon, several fights broke out in the small square, and shoe soles, half bricks, and wire locks became powerful weapons.
So much so that the nearby street police stations had to mobilize to maintain the situation. If something happened, it would be troublesome.
Zhang Xingming saw the two young men being taken away by comrades from the police station. He shook his head in disinterest: "It's really boring. I originally wanted to see the excitement."
At this time, a voice suddenly came from behind: "Xingming, you want to see the electric bicycle too."
Zhang Xingming turned around and saw his coworker Li Minghao: "Old Li, have you asked for leave too?"
"Of course. I heard that most of the workers in our workshop asked for leave today. Fortunately, we asked for leave earlier. Those who asked for leave later were beaten up by the workshop director." Li Minghao said with gloating.
"Yes, department stores sell electric bicycles today. As long as you turn the switch, they will run by themselves. They are most suitable for comrades like us who work in coal plants." Zhang Xingming nodded.
Because the coal factory needs to burn wood into charcoal, and needs to emit billowing black smoke during production, it was moved to a wilderness area more than 20 miles away from the capital after liberation.
This suddenly posed a big problem for those workers in the capital.
Although the coal plant also provides dormitories, a dormitory with more than a dozen people to a room is full of the smell of farts, decaying dampness, and smelly feet. It is not as comfortable as going home and sleeping with your wife in your arms.
Therefore, many workers choose to commute to get off work by bicycle every day.
Riding a bicycle for more than 20 miles only takes half an hour. It doesn't seem like a waste of time. However, it is uphill all the way from the capital to the coal factory. By the time the workers reach the factory, they are already half exhausted. How can they still have the energy to do it?
live.
Especially if you need to go back and forth every day.
So the workers at the coal plant were naturally very interested when they heard that a bicycle that could run on its own without pedaling was on sale in the Beijing Department Store today.
The time came to eight o'clock unknowingly, and the salesperson responsible for opening the door saw so many people gathered outside that he did not dare to unlock the door for a while.
In the end, the comrades from the police station were there to help maintain order and let the customers line up, and then the salesperson opened the door.
Tens of thousands of customers crowded into the department store, and when they saw the scene in the store clearly, they all took a breath.
I don’t know when the counter that originally sold non-staple food on the first floor of the department store was removed and replaced by a podium.
There was an electric bicycle covered with red silk cloth on the rostrum, and several muscular gay men stood beside it.
"What is this for?"
"I don't know, why are the electric bicycles covered with red silk?"
"I heard that in Hong Kong City, when people sell new gadgets, they do it like this."
.....
At this time, Li Donglai, who was standing "backstage", heard the crowd's comments and immediately couldn't laugh or cry. He glanced at his father helplessly.
According to Li Donglai's original plan, the department store selling electric vehicles had nothing to do with him as the director of the laboratory. He had to use his free time to plan the next research project of the laboratory.
However, Lao Ba, the third heir to the Asli family, had a sudden idea and said that the electric bicycle was actually the first high-tech product released by the steel rolling mill laboratory, and suggested that Li Donglai take the opportunity to hold a product launch conference.
, it should be like those big consortiums in Europe and the United States.
Lao Ba's suggestion was immediately agreed by other core staff in the rolling mill laboratory, the most supportive of whom was Zhang Qingcui.
During this time, the steel rolling mill laboratory began to transform, and it successively acquired a seasoning factory and a bicycle factory. Zhang Qingcui's position also changed, from the general manager of the steel rolling mill laboratory to the director of the department responsible for the promotion of laboratory products.
After Zhang Qingcui accepted the new task, in order not to fall behind, she deliberately learned relevant knowledge from professors at the university.
Although China was still a planned economy in these years, research on commercial promotion was ongoing. After all, in the 1950s, there were advertisements on train tickets.
Zhang Qingcui realized that this was a good opportunity to expand the influence of the steel rolling mill laboratory, and actively suggested that Li Donglai agree to Lao Ba's idea.
Li Donglai thought over and over again, and first submitted an application to the ministry. After receiving approval, a large stage was set up in the Capital Department Store.
It is said to be a large stage, but it is actually a wooden stage with a background board made of cardboard boxes behind it. On the background board are the words "Steel Rolling Mill Laboratory Electric Bicycle Press Conference" written by the calligrapher of the laboratory, Professor Liu.
Large characters.
Don't tell me, from a distance, it really looks like that.
"Director Li, we are almost here, our press conference...should it begin?"
Just when Li Donglai shook his head and smiled bitterly, a staff member from the department store walked in and asked in a low voice.
Li Donglai turned to look at Zhang Qingcui: "Comrade Zhang Qingcui, how should you appear?"
"Director, don't worry, I have everything planned." Zhang Qingcui was wearing a light gray tunic suit today, looking very neat and tidy, and quite a bit like a strong woman in the future.
She was talking, carrying a loudspeaker, and walked to the stage.
"Hello all customers, today is the day for the release of electric bicycles in our steel rolling mill laboratory. I think everyone is very interested in this kind of bicycle that can run without pedaling. Now let me ask Director Li Donglai of our laboratory to introduce it to you.
.”
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a burst of fierce applause.
This is the first time for everyone to see such a strange meeting, but as long as you can join in the fun and enjoy the fun, that's enough!
If the scores were given on the spot, Li Donglai would definitely give Zhang Qingcui a hundred points.
Lesbians of this era are relatively conservative, especially those in the laboratory. Even though they are so busy in the laboratory, they often cannot say a word when they stand in front of everyone.
Zhang Qingcui was just generous and clear in her enunciation. She was no worse than the female hosts of later generations.
Bringing Zhang Qingcui into the laboratory was the wisest decision Li Donglai made.
He sighed and strode onto the stage.
Today Li Donglai was wearing a black Mao suit, looking particularly energetic without losing his majesty.
When we first came on stage, all the ladies watching the fun below were asking about it.
"Hey, this young man is the director of the steel rolling mill laboratory. Isn't he too young?"
"I don't know if I'm married or not. I have a niece who just turned eighteen this year. She's pretty good-looking. I think she'll be a perfect match for this young man."
"My daughter is a graduate of a technical secondary school and a highly educated person. She is more suitable for Director Li."
"Get out of the way, you all, get out of the way. I want to ask this young man myself."
....
Seeing the crowd below starting to commotion, Zhang Qingcui calmly picked up the loudspeaker and said loudly: "Everyone, I'm really sorry, Director Li of our laboratory has been married a long time ago, and he and his wife played the piano and played the piano.
, the husband sings and the wife follows.
If you have girls of the right age, we do have unmarried young men in our laboratory.
After the press conference is over, you can come to me to register.
Now let’s focus on the product launch.”
"Now we invite our Director Li to introduce you to everyone."
As she spoke, Zhang Qingcui handed the loudspeaker to Li Donglai, regardless of the disappointment on the faces of the ladies.
