268: Chapter 267 Terrifying Efficiency

"You have it now?"

Factory Manager Wei Qingyun was slightly taken aback, then frowned. His gaze swept over Zheng Yi, who was beside Wang Shuo. Seeing that she seemed unmoved, he said:

"General Manager Wang, as far as I know, none of the light weapon design institutions in the country have yet produced a sniper rifle design that differs significantly from foreign ones, let alone one better than Old Mr. Luo's design. I wonder where you got this information from?"

The finalization of a firearm requires an extremely complex process and time; it is not just a matter of drawing up a blueprint and manufacturing it accordingly.

It must undergo continuous testing, refinement, and modification, and finally, it must pass the military's special acceptance inspection.

Every year, countless firearm designs are created, but very few of these designs ever become actual products, and even fewer make it to the official acceptance stage.

If it weren't so stringent, why would Professor Luo have spent several years researching a single firearm?

As it happened, after Professor Luo's unfortunate passing, the unfinished design was rejected, and it never had a chance to see the light of day.

Wang Shuo smiled faintly. "It's a secret."

These two words were said lightly, but they made Factory Manager Wei Qingyun's frown deepen. However, looking at Wang Shuo's confident demeanor, and especially the slight change in Zheng Yi's expression, he couldn't help but believe him a little.

Does the country really have a design that is better than Old Mr. Luo's?

If that's the case, then this thing really was born at the wrong time.

Factory Manager Wei Qingyun closed his mouth and fell into a slight silence.

The thing he had previously valued the most had suddenly become a mere chicken rib—useless to keep but a pity to discard—which made him feel an indescribable sense of discomfort.

What made him feel even worse was that he had actually heard this news from an unknown kid.

Since when did he need to hear such professional inside information from others?

Seeing Factory Manager Wei Qingyun fall silent, Wang Shuo did not continue to strike at him, but changed the subject. "I would like to understand the production situation of the factory's bulletproof vests and combat gear. Do you have any relevant information?"

Factory Manager Wei Qingyun nodded silently and gestured to Old Zhou, who was beside him.

Old Zhou was a bit reluctant, but it was clear that Factory Manager Wei Qingyun had high prestige in the factory, so he could only say, "I am familiar with most of the factory's production situation. General Manager Wang, please ask whatever you want to know."

Wang Shuo was a bit surprised.

"You are familiar with all the production data?"

Old Zhou smiled faintly. "There isn't much, but I remember most of it clearly."

"Then, please tell me, how many bulletproof vests did our factory produce last year? What levels were they? Was there a surplus?"

Old Zhou recalled for a moment and said, "Last year, due to a shortage of raw materials, our factory did not produce many finished bulletproof vests, only about 100,000 sets. Most of them were exported, and a small amount was supplied to some classified units. As for the surplus, it was about 60 million."

A surplus of 60 million, and that was just from the bulletproof vests alone. To be honest, this surplus amount was not low.

But Wang Shuo still shook his head slightly.

100,000 bulletproof vests; assuming the export price per set is 3,000 yuan, the profit margin doesn't even reach 20 percent.

This was something he, who was accustomed to profit margins of 40 percent or even higher, found hard to understand.

Old Zhou looked at the expression on Wang Shuo's face and was slightly stunned, unable to understand why Wang Shuo would show a look of regret after hearing about the profit. But before he could think too much, he heard Wang Shuo's next question.

"What about the supplies? What kind of supplies? What is the price?"

Old Zhou replied, "We use Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fiber cloth, and the price per kilogram is about 250 yuan."

Wang Shuo rubbed his chin. "What about the material usage?"

"It's basically the highest level. Of course, it still doesn't reach the protection level of other factories in the country, the main reason being that the raw materials supplied to us are not very good."

Seeing the look Wang Shuo swept over him, Old Zhou stopped searching for excuses and continued, "If we follow the highest protection level, each bulletproof vest requires at least about five kilograms of Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fiber cloth."

Five kilograms of fiber cloth, the cost price is at least 2,500 yuan. This does not include other costs; things like bulletproof inserts, labor, etc., have not been calculated yet.

It seems he would have to discount the profit margin he had just calculated.

For this thing, the profit margin might not even reach 10 percent.

Wang Shuo looked at Old Zhou, feeling a bit puzzled.

"The material cost is so high, why don't you ask for a price reduction? Based on your demand, negotiating the price should be easy, right?"

Before Old Zhou could speak, Factory Manager Wei Qingyun, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up, "The Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene used by our factory is always centrally purchased and then distributed by the headquarters. We cannot make decisions regarding the price."

"Moreover, this price is already very low. There are not many companies in the country that can produce Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, and the output has always been very low. It is a special raw material that is in short supply. If we were to negotiate the procurement ourselves, the price would increase by at least 30 percent."

Wang Shuo indicated that he understood.

Back then, it was precisely because Liu Yemei saw the potential in the new materials produced by Lin Junfeng's company that she listed it as the first choice.

"I understand."

Wang Shuo looked at everyone and smiled as he closed the documents in his hand. There was no need to continue looking at the other projects; in any case, he was not prepared to continue down the old path.

"I have learned what I needed to know, and I am in a hurry. How about it, everyone? Shall we discuss the issue of how to hand over the factory?"

...

Outside the office building.

A group of workers did not listen to Factory Manager Wei Qingyun's words and disperse obediently; instead, they found a factory building and slipped inside, gathering in twos and threes.

"Hey, Little Shen, I see many people walking towards the Human Resources Department. Are you going?"

Beside Shen Yan, a young man about his age poked his shoulder and asked.

Shen Yan was silent.

To tell the truth, he did not want to leave this factory. The compensation was secondary; in any case, the current compensation was not that great, just enough to barely maintain his life in this city.

What he wanted more was to be in contact with the things produced in the factory.

He dreamed of making a firearm that could fire with his own hands, and it looked like his dream was about to come true.

A week ago, General Manager Wei had already promised to transfer him from Production Plant No. 3, which produced bulletproof plates, to Production Plant No. 7, which produced seamless steel pipes.

He was one step closer to his dream.

But...

"Are you going?"

Shen Yan asked.

The companion's face showed a hint of hesitation. "Maybe I will. But if we leave, what else can we do? Other than operating machines, we don't know anything. If we go out, we will just be working in other factories."

That was true. Working is working, no matter where it is. At least here, he could maintain the status of a formal worker, have the security of a state-owned enterprise, and no matter how bad the compensation was, it wouldn't be too terrible.

It was just that the factory was not doing well and there were no bonuses, but that didn't seem to be a problem.

But now...

Thinking that the person about to take over the factory was young man younger than himself, Shen Yan felt very conflicted.

"Shen Yan, why don't you just resign?"

The companion said, "We all saw you confronting the new boss just now. If you don't leave, I'm afraid the new boss will hold a grudge against you."

"This..." Shen Yan frowned slightly. He had indeed been a bit impulsive just now. He tried to say, "He shouldn't, right?"

"Who can say for sure?"

The companion shrugged. "In any case, you should be careful. Being careful never hurts."

The companion wanted to say something else, but his phone suddenly vibrated, and he could only take it out and look down.

"Holy crap."

The companion exclaimed.

"What's wrong?"

Shen Yan asked in confusion.

"Someone has already received the money."

The companion's face lit up with joy, and he said in surprise, "It's Shi Lei. He really got the severance pay, calculated according to his years of service, and it went up by 50 percent!"

Received the money?

Shen Yan was stunned.

How long has it been?

Has it even been an hour?

Is this new boss's efficiency this terrifying?

Or was it that he had already prepared everything, wishing for them to resign on their own?