Chapter 10: Houses and Factories

Sima looked at the online sales information for these old equipment, such as punching machines, watch cases, and watch band molds, and even felt a sense of relief that these state-owned enterprises had undergone restructuring. Otherwise, he feared that he would have to customize these devices from other factories, which would take a considerable amount of time just to manufacture them.

Hehe! Perhaps! You are hardly a qualified businessman; I fear that very few people would buy such outdated factory blueprints now. To be honest, although those Russian-style factories appear clumsy and bulky, their adaptability is the strongest. They are suitable for conversion into various types of workshops. The cost is somewhat high, but their lifespan is very long. In fact, most military enterprises still use these old-style factories; if they were to switch to steel-structured factories, they would have likely been out of service for over half a century.

Upon further comparison with the images of factories available online, it appears that this one aligns quite well with Sima's vision, although the size of the factory is somewhat excessive. Constructing such a large factory would require at least several years, which clearly does not meet Sima's requirements. However, if feasible, Sima would be quite willing to use these blueprints to build such a large factory; the mere thought of owning a factory of this scale is quite appealing. Nevertheless, Sima also understands that, given his current financial situation, he seems unable to bear such a substantial project.

Sometimes, the best way to establish a factory at the fastest speed is to clone an existing one. In modern society, the construction and design of many factories are essentially repetitive. For instance, during the early years of nation-building, the Soviet Union assisted China by directly cloning Soviet factories. This included not only the planning and design of the factory area but also the use of the same machinery. This method undoubtedly accelerated the speed of factory construction significantly.

Haha! Thank you very much. Please keep that map of the Qinhua Tool Factory from Shougang for me; I might actually find it useful in the future. Sima opened the website the seller sent him and indeed found information in this regard. He felt that this seller was quite interesting, as he didn't seem to want to make money from this, going from over 6,000 to 100, and finally to giving it away for free. If everyone in the world conducted business like this person, it would be quite something! Haha! In comparison, Sima felt that he was truly a shrewd businessman.

If it takes a few years to complete the construction, by then it is likely that it will not be Sima engaging in the trade of goods, but rather the various warring nations of Europe in that time period selling various surplus materials to China. At that point, it would be fortunate if one does not incur losses, let alone make a profit. Currently, cloning a factory has become Sima's only viable option.

Indeed! This simple factory building made of a steel frame and asbestos tiles seems quite good. The construction period is also very short! Quite impressive. After downloading the e-book, Sima carefully examined the various structural designs of simple factory buildings introduced within it. Many of them are indeed suitable for his needs. The so-called simple factory building primarily utilizes angle steel and I-beams welded to form a frame, with iron sheets, wooden boards, and asbestos tiles attached as walls. In reality, it only serves to block the wind and does not provide the thermal insulation effect that color steel buildings do. However, due to its low cost and fast construction speed, it has been adopted by many small factories. After all, in China, there are not many manufacturers willing to invest a large amount of capital in factory construction.

Wang Lei himself works at a state-owned construction engineering institute, where young people often find themselves merely performing menial tasks. In his spare time, Wang Lei took advantage of his work conditions to sell some old blueprints online for profit. This engineering institute has been involved in the planning and design of many factory sites since the early days of the founding of the nation, resulting in a large number of old factory planning and design blueprints. Although there are indeed blueprints from military enterprises among them, no one has ever realized that these blueprints require confidentiality. Wang Lei also did not realize that he was actually committing a breach of confidentiality, at least if discovered. Fortunately, over the years, Wang Lei has only sold some architectural planning blueprints for residential communities and some modern factory blueprints. Aside from Sima, Wang Lei has not encountered such clients.

In March 1958, the A581 model mechanical watch was registered as the Shanghai brand trademark. On April 23, the first watch factory in our country—the Shanghai Watch Factory—was completed. That year, a total of 13,600 Shanghai brand watches were produced. From then on, it marked the end of the history in which China could only repair watches but not manufacture them

As Sima gazed at the information online about companies selling old machinery, his eyes couldn't help but light up. To outsiders, such outdated equipment may seem to hold little value, but in Sima's eyes, these machines were perfectly suited for him. Unlike modern machinery, which often features numerical control and similar technologies, most of these devices were domestically produced in the 1970s.

In 1954, during an inspection in Shanghai, Li Fuchun, the Director of the National Economic Commission, stated: "Our country has a market of 600 million people, and the watch industry has great potential. I hope Shanghai can produce watches made in our own country." On July 9, 1955, the Shanghai Second Bureau of Light Industry, in collaboration with the Shanghai Watch Industry Association, organized 13 watch factories along with the Jianguo Instrument Factory, Huakang Watch Material Company, Shenchang Watch Shop, and four industrial cooperatives including Yixing, Heceng, Huacheng, and Zhongsu, as well as 6 individual technicians engaged in watch repair, totaling 58 participants in the watch trial production group. The first batch of trial-produced long three-hand (17 jewels) fine horse watches consisted of 150 pieces, with all parts manufactured separately by the participating units and personnel.

The several 24-axis high-speed drilling machines, as described above, are used for drilling jewel bearings for watch movements. Each person can drill between 2,500 to 3,000 pieces per day. Although this small drilling equipment appears outdated and its production efficiency is less than one-tenth that of laser drilling machines, it was perfectly suited for the year 1915 and was considered very advanced at that time. There are also other milling machines available. However, this equipment was indeed the most suitable for the year 1915 and was very advanced.

For Sima at present, what is needed is to accelerate the pace of construction. Although the warehouse in the twenty-first century has not yet been purchased, as long as enough funds are accumulated, it is likely that within two days this warehouse can become an asset under his name. However, in the year 1915, things were not so smooth. If a large warehouse and factory area are not established there, one should not expect to transport various materials in bulk in a legitimate manner. It is likely that within two days this warehouse can become an asset under his name. However, in the year 1915, things were not so smooth. If a large warehouse and factory area are not established there, one should not expect to transport various materials in bulk in a legitimate manner.

Moreover, Sima is completely unaware of what machinery is required to operate a watch factory. However, the situation is different now; most of this equipment is directly pulled from the factory, and all that is needed is skilled workers to restart the machines in order to quickly produce new watches. By then, he will have a continuous stream of watches being produced from his own factory

"That thing isn't worth much. If you want it, give me one hundred yuan and I'll give you the whole set." At that moment, Wang Lei realized that the person buying the blueprints was completely inexperienced, probably just someone thinking about starting a factory. It was rather amusing; Wang Lei even thought that if this person was willing to build a Russian-style factory, he wouldn't mind working there. After all, the construction of such large factories, covering several square kilometers, is quite rare nowadays, especially those that require extensive earthworks. Although factories that use a lot of steel components are quick and attractive, they lack that industrial flavor.

By September 26, the first batch of 18 Long San Needle (17 Diamond) fine horse watches was trial-produced. In May of the following year, the trial production work was concentrated at Jiangyin Road (originally the warehouse of Qixin Spring Factory), and the trial production team expanded to over 150 people. Using rudimentary equipment, a second batch of 100 watches was trial-produced. In April 1957, the trial production group recruited former locomotive design engineer Xi Guozhen and former medical needle manufacturing technician Tong Qinfeng, among others, to refer to the textbook "Russian Craftsmanship". Combining practical trial production experience, they spent over four months drawing more than 150 component blueprints and established a production process with 1,070 procedures, which became the first set of watch production process documents formulated by our country.

It is evident that a large integrated factory like the Shougang Qinghua Plant does not meet Sima's requirements. At least for the time being, such a large integrated factory is far from the type of factory Sima needs. The time required to construct such a facility is something Sima cannot tolerate. For Sima, it would be ideal if the factory could be built and the foundation laid today, and completed by tomorrow.

The "Russian Fabric Technology" is the same as the book "Soviet Technology"; in this book, the term Russian fabric is used to replace Soviet fabric.

The Shanghai watch enterprises that once produced ten million mechanical watches annually are now in a lamentable state. Sima looked at the information provided and noted that these companies are currently operating at less than 10% of their capacity from back then. The renowned Shanghai-branded watches that once resonated across the nation have long ceased production, and these enterprises have either become mere manufacturers of various imitation watches or have devolved into processing firms for private enterprises, focusing on the production of movements and other precision components.

"Go ahead! I will transfer the money to you via Alipay right now." Sima quickly opened his Alipay to make the payment. "Alright! Buddy, no need to be polite. There are plenty of resources available online for simple factory structure designs and basic factory planning. You can download them without spending a dime. I'll give you a website, and you can download it yourself!" Wang Lei felt that there was no need for him to earn this money; it was merely a joke he had made earlier.

Sima certainly understands that the premise of all this is that he must train a group of skilled technicians in the year 1915; otherwise, even if these machines are transported, it would be futile. At present, Sima feels it is more prudent to start with assembling modern custom movements and other precision components, as well as watch cases and straps, gradually producing watch cases and straps step by step. Moreover, training those farmers and illiterate individuals who barely recognize a few characters to assemble such precision machinery poses a significant challenge. Clearly, these watches cannot be assembled properly by farmers who are largely illiterate.

In fact, what you need now is a type of simple factory building, which involves almost no technical difficulty and is even simpler than constructing a barrel-shaped building. The cost of such simple factory buildings is low, and the construction speed is fast, making it quite suitable for you. Wang Lei, after reviewing Sima's request on the computer, sent a message saying, "Hehe! Thank you for your suggestion. I don't think you are much of a businessman; otherwise, you wouldn't have made such a suggestion." Sima felt that the seller he was contacting online did not resemble a typical businessman, as a regular businessman would recommend the most profitable products rather than straightforwardly telling Sima that he did not need to purchase factory blueprints, but only needed to build that kind of simple factory first.

Then I really have to thank you. How about this: you help me gather some information on simple factory buildings? Sima felt that he would definitely contact this seller again in the future, and since he didn't understand anything about simple factory buildings, it was better to leave it to him to handle.

Sima Baidu quickly found the information he was looking for about the Shougang Qinghua Tool Factory: the factory covers an area of 540,000 square meters, with more than 600 senior and intermediate engineering technicians. It currently has over 2,000 various types of equipment, including 1,130 metal cutting machines, 254 stamping, forging, and lifting devices, and 476 power, heat treatment, and surface treatment machines. There are 14 factory buildings with a total construction area of 48,000 square meters. The factory area is equipped with complete water supply, drainage, heating, and power supply facilities, and has a dedicated railway line extending over 800 meters.

Looking at the information gathered online, Sima felt that he had clearly overcomplicated his understanding of the watch industry. Initially, he thought that producing such goods would require large factories, but he did not expect that even in hallways or offices, small machine tools could be used to manufacture watches. At least the information mentioned that in the 1960s, various watch enterprises in Shanghai had utilized this method to expand production in order to increase capacity.