vrcanaries Chapter 39 Membrane Keyboard
Chapter 39 Membrane Keyboard
When the morning sun pierced through the clouds and illuminated the rusty gates of the city's electronics factory, the factory area was already bustling with activity, a sight unseen for a long time.
There was no roar of machines, but the soft rustling of brooms scraping the ground, shovels clearing weeds, and the workers' energetic shouts.
"Over here! Clean up this pile of waste!"
"Rinse the water room several more times; there's a thick layer of mud there!"
"Old Zhang, lend a hand, let's tear this dilapidated shed down!"
Ling Yun stood on the steps of the factory office building, overlooking the entire scene. His first official order was simple and direct—a factory-wide cleanup.
This is not formalism. He knows that environment shapes mindset. It's hard for someone working amidst garbage and decay to have confidence and reverence for their work and the future. What he needs to sweep away is not just years of accumulated dust and weeds, but also the pervasive atmosphere of despondency and despair that fills the factory area.
The workers were initially puzzled, but quickly threw themselves into the task. Led by Ma Baoguo and others, everyone pitched in. Sweat soaked their work clothes, and dust clung to their faces, but their eyes shone brighter than the day before. Watching the mountains of garbage being cleared away, the mottled walls being washed clean to reveal their original color, and the messy open space becoming smooth, a long-lost feeling called "hope" seemed to quietly sprout in everyone's heart.
In just one morning, the entire factory area was transformed. Although the equipment was still old and the factory buildings were still dilapidated, at least it looked like a place ready to start work, rather than an abandoned ruin.
It was 1 p.m. in the largest conference room on the second floor of the factory office.
The long conference table was filled with people. Besides Ling Yun, there were several temporarily appointed leaders: Ma Baoguo, who was in charge of overall coordination and production scheduling; several gray-haired but focused senior technicians from the technical department; the original leaders of the purchasing and finance departments (who, after initial observation, were quite capable and had been relatively honest before); and administrative staff in charge of logistics support.
The meeting room was filled with smoke, and the atmosphere was serious yet tinged with urgency.
"Everyone," Ling Yun said, cutting straight to the point without any preamble, "The factory is cleaned up now. Next, we're going to get it up and running!"
His gaze swept over the crowd: "Our first step is to survive, to generate cash flow! Therefore, our first product must have low barriers to entry, a large market, and be able to launch quickly!"
He picked up a piece of chalk, turned around, and wrote four large characters on the small blackboard behind him: Membrane Keyboard.
"Technical Department!" Ling Yun looked at the experienced workers. "These are the preliminary design drawings and production process flow charts that Engineer Li Mo and I drew together." He pushed a stack of drawings to the center of the table. "Your task now is to thoroughly understand them! Based on this, and combining it with our factory's existing equipment capabilities, optimize the production process and design our own production fixtures and assembly lines! The goal is: to achieve stable and reliable production at the lowest possible cost. Any questions?"
The experienced technicians immediately picked up the blueprints, huddled together, their eyes instantly sharpening and focusing, like seasoned hunters spotting their prey. They traced the lines on the blueprints, exchanging technical terms in hushed tones, and quickly got into the zone.
"The structure is not complex; stamping and injection molding are the key..."
"The material for these keycaps could be reconsidered..."
"No problem, Mr. Ling! Give us three days, and I guarantee I'll come up with a feasible process solution!"
"Okay!" Ling Yun nodded, turning his gaze to the head of the purchasing department. "Old Chen, once the technical department finalizes the materials list, you immediately follow up. Procurement of related raw materials: ABS plastic granules, silicone, thin-film circuits, keycap ink... Keep the prices down, ensure quality control, and maintain a stable supply! I'll give you a list of potential suppliers; you go and negotiate!"
"Understood, Mr. Ling! I will definitely keep costs to a minimum!" Old Chen quickly took out his notebook to write it down.
"Director Ma," Ling Yun said, looking at Ma Baoguo, "production organization and personnel allocation are your responsibility. Based on the finalized process flow determined by the technical department, plan the production line layout in advance and organize pre-job training for the workers. We must ensure that once the process is finalized, we can immediately assemble a combat-ready team!"
"Don't worry, President Ling! I've pretty much got a feel for the personnel, and we can pull them out for training anytime!" Ma Baoguo's voice was loud and clear, with the crispness of a soldier.
After arranging the production front end, Ling Yun looked at the finance department head, who was wearing reading glasses: "Section Chief Wu, how much usable capital do we have in our accounts right now?"
Section Chief Wu adjusted his glasses, opened the ledger, and a troubled look appeared on his face: "President Ling, after paying the assessment fee and some emergency expenses, there's less than five thousand yuan left in the account. Moreover, we'll soon be paying the first batch of back wages, and this... leaves a huge shortfall."
The atmosphere in the meeting room instantly became tense. Even a skilled cook can't cook without rice; without money, everything is just empty talk.
Everyone looked at Ling Yun.
Ling Yun showed no surprise, as if he had expected it. He tapped his fingers lightly on the table, his tone steady yet carrying a reassuring strength:
"I'll take care of the money."
He looked at Section Chief Wu and gave clear instructions: "Tomorrow, at the latest tomorrow afternoon, a sum of money sufficient to pay the back wages and start production will be transferred to the company account. Be prepared to receive and make the payment."
Tomorrow? A sum of money enough to pay back wages and get production started? That's at least hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions! The people in the meeting room were shocked and incredulous. This young boss's power had once again exceeded their expectations.
"Yes, Mr. Ling!" Although Section Chief Wu was full of doubts, he immediately agreed.
Finally, Ling Yun looked at Ma Baoguo and added a seemingly insignificant but crucial instruction: "Director Ma, there's one more thing. You personally lead a team to clear out all the stockpiled old materials and semi-finished products in the warehouse that are unrelated to the production of mice and keyboards, register them, and then dispose of them as soon as possible. Sell them if you can, or use them to pay off debts, and revitalize these idle assets."
"Understood! Those things are taking up space and collecting dust; they should have been dealt with long ago!" Ma Baoguo nodded emphatically. This was about lightening the load and focusing on the main business.
After the meeting, everyone left in a hurry, carrying with them a long-lost sense of energy.
Ling Yun sat alone in the conference room for a while, looking out the window at the now completely transformed factory area. Cleaning, meetings, production arrangements, funding issues… everything was progressing rapidly according to his plan. But he knew this was just the beginning; the real test was yet to come.
He stood up and straightened his clothes. It was time to go to the brokerage firm.
While the internet cafe's cash flow could be substantial in the future, it was too little, too late to solve the immediate crisis. The much-needed start-up capital for the electronics factory, as well as the "reassurance" to pay workers' back wages, came from the huge sum of money he had invested in the stock market.
He needs to take a look at his "ammunition depot," and it's time to transfer some strategic reserves to the real economy battlefield, which needs funding more.