When working hard outside, observing people's emotions is a basic skill. Since the manager personally receives the distinguished guests, other employees will certainly not dare to neglect them.
The tea served was the finest Huangshan Maofeng at ten yuan a pound, and the guns presented later were also carefully selected.
Zhang Jiye opened an exhibition box, pointed at several of the pistols and introduced: "Look, this is the Brilliance type made by our factory, and the bullets used are American Browning 735 bullets; that Rose pistol over there The light type uses domestic three-centimeter bullets.”
The so-called "Browning 735 bullet" is actually the .32ACP pistol bullet. Because the Browning series of pistols are popular all over the world, one of its commonly used ammunition, 7.65×17mm, is also popular in Eurasia.
The workmanship of these pistols is quite exquisite, the barrels are chrome-plated, the blued gun bodies seem to be shining brightly, and the walnut wood grips are also very particular.
The Brilliant Type is a small pistol designed and manufactured by Hengguang Company. It uses a six-round magazine. It targets powerful businessmen and policemen and is positioned as a self-defense pistol.
The Rose Light type is actually an imitation of the Browning M7911A1. It fires the original 9.6×20mm pistol cartridge and is fed by an eight-round magazine.
Zhou Changfeng was not very interested in this and just played with it casually. But what surprised him was that the brilliant pistol felt very good in hand. It was light and compact overall. It was comparable to the famous PPK pistol. The difference was that the Rose Light pistol It is a built-in hammer.
"This gun looks good." He disassembled it completely with great interest and found that the total number of parts was only about forty. "Oh? It's double-action, and the hammer is built in."
Xia Xiaoshi, standing next to him, witnessed the whole process and couldn't help but admire this skillful technique.
"You know the product right away," Zhang Jiye said with a smile: "The local police and county police were also very satisfied and purchased a total of 500 sticks."
Throughout the ages, it is not uncommon for little-known small factories to create classics.
For example, the famous Glock series of pistols in later generations, the Glock company was originally just an unknown small company in Austria, producing some civilian die-casting parts.
Zhou Changfeng originally thought that Hengguang Company was just a small factory that imitated mainstream guns, but he didn't expect that it could develop a good pistol by itself?
"Here are some semi-automatic and automatic guns, as well as shotguns."
"Well, let me take a look."
Next to him, Zhou Changfeng also played with several long guns one by one, including imitation Winchester M7910 automatic rifle, Winchester M7894 lever rifle, Winchester M7912 shotgun, Browning Auto-5 semi-automatic shotgun, FN -M7900 semi-automatic rifle and more.
In addition, there are semi-automatic rifles, double-barreled shotguns, and three-barreled shotguns designed by Hengguang Company.
Looking at the shotgun with three barrels arranged in a Z-shaped pattern, Zhou Changfeng's mind inexplicably pictured the appearance of a three-eyed gun.
When fighting in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, shotguns do seem to be a necessary backup weapon.
The US military liked this thing very much. During the war, it was equipped with eight types of pump-action or semi-automatic shotguns. The Marine Corps infantry regiment generally had 100 shotguns as supplementary weapons for use at any time.
For some reason, he imagined a scene in the jungle where the Ming army armed with a three-barreled shotgun and the American army armed with a pump-action shotgun were shooting at each other in the jungle.
Hiss, it seems a bit inconsistent.
Zhou Changfeng picked up the Maoguang shotgun by mistake and looked at it carefully.
It is a common center-folding type that fires No. 12 shotshells, including birdshot, buckshot, bearshot, and single-shot bullets. It adopts a double-trigger design. When the front trigger is pulled, it fires a single shot, and when the rear trigger is pulled, it fires three shots simultaneously. shoot.
Zhang Jiye on the side has been carefully observing Zhou Changfeng's every move. He felt that the latter did not look like an ordinary person. He could draw conclusions from his skillful movements in holding and dismantling the gun.
After trying hard to recall the name, he suddenly thought about the person who had appeared in the newspaper for several days in a row. Could it be...
Zhang Jiye's heart tightened and he asked hesitantly: "Mr. Zhou, may I ask if you are the one who published the newspaper before?"
Zhou Changfeng, who was taking aim with a Browning Auto-5 semi-automatic shotgun, admitted casually without covering up: "Yes, it's me."
Grass!
This, this, this... why is this coming?
At this moment, Zhang Jiye's mind became more active than ever before, and he quickly speculated on the true purpose of Zhou's arrival in casual clothes.
Why would a well-known middle-level general come here from the capital to work in a little-known small factory? How dare you claim to invest?
Zhou Changfeng glanced at him and said calmly: "Don't think too much, my purpose is just as I said before, very single."
"But... you must know that since I have an official position, I and my immediate family should not engage in business." Zhang Jiye said doubtfully.
"It's okay, I will find someone else to buy shares on my behalf." Zhou Changfeng replied nonchalantly.
Hearing this, Zhang Jiye was overjoyed—does this mean he really plans to invest?
He breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "If it is just an ordinary gun, our factory must have made it. The hexagonal turret lathe and universal boring machine of Yanjing Heavy Machinery, the refined manganese-nickel steel from Taiping Iron and Steel Works, the craftsmen The craftsmanship is also extremely skilled, I wonder what genius idea Commander Zhou has?"
Zhou Changfeng smiled and waved his hand, "Processing is the next best thing. I just have to fail a few more times, but I can finally make it. What's difficult is the specific design. Where are your designers here?"
"Indeed, what you said makes sense, then I will go find him?"
"good."
After a while, two young men walked in one after the other.
One looks to be about twenty years old, shy and thin, with wrists as thin as a girl's, as if they could be blown away by a strong wind.
The other one is dark and thin, with rough hands. He looks relatively outgoing and older.
After some introduction, Zhou Changfeng learned that the shy and thin man was named Cao Shaoxun, who graduated from Minhang County No. 2 Practical High School and had worked in the Shanghai Army Arsenal for four years; the other man was named Wang Lai, who graduated from Songjiang State No. 1 Technical High School. After graduation, I have been working in Hengguang Company.
Cao Shaoxun took extra classes while working in the arsenal and systematically learned the principles of firearms. After coming to Hengguang Company, he began to try to design on his own.
Wang Lai was his assistant. He was very good at turning, boring, and drilling, and he was quite clever. He also learned a lot of theoretical knowledge from Cao Shaoxun.
Hengguang Company's Types 5 and 6 self-designed guns were all made by them.
Two young men actually designed several types of pistols and shotguns that are generally quite good? This can also be called a talent with small achievements.
Zhou Changfeng thought for a while and asked quite kindly: "I see that the work you designed does not have automatic weapons. Have you ever had any thoughts in this regard?"
Cao Shaoxun, whose eyes were a little evasive, replied: "I have also designed a long gun with a round-headed long bullet, but it is not necessarily better than the existing guns, so I only made a few prototype guns."
The so-called round-head long bullet refers to the Winchester .351L rifle bullet, which is a round-head, straight barrel, semi-rim civilian rifle bullet with a maximum muzzle kinetic energy of up to 1900J and an effective range of about 200m.
The Type 20 automatic gun commonly used by the Ming army, the Winchester M7907 rifle, fires this kind of bullet.
"What are the automatic mode and the locking mode?"
"Hmm...the barrel is retracted, with short recoil; and then it uses a bolt offset lock."
Aha? An automatic rifle with a short-barrel recoil automatic principle?
Many early semi-automatic rifles and automatic rifles did choose to use this principle, but if low-power ammunition is fired, the recoil energy is weak. Moreover, it has the disadvantages of complex structure and difficult processing and manufacturing.
The advantage is reliable operation and small recoil.
But obviously, it is unreasonable on the whole.
But at least it shows that this young man has experience in this area, allowing Zhou Changfeng to take a higher look at him.
After thinking for a moment, Zhou Changfeng asked: "If you are asked to design a portable machine gun that fires pistol bullets, the structure is as simple as possible, the main components must be stamped, and the reliability is guaranteed, are you confident?"
To be honest, this request is really not easy.
There is a saying that goes, "It is easy to make something complicated, but it is very complicated to make something simple."
Experienced or talented designers can simplify the structural design as much as possible, but mediocre people can only follow the steps step by step, even adding noodles to the rice and water to the noodles.
For example, the recoil spring guide rod of the famous PPS-43 submachine gun designed by Sudayev also doubles as the ejector, thus replacing the fixed ejector and serving two purposes.
Cao Shaoxun hesitated for a moment, then plucked up the courage and said, "Sir, the stamping parts are very rough and relatively thin. The gun made in this way is like an iron shell and is not durable."
"For consumables, durability is not a big concern." Zhou Changfeng smiled slightly, "In a war of unprecedented scale, quantity is the first priority."
The group of people walked and chatted, and even came to a warehouse in the Hengguang Factory.
All kinds of long and short guns from China and foreign countries are neatly arranged here, with a large number and a dazzling array, like a museum. Of course, this is normal for a gun factory.
An exquisite submachine gun attracted Zhou Changfeng's attention, and he reached out and took it down - the heavy gun body and the huge drum were the Suomi M31 submachine gun, which is famous for its fine workmanship.
"Mr. Zhou's vision is really accurate. This is a masterpiece from a small Nordic country. It is extremely sophisticated and the materials and processing are among the best." Zhang Jiye praised it.
"It's a good gun. If I were a soldier, I would definitely choose it." Zhou Changfeng, expressionless, put it back on the shelf and continued: "But it is not suitable for the Ming Dynasty, nor is it suitable for war."
Your Somi is indeed excellent, but when I take out eight pieces of Bobosa, how should you respond?
Historically, the Finnish work of ingenuity, the Somi M31, was mass-produced for 22 years, but the total output was only more than 80,000; and they copied the PPS-43 at the end of the war, using less than one In 2007, ten thousand were made, and that was because the Finnish military only placed an order for ten thousand.
"The total investment is about 80,000 to 90,000 yuan, probably early next year. During this period, we will contact each other via letters or telegrams."
"Hey, this is a sweet spring, otherwise we would have to take out a loan."
Overall, Hengguang Company fully meets Zhou Changfeng's requirements.
In fact, he did not place any hope that such a small and medium-sized private enterprise could come up with any classic works. What he wanted was to let it serve as a starting point.
Even if its works are ordinary, they are still epoch-making products. As long as the military sees its value, bidding for military industrial enterprises across the country will naturally come. Combining the wisdom of the world, a classic will eventually be born.
It can only be said that some old stubborns in the military department will definitely be stubborn if they are not slapped in the face by real things.
After leaving Hengguang Company, Zhou Changfeng and Xia Xiaoshi went to find a place to have lunch.
Since they were not used to Shanghai cuisine, they wandered around for a long time and finally found a Hunan restaurant.
Recalling what happened before, Xia Xiaoshi sighed sincerely: "Sir, you are really amazing, you know everything."
Zhou Changfeng, who was across the table, picked up a piece of dried incense and said vaguely: "In a broad sense, I know a thing or two about killing skills."
"You are too humble. My father said that although you should not be too ostentatious, you cannot always be low-key."
"Low-key? Think about it, I've been in the newspapers several times..."
Hunan cuisine unexpectedly suits the tastes of both Zhou Changfeng and Xia Xiaoshi. It is fragrant, fresh, spicy, and oily. It can be said that they are very enjoyable to eat.
The latter suggested going to look at cars later, because Junda Automobile Company, one of the three major car companies in Ming Dynasty, is located in Huangpu County, Shanghai Prefecture.
Zhou Changfeng naturally has no objection, and it would be nice to go and have a look.
On the tram, there were only a few passengers and many empty seats.
"We will be able to buy a car if we save money in the future." Xia Xiaoshi counted the numbers on her fingers, raised her eyes and asked, "Sir, you should be able to get a quota, right? Otherwise, you will have to spend more money."
Daming's local automobile production was limited and concentrated on the production of trucks.
Among the three major car companies of Yanjing Xunjie, Wuhan Yangyue, and Shanghai Junda, only Junda Company accounts for 40% of its sedan production. Therefore, domestically produced sedans in Ming Dynasty are often expensive but not marketable.
Although the theoretical price is about more than 3,000 yuan, in fact it may not be possible to order even double that. In today's Ming Dynasty, owning a domestically produced car is a proper status symbol.
As for imported cars, due to tariffs and imported car taxes, the market price of a Ford car that sells for about $1,000 in the United States when shipped to Daming basically starts at 5,000 yuan.
In comparison, the monthly income of ordinary people in Beijing is only a few dozen yuan, and cars are an unattainable luxury for most people.
On the first floor of Junda Company's sales building, there were several cars of various colors and shapes parked in front, back and left.
"Oh, sir, look, this car looks really cute." Xia Xiaoshi pointed to one of the white, two-door, two-seater cars with a large fastback.
Junda Company sells four types of cars. This is a car that focuses on sports style, named "Lingyuan".
Zhou Changfeng, who had his hands on his hips, glanced at it and said, "Two seats, not very practical."
"That's right."
"That four-seater convertible is pretty good."
"The price is three thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine, but the actual price must be more. It's so expensive." Xia Xiaoshi sighed.
Having personally experienced the process of "throwing away" a huge sum of money from her family, she was somewhat reluctant to give up.
But that money was gray income after all, and it was wise to throw it away as soon as possible. She could still understand this. Moreover, she also firmly believed that Zhou's decision was definitely correct.
(End of chapter)
