Chapter 192: The Bicycle’s Power Device
Fu Mingxue was a woman of action. She had the blueprints drawn up that very night.
In fact, she made two versions.
She wasn’t satisfied with the first draft, so she redesigned it.
It was for a small motor device.
Charging it would be simple, too. The family courtyard where she lived had just gotten electricity, so all it needed was a plug.
She had also considered a power storage function and thought of a certain material—with it, a single charge could last for two days of riding without a problem.
It could go for five or six kilometers.
The next day at the factory, she naturally couldn’t work on it during work hours.
But there was an hour-long lunch break.
So after quickly finishing her meal in the cafeteria, Fu Mingxue headed to the workshop.
"Master Yang, I’d like to get some of the scrap materials from your area. You can deduct the cost from my wages."
Master Yang didn’t ask what she wanted it for. Instead, he said with some difficulty, "I can’t make that decision. You’ll have to ask Director Geng. Otherwise, there will be trouble."
Fu Mingxue smacked her forehead.
’Look at me—so careless. My brain still hasn’t switched gears.’
In this day and age, you couldn’t just take a single thread or wire from the factory. That was tantamount to undermining the collective.
"Alright, I’ll go find Director Geng."
She hurried over to Director Geng’s office.
"Director Geng, I’d like to get some of Master Yang’s scrap materials. The cost can be deducted from my wages. I was wondering if that would be possible?"
Director Geng looked up at her. "What do you need scrap materials for?"
"I want to install a power device on my bicycle, and a headlight too. That way, I won’t be scared riding home at night."
Her words left Director Geng utterly astonished.
"You want to install a power device on a bicycle?"
Unheard of.
"Yes, and I even drew up blueprints." Fu Mingxue went ahead and took the blueprints out of her pocket.
Director Geng: ...?
’She even has design plans?’
He hurriedly took them to have a look.
He was instantly shocked. "Little Fu, this thing runs on electricity?"
"Yes. A full charge takes about two hours and is cheap—only twenty cents. It can go for five or six kilometers. Around here, that means I could ride for several days without recharging."
Director Geng: ?...
"—This is pretty good."
’It’s just a bit expensive. Who would be willing to spend twenty cents on a charge? That could be six yuan a month! What family could afford to spend that much on this? Wouldn’t their hearts ache at the cost? But then again, if one charge is good for five or six kilometers, she wouldn’t have to charge it every day. In that case, the electricity cost would be relatively lower. An ordinary family couldn’t afford it, but this Group Leader Fu seemed capable of spending a few yuan a month.’
"So, Director Geng, can I exchange for some materials? Just deduct whatever you think is fair from my wages."
"Make a list. I’ll stamp it for you in a moment. Then you can take it to the scrap materials team to collect what you need. How about we deduct ten yuan? Then, once you’ve finished the final product, you can submit your blueprints."
Director Geng couldn’t just promise to give away factory property for free, not even scrap.
Otherwise, if some jealous person reported it, it could bring trouble for Little Fu.
Besides, even the scrap from their factory was very useful.
Fu Mingxue nodded immediately. "Yes, of course."
She took the pen and paper Director Geng handed her and quickly wrote out a list.
Director Geng stamped it with his official seal.
Fu Mingxue went to the scrap materials team’s warehouse.
The warehouse manager was very surprised.
"Hello, I’m here to collect some scrap materials. Director Geng approved it."
The warehouse manager looked at the paper she handed him. It did indeed have Director Geng’s stamp. His gaze then paused for a moment on the words "deduct ten yuan from wages."
’Why deduct ten yuan? Could it be for personal use?’