艰难的制造 a peek into Chinese manufacture industry

[Outofin]

This is the first online amateur novel I read. It's awesome, by all means.

The story occurred some time around 1998. Liu Jun was a young manufacture engineer with great talents and idealist color who's working in Germany. His father was also in the manufacture business and was an owner of a small factory in China. However, his father's business was in trouble, so Jun decided to go home to help his father for one year. However, he was entering a world he never expected. In a few months, Jun got his finger chopped off by the thugs his competitor hired. Now he decided to stay in China and do something big.

The story reveals the industry in great details. This was a very distressing job. Profit, compared to those in trading business, was miserable. There was no trust between people. From the poor to the rich, everyone seemed to have sound and moral reasons to violate law and rules, and law could not help or punish them. The whole industry was competing at low level, beating their competitors by being cheap rather than being smart. Though still there were a few enthusiastic engineers like Jun himself who were pouring their hearts in manufacture and trying to make a difference.

However difficult the life is, the story is not depressing. Liu Jun learned and grew. He dealt with countless troubles and different people. He found his way to expand his factory. He met interesting females too.

When we're amazed by China's manufacture might, do not forget the troubling reality, and we should show respect to those ordinary people who are working not only for their food but more importantly for their dreams.

The author 阿耐 is a prolific writer. I found some info on web. One of her other works, 大江东去, is 1.5 million character long! I'm speechless.

Her blog http://blog.sina.com.cn/ane

Her info http://baike.baidu.com/view/2215489.htm

[Outofin]

Finished. The story ended in 2008, a very difficult year. The financial crisis happened in 2008, but Chinese economy was already in bad shape in the begining of the year, and actually starting getting better after Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy.

The year to the protagonist, Jun, was also marked with his best friend's suicide. His friend's business wasn't all clear, most likely half-legal-half-illegal. He was very shrewd, cruel, and corrupt in business, yet he spent time with poor people and helped them with his money. Eventually he failed to manage his business in the difficult time and lost everything. I never liked the character from the begining, but his death was saddening.

In the end, after China's stimulus plan, it was clear that the central government was going to use the real estate market to pump up the economy. Even Jun started to shift his money from manufacutre to real estate, so his factory and research centre were only becoming his pet project. Manufacture was simply too hard, the return of investment was too low.

The book offers many details in business. Conversations between these businessmen are very interesting and revealing.

[bande]

Thanks for the recommendation. I'm putting it into my kindle list. I find these business related novels to be a guilty pleasure. However, I'm curious, how did you come across this blog novel? Do you find browsing the sina blogs to be worthwhile? Thanks.

[Outofin]

It was recommended by my wife. She's an avid reader of online novels and thought I should be interested in this one. I really am!

Simply searching for 小说 will give you many sites for free reading. But I can't say I know much about them. This novel is the first, and so far the only, 网络小说 I've read. There could be many good stuff out there.