Wang Ye finished speaking, and the scene fell silent once again.
Director Li's face showed a hint of sudden realization and relaxation. It was obvious that he believed Wang Ye's preparation was sufficient and had enough confidence in his plan. He thought Wang Ye had a high chance of success and even gave him a thumbs up, a touch of admiration flashing in his eyes.
As for the six leaders of the mechanical factory and the other foremen and team leaders, most of them wore joyful expressions, looking impressed and somewhat puzzled. Their faces seemed to repeat the same phrase: "Truly a talented student of Huaqing, impressive!"
Only Liang Jinsong seemed to be in a dilemma.
He threw away the cigarette butt that had burned his hand, lit another cigarette without saying a word, took deep puffs, and paced around like an old donkey turning a millstone, pondering something.
In Liang Jinsong's view, Wang Ye's plan was actually very well-prepared, with hardly any loopholes.
Combined with Liang Jinsong's own knowledge and rumors about the Advanced Military Academy of Changshan, he thought that Wang Ye's idea of taking a gamble was not a problem at all. Even if it were him, he would make the same decision!
After all, if they won the gamble, the rewards would be unimaginable!
But the problem lay in—
Tanzania was a good friend of the Chinese people. Even though Liang Jinsong didn't know much about this country, he understood this basic concept from newspapers and broadcasts. Would Wang Ye's rash contact with Tanzanian high-level officials, even promoting these gas cylinders to them, cause any unfavorable diplomatic consequences? That was Liang Jinsong's biggest concern!
Because once they lost the gamble, if the Tanzanian high-level officials reported the matter upwards, it would be manageable. But what if they officially protested through the Tanzanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs? Or even if the deal was sealed, and the gas cylinders caused some astonishing consequences, with objections from Tanzanian officials, and the matter escalated into an international issue, that would be a big problem. What would they do then?
Countless thoughts collided in Liang Jinsong's mind, making it difficult for him to decide.
Meanwhile—
Watching Liang Jinsong pacing, Wang Ye sighed slightly and didn't continue to explain, because he had said everything he could say.
And what Wang Ye didn't say here was absolutely unspeakable. For example, the high-level person he mentioned was actually named Kikwete. He was currently a member of Tanzania's Defense and Security Committee, and after studying in China for a year, he would return to become the Director of Ideological and Political Department of the Tanzanian Armed Forces. This was already the second-ranking figure in the military, below only one person, but above countless others.
And in the next twenty years, Kikwete would play an immeasurable role in Tanzanian high-level politics, until he became the president of Tanzania, serving for ten years!
In fact, it was because of him that, forty years later, on the Chinese Internet, the Tanzanian armed forces were called by countless Chinese military fans and netizens as the military force in the world most resembling the Chinese military.
So, when Wang Ye mentioned gambling, it was just a way of speaking. In fact, Wang Ye had a hundred percent confidence that Kikwete could decide on weapon purchases!
And Wang Ye also had a hundred percent confidence that he could persuade him to purchase the gas cylinders!
Finally—
When the second cigarette began to burn his hand, Liang Jinsong took a deep breath, crushed the cigarette butt he had thrown on the ground with his foot, and then cursed with a smile:
"Damn it!"
"The country is trying to reform, so we should too!"
"Besides, we're contributing to the country. Can the country blame us entirely? Moreover, we're a pilot project for military-civilian integration. Since it's a pilot project, we're bound to encounter challenges!"
"And is there anything scarier than poverty and hunger? I don't think so!"
"Adapt or perish, we shouldn't hesitate!"
"I agree! Wang Ye!"
Under the gaze of everyone, Liang Jinsong said a lot in one breath. As soon as his voice fell, the room burst into warm applause, especially from the people in the mechanical factory. After all, for others, reform seemed like a task, but for them, it meant the difference between feasting and famine, or even between eating coarse food and drinking northwest wind!
"Director Liang! Director Li!"
"Please trust me, I won't let you down!"
"And to everyone in the mechanical factory, wait for my good news!"
Finally, with a relieved sigh, Wang Ye firmly shook hands with Liang Jinsong, Li Gang, and the old factory director, saying so.
Liang Jinsong, who had made the decision, was no longer indecisive. He looked at Wang Ye with a smile and asked:
"Wang Ye, have you been planning this plan for a long time?"
"Tell me, why did you want to do this? Don't give me the same old excuses as before. I want to hear the truth!"
Facing Liang Jinsong's question, Wang Ye sighed lightly and said:
"To be honest, it's simple."
"I work with machinery and have participated in many national military projects. Do you know how many military projects have been scrapped in our country over the past two years?"
Liang Jinsong's expression became serious. He shook his head, and Wang Ye did the same, saying:
"To tell the truth, I don't know either, because there are too many, big and small."
"And the reason is simple. The country wants to develop the economy and simply doesn't have the money to invest in military research."
"Sometimes I wonder, as our third-line factories transition to civilian use and military projects are being scrapped one after another, can we really afford to focus only on the economy in the future, without considering defense?"
"I don't think so, especially considering how recently the Eight-Nation Alliance burned the Old Summer Palace."
"So I thought, since the country doesn't have money, why can't those of us involved in military projects find a way to make money ourselves? We're not useless, so why can't we support ourselves?"
"And then, I submitted a report here."
Wang Ye finished speaking, and Liang Jinsong let out a long sigh of relief, patting Wang Ye's shoulder firmly before saying with a smile:
"I knew I didn't misjudge you."
"You, kid, keep stirring things up for us in the future."
"Even if the sky falls, I'll be there to hold it up for you!"
With these words, Wang Ye's previously disheartened expression disappeared, as getting this promise from Liang Jinsong was quite important. He jokingly remarked:
"The way you said that, just now you were worried I was here because I'm stupid and got fooled by someone!"
As soon as he finished speaking, laughter erupted in the room.
Then everyone returned to the conference room. Wang Ye received the introduction letter signed by Liang Jinsong and spent the night at the Hongxing Mechanical Factory. The next morning, Liang Jinsong and Li Gang stayed there, while Wang Ye rode in Liang Jinsong's car to Quancheng City, then transferred to a train to Yanjing, and from there, took another train to Changshan City.