The next moment, the group returned to the large conference room in the office building.
Perhaps influenced by the atmosphere, Director Li barely sat down before pulling out two documents from his pocket and slamming them heavily on the table. With a bold demeanor, he said:
"I didn't come here just to have a meal today."
"Tanzania replied to our telegram. Wang Ye, you really have some skills. Can you believe that Kibwe trusts you so much!"
"The original order for five thousand gas cylinders has been increased to ten thousand directly, and they want two thousand of those steel pipe rockets of yours. My goodness!"
"So, this time, the total order amount has reached six million US dollars, and they even wired over three million US dollars as a deposit!"
"Why do I suddenly feel like the US dollar is worthless? Hahaha!"
With Director Li's voice, the expressions on the faces of the people in the conference room changed drastically. After all, the previous two million US dollars had already excited this group of people half to death. It took them several days of psychological preparation to gradually accept it.
Now, it had tripled directly to six million US dollars. Who could handle this?!
"Six million! Six million US dollars! Hahaha!"
"I bet our machinery factory, even if we sell all the land, wouldn't add up to six million US dollars!"
"Director Li! Let me take a look! Why do I feel my heart pounding?"
In the uproar of the conference room, Director Li was stunned, and the old factory director even covered his left chest with his one arm, his face turning red as he stammered.
Seeing this scene, Wang Ye's initial joy faded. He quickly shouted, "Quiet! Quiet! Are you okay, Old Man?"
"Old Man, you didn't have a heart attack before, did you? Go, go, go, get some high-purity nitroglycerin!"
Seeing the old factory director clutching his heart and looking short of breath, Wang Ye was genuinely worried that this lovable old man might have a heart problem because of this sudden good news!
Instantly, the scene was in chaos. Director Li quickly handed over the telegram and remittance documents, and the others in the machinery factory rushed to get water, massage backs, and check pulses, all extremely nervous.
Meanwhile, the head of the technical department stood up and ran to get nitroglycerin for Wang Ye.
After a while, the old factory director finally breathed a sigh of relief, looking much better. Trembling, he took the two pieces of paper handed to him, carefully examined them, and suddenly his eyes reddened. He blinked hard and said with force:
"Good! Good! Even though Red Star Machinery Factory has transitioned from military to civilian, we're not holding the country back!"
"We're earning foreign exchange for the country! We're earning foreign exchange!"
"Hahaha!"
Hearing the old factory director's laughter, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and the atmosphere in the room became lively again.
A moment later, the head of the technical department brought a small bottle of nitroglycerin, and Wang Ye made the old factory director take a small amount sublingually to prevent turning this joyous occasion into a tragedy due to excitement, like the character Fan Jin in Chinese folklore.
Fortunately, the machinery factory was a military factory, and even though it had transitioned to civilian use, it still had no shortage of high-purity nitroglycerin for manufacturing explosives. In emergencies, it could be used to relieve heart problems.
"Oh, and Baojun, go inform the cafeteria."
"Tonight, add a few more luxurious dishes. With three million US dollars received, we can also indulge a bit!"
As the situation calmed down, Wang Ye smiled and said to Li Baojun next to him. Li Baojun responded with a cheerful "Yes" and left. Director Li, who was sitting there and sighing with relief, couldn't help but laugh and scold:
"I say, you kid, isn't this too much?"
"What's this? Flaunting one's capabilities? First arrogant, then humble? If I didn't mention this matter, I would've missed out on several delicious dishes!"
"Unfair! Very unfair!"
Instantly, laughter filled the conference room, and a light and cheerful atmosphere enveloped the entire machinery factory.
That night, everyone celebrated joyously.
But Wang Ye didn't drink much, and he had a very good reason. Alcohol can damage the brain, so he dared not drink too much. Consequently, no one dared to toast Wang Ye too much, fearing that the precious brain of this "golden" man might encounter some problem.
The old factory director naturally didn't drink either, although he enjoyed a drink or two.
As for the other leaders and brains of the machinery factory, they drank heartily. After all, in the past, they didn't have much money, and alcohol was a luxury they couldn't afford often, let alone enjoy to the fullest. Since Wang Ye arrived, although their salaries and bonuses were increasing, everyone was too busy with work. Wang Ye strictly prohibited drinking in the workshop, so they could only endure it or have a small drink after work.
But today, they let loose because tomorrow was a rest day!
And after the rest day, they would have to work overtime until they completed the Tanzanian order, even on weekends!
However, no one complained about working overtime. Besides the fact that the factory needed everyone to work overtime and the mentality of "the factory's success is everyone's success, and its failure is everyone's failure," the generous overtime pay alone motivated everyone to devote themselves wholeheartedly to their work.
"A toast to the lively celebration!"
In the entire cafeteria, the festive dinner was completely free, and at that moment, countless people raised their glasses!
Early the next morning.
The two directors left in a 212 Jeep, but this time, Director Li's side had an additional Liberation big truck and seven or eight sturdy middle-aged and young men from the security department, all armed with real guns to protect them.
After all, what was loaded in the car was the special local product brought by the machinery factory for Director Li, and any mishap was absolutely unacceptable!
At eight o'clock in the morning.
After seeing off the two leaders, Wang Ye wandered back to his office.
Since he was single and all his expenses were covered by the factory, he had no purchasing needs, unlike those female comrades who could go shopping together in the county or even the city. As for other forms of entertainment, they were uninteresting to him.
Sitting in his chair, brewing a cup of hot tea and enjoying the cheap and delicious giant Bohai dried shrimp, Wang Ye fell into thought.
"Overall, the groundwork has been laid."
"With this three million US dollars, many tasks can now be initiated, but there's no rush for now."
"On the engine side, the experimental machine should be ready in the next couple of days, and then we can start testing. Other parts of the rotary-wing aircraft have also been in small-scale production."
"For those we can't produce, we've purchased them through the channels of the Industrial Bureau from other factories."
"Regarding the gas cylinders and steel pipe rockets, Kibwe is probably more anxious. Besides, we can't receive the remaining half of the three million dollars until we deliver. So, production still needs to be expedited."
"As for the manufacturing plant, the sales of electric fans and washing machines are quite hot. Hundreds of people are busy like bees, there's not much to say."
"Li Baojun is leaving in a few days to address shelving issues in other cities. With the advance notice from the Industrial Bureau, there shouldn't be major problems. Anyway, as far as electric fan production within the province, we're the only ones, so there shouldn't be any local protectionist barriers."
"As for televisions and refrigerators, we'll have to put them on hold for now and revisit them in autumn or winter. We're already overwhelmed."
"But I've heard the radio research is going well. Sun Xiuli is indeed a smart girl!"
"Next, a more direct issue is the sales of rotary aircraft. Kibwe's second batch of goods hasn't been dispatched yet, so at least another month will pass. It's not a bad thing to take advantage of his situation."
"However, overall, we still need to broaden our channels."
"If necessary, I'll go out for a trip. After all, we have foreign exchange reserves now, and applying to go abroad shouldn't be difficult."
"And there's another issue that must be addressed urgently, and that is patents."
"The domestic patent law is currently being prepared, and it's important to find ways to popularize and promote this concept. Otherwise, internationally, we'll sooner or later be exploited by those Japanese and Western capital giants!"
Thinking about this, Wang Ye couldn't help but feel itchy with anger, crunching on the dried shrimp.
In the past, the world's first VCD player was developed by the Chinese, but due to the lack of emphasis on patents, it was not only freely imitated by foreign companies, but crucially, these foreign companies also registered patents. If the company that invented the VCD wanted to export VCD players abroad, it had to pay hefty patent fees to those companies that grabbed the patents, which was simply outrageous!
And cases like this were actually not uncommon over the next twenty years or so!
Because nowadays in China, everything is state-owned, and all state-owned factories are subject to state allocation, so there's no issue with patents. What one has, others have. New products you come up with, everyone copies freely, and vicious competition is extremely widespread.
Moreover, many technologies domestically are not actually lagging behind internationally, but because of the recent opening up, the overall closed nature of state-owned factories means they don't even realize this problem, and in the end, these technologies are all "stolen"!
"Knock, knock!"
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in!"
With Wang Ye's voice, the office door was pushed open, and the head of the women's department walked in. Wang Ye felt something wasn't right, but he could only smile and say, "Why are you here? Have a seat! Try some dried shrimp, it's delicious!"
Seeing Wang Ye drinking tea and snacking while nearly fifty, the head of the women's department couldn't help but chuckle, realizing suddenly that this person, who was regarded as a savior by the entire factory, was actually just a big kid!
"It's rare to have a day off. Director, you should take a break too!"
"I see the young people are preparing for a dance party! Director, why don't you join in the fun?"
Then the head of the women's department, without any politeness, sat down and started chatting with Wang Ye. He could only accompany her in small talk. As expected, a few minutes later, the head of the women's department smiled and said, "Director, I heard from the young people that you're not married and don't have a partner, is that right?"
Instantly, Wang Ye couldn't help but shout in his heart, but he still smiled and nodded, saying, "Yes, not yet!"
"Mainly, I'm still young, and I want to focus my energy on work."
Wang Ye politely declined, but the head of the women's department became interested and earnestly waved her hand to refute, "Director, what you said is right, but also wrong."
"Although you're not old, as the saying goes: 'A man should establish his family before pursuing his career.' For men, striving in their career is certainly not wrong, but having a reliable family is also very important!"
"Women are the most important support for men and can handle half of the sky!"
"I don't know what type of girl you like? In our factory, there are at least two hundred girls who are suitable for your age. What kind of girl can't be found? Let me introduce you?"
"I think Manting is good, she's beautiful and smart, although she's still studying, you can make arrangements first!"
"Xu Jiaojiao is also good, very lively and active, I think you and her match well!"
"And the technical director of the manufacturing plant, Sun Xiuli, you just promoted her to head of the technical department a few days ago. She's very strong! I heard she studies late every night. If you two can be together, it's a perfect match!"
To be honest, Wang Ye found it hard to endure. As he was figuring out how to respond, a young man rushed in through the open door, his face full of excitement, shouting, "Director! The engine can be assembled now! Come quickly!"
Upon hearing this, Wang Ye's eyes lit up. He stood up abruptly, with an apologetic expression on his face, saying, "Thank you for your kindness, but I have to go to the workshop first."
"Let's chat another time when we have the chance!"
With that, he rushed out of the office like the wind, heading straight for the engine research workshop with the young man. He left the head of the women's department alone, but she didn't mind at all, smiling as she sipped her tea. After all, young people are shy, it's normal!
A moment later.
Wang Ye arrived at the engine laboratory, where he saw a dense array of metallic-colored parts on the table, giving off a unique mechanical beauty. Scanning the people present, Wang Ye smiled and said, "It's your day off today, why are you still busy here?"
Regarding Wang Ye's words, the head of the technical department wiped the oil off his hands and smiled, "Director, you're not resting either?"
"Your sitting in the office is work, and our work in the workshop is also work!"
Instantly, laughter filled the scene, and Wang Ye quickly changed into work clothes, nodding and saying, "In that case, let's get started!"
"Although this is a small step, it's a big step for our machinery factory because from today onwards, we have a beating heart of power!"