Chapter 401: The Final Preparations

The steel expert from the Gaul Chicken Country nodded in agreement: "Indeed, this may be the only exhibit that lives up to its name. As for the other products, I fear they will be greatly discounted."

At the banquet, the skepticism of the various national delegations did not escape the eyes of the Long Country officials.

Deputy Minister Liu of the Wajiaobu urgently reported this situation to Li Mingyuan: "The representatives of various countries are generally skeptical of our exhibits, especially the Numerical Control Machine Tool and advanced weapon systems. If the products displayed tomorrow cannot reach the level stated in the brochures, our reputation will suffer serious damage."

Upon hearing the report, Li Mingyuan was not nervous at all; instead, he revealed a mysterious smile: "Let them be skeptical. Tomorrow, they will know what a real surprise is."

Deputy Minister Liu still had concerns: "But the preview event did expose some of our problems. The construction of the exhibition area is behind schedule, and many pieces of equipment have not been fully debugged..."

Li Mingyuan was full of confidence: "That is exactly my strategy. Let them be skeptical first, and then slap their faces with our strength. This is much more effective than showing our cards from the beginning."

He looked at his watch: "Notify the heads of each exhibition area to work overtime tonight. By six o'clock tomorrow morning, all exhibits must be debugged and ready to stun the entire venue."

On the night before the exhibition opened, a light drizzle of Yushui fell in Yangcheng.

The delegations from various countries returned to their respective hotels to organize what they had seen during the day and prepare for the official visit tomorrow. Although the expectations of most people for the Long Country exhibition had lowered, there was still a trace of anticipation and curiosity.

The Yuegongniu delegation held a meeting in the hotel conference room.

"To summarize today's observations," Williams said, "the scale of the exhibition area construction is indeed not small, but the handling of details is rough, and many places are still being rushed. The Hexin exhibits are all covered, making it impossible to confirm their true performance. Overall, it is not up to the standard of a mature industrial country."

Mechanical engineering expert Thompson added: "Judging from the level of worker operation and the state of the equipment I saw, it is unlikely they have mastered true numerical control technology. Tomorrow's display is likely an improved version of some semi-automatic equipment."

"In any case, keep an open mind," Williams reminded everyone, "Long Country has already proven their potential; do not be blinded by superficial phenomena. If they do have competitive products, we need to seriously consider our trade relationship with them."

The Gaul Chicken Country delegation was also holding a summary meeting.

"To be honest, I am a bit disappointed," Lebrun admitted, "From the urban infrastructure to the preparation of the exhibition area, it all shows that Long Country's level of industrialization is far from reaching the level advertised."

Technical consultant Bernard nodded in agreement: "Especially that so-called 'Numerical Control Machine Tool'. Judging from the preparation of the booth, it is likely just a conventional machine tool with some automated modifications."

"But we cannot rule out the possibility of a surprise," military industry expert Dupont reminded, "After all, Long Country has indeed made a breakthrough in Modan Jishu. Perhaps they do have unique strengths in certain specific fields."

Lebrun concluded: "Maintain a cautiously optimistic attitude tomorrow. If the products are indeed competitive, especially the steel products, we can consider small-scale trial purchases."

Although the delegations from Yinghua Guo and Taiji Tiger held more goodwill toward Long Country, they could not hide their disappointment either.

"The urban infrastructure is indeed more backward than I imagined," Fujita of Yinghua Guo confessed to his staff, "but we should not underestimate Long Country because of this. Their performance on the battlefield has proven their potential."

The technical expert remained skeptical: "But a Numerical Control Machine Tool is impossible. That requires the support of precision manufacturing and the electronics industry, and Long Country clearly does not have these conditions at present."

Fujita pondered for a moment: "In any case, we will witness it with our own eyes tomorrow. If the products do meet the advertisements, we need to re-evaluate Long Country's position and influence in the region."

Meanwhile, inside the exhibition area, a race against time was underway.

Thousands of workers and technicians worked through the night, perfecting the details of the booths and debugging equipment to ensure that tomorrow's display would be foolproof.

In the Numerical Control Machine Tool exhibition area, Li Mingyuan personally supervised the battle, guiding technicians to adjust the final parameters.

"The precision must reach 0.01 millimeters," he emphasized, "Tomorrow's demonstration will be the key to success or failure. I want to see this machine tool complete the automatic processing of complex parts in front of everyone without anyone operating it."

The Technical Supervisor was full of confidence: "It has been debugged, Chief Engineer Li. The performance of this machine tool will definitely leave those skeptics dumbfounded."

Li Mingyuan nodded with satisfaction and turned to head to the weapons exhibition area.

The Type 56 Rifle series were neatly placed on the display stand, next to detailed performance parameters and combat data. Li Mingyuan picked up a Rifle, checked the mechanical structure, and then put it back in its original place.

"Tomorrow's shooting range demonstration must be perfect," he said to the military industry representative, "I want those foreign experts to see with their own eyes that our weapons remain reliable under extreme conditions."

The military industry representative gave a military salute: "Guarantee to complete the mission, Chief Engineer Li. We have prepared special demonstration segments, including mud immersion and dust tests, which will definitely shock the entire venue."

Finally, Li Mingyuan arrived at the steel product exhibition area. The display here was relatively simple but significant—samples of steel of various specifications were neatly arranged, next to detailed price lists and technical parameters.

"Ensure that the price information is accurate," Li Mingyuan emphasized to the foreign trade department representative, "The thirty percent discount price is our trump card; everyone must see it clearly."

The foreign trade department representative nodded: "It is already prepared, including flexible plans such as installment payments and material debt repayment. I believe this will attract a large number of orders."

After inspecting all the exhibition areas, Li Mingyuan returned to the temporary office and sat down, exhausted but satisfied. The light rain was still falling outside the window, and in the distance was the brightly lit night view of Yangcheng.

Li Mingyuan was thoughtful: "The power issue has been arranged with backup generators, and the customer discount plans are also ready... As for security, I believe the Military will handle it well."

He stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the city silhouette in the light rain. Tomorrow, this place would take an important step for Long Country toward the world. Regardless of whether the foreign representatives are skeptical now, tomorrow's display will make them completely change their views on Long Country.

"Let them be skeptical first," Li Mingyuan whispered to himself, "Tomorrow, I will let the whole world see what 'Long Country strength' really is."

Outside the window, the sound of rain gradually ceased, and the night sky of Yangcheng began to clear, as if predicting that tomorrow would be a clear and good day.

Six o'clock in the morning, Yangcheng Exhibition Center.

Li Mingyuan stood in the steel area of the main exhibition hall, personally checking the details of every booth. The Yushui from last night had completely stopped, and the sky was as clear as if washed, as if heaven itself were making way for today's grand drama.