Chapter 199

As soon as he spoke those words, Qin Miao was startled badly.

That voice was very familiar, that unique Sichuan Mandarin sounded especially warm—it was a voice he often heard on TV!

Could this be?

As the voice sounded, a person walked out from inside; he was not tall, his eyes full of kindness, giving a sense of warmth; he held a cigarette between his fingers, and whenever he thought about a problem he liked to have a cigarette there—even if he didn't smoke it, just holding it helped his thoughts expand quickly; his steps were nimble, he strode out in big steps.

Qin Miao almost knelt down.

Old leader!

I never expected to see the old leader; my father-in-law really puts me in a spot! With such a big shot around, you should have given me a heads-up—no wonder there are so many guards downstairs!

In Qin Miao's astonished gaze, the old leader walked up to him and spoke with a beaming smile.

"When Ha Gong Da undertook the first Truck Cannon project, I already knew you; back then I thought your thinking was lively, you were a good hand at reform; later I followed all your deeds closely, especially that you came up with selling sky‑rocket monkeys—nationwide I doubt anyone else would dare such an idea! Your boldness exceeds everyone's imagination, so I granted you another five million."

Qin Miao felt utterly embarrassed; he never imagined that his every move could attract the old leader's attention—himself…

Zhang Wanhe, standing aside, also felt a myriad of emotions; his son‑in‑law's official career would surely be broader than his own!

"I've wanted to see you for a long time, just never had the chance; today I came to find Old Zhang to learn about some reform situations in the Capital, and hearing you were coming back I had Old Zhang ask your thoughts—how should our country's path go? To be frank, I'm somewhat lost, but your words are truly eye‑opening!"

"Old leader, I'm just spouting nonsense, please don't think I'm that capable," Qin Miao hastily humbled himself; these words weren't his own, they were the old leader's—only spoken ten years later; over these ten years the country has continually deepened reform and finally found the correct direction.

No matter his surname, as long as we can develop the economy, we'll get it done!

After all, development is the hard truth!

Now, Qin Miao saying these words ten years early actually served to awaken the old leader; Qin Miao truly dare not take credit for it!

And his performance further pleased the old leader; this kid is bold, arrogant, disdainful of authority—exactly the talent reform currently needs; I thought he'd stay haughty, yet before me he's so humble…

"San Shui, would you like to come work in Zhongnanhai?"

Qin Miao hastily shook his head: "No, no, old leader, to be honest I, Qin Miao, am just a freshman; I truly don't understand reform; I prefer to tinker with technology, and Ha Gong Da still has many projects ahead that need me… I'll do my part."

This looks like a meteoric rise, but in fact it's not a path Qin Miao can take; no political bigwig climbs without starting from the bottom and building a foundation—going straight up now would be a castle in the air.

Moreover, Qin Miao truly doesn't want to play politics, nor does he want to be a vanguard of reform—wouldn't making a fortune quietly be fine?

The reason he proposed taking a forty‑nine percent stake was, of course, to make a fortune… cough, cough, actually to develop the nation's technology, to develop microelectronics!

"Old leader, San Shui is still young; he needs more training at the grassroots—if he really came to the Capital he wouldn't be able to contribute much," Zhang Wanhe chimed in from the side.

The old leader glanced at him: "Hmph, Old Zhang, what are you afraid of? Is it that Shang Yang would be torn apart by chariots, or that Wang Anshi would be dismissed? We'll learn from experience; the mistakes we made before will absolutely not be repeated, and we'll also shield the youth—young people, just go ahead boldly…"

Zhang Wanhe hastily nodded: "Yes, yes. San Shui, what do you think? Report to the old leader."

"Yes, Dad." Qin Miao looked at the old leader: "Old leader, reform is a big matter; it must be done step by step, transitioning from a planned economy to a market economy, which takes a long time; Ha Gong Da is willing to be a pilot for this reform, providing experience to other sister units; if we succeed, many who oppose us, who doubt us, will also change their attitudes, and once their thinking shifts, pushing it forward will reduce a lot of resistance."

The meaning is clear: I'm now in the Capital but can't play any role, so I'd better return to Ha Gong Da!

"Good, San Shui; then I'll stay in the Capital and wait for Ha Gong Da's good news!"

"Yes!"

The old leader, burdened with myriad affairs, gave Qin Miao a few more instructions, then went downstairs and got into the car.

Qin Miao and his father‑in‑law together respectfully saw the old leader into the car; watching the vehicle drive off, Qin Miao finally let out a breath and plopped down on the steps.

"Dad, next time we run into this situation, could you give me a heads‑up first?"

Zhang Wanhe gave him a sideways glance: "You think I want it this way? When I sent Red Red to find you, the old leader hadn't arrived yet! The old leader is exploiting this time gap, afraid I'd give you advance notice, wanting to hear your genuine thoughts—you kid are also impressive, those words of yours come out in a polished set."

Those three "yeses" startled Zhang Wanhe; upon reflection, they are absolutely truth and could form a theoretical system!

"You kid, you're lucky; today the old leader is very pleased with you, calling you 'San Shui' over and over—I've worked decades and never been treated this well; you kid, go back and work hard—this Ha Gong Da microelectronics company can only succeed, not fail!"

Qin Miao nodded: "Dad, rest assured, within five years we'll develop to be number one in the world!"

"You kid, what big talk! Come on, tell me what you did on this trip to Europe?"

"Dad, I'm hungry; shall we… eat while we talk?"

"Okay."

In the cafeteria, as Qin Miao narrated, Zhang Wanhe's brows furrowed deeper and deeper.

"You want so many engines, yet you can't use them yourselves……"

"So, Dad, you need to help us out." Qin Miao said: "You know the railway department, right? I want to sell diesel engines to them!"

"Fine, after we eat we'll go!"

"No no, Dad, don't rush; after I leave, you find a chance to leak the news that I have an MTU396 diesel engine—just tell them; the rest you don't need to worry about."

Actively door‑to‑door sales is one kind of treatment; having the other party come to you is another; dealing with monopolistic departments requires strategy!

Meanwhile, Chu Miaomiao had arranged for the German guests, returned home, feeling at a loss, paced anxiously back and forth, and finally saw a familiar figure.

"Sis, you're finally back—did Dad give San Shui a hard time?"

Zhang Honghong smiled; her younger sister was also very clever and quickly understood.

"No, this is a great opportunity for San Shui; your brother San Shui's future is limitless."

"What do you mean?"

"I only learned after seeing San Shui off that the old leader was there too!"