Chapter 201

Several people sat around the table, each holding a big bowl; in front were eight small plates of side dishes, among which the fried sauce and cucumber strips were the soul, but the others could not be missing either—bean sprouts, carrots, celery…

Looking at the fragrant fried sauce noodles in front of him, Ma Rui Shan still had no appetite.

"What's wrong, Engineer Ma?"

"Ah, I've run into a bit of trouble at work lately—I need to import a diesel engine, but the higher-ups care about saving face and won't approve…"

"Import a diesel engine? I happen to have heard that Zhang's son-in-law Qin Miao, on this overseas trip, imported a batch of MTU diesel engines from Germany…"

"What?"

Ma Rui Shan immediately widened his eyes: "What model, and what power?"

"I don't know the model, but the power seems to be eight hundred horsepower… Right, it's still confidential now, so you mustn't say it came from me. Otherwise, my job as a driver might be ruined."

"Eight hundred horsepower? Perfect!"

Six hundred kilowatts works out to 814 horsepower; domestic diesel engines, although their nameplate reads 200 kilowatts per unit, actually reaching 199 is good, and even when running they often go lower, whereas German diesel engines are the real deal!

Having such an engine would be sufficient, and one unit would also avoid many hassles.

Initially, the China-Vietnam joint operation 18-type self-powered air-conditioning car used 110V DC for its air conditioning, but they quickly found this unsuitable; thus the current 25-type locomotive, like the 24-type, uses 380V AC, which matches the grid exactly and can power high-capacity air conditioning with low electrical loss.

However, the most troublesome aspect of AC is grid synchronization; if the phases aren't aligned, peaks and troughs can collide and directly burn out the equipment.

Synchronizing two generators is already complex enough, yet they went and used three!

Now, if we had such an imported diesel engine, driving just one generator would be enough; moreover, German-made equipment has always been synonymous with reliability and durability—with a German diesel engine there would be no oil leaks, no cylinder scoring, and no sudden breakdowns.

No way, we need it too!

"Which department is Qin Miao from? How do they have the authority to approve importing diesel engines? That precious foreign exchange…"

"It's the Ha Gong Da Import-Export Company; the old leader specially approved it—they export a lot of products, earning plenty of foreign exchange, and for imported goods needing foreign exchange, they can spend as much as they want… cough cough, I've said too much, can't say more—eat noodles, eat noodles!"

Ma Rui Shan has been busy with the 25-type air-conditioned train; he truly didn't know what had happened at Ha Gong Da recently, but hearing this, his heart instantly burned hot—if they could import the diesel engine through Ha Gong Da's channel, bypassing superiors, they wouldn't have to worry about losing face, and everyone up and down would be delighted…

"Where is Qin Miao now? I want to go see him."

"Hey, brother, don't get me into trouble!"

"Cough cough cough, I'm just going to ask him about import-export matters; rest assured, I won't reveal you."

"I don't know anything…" Xiao Wang gulped down a whole bowl of noodles without chewing, slurping it straight into his stomach, then strode outside; a minute later, the red-flag sedan parked outside drove off, its taillights disappearing.

"Let's eat too; once we're done, we'll head to Ha Cheng!" Seeing hope, Ma Rui Shan felt the fried sauce noodles before him smell even more fragrant—this was absolutely the most delicious bowl of fried sauce noodles he had ever eaten in his life!

Ha Gong Da.

The snow melted, all things revived; trees by the roadside began to sprout green leaves, and the grass underfoot began to put out tender shoots—a vibrant scene.

Ha Gong Da, inside the conference room.

Qin Miao picked up a pen, swiftly signed his name, then exchanged the contract with Schultz beside him and signed it.

Applause broke out.

"Mr. Qin, this is the biggest deal our MTU company has ever made; as soon as you remit payment, we'll ship immediately and also send over the technical documents," Schultz said, standing up, shaking Qin Miao's hand, and speaking excitedly.

Come to the East, and you've come to the right place!

Upon arriving at Ha Gong Da, they held only a one-day meeting, passed the purchasing resolution, and directly signed the contract there—this meant the engine export was settled!

So far, the East has never defaulted in international trade; it is trustworthy!

"Please also convey to ZF Company that they should promptly send someone to sign the contract and arrange delivery for us."

"All right, no problem! I'll head back tonight and look for ZF Company's sales representative…"

"Then why not stay, have a meal, and leave afterward?"

"No thanks, I still have some work to attend to…"

Schultz departed satisfied, the crowd seeing him off to his car, though many eyes still held worry.

"San Shui, can you really sell off these surplus diesel engines?"

"Director Lu, well…"

Qin Miao hadn't finished speaking when he saw someone rushing over.

"Mr. Qin, we just received a call from Ha Cheng Railway Station asking if you're here; they claim to be from the railway department and want to meet you."

They've come already?

Director Lu widened his eyes.

"Tell them I'm busy—have them come tomorrow, no, the day after tomorrow to see me."

"Okay."

At the station, Ma Rui Shan hung up the phone, his expression complex.

"Engineer Ma, how's it going?"

"Let's stay at the railway guesthouse and wait until the day after tomorrow to see him!"

"We've come from afar as guests, yet he doesn't even bother to roll out the mat—this attitude is too big!"

"Xiao Zhang, don't talk nonsense; we're here to ask them for a favor, so we should be polite when the time comes!"

Two days later, Ma Rui Shan, accompanied by his subordinates and carrying assorted gifts, arrived at the Ha Gong Da High-Mobility Multi-Axis Off-Road Chassis project site; seeing soldiers guarding the entrance, they were utterly astonished—the secrecy level here exceeded that of their own Four Directions Vehicle Factory.

"Comrade, could you please ask if Comrade Qin Miao is inside? We had arranged to meet today."

The guard went in, and soon Qin Miao came out.

"Everyone, I'm really sorry, I've been busy." Qin Miao glanced somewhat embarrassedly at his watch: "Come on, let's go inside, find a place to talk—I only have five minutes, so tell me whatever you need."

Upon entering, one could see countless people bustling about. Qin Miao casually led them to sit at a large table; there was no tea.

"Comrade Qin Miao, we've heard you purchased MTU396 diesel engines from Germany, with eight hundred horsepower—perfect for our railway department; could you… allocate a batch to us?"

"What? Who told you that? We haven't bought any German diesel engines here—you've been misled, hurry up and leave!" Beside them, an old professor who had been drawing suddenly stood up and shouted loudly.

A group of railway veterans stared at each other, having never been treated with such contempt…

Wait a moment!

On this table, there just happens to be a design drawing; on this title, isn't it written "MTU396 diesel engine mounting bracket"?