Chapter 209

Qin Miao didn't realize he had already come under the senior leader's scrutiny; whatever he said or did would be known to the leader, and he didn't need to know how the leader found out.

Translation: "Qin Miao didn't know that he had already entered the old leader's sight; whatever he said or did would be known to the old leader, and as for how he came to know, Qin Miao didn't need to know that."

We need to keep as single line. Ensure we keep all info.

He thought he was just shooting the breeze with Old Feng, not realizing the senior leader would hear his boast.

Translation: "He only thought he was just bragging to Old Feng, never expecting that these words would be known to the old leader."

Even a senior leader swamped with work seems to think too highly of himself, doesn't he?

Translation: "An old leader burdened with countless affairs also values me too much, doesn't he?"

Qin Miao was still working at Harbin Institute of Technology, awaiting approval from the microelectronics company; once it came, he'd really get down to business. There was no avoiding it—even if the meeting had agreed, a mountain of procedures remained.

Translation: "Qin Miao continued working at Ha Gong Da while waiting for the approval of the microelectronics company; when that came, he would really get down to business—there was no way around it, even if the meeting had given its assent, a heap of procedures still remained."

Meanwhile, the Capital's First Machinery Department was already in an uproar.

Translation: "Meanwhile, the First Machinery Department in the Capital was already in an uproar."

"Director Rao, this is a key project of our First Machinery Department—how could it just vanish like that?"

Translation: '"Director Rao, this is a key project of our First Machinery Department—how could it just disappear like that?"'

"Old Fang, it's too expensive; the state can't afford it."

Translation: '"Old Fang, it consumes too much money; the state can't come up with the funds."'

"Isn't Harbin Institute of Technology impressive? It's earned our country a lot of precious foreign exchange—spending a few billion is nothing! The foreign‑exchange cost of the Baosteel introduction project alone is twice ours."

Translation: '"Isn't Ha Gong Da quite formidable? It has earned our country so much precious foreign exchange; spending a few billion is nothing! The foreign exchange alone for the Baosteel introduction project is twice what we have!"'

In 1978, Baosteel's first phase cost 21.4 billion yuan; in today's terms that's roughly seven or eight hundred billion yuan, and the foreign‑exchange spend was 4.78 billion US dollars.

Translation: "In 1978, Baosteel went into production; the first-phase project alone cost 21.4 billion yuan. Viewed as 1978 funds, if converted to present-day terms it would be not just ten trillion but seven or eight trillion yuan; the foreign exchange alone then amounted to 4.78 billion US dollars."

Now the Three‑Automobile project calls for just two billion yuan, yet it could relieve the country's shortage of light and heavy vehicles—why not?

Translation: "Now, investing in the Sanqi project totals only two billion yuan, yet it could resolve the nation's shortage of light and heavy vehicles—what's not to like?"

"Old Li, a few billion isn't much, but we have other projects each costing billions—the state just can't afford them all!" Director Rao wore a troubled expression.

Translation: '"Old Li, spending a few billion isn't much for us, but there are other projects, each costing several billion; the state simply can't afford them!" Director Rao wore a troubled expression.'

"To be honest, receiving this notice from above made him feel terrible—after all, the Three‑Automobile project was his proposal and he had pushed it forward, yet now he must announce its cancellation."

Translation: "To be frank, upon receiving this notice from above, he also felt miserable—after all, the Sanqi project was his proposal and he had pushed it forward single-handedly, yet now he had to announce its cancellation."

The state can't raise that much money; the era of mobilizing the whole nation for big projects is over!

Translation: "The state can't raise that much money; the era of mobilizing the whole nation to undertake great projects is over!"

"So are we still going to build heavy trucks?"

Translation: '"Then are we still going to build heavy trucks?"'

"Of course we will." Director Rao said: "After the Three‑Automobile project is shelved, the introduction project will be taken up by our existing heavy‑truck factories, which will need to cooperate and can also compete, thus using market forces to better promote industry development… Hey, Old Feng, you're back?"

Translation: '"Of course we will." Director Rao said: "After the Sanqi project is shelved, the introduction project will be digested and absorbed by our existing few heavy‑vehicle factories; at the same time, these factories need to cooperate with each other and can also compete, thus using market means to better promote industrial development… Hey, Old Feng, you're back?"'

Old Feng stood in the doorway, listening to Director Rao's introduction, his mouth hanging open, unable to close it.

Translation: "Old Feng stood at the doorway, listening to Director Rao's introduction; at that moment his mouth fell open, almost unable to close."

"Old Feng, hearing this news suddenly, you must be shocked, right? Too bad…"

Translation: '"Old Feng, hearing this news so suddenly, you must be shocked, right? Too bad…"'

"No, I'm shocked that Qin Miao's words have actually come true…"

Translation: '"No, I am shocked that Qin Miao's words have actually come true…"'

Before Old Feng could finish, he sensed something was wrong, quickly shut his mouth—wasn't he just selling out Qin Miao by saying that?

Translation: "Before Old Feng could finish speaking, he sensed something was wrong, hastily shut his mouth—wouldn't saying this be tantamount to selling out Qin Miao?"

Qin Miao had clearly said that this suggestion was just off‑the‑cuff; Old Feng, when reporting, couldn't reveal Qin Miao's name.

Translation: "Qin Miao had clearly said that this suggestion was just off‑the‑cuff; even if Old Feng had to report it, he couldn't reveal Qin Miao's name."

On his way back, he kept thinking about it, the more he thought the more it made sense; then he heard Director Rao had already announced the result—it was a shock, his head buzzing, with only one thought: Qin Miao, you're amazing, you accurately predicted all of this!

Translation: "On his way back, he kept pondering the matter, the more he thought, the more reasonable it seemed; then… he heard Director Rao had already announced the result—a shock that made his head buzz like thunder, with only one voice: Qin Miao, you're amazing, you accurately predicted all of this!"

"What, this suggestion was made by Qin Miao? Hmph, this young man… always spoiling our plans…"

Translation: '"What, this suggestion was made by Qin Miao? Hmph, this young man… always spoils our plans…"'

That voice already carried a hint of gritted teeth.

Translation: "That voice already carried a hint of gritted teeth."

If a new factory were built, the preparation team would surely become its main leaders, definitely holding higher positions than their previous posts; now that the Three‑Automobile project is cancelled, they will have to return to their original units, which amounts to blocking their path to promotion.

Translation: "If a new factory were established, those in the preparation team would surely become its main leaders, certainly holding higher positions than their previous posts; now that the Sanqi project is gone, these people will certainly have to return to their original units, which amounts to blocking their path to promotion."

How could they be happy!

Translation: "How could they be happy!"

"No, no, it wasn't Qin Miao who suggested it; I was just chatting with Qin Miao when the topic came up…" Old Feng hurriedly added: "Back then it was just casual talk; the superior's document has nothing to do with Qin Miao! Old Zheng, don't wrongly accuse him."

Translation: '"No, no, it wasn't Qin Miao who proposed it; I merely brought up the topic while chatting with Qin Miao…" Old Feng hurriedly added: "Back then it was just casual talk; the document issued by the superiors has nothing to do with Qin Miao! Old Zheng, don't wrongly accuse him."'

Old Zheng, an engineer at the Automobile Bureau, still looked dissatisfied: 'Hmph, I think his ambition isn't small; our automobile industry already has Harbin Institute of Technology mixed in through missile trucks, and next, with this heavy‑truck introduction, he'll probably try to get involved too! Does Harbin Institute of Technology also want a slice of the pie? I heard he flew on the same plane as the head of Steyr; who knows what shady deal they might have.'

Translation: "Old Zheng, an engineer at the Automobile Bureau, still looked dissatisfied: "Hmph, I see his ambition is not small; our automobile industry has already seen Ha Gong Da mix in via missile trucks, and next, with the heavy‑truck introduction, he'll likely want to get involved too! Does Ha Gong Da also want a slice of the pie? It's said he flew on the same plane as the head of Steyr; who knows what shady deal they might have…"'

"Old Zheng, saying that is going too far—it's slander." Old Feng's face grew stern: "Qin Miao supports Steyr, but that's only to save the country money, you…"

Translation: '"Old Zheng, saying that is going too far—it's already slander." Old Feng's face grew stern: "Qin Miao supports Steyr, but that's merely to save the country money, you…"'

"Old Feng, you've been back less than a week and you're already speaking well of Qin Miao—you wouldn't…"

Translation: '"Old Feng, you've been back less than a week and already you're speaking up for Qin Miao—you wouldn't…"'

"Old Zheng, what do you mean? Are you saying I took Qin Miao's money and therefore speak well of him? You may suspect me, but you must not suspect Qin Miao—such a fine young man, just because he proposed some reform ideas, is being targeted by many old fogeys; these short‑sighted folks, what's wrong with competition? Let them keep loafing around—how can the country progress?"

Translation: '"Old Zheng, what do you mean—are you saying I took Qin Miao's money and thus speak well of him? You may suspect me, but you cannot suspect Qin Miao; such a fine young man, just because he proposed some reform ideas, is being targeted by many old fogeys—what's wrong with competition? These short‑sighted layabouts just lie around all day; how can the country progress then!"'

Old Feng also became anxious.

Translation: "Old Feng also grew anxious."

"Who says I'm loafing? For the Three‑Automobile preparation, everyone put in tremendous effort, working day and night, and now you say I'm loafing? Old Feng, by saying that you're ignoring everyone's labor! Nobody here would agree."

Translation: '"Who said I'm just lying around? For the Sanqi preparations, everyone put in tremendous effort, working day and night, and now you say I'm lying around? Old Feng, saying that is ignoring everyone's labor! We all would never agree to that!"'

"I wasn't talking about you."

Translation: '"I wasn't talking about you."'

"Then you mean the other people here?"

Translation: '"Then you mean the others present here?"'

This Old Zheng is obviously already trying to persuade others to form a united front to push Old Feng out.

Translation: "This Old Zheng obviously has begun to cajole others into a united front to squeeze out Old Feng."

"Alright, alright, let's stop arguing." Director Rao said: "Since the superiors have already decided to shelve the Three‑Automobile project, we must comply…"

Translation: '"Alright, alright, no more arguing." Director Rao spoke: "Since the superiors have already decided to shelve the Sanqi project, we must comply…"'

As he said that, he suddenly felt someone else at the doorway; he turned, his heart jolted, and hurried over to greet them.

Translation: "As he said that, he suddenly felt someone else at the doorway; turning his head, he saw a figure, his heart jolted, and he hurriedly went to greet them."

"Old Yuan, what wind blew you here?"

Translation: '"Old Yuan, what wind blew you here?"'

"For the past few months the south has been calm, I happened to have free time to come back and report on work, and I also wanted to hear about the heavy‑truck introduction—you guys are quite lively." Old Yuan walked in laughing.

Translation: '"For months the south has been calm; I happened to have free time to come back and report on work, and even to hear about the heavy‑truck introduction—you guys are quite lively." Old Yuan walked in, laughing heartily.'

"Sorry to have you see this, the Three‑Automobile project's cancellation leaves everyone feeling uneasy…"

Translation: '"Sorry to have you see this, the shelving of Sanqi leaves everyone feeling uneasy…"'

"Now the state needs to develop the economy and needs money everywhere; shelving the Three‑Automobile project is also a correct decision by the state, handing the introduction project to three factories to compete, so our military can pick the most suitable heavy truck, and we think this plan is good!"

Translation: '"Now the state needs to develop the economy and requires funds everywhere; shelving Sanqi is also a correct choice by the nation, handing the introduction project to three factories to compete, so our military can pick the most suitable heavy truck—our military thinks this plan is fine!"'

Old Yuan has spoken on behalf of the military! Stop complaining about Qin Miao here—our military will forever stand behind Qin Miao!

Translation: "Old Yuan voiced the military's stance! Stop complaining about Qin Miao here—our military will forever stand behind Qin Miao!"

"Yes, Old Yuan, you're right; we will study seriously and carefully grasp your instructions." Director Rao nodded.

Translation: '"Yes, Old Yuan, you're right; we will study earnestly and fully grasp your instructions." Director Rao nodded.'

Meanwhile, Old Zheng thought of something and ran to fetch a document.

Translation: "Meanwhile, Old Zheng thought of something and ran to fetch a document."

"Old Yuan, you've come and gone in a hurry, so you surely haven't seen the heavy‑truck bidding test documents yet; I have a copy here for you to review. In the completed comparison tests, the Daimler military vehicle took the top two spots in ten items, the MAN military vehicle in eight items, and the Steyr military vehicle in six items…"

Translation: '"Old Yuan, you've come and gone in a hurry, surely you haven't yet seen the heavy‑truck bidding test documents? I have a copy here—please have a look. In the completed comparative trials, the Daimler military vehicle occupies the top two spots in a total of ten items, the MAN military vehicle in eight items, and the Steyr military vehicle in six items…"'

Qin Miao isn't a strong supporter of Steyr? Old Yuan isn't fully backing Qin Miao? Let Old Yuan know that the product Qin Miao recommends is a weakling!

Translation: "Qin Miao strongly supports Steyr, and Old Yuan fully backs Qin Miao—let Old Yuan know that the product Qin Miao recommends is a weakling!"

Old Yuan took it and examined it carefully.

Translation: "Old Yuan took it and examined it carefully."

On the side, Old Zheng kept talking nonstop: "In many performance aspects—such as fuel economy, acceleration, braking, coasting distance, sand terrain passability, and so on—the Steyr military vehicle lags behind the top two."