Chapter 699: Hard to Speak

In the days that followed, He Yuzhu could be said to have returned the favor to Secretary Liu; he almost completely ignored worldly affairs, burying himself heart and soul into scientific research and tackling key problems.

He knew better than anyone that the world was about to enter a period of relatively peaceful development, and he had to seize this precious window of opportunity to raise the nation's technological level with all his might.

In early 1971, the domestically produced program-controlled telephone exchange was officially successfully developed in his hands.

From then on, there was no longer any need for manual switching to make a call; one could dial directly upon picking up the receiver.

In the blink of an eye, it was 1972, and he took the opportunity to launch commercial push-button telephones and small private branch exchanges.

The old-fashioned crank telephones were thoroughly swept into the dustbin of history.

As the news spread, orders from government agencies, factories, enterprises, and hotels flew in like snowflakes.

Because this product had an extremely high price-performance ratio, it quickly broke into the South American, African, Latin American, and parts of the East European markets, and this product soon sent the communication manufacturers of old developed countries into full retreat.

In 1973, He Yuzhu tinkered with a more compact desktop computer, its comprehensive performance basically catching up to the 286 models of later generations.

In 1974, he applied computers to fields such as steel rolling, machine tools, and power systems, forcibly pushing the domestic level of industrial automation forward by ten years.

In 1975, the first pager he developed was officially released.

As soon as this novel gadget appeared, it immediately caused a sensation in major cities; following the opening of paging stations, ordinary people with slightly better means all clipped this compact communication device to their waists.

What was even more impressive was that He Yuzhu sold the pagers overseas, and real gold and silver in foreign exchange flowed back into the country in a steady stream.

After the product became a global hit, many foreign manufacturers grew green with envy and one after another followed suit with imitations.

But He Yuzhu could always take the lead in launching new products, leaving his competitors to suffer losses on all fronts.

By this time, the Red Star Rolling Mill was no longer a simple steel-smelting enterprise.

Chen Siman's Computer Laboratory joined forces with He Yuzhu to once again significantly improve the performance of commercial computers, while simultaneously driving down the price.

Orders from domestic factories and research institutes were plentiful, and the number of overseas orders was even more staggering.

Because the Red Star Rolling Mill had achieved successive major breakthroughs in fields such as electronic computers, communication equipment, and CNC machine tools, the higher authorities attached great importance to it and soon made adjustments—in accordance with the regulations for industry-based management, business related to communications and electronic computers was uniformly placed under the jurisdiction of the Fourth Ministry of Machine Building.

After careful study, a document of appointment was officially issued: appointing He Yuzhu as the Factory Director of the Hongxing Electronics Factory, concurrently serving as the main person in charge of the electronic research and production base, and enjoying the relevant treatment of a Deputy Ministerial Level.

Once the news broke, the entire factory area instantly exploded.

When the news reached the Siheyuan, the reactions of each household were all different.

In the Yan family, "Dad!" Yan Jiecheng frowned and said, "He Yuzhu is already enjoying Deputy Ministerial Level treatment! From now on, you must never go against him again! Otherwise, I will be a worker for the rest of my life."

Yan Bugui sneered, "This brat is only forty-one this year and already has Deputy Ministerial treatment; what will he be like in the future? I really misjudged him completely."

Yan Jiecheng was so anxious his face turned red: "Dad! When I was at the Red Star Farm, my relationship with He Yuzhu was still quite good. It was all you, gossiping behind his back all day long; do you really think he doesn't know? I'm still an ordinary worker to this day, and I never get a turn when it comes to promoting cadres. Bang Geng is only twenty-five, and he's already the Logistics Section Chief of the Hongxing Electronics Factory!"

Yan Bugui slammed his teacup onto the table with a "clack" and pointed at his son, cursing: "If you want to compare, compare yourself with your brother Yan Jiekuang! He is still farming in the countryside, facing the yellow earth and backing the sky! Look at Jiefang, he is a Section Chief now, and he used to be a good-for-nothing Buddha. You are better off than some but worse off than others, so be content! You only have this much ability yourself, don't push it onto your old man whenever something goes wrong!"

Yan Bugui's mouth was never one to lose when it came to arguing or bickering.

Yan Jiecheng shook his head repeatedly in anger, unable to even speak smoothly: "You, you are simply unreasonable!"

At Liu Haizhong's house, Liu Haizhong sat alone in front of the table with a plate of scrambled eggs, pouring and drinking his own little wine. He took a "slurp" of wine and a "smack" of food, savoring the taste slowly.

The second aunt was gnawing on a steamed bun while muttering, "Old Liu, you've been a Workshop Deputy Director for so many years, can you move up any further? He Yuzhu is a big official now, why don't you go ask him to put in a good word for you?"

Liu Haizhong waved his hand with a bitter smile, "What's the point of asking? It's good enough to keep my current position. The factory is full of new equipment controlled by computers now, and I can't understand it at all. The fact that they haven't removed me from my post is already giving me plenty of face. In a few more years, I should retire anyway."

The second aunt sighed and asked with concern, "You say Guangtian and Guangfu are down in the countryside; when will they be able to come back?"

Liu Haizhong picked up his wine glass and took a sip, staring blankly out the window for a long time before saying softly, "Should be... soon."

During this time, however, He Yuzhu was always worried.

There was one thing he weighed repeatedly in his heart, struggling with whether or not he should bring it up to Secretary Liu.

That great earthquake was coming soon. If he didn't say anything, his conscience would be uneasy; if he did say something, he was afraid no one would believe him. Even if he could save half the people by warning them in advance—in his past life, he had heard the older generation talk about that disaster, and the scene was too horrific to look at.

Chen Xueru saw that He Yuzhu held a high position and enjoyed Deputy Ministerial Level treatment, yet he was still unhappy, and she couldn't help but frown: "Zhuzi, are you hiding something in your heart? Tell me about it, don't keep it bottled up alone."

He Yuzhu looked at the wife who had accompanied him for nearly thirty years, was silent for a moment, and then spoke slowly: "Three months from now, a great earthquake might happen in Tang City. Many people might perish, and I don't know if I should say anything about it."

Chen Xueru had been with him for many years and knew best—almost everything He Yuzhu had ever said had come true, and she had never doubted his words.

She thought for a moment and said, "You have had a friendship with Secretary Liu for so many years; even if you tell him about this, he won't suspect you of talking nonsense."

He Yuzhu shook his head: "The problem isn't Secretary Liu; it's that it's too hard to make others believe such a thing."

Chen Xueru thought about it and asked again, "Can you calculate the approximate time?"

He Yuzhu nodded.

"Then don't say the specific day," Chen Xueru said with a firm tone, "Just say that the earthquake will happen within a three-day window. This way, you will have reminded everyone without making it seem too unbelievable."

After listening to Chen Xueru's words, He Yuzhu finally made up his mind and said in a deep voice, "I've become more and more timid lately. Back in the day, what was there that I didn't dare to do? If I said something, what could they have done to me?"

Chen Xueru patted him and advised, "Hey, it's not that you've become timid, it's that you have more concerns now; after all, you have children."

He Yuzhu nodded and sighed, "That is true. But what can be done about it?"

He Yuzhu immediately called Secretary Liu, not stating his purpose directly, but simply inviting him to meet at the Hongbin Building tomorrow.