Chapter 947: The Consultant's Heavy Burden

Secretary Liu raised his eyes to look at He Yuzhu, his gaze carrying a measure of deliberation: "Can you take on the job of security consultant for the delegation this time?"

Upon hearing this, He Yuzhu grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth: "Leader, look at what you're saying. When have I ever been picky about work? As long as the organization still remembers me, I'm in. I may be a few years older, but my hands and feet are still nimble; if I really run into trouble, I can still fight just the same. Whatever you entrust to me, I guarantee I'll handle it for you properly."

Secretary Liu was amused by this spirit of his refusing to admit his age. Just as the corners of his mouth curled up, he pressed them back down: "But we have to get the ugly talk out of the way first—this time we are going to the negotiating table, not the battlefield. No matter what kind of tricks those people pull, we must still adhere to our principles and cannot let any lives be lost. Of course," he paused, his tone shifting, "you, Zhuzi, aren't the type to suffer losses. If they play dirty, we can't just stand there and take a beating; we should return it in kind when necessary, we can't suffer an immediate loss... If something really goes wrong, I'll take the heat."

He Yuzhu's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he nodded vigorously: "Leader, with those words from you, I feel at ease. If I had to be timid and cautious in everything I did, I'd rather not wade into these muddy waters. But give me the inside scoop—what kind of tactics do they usually play for this type of errand?"

Secretary Liu waved his hand, a look of disdain hanging on the corners of his mouth: "What else could be new? It's just that same old 'protest card' over and over. As soon as you get off the plane, you're guaranteed to be stuck to like a piece of dog-skin plaster. Most of those people are hired by certain groups with money, specifically to disturb our peace of mind. But don't worry, the M Country police won't let them go too far; nothing major will happen."

He Yuzhu narrowed his eyes, pondered for a moment, and spoke slowly: "Since they are doing it for money, then let them suffer a bit of bitterness..."

Secretary Liu frowned slightly and pressed: "You have a way?"

He Yuzhu shrugged indifferently, his tone light and airy: "Let those people trip on the stairs themselves and break a few legs, or get their eyes poked out by their companions' fingers—you tell me, would they still dare to come and cause trouble?"

After hearing this, Secretary Liu's face twitched, and he waved his hands repeatedly: "No, no, we are going to discuss cooperation. If you really use such methods, those groups will definitely blow a fuse. By then, they will do even crazier things, and our trip will have been for nothing."

He Yuzhu was not in a hurry. He gave a chuckle, turned around, rummaged through his backpack, and pulled out a transparent plastic bag. Inside the bag were two wild plants, their leaves covered in a layer of fine fuzz, looking very unremarkable.

He placed the bag on the table and said: "Leader, this thing is called Zhen Ma Cao. If it touches your skin—that feeling is like ten thousand ants burrowing into your bone marrow; it's so itchy that a person could scratch their own skin to shreds!"

Secretary Liu stared at the two little plants, his eyes slowly brightening, and a meaningful smile finally appeared at the corners of his mouth.

The two chatted for a while longer about the minute details of this mission, then He Yuzhu got up, left the room, returned to Si Jiu Cheng, and officially met with the delegation.

The head of the delegation was Director Li, and there were two deputy heads: one was Deputy Director Shi, and the other was Deputy Director Long.

Director Li was in charge of the big picture, while the two deputy directors handled the specific terms and clauses of the negotiations.

He Yuzhu had originally thought that at most a Bureau Chief Zheng would come to give him a few instructions and that would be it, but he hadn't expected that as soon as he entered the room, all three of them—the director and the deputies—were sitting there upright and proper, waiting for him.

As soon as Director Li saw him, he immediately stood up and shook his hand warmly: "Factory Director He, do you still remember me? I spent three months at Hong Xing Gang Chang back in the day, and you personally taught us classes!"

He Yuzhu was stunned for a moment, narrowed his eyes, and scrutinized him carefully; only then did the memory slowly surface: "Oh—I remember! That was right during the drought, and your Di Yi Qi Che Chang sent people over to us to exchange knowledge on automobile manufacturing. It's a pity, though; the heavens weren't giving us any face back then, with a great drought upon us, everyone was busy rushing to build water pumps, and I didn't really teach you anything properly." He scratched the back of his head, his tone filled with genuine regret.

Director Li, however, waved his hands repeatedly, his voice rising by half a degree: "You absolutely must not say that! That heavy truck design blueprint you gave us back then was an epoch-making treasure! Relying on that blueprint, our factory managed to break free from our dependence on the Soviet Union. I even dug it out to look at it a few days ago, and looking at it now, it's not outdated in the slightest!"

He Yuzhu hurriedly pressed his hands down modestly: "Director Li, you flatter me, you flatter me. If you have any instructions for me this time, just say the word; I, He Yuzhu, will never refuse."

Only then did Director Li put away his smile, his expression turning serious, and his tone sinking: "The mission this time is not light—those M Country people are bent on destroying our manufacturing industry. They communicated with us, saying that as long as we don't heavily subsidize the chip business, they are willing to open up the low-end market to us."

He Yuzhu furrowed his brows and said: "That won't do! This chip thing, to put it broadly, is our lifeline. If we don't have chips, they can cut off supply whenever they want; how is that any different from having our throats choked?" He paused and, in a roundabout way, gave those present a glimpse of the bloody lessons from the trade wars and chip wars of his previous life.

Director Li listened, entranced, his brows locking tighter and tighter.

Although he couldn't fully foresee just how much of a stir chips would cause in the future, the two words "cut off supply" were common knowledge carved into the bones of their generation—it wasn't strange to have supply cut off; it was only a rarity if it wasn't.

He sighed with a bitter smile: "Who's to say it isn't? But those M Country people, they say one thing and mean another. If you ask me, the 'global division of labor' they keep shouting about is only because they can take advantage of it; once the advantage is gone, they can immediately flip to a different set of tricks."

He Yuzhu slapped his thigh, his voice crisp and bright: "Director Li has hit the nail on the head! In my view, it won't take fifteen years before they definitely change their faces, and by then, everyone will be able to see it clearly."

Director Li looked at him with approval, his gaze carrying a bit more respect: "Factory Director He has unique insights. In my opinion, you really need to give us some good advice this time; your experience in dealing with those M Country people is much greater than ours."

He Yuzhu shook his head, his tone sincere: "I don't understand the country's big picture, but there is one thing I am very clear on—we must hold onto the bowl of high-end manufacturing ourselves; we absolutely cannot let go..."

He Yuzhu chatted with the three of them for quite a while longer, the three of them going back and forth, the conversation growing warmer and warmer.

Deputy Director Shi suddenly glanced at Director Li, shifted the topic, and his tone carried a bit of seriousness: "Director Li, let me speak plainly—letting Old He just be a security consultant is a waste of talent. In my view, he should be the General Consultant for our delegation to be appropriate!"

Director Li laughed as soon as he heard this, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes bunching up: "Isn't that so? If it weren't for the fact that Factory Director He retired early, his position now would probably be a cut above mine."

He Yuzhu hurriedly waved his hands, shaking his head like a rattle-drum: "Great leaders, you must not praise me any further! I've never had a proper shape since I was a kid, I'm used to being undisciplined, and being able to reach the level of a factory director was already the ancestral graves smoking with good fortune—it's far beyond my abilities!"

The three looked at each other and couldn't help but burst into laughter, and the atmosphere in the room suddenly became much more relaxed.

After the laughter, Director Li composed himself, his tone becoming solemn: "Factory Director He, I won't beat around the bush with you—our mission this time is truly not easy, and you will have to worry about every aspect. However, the most important thing is the security side; I estimate the M Country people will pull some small tricks."

He Yuzhu understood the subtext in Director Li's words—this was a hope that he would use the connections he had accumulated abroad over the years to pave the way for the delegation: whether the hotel was safe, whether there were hidden wiretaps; which organizations wanted to carry out sabotage, all had to be figured out in advance...

Without a second word, he took full responsibility and patted his chest: "Director Li, rest assured. As long as I, He Yuzhu, am here, I guarantee that the enemy won't be able to steal a single word, nor will those hostile forces be able to touch a single hair on our heads."

Hearing this, Director Li's shoulders, which had been tense the whole time, finally relaxed, and his expression carried a bit more peace of mind.