Chapter 391: It Was Never a Factory—Just a Front

The next day, Li Ye summoned Pei Wenhui, and Hao Jian and Tang Mingtai came along with her.

Tang Mingtai wasn't particularly surprised to see Li Ye—he'd only met Li Ye once or twice, but he knew Li Ye was a fellow townsman of Li Dayong and Hao Jian, and also a classmate of Pei Wenhui's at Beijing University; his appearance in Pengcheng wasn't strange.

But as soon as Li Ye spoke, Tang Mingtai was taken aback.

Because Li Ye's tone made it clear he didn't treat himself as an outsider.

"We need to clarify a few issues—everyone should use their connections to verify the answers."

Li Ye said seriously: "Did Wang Qingshan really get in touch with Zhong'ai Company because of a television?"

"Did he communicate with the Hong Kong manager about importing Zhong'ai's mechanical components to assemble sewing machines?"

"What's the quoted price for the Japanese mechanical parts? Higher or lower than our cost? Are they offering only mechanical parts, or do they have other intentions?"

"Did the Japanese contact only Changbei Machinery Company, or other factories too?"

Li Ye fired off several questions in succession, his demeanor like a CEO calling out names at a meeting.

After Li Ye finished speaking, Hao Jian was the first to answer: "After I got your call yesterday, I asked several other sewing machine manufacturers—some of them also received phone invitations from Zhong'ai Machinery Company."

"These factories are all medium-sized but have solid capabilities. I also asked a few garment industry partners—they all received the same calls from Zhong'ai promoting sewing machines, just like I did."

Hao Jian paused, looking embarrassed: "When they pitched sewing machines to me back then, I didn't pay attention—but during the conversation, they found out what brand of sewing machine we used. It wasn't my fault; their tactics were just too sneaky."

Li Ye nodded: "The Japanese take commercial intelligence seriously—international industrial espionage is common. You got caught this time, but don't blame yourself. Just be careful dealing with them in the future."

Hao Jian immediately said: "I won't deal with them at all—I'll just pretend to be mute if they call."

"No need to go that far," Li Ye smiled lightly. "You'll be dealing with them for a long time. Don't back down."

After Hao Jian finished, Pei Wenhui turned to Li Ye: "This morning I asked Guo Tianyong—Wang Qingshan never consulted him. He even asked me whether I should report this to higher-ups."

"What's the point of reporting? Even if they haven't partnered yet, it doesn't matter—even if they do, it's no big deal."

Li Ye smiled indifferently, then turned to Tang Mingtai: "I heard you argued with Wang Qingshan all night—tell me the details."

Tang Mingtai was the only one left to report.

But he first looked at Pei Wenhui.

Because Li Ye's questions involved Changbei Machinery Company's commercial information, he hesitated.

Pei Wenhui nodded: "Speak plainly—I'll explain to Guo Tianyong."

Tang Mingtai relaxed—he had no official position in Changbei, but as "the boss's sister," Manager Guo Tianyong treated her with respect; she could shoulder responsibility.

"Zhong'ai's quoted price for parts is slightly higher than our cost, but their machining precision is better—likely using new machine tools."

"If our newly tested Changbei-2 model also used new machine tools, our results would be similar to theirs."

"But we don't have new machine tools—our prototype samples were sent to Hong Kong for processing. If we import parts from Hong Kong, our cost would be far higher than theirs."

"But that's not why I argued with Factory Director Wang yesterday. Zhong'ai proposed a 'technical subcontracting' arrangement—offering continuous technical upgrades to Changbei Machinery."

Tang Mingtai sighed, his expression gloomy: "This has happened too many times—after years of hard research, just as we're about to achieve results, someone shows up with a ready-made solution and tries to sell it to us."

"We finally built a skilled technical team, everyone was motivated—and now suddenly, we have no role left. Of course I argued with Wang Qingshan."

"I told him the Japanese aren't that generous, but Wang Qingshan said we're no better—colluding with foreigners to hide our tech, pocketing half the factory's profits, calling us traitors."

Pei Wenhui and Hao Jian stared in shock—even Li Ye couldn't help laughing.

Li Ye chuckled: "He called you a traitor—didn't you punch him in the face?"

"I didn't. I was stunned by his words. Now I wish I'd hit him."

Tang Mingtai regretted: "You don't know—I barely slept last night. I tossed and turned until dawn, thinking: How did I become a traitor? But just before daybreak, it hit me—I'm absolutely not a traitor."

Tang Mingtai sighed in regret: "You don't know, I barely slept last night—tossing and turning in the dead of night, wondering how I ended up as a dog traitor. But just before dawn, it suddenly hit me: I'm damn sure not a dog traitor."

Tang Mingtai slammed the table, glaring: "Yes, our tech is confidential from Factory Director Wang's side. Yes, we're paid by Hong Kong. But our technicians are all from the mainland."

"All our research benefits mainland enterprises. None of our tech has leaked overseas—it's 100% ours."

"Yes, Hong Kong took the factory's profits—but they invested money! Even banks charge interest on loans! Who does unprofitable work?"

"My relatives work at Changbei Machinery—this factory was nearly dead, now it's alive, paying taxes, paying workers. Where's our betrayal? Who did we harm? We didn't sell out, right?"

Tang Mingtai panted angrily, still indignant: "So this morning I went straight to Wang Qingshan to argue again—if he outsources our tech to the Japanese, *he's* the traitor!"

"But when I went to find him, he'd already been picked up by Zhong'ai people. Then I got a call from Manager Guo in Beijing, telling me to come here and meet Pei."

"But today, I won't let him off. I must confront him face-to-face: Our tech built today's Changbei Machinery. If Wang Qingshan dares replace our tech with foreign tech, I won't let him off."

"Hey, Tang Manager—you've hit the nail on the head. This tech is ours—that's our goal."

Li Ye pointed at Tang Mingtai and smiled: "Tang Manager, do you remember why we went to Changbei Machinery in the first place?"

Tang Mingtai blinked: "Originally, Li Dayong led the sewing machine improvement project, but no factory would produce it—so we partnered with Changbei Machinery."

Li Ye nodded: "Right. Tang Manager, as a mechanical expert, you know mechanical innovation can't be completed entirely in a lab—it must rely on factories and markets."

"So Changbei Machinery was built to develop tech and nurture your team. Wang Qingshan… is actually serving your technical department."

Li Ye's logic was a bit twisted—Tang Mingtai was confused, and even Hao Jian and Pei Wenhui took a moment to process it.

After all, Wang Qingshan was factory director—how could he be a "subordinate" serving technicians?

But after thinking, Pei Wenhui said: "Brother, yesterday I talked to Dayong—he got angry and said something similar."

"He said we control the tech—we don't need Wang Qingshan. If things get bad, we can just pull our shares and start over. The environment here in Pengcheng is better—we can move."

"Start over? Why start over? The tech team must stay in Beijing."

Seeing their confusion, Li Ye thought a moment: "Let me explain something—let me share my vision for your future."

Li Ye raised his hand, pressing down one finger: "For a machinery company to become an industry giant, there are only a few steps."

"Step one: possess a new technology. We've already done this—at least we have Changbei-1 and Changbei-2, advanced within the mainland."

Li Ye pressed down the second finger: "After acquiring tech, you need pilot production—at least hundreds of units, tested internally."

"When Nancheng's Third Machinery Factory refused to help us with this second step, we turned to Changbei Machinery—completing it."

Li Ye pressed down the third finger: "Step three: refine and adjust the product based on market feedback. We've just reached this step."

"Our Changbei-1 sold well this year, so we've gradually fixed many technical details based on customer feedback. By the way—Zhong'ai Machinery hasn't even reached this step."

Li Ye's points were grounded in reality—like the hyper-competitive new energy vehicle industry.

Jia Yueping and Xu Jiayin both died before step three; Lei Jun was stuck at step three, unable to move forward.

But Li Ye, using Changbei Machinery and Jin Peng's sales channels, completed step three.

Li Ye pressed down the fourth finger, solemnly: "Step four: continuous tech updates and product iteration. Only then can you crush competitors."

"But to achieve this, you need a fully independent, stronger tech team."

Li Ye looked at Tang Mingtai and Pei Wenhui: "Now do you understand why I want the tech team to stay in Beijing?"

Tang Mingtai and Pei Wenhui both shook their heads—they didn't understand.

"Sigh—because Beijing has too many idle tech talents!"

Li Ye asked Tang Mingtai: "You know machinery—where in the mainland has the most industrial research institutes?"

Tang Mingtai suddenly understood: "Excluding classified ones, civilian industrial research institutes are heavily concentrated in Beijing—and the number of idle researchers there is the highest in the country."

Beijing's research institutions have always been numerous, accumulating over the years countless technicians.

Li Ye's creation of Changbei Machinery was a "sneaky recruitment" front.

In the early 80s, people didn't ask each other: "Brother, where are you making money?"

They asked: "Comrade, which unit are you from?"

If Li Ye had no official unit, no one would take his offer to come and earn a salary for tech work.

"You're some fly-by-night outfit? You want me?"

"I'm a state-employed researcher—I can't afford the shame."

But the Sino-Hong Kong joint venture label was still impressive—several of Tang Mingtai's current staff were poached just recently, which is why they developed Changbei-2 so fast.

So the Sino-Hong Kong joint venture banner must not be dropped—and Li Ye even wanted to use this factory to make Nakamura Naoto suffer.

Seeing Tang Mingtai understood, Li Ye smiled: "Then you know what your next step should be, right?"

Tang Mingtai chuckled awkwardly: "I'm not… going to be stealing from socialist construction, am I?"

Tang Mingtai chuckled awkwardly: "Wait, am I not just digging at the foundations of XXism?"

mhtxs

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