Chapter 400: Extravagant to the Extreme

mayiwsk

Li Ye's third year of college began without incident.

After two years of study, Li Ye's grades had stabilized in the top ten of his class; though he was near the bottom of that group, he would certainly receive the highest scholarship.

Who else but Li Ye had such good relations with everyone?

Whether a person is isolated by those around them or courted by them depends not entirely on their character, but on whether they can bring benefits to others.

Li Ye could bring benefits to everyone.

One day after class after the semester began, He Dazhuang—who had once been utterly incompatible with Li Ye—smilingly bought him a net bag full of tangerines.

Li Ye was puzzled: why did so many people keep giving him tangerines?

"He Dazhuang, what's this about?"

He Dazhuang grinned and said, "Thanks, Li Ye. You warned me before I submitted my last article, and finally, it got published."

Li Ye paused, blankly, then remembered what had happened.

At the end of last semester, He Dazhuang had indeed brought him an article to read, and he'd casually offered a few comments.

Later, it was said He Dazhuang took that same article to Professor Zhang, who then gave him plenty of feedback.

So Li Ye asked He Dazhuang, "Didn't Professor Zhang guide you on that article? Why are you thanking me?"

He Dazhuang laughed. "Professor Zhang gave me some advice, but your input couldn't be ignored—I definitely owe you thanks, and don't you dare refuse!"

Li Ye twisted his mouth and smiled. "Fine, but I can't eat all these myself—let's share them with the classmates."

"Good, good, I'll distribute them."

He Dazhuang agreed with a beaming smile, then handed out the net bag of tangerines to everyone present, adding, "Li Ye is treating everyone to tangerines."

So He Dazhuang wasn't foolish—he just didn't care about people he didn't value.

But just as Li Ye thought this was over, He Dazhuang brought another article with a smile.

"Li Ye, could you take a look at this article? I want to submit it to the Southern Economic Daily and see if I get lucky—take a look, don't refuse!"

But He Dazhuang hadn't expected Li Ye to actually refuse this time.

Li Ye said, "I'm busy right now. Why don't you ask Professor Zhang? I really don't have time."

"No rush. Whenever you're free, just let me know."

He Dazhuang remained perfectly calm, not the least upset.

Because before he'd shown that last article to Li Ye, he'd already shown it to Professor Zhang, who'd simply told him: "Focus on your studies; don't reach too high."

But after He Dazhuang revised the article based on Li Ye's suggestions, Professor Zhang gave him detailed feedback—even advising him which newspaper to submit to.

Those unfamiliar with the characteristics of certain journals couldn't match the efficiency of someone like Professor Zhang.

Professor Zhang wasn't the type to give feedback on every student's article—otherwise he'd be worn out.

Li Ye's casual advice was, in fact, a historical truth: in the 1980s, this was a shrewd "prediction."

That's why He Dazhuang wasn't the least bit angry at Li Ye's refusal.

Even if it was just a few hundred words in a newspaper, even if the payment was only a few dozen yuan, once he joined a workplace, showing that newspaper proved his capability.

But He Dazhuang didn't know that Li Ye was genuinely busy—just not on campus.

Hao Jian's luggage factory in Pengcheng had originally aimed to diversify sales through the Fenghua brand clothing channels,

but production fell far short of market demand—the rolling suitcases couldn't even cover distribution, and local contacts blocked his door daily, accusing him of disrespect if he didn't deliver.

Hao Jian even called Li Ye: "We priced it too low. I thought selling for eighty yuan was already gouging, but now they casually pay a hundred and twenty—what am I supposed to do about that?"

Li Ye had no solution, so he gave Hao Jian full authority to expand production however possible without breaking rules.

Meanwhile, at Changbei Machinery Company, the showdown was approaching—and Manager Wang was said to have seized the initiative, contacting many major clients.

Meanwhile, Li Dayong's team had only just completed the prototype of the Changbei-2, appearing to lag behind.

But Manager Wang's side had its own troubles.

Zhu Caide, the newly appointed manager of Changnan Trading Company, quietly approached Wang Qinshan: "Boss, what do we do now?

They finally agreed to take our goods, but won't pay a deposit—they insist on payment upon delivery. Should we schedule production for them?"

Wang Qinshan frowned. "How did you handle this? Before, Tian Hongshan always paid deposits—or even full payment. Now you're bringing better products, and they still won't pay a deposit?"

Zhu Caide sighed. "Boss, you don't know how hard sales are now—everything depends on connections. I've visited many places, but they don't recognize me; some even demand Tian Hongshan personally."

Sales in the 80s and 90s weren't transparent like after the rise of Taobao—everything relied on connections, and how you built them depended entirely on your skill as a sales manager.

"Unacceptable! Is this Changbei Machinery Factory ours or Tian Hongshan's? I knew the Hong Kong side had ulterior motives from the start—they wanted control of sales and even used commissions to bribe sales reps."

Wang Qinshan was furious—he grew angrier every time he thought of the Hong Kong side's tactics.

The joint venture gave Changbei Machinery Factory 51% ownership and the Hong Kong side 49%, yet Wang, as factory manager, often found himself powerless.

Now, finally, he had a chance to reclaim his rightful authority—but his subordinates weren't delivering.

Zhu Caide waited until Wang Qinshan finished venting, then said: "Boss, calm down. It's always hard at first—I'm sure Jingxin Trading Company faced the same struggles at the start,

but they eventually figured it out, didn't they? We just need to be more flexible."

Wang Qinshan remained silent for a long while, then said: "Do what you can. But hurry—things are getting noisy over there. We can't wait for them to catch up."

"Got it. I'll get on it right away. If we're flexible, I can secure at least three times the orders."

Zhu Caide left eagerly, unaware of the cold, sharp look in Wang Qinshan's eyes behind him.

Flexibility was hard to manage, and public relations expenses were even harder to control—one misstep could bring major trouble.

But looking out the window, the Hong Kong side had just erected giant cranes, installing central air conditioning for their researchers.

Wang had seen such units in Pengcheng—they were incredibly comfortable.

But the problem was, Hong Kong's air conditioning was installed in the workshop.

"Installing air conditioning in the workshop? That's pure extravagance—they think this is Hong Kong?"

(End of Chapter)