Chapter 758: Your Appetite Is Bigger Than a Tiger

At 4:30 p. m., Li Ye and Lu Lu Zhizhang left work early to meet the guests from Dongshan.

"Li Ye, I've already arranged with Wang Wang Changchang of Zhucheng—we'll get there half an hour early. Even if we don't reach an agreement, we can't make them wait for us and think we're looking down on them."

Li Ye nodded and replied, "That makes sense. When the host invites a guest to dinner, the guest doesn't arrive first."

Lu Lu Zhizhang asked again, "So, should we bring two hostesses to drink with us? I heard people from Dongshan can really hold their liquor."

"Hmm, you're right."

Li Ye smiled and said, "I'm from Dongshan myself—I can drink just fine."

"."

Li Ye truly could drink. By the time they arrived at the agreed-upon restaurant, he downed three full glasses with Wang Wang Jinyu, the deputy factory director, and his sincerity turned the man's face red.

Wang Wang Jinyu wiped his sweat and laughed, "I've heard you're also from Dongshan, Li Deputy Director. I never had the chance to meet you before, but now that I have—I see it's true, so familiar, so familiar, hahaha~"

Most people at a drinking table would praise Li Ye as "young and accomplished," but Wang Wang Jinyu couldn't say that—he was barely twenty himself, just like Li Ye.

"If it's familiarity, then let's drink more. As soon as I heard fellow Dongshan folks were coming, I rushed over to host you—must treat you well, eat well, drink well."

Li Ye picked up the bottle to pour more for Wang Wang Jinyu, but Wang stopped him.

"No no, Deputy Director Li, you're a real drinker—I can't keep up. Let me catch my breath, just a moment."

Li Ye glanced at Wang Wang Jinyu and asked with a smile, "Don't rush to call yourself my junior—what year were you born?"

Wang Wang Jinyu took the bottle himself and said, "I was born in '63, Year of the Rabbit."

Li Ye raised an eyebrow: "Same as me—I was born in January!"

Wang Wang Jinyu froze slightly. He'd called himself junior out of flattery, thinking Li Ye was young—but he hadn't expected Li Ye was only a few months older.

In Zhucheng, at twenty-four, he was already an oddity as a deputy factory director. Here in the capital, someone even younger was more formidable.

"Then I must call you Big Brother—I owe you a drink, Big Brother."

Wang Wang Jinyu no longer cared about his churning stomach—he poured himself a full glass and moved to complete the brotherhood ritual.

Li Ye quickly stopped him, afraid he'd drink too fast and ruin his stomach.

"Slow down, slow down—let's drink properly tonight. First, let's chat a bit: how did you find our unit?"

"Ah, it's like a child without a mother—long story."

Wang Wang Jinyu sighed and said, "After graduating from university in '81, I joined our county's motor vehicle factory. Things have been okay these past two years, but I know a factory without technology won't go far."

"So after taking charge of technical work, I started seeking tech partnerships—universities in Dongshan, Hunan Province, even First and Second Auto—all of them. But—"

Wang Wang Jinyu paused, helpless and ashamed: "But big units look down on our small state-owned factory. Don't hide it from you, Brother Li—I've had my warm face slapped with cold backs dozens of times this past half-year."

"."

Wang Wang Jinyu's brutally honest complaint surprised Li Ye.

People who travel often care about face—but Wang Wang Jinyu had laid bare his hardship and bitterness to a stranger. It was undeniably unconventional.

Li Ye didn't look down on this struggling "little brother." This guy was definitely a powerhouse.

He was born in '63, just like Li Ye—but Li Ye only got into Beijing University in '82. Wang Wang Jinyu had already graduated in '81. How old was he when he entered university?

In this era, he was unquestionably a golden child.

And his life was legendary: one year later, he became head of Zhucheng's motor vehicle factory, and within just a few years, turned this tiny factory of a few hundred workers into the number one in the entire nation.

At thirty-three, he launched a massive project—mobilizing resources nationwide, organizing 100 legal entities to jointly invest and form a cross-regional, cross-industry, cross-ownership joint-stock enterprise: the Hundred Enterprises Build Futian.

Li Ye thought about what he himself had been doing at thirty-three in his past life—and even in this life, even with his advantages, achieving such a feat by thirty-three wouldn't be easy.

The variables and obstacles were too numerous.

But Li Ye didn't underestimate Wang Wang Jinyu. Lu Lu Zhizhang, however, didn't care—he was a department-level cadre from a major state-owned factory in the capital, and he saw nothing special in Wang Wang Jinyu, a man from a backwater town.

So he smiled and said, "Oh? Deputy Director Wang is also a college grad! Our Deputy Director Li is one too! Which university did you graduate from?"

Wang Wang Jinyu quickly replied, "I graduated from Liaoning Institute of Technology."

Lu Lu Zhizhang nodded knowingly: "Ah, Dalian Tech! I know it. Our Deputy Director Li is from Beijing University."

"Beijing University?"

Wang Wang Jinyu blinked. "The one by Yuanmingyuan?"

Lu Lu Zhizhang said, "Of course! Who else would dare call themselves Beijing University?"

"Hmph~"

Wang Wang Jinyu sighed, clicked her tongue, and looked at Li Ye with envy: "Before I entered university, I thought I was the top student.

Only after leaving home did I realize there were others better than me. After starting work, I realized the sky was even higher—like how our factory used to use Lai diesel engines, which were terrible.

Then they imported an advanced overseas production line and completely transformed. That's how we learned that your Light Truck Company had strong technical strength—that's why we came here for help."

Hearing Wang Wang Jinyu's straightforward plea, Li Ye cut straight to the point: "So, Brother Wang, what's your factory's main product? What kind of help are you seeking?"

"We currently produce the 'Mingfei' brand four-wheel light truck. But our technical foundation is weak, and sales are average. We've seen your improved 130 model's market response is excellent, so we want to learn through joint operation."

Wang Wang Jinyu was blunt—he directly asked for joint operation and technical learning. This was a common strategy among small state-owned and collective enterprises at the time:

Find a big factory, say, "We're one family, little brother needs big brother's help—let's both contribute to the nation."

In decades to come, this would be like dreaming of marrying a bride while drunk—pure fantasy. But in the 1980s, it was wildly popular. Several auto factories in Jibei had done exactly this.

Once the little brother grew strong, he'd often turn his back on the big brother. Some even turned around and crushed the big brother entirely.

Lu Lu Zhizhang knew this well. He asked calmly, "Deputy Director Wang, you produce four-wheel light trucks? You mean agricultural vehicles?"

"Oh yes, but four-wheel agricultural vehicles."

Wang Wang Jinyu felt embarrassed—by then, proper auto factories looked down on agricultural vehicles. They were seen as "neither cart nor tractor."

In fact, Wang Wang Jinyu's factory had once been a small tractor manufacturer. But the agricultural vehicles he now produced were different: others made three-wheelers; his factory made four-wheelers—a foundation for future car production.

Li Ye thought for a moment and asked, "Brother Wang, how many people does your factory have? How many frontline workers? How many office managers?"

Wang Wang Jinyu didn't understand the question but answered: "We have 490 employees—nearly 400 workers, nearly 100 managers."

Li Ye nodded slowly: "That's not bad."

"Not bad? What's not bad?"

"."

Not just Wang Wang Jinyu—even Lu Lu Zhizhang was puzzled by Li Ye's words.

Li Ye said plainly: "Brother Wang, we're willing to offer technical support, but joint operation won't work."

Wang Wang Jinyu blinked. "Then what do you mean, Brother Li? Technology transfer? Tell me how much you want—I won't argue."

Li Ye slowly shook his head, calm and steady: "We don't want transfer fees. Just merge your factory into our No. 1 Branch. We'll give you full technical support for free—I guarantee you'll produce the best product of its kind in the country."

"."

Wang Wang Jinyu stared at Li Ye, speechless for a long, long time.

【So you came to ask for help—and you're trying to swallow us whole?】

【You look like a righteous, honest man—how is your appetite bigger than a tiger's?】