Chapter 992: Not bad

"Mm, alright, I'll do it myself."

At the workshop entrance, Gu Litong took the cigarette Li Xuewu handed over, but lit it himself.

Li Xuewu didn't mind, using his lighter to light one for himself as well.

Waiting for the cold wind to disperse the first puff of "immortal vapor," they then looked at each other and nodded.

"I'd heard about it early on—the Steel Rolling Mill launched a 'Big Satellite'."

Gu Litong sized Li Xuewu up, his face unable to hide his curiosity, and said, "I really didn't expect you to be so young."

"Me?"

Li Xuewu raised his eyebrows in surprise, then smiled slightly and asked, "Do you know me?"

"Heh heh, your name is like thunder to my ears."

Gu Litong also smiled, looked to the side, and explained, "The trade fair your factory held a while back was quite fashionable."

"I'm sorry, at that time..."

Li Xuewu pondered the memories of that day; he didn't seem to have met the other party.

Or perhaps there were too many guests that day and he hadn't noticed, so he tried asking.

Gu Litong waved his hand and said, "No, I didn't go. It was our factory's Deputy Director Liu who went. He praised you highly."

After speaking, he glanced at the cigarette butt in his hand, his gaze sweeping over the factory area, which was inevitably somewhat desolate in the winter, and said, "Starting a business is difficult; good generals are hard to find."

Li Xuewu looked at him somewhat strangely, then stood with him, looking out at the factory area together without saying anything.

It wasn't that he was burdened by fame, nor was he afraid of gossip behind his back; whether it was flattery or probing, he wasn't the type to get carried away after hearing a couple of compliments.

Halfway through the cigarette, Gu Litong turned his head to look at Li Xuewu and asked, "Do you have any understanding of our factory?"

"I mean..."

He hesitated, waving his hand, and raised an eyebrow, saying, "I mean regarding production."

"Apologies, I only know about the 'Satellite' brand micro-taxis."

Li Xuewu smiled apologetically and explained, "I only found out about it when I was a kid watching the excitement. Later... hmm."

"Heh heh, that was almost ten years ago."

Gu Litong chuckled and scratched his forehead, saying, "I still remember the mission I received in '58: to solve the problem of rickshaw passenger transport."

He took a puff of his cigarette, squinted his eyes, and recalled, "Our factory's foundation was a car repair shop from '52."

"You probably don't know, but that was many years ago; I had only just started working back then."

Gu Litong exhaled smoke and said, "It was an auto parts factory formed by four companies: Jianzhong Auto, Lihua Trade's repair department, Yongmao Industry's auto repair shop, and Xiecheng Ironworks."

"We were a branch, the Second Branch, originally located in Erligou, mainly handling diesel vehicle maintenance."

"I think I've heard of that."

Li Xuewu frowned slightly and asked, "Your factory's auto repair scale must be quite large, right? We looked into it when we were doing vehicle maintenance."

"The largest in the entire North China region."

Gu Litong smiled proudly and said, "Otherwise, we wouldn't have had the guts and strength to build cars!"

"Although we failed, ha ha ha!"

He was quite straightforward, proud of his factory while also calmly facing past failures.

Li Xuewu could see his initiative, smiled, and nodded, saying, "At the very least, it trained the team and summarized the experience."

"Mm, indeed."

Gu Litong nodded and said, "The deeper the impression, the more it's remembered, and the braver one becomes."

After sighing, he shook his head with some regret and said, "Back then, we poured all our hope and heart's blood into it. Who would have thought..."

He only said half of it; the remaining helplessness went without saying.

Li Xuewu still remembered this incident. When he was in middle school, it should have been the summer of 1960, at the entrance of the Beijing Children's Hospital—those cute little taxis.

In this city of Beijing, if there was any excitement, how could they, the young ones, be missing?

Of course, with those dozens of little cars parked at the entrance, they could only look; they couldn't afford to ride.

In fact, whether it was passenger or freight transport in Beijing, the lack of capacity had always plagued the city's development.

Even today, those young people who can't find work, if their families give them a little money to buy a tricycle, lay down some wooden boards, and go to the transport company to haul people or goods, it's all a way to make a living.

It will be the same in the future; when young people in Beijing have no other options, they'll drive taxis or sell their labor to support their families.

Later, taxis became popularized and weren't novel anymore, but in 1960, they were very fashionable.

However, good times didn't last; dozens of taxis broke down on the streets one after another, causing no shortage of trouble, and they weren't seen much longer after that.

Old Biaozi guessed back then that it was the rickshaw pullers causing sabotage, suspecting they were jealous of the competition.

Of course, talking about it today, it sounds like a joke, but looking at it now, it was truly the helplessness of industrial backwardness.

Gu Litong was particularly moved. He took the last puff of his cigarette, threw away the butt, looked at Li Xuewu, and asked, "I heard your factory's finalized vehicle is still undergoing road testing?"

After speaking, without waiting for Li Xuewu to answer, he nodded seriously and said, "Doing so is correct. Quality issues are always the fundamental issue."

"It seems your understanding of our factory far exceeds my understanding of the Second Auto Works."

Li Xuewu said with a smile, then looked at the other party carefully and asked, "And now, the Second Factory...?"

In Li Xuewu's view, the Satellite-brand micro-taxi had a very novel appearance, a bit like the QQ of later generations, and there were even convertible versions.

It was just that, limited by the technology of the time, the internal power structure wasn't solid. Delivering it without road testing and verification could only be described as crazy back then.

"How bold the people are, how high the yield is," right?

Rushing into things—trial production in '59, launching the project in '60, and directly completing delivery—you can tell just how blind the policies were back then.

The Steel Rolling Mill's car project was just as bold, possessing a bit of that craziness from years past.

Planning in May last year, seeing the actual car in November, and wanting to put it into production by May next year—it couldn't be described as anything but bold.

But unlike the Second Auto Works' former Satellite micro-car project, the Steel Rolling Mill's Red Star Hongxing Lingyang was redesigned based on the Willys chassis.

Regarding the Willys power system, the Steel Rolling Mill had long since mastered it, using it for the vehicle maintenance project.

As for other key components, the Steel Rolling Mill didn't produce them itself at all, executing all purchases, which also made car manufacturing a form of cooperative commodity.

Li Xuewu couldn't view the explorers in the automotive field from the perspective of later generations, and even less could he look down on these labor pioneers.

So, after Gu Litong introduced the history and development of the Second Auto Works, he also asked his purpose.

"In July the year before last, our factory received a mission."

Gu Litong paused slightly and said, "It was to solve a series of problems brought about by horse-drawn carriages entering the city for transport."

He glanced at Li Xuewu, saw that the other party understood what he meant, and added, "At the same time, to meet the increasingly heavy freight demand, the city decided to organize the production of light trucks."

"130?"

Li Xuewu reacted upon hearing this, raised an eyebrow, asked a question, then nodded knowingly and said, "That's a good project."

As for Gu Litong's pause just now, he naturally understood what the other party meant.

He had traveled all over Beijing; it was normal that he hadn't been to restricted government areas, but when it came to people's livelihoods, he naturally knew.

What problems did horse carriages entering the city have?

It was actually an environmental issue. You have to know that when the new society was founded from scratch, the face of Beijing directly represented the advancement and status of that time.

Precisely because the country was vast, many foreigners were curious and entered the interior to visit, and would even film footage.

If you didn't let them film, you'd be called stingy, lacking the guts to face reality.

If you really let them film, the streets full of ox and horse carts, clattering away, really didn't look good.

People could control what horses "ate and drank," but they couldn't control their "defecation."

Although every horse would have a bag tied behind its tail when entering the city, it still left a mess all over the ground.

This greatly affected Beijing's image and also affected people's normal travel.

Therefore, replacing horse carriages with automobiles was imperative.

Don't look at the streets of Paris a hundred years ago, where sewage was everywhere and excrement was casually dumped out of windows.

Young women and wives wore fluffy skirts; when they needed to go, a servant would insert a bucket, and they'd pee standing up—they were worse than the livestock of today.

Yet they turned around and called themselves civilized, pointing fingers at others' cities for being backward and filthy—they sure had the nerve.

We want to save face; since others have said it, we naturally have to solve this problem.

After all, it was already the 1960s; if the country's transport couldn't be solved, at least Beijing's problem had to be.

Therefore, the light truck project was assigned as a mission by the city under these circumstances.

That era was just like that; it wasn't easy for factories to do anything on their own, after all, they all relied on funding from above.

The Second Auto Works' projects all came from "policy," which is to say, under the conditions of a planned economy, whatever "policy" needed, the factory produced.

The advantage was guaranteed support; even if the micro-car project failed, there was no actual loss.

The drawbacks were also obvious: severely affected by policy, obvious local intervention, and products carrying the rigid gaze and paranoia of the era.

Gu Litong was very envious and admiring of the Steel Rolling Mill's boldness in independently researching and producing cars. Without a plan, the cars were produced, and they had to solve the sales problem themselves.

Of course, if the vehicle quality was excellent and received a certain level of recognition, it would also be included in the "plan."

This situation was the same as the 66-6 sniper rifle produced by the military factory; there was no plan, it was entirely created under the encouragement of Li Xuewu at the Light Weapons Institute.

Once it became famous, people would come to discuss procurement; if it didn't become famous, it could only be left to idle in the warehouse, no matter how good the quality was.

Speaking of the 66-6 sniper rifle, it had actually shown some improvement recently, and he had to thank Deputy Director Lai Shanchuan for his personal experience and endorsement.

The specific details of that night were basically known to those who could know. Everyone had an initial understanding of this sniper rifle with extremely high accuracy in the dark.

Of course, wanting to reach the sky in one step and achieve large-scale procurement and large orders was impossible; after all, there were too few endorsers.

But Li Xuewu wasn't anxious or discouraged. Just like the Red Star Hongxing Lingyang car, harvesting a few more endorsers and running a few more experimental periods was nothing to regret.

It was just as Gu Litong introduced—the original Satellite micro-car was a pain even now; he wouldn't want that.

"How come I heard this was a Beijing Auto Factory project?"

Li Xuewu looked at Gu Litong and said, "Is there any connection?"

"No connection; they didn't take it."

Gu Litong explained casually and continued, "In April last year, our factory's two BJ130s were successfully trial-produced."

"Mm-hm, I know."

Li Xuewu nodded and said, "When you were testing the cars, the engineers in our factory mentioned it to me."

It should have been when they went to Badaling to test the braking system; it seemed quite a few people went to watch.

Seeing that Li Xuewu knew, Gu Litong added, "After fully absorbing the lessons from the last time, our factory has been conducting road tests and extreme condition tests."

"Sounds a bit obsessed, right?"

Seeing Li Xuewu's surprised expression, he gave a bitter smile and explained, "Last time, we lost two factory leaders, one principal and one deputy."

"Mm, understood."

Li Xuewu finally understood why Gu Litong valued this new car so much; it directly affected their hats.

Gu Litong didn't mind his gaze and explained, "Our test results are excellent. It can easily handle 1.5 to 2 tons, and at the limit, it can carry three and a half, or even four tons."

Three and a half to five tons was basically the load standard for heavy trucks; the quality was excellent enough.

Don't think this load capacity is average; how much does the big Liberation carry? Five tons standard, a dozen tons at the limit.

It can be said that the birth of the BJ130 marks a milestone in the progress of the light truck automotive industry.

In this day and age, there are only 17,000 light trucks in the whole country, and most are imported; the production need can be imagined.

"You're going to make a lot of money."

Li Xuewu looked at him with a smile and praised him.

They were indeed going to make a lot of money. At this time, there were no competitors, enough for them to rivet their efforts into production and occupy the market.

Gu Litong gave a bitter smile, looked at the workshop behind him, pursed his lips at Li Xuewu, and then sighed helplessly.

It seems it wasn't just the Steel Rolling Mill that encountered a "slaughtering pig plate"; the Second Auto Works, which was about to welcome great development, also faced a situation of being sliced and having sand mixed in.

The two nodded tacitly, both understanding the other's helplessness and bitterness.

"Have you thought about how to handle it?"

Li Xuewu crossed his arms, looked at the other party, and asked, "Follow the Beijing Auto Factory's path and engage in full-category independent manufacturing?"

Gu Litong pursed his lips and said, "The leaders above have that intention, but we didn't agree."

He turned to Li Xuewu and said, "Your factory's production thinking is the future development direction; it's correct and healthy."

"Centralized procurement?"

Li Xuewu squinted his eyes slightly, nodded slowly, and said, "There are risks. The automotive industry isn't our factory's main project, we can afford to experiment, but you...?"

"We can afford to lose even less."

Gu Litong turned his head to look into the distance and said, "If we don't grasp the development opportunity this time, in the future, it's very likely you'll be leading a team to annex us."

"Heh heh heh~"

Li Xuewu chuckled without denying this statement, paused, and asked, "Do you have any advanced thinking or experience you can share with us?"

"You should be the one sharing with me~"

Gu Litong laughed, then glanced in the direction of the workshop, pointed at Li Xuewu seriously, and said, "Don't show off your wealth. Make a fortune in silence. Be careful of people being jealous and plotting against you."

"You're saying that too late."

Li Xuewu spread his hands helplessly and said, "Our Director Li wishes the whole world knew our factory is making money and wants to achieve a group-based goal."

"Heh~"

Hearing Li Xuewu tease his own leader like this, Gu Litong couldn't help but laugh.

"Your Director Li has a heart of gold!"

"Mm, when I go back, I'll report to him that you said he's stupid~"

Li Xuewu heard the teasing tone in Gu Litong's voice; he could say it himself, but outsiders couldn't easily bully Old Li.

You have to look at the owner before beating the dog, right!

How dare you!

Gu Litong didn't expect Li Xuewu to be so humorous; the two stood together, chatting and laughing for quite a while.

"Actually, compared to you, we are too far behind, and there are too many constraints."

Gu Litong thought of Li Huai's high spirits and bold words, knowing that the other party had the foundation and strength.

"Our factory made its own equipment and tooling molds, and set up its own assembly line."

He turned to Li Xuewu and said, "The engine was chosen to be the BJ492 gasoline engine produced by the Internal Combustion Engine General Factory."

"For the remaining parts, we decided to purchase from auto parts factories across the country."

Gu Litong said seriously, "I heard your factory has already completed procurement negotiations. Do you have any channels? We really need help."

"Mm, of course."

Li Xuewu nodded easily and seriously, agreeing. This wasn't stealing the Steel Rolling Mill's business; there was nothing to keep secret.

"However, the news you heard isn't very accurate. Our factory's procurement orders aren't formulated based on fixed agreements."

Looking at Gu Litong's puzzled expression, he explained, "It's procurement based on batch parts, signing batch orders based on merit."

"Oh! I understand."

Gu Litong grasped his meaning, his gaze suddenly brightened, and he nodded, "Your factory is indeed capable; the thinking is very clear!"

"However..."

He asked worriedly, "Without establishing a solid production collaboration system, aren't you afraid of being affected by the political situation and policies?"

"Afraid!"

Li Xuewu nodded in agreement with his worry, then explained, "That's why every type of component has more than three suppliers."

"Amazing!"

Gu Litong sighed in admiration, "You are preventing trouble before it happens; the work is done to the extreme."

"It's mainly because we started late and are timid."

Li Xuewu said modestly, then added, "Our factory's automotive industry component procurement negotiation team is a permanent institution, signing contracts and procuring in rolling batches."

"Mm, learned something."

Gu Litong nodded, but there was no joy on his face. The Steel Rolling Mill had a large volume and scale, so naturally, it could set up such an institution.

Their factory still couldn't compare to the Steel Rolling Mill's strength, at least not now.

Seeing his dilemma, Li Xuewu knew he intended to borrow the Steel Rolling Mill's procurement channels, but being pushy isn't a good business deal.

Supply channels are also business; even if selling a favor, one couldn't be so casual and proactive.

Therefore, no matter how much Gu Litong hesitated, he didn't proactively offer help, but instead appropriately "fished," changing the subject.

"Today..."

Li Xuewu tilted his chin, gestured toward the workshop, and probed, "Does this count as assistance, or a development need?"

"Heh heh~"

Gu Litong looked at him, gave a helpless bitter smile, and said, "Counts as a leadership need."

After speaking, he asked Li Xuewu in return, "What about you? What do you want?"

"Us?"

Li Xuewu pursed his lips, looked at the desolate factory area, and said disdainfully, "We don't want anything."

After speaking, he raised an eyebrow at Gu Litong and asked, "How about you just take it all? Since you need to develop anyway."

"You're quite polite."

Gu Litong's mouth twitched; he looked at Li Xuewu amusedly and said straightforwardly, "If you're interested in making motorcycles, we won't say a word."

"As for the workers and equipment..."

He hesitated, frowned slightly, and said, "After all, the people from the Ministry are watching. The first batch of integration results has to look good no matter what."

After speaking, he probed, "Half each?"

"Splitting the family?"

Li Xuewu shook his head with a smile, but his eyes were serious as he said, "Workers, equipment, machinery—give it all to you."

Before Gu Litong could speak, he added, "We want the land, we want the production blueprints; at the very least, it must be shared."

"Not very appropriate~"

Gu Litong also understood Li Xuewu's meaning. Is this land becoming valuable?

I haven't heard of such a thing. If it were valuable, this factory would have been sold off long ago; why wait for bankruptcy and annexation?

He looked at Li Xuewu somewhat suspiciously. Gu Litong actually agreed with his ability and vision; he heard that the Steel Rolling Mill's industrial projects were all presided over and invested in by the other party.

Li Xuewu thought he was a small character and no one would notice him, but the moment they met, Gu Litong had actually recognized him.

He didn't think what Li Xuewu wanted was so worthless; perhaps he was about to lose a watermelon.

Li Xuewu spread his hands and said, "Our factory has too many workers, and there's a recruitment plan being executed, so..."

First, he explained, then gestured to this factory and said, "Our factory wants to build several tertiary industry branches, but the land in the Liangma River Industrial Zone is limited, you know."

I don't know!

Gu Litong heard this and became increasingly disbelieving of what Li Xuewu said. Such a large Steel Rolling Mill, opening branches outside?

If they wanted land at their doorstep, would Beijing not give it?

Even if they had to move other factories, they would have to make room for the Steel Rolling Mill!

"How about this, give us the land..."

"Then we don't want anything."

Li Xuewu raised his head slightly; in an instant, the friendliness from just a moment ago was gone, replaced by a serious face.

Seeing the other party's face stiffen, he gestured to the factory area and the people from the Ministry, saying, "You have to look at their faces, we don't have to."

Right in front of the cadres from the Ministry who were looking over from time to time, Li Xuewu said straightforwardly, "If we want this factory, we'll take it; if we don't, they can't do anything about it."

"Then how do you want to split it?"

Gu Litong frowned slightly, "The old, the weak, the sick, the disabled, and the pregnant—throw them all to us?"

At this moment, perhaps discovering that the two hadn't returned for a long time, someone from the Ministry was already walking toward them.

Li Xuewu didn't even bother with him, looked at Gu Litong, and said, "Mechanical equipment is icing on the cake for us; giving it to you is sending charcoal in the snow, right?"

Gu Litong looked at him, noncommittal, waiting for his follow-up.

Actually, he did indeed want the mechanical equipment, but he also knew the Steel Rolling Mill was importing machinery recently; they must look down on this junk, which is why they were giving it to them.

"You need the workers even more. Expanding production, mature technical workers are always better than newly trained ones."

Li Xuewu said seriously, "Our factory's technical workers are all undergoing elimination, retraining, and relearning; giving these workers to us is also a trouble."

"Furthermore."

He gestured to the buildings and workshops on site and said, "Old, dilapidated, and broken—even if given to us, we'd have to rebuild and renovate; it truly has no value."

The Deputy Director of the Seventh Factory, who had walked over with the Ministry leaders, was about to go crazy. What was the situation with these two? Belittling his factory right in front of him—they didn't treat him as a human being, right!

"Our factory does indeed intend to establish a motorcycle manufacturing plant, but not like this."

Li Xuewu, right in front of these people who had come over, waved his hand in a circle and said indifferently, "Other than the land, only their failed experience is worth us learning from and drawing lessons from."

"If you're going to say it like that!"

The Deputy Director of the Seventh Factory raised his head slightly and said, "Then I really have to have it out with you!"

He endured his anger, pointed inside the workshop, and said, "Our factory has already trial-produced the latest model of motorcycle; just give us a little more time..."

"Just relying on this junk?"

Li Xuewu glanced at him amusedly, looked at Gu Litong opposite, and said, "How about this, give the latest motorcycle production technology to you, and we only want the land—is that okay?"

"You!..."

The Deputy Director of the Seventh Factory was about to explode. Gritting his teeth, he looked at the cadres from the Ministry with tears in his eyes and said, "You look down on us, and we don't even want to be annexed!"

After speaking, his lips trembled, and he said, "If it weren't for... we wouldn't have any other way; we also want to make a car that brings glory to the nation!"

"Forget about making cars, keep dreaming."

Li Xuewu didn't care about the other party's aggrieved mood at all and coldly interrupted his speech.

Today it was clear that the Ministry was bringing the Second Auto Works and the Steel Rolling Mill to divide the family assets of the Seventh and Sixteenth Factories, and incidentally, to dismantle them.

The factory was already on the chopping block; now they remembered to shed tears—what were they thinking earlier?

If they were really shedding tears and suffering grievances for the nation and the country, Li Xuewu could empathize.

But because of their own lack of management ability, causing the factory to reach this point today, these management layers were responsible.

He wasn't a judge; he wasn't going to discuss who was right and who was wrong with them. Industry is cold and ruthless; there's no such thing as sympathy at the negotiating table.

Gu Litong's gaze withdrew from the Seventh Factory's Deputy Director. He didn't care about the other party's hysteria and anger, frowned slightly, and said, "The land can be given to you, but you have to accept half the workers."

"Don't want the workers."

Li Xuewu said firmly, "The Steel Rolling Mill can provide you with component procurement channels."

"..."

Gu Litong didn't expect Li Xuewu to be waiting for him here. This condition was truly tempting; at the very least, it could save the Second Auto Works more than half a year of production preparation time.

"Component channels are fine, but half the workers must be split, at least one-third, otherwise we want half the land."

"Take it all!"

Li Xuewu pursed his lips and said, "Do you really think this land is a piece of cake!?"

After speaking, he looked at him, paused for a few seconds, and added, "The land can't be given to you, the workers..."

Speaking of this, he looked in the direction of the workshop; the workers currently producing were all looking this way, their eyes filled with indescribable anxiety and unease.

"Workers can be discussed, but we only want technical workers, at least third-grade workers, and no one over forty-five."

"Let me finish!"

Before Gu Litong could speak, he continued forcefully, "Annexing the land and a portion of the technical workers, we will compensate the Seventh Factory with 50,000 yuan for staff resettlement."

"As for this sum of money..."

Li Xuewu glanced at the Seventh Factory's Deputy Director and said to Gu Litong, "It will be deposited into the Second Auto Works' account, and you will be responsible for executing it."

"On what grounds!"

Before Gu Litong could speak, the Seventh Factory's Deputy Director became anxious. Glaring at Li Xuewu, he asked, "On what grounds should the money compensating our factory be given to the Second Auto Works?!"

Li Xuewu didn't even glance at him, just looked at Gu Litong, who was thinking, waiting for his reply.

Gu Litong frowned deeply. He only felt that this deal looked absolutely profitable.

Workers, machinery, equipment—they were all things they needed, and giving them the factory land was useless; their factory was in Erligou.

As for the old, weak, sick, and disabled here, thinking of a way could also solve it; wasn't there that 50,000 yuan?

The people from the Ministry looked at the two coldly, only feeling that their inspection activity today was redundant.

Originally, the activity was arranged to first inspect and evaluate the value, then sit together for a big meeting, announce policies and spirit, and then use the Ministry's policies to pressure them, forcing both sides to pay money.

But now, both sides were "double agents," having privately reached a distribution agreement.

What could they do? Could they grab both sides by the collars, slap them each once, and tell them who the big brother was?

Of course not. The reason they set up this "slaughtering pig plate" was precisely because these two companies were strong enough to solve certain problems.

If they really got serious, neither side was easy to mess with, especially the Steel Rolling Mill; their Director Li had maintained very good relations above over the past half year.

Therefore, Li Xuewu and Gu Litong negotiating at the door, they could only endure and watch.

Whatever that Seventh Factory Deputy Director was shouting or saying, no one was listening to him here anymore.

This is the gap in strength; this is the ruthlessness of the business world. The planned economy also has survival of the fittest.

"The Sixteenth Factory side..."

Gu Litong looked at Li Xuewu hesitantly and asked, "Is it the same?"

"Yes, the same."

Li Xuewu knew he had agreed. Suddenly, he nodded with a smile, proactively reached out his hand, and said, "Rest assured, 50,000 for the Seventh Factory, 50,000 for the Sixteenth Factory."

"Deal."

Gu Litong also didn't mind the people crowding around, smiled, and shook Li Xuewu's hand.

"Oh, right."

He suddenly raised an eyebrow and asked, "The motorcycle technology and blueprints..."

"Do you even need to ask?!"

Li Xuewu, seeing the other party was so "unappreciative," shook off his hand amusedly.

While walking toward Xiang Jingyu'en, he said unceremoniously, "Of course they're ours!"

When he said this, he was looking at Xiang Jingyu'en and simultaneously winked his left eye, making Xiang Jingyu'en almost laugh out loud.

In such a serious scene, this bad guy actually dared to flirt with her!

Gu Litong behind him raised his hand to stop Li Xuewu; he wanted the blueprints, after all, this counted as technical reserve.

"Deputy Director Li..."

"Of course!"

Li Xuewu once again cut off his words, turned to look at him, nodded, and said, "You can copy a set; we are now in a cooperative relationship."

"... Right!"

Gu Litong pursed his lips helplessly and nodded. Using the Steel Rolling Mill's automotive component procurement channels—wasn't that just a cooperative relationship?

However, looking at Li Xuewu chatting easily with his colleagues, he felt that this matter was a loss?

Thinking this, he turned to look at the Seventh Factory's dilapidated factory area again, but it was just over a hundred acres of land on the Second Ring Road; he didn't see where it was valuable!

"Leader, did we lose out?"

On the way back, Li Xue turned from the passenger seat to look at Deputy Director Jing in the back seat and asked softly about the worry in her heart.

It was originally an unwilling annexation; now they only got the factory land, technology, blueprints, and a portion of the workers, and most importantly, they had to pay 100,000 yuan.

100,000 yuan—enough to build half a building. The budget for a residential building was only 180,000; just thinking about it made her heart ache.

Xiang Jingyu'en closed her eyes and leaned back in the seat. Hearing Li Xue's inquiry, she lifted her eyelids slightly and asked, "Why do you ask?"

Waiting for Li Xue to express her thoughts, she smiled slightly and said, "Let's not talk about anything else; what do you think of your second brother as a person?"

"I..."

Li Xue didn't know how to answer this question for a moment. She was somewhat resistant to discussing family members in front of leaders, especially her second brother.

Mainly because they worked in the same unit; it was really hard to say anything.

Xiang Jingyu'en didn't mind her hesitation and delay, closed her eyes again, and asked softly, "To be blunt, do you think your second brother is someone who can suffer a loss?"

"???"

Li Xue was slightly stunned, then squinted her eyes. Is it okay to talk about my second brother like that?

When did my second brother...!

Alright, she had to admit that her second brother was a little bit cunning~

But this couldn't be blamed entirely on her second brother; the environment was bad. Her second brother wasn't like this before!

Before, although he was a bit mischievous and his personality was a little bit bad, he had never had so many calculations and schemes.

It was only after he started working that he became like this—forced maturity, forced calculation, and cunning!

It must be that there were too many bad people in the Steel Rolling Mill!

Xiang Jingyu'en didn't know what Li Xue was thinking, but seeing she didn't speak, she could guess most of it.

While amused, she was also moved by the deep affection between the Li siblings.

"If you stand from the perspective of the annexer, it's a loss no matter what."

At this moment, Xiang Jingyu'en explained, "Think about it from the other side: our factory acquired hundreds of acres of land for 100,000 yuan, plus technical blueprints and excellent workers. This deal isn't a loss; it's a big profit."

"Then..."

Li Xue asked hesitantly, "Our factory also has to pay the Ministry 200,000 yuan in annexation fees. Isn't this money a loss?"

"Do you think we could have saved this money if we hadn't annexed it like this?"

Xiang Jingyu'en sighed, opened her eyes, looked at Li Xue, and said, "This money is what the Ministry insisted on; it had to be paid no matter what."

"Isn't this..."

Li Xue frowned, not saying the word "robber," but still expressed her dissatisfaction.

The driver turned his head to look at her, only feeling that this little girl's mind was sharp, but he hadn't expected her to have such a simple side.

Xiang Jingyu'en shook her head helplessly and didn't say anything more on this topic, looking out the window and continuing, "There will be no shortage of such things in the future."

Actually, no matter how you calculate it, it's not a loss. 300,000 yuan, two factories, plus land, technology, and blueprints, plus a portion of excellent workers—it's profitable.

After the annexation work is completed, these two pieces of land will be exchanged with other factories in the Liangma River Industrial Zone.

That is to say, the Steel Rolling Mill's expansion will still take the factory area as the core, developing in Liangma River.

These technical blueprints and workers will be arranged to the motorcycle manufacturing plant currently under preparation, completing the rapid construction of the new factory.

According to the component procurement budget, the new motorcycle factory will complete construction and production this year.

300,000 cost, the factory land alone could recoup one-third, and the workers and technical blueprints were worth one-fourth.

As for the rest, as long as the motorcycle manufacturing plant's assembly line starts turning, it will be recouped in less than a year.

Li Xuewu had talked to her privately in the factory area just now; the motorcycle the Steel Rolling Mill is designing has an absolute advantage, and there won't be any worries about sales in the future.

At first, Xiang Jingyu'en was a bit worried, but Li Xuewu asked her: would a 1,000-yuan motorcycle be hard to sell? Would a 600-yuan motorcycle be hard to sell?

Seeing this bad guy so confident, Xiang Jingyu'en could only believe his words.

She wanted to see what a 1,000-yuan motorcycle looked like, and what a 600-yuan motorcycle looked like.

Regarding this point, Li Xuewu still had absolute confidence, mainly due to the advantage of component procurement, which directly slashed the cost price.

Look, the Second Auto Works has started following the Steel Rolling Mill's supply chain car-making path; in the future, car companies will all face the Steel Rolling Mill's crazy provocation and market squeezing.

Everyone says annexation has problems and isn't appropriate, but it also depends on how you handle it.

If one has to make a choice, Li Xuewu would rather compete across industries and learn from the Lei Bu-si of later generations.

What does Xiaomi have?

Xiaomi has channels!

Your product is good, so I'll find a factory to make the same product, then use a relatively lower quality but absolutely advantageous price, paired with channels, to beat you to death!

You're lowering prices too? I'm not afraid!

Because your price reduction shows your price was falsely high, you've compromised with the consumer, admitting you weren't kind.

When your price converges with mine, you've recognized my product quality and even more recognized the value of this commodity.

In this way, the pricing power of the commodity is in my hands; can you still play better than me?

Therefore, competition isn't scary; price competition is just awkward.

Since one isn't willing to submit to the shackles of the planned economy, one can only be a price butcher and complete market harvesting in other fields.

Even if one day one really faces "policy" interference and is forced to withdraw from the market, the value of the factories in hand would have already multiplied many times over.

The cost would have been earned back long ago; the rest depends on whether one earns one billion or one hundred million—there's not much difference.

Xiang Jingyu'en glanced at the command vehicle in front of the car, thinking of Li Xuewu's words; the resentment from when she came had long since been swept away.

Especially looking at the faces of those people from the Ministry, she just felt today was particularly satisfying.

Working with him, sometimes thinking about it, is really quite relaxing; you just need to stand on the side and say "very good," "not bad," and that's it.

Li Xue actually wanted to ask: the displacement of these two factories' motorcycles is so large, how can the cost be brought down?

Xiang Jingyu'en had heard Li Xuewu say that 250CC and 500CC absolutely cannot be used for two-wheeled motorcycles, but they can be used to build three-wheeled motorcycles as freight vehicles.

It has to be said, the weak only complain about the environment; the strong only challenge themselves. ===== CHAPTER 993 =====