Chapter 88 : Chapter 88

Chapter 88: Pulling Out a Nail

At Wang Longcheng’s words, everyone once again turned their eyes toward him.

That was especially true of Zhao Han, the Minister of the Military Industry Department.

He was practically screaming inwardly, Wang Longcheng, what exactly are you trying to do now?

You again? You’re saying there’s a problem again?

While everyone’s attention was drawn away, Li Mu quietly rose and slipped outside.

Zhang Kang was not seated far from Li Mu, so he naturally noticed it. His brows immediately knitted together as he stared at Li Mu’s departing back in a daze.

Wang Longcheng said, “This Mother Crystal development project is of great importance, so I paid some attention to the enterprises being considered by the Military Industry Department.”

“And once I started paying attention, I discovered a very serious problem.”

As he spoke, Wang Longcheng looked straight at Zhao Han.

“Minister Zhao, let me ask you something. Do you know which energy-metal enterprise currently has the best reputation in all of Ironhand City?”

The moment Wang Longcheng asked that question, cold sweat instantly broke out on Zhao Han’s back.

Wang Longcheng was coming straight for him.

He stammered, “The best... reputation... is the Ye Group.”

It was not just Zhao Han. Even President Ye’s expression became unnatural.

Within Ironhand City, the Ye family’s energy-metal business was the largest, but it was absolutely not the one with the best reputation.

The one with the best reputation on the market was the Zhang Group.

Still, that was only something people within the business world all knew tacitly. There was no clear public ranking.

So how had Wang Longcheng found out?

“It seems Minister Zhao hasn’t done his research very well. I did.”

“After conducting extensive on-the-ground interviews with a large number of industry workers, I found that over the past two years, the Zhang Group has improved the fastest in both quality and reputation.”

“So I gathered two proposals from the Zhang Group.”

As he spoke, Wang Longcheng tossed two proposal documents onto the table.

“The first is their contract manufacturing cooperation plan.”

“The second is their plan for jointly constructing a military-industrial-grade enterprise. Minister Zhao hasn’t seen that one, has he?”

“That’s because you eliminated the Zhang Group in the very first round. Am I right?”

The reason Wang Longcheng could speak with such confidence now was that he was completely certain. Zhang Chaoyang had already explained the military-industrial-grade enterprise proposal to him.

It surpassed the Ye Group’s plan by more than just a small margin.

Zhao Han was dumbfounded, because he really was guilty. He had seen the Zhang Group’s proposal.

In terms of real capability, it absolutely outclassed the Ye Group.

So why had Wang Longcheng specifically seized on the Zhang Group?

Seeing Zhao Han already scared witless after only a few words from Wang Longcheng,

Zhang Qing was instantly filled with disappointment. But if he still said nothing now, the whole matter would be exposed.

So Zhang Qing said, “Deputy Commanding Officer Wang, are you familiar with the Zhang Group’s proposal?”

“Could you explain it here on the spot for all of us, so we can understand it clearly?”

He was blocking both paths at once.

You, Wang Longcheng, did not understand commercial matters in depth. No matter how good the proposal was, you would never be able to explain it clearly.

And if he simply handed the proposal directly to the others, the impact would be far weaker than a live presentation.

But if Wang Longcheng really could explain it, then it would prove he had been in deep contact with the Zhang Group.

And if that were the case, then the charge of favoritism would stick to him for good.

Wang Longcheng chuckled.

“Of course it should be explained, but it would be clearer if someone from the Zhang Group explained it themselves.”

The moment Wang Longcheng said that, Li Mu pushed open the door. Behind him came Zhang Chaoyang and Zhang Zhiwei, father and son, along with the three experts following them.

Zhang Qing’s face instantly turned extremely ugly.

He had not expected Wang Longcheng to undercut him like this.

The Zhang family was obviously prepared, and Wang Longcheng was not even bothering to hide it.

“Deputy Commanding Officer Wang, what exactly do you mean by this? Are you planning to let them in through the back door?”

With a dark face, Zhang Qing directly opened fire on Wang Longcheng.

He was only a step away from openly accusing him of favoritism and malpractice.

Wang Longcheng, however, looked completely unconcerned.

“What I questioned was the unfairness of the proposal review. What I want is to provide a fair environment.”

“So how can you call this using the back door?”

“Hmph! Skipping the review process and bringing their company straight into the final stage! Deputy Commanding Officer Wang, you’re certainly fair indeed!”

Zhang Qing’s face remained cold.

He absolutely could not lose this opportunity, so even if it meant openly turning hostile, he could not allow Wang Longcheng to succeed.

At that point, Commissioner Lu from the research institute finally spoke.

“Deputy Commander-in-Chief Zhang, since they’re already here, and since Deputy Commanding Officer Wang has raised such serious objections,” “shouldn’t we at least give the Zhang Group a chance? Let’s hear them out first.”

Professor Tong and Professor He also laughed and said, “Yes. If the Zhang Group’s proposal is truly far inferior, then Deputy Commanding Officer Wang will naturally have to take responsibility.”

“But if the Zhang Group’s proposal is truly very good, then it isn’t as though we can’t consider it.”

“Just treat it as adding one more qualified candidate. There’s no harm in listening first.”

Once the two professors spoke, Zhang Qing could no longer say anything.

He merely let out a heavy snort.

And when Zhang Chaoyang heard all this, his heart was almost pounding out of his chest.

He had never imagined that two of the top leaders would openly tear into each other on the spot, and those words just now—that if the Zhang Group’s proposal was too far inferior, Wang Longcheng would have to take responsibility— only piled even more pressure onto Zhang Chaoyang.

“The Zhang Group, was it?”

Commander-in-Chief Liang Huajun sat with his arms folded and spoke.

“Yes. I am Zhang Chaoyang, current chairman of the Zhang Group.”

“Good. Begin.”

Liang Huajun’s words pulled Zhang Chaoyang back to reality.

He drew in a deep breath and did not bother with any empty pleasantries.

Those words had no meaning anymore. The three assistants behind him directly opened the materials.

Then Zhang Chaoyang began introducing the Zhang Group’s plan.

The moment President Ye saw Zhang Chaoyang, he had already felt that things were going badly.

And as Zhang Chaoyang’s presentation unfolded, President Ye’s face went red, then pale, then red again.

Because the Zhang Group’s proposal was simply too strong.

In terms of innovative forging technologies alone, they possessed twice as many as his own giant corporation.

One had to know that over the years, the Ye Group had never really pursued innovation at all.

Innovation cost money and effort, and in the end, the returns might not even match the investment.

They had been living off their old achievements all along, spending their money on connections and market expansion instead.

So when it came to hard power, they had already been left far behind by the Zhang Group.

This was only obvious now because the Zhang Group had finally laid all its cards on the table today.

Otherwise, President Ye still would not have known.

Zhao Han and the other leaders of the Military Industry Department were all breaking out in cold sweat.

Many of them had known absolutely nothing about this.

The Zhang Group had been kicked out in the very first round by Zhao Han’s people.

They had had no idea whatsoever that the Zhang Group was this formidable.

Damn it, the way they looked at Zhao Han now, they wanted to devour him alive. This bastard Zhao Han had dragged them all down with him.

The complete opposite reaction came from the people of the research institute.

Commissioner Lu’s eyes were shining, and even the two professors kept nodding in praise.

This was the bearing a military-industrial-grade enterprise ought to have. Compared with the Ye Group just now, it was indeed much stronger.

There were a few areas in which it was weaker, such as scale and funding, but for a military-industrial-grade enterprise, those were not what mattered most.

The most important thing was quality.

“Commander Liang, I think this Zhang Group should be the one!”

Before anyone could even ask for opinions, Professor Tong spoke bluntly and directly, pointing at Zhang Chaoyang as he said it.

Wang Longcheng shot Professor Tong a grateful glance. The old professor was drawing the fire onto himself for his sake.

By speaking out and effectively settling the matter, Professor Tong was bound to attract a wave of resentment.

But once the research institute had spoken, their words carried extraordinary weight.

After all, they were the ones specifically responsible for resource utilization.

Once the research institute made its position clear, even Liang Huajun’s opposition would have been useless.

Not that Liang Huajun had any intention of opposing it.

“Haha, if Professor Tong says it will do, then it will certainly do! Those who agree to let the Zhang Group jointly build the military-industrial enterprise, raise your hands for a vote.”

As soon as he said that, he was the first to raise his hand.

Wang Longcheng was the second, followed closely by Liao Feng, Commissioner Lu, and the others.

Zhang Qing also had no choice but to raise his hand in agreement.

He had no choice. The situation was stronger than he was now, and there was no need to stubbornly resist.

At that moment, President Ye looked completely lost. The way he looked at Zhang Chaoyang was extremely complicated.

But the strongest thing in that gaze was still hatred.

The duck had already been cooked and was practically at his mouth.

And yet it had still flown away.

Zhang Chaoyang, meanwhile, finally let out a long breath.

He had not had a single good night’s sleep over the past two days.

And today’s danger had been beyond anything he had anticipated.

But after today, the Zhang family could be said to have truly stood up.

And judging by how strongly Zhang Qing had protected the Ye Group today, if the Ye Group had been allowed to take over the Mother Crystal, that would already have been all but certain.

When Zhang Chaoyang looked again toward his son and Li Mu, he could not help but sigh in amazement.

The matter that had left both him and the old master knotted with worry had actually been resolved just like that by these two young men running around a little.

Especially this Li Mu.

He had even dared to pull out a nail hammered deep into the military district’s board, and somehow he had actually pulled it out.

One truly had to sigh.

A newborn calf was not afraid of the tiger.