The next day, the entire R&D center was immersed in an ocean of joy. The autumn sunlight was crystal clear, streaming through the large glass windows of the laboratory under Engineer Tan’s supervision, illuminating the clusters of heads inside. Engineer Sun kept saying he could finally quit smoking, and he did keep touching the cigarette pack in his pocket over and over, forcing himself not to take it out. However, two key figures were absent – both Engineer Tan and Liu Jun were still fast asleep, partly because they hadn’t yet sobered up from last night’s drinking, and partly because they had finally breathed a huge sigh of relief, able to put down their heavy burden and sleep peacefully without worries.
Liu Jun didn’t get up until lunchtime. After a solid night’s sleep, he felt refreshed and clear-headed. He took out his phone and switched the ringer back on, seeing countless missed calls and text messages. He flipped through the messages while eating. When he saw Cui Bingbing’s message “I’ll support you,” Liu Jun had to think for a moment to remember under what circumstances she had sent this message last night. In less than twenty-four hours, it was already a completely different world – the path had opened up where there seemed to be no way forward, making one unable to help but feel deeply moved. His wife was truly good to him.
Among the missed calls was one from Song Yunhui’s mobile phone, made at 7:50 AM, showing he had called as soon as he got to work. So urgent – could it be that Liang Sishen had said something when she went back last night? But starting from last night, Liu Jun had felt confident and full of conviction, so he called back without needing any mental preparation.
Song Yunhui’s secretary answered the phone. Besides recording the return call, the secretary chatted with Liu Jun for a while. Recently, the maintenance subsidiary company had, following Mr. Song’s instructions, conducted a usage survey of the group’s equipment during the maintenance off-season. Through feedback collection from various workshop level by levels, summary comparison of maintenance records over the years, and horizontal comparison of similar products’ performance in different usage locations, they had obtained a very detailed and scientific usage report. The results were basically as everyone expected – foreign brand-name products received high comprehensive scores, but there were also some surprising results, namely the emergence of private enterprise products as dark horses in terms of quality. As a large state-owned enterprise, there had always been a general impression that private enterprises were makeshift operations, and their products were only used when necessary. But with the proliferation of private enterprises in recent years, and because of the attractive prices of private enterprise products, they had to frequently purchase private enterprise products. However, to protect themselves, they had established many risk-avoidance systems, and in practice, often avoided using private enterprise products when they had other choices. This survey could be said to have taught everyone a lesson. For example, Tengfei’s quality rating was not inferior to many well-known foreign brands, but its price advantage was much greater. At the company’s summary meeting, it was proposed that this survey had identified a clear cost control point, and all departments needed to immediately make corresponding layout adjustments based on this survey, effectively tap potential, reduce costs, and use scientific management artistry to improve profit margins. The secretary laughingly told Liu Jun that the opportunity had come for private enterprises like Tengfei.
Liu Jun was very interested in this survey, not just because he wanted to understand the detailed scoring of his products, but because he very much wanted to understand Donghai’s detailed survey framework. Which enterprise didn’t list cost control as the top priority in daily management work? If there were a way, probably few bosses who hoped for their enterprises’ long-term stability would always think of cutting employee wages or increasing overtime hours. Who wouldn’t aspire to obtain returns through scientific and artistic management? The secretary promised to fax Liu Jun the detailed materials.
Liu Jun finally took a deep breath and said: “Although the Donghai No. 1 segment R&D project I’m working on hasn’t produced final results yet, and I shouldn’t be so impetuous and rash, I’m too happy. Starting from last night, the segment R&D I’ve undertaken is now just a matter of time. Please inform Mr. Song that he doesn’t need to worry about this segment anymore.”
The secretary was greatly surprised to hear this, and in his joy, couldn’t help but reveal some inside information to Liu Jun. It turned out that Mr. Song was under tremendous pressure because of the Donghai No. 1 localization project. Because the Donghai No. 1 localization project had a long construction period, unclear prospects, yet required a huge investment, even far exceeding the price of importing complete sets of top foreign equipment, there were quite a few rumors up and down the hierarchy. Some said Mr. Song was overly ambitious, others said he was fishing in troubled waters, and still others said he was unwilling to go to Beijing to be a phoenix tail, so he was using the Donghai No. 1 project as a shield. In short, there were plenty of strange and sarcastic comments. Moreover, because the localization of Donghai No. 1 would damage the interests of certain foreign companies, those foreign companies’ Chinese agents had been very active during this period. Unfortunately, some of those agents had strong backgrounds, and some were people who had left high positions in the system. Their activities were direct and effective, causing great psychological pressure on Mr. Song. The situation Mr. Song currently faced was either succeed or die. Therefore, every successful progress report from a segment R&D project was the best news in the world. The secretary believed that Mr. Song would be very happy to hear this good news.
Liu Jun was dumbfounded. He had originally thought that he suffered more because of his private enterprise status, but he didn’t expect that every family had its difficult scripture to recite, and behind Song Yunhui’s perpetually calm demeanor was the ability to bear heavy burdens as if they were light. He suddenly realized that whenever he encountered difficulties, he would seek help everywhere and get tangled up in all sorts of ways, which seemed very shallow.
Almost as soon as he hung up the phone with Song Yunhui’s secretary, Shen Huadong’s call came rushing in. Shen Huadong immediately complained that either no one answered the mobile phone all morning, or it couldn’t get through. Liu Jun shamelessly said, “Hey, I was drinking heavily last night and sleeping in. I just woke up. Life is beautiful.”
“Wow, that’s rare. It looks like you have time today. Then help me look at some materials. I’ve already sent them to your email. We’re preparing to acquire a technology. The preliminary demonstration has come to an end. Before making the final decision, I hope to get your opinion. I’ve also sent our opinions as attachments. Please help me look at them together.”
“Wait a moment, let me see.” While Shen Huadong was speaking, Liu Jun moved his computer mouse to switch the page to email and quickly downloaded two attachments, opening them to see the content. “Why not invest funds to develop it yourself? The large sum you’re spending on buying this technology would be enough for you to complete this technology. Your research personnel should have this capability.”
“Independent R&D! It’s not like I don’t know about independent R&D, but if I were to develop this big project you’re looking at, it would have a long cycle, large investment, and whether results could be achieved in the end would be as difficult as winning a lottery. Whether there would still be a market when results came out after several years would be as unpredictable as gambling. Besides, with your example shaking around beside me every day, I’d better save myself some worry and go with an introduction and absorption. At least the economic benefits are better than yours. Don’t be angry, I studied economics. I don’t have technological pursuits – I have no choice but to take this lower strategy.”
“Damn, I’ve become your negative example. What a world. Let me tell you, we succeeded last night…”
“I still say the same thing: how much did you invest, how much profit can you get, when will the product be pirated? Finally, let me ask you, how are the economic benefits?”
Liu Jun was silenced by these questions. So many years of R&D work, so many years of intellectual property encounters, and Tengfei’s growth model advocating independent R&D – comparing today’s achievements with other enterprises, looking at everything comprehensively, outsiders see clearly. Who had the right to deny Shen Huadong’s choice? After all, everyone was not a state-funded research institution but an enterprise, especially a private enterprise. What other choice could you expect the boss to make in the current social environment?
Fortunately, Liu Jun had a fellow traveler, and this fellow traveler happened to be his idol. His idol Song Yunhui soon called, asking in detail about last night’s progress and how many days it would take to produce a finished product in the future, and whether it might be possible to transform simulation into a finished product before Donghai’s spring overhaul next year and put it on Donghai’s existing production line for trial operation.
Liu Jun answered confidently: “At our laboratory’s speed, we can transform it into a finished product in just two months. My current urgent priority is to apply for patents.”
“To be safe, you should keep the good news hidden for a few days. It’s best to first settle the contract signed with Mr. An and obtain written materials for contract termination, just in case. Of course, patent application-related work can be started first within a small scope. These few days are very critical – you can’t make a single wrong step.”
Liu Jun felt enlightened upon hearing this and repeatedly agreed.
“Originally, I was looking for you this morning, planning to consolidate the second half of this year and next year’s supply orders and package a big contract for you. Donghai’s contracts are considered hard currency in this city, so you could take them to the bank to open an account. Now it seems unnecessary, so I’ll just notify you to ship whenever needed…”
“No, Mr. Song, I want it, I need it. The next step of transforming into a finished product will require consuming many parts and doing a lot of trial runs. It’s still a big investment. I was just worrying about this. Thank you, Mr. Song, for this timely help – thank you very, very much. When should I go to Donghai to sign?”
“Come over next Wednesday. I’ll give you a list then, including companies nationwide and in Southeast Asia that need something similar to Donghai No. 1. You can start running around energetically. Your small enterprise has the advantages of being small – your advantage lies in being small but capable, able to turn around quickly. You must develop your advantages. This market is not small. Take care of yourself.”
Conversations with Song Yunhui were always brief and to the point, hardly requiring facial expression muscles. One sentence was one sentence, like reading a chart. Liu Jun always had to savor it thoroughly after the call ended before showing joy or worry on his face, because the conversation was so compressed that there was no time to taste the flavor during the call. But upon reflection, Liu Jun found that Song Yunhui’s words didn’t seem to reveal excessive excitement. He couldn’t help touching his forehead – the kind of wild behavior he had shown last night, drinking and singing karaoke with colleagues, Song Yunhui probably could never do in his entire life. What a pity.
The phone call with Song Yunhui, lasting less than ten minutes, determined Liu Jun’s work arrangements for the remaining part of the year. Liu Jun had to think about his work style – why was he always so busy, why could others bear heavy burdens as if they were light?
The contract with the Northeast was easily settled. The other party felt guilty themselves, and the person in charge didn’t even come to meet Liu Jun. Even company employees told Liu Jun that the new boss rarely came to the company and mostly entrusted the new general manager to manage things. Liu Jun just listened without speaking, took the written contract termination document, and hurried home. Upon returning, he still dared not make any announcement, quietly starting to apply for patents and quietly building prototypes. The contract Song Yunhui gave indeed went smoothly at the bank, and he successfully obtained large acceptance bills for Liu Jun. With the help of these bills, Tengfei and Tengda finally escaped their tight financial situation and could operate at full capacity.
The weather was getting colder, but the R&D center’s atmosphere was full and enthusiastic. Even the newly joined Liang Sishen was infected by the temperature here. Her clothing became increasingly simple, and gradually she even took off her contact lenses, wearing rimless glasses and combing her hair into a ponytail to come to work. The mother of two children looked like a female college student, doing computational assistance in Engineer Tan’s group. Cui Bingbing was extremely envious and pestered Liang Sishen for beauty and skincare secrets. When Liang Sishen taught her without reservation, she immediately wilted. Coming back to tell Liu Jun, she felt this wasn’t ordinary beauty care – she was playing chemistry on her face, studying advanced chemistry thoroughly for skincare. No wonder she, a liberal arts student, always protected the wrong areas. Liu Jun applied to study advanced chemistry for his wife. Cui Bingbing hastily refused, afraid that if her rather masculine husband got into makeup, he would follow the trend of male makeup artists. She would rather continue groping around in confusion with her sallow complexion. She thought becoming a yellow-faced woman before her husband aged was a very dangerous thing.
But finally, one day, a crisis arrived. A female friend reported to Cui Bingbing that she had seen Liu Jun drinking coffee with a young woman yesterday somewhere, talking and laughing happily – it looked like the disgusting scene of a middle-aged creepy uncle picking up a student girl. Cui Bingbing flew into a rage and interrogated Liu Jun when she got home. Liu Jun thought back and confessed that it was Jia Li – Jia Li had given him money yesterday. Cui Bingbing had a false alarm, but her raised heart was difficult to calm for a while. She was very puzzled in her heart – what kind of feeling was it for a woman to trust a man of the same age who was neither relative nor friend so much? Was this normal? When Cui Bingbing had questions, she asked them directly, not being polite at all, and not willing to swallow her anger and wrong herself.
Liu Jun was also very strange in his heart: “Even if I were Hongming’s blood brother, Jia Li shouldn’t trust me so much. But since she trusts me so much now, I naturally cannot let her down. It seems Hongming’s business hasn’t been going well recently – the household money he brings home has decreased. This month, Jia Li only gave me five thousand.”
Cui Bingbing thought for a moment and said, “In the future, just take the money and leave. Why drink coffee and chat? Doing this will make you commit mistakes.”
“Think about where you said this coffee shop is – isn’t it right outside their residential complex? I was too embarrassed to go to their home alone, so I asked her to come out to the coffee shop downstairs to meet. I can’t arrange to meet Jia Li at a wall corner, then she hands me a package of money, I tuck it in my chest, and leave. What would this sneaky behavior look like?”
Cui Bingbing laughed when she heard this, and the matter was dropped. “Real estate has been a bit sluggish these days. The mortgage loans our bank has processed have also decreased. I’m worried about how to complete the task in these two months. I estimate Hongming’s funds are tight. I suspect a large part of his loans are lent to people doing real estate-related business. It doesn’t matter. At year-end, banks exhaust their lending quotas in the first half of the year and have no money to lend in the second half. All companies that rely on loans to maintain expenses are tight. A temporary downturn is very normal. You don’t need to worry about your brother. Maybe these days are when his lending business is most booming, causing him to lend out even his own family’s money.”
“By the way, I heard that a real estate boss went bankrupt? Could this be related to the recent real estate difficulties?”
“Oh, that one. It’s been in trouble for a long time. It was only covered up and blocked by people above, which is why it just came out recently. That company gambled away everything. I heard it was good friends with Yang Xun, too, often going to Macau to gamble together. In these years, I’ve only heard of new real estate companies opening, but this is the first time I’ve heard of a real estate company going bankrupt. Gamblers – which one doesn’t lose in the end? I’ve already heard of several people gambling away their companies. It’s all because they’ve burned too much money in recent years.”
“No, no, sometimes going to casinos is just for relaxation. You should think of it like women going shopping – both are ways of spending money.” Liu Jun couldn’t help thinking that he almost went to the casino too, and it was Yang Xun who pulled him back. If he had entered the casino back then and become addicted to gambling, what then?
“How is it the same? It’s also because our country’s cultural foundation is too thin. When a bunch of people get rich, they don’t know how to spend money or have fun. After thinking it over, in the end, it’s still gambling, prostitution, and drugs. Unlike you and Dongdong’s group, you have plenty of places to spend money and only worry about not having enough. And Sister Liang, too. Qian Hongming doesn’t know how to enjoy himself either. Despite looking fashionable, he’s still a country bumpkin inside. The key is lacking confidence – he relies entirely on brand names to get the feeling that ‘daddy is rich.’ Sigh, do you particularly want to know if Yang Xun will also gamble away his family fortune?”
“I used to think about it, but not anymore. Speaking of having money, we also have surplus grain this year. Should I buy you a sports car like Sister Liang’s? You’ve been driving that Passat for several years – it should have been replaced long ago.”
“No, no, no, I don’t want a sports car. Sister Liang’s car is easy to drive fast, but hard to drive slow, but driving fast would kill me. I need to buy something crash-resistant, with a high body, or maybe…”
“Land Rover? Hummer? With your skill level, parking those cars would be nearly an impossible task.”
Cui Bingbing smiled slyly and sheepishly: “Anyway, you decide. You have to find me something that’s both compact and crash-resistant and stylish and fierce…”
“Comrade, do you still remember the momentum formula from high school physics? MV – mass times velocity. During a collision, momentum is conserved. Where am I supposed to find you a car that’s small in mass but crash-resistant?”
Speak of the devil – Qian Hongming called Liu Jun, asking if he could come up with five million in cash. “Just twenty days, turning over capital and then returning it, very stable. It’s an old big client. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be calling around helping him solve this. I don’t want him to disconnect from me after contacting others. Liu Jun, please help me out. Just twenty days, not one day more. This person’s credit has always been good, and five million isn’t too much for him.”
Liu Jun didn’t think much about it: “Okay, but I can only give you three million. You’ll have to figure out the rest yourself.”
“OK, helping me solve the big part is enough. That’s settled then. I’ll come to your door tomorrow to get the money. Ask A’San how to get three million in cash – can’t write checks. Legal entities can’t lend to each other, so checks can’t be processed. I still need to make several calls to find money. I must solve this five million for my friend tonight. So many people have been asking me for loans these days – I’m really at my wits’ end.”
Indeed, as Cui Bingbing said, funds were generally tight at year-end. Cui Bingbing naturally showed off a bit after hearing this. However, Cui Bingbing blamed Liu Jun for lending money without asking questions first, and lending three million at once. Liu Jun laughed: “With Hongming, I should have at least three million worth of credit. If I could come up with it, I would lend him five million tomorrow. Don’t worry. When Hongming lent to me before, it was always when my future was most uncertain. Hongming never frowned when helping me. We’re friends.”
“His line of work has high risks, unlike you with your big temple and many assets. Forget it, three million is three million. Who told me to be a virtuous wife and good mother? The money Qian Hongming makes – I can’t calculate it carefully for him. If I calculate it, I’d turn green with envy and vomit blood.”
Qian Hongming indeed kept his word. Twenty days later, he returned the three million yuan to Liu Jun intact, plus gave a large sum of interest, saying he was just handling it, and since it was Liu Jun’s money, all the interest would go to Liu Jun. When Liu Jun saw the interest amount, he was shocked. This was only twenty days, only three million. He immediately had an impulse to sell everything and scrape together another sum of money to give to Qian Hongming for lending. This money was too easy to make – much better than his daily hard work managing the factory.
Qian Hongming laughed when he saw this: “If you have abundant funds in the future, you can put them with me and I’ll lend them out for you. Many state-owned enterprises with abundant funds do this.”
“I… must restrain myself, restrain myself.”