Chapter 23: A Platoon Leader Arrived

  The working efficiency of the rotary tiller is about 8-10 acres per hour, and it takes a week to plow 700 acres of land even if it works for 10 hours a day. Therefore, Xiao Dongping cannot stay in Hongze waiting for the results of the experiment. Hua Guoying promised that as soon as there are results, she will notify him and Lin Anbao in time. As for whether Xiao Dongping or Lin Anbao will invite guests in the end, it is not a matter of concern to Hua Guoying. He only needs to bring his belly to serve as a witness when the time comes.

  Xiao Dongping was secretly pleased when he tricked Lin Anbao into racing with him. But as he boarded the long-distance bus leaving Hongze, he began to feel a little anxious and uncertain whether Qin Hai's skills were reliable or if Leng Yueming had misjudged him. What if he lost this race? Where would he find the money to treat Lin Anbao to drinks then?

  As soon as he returned to Pingyuan, Xiao Dongping was busy looking for Leng Yuming, wanting to confirm the quality of the blade again. As a result, when he arrived at the technical department, he found that Leng Yuming was sitting opposite Xiang Jiyong, each with a cigarette, silent and speechless.

  "What's going on with you two?" Xiao Dongping asked in surprise.

  "Lao Xiao is back, how's the situation with the agricultural materials company?" asked Xiang Jiyong.

  Xiao Dongping briefly explained the situation, of course omitting the part about making a bet and treating to wine. He only said that the agricultural materials company agreed to test the blade, and if it was qualified, they would naturally accept all of them.

  "The quality of the blade is no problem, you can rest assured." Leng Yuming said, "I had the laboratory retest it again today, and all performance indicators exceeded the domestic industry standards."

  "This makes me feel at ease, haha, Lin Anbao from the agricultural materials company is done for this time, he'll have to treat me to a drink obediently." Xiao Dongping said with great pleasure.

  Xiang Ji Yong, however, couldn't feel Xiao Dongping's joy at all. He lowered his head and said, "The technical problem has been solved, but what about the production problem? 20,000 pieces of blades need to be welded once, and they must be put on automatic fixtures. Without automatic fixtures, relying solely on a few heat treatment workers, it will take until the end of time."

  Xiao Dongping put away his smile and said, "As for the automatic chuck, I remember Qin Hai also mentioned it to Lao Leng before. It doesn't seem to be a big deal, we can do it ourselves."

  Leng Yueming said, "That's right, the design of this automatic chuck is very simple, I can call the technical department to draw a design drawing immediately. But if Wei Baolin doesn't nod his head, what can we do?"

  " Wei Baolin?" Xiao Dongping knew where the problem lay, "How, did you guys find him today?"

  Xiang Ji Yong forcefully pressed the cigarette butt into the ashtray, grinding it into a pile of powder, and then said with hatred: "Damn it, I had a big fight with him today."

  "What's going on?" Xiao Dongping asked in shock.

  Xiang Jiyong said, "It's all because of those experiments that Lao Leng and the others did yesterday. The materials consumed during processing in the casting workshop cost over 400 yuan. I took it to Wei Baolin for signature, but this bastard refused to sign."

  "Why?" asked Xiao Dongping.

  Xiang Ji Yong said: "He said that now the goal of Qingfeng Factory has been set, which is to switch to producing washing machines and put down all the farm tools. Our experiment on knife blade welding technology at this time is against the factory's big goal and cannot be allowed."

  "What kind of logic is this? If the experiment succeeds, we can revive 20,000 blades and sell them all out to recover 40,000 to 50,000 yuan. What's a few hundred yuan in experimental costs compared to that?" Xiao Dongping said irritably.

  Xiang Jiyong said, "I see it now. Wei Baolin is angry that we didn't consult with him. The day before yesterday he announced the switch to producing washing machines, but yesterday we went to work on a new process for razor blades. He thinks we're intentionally undermining his plans."

  "What then?" asked Xiao Dongping.

  Xiang Ji Yong said: "I argued with him from the factory director's office to the corridor, and later he was probably also afraid of making a big deal out of it, so he signed for me and said it wouldn't be an example. I told him to develop automatic clamps, and he immediately expressed his opposition, saying that such uncertain things cannot be invested in again."

  "How can we not be confident? Wait a week, wait for Hua Guoying to finish the test on her side, and the agricultural materials company will know that our product quality is excellent. At that time, they will resume accepting our blades. If Lao Leng's judgment is correct, then selling these 20,000 blades will be a sure thing."

  "My judgment is definitely correct." Leng Yuming hastened to declare.

  Xiang Jiyong said, "Before seeing the results, Wei Baolin won't listen to our explanations. Now we can only wait for Old Xiao to resolve the sales channel of the blade as soon as possible. At that time, I'll risk offending Wei Baolin to death and make him sign the contract for the automatic clip."

  "What's going on here?!" Xiao Dongping sighed.

  The section chiefs' worries, Ning Mo couldn't understand. From early morning on, he kept staring at the sun, calculating how much longer it would take for the sun to set. He didn't have a watch himself, and there was only one mechanical clock in the workshop, which was placed in Miao Funan's office, so naturally Ning Mo couldn't keep going to check the time, and could only rely on the sun to tell the time.

  "Master, you said it's almost 11 o'clock now, right?" Ning Mo asked his master while doing his work absent-mindedly.

  Ning Mo's master, Fu Linsheng, was an honest and down-to-earth middle-aged worker. Upon hearing Ning Mo's question, he replied disdainfully: "Fatty, you're hungry again? It's only just 9 o'clock at most, and you're already thinking about going to eat lunch?"

  "It's only 9 o'clock now?" Ning Mo said sorrowfully, "Why is time passing so slowly today."

  It was a struggle to get through the day, but as soon as the bell rang signaling the end of work, Ning Mo sprang to life like a mechanical rabbit wound up with a spring.

  "Qin Hai, Qin Hai, hurry up!" he shouted loudly at Qin Hai.

  Qin Hai was discussing the improvement of welding process with Peng Jingen and others, when he heard Ning Mo's shout, he turned back and smiled, saying: "Fatty, what's the hurry? I still have some things to discuss with Master Peng and the others."

  "Have you forgotten what we agreed on?" Ning Mo hinted to him with a raised eyebrow, and of course, he couldn't mention the specific matter in front of so many people.

  "Don't worry, I haven't forgotten."

  He said that, then turned his head to say to Peng Jinggen and others: "Okay, Master Peng, Master Liu, let's stop here for today. You should also get off work. The ideas we discussed today, I'll summarize them later and report to Director Leng, so you don't have to worry about it."

  "Alright, Xiao Qin, we'll leave these things to you." Peng Jingen and the others replied, after yesterday's collaboration, these middle-aged workers all admired Qin Hai, and their tone was much more polite, treating Qin Hai as a technical authority.

  Watching Peng Jinggen and others leave, Ning Mo quickly walked to Qin Hai's front, lowering his voice said: "Qin Hai, you really have a lot of patience, we agreed with Manchu's nephew, he must have arrived by now."

  Qin Hai smiled and said: "Let him wait for a while when he arrives, what's the hurry?"

  Ning Mo said: "Qin Hai, people are spending money here, can you keep them waiting?"

  "Fatso, that's where you're wrong. The calmer we are, the more it shows we have confidence, and when it comes to discussing prices, we'll be in a better position. On the other hand, if we're too anxious, the other side will know our bottom line and will try to lower our price."

  "You're right too." Ning Mo patted his head, "Yes, I didn't think it through as thoroughly as you did. So when do we go according to your plan?"

  "Now it's time to go, and we can't keep others waiting for too long." Qin Hai said.

  Ning Mo appeared to accept Qin Hai's advice on the surface, but was still very anxious in her heart. Seeing that Qin Hai had agreed to leave, she quickly pulled him to find Yu Haitao and Miao Lei. The two of them were also ready early, and after meeting up with Ning Mo and Qin Hai, the four of them rode three bicycles, carrying various items they had processed the day before, heading towards Zhang Lao San's ironwork shop.

  When they arrived at the blacksmith's shop, Qin Hai and others found that Zhang Lao San and Man Kun were already waiting there. With them was a young soldier wearing a military uniform, standing aside with a faint air of arrogance on his face.

  "You've arrived, Man Ge and his nephew have been waiting for you for a while." Zhang Lao San walked up to Qin Hai and the others with a smile.

  Qin Hai jumped down from the back seat of Yu Haitao's bicycle, apologetically saying: "Oh dear, I'm really sorry. We were already off work, but our workshop director had a small meeting with us, which delayed us for a while. Sorry to keep you all waiting, it's really embarrassing."

  "Has your dad called a meeting for you guys?" Yu Haitao asked Miao Kui in a low voice.

  Miao Wei said in a softer voice: "Haitao, remember that from now on, when Qin Hai says something, you have to discount it by half before believing it. I'm convinced, this guy doesn't even need a draft when he tells lies."

  "Has Master Qin arrived? The farm tools you made are really good, many people in our village asked me where I bought them." Man Mu also came up and warmly greeted Qin Hai.

  "Sorry to keep you waiting, Uncle Man Ge. By the way, is this young fellow your nephew?" Qin Hai asked, pointing to the young soldier beside him.

  Manchu hurriedly nodded and said, "That's right, he is the eldest in my cousin's family, named Ge Dongyan, and serves as a squad leader in the army. He heard me say that Master Qin you are good at quenching fire, so he wants to ask for your help to make a good knife."

  Qin Hai nodded and walked up to the young soldier named Ge Dongyan, sizing him up before saying: "You're Lieutenant Ge, I've heard you want a good sword?"