In 1978, I was admitted to Harbin Institute of Technology

Chapter 440 The Persians Wanted Copper Mines in Exchange for Missiles and Production Technology

"Director Xie, you're not joking, are you?"

Qiao Zhidong, the business manager of Sichuan Airlines, stared wide-eyed at Xie Jianguo.

Hongguang Group was a key client of Sichuan Airlines in its early days. Currently, subsidiaries of Hongguang Group account for almost a quarter of Sichuan Airlines' business volume, and sometimes even an entire flight is booked by people from Hongguang Group.

Therefore, Sichuan Airlines directly launched a charter flight service for Hongguang Group.

Xie Jianguo personally came to Qiao Zhidong to discuss charter flight business, which Qiao Zhidong welcomed.

He was also thinking of taking the opportunity to improve his relationship with Xie Jianguo.

Little did they know that Xie Jianguo had chartered a private plane, and it was to transport dozens of chickens to Northeast China.

"Do I look like I'm joking? A plane ticket from Chengdu to Beijing costs 88 yuan, and a flight from Beijing to Harbin should be about the same. We fly directly to the runway at Factory 122 over there..."

Xie Jianguo felt embarrassed, but he didn't show it on his face at all.

In Liu Mei's eyes, he was a heartless monster, but outside, he was Director Xie!

Even the mayor has to give face to Factory Director Xie!
"Besides, didn't you launch a charter flight service? As long as you pay, why do you care if it's a company or an individual? Have you raised enough money to buy a new plane?"

Xie Jianguo knew that Liu Mei's request was a bit excessive, but if he didn't meet it, his life would probably be even more difficult in the future.

Xie Jianguo had been thinking about how unlucky he was. Over the years, ever since Xie Wei went to university and he took over as factory director, he had social engagements almost every day. Even when he was drunk, he never let a woman help him. But this was the only time he did that Liu Mei caught him doing it.

For the past few days, Liu Mei hadn't even spoken to me. Now that she had finally made a request, and it wasn't anything that violated my principles, I naturally had to do it.

Otherwise, if Liu Mei went to Harbin and told her son and daughter about this, she would be utterly humiliated.

"It's not that we're unwilling to take on this business, Director Xie, but there's no precedent for private charter flights."

Qiao Zhidong looked miserable.

"With reform and opening up, everything was done by feeling for the stones to cross the river. If we needed precedents for everything, what could we accomplish?"

Xie Jianguo's face showed disdain, "If Hongguang Factory had followed your ideas, could it have grown from a small factory that couldn't even pay wages to its current state in just ten years?"

Qiao Zhidong's bitter smile deepened.

It's not that he didn't understand what Xie Jianguo was saying.

"Director Xie, our charter flight service is for companies. How about you charter this flight under the name of Hongguang Factory?"

Qiao Zhidong's eyes lit up, and he proposed a compromise: "Hongguang Factory has chartered a plane. We just need to fly to our destination. We can't interfere with who flies or what is transported, can we?"

"No way! This is a private matter, and the money should be paid by the private individual! If we use the name of Hongguang Factory, people who don't know the inside story will think that I, Xie Jianguo, am taking advantage of public funds."

Xie Jianguo rejected the proposal outright.

Given his position at Hongguang Factory, no one said anything even if he used the factory's name or its money.

Besides, Xie Jianguo was a retired employee who was rehired, so he didn't need to worry about his future. He could take advantage of the public resources as he pleased.

But Xie Jianguo never does such things—his son's starting point is the ceiling for his life, and his future is bright.

Want money?

Liu Mei's restaurant earns tens of thousands of yuan a month.

If they really wanted more money, Xie Wei could come up with any idea, and the Xie family probably wouldn't be able to spend it all in dozens of lifetimes.

"But……"

Qiao Zhidong looked troubled.

"There are no 'buts'. If you can't decide, ask other leaders at Sichuan Airlines. Otherwise, I'll contact other airlines..."

Xie Jianguo's tone turned cold, and he directly threatened, "Anyway, I need a plane tonight."

"..."

Qiao Zhidong wanted to talk to other leaders himself, but Xie Jianguo's attitude put him in a difficult position.

"By the way, Xie Wei has a good relationship with Xi'an Aircraft Industry Group's Factory 172, and his relationship with the Russians is not bad either. Harbin Institute of Technology has always cooperated with the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union doesn't have much money, so they directly exchange industrial products for a few aircraft, which may not be a difficult thing."

Qiao Zhidong's eyes suddenly lit up.

Big plane!
Commercial airliner!

Sichuan Airlines has not been established for long, but its business is growing rapidly. However, it does not have enough aircraft to open more routes.

In particular, there is a lack of large passenger aircraft capable of flying mainline routes.

With the cancellation of the Y-10 project, China can no longer produce large aircraft weighing over 100 tons capable of undertaking trunk line air transport missions.

The only way to obtain it is through import.

Importing large aircraft is not only expensive, but also requires valuable foreign exchange. Currently, China has acquired some Boeing and Airbus mainline passenger aircraft through leasing, but these are all in the hands of Air China.

Sichuan Airlines wants to obtain it, but it's unclear how long the waiting period will be.

Otherwise, they would have to find their own way to raise foreign exchange and order large passenger planes from foreign airlines.

At this moment, Xie Jianguo told Qiao Zhidong that they could use Harbin Institute of Technology's relationship with the Soviet Union to obtain Soviet civilian airliners without using foreign exchange!

How can I not get excited?

"Director Xie, is it really possible to get it from Harbin Institute of Technology?"

Qiao Zhidong's excited expression was filled with eager anticipation.

"You think I'm joking with you?"

Xie Jianguo raised an eyebrow, his face full of displeasure.

Harbin Institute of Technology did have cooperation with the Soviet Union, but Xie Jianguo was unaware of the specifics of that cooperation. In his view, Xie Wei could acquire even the Soviet Union's most advanced fighter jets; acquiring civilian airliners would be a piece of cake.
“Okay! I’ll go to Harbin Institute of Technology with you… You often organize meetings or training sessions at Harbin Institute of Technology, right? To better serve our customers, we’d like to explore flight routes first…”

At this moment, Qiao Zhidong disregarded whether his superiors agreed or not.

If they can secure the large mainline aircraft, it will be a major achievement for Sichuan Airlines as a whole.

"This……"

Xie Jianguo hesitated.

What if my son ignores me then?
But thinking of Liu Mei standing tall and straight now, Xie Jianguo couldn't care less about anything else.

"Okay. Can you leave tonight?"

"can!"

Qiao Zhidong said without hesitation.

After seeing Xie Jianguo off, Qiao Zhidong immediately went to find the relevant leaders.

Upon hearing that Harbin Institute of Technology had a channel to acquire mainline passenger planes without using foreign exchange, the leaders of Sichuan Airlines expressed their support.

"Why bother with charter flights when we're just testing the route? Chengdu and Harbin have a lot of business dealings, so we can definitely open a Chengdu-Harbin route with a stopover in the capital. This way, we can guarantee a higher load factor..."

"Yes, if we could obtain civilian airliners from the Soviet Union through the connections of Harbin Institute of Technology, without having to pay foreign exchange, we could solve our shortage of trunk airliners and open multiple trunk routes..."

"Even without Soviet mainline passenger planes, given the relationship between Harbin Institute of Technology and Factory 172, it wouldn't be a problem to get them to provide us with more Y-7s, or a batch of new aircraft developed by the Y-10 team in cooperation with Factory 172. If we can't fly directly, we can just transit. Anyway, a Y-7 flying from Chengdu to any major city in the country only requires one transit at most..."

"Oh right, Xie Wei's wife is having a baby, we can't just leave without showing our appreciation, we need to prepare a gift..."

"Yes! We have to prepare! We couldn't say anything when we didn't know, but now that we do, we definitely have to prepare. After all, we'll still need Xie Wei's help with the mainline passenger plane issue later..."

Each leader had their own considerations.

No one even considered whether Xie Jianguo was bragging.

In order to acquire the mainline passenger aircraft, even if the leaders of Sichuan Airlines had doubts in their hearts, they all pretended not to know at this moment.

Harbin Institute of Technology has connections with the Soviet Union, so we can just ask them for it when the time comes!
If it's really impossible to get Soviet mainline passenger planes, then asking Xie Wei for help to get more Y-7s from Xi'an Aircraft Industry Group is also an option.

The newly established Sichuan Airlines needs more aircraft to open more routes. If Xie Jianguo can't fulfill his own boast, then he can have his son deliver on his promise.

Therefore, Sichuan Airlines, which was newly established and had only a few aircraft, directly recalled a Y-7-100 aircraft that had just been delivered by Xi'an Aircraft Industry Group last year to carry out the "new route test flight" mission.

That evening, 34 free-range chickens and 1208 eggs from the outskirts of Chengdu were loaded into the aisle of the Y-7-100 aircraft.

"The smell is too strong. Should we put the chicken in the cargo hold instead?"

Xie Jianguo looked at the rooster and hen squawking in a cage in the middle of the empty cabin and felt somewhat embarrassed.

"Director Xie, there's no oxygen in the cargo hold... It's alright, we can clean it up later."

Qiao Zhidong had a big smile on his face.

Let alone just transporting a batch of chickens, even if Xie Jianguo wanted to transport manure from Chengdu to Harbin by plane, he would have to smile and tell him that there would be no problem, so that Xie Wei would owe him a favor.

At this moment, Xie Wei had no idea that his father had gotten him into trouble again.

Even though he had been reborn and had two children before, it was all done with the help of a postpartum nanny; he wasn't involved, especially with two children at once.

Ultimately, he was kicked out of the hospital by Bai Ling, who couldn't stand his clumsiness.

So, in order to supplement Mo Lingyu's nutrition, Xie Wei went directly to the grocery store and bought an old hen, then went home to make chicken soup for Mo Lingyu.

"Hey, I've come at just the right time! Xie Wei, your family's standard of living has always been pretty good. How about I stay at your place for a few days?"

As soon as Li Rui and Liu Debao arrived at the courtyard gate, they smelled the aroma of chicken soup.

"Looks like I'm in for a treat this noon."

"There's none for you. I'm busy right now, so go find somewhere cool to stay."

Xie Wei ignored Li Rui and his group.

"Director Li, Xie Wei is also a first-time father and doesn't have much experience, so please don't joke around with him."

Liu Debao, carrying two cans of milk powder, said to Xie Wei, "I figured you probably haven't had time to buy milk powder yet..."

"Since you've already started cooking, you can keep these chickens for now. Anyway, you have a chicken coop in your yard, and Associate Professor Mo is here, so you don't have to worry about forgetting to feed them and letting them starve..."

Zhang Mingqiu was carrying four chickens, two roosters and two hens.

He went straight to the chicken coop that Liu Mei had built when she brought the chickens over last time.

"You guys are really well-informed."

Xie Wei didn't stand on ceremony with them.

They've already brought it to my house, I can't just let them take it away, can I? Besides, those old guys don't consider themselves outsiders, they've often freeloaded off Xie Wei.

"Hey, are you all here?"

Just then, Du Guowang and Liang Hongling arrived, each carrying a few chickens and the other a basket...

"Uncle Du, Teacher Liang, what brings you here too?"

Both of them are very busy people.

Liang Hongling, in particular, now practically lives in her office, and Du Guowang is the same. The two even feel that it's a waste for the school to allocate them a villa, and that it would be a waste for them to take time to clean it.

They were all familiar with the place; the courtyard was where Du Guowang and his wife had lived for over ten years. Without any hesitation, they went straight to put the chickens in their hands into the cage.

"We only managed to buy 50 eggs today. Let Lingyu eat as many as she wants, otherwise she won't have enough to eat..."

Liang Hongling went in and placed the basket full of eggs on the kang (a heated brick bed). "It's hot now, so don't leave them out for too long, or they'll spoil..."

"Wow, it's so lively here?"

Yu Guofeng also carried four chickens into the yard.

"Hey everyone, you didn't buy up all the chickens in the market, did you? Even though you don't need coupons anymore..."

Xie Wei discovered that the chicken coop his mother had built was no longer big enough to hold all the chickens.

Suddenly, I started to worry.

"Alright, I have to go back to work..."

Du Guowang and his group arrived quickly and left quickly, without even taking a sip of water.

However, Liu Debao and his group showed no intention of leaving.

"You guys aren't really planning to freeload here, are you?"

Xie Wei looked at the group, clearly displeased.

He knew that the people who came to see him must have something to talk about.

Why can't something wait?

"I'm not going to freeload; there are some things I need to discuss before I can leave..."

Although Li Rui felt embarrassed, he didn't show it on his face at all.

"My wife just gave birth a few hours ago, nothing can wait..."

Xie Wei was speechless.

"It's not like you're the one giving birth!"

Li Rui said irritably, "The planes are almost fully modified, are you really planning to transport all the live sheep to Baghdad and Dubai?"

"Do you really intend to use the Y-8 to transport missiles over there?"

Xie Wei didn't understand Li Rui's meaning.

They transported sheep by plane, and on the return trip, they picked up some technical personnel who were going back to China, and also brought back the gold.

As for the claim that it was for transporting missiles, it was just a way of fearing that higher-ups wouldn't agree to let the Y-8 transport aircraft go to Iraq to haul gold, so they were asking for exorbitant prices.

"It's not impossible. The Persian representative will arrive in the next couple of days, the contract is fine, and they don't have much funding..."

At this moment, Xie Wei finally understood why Li Rui had to contact him right after Mo Lingyu gave birth, when he was still in a state of chaos.

"Did the military negotiate with them, or did Poly Group negotiate?"

Xie Wei asked.

"Is there a difference?"

Li Rui was stunned.

"Yes. If it's a military negotiation, we'll transfer the technical data according to the terms... If it's a Poly deal, how will the profits be divided? What will the Persians use to pay? Gold? Crude oil? Or other resources? Like copper mines, etc..."

Without a second thought, Xie Wei asked a series of questions.

Persia is rich in mineral resources, mainly because its geographical location is precisely in the middle of the most fertile section of the Tethys metallogenic belt.

The Tethys metallogenic belt refers to the gold and kryptonite belt in geology: it stretches from the Alps all the way to Southeast Asia, and the world's most important large copper, gold, zinc and lead mines are located in this geological belt.

However, the Pahlavi dynasty was already extremely wealthy thanks to crude oil, and its development of mineral resources was far less extensive than that of oil.

After Kholli ousted the Pahlavi royal family, the country was immediately sanctioned by the entire West. Unable to sell its crude oil, the country intensified its exploration efforts for various mineral resources.

However, Persia had a poor industrial base and was under sanctions, so even if it had minerals, it was difficult to obtain export opportunities.

Whether it was his original understanding or his experience doing business with the Persians in this era, Xie Wei was clear about it.

"They want to trade crude oil, or copper mines if that doesn't work, but their copper mines require us to invest in their mining..."

Li Rui spoke first.

(End of this chapter)