In 1978, I was admitted to Harbin Institute of Technology

Chapter 441 Rather than facing a yard full of chickens, I'd rather talk about how to switch to a TU154.

"Then what's the point of talking?"

Xie Wei was speechless. "What were Poly's leaders thinking? This is equivalent to us paying for their equipment and then helping them build the mine... Our country is short of copper, but not to the point that we need to pay out of our own pockets to help others build mines!"

He really couldn't understand it.

China has always been a copper-deficient country.

Xie Wei would never refuse the opportunity to import copper ore or copper concentrate from abroad on a large scale.

What Li Rui mentioned was also one of the top priorities when Xie Wei proposed the resource-for-weapons-equipment plan.

"It's not that they didn't consider the possibility of losing money. It's not just the military industry that's struggling right now; mining equipment manufacturing technology is outdated and they also need funds to import technology or develop new equipment... If we could get mining construction projects overseas..."

"and many more!"

Xie Wei interrupted Li Rui.

Li Rui, along with Liu Debao and Zhang Mingqiu who couldn't even get a word in edgewise, looked at Xie Wei with puzzlement.

"We provide mining equipment, and they pay us with ore?"

"No, pay with refined copper. Just like our current compensation trade..."

Li Rui explained.

"Haha~"

Xie Wei laughed in exasperation, looking at Li Rui, "Does this mean that we're not only helping to build the mine, but also having to build supporting pre-processing plants such as crushing, grinding, and enrichment, and even a preliminary smelting plant?"

He was genuinely so angry he laughed.

This plan works fine once you have the money; or it works fine in a different country.

But now I have neither money nor a partner, and they are Persian!
How can I not get angry?

Instead of doing that, it would be better to pay with crude oil, since international crude oil prices are unlikely to drop in the next few years, and may even surge for a period of time due to the Gulf War.

Shevey didn't want too much crude oil from Iraq because he was worried that the delivery wouldn't be completed before the Iraqi army invaded Kuwait.

Even with the current 1.1 million barrels of crude oil, Xie Wei is worried about how to transport it back before the war breaks out.

What about the weapons and equipment that could not be delivered?
nonexistent!

Even if it costs me my life, I have to deliver.

At the very least, we can't let most of the 15000 body bags prepared by the US go to waste, right?
Only the Republican Guard during the Gulf War could fight against the US and the Western coalition. When the US launched the second Gulf War ten years later, Saddam Hussein's massive army offered virtually no resistance. Even the Republican Guard, which received the most preferential treatment and was the most loyal, offered almost no resistance.

The situation is completely different.

"Xie Wei, didn't you always emphasize that although our country is vast and rich in resources, it has a large population and a low per capita resource availability? This is consistent with your previous proposal."

Seeing Xie Wei's grim expression, Liu Debao quickly chimed in.

In his view, this is a huge opportunity for domestic enterprises to go global and transport mineral resources that are lacking in other countries.

"Yes, as long as the cooperation is successful, we will have experience to draw on when we cooperate with foreign countries in mining development in the future."

Zhang Mingqiu also spoke up.

Xie Wei then realized that these two were the people Li Rui had sent to act as intermediaries.

"Gentlemen, the situations are different."

Xie Wei sighed, "If this is how we're going to cooperate, Poly should pay us what it owes, and we'll cooperate where we're obligated to..."

"Xie Wei, it can't be that bad, can it?"

Li Rui was surprised that Xie Wei didn't get involved at all.

What a fuss!

Can Poly support such a large business?

From mine infrastructure to various equipment, factories, and even supporting power plants, how could it be possible without an investment of several billion?
The money the military spent on selling Dongfeng-3 missiles didn't last long at all.

Otherwise, Li Rui wouldn't have come to Xie Wei, trying to persuade him to let Harbin Institute of Technology cover the equipment costs for the Blue Team through the project's testing funds.

"How could it not be? Half of Starry Sky Investment's profits have been given to you."

Xie Wei shook his head.

He will not get involved in this matter, nor will he allow the school-enterprise cooperation office to get involved.

The university-enterprise cooperation office should focus on technology transfer and supporting services, and will not invest in areas that require large amounts of capital, such as mining.

"What's the reason?"

"Persia is under Western sanctions. Meanwhile, our country officially applied to join the WTO in July 1986 and is currently in the critical stage of economic system review… Alright, my chicken soup is almost ready, I need to go take it to my wife…"

Xie Wei really didn't want to drag this matter out any longer.

"What about the negotiations?"

"If it requires investment first before payment is made with ore, we will not participate."

Xie Wei shook his head.

The school's research funding will continue to increase. It seems that the school has a large sum of money in its account. In this transaction with Iraq, gold alone accounted for 42 billion US dollars. As a result, the school has to use the profits from major exporters and the money transferred back from Hong Kong to subsidize production.

We simply can't afford to invest any more money in this, especially since the investment is several billion.

Xie Wei filled a stainless steel thermos produced by Hongguang Factory with chicken soup, and without caring how many people were there, he covered the honeycomb briquette stove and went out.

"This……"

Liu Debao looked at Li Rui with some concern, "Director Li, what do you think about this?"

"Since Xie Wei thinks it won't work, let's change the cooperation method. At least we should make them pay half in cash..."

"You don't want the gold anymore?"

Zhang Mingqiu asked eagerly.

"Gold may be valuable, but it's not money, nor is it foreign exchange."

Li Rui sighed.

He still can't understand why Xie Wei accepted Iraq's deal to exchange 280 tons of gold for equipment.

"That?"

"Let's talk when they arrive. Xie Wei is a new father, and he's probably overwhelmed these past few days."

Li Rui glanced at Zhang Mingqiu and Liu Debao.

In the end, these two guys still sided with Xie Wei.

"How did you come?"

When Xie Wei arrived at the hospital, he saw Xie Rou, who looked excited, talking to Mo Lingyu.

"My daughter was born, and I've come to thank my sister-in-law!"

Xie Rou smiled and said, "Brother, I've decided. I only want the daughter; the son is yours. The family planning policy encourages each couple to have only one child, so you can keep the son..."

Xie Wei rolled his eyes at Xie Rou, not wanting to say a word to her.

No wonder Xie Rou looked excited when I came in, while Mo Lingyu looked unhappy.

"Alright, alright, get out of the way. Your sister-in-law is exhausted from giving birth, she needs some chicken soup to help her recover..."

"Okay, I'm going to see my daughter."

Xie Rou turned around and prepared to leave.

As soon as the thermos was opened, the rich aroma of chicken soup wafted out.

Xie Rou stopped in her tracks.

"Glug~ Shouldn't we make a bowl of fermented rice wine with eggs first? And get my sister-in-law some crucian carp soup too..."

Xie Rou leaned forward and watched Xie Wei scoop chicken from the thermos for Mo Lingyu with a soup spoon, swallowing hard.

"I can't eat..."

Mo Lingyu was speechless. Who gives you a chicken dinner right after you give birth?

Anyway, she's never had a child and has no experience with postpartum care.

"You still need to eat something. Even if you're feeding the baby formula, you still need to recover."

Logically, Xie Wei should have experience.

Unfortunately, his career was at a crucial stage when his wife gave birth, and he barely saw her during her two months of confinement. He also didn't take care of her during her postpartum period.

"Brother, if my sister-in-law isn't eating, can I have a bite?"

Xie Rou watched longingly as Xie Wei used chopsticks to feed Mo Lingyu chicken.

"What are you eating?!"

Xie Wei looked at Xie Rou with annoyance, "Your sister-in-law just gave birth and needs nutrition to recover."

"I'll try it for my sister-in-law..."

Xie Rou looked at Xie Wei pitifully, but seeing that Xie Wei was unmoved, she turned to Mo Lingyu, "Sister-in-law, tell my brother, I'll taste it to see if the saltiness is right..."

"Why did you give her chicken soup? You should have given her some porridge first..."

Just as Mo Lingyu was about to speak and Xie Wei was about to criticize her, Mo Qifeng also came in carrying a thermos.

"Big sister, you've come at the perfect time..."

Xie Wei really didn't want to suffer here, so he handed the bowl of chicken to Mo Qifeng, saying, "I have some things to take care of, I'll come back later..."

"I'm fine, work is the priority."

Mo Lingyu clearly sensed Xie Wei's embarrassment.

They also knew how busy Xie Wei was with work every day.

"Don't you dare steal any food, or I'll break your legs."

Xie Wei gave Xie Rou a warning and then walked outside.

"Why is there no salt? It smells so good, what's the point of eating it without salt..."

"You can't eat too much salt during postpartum confinement, otherwise you won't produce enough milk..."

Xie Wei had just stepped outside when he heard Xie Rou complaining about the lack of salt: Xie Rou finally got to eat some.

I've just cooked up a lonely meal.

She had originally turned around to go back, but after thinking about it, she decided to forget about it, since she had Mo Qifeng, who had given birth before, to take care of her anyway.

Li Rui came to see Xie Wei, who knew that the old man was paving the way for his future. Harbin Institute of Technology's funding could no longer support the production of weapons and equipment for trade using gold or other resources, otherwise it would affect the school's scientific research projects.

We need to find a proper solution.

"Director Li, this is the current financial situation of the school. The production cost of this batch of weapons and equipment traded with Iraq alone will exceed 30 billion. In order to meet the capacity expansion, the investment required for supporting production will not be less than 30 billion..."

Ge Jianjun looked at Li Rui with a serious expression, "It's really not that Director Xie doesn't support the work."

“I didn’t say he doesn’t support work.”

Li Rui exhaled a puff of smoke and sighed, "If we can secure this project, its impact will be enormous."

"Why do you have to come to us? Poly can use its business to get loans from banks."

Ge Jianjun was puzzled.

"Several billion yuan. If it were a school loan, all the major banks wouldn't have any problems, especially after the 280 tons of gold from Iraq were brought back..."

According to Xie Wei's plan, Harbin Institute of Technology will deposit 200 tons of gold with the central bank.

With this batch of gold as collateral, no bank would refuse to grant a loan to Harbin Institute of Technology.

More importantly, Li Rui hopes that Harbin Institute of Technology's business will expand, expand, and expand again.

"Director Li, if there is a lack of funds, we can help with the guarantee."

Just as Ge Jianjun was wondering how to start the conversation, Xie Wei walked in and said, "The school-enterprise cooperation office can no longer expand its business..."

"Why?"

Li Rui looked at Xie Wei with confusion, especially after Xie Wei understood his intentions, he still refused.

"The School-Enterprise Cooperation Office is currently handling too many and too varied tasks. In a few years, the School-Enterprise Cooperation Office will transfer a number of its tasks."

"what?"

This time, not only Li Rui, but even Ge Jianjun was somewhat unable to understand.

"The purpose of establishing the university-enterprise cooperation office is to accelerate the transformation of the university's scientific research results and seek funding from the market. We cannot blindly expand in order to earn more profits. If management fails to keep up, the result will be disastrous."

Xie Wei said seriously.

"That's not the issue. Don't you think Persia is unsuitable?"

"If not Persia, there are other countries that need it. For example, Brazil, Argentina, etc... They need advanced weapons and equipment but don't have enough foreign exchange; while we don't have enough funds to produce weapons and equipment for export in exchange for resources..."

Xie Wei explained earnestly.

After hearing his explanation, Li Rui and Ge Jianjun both fell silent.

“Leader, I know you are doing this for the school’s development. As a pilot for reform, the school needs to be more cautious. The school’s current size is already starting to get out of control.”

Xie Wei reminded Li Rui not to try to bring everything to school.

At the same time, we shouldn't cram every project into the school.

In recent years, Li Rui has hardly pushed any projects onto the school, but he still hopes that Harbin Institute of Technology's business can be extended to every field.

Blind expansion means that if any area encounters a problem, all projects will be affected. In Xie Wei's previous world, there were far too many cases like this, the most typical being the one who said he would "return to China next week," and the one with a debt of 2.4 trillion...

Xie Wei will not transfer the important business of the school-enterprise cooperation office to any external party.

However, he plans to sell off businesses such as sanitary napkin factories and clothing industries when the time is right, in order to ensure that the school always has sufficient cash.

"So, your vision for the university-enterprise cooperation office isn't just about making money and commercializing research results, but about incubating industries?"

Li Rui was not surprised by Xie Wei's attitude.

Having left the school for many years, he has always paid close attention to the school's development, especially the school-enterprise office. Despite having excellent opportunities for expansion, it did not expand as wildly as other units.

"That's not all."

Ge Jianjun spoke up, "The enterprises run by universities and colleges are not only for industrial incubation, but also for promoting supporting industries..."

He was aware of this.

Many companies, when they need supporting facilities, especially when those facilities are highly profitable, will expand their own production and build their own supporting facilities rather than supporting the supporting factories.

What are the school's next steps?

"Strengthen cooperation with the Soviet Union."

……

"What a coincidence!"

When Xie Wei saw the three cages full of chickens being carried off the plane, along with baskets of eggs, he was completely stunned.

When Xie Jianguo asked about the school's future development priorities, Xie Wei subconsciously suggested increasing cooperation with the Soviet Union, which delighted Xie Jianguo.

"Xie Wei, since you have cooperation with the Soviet Union and are planning to increase cooperation, do you think you could help us get a batch of TU-154 civilian airliners?"

Qiao Zhidong asked nervously.

"What?"

Xie Wei waved his hand, trying to shoo away the chicken manure smell that was assaulting his nostrils.

"What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and call a car to bring these chickens back to the yard..."

Seeing Xie Wei in a daze, Liu Mei stepped forward, her face full of dissatisfaction, "These are for Lingyu during her postpartum period... She eats one a day for 40 days, and we still need several more..."

"Mom, even if she ate two every day during her postpartum period, let alone one, she still couldn't finish them!"

Xie Wei said speechlessly.

The cages in the yard were already too full.

Upon learning that Mo Lingyu had given birth, almost every professor and leader familiar with Xie Wei sent two or four chickens, plus a basket of eggs...

Xie Wei felt that he could run a chicken farm.

"Well, I'll talk business with Manager Qiao instead. Old Chu, Wei Yong, could you guys help me borrow a truck from Factory 122?"

Image-154?

Xie Wei is familiar with this.

It was far more relaxing and pleasant than going back to face a yard full of chickens.

(End of this chapter)