The Grandmother in the Siheyuan

Chapter 397 Pioneer
"A comprehensive project?"

Liu Hua smiled and nodded: "The local basic industries are poor, so you have to help them solve all these problems. The more problems you solve and the smoother things go, the more money you'll make."

Factory Director Zhou took a breath: "No wonder you can be a boss, you have a very broad vision. I feel like you mean to equip the local five small businesses with all the necessary resources?"

"Pretty much," Liu Hua joked. "As a leader among third-world countries, we have the ability and the obligation to help underdeveloped regions develop their industries."

“That’s right, that’s a perfectly plausible excuse.” Director Zhou laughed heartily. “No one can find fault with it.”

The factory manager was getting impatient; he really wanted to implement the plan as soon as possible and get rid of all the old machine tools piled up in the warehouse.

Liu Hua noticed his anxiety and reached out to pat his shoulder: "Don't worry, there's something else I want to tell you."

"what's up?"

"You guys have the advantage of being close to the water, the north is quite chaotic right now."

The factory manager nodded, still not understanding why Liu Hua mentioned the north, and looked at Liu Hua with puzzlement.

“They’re sitting on a gold mine right now,” Liu Hua said with a hint of envy. “You’re in the industry too, you know that the best machine tool base is made of stress-free material.”

The factory manager realized what was happening and said anxiously, "I think I heard that they put the cast iron blocks outside to relieve stress, and they leave them there for decades."

“That’s right, that’s what I was saying.” Liu Hua nodded in agreement: “If they keep going like this, they won’t have the mind to produce machine tools. We can’t let such a valuable tool go to waste.”

"That's right, we can buy it with money."

Liu Hua shook his head: "It's too expensive to buy with money. They lack everything now. Candy, cigarettes, alcohol, cotton cloth, cotton-padded coats, leather shoes, what can't they exchange?"

Liu Hua paused for a moment: "They also have a large number of technical engineers and skilled workers over there, which we can also poach. We do have ethnic Russians here."

"But the Russian bear's machine tool technology is not advantageous."

Liu Hua said with a strange expression, "Thirty years ago, we treasured his machine tools. Thirty years later, you're still complaining about them. Those engineers are all truly skilled, and the technicians are all capable. They're not just sitting around doing nothing. Why are you still being picky?"

The factory manager scratched his head: "Yeah, that's true, it's a bit pretentious."

Thanks to the guidance provided by Liu Hua, and because the machine tool itself wasn't particularly technologically advanced, the research and development went smoothly, and the new machine tool was launched in less than six months.

Liu Hua had them conduct research on the workers' usage habits beforehand, so the machine tool received very good feedback immediately upon use, and orders poured in like a tidal wave.

Factory Director Zhou and the chief engineer visited Liu Hua again, bringing local specialties. This time, the gifts were much more high-end, including some health products, as well as ginseng and deer antler.

Liu Hua joked that they wouldn't act until they saw results. The first time they came, they clearly had a favor to ask, so they should have indulged their homesickness. But because they weren't sure, they brought only a few mushrooms. Now that they have results, they've made such a big fuss.

“You can’t say that, Engineer Liu,” Factory Director Zhou protested. “The money we used to buy you these gifts came from our own pockets. The factory’s products sold very well this time, so we received bonuses and were able to afford these high-end items.”

"Who would believe that? Even if you used your own salary to do public relations for the factory, no one would believe you no matter how hard you try."

The two of them were so anxious that they swore oaths, and their pitiful appearance made it hard not to believe them a little.

Liu Hua finally handed over all the remaining data on the engine to Volkswagen, and Volkswagen paid him $30 million in research and development funding.

In total, Liu Hua took about 100 million yuan from the public, and all he gave up were the blueprints, the mathematically constructed models, and the simulation process conducted using Tsinghua University's supercomputer.

With near-zero costs, he made a net profit of 100 million yuan. As a law-abiding citizen, Liu Hua naturally had to pay his taxes according to the law, and his tax colleagues were stunned when they saw his tax bill.

"Comrade Liu Hua, how is it possible that you made a net profit of 100 million yuan from this deal with almost no cost?"

"Isn't there a cost involved?"

The tax officer looked at the information Liu Hua had filled out: "One hundred million US dollars in revenue, but less than one million RMB in costs. That doesn't make sense."

Liu Hua shrugged: "I just used mathematical methods to build a model for them, drew a few blueprints, and then verified it with a supercomputer. How much cost could that have been?"

The tax officials thought it was simply a fantasy; even highway robbery would probably cost more.

Even after Liu Hua left, they were still discussing it internally.

"Sister Liu, there's definitely something wrong with this deal?"

"What's the problem? I've seen people underreport their net profit, but I've never seen them overreport it."

“I suspect this money wasn’t obtained through any legitimate means. He went through a few procedures on our side, paid taxes, and then it became legal income.”

"That's not within our scope of work; that should be handled by the police."

"How about calling the police?"

"Could it be that we're overthinking it?"

"Why don't we report this to our supervisor and let them make a decision?"

So the matter was reported to the leader, who initially found it strange, but upon seeing the taxpayer's name, he realized that the money was definitely not obtained through any shady means.

However, they found it hard to believe that such a deal could yield hundreds of times the return; it was completely unexpected.

The leaders of the State Administration of Radio and Television, with a serious and responsible attitude, personally went to investigate.

After exchanging pleasantries with Liu Hua, he inquired in detail about the tax regulations, trusting that Liu Hua wouldn't lie to him.

After Liu Hua's detailed explanation, he couldn't believe it, but the funds involved could be traced. Since they were all checks, and it was Liu Hua's personal business, not a corporate transaction, it was much simpler.

The leader sighed: "That's why reading more books is so beneficial. Knowledge is wealth. How could someone who doesn't read and has no knowledge possibly have such a great opportunity?"

"You flatter me. Foreigners are foolish and rich. Since they're willing to let me make money, it would be too embarrassing for me not to."

The leader pointed at Liu Hua, smiled, and left without saying a word.

He even told this story as a joke to others, but the speaker meant no harm, while the listeners took it to heart.

The current tax system is not very sound, and it is common for business people to engage in some petty tricks. However, people like Liu Hua who pay more taxes are extremely rare, so they must be commended.

As a result, Liu Hua unexpectedly received an honorary title: Taxpayer Pioneer.

(End of this chapter)