Training the Heavens

Chapter 135 Huge Profits
Ningwei Town, Xiaoshan County, Hangzhou, Zhejiang.

Forty-three-year-old Lu Guanqiu stared at the newly produced universal joint in front of him, his brow furrowed. "It's still substandard? What's the problem?"

Eight years ago, he read an editorial in the People's Daily titled "Transportation is the key to the development of the national economy." He concluded that China would vigorously develop its automobile industry and decided to cut other projects and focus on universal joints.

The universal joint is the connector between the transmission shaft and the drive shaft of a car. It looks like a cross. The large one is nearly one foot long, and the small one is no longer than a finger. The cross-section of the four heads is as smooth as a mirror. If 4/1 of a hair is worn off, it needs to be replaced.

At the beginning, he contracted the factory by using the seedlings worth more than 2 yuan from his own private land as collateral. Later, he expanded the scale of the enterprise by recruiting employees to invest, making this factory that originally manufactured agricultural tools bigger and bigger.

Today, he has become a figure as famous as Ma Shengli. His "Qianchao" brand universal joints are not only popular in China, but have also been recognized by the famous American General Motors and become their supplier. As a result, Lu Guanqiu was named one of the top ten news figures in the country by "Banyuetan", and countless halos have fallen on him.

But now, Lu Guanqiu is in trouble. General Motors has given him a new opportunity, but it has also put forward higher requirements for universal joints. Lu Guanqiu regards this opportunity as the hope for his own company to take off. He has spent a lot of money and manpower, hoping to overcome technical difficulties before the deadline and come up with a product that will satisfy General Motors.

Unfortunately, a lot of money was spent and the technicians were almost exhausted, but they still couldn't break through the window paper. The samples produced could never meet the requirements of General Motors.

"Director, we have thought of all possible solutions, and now there is really no better way." The technical director who led the team to solve the problem had bloodshot eyes. He had not slept for two days and two nights.

"Don't worry, you guys go to sleep quickly and talk about it after you wake up." Although Lu Guanqiu was so anxious that he was about to jump into the river, his face remained calm because he knew that the technical staff had reached their limit. It would be useless to force them further, and something bad would happen instead.

"How about we have another meeting to discuss this?" the supervisor asked hesitantly. He knew the situation and was worried about just going back to sleep.

"There's no need to rush. Only when you've rested well and your minds are clear can you come up with a solution. Looking at your current state, you must be confused, right?" Lu Guanqiu patted his shoulder. "I've asked the cafeteria to prepare dinner. Go eat quickly and then go to sleep."

Seeing him so calm, the technicians felt relieved and went to the cafeteria yawning. They were indeed exhausted.

After these people left, Lu Guanqiu squatted down, picked up the sample that had just been produced and looked at it carefully, but no matter how he looked at it, he could not find the reason why it did not meet the standards.

He watched for over an hour until his assistant came rushing over, "Director, someone's looking for you."

"Who? If it's a reporter, just say I'm not here, take him to a restaurant for a good meal, and give him some gifts, just like before." Lu Guanqiu didn't stand up. He knew the influence of reporters, but he really didn't feel like chatting with them now.

"No, it's a manager from a Shanghai company. He said he can help us solve our technical problems."

"What?" Before the assistant finished speaking, Lu Guanqiu stood up in a flash, and then his body swayed and he almost fell down. Squatting on the ground for a long time and then standing up suddenly will cause poor blood circulation, and standing up again suddenly will cause short-term anemia in the brain and cause dizziness.

The assistant quickly supported him, and once he calmed down a bit, Lu Guanqiu walked out quickly, "Where is he?"

"I invited him to your office." "Okay, notify the kitchen and ask them to prepare some delicious dishes. He is our distinguished guest and we must treat him well." Lu Guanqiu now felt like a drowning man who had grabbed a life-saving straw.

When he arrived at the office, Lu Guanqiu frowned slightly, because the person in front of him seemed to lack the unique temperament of a technician. Can such a person solve the problems facing his factory?

Although he thought so in his heart, his face was full of smiles. As soon as he came in, he stretched out his right hand and quickly greeted him, "Haha, is this Manager Gao? I'm Lu Guanqiu."

"Hello, Director Lu, I am Gao Jiawang." Gao Jiawang also stretched out his right hand and shook hands with him tightly.

"Manager Gao, you're here from Shanghai? You must have had a hard journey. Let's have a cup of tea first, and then go eat." Lu Guanqiu suppressed his anxiety, pulled Gao Jiawang to sit on the sofa, and started chatting slowly.

Gao Jiawang wanted to talk him around for a while, but after chatting for a long time, he still couldn't outlast Lu Guanqiu, so he took the initiative to explain his purpose. "I heard that your factory has encountered some difficulties in solving a new project recently. My company happens to have several related patents. I wonder if Director Lu would be interested?"

"Oh? What patent?" Lu Guanqiu immediately sat up straight.

"Our company bought the patents from the Department of Mechanical Engineering of Shanghai Jiaotong University. They said these patents are very useful for universal joints." Gao Jiawang took out a stack of papers from his briefcase and handed them to Lu Guanqiu.

"Shanghai Jiao Tong University? It's a good school." Lu Guanqiu immediately became serious. The Department of Mechanical Engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University has always been at the forefront of the country in the research in the automotive field. He also wanted to go to Jiao Tong University for advice when he encountered problems, but unfortunately the professors and experts there didn't want to pay attention to him.

He took the patent description and looked through it. After reading it, he felt that it seemed useful, but he couldn't make an accurate judgment. So he took Gao Jiawang to eat first, and then delayed the time, letting the technical director sleep for two more hours before calling him over to analyze the description.

The technical director was a little confused at first, but after receiving the instructions, he became more and more excited. After reading all the instructions, he blurted out without paying attention to Gao Jiawang's presence, "Director, if these instructions are true, then our new product has hope!"

"Are you sure?" Lu Guanqiu stood up.

"I'm absolutely sure that the first and third items are the key issues we need to solve now. I didn't expect that the teachers from Jiaotong University have already solved them. With these two technologies, I'm 80% sure that I can come up with qualified new products." The technical director said confidently.

"Okay, Manager Gao, we want these patents. Just name a price!" Lu Guanqiu made a decisive decision.

"The three technologies cost a total of 300,000 yuan. I will explain the detailed technical process to you after signing the contract." Gao Jiawang first gave a trial price.

"No problem, let's sign the contract now." Lu Guanqiu agreed without even asking for the price. He had already invested several times the money but had no results. Now he could buy it with money, which was too cost-effective. Besides, time did not allow him to waste any more.

Gao Jiawang was stunned. He had only spent 50,000 yuan to purchase the patent, but now he was selling it for 300,000 yuan. Wasn't this too much of a profit?
(End of this chapter)