The golden age began in 1977

Chapter 302 100 points, comprehensive and thorough, high school and early middle school
Director Gao's late-night talk with Qian Jin was just the first step.

The next day, Director Wang, Yang Dagang, and Wei Xiaobo returned home, while Qian Jin was left behind alone.

He met with several key leaders of powerful departments, and even received a reception from a leader he usually only saw in newspapers and on television.

These leaders met with him primarily to assess his abilities and insights, and to see if he, at such a young age, could shoulder the heavy responsibility of the Approval Committee for Imported Technology and Equipment Projects.

But when talking about these things, Qian Jin was no longer sleepy.

When it comes to foreign-related business and trade, he is now truly an expert.

The main reason is that he understands the nature of foreign companies all too well, a skill that other leaders lack.

So he spoke eloquently, believing he had completely fooled the leaders.

He thought that his excellent performance would be the end of it, but he was kept behind for another day. Director Gao told him directly that the leaders intended to conduct a small-scale assessment test on him!

Qian Jin understood. The leaders were probably worried that he was like Zhao Kuo, only good at theoretical discussions, so they would probably have to put him to a practical test.

This gave him a momentary chill.

It seems he's gotten too cocky lately!

We should keep a low profile.

This is a lesson.

The mentality of a poor person suddenly becoming rich is unacceptable!
March 5th, the day of Jingzhe (Awakening of Insects).

Spring is coming.

However, March in the capital is still cold and dry.

Qian Jin got up very early and ate a fried dough stick, a zongzi (sticky rice dumpling), two eggs, and a large bowl of eight-treasure porridge.

When Director Gao, who came to pick him up, saw this, he reminded him, "Eat more, you'd better eat more."

Qian Jin laughed heartily: "Boss, I'm eating just right now. Look, one fried dough stick and two eggs, 100 points!"

Director Gao was even more impressed with him because he was relaxed and could still joke around. He asked with interest, "I know what you're talking about, but what about this bowl of eight-treasure porridge? What's the story behind it? Oh, and there's a zongzi (sticky rice dumpling) too."

Qian Jin thought for a moment and said, "Well, eight-treasure porridge contains all kinds of grains, right? And it's porridge, so I can get the good luck of having a complete and delicious meal."

"As for the zongzi—it's just that I saw that the red dates inside were quite big, and I wanted to eat some."

Director Gao had been taking him to meet leaders of various departments these past few days and had already gotten to know his humor and generosity, so when he heard his explanation, he burst out laughing: "Well, well, Xiao Qian, you're quite a superstitious person. I'll have to write that into your file."

These days, feudal superstition is a mountain that can crush people.

But Qian Jin didn't care. He had a good relationship with Director Gao and knew that the other party was joking.

So he continued jokingly, "Hey, boss, you've misunderstood me. If I were really superstitious, I'd have to stand on a stool or even on the roof to eat these zongzi."

Director Gao asked with interest, "And what's the explanation for that?"

Qian Jin shrugged: "Eating zongzi at a high place means you'll be in high school!"

He thought for a moment and said, "No, even if I eat it sitting down, it's the same. Boss, look, there's a jujube in here. What's this called? Jujube Zongzi, good morning!"

Director Gao patted him on the shoulder, his eyes crinkling with laughter: "Well done, Xiao Qian, you're quick-witted and open-minded. Hmm, I think you're born to deal with foreigners!"

"Let's go, we can't keep the boss waiting. But I still have a piece of advice for you: you should eat more!"

This assessment took place in an office within the Ministry of Foreign Trade building.

The Ministry of Foreign Trade building is an old building. The corridors of this type of building are tall and imposing, with the lower half of the walls painted dark green and the upper half covered with yellowish white plaster that has accumulated over the years.

The pedestrians inside had serious expressions and hurried steps, quite different from the working atmosphere of various government agencies in Haibin City.

Upon entering his office, Qian Jin's first thought was that he was back in the Zurich courtroom.

The heavy, dark green corduroy curtains were drawn tight, blocking out the gray sky of the capital in early spring.

A tablecloth covered the long conference table, and several white enamel mugs with the words "State-owned Eighth Enamel Factory" printed on them were placed on the table, along with two very thick document bags.

After they entered the office, seven or eight leaders soon followed.

Most of them were people Qian Jin had met a couple of days ago, but there were also strangers.

Director Gao, also known as Gao Yi, introduced him to officials from the foreign trade, industry, commerce, and planning departments.

They also brought two relatively young cadres with them, one holding a pen and a notebook, and the other sitting behind a typewriter.

Clearly, these two people were in charge of recording the exam results.

This situation was more realistic than Qian Jin had anticipated.

"Comrade Qian Jin, please have a seat," said a section chief surnamed Shi first.

He pointed to the lone armchair across the table and said, "Let's get straight to the point, no more pretense or vague talk. I've invited you here today not for a formal appointment meeting."

"Today's arrangements are the result of research by various ministries and commissions. In order to adapt to the heavy responsibilities of the new positions, and also to assess the learning and preparation of you cadres, this is a business capability assessment meeting."

He paused, then gestured to the capable-looking cadre beside him: "Director Zhang, shall we begin?"

Director Zhang nodded.

He stood up expressionlessly, walked around the table to Qian Jin's side, and opened the two brown paper bags on the table.

A thick document was placed in front of Qian Jin, which included a project report and some accompanying books.

For example, Qian Jin casually flipped through several translated editions of the magazine "World Steel".

“Comrade Qian Jin,” Director Shi stared intently at him, “there are two documents here.”

"One is the preliminary feasibility report on the proposed 'East German VEB Saxony Heavy Machinery Plant Joint Rolling Mill Production Line Project' to be introduced by Tianjin Iron and Steel Plant. Of course, this is a draft."

"The other document is a draft of a cooperation plan for a canned food factory in the Pearl River Delta region of southern China to introduce a new automated production line for vacuum sealing and high-temperature sterilization of canned food from Thames Food Equipment Company of the United Kingdom."

He spoke those two sentences quite quickly; I wonder if he wanted to test Qian Jin's ability to process them.

Qian Jin doesn't care about this or that; he's already opened the documents and started looking at them.

Each document had a name on it, but it was in English. He glanced at it, understood it, and nodded.

Director Shi continued, "Okay, then you have a morning to study these two drafts."

"We'd like to hear your initial professional assessment after you've read this, or to put it more directly, can you understand the data and descriptions here? Can you see the underlying principles?"

"If you can understand it, based on your understanding and international perspective, do you think there are any major flaws in introducing these two projects now? What risks are involved?"

"Don't worry, you can speak your mind freely, no matter what you see. This is not a perfunctory briefing, but a real preliminary hearing."

An industrial leader added, "But Comrade Qian Jin, you must watch carefully when you are watching."

"Both of these projects are key local projects, especially the Tianjin steel rolling line, which is related to the technological upgrading of the steel industry. Everyone is keeping a close eye on it."

“The Pearl River Delta region has made great strides in reform and opening up, and this project was also registered by the province. Your opinion can be of some reference value to the decision-making process.”

Other leaders also expressed their opinions.

It means the same thing.

Let's all increase this kid's strength.

They were all experts in this area, and their statements made the air in the room seem to freeze.

The leaders not only exerted pressure with words, but their eyes and expressions also conveyed a mixture of expectation and tension, creating an invisible pressure net around Qian Jin.

Qian Jin didn't even glance at them.

His gaze fell on the two thick stacks of materials. They were not new materials; the ink marks on them were rough and blurry, indicating that someone had rubbed them with their hands while flipping through them. Furthermore, some key page edges must have also been worn with dark fingerprints from repeated handling.

then.

Are both of these drafts?
That would be great!
However, he had some doubts about this.

He knew about both projects; he had seen them in "Thirty Years"!
However, he didn't pay attention to when these two projects started, since they were none of his business. He just glanced at them briefly.

The only ones who made it into "Thirty Years" were lessons from failure. If today's test data was randomly shown to him, wouldn't that be too much of a coincidence?

Therefore, he estimated that these two projects must have run into problems and were deliberately put out to test him.

Then he started to show off, reaching out to open the "Pre-feasibility Report (Draft) of the Tianjin Steel Plant VEB Saxony Joint Rolling Mill Introduction Project" and quickly flipping through it.

For a moment, the office was so quiet that the only sound was the rustling of papers turning.

Several leaders, who neither smoked nor drank tea, all stared at him.

Qian Jin read very quickly. After a quick glance, he began to study it carefully again. This time, he focused on a few pages and kept looking through the allocated reference books, such as "World Steel" and "Metal Trade Dynamics".

He would sometimes furrow his brow, sometimes tap a parameter lightly with his finger, and sometimes quickly flip back to verify a certain data.

His gaze was unusually focused, as if he wanted to etch every letter and every number on that rough paper into his mind.

Finally, the leaders couldn't resist any longer and lit cigarettes, puffing away.

Time flowed slowly in the wisps of smoke from cigarettes that burned out and were then relit.

Qian Jin's demeanor wasn't acting; he was genuinely racking his brains to recall the issues surrounding the two projects.

I've thought of some of it, but not clearly enough.

It's okay, he has a way to solve it.

After spending more than an hour on the Tianjin report, he didn't pause. He immediately picked up another document, "Cooperation Plan for Thames New Canned Food Production Line of a Cannery in the Pearl River Delta (Revised Edition)," and this time he flipped through it even faster.

After looking through the documents for a while, he said he needed to go to the toilet.

This wasn't the college entrance exam venue after all. The leaders had already learned from Gao Yi that Qian Jin had drunk quite a bit that morning, so they let him go to the toilet by himself.

The toilets in ministerial-level units are naturally not dry toilets or open squat toilets. The toilets here all have cubicles. He went in, sat down, took out the gold box from around his neck, took out box number two, put the material purchase and sales certificate on it, and bought the books directly.

really.

Both of these projects were introduced in 79, and problems should have been discovered by now.

What he saw was not a draft at all; it was all a test.

After sitting in the restroom for ten minutes, he put away his book and quickly returned to the conference room to continue his furrowed brows as he studied.

Another hour passed, and Qian Jin closed the report on the Pearl River Delta and gently pushed it to the center of the table.

At this moment, Gao Yi couldn't help but say, "Comrade Qian Jin, you don't need to work on both documents at the same time. You have to eat one bite at a time."

Qian Jin raised his head and smiled, "I first focused on reading the Tianjin report, and then compared and studied the two reports. This way, we can exchange information and it's easier to discover problems."

"So you've finished reading it?" Director Shi calmly flicked his cigarette ash.

"finish watching."

"Then?" Director Zhang pressed.

Qian Jin pointed to the words "VEB Saxony" on the cover of the report from Tianjin:
"The Tianjin steel rolling line project has significant risks of technical fraud and inflated pricing. If we negotiate and sign the agreement according to this plan and introduce the project, the day it is completed will be the day we suffer huge foreign exchange losses and the equipment will be unable to reach full production capacity!"

"In my judgment, the introduction of this project has resulted in a complete failure, and it is best to stop it immediately!"

"What?!" A leader from the industrial sector exclaimed in surprise, "Comrade Qian Jin, you can't say things like that, you..."

Gao Yi nodded to him, and the leader frowned and sat down.

Director Zhang said in a deep voice, "Don't rush, let Comrade Qian Jin finish speaking. What are your reasons?"

The leaders' expressions turned serious, their eyes fixed on Qian Jin.

Qian Jin began to speak, his pace steady and his tone full of confidence:
"There are three core flaws in the reasoning, which are either not included in this feasibility report or have been deliberately obscured."

He flipped directly to a page in the middle of the report, where several dimensions on the rough blueprint miniature were circled in red pen:
"First, the core fraud lies in the fact that the technical parameters are seriously inconsistent with the actual capabilities."

"I noticed that the report emphasized that the maximum rolling thickness of this production line reaches 100mm and the nominal rolling speed is 600 meters per minute. These figures are impressive and represent the most advanced technology in the world at that time. I saw them in the fourth issue of World Steel magazine in 1979, but I remember them very clearly. This is not the model of the rolling mill we introduced."

"It's very simple. The rolling mill we imported is the SMC-80/LK. The suffix LK indicates that it is a special export model. The fourth issue of 'World Steel' in 1979 was a September issue. In other words, the internationally advanced technology that was published in the September 1979 issue could be exported to us a few months later?"

Qian Jin couldn't help but laugh: "We must never forget what the leader said: Imperialism will never give up its desire to destroy us!"

“I believe they have such machines and such advanced technology, but you think they will transfer them to us? I don’t believe it.”

"Furthermore, the true maximum capabilities of this equipment are documented in the Western European Equipment Review section of the magazine. I've checked it out..."

He showed a page of the magazine with annotations:

"The test data represents peak values ​​occasionally achieved under ideal temperature control in a specific laboratory. The rated maximum thickness indicated on the equipment nameplate is only 85mm, and the maximum continuous and stable rolling speed is 450 meters per minute!"

"What does this mean? Leaders, they're showing us the highest data, which is like baiting a fish; they don't intend to do real business with us!"

"Moreover, the core component of this LK-suffix equipment package, the hydraulic servo system for the rolling mill, uses internationally advanced intelligent control technology—that's interesting. This report's description is too vague, isn't it?"

“Then I traced this back and found that they were using the outdated third-generation analog electronic control system. So the so-called performance parameter table provided by West Germany was obviously not what it seemed.”

"What is this called? Director Gao should understand that in international trade, this is blatant fraud regarding technical specifications!"

Gao Yi nodded to the leaders.

Director Shi took a puff of his cigarette and waved his hand: "Go on, go on." "Second," Qian Jin's finger traced the densely packed list of equipment and materials in the appendix of the report.

"The German offer listed 480 million West German marks for a single SMC main rolling mill. On the surface, this price appears to be the market price for the SMC type, but the problem is that the market currently assumes that the SMC is the 90 type. What they are selling is not an SMC-90 main rolling mill, but an SMC-80 type!"

"Also, the book 'Metal Trade Dynamics' is very important. It reports on the trade situation of rolling mills, explaining the supporting civil engineering foundation requirements, energy consumption, and the supply of key precision spare parts."

"Then here's the problem: the patent rights for this machine are exclusively held by West Germany. What happens if the machine breaks down later? Where do we buy the parts? Do we buy them from the factory?"

"But the terms only stipulate a price for the machine; they can charge exorbitant prices for subsequent parts..."

He flipped to the back pages of the report and pointed to a line of small print, "And here, it only vaguely says 'to be negotiated separately according to general business rules,' which is where the groundwork for exorbitant extortion later lies!"

"The negotiation proposal played a huge trick in its pricing structure, reserving high, unavoidable costs as bargaining chips—this is price fraud!"

"I don't even need to look further or continue searching for loopholes. Based on the above two points—falsification and misrepresentation of core technical parameters, and deliberately ambiguous and trap-like pricing structure—this project is 120% doomed to fail!"

"Therefore, I suggest immediately terminating the preliminary negotiations and reassessing the situation!"

After the last sentence was spoken, the conference room fell silent.

Director Shi stared intently at Qian Jin, his gaze so sharp it seemed to pierce him. He took out a new cigarette, lit it, and his facial muscles were taut amidst the swirling smoke.

Director Zhang quickly flipped through the copy of the report in front of him, sighing and shaking his head as he read.

Director Shi remained silent for a moment, then spoke quietly to the typist.

The typist typed rapidly.

He didn't type when Qian Jin was speaking, meaning he wasn't there to record what Qian Jin was saying.

After a full minute, Director Gao spoke: "Comrade Qian Jin, is your evidence sourced clearly? Do you dare to take full responsibility for what you just said?"

"I'm willing to take responsibility for every single word!" Qian Jin answered decisively. "Give me the time and enough information, and I can immediately retrieve and confirm the relevant references, including their names, issues, and page numbers!"

"We are too uninformed about the true situation of Western European equipment. We must spend money to send people to establish a relevant archive in the future!"

Director Shi's eyes sharpened further. He stubbed out his cigarette and said, "Fine, you've nailed the coffin lid shut on this Tianjin project."

"Then continue. Tell me more about the Pearl River Delta Cannery project. Tell me everything you have to say. I want to see if it's feasible."

The young cadre in charge of taking notes nervously started a new page in his notebook and heavily underlined a new heading.

Qian Jin smiled and said, "Please give me a little more time, leaders. I haven't finished reading this document yet."

He lowered his head and continued flipping through the documents.

This time it was short, less than an hour. He looked up and said:
"The cooperation plan of the Pearl River Delta Cannery has a more direct and fatal flaw than the one in Tianjin. In fact, it uses a common trap in international trade."

"Whether the equipment and machines it provides are fine or not, I am not an expert in this area, and I lack the information to verify, so I dare not make any rash judgments."

"The problem lies in the contract; it's a typical 'core technology barrier binding + market lock-in' type of contract that slowly strangles us!"

He stopped flipping through the report, as if he already knew the terms by heart:

"The core of the solution is the introduction of the 'new fully automatic vacuum sealing and high-temperature sterilization integrated equipment' from Thames Food Equipment Company of the UK."

"This equipment sounds advanced, right? But please note a few key points: First, the core sterilization technology uses Thames' exclusive 'micro-pressure oscillation heat flow circulation system'."

"The name sounds fancy, but in reality, it's not the mainstream high-temperature steam sterilization technology used internationally. Instead, it combines a pressure control device developed by Thames itself with extremely high patent barriers—they've already explained this in the contract, so even though I'm not an expert, I know that."

Qian Jin paused, then looked around at everyone:

"The problem lies here: Annex II of the contract, the 'Technology Transfer Clause,' clearly stipulates that all equipment maintenance, debugging, and key parameter adjustments during the cooperation period—including vacuum level, sterilization temperature and pressure curve, cycle time, etc.—must be completed by engineers dispatched by Thames Company."

"Any attempt by a Chinese engineer to independently operate or research this 'core patented technology' will be considered an infringement of Thames' intellectual property rights!"

"During the contract period and even for five years after its expiration, the key technical operational data obtained by us shall not be used for independent research and development or improvement of any similar equipment! This is a blatant black box of technology!"

His voice rose a few decibels as he said this:
"The list of accessories for this 'new' equipment clearly states that it uses its dedicated stainless steel inner liner packaging tank, model 'TNC-V7', while the report casually notes that 'the equipment is suitable for conventional national standard tank types.'"

"But this is absolutely misleading!"

"Their so-called national standard compatibility must be based on replacing the core conveyor track clamps and heat-sealing head modules, but this contract only mentions that 'some modules can be compatible as appropriate,' and the replacement cost is not included in the quotation at all!"

"More importantly, the most ruthless clause is hidden in Annex Five of the contract, the 'Memorandum of Understanding on the Supply of Raw Materials and Packaging Materials'—in order to ensure the 'optimal performance and safety' of the equipment, 85% of the annual consumption by the Chinese side must be purchased from Thames Company's designated special material thin-film printed iron cans that are 'perfectly matched' to its equipment!"

"The designated supplier is a local English company. If you ask me, this company is probably wholly owned by Thames itself. In other words, the profits are still in their own hands."

"Then there's the issue of parts prices, which Thames claims will 'adjust reasonably based on fluctuations in the international market.' That's shameless! How can they adjust prices? What kind of situation would be considered reasonable?"

Gao Yi asked, "But you also said that the equipment itself should be fine, so if we import the equipment..."

Qian Jin immediately shook his head:

"This isn't importing equipment; it's clearly putting shackles on ourselves."

"The first shackle is the black box of core technology. If we rely on Thames for lifelong maintenance, we will lose our technological autonomy."

"Secondly, they can firmly bind our valuable export canned food production capacity to their exclusive special packaging materials."

"Based on my understanding of imperialist capitalists, the so-called exclusive rights are just a way to set high prices and to exploit us. This is the same as the situation in Tianjin when they introduced the rolling mill."

"And the English are even more ruthless than the Germans in this regard. Steel profits are high, while the canned food industry has low profits, with the bulk of the cost being in packaging."

"At that time, they will use their so-called 'advanced equipment' to eventually steal the lion's share of the export profits that our country has worked so hard to earn!"

"This model has had a bloody lesson in Southeast Asia a few years ago. Some factories in Malaysia and Bangladesh were drained dry by Western equipment giants and eventually went bankrupt."

Director Zhang asked instinctively, "You know that?"

Qian Jin said, "I often contact overseas Chinese and ask them to help me collect the latest information on companies involved in transnational cooperation. This is like feeling my way across the river."

"That's a good idea." Director Shi lit another cigarette and asked Qian Jin, "Would you like one?"

Qian Jin waved his hand: "I don't smoke because my wife doesn't like the smell of smoke on my breath."

Everyone laughed.

One leader joked with him: "Hey, Director Qian, you're a high-ranking official who once commanded an international trade war, and you still end up with henpecked husbandry?"

Qian Jin said, "No, that's not it. My wife is gentle and kind, and I love her very much, which is why I respect and cherish her."

"Yes, respecting and cherishing your wife is the right thing to do, and valuing your family is the right thing to do," Director Shi nodded approvingly.

Gao Yi brought the topic back:
"You mean this canning equipment project is essentially a bloodsucker contract for consumables? Failure is inevitable?"

"Yes!" Qian Jin answered without hesitation.

He took the report, flipped through it a few times, and pointed to a set of figures that were highlighted: "Look, the report predicts a 'three-and-a-half-year payback period for the project investment,' which is based on the premise that the overall cost of canned food production will decrease by 20% after the introduction of equipment."

"But it says that the premise for calculating the cost reduction is that we can freely purchase low-cost domestic standard tanks."

"The problem is that the contract already stipulates that they can't use our low-cost canned goods at all. If they keep using our exorbitantly priced special cans, how can we reduce costs? I think the cost will skyrocket by at least 30%!"

"Recover the investment in three and a half years? Dream on! Not only will it not be recovered, but the long-term dependence on consumables will saddle the factory with heavy debt and eventually drag it down!"

"This is a classic example of a slow, suicidal collaboration that uses equipment as bait and consumables as a chain!"

A leader from the Ministry of Industry slammed his hand on the table in frustration and muttered, "How could this happen?"

Qian Jin said, "This is one of the oldest and most efficient ways for international equipment giants to plunder the late-developing market. Canneries only look at the 'advanced' appearance of the equipment and the 'preferential' initial price, and have zero vigilance against long-term bundling traps. This is unacceptable."

"I dare say that the day the project started was the beginning of this factory's slow bleeding."

"Therefore, I strongly suggest that we immediately terminate the cooperation negotiations. At the very least, we must completely revise the contract terms, removing the exclusive consumable binding and technical operation restrictions. Otherwise, it would be better not to introduce it at all!"

This time, the leaders remained silent for an even longer period.

Director Zhang took off his glasses and rubbed his face vigorously.

Despite the freezing weather, his face was covered in oily sweat.

He tried to speak several times but then kept quiet. Finally, he asked Qian Jin, "Is there any way to remedy this?"

Qian Jin looked at him strangely: "I already said, stop it now..."

"If we've already imported their equipment, is there any way to remedy the situation?" Director Zhang asked awkwardly.

Qian Jin thought for a moment and revealed a strange smile: "Yes, but they are professionals in international trade, so there's no way to make up for it by taking the right path. They can only resort to crooked tricks."

"It depends on the cost you're willing to pay. If you want a permanent solution, then you should amend the contract..."

"How can we change this?" Director Zhang shook his head anxiously. "They also have an original copy of the contract."

Qian Jin winked at him: "Contracts are static, but people are dynamic."

"Investigate everyone who has access to the contracts, then find the one who is most desperate for money or has the worst morals, and recruit him as a corporate spy..."

The leaders were dumbfounded.

However, this was one of the main tactics used in business battles between major international companies before the advent of electronic backups.

Director Shi chuckled awkwardly, "Will this work?"

Qian Jin waved his hand dismissively, as if wielding a knife: "Why bother with the rules of the martial world when we're dealing with these scoundrels? Since they're so unrighteous, we'll be just as unrighteous!"

Director Gao shook his head: "It's not that simple. A contract requires both a signature and a seal. What's the point of replacing it with a contract that's favorable to us?"

Qian Jin said, "Boss, you've misunderstood. I didn't mean to switch the contract. I'm going to make up another contract openly and honestly."

"As I said before, a seal is inanimate, but a person is alive. As long as a person is alive, they will make mistakes. For example, they might sign the wrong document because they are confused, or they might sign something while drunk, or you could exploit their weakness to force them to sign something."

"Where there's a will, there's a way..."

The leaders exchanged glances.

When they looked at Qian Jin again, they subconsciously sat up straighter.

Gao Yi, Director Zhang, and others lowered their heads and began to look at the documents in their hands.

Director Shi silently took out his cigarette case, wanting to have another one.

The cigarette pack was empty.

He irritably crumpled the empty cigarette pack into a ball and threw it on the ground, then looked up and saw Qian Jin's face:
"The iron gate's purpose has been proven in blood today."

He sighed, somewhat annoyed: "Oh, if only I had done it sooner—well, it's not too late now."

Qian Jin tidied up the two documents and put them back in their proper places.

Director Zhang sadly drew back the curtains.

The dim midday sun streamed in, illuminating the swirling dust particles in the air.

He stood by the window for a moment, seemingly trying to calm some turbulent thoughts.

After two or three minutes, he turned around, looked at Qian Jin with a complicated expression, and then spoke to the others: "Comrades, we've all seen Comrade Qian Jin's abilities. How about we let him take a look at the planning documents we've recently collected?"

"In your eyes, these two import plans are doomed?" Director Gao asked first.

Qian Jin said, "Yes, these two import projects cannot proceed unless they are drastically revised and overhauled."

Director Gao nodded and looked at Section Chief Shi.

Director Shi said, "I admire Comrade Qian Jin's judgment and professional insight. Director Zhang is right. We can let him take a look at these new plans."

"Of course, let's eat first."

It was already noon.

The Foreign Trade Department has a canteen, and the food is pretty good. Today for lunch, we had fried rice with eggs or dumplings, and also a dish of stewed cabbage with glass noodles.

Qian Jin ate dumplings. The cabbage dumplings had some minced meat inside, and they tasted pretty good.

After finishing their meal, they returned to their original office. Gao Yi brought over a stack of folders labeled "Pending Review." Qian Jin took them out; inside were more than a dozen documents of varying thickness.

Good guy.

This is truly treating oneself like a beast of burden.

Gao Yi was very kind to him, asking with concern, "Do you still have the energy to take a look?"

"These are preliminary intention materials just submitted by several other regions. They haven't formed a complete plan yet, and they're not very detailed. You could say they're still just 'ideas'."

"So if you have the energy, take a look and see if there are any that you can spot as huge pits at a glance? If there are, then let's study them together."

Qian Jin silently accepted the stack of new documents. Each document contained a project planning report and some preliminary investigation data.

He took a look.

It's not easy to spot the problems, because, as Gao Yi said, everything is a preliminary letter of intent, mostly a brief report summary, a memorandum of understanding, or an overview document provided by the foreign company.

This made him speed up the flipping through the pages, hoping to find some problems.

Suddenly, the only sound in the conference room was the rustling of papers turning over, much lighter than before, yet even more captivating.

Director Shi bought another pack of cigarettes. He lit one, and amidst the swirling smoke, his gaze was complex as he kept staring at Qian Jin's hand movements.

Then, Qian Jin's fingers, which were moving, stopped.

(End of this chapter)