The Fiery Era: Becoming an Industrial Giant

Chapter 173 Don't Exaggerate for Mr. Zhou

"Zhiqiang, I thought you were just here for a visit, I didn't expect you to talk about work for so long."

After leaving the Wu family, Chen's father pointed at Zhou Zhiqiang and said helplessly.

Let's talk about work, but why bring up research on major national engineering projects that need to be reported to Mr. Zhou?

He wasn't from the Ministry of Machine Building, so he didn't know whether he should listen or not; he was extremely uneasy at the time.

Fortunately, he was also a deputy director of the Ministry of Light Industry. Even if he wasn't from the Ministry of Machine Building, he would still be vigilant about confidentiality and would certainly not leak the information.

Otherwise, Deputy Leader Wu and Zhou Zhiqiang might have gone to the study to talk, leaving him alone in the living room to drink tea, which would have been awkward.

"You're doing better and better now, and you've even decided on your future research and development goals. If Lao Yu knew about your current situation, he would be overjoyed."

Mr. Chen said with a smile, "He used to act all high and mighty in front of us because he had the highest academic qualifications. I doubt he could be so proud of his qualifications in front of you, right?"

Zhou Zhiqiang laughed and said, "Uncle Chen, that's too much of an exaggeration. The 'university of life' is still a university. Your qualifications from the 'university of life' are much richer than mine. I'm just a technician at best."

"Haha, that's what I like about you. You're incredibly capable but never arrogant. You're much better than my stupid son."

Speaking of Chen Weiguo, Chen's father's expression became slightly more serious as he said, "Zhiqiang, Weiguo has now gone to your factory. Just don't suggest promoting him or anything just because you have a good relationship with him."

If he's capable, he can get promoted based on his own merits. Don't give him any help, otherwise he'll fall hard after he gets promoted.

Chen's father did not object to Chen Weiguo becoming a frontline police officer, but he objected to Chen Weiguo getting promoted through connections; if Zhou Zhiqiang promoted Chen Weiguo because of his connections, then he would find connections to suppress his own son.

"Uncle Chen, don't worry, I won't do that."

Zhou Zhiqiang explained, "I sought out Brother Chen because he is a conscientious person. Besides, he had already made meritorious contributions at the police station. Even without me, he should have become the deputy director."

Furthermore, I won't go into Chen Ge's other strengths, but you certainly know he's meticulous in his work, while our factory's security chief is somewhat attached to camaraderie and brotherhood.

Therefore, he was unable to effectively rectify the situation when his subordinates were taking breaks and slacking off.

After Chen Weiguo arrived, he showed no mercy in terms of patrol duties and training reforms, which greatly improved the factory's security department.

“He’s serious. He’s meticulous, but being meticulous can also be considered a virtue.”

After smiling, Mr. Chen continued, "Anyway, you're the leader in the factory, so don't give him any face."

“I know, Uncle Chen.”

After Zhou Zhiqiang finished speaking, the two continued walking towards their home.

Many of the nearby residential areas have been converted into housing for government officials' families, which has significantly improved the safety of the area, making it impossible for loitering thugs to enter.

As they approached the compound where Chen's father lived, he suddenly said, "If you are to report to Mr. Zhou, do not exaggerate anything, and do not mention anything that is not true."

"Ok?"

Zhou Zhiqiang was taken aback, then asked, "Uncle Chen, has anyone done this before?"

"There were too many of them. In the end, they all got a scolding and were demoted."

Mr. Chen shook his head and said, "If Mr. Zhou sensed something was wrong, he would have spoken up to remind you; if he didn't know something at the time, he would have silently noted it down and investigated it carefully later."

Moreover, he knows a lot; he might even know more about your factory than you do.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhiqiang exclaimed in surprise, "He knows our factory better than I do! That's too much!"

"That's no exaggeration. Think about what Mr. Zhou used to do. If your factory is a key factory, he will definitely pay attention to it."

"Mr. Zhou has some knowledge of the forty or fifty ministries and departments, and he knows a lot of data even before we report to him. If there is anything wrong, he will point it out on the spot."

I witnessed this with my own eyes; don't think I'm exaggerating, it's true.

After a pause, Mr. Chen continued, "In short, just say what you mean, and don't exaggerate or lie."
Just say what you think; don't take unnecessary detours just to get the project approved.

"Don't worry, Uncle Chen, I'm not stupid. I really want to develop CNC machine tools, not for this little bit of fame and fortune."

Zhou Zhiqiang shook his head and said that he was the deputy director of a large factory directly under a ministry when he was in his twenties. There were only a handful of such people in the whole country, and he might even be the only one in the whole country.

Having reached this level of status, what more do you need in terms of fame and fortune?
After speaking, Zhou Zhiqiang quickly took Chen's father home, where Chen Weiguo and Chen Li came out to greet him.

After settling Mr. Chen in, Zhou Zhiqiang took his leave. He was very busy and had to visit several other families that afternoon.

It was almost 7 p.m. when I got home.

After Zhou Zhiqiang pushed open the door and parked his bicycle, Guo Yuting, like a puppy, sniffed around him for a long time.

It's as if they're trying to smell something.

Zhou Zhiqiang asked curiously, "What are you smelling? What kind of smell could I possibly have on me?"

"Zhiqiang, you really didn't drink?"

Guo Yuting said with some surprise, "I thought you would have had a few drinks after meeting with your superiors today."

"Who's forcing me to drink? I'll drink if I like, and I won't if I don't. Besides, I'm a leader outside."

Zhou Zhiqiang then asked, "Is there any food left at home? I didn't eat enough earlier and I'm still a bit hungry. I was so busy chatting at the leader's house that I didn't get to eat anything good. It's a bit of a loss."

"Anything else? I'll go heat it up for you. Dad got home earlier than you today and has already finished eating and gone to his room to rest."

After Guo Yuting finished speaking, she went to the kitchen to reheat the leftovers from dinner.

Guo Linhua also heard the news of Zhou Zhiqiang's return. At this moment, he went out and waved to Zhou Zhiqiang, saying, "Zhiqiang, come to the main house to eat. The coal stove here is burning brightly and it's warm."

The main house was divided into three rooms: a living room in the middle and sleeping rooms on the left and right sides.

Now the two children live in one room. When Zhou Zhiqiang was building the house, he specifically considered the possibility of burning coal.

The modified stove is fine even if the child lives alone; there's absolutely no risk of accidents from burning charcoal.

This can be considered as training Zhou Bocai to sleep alone from a young age, but the child often runs to his parents' bed shortly after lying down.

Upon arriving at the main house, Guo Linhua poured Zhou Zhiqiang a cup of hot water and asked, "How was your day?"

"It's alright. By the way, Dad, Aunt Fang said she'd like to stay at our house for the New Year. If it's too much trouble to go back, we might need to stay overnight. Can we tidy up a room in our house?"

"It's not very safe to go back too late after dinner."

Zhou Zhiqiang brought up this matter to ask Guo Linhua for advice.

He used to figure things out on his own, but now that Lao Guo is at home, he's the head of the household.

"We definitely need to stay here, since we're in-laws. But where should we stay?"

Guo Linhua's first thought was the front yard, but he immediately dismissed the idea; it wouldn't be good for such close in-laws to live in the front yard and freeze.

“Chenghua will sleep with us tonight. Bocai, you and your husband can take care of them. Clean up their room.” Guo Linhua said, “Your renovation is quite good. This room even has a door. It’s enough for guests to stay in, and it’s warm too.”

“Okay, I’ll ride my bike to pick her up tomorrow morning. Otherwise, it’s a bit inconvenient for Aunt Fang to take care of two kids. She also said she wanted to bring some things over.”

"We have everything we need, no need to be so polite."

"That's what they say, but actually not letting them bring them makes Aunt Fang a little embarrassed."

"Too."

Guo Linhua and Zhou Zhiqiang chatted casually, while the two children in the inner room were peeking out, even though they couldn't understand what the two adults were saying.

Zhou Zhiqiang glanced back and felt that his son and nephew got along quite well.

That's normal, though. The two children didn't encounter many peers growing up, and they had plenty of toys at home, so neither of them had a habit of being domineering or possessive.

They met and shared their games, and soon they were all together, which made things easier for the adults.

At this moment, Guo Yuting also brought over the heated food: two steamed buns, some stir-fried dishes, and two plates of pickled vegetables.

Zhou Zhiqiang picked up the steamed bun and began to eat.

Guo Linhua, who was standing nearby, saw that Zhou Zhiqiang had finished two steamed buns in a short time and asked in surprise, "Zhiqiang, you didn't eat anything over there?"

Zhou Zhiqiang shook his head and said, "We were all talking about business, so I ate less. Later, I came back because it was getting late."

Guo Yuting laughed and said, "Dad, Zhiqiang probably ate a lot. He can be full from two steamed buns, or even five."

"Being able to eat is a blessing. Zhiqiang sometimes does the work of a skilled worker, so it's good that he eats more."

After Guo Linhua finished speaking, she looked at her daughter and instructed her, "You work in an office, so you don't expend much physical energy. Make sure to prioritize the food supplies for Zhiqiang and the children at home."

"dad?"

Guo Yuting was furious after hearing this. She got up, snorted, and went back to her room. Why did she feel like her own parents had turned into her in-laws?
After the meal, Guo Linhua asked Zhou Zhiqiang about his plans for next year.

Zhou Zhiqiang didn't hide anything and told his father-in-law about his decision to develop CNC machine tools.

Even if it takes two years to develop a mature CNC machine tool that can be put into production, they can take a big step forward in the machine tool industry and become a machine tool powerhouse.

These days, only Aramco and a few other countries have made significant progress in CNC machine tools; other countries haven't even started yet.

Our product development is still in its early stages, and we haven't even started exporting it yet.

There is still a chance to catch up, and Zhou Zhiqiang feels that with him around, as long as they start to catch up, they will definitely not fall behind.

Ultimately, it will surpass and completely crush the development of CNC machine tools in other countries.

If he were just an ordinary college student, he certainly wouldn't dare to have such arrogant ideas.

But Zhou Zhiqiang is special; if he wants to do it, the technology will definitely not be a problem for him.

After listening, Guo Linhua was somewhat moved. Just a few years ago, he was the one teaching Qianjin's students, but now the development has been so rapid that he can no longer understand the things they are researching.

However, Guo Linhua knew that his son-in-law must be very hardworking, as his study contained twice as many books on various subjects.

In addition, there were four broken pens and various machine tool R&D drafts.

Guo Linhua returned home early today and carefully reviewed everything in the study. Just by looking at the books and manuscripts left by Zhou Zhiqiang after he worked from home, one could tell how hard he worked.

His daughter is so lucky; she found a treasure. The Guo family is also very fortunate.

------

"Aunt Fang, let's go."

Zhou Zhiqiang arrived at the cadre family compound early in the morning and said to Fang Mengjie and the others, "Let Jingyu and Xunnan ride in my car. I modified the basket on this bike."

To make shopping easier, Zhou Zhiqiang had the bicycle basket reinforced.

It can hold 60 or 70 kilograms of grain without any problem, let alone a child.

"I want to ride on my older brother's bicycle." "Me too."

The two children argued and came to Zhou Zhiqiang's bicycle. Zhou Zhiqiang then lifted them onto the bicycle, one in each hand, and placed them on it.

After Fang Mengjie came out carrying the things, she said with a smile, "Thank you for your trouble, Zhiqiang."

"It's alright. But you brought too much stuff."

Fang Mengjie said, "We still have some at home, and we're going to stay with you for two days, so there's not much."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a lot of gifts and subsidies to the families of these overseas officials.

This is to ensure that cadres stationed abroad have no worries about their families.

After getting ready, Zhou Zhiqiang rode his bicycle away, but he hadn't ridden for long when he ran into Chen Li and her mother, who were just leaving home.

Zhou Zhiqiang greeted them, "Auntie, Chen Li, are you going out?"

Chen's mother smiled and said, "Yes, we're going out to buy some things. What are you doing here?"

Fang Mengjie explained, "Zhiqiang's parents-in-law came back this year, so I took the children to visit their in-laws."

"Oh, then Mengjie, you guys go quickly, don't delay us."

"Okay, let's go first."

They all live in the same neighborhood and are already quite familiar with each other. They don't mind getting together during the few days of the Lunar New Year; they often chat together afterward when they have nothing else to do.

After Zhou Zhiqiang and his group rode away, Chen's mother looked at her daughter beside her, pinched her playfully, and said...
"Everyone's gone, what are you still looking at? Hurry up and go buy some things, otherwise our family won't even have dumplings to eat."

Chen's mother said angrily, "Neither of you siblings gives me any peace of mind."

the other side.

Zhou Zhiqiang and Fang Mengjie soon rode to Nanluoguxiang.

After getting the two children out of the car, Yu Jingyu and Yu Xunnan ran inside. They felt that the courtyard was like a treasure trove, where they could explore many wonderful things.

When Fang Mengjie entered the house carrying her things, she was warmly welcomed by Guo Linhua and Mei Xiuxue.

After all, he was the in-law of their son-in-law, and since Yu Zhongguo hadn't come, they focused all their attention on Fang Mengjie.

As for the Zhou family, Guo Linhua knew several years ago that the Zhou family always bullied him, a student, and even went so far as to block the school gate and demand subsidies for college students.

Therefore, he never liked the Zhou family. Even after Zhou Zhiqiang married his daughter, Guo Linhua still didn't treat them well.

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(End of this chapter)