The richest man started taking advantage of loopholes after joining Alibaba.

Xie Yu arrived the next day.

Unlike Lao Zhou, Xie Yu sent a message before he arrived.

The WeChat message read, "President Lin, I'll come over this afternoon to report on the second batch."

Lin Che replied with an "okay".

At 2 p.m. sharp, Xie Yu appeared at the office door.

He knocked twice and then pushed the door open to come in.

The black, thin down jacket still had the same cable tie for the zipper pull. Sometime during the day, the original zipper pull had fallen off, and he had replaced it with a black nylon cable tie.

After using it for a long time, the head of the cable tie has developed burrs.

He was holding a notebook, open, A4 size, covered with dense handwritten text, each line numbered.

Xie Yu's note-taking method is completely different from Fang Yuan's. Fang Yuan draws diagrams and writes code, while Xie Yu makes lists and numbers them, making them as neat as financial statements.

"sit."

Xie Yu sat down, spread his notebook on his lap, and turned to today's page.

"The second batch of four cities, as of yesterday, had a daily average exceeding 5200, a 4% increase compared to last week."

He spoke at a steady pace, neither too fast nor too slow, and pronounced each number very clearly.

This is Xie Yu's reporting style: first report the numbers, then talk about the trends, and finally draw conclusions.

"Chengdu saw the fastest growth, averaging 1800 per day, accounting for one-third of the second batch, and its growth rate was more than twice that of the other three cities."

What about Wuhan?

"Wuhan's daily average is 980, the slowest growth rate, but it's still increasing."

What about temperature control?

"99.7%, just as Lao Zhou reported. It hasn't changed in two weeks, and all four cities have met the target."

Lin Che nodded.

The temperature control data is completely consistent with what Lao Zhou said. Two people looked at the same set of data from different perspectives and arrived at the same conclusion, and that's enough.

"There's one more thing."

Xie Yu turned a page in his notebook.

On the next page, there was a passage outlined in red pen, with a date written next to it.

"Last Thursday afternoon, the person in charge in Wuhan called me."

Wuhan.

Of the four cities in the second batch, Wuhan consistently showed the lowest level of cooperation.

Previously, every step forward required urging, the approval process took the longest, and the technical liaison window was rescheduled three times. The local attitude was typically "not refusing but not enthusiastic."

Xie Yu flew to Wuhan twice for the matter, and each time he returned, his reports included phrases like "it is recommended to continue to maintain communication."

"Did you call voluntarily?"

"I took the taxi voluntarily," Xie Yu looked up at Lin Che, "to ask about the progress of the third batch."

Ask about the progress of the third batch.

The second batch was still in the verification period when Wuhan started asking about the third batch.

"How did you ask?"

"The exact words were, 'When will your third batch start? We want to prepare in advance.'"

Xie Yu's expression didn't change much when he said this, but his eyes narrowed slightly.

Having followed Lin Che for so long, he has developed a keen sensitivity to "signals".

"Their tone is completely different now," Xie Yu said. "Before, it was 'Wait a little longer,' now it's 'We're ready.'"

He glanced down at his notebook.

"It's not just Wuhan; Changsha also sent an email last week asking about the window of opportunity for the third batch of technical collaborations."

Changsha?

"Yes, Changsha wasn't very proactive before either."

The two cities that were previously the least active in contact reached out to the third batch of people in the same week.

Less than three days apart.

This is no coincidence.

"What do you think is the reason?" Lin Che asked.

"I'm not sure," Xie Yu said, closing his notebook and pressing his hands on the cover, "but the contact person in Wuhan used a certain word on the phone."

He paused for a moment.

What word?

"Strategic infrastructure."

Lin Che did not respond immediately.

Strategic infrastructure.

Since its launch, CCPS has been referred to by everyone as a "system", "platform", or "project".

The local documents describe it as a "pilot project for a city-level forecasting system," using standard administrative language.

No one ever uses the phrase "strategic infrastructure".

"Infrastructure" means long-term existence, not a pilot project or a temporary project.

"Strategic" means at the national level, not the local level.

When the two terms are put together, the CCPS's positioning changes from "something being tested in one place" to "something that the country wants to preserve for a long time."

"That's exactly what he said?"

The original quote was, "Since it has been defined as strategic infrastructure, we need to make preparations in advance."

It is defined as.

It's not "we think it is", it's "it has already been defined".

Passive voice.

Who defined it?

The person in charge in Wuhan wouldn't have invented this terminology on their own; local administrative language comes from documents from higher authorities, and the phrase "strategic infrastructure" must have a source.

Xie Yu looked at Lin Che, waiting for him to process the information.

His hand was still pressed on the notebook cover, his fingertips slightly white.

"Have you seen this wording anywhere before?" Lin Che asked.

"No," Xie Yu said. "The phrase 'strategic infrastructure' has never appeared in any internal documents, meeting minutes, approvals, or letters. I've confirmed it."

He confirmed it.

When Xie Yu said "I've confirmed it," he really meant he had looked through all the documents he could find. This person never leaves anything unsaid.

Lin Che leaned back in his chair.

Someone, in a document he couldn't see, upgraded the CCPS's designation from "pilot project" to "strategic infrastructure."

When this document reached the local authorities, their attitude changed.

The response changed from "Please wait a little longer" to "We are ready."

From indifference to initiative.

The wind direction is changing.

And the change happened faster than he expected.

Less than a week after the technical assessment report was released, the local wording had already changed.

"Xie Yu."

"exist."

Do you have a plan for the third batch?

"There's a draft, written last month, but it hasn't been updated yet."

"Update this, give it to me before the New Year."

Xie Yu nodded and wrote a line in his notebook.

"The third batch of updated plans will be submitted before the end of the year," that's what he meant when he wrote it down, but he wrote it down in more detail than he said verbally, including the deadline and delivery format.

His pen was a fine-tipped gel pen with a 0.38 nib, which produced small, dense characters, but each stroke was executed with great force, leaving marks on the paper.

"Is there anything else?"

"That's all."

Xie Yu closed his laptop, stood up, and zipped up the drawstring of his down jacket.

As he reached the door, he adjusted his notebook and tucked it under his arm.

"President Lin," he said, turning around, "'Strategic infrastructure'—this level of terminology wouldn't be something the local government made up."

Lin Che looked at him.

"I know."

The door closed.

The office fell silent.

The sky outside the window was a bit brighter than yesterday; the clouds were thinner, and a small patch of grayish-white light peeked through the gap in the clouds, shining on the glass of the office building across the street.

He picked up his phone, opened the notes app, and typed a line.

"Strategic infrastructure."

Save.

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