Start with a blacksmith shop.

Chapter 97 Price

What does it feel like to fly? He knew.

But what does it feel like to pilot a plane into the sky? He really didn't know.

He was sitting inside the plane, replicating Lieutenant Wang's pre-takeoff procedures.

All the procedures were correct, and the initial phase went very smoothly.

Just as the plane was taxiing to a point where it could take off, he pulled up the control stick by hand.

The nose of the plane was at an angle to the ground, and a dozen seconds later he realized something was wrong.

The tail of the plane touched the ground, and the high-speed taxiing of the tail generated a large number of sparks.

Realizing something was wrong, I immediately tried to reset the control stick, but it was too late; the plane was moving too fast.

The tail of the aircraft was rubbing against the ground, while the nose was still adjusting towards a higher angle.

Finally, under his control, the plane went out of control.

On the ground, the plane was like skipping stones on water; after a few skips, it lost its balance.

The plane tilted to one side, its wingtips touching the ground, followed by a series of reactions...

The wing didn't last long before it broke off, and this time, the engine propellers were cutting through the ground at high speed.

Soon one of the engines caught fire, the wing broke off, and the spilled fuel exploded in the air.

All of this happened so quickly, in less than ten seconds, that there was simply no time to react.

He had just unbuckled his seatbelt when the shockwave from the fuel explosion shattered the cabin windows.

Then a burst of fire rushed in through the window, and he was engulfed by the flames.

"Holy crap, it's over, Barbie Q has turned into a whole roasted lamb."

After he finished speaking, he smelled a barbecue aroma, but he couldn't tell whether it smelled good or not.

Anyway, I can't recall it seriously, it makes me feel nauseous.

Then, in that feeling, everything in the virtual laboratory returned to its initial state.

When he stood in the laboratory again, he still felt a pang of fear.

"Damn, being burned to death feels awful!"

After that incident, he lost interest in playing the game for a while.

Just as he was lying in bed experiencing a brush with death, the members of the Hongdu Factory Committee arrived at the meeting room.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Gu Changkong spoke first.

"The reason I've called everyone here today is to discuss our airship project."

As everyone probably knows, the spaceship has been lacking engines.

Recently, Chief Engineer Yan found two suitable engines manufactured by a domestic company.

Now let's discuss whether to use this company's engine, or whether we should buy a Hanscat engine.

These leaders who attended the meeting were all newly appointed after the previous leadership was ousted, and they were ambitious.

They could be considered the hawks among aviation professionals; they would rather drag things out than grovel to earn money.

Now that everyone knows there's a company in China that can supply engines, they all have the same thought.

They'd wholeheartedly support it as long as the price isn't outrageous.

"Chairman, I'd like to ask, is this engine entirely domestically produced?"

Gu Changkong nodded and replied, "Yes, it's completely domestically produced and has full independent intellectual property rights."

"How are the parameters?"

Gu Changkong's secretary walked in with some documents in his hands and handed a copy to everyone present.

Everyone looked at the data, and their faces were filled with excitement.

Based on the data obtained from the tests, it is indeed a good motivation.

"Chairman, let me state my position first: as long as the engine supply can be guaranteed..."

If the quality is guaranteed and the price isn't too high, then what reason do we have not to buy this engine!

Several other leaders chimed in, and when it came time to vote by raising their hands, they all did.

"Then let's set a price. The designer of this engine never mentioned money to us throughout the entire process."

While we can't say they're helping us for free, we also can't let them look down on us.

We'll buy it at the normal purchase price; we shouldn't be greedy for a little bit of savings.

"The opportunities to make money will come later if we cooperate."

Another vote by show of hands has begun. These leaders don't care much about money; they are the kind of people who want to get things done.

They may be corrupted later, but at this moment they still retain a certain purity.

The engine prices have been set: 1.2 million yuan per engine for the 120L model and 110 million yuan per engine for the 1.8L model.

This price was set by Hongdu Factory according to normal prices, and of course it is still cheaper than buying internationally.

With the price set and the engine approved, the aircraft can be considered a successful development.

They should also create some buzz and promote the plane.

Gu Changkong thought that since they were signing a contract with the engine company, why not hold a press conference?

He brought it up at the meeting before everyone had left.

"I suddenly had an idea: our aircraft is targeting the international business jet market."

Although the domestic market isn't large, it's not insignificant either; we should still strive for what we need to fight for.

I think we should take advantage of this signing of the engine procurement contract to hold a press conference.

Once the suggestion was made, the group began to discuss it.

While everyone was still talking, one person voiced their opinion.

"Chairman, your suggestion is excellent, but aren't we being a bit hasty?"

Our plane hasn't even had its interior decorated yet!

In case people think this is what the airplanes we build look like, we don't want it to have a negative impact.

Different voices emerged at this moment, and the scene of unanimous approval that had occurred before was gone.

Everyone chimed in, each offering their own opinion, dividing into two factions, neither willing to concede to the other.

Ultimately, a show of hands was held, and his proposal passed by a narrow margin.

After the factory committee meeting concluded, the leaders returned to their posts and began carrying out the tasks assigned at the meeting.

After finishing the meeting, Gu Changkong returned to his office and called Yan Hang.

He explained the decision passed at the meeting to Yan Hang, and then he also started making phone calls to the Second Ministry of Machine Building.

This news always needs to be reported to higher-ups first; otherwise, they would release a huge surprise without saying a word.

If your boss doesn't know, even a good thing can turn into a bad thing.

When the leaders of the Second Ministry of Machine Building found out, they seemed even more enthusiastic than Gu Changkong and his team.

"Xiao Gu, I'll contact Kyushu TV for you. Don't worry about it. You've really made our Second Ministry of Machine Building proud this time. Keep up the good work!"

He initially only wanted to appear on a provincial news channel, but now he's actually on Kyushu TV.

With the coordination of all parties, their press conference was quickly scheduled for the afternoon of the following day.

Yan Hang walked around the workshop but didn't see Li Zhenhua, who had been there all along, so he headed towards the guesthouse.

After resting for a while in the virtual laboratory, Li Zhenhua fearlessly climbed back onto the plane.

After crashing five more planes, he finally managed to get the plane off the ground.

But just as he was overjoyed, tragedy struck when the plane crashed.

Just as he reconstructed the airplane, he heard a knock on the door.

The spaceflight was interrupted. After leaving the lab, I checked my phone and saw that it was already 3 p.m.

I got out of bed and opened the door for the person who knocked, only to find out it was Yan Hang.

Yan Hang approached his room and, without any pleasantries, directly told him the results achieved.

"The factory has agreed to the cooperation between our two companies. We will sign the engine purchase contract tomorrow afternoon."

The factory quoted prices of 1.2 million for the 120L model and 110 million for the 1.8L model.

Do you have any other comments? If not, we can sign the contract tomorrow.

After listening to Yan Hang's words, although he was very satisfied with the price, the actions taken by the other company were full of the domineering style of a state-owned enterprise.

The two companies finalized their cooperation agreement without even holding any negotiations.

Although Li Zhenhua has learned recently that Hongdu Factory has made some changes, some of its domineering practices are still not so easy to change.

Although he felt somewhat uncomfortable, he was quite satisfied with the pricing offered by the other party.

He had previously researched the domestic market for aircraft engines; the market was small, and the engines sold were all secondhand.

There are very few civilian companies that actually manufacture aero engines; most are companies that buy foreign patents and make a living through hard work.

They are different; they own all the intellectual property rights to the engine, so the money they spent on the patent was pure profit.

Thinking of all this, he didn't show any other intentions and simply nodded to Yan Hang.

"Sir, I have no objections. How about we sign the contract tomorrow afternoon?"

If he hadn't asked that question, Yan Hang would have almost forgotten about the press conference and immediately returned to the topic.

"If you hadn't asked, I would have almost forgotten that the factory is holding a press conference tomorrow."

At the meeting, our two companies signed the engine contract.

From what I heard from the factory, this press conference is going to be a big event.

This can also be considered a form of advertising for the aircraft.

At that moment, he understood the significance of the other party wanting to hold a press conference.

The original plan was to use the procurement contract to lure out the aircraft they were manufacturing.

That's a really clever approach!

"Okay, I understand. Then I'll wait to sign the contract at the press conference tomorrow."

After Yan Hang finished explaining the matter, he chatted with him for a while before leaving.

Before leaving, he said that once the factory had drafted the contract, they would send him an electronic version so he could take a look.

After receiving the electronic contract in the afternoon, I sent it to the company's legal department.

He reviewed it himself and found no hidden traps in the contract; the price and other details were clearly stated.

Not long after, he received a call from the company's legal department, telling him that the contract was very fair.

At this moment, he could finally give himself an explanation for this business trip. Returning with this contract would definitely surprise everyone.

Now we're just waiting for the press conference.

Meanwhile, at the Jiuzhou TV station in Beiping, several reporters were hurriedly packing up their equipment.

"Honestly, why is this mission so urgent? Couldn't they have given us advance notice so we could prepare?"

The man speaking was loading a large box onto the vehicle, complaining as he did so.

"Alright, stop complaining. I heard that this task was brought to our station by the leaders of the Second Ministry of Machine Building, which is why it's in such a hurry this time. It seems that this press conference was also decided at the last minute."

"It's true what they say: the boss only needs to say something, but the subordinates have to run themselves ragged!"

(End of this chapter)