In the 90s, you could acquire max-level skills every 14 days.

Chapter 143 Just after subduing the local bully, he encounters a foreign expert.

Wang Guanghui put his hands on his hips.

"Zhang Yong called me last night and told me about this, so I consulted my advisor and came up with this solution."

"If Zhao Fucai doesn't cause trouble, then we can consider our expectations unrealistic. But if he does, we'll show him the connections Peking University has!"

Zhang Yong leaned against the wall and couldn't help but laugh.

"Wang Guanghui." Fang Qiming smiled as well. "When can you confirm with your advisor?"

"If all goes well, we should receive the quotation the day after tomorrow."

Fang Qiming stood up, took a couple of steps around the room, and then turned around.

"Okay. Don't reply to Zhao Fucai tomorrow. Just say we're still discussing it. Let's stall him for a day."

The next day at 5 p.m., in the dispatch room of the winery's guesthouse.

The room was filled with tar smoke and the smell of sweat, and the factory's blueprints were piled up on the long conference table.

Sunlight streamed through the glass and fell on the tabletop, causing dust particles to dance gently in the air.

Zhao Fucai swaggered in. He tossed his leather briefcase onto the table, pulled out a chair, plopped down, and expertly pulled out a Hongtashan cigarette and lit it.

"Teacher Fang, Comrade Zhang Yong." Zhao Fucai lit a cigarette, his eyes narrowing into slits with a smile. "The day is up. How did everyone's discussion go? My friend called me three times to urge me. Sigh—if you don't want this quota for the control box, I'll give him a reply right away."

Fang Qiming sat opposite him, leisurely skimming the tea leaves, without responding.

Everyone found Zhao Fucai's appearance somewhat amusing.

The room fell silent for a moment.

Zhao Fucai thought the group of scholars had run out of ideas and was about to add fuel to the fire when Wang Guanghui suddenly stood up.

Wang Guanghui took two steps forward and pushed a document he was holding towards them.

"Boss Zhao, we're on the same page. When buying things, you definitely have to compare prices from different vendors," Wang Guanghui said in a bright voice. "Last night, I spoke with my mentor. My mentor happens to be a senior consultant at the Tianjin First Electrical Control Research Institute."

Zhao Fucai paused, his hand holding the cigarette still, and his expression changed.

"I heard that Peking University is conducting a national-level industry-university-research pilot project, and the director of the institute in Tianjin personally approved it."

Wang Guanghui pointed to the document and said loudly, "They are willing to provide us with thirty sets of new electrical control boxes, all at the factory price."

Call. And they even chartered a truck to deliver to the factory—it's such a coincidence—the price is exactly one-third of what you quoted.

Zhao Fucai stopped smoking and opened his mouth but didn't respond for a long time.

"Hahaha, one-third? What a coincidence!" He forced a dry laugh. "Young man, where can you find goods this cheap these days? It's probably some obsolete, defective product!"

"Boss Zhao, don't worry. This product comes from a national-level laboratory workshop, so the after-sales service is reliable. Upgrading or replacing it in the future won't be difficult," Wang Guanghui explained patiently.

As soon as he finished speaking, Qian Zhiyuan also stood up.

"Electrical control alone isn't enough. We need steel pipes to modify the boiler!" Qian Zhiyuan announced loudly, "I contacted Professor Liu from the Materials Science Department and got in touch with the Beijing Special Steel Plant. Based on the material consumption standards for academic experiments, they approved thirty-five 16Mn seamless steel pipes! Even the head of the purchasing department said that since they're for our use, they'll deliver them directly at cost price, and we can just use him for all future purchases!"

"You bunch of kids, you're all quicker to grab things than anyone else," Fang Qiming finally put down his teacup, shaking his head with a smile. "Looks like my connections as a teacher aren't even that important anymore!"

The students from Peking University inside burst into laughter.

Zhao Fucai's fleshy face twitched.

He's a self-employed individual who made his way in Tongxian County; he's alright locally, but outside the village, nobody recognizes him.

At this moment, Zhang Yong stepped forward and laid out the improved electrical control drawings that he and Wei Shuyun had stayed up all night to draw in front of Zhao Fucai.

"Boss Zhao, it's not that we don't trust your friends."

Zhang Yong pointed to the wiring on the blueprints, "This design uses a temperature control module with a compensation circuit. Your purchased distribution box is most likely an old model from three years ago, which is completely incompatible with our new blueprints."

"You should also be careful not to get scammed. If all else fails, you can have your friends buy from us. Ours are better and cheaper."

That's practically accusing him of ripping people off with overpriced, outdated goods.

Zhao Fucai was sweating profusely. He stood up abruptly and stubbed out the half-smoked cigarette in the ashtray.

Having spent many years in the business world, he is adept at reading people and situations.

These people are talented and capable; they'll definitely be big names in this industry in the future. If we offend them now, we might not even get a sip of soup later.

"Oh dear—oh dear! It's a misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding!" Zhao Fucai rubbed his hands together, his face full of a fawning smile, and then picked up the thermos and bent over to pour water for Fang Qiming and Zhang Yong.

"Teacher Fang, Brother Zhang! I, Zhao, was short-sighted!" He picked up his teacup and respectfully handed it over. "We've become friends through this misunderstanding! From now on, I, Old Zhao, will never again waste my brains on materials. Leave all the errands and menial tasks to me, and I'll never have any more crooked thoughts!"

Zhang Yong took the teacup, took a sip, and said, "Boss Zhao, harmony brings wealth. As long as you don't steal profits, you'll get your share of the commission, not a penny less."

"Yes, yes, Brother Zhang is so righteous!" Zhao Fucai wiped his sweat and nodded and bowed to everyone.

Fang Qiming looked at his group of proud students and felt a surge of pride.

He picked up the preliminary purchase orders from Tianjin and the special steel plant that had been organized on the table, and quickly started calculating prices on the draft paper next to him.

"Based on current material prices, the cost of these thirty-odd boilers can be kept below eight thousand yuan. With Boss Zhao's cut, our industrial cooperative's surplus is quite considerable." Fang Qiming's tone was filled with joy.

The atmosphere inside was great, and they were preparing to arrange the construction schedule for tomorrow.

"Bang!"

The wooden door to the guesthouse's dispatch room was pushed open.

It was Qiao, the new girl who joined the testing team. She rushed in, panting, her face pale.

"Teacher Fang! Zhang Yong! Something's happened!" She looked around the room, everyone panting heavily.

Zhang Yong stood up: "Senior Qiao, tell me slowly, which factory had the problem?"

"The First Pharmaceutical Factory in Beijing!" Qiao Qinghua stamped her feet anxiously. "Those two high-temperature, high-pressure furnaces from Germany—yesterday, during their preheating and pressure testing, the safety valves on the main lines jammed! The factory was terrified and immediately shut down the furnaces!"

Fang Qiming frowned: "What's going on? German equipment doesn't usually have this problem. Did they not follow the operating procedures for maintenance before?"

"The logistics department said they had the German expert who originally signed the acceptance contract look at it, and that expert was extremely arrogant!"

Qiao Qinghua gritted her teeth, her voice filled with disbelief, "Those German engineers said that replacing a single valve with an original one would cost a thousand foreign exchange! And the materials have to be shipped from their country, which would take a month!"

A thousand foreign exchange? For a month? Foreign exchange is more precious than gold these days.

Technological blockades against German-made equipment were all too common at that time and difficult to resolve.

Moreover, if a large state-owned enterprise like a pharmaceutical factory were to shut down its heating and production for a month, the losses would be unimaginable.

"If there's no gas supply for thirty days, all the production lines at the pharmaceutical factory will be rendered useless. That would have a huge impact. What do their own technicians say?" Zhang Yong rested his hands on the table, his gaze fixed on the Tongxian map on the wall.