Major Heavy Industry: Starting with a Fake Marriage

The day the provincial review team arrived, Shenyang experienced its second snowfall.

Jiang Cheng stood at the entrance of the center, looking at the snow in the courtyard.

Overnight, the whole world turned white. The branches of the poplar trees were covered with snow, which fell in a rustling sound when the wind blew, like someone was sprinkling salt on the trees.

He swept the steps by the door and then spread a layer of furnace ash to prevent people from slipping. The furnace ash was brought back from the boiler room yesterday; it filled a sack, which he poured onto the steps and spread out with a shovel.

He bent down and used his feet to crush the large pieces of furnace ash, spreading them evenly on the steps.

"Brother Jiang, he's here." Sun Deming ran over from the yard, pointing to the gate. A black sedan was slowly driving in, its wheels leaving two deep grooves in the snow, the black tire tracks standing out starkly against the white expanse.

The car stopped, the door opened, and three people got out.

The man walking in front was in his fifties, with a square face and thick eyebrows. He was wearing a dark blue wool coat with a few snowflakes on the collar, which he didn't brush off.

He was carrying a black leather bag, the edges of which were worn white. Behind him followed a man and a woman, both dressed in gray uniforms, their expressions serious. The woman was carrying a folder, and the man had a canvas bag slung over his shoulder.

Jiang Cheng stepped forward and extended his hand. "Hello, I'm Jiang Cheng."

The man shook his hand, didn't introduce himself, and looked up at the three-story building in the center. "This is it?"

His gaze swept from the rooftop to the ground floor, pausing briefly on the sign at the entrance, which he examined twice. "LN Province Equipment Modification Technology Promotion Center"—the sign was quite large.

When he spoke, the corner of his mouth turned down slightly, making it impossible to tell whether he was smiling or not.

"Please come in." Jiang Cheng stepped aside to make way.

Upon entering the conference room, materials were already laid out on the table. Han Zhiguo stood beside the table, a stack of folders spread out in front of him. He had arranged the folders by category—staffing, equipment list, past performance, and financial status—each separated by colored labels. The labels were clearly written in marker, each stroke distinct. He had specially chosen the colors from a stationery store: red for personnel, blue for equipment, green for performance, and yellow for finances. Fearing the reviewers might get confused, he also attached sticky notes to the cover of each folder, labeled "Staffing," "Equipment," "Performance," and "Finance."

"Please sit down." Han Zhiguo pulled out a chair.

The three men sat down. The man took a document out of his bag and opened it. Jiang Cheng glanced at it and saw that it was stamped with the bright red seal of the Provincial Machinery Department, which stood out against the white paper.

The man's name was Wang Jianguo. He came from the Provincial Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision and was the leader of the review team for this review.

He didn't look at people when he spoke; his eyes were fixed on the document, and he pointed to the clauses with his finger, reading them word by word.

"According to the provincial department's document, all local technology promotion agencies must undergo qualification re-certification. There are five criteria: staffing, equipment, past performance, financial status, and management system. Each criterion has a scoring standard, with a total score of one hundred points, and sixty points being the passing mark." He looked up at Jiang Cheng, his gaze brief, like a dragonfly skimming the water. "Are you ready?"

"Ready." Han Zhiguo pushed the folder over. His fingers trembled slightly as he pushed it, and the folder slid a little across the table before stopping in front of Wang Jianguo.

Wang Jianguo took the papers and distributed them to the two people next to him. The three of them each opened a stack and began to look. The meeting room was quiet, save for the rustling of pages, like autumn leaves falling. Outside, the snow continued to fall, hitting the glass with a soft patter; occasionally, a large flake would slap against the glass and slowly melt into water. Jiang Cheng sat opposite them, observing their expressions. The woman turned to the personnel list, frowned, and circled a certain number with a pencil. The man turned to the equipment list, paused, and pointed to each word, reading them one by one, his lips moving slightly as if he were reciting something silently.

Wang Jianguo was reviewing past performance records. He read very slowly, turning each page repeatedly. His hands moved very gently, as if afraid of tearing the paper. When he reached an unknown page, he suddenly stopped and slammed the folder down on the table. The folder hit the table with a dull thud.

"These performance figures were all self-reported. Was there any third-party verification?"

Han Zhiguo was taken aback. "Third-party verification?"

"It's a report issued by an independent testing agency. You say you've repaired so many pieces of equipment and improved so much efficiency, but has any authoritative certification for that?" Wang Jianguo's voice wasn't loud, and he spoke very slowly, so slowly that there was a gap between each word, a gap filled with an unquestionable authority.

Jiang Cheng's heart sank. He had never considered this question before. Repaired is repaired; the machine runs, the workers can do their jobs, and the customer is satisfied—that's the proof. What need is there for a third party? Isn't even the customer's stamp enough?

But he knew that rules were rules. Without a third party's stamp, their performance would be a complete mess on paper.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but felt his throat was dry, so he took a sip of water to moisten it.

"Team Leader Wang, our performance records are all genuine. There are data records before and after the modification of every piece of equipment, and users can testify to that." Jiang Cheng tried to keep his voice steady. His fingers were gripping his trouser leg tightly under the table.

Wang Jianguo shook his head and pushed the folder back. "User testimony isn't enough. We need a testing report from an authoritative institution. I have to deduct points from your materials."

The woman next to him looked up, holding up an equipment list. "And this too. Did you manufacture your own coating equipment?"

"Yes. If we can't buy it ready-made, we'll design it ourselves, process it ourselves, and assemble it ourselves." Jiang Cheng looked into her eyes, trying his best to appear sincere.

"Homemade equipment?" Her tone carried a hint of distrust, not directed at him, but at the word "homemade." "Does homemade equipment count as a fixed asset? Do you have an invoice? Do you have a certificate of conformity?"

Jiang Cheng opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Invoices? Certificates of conformity? They made their own equipment, so where would they get invoices? Where would they get certificates of conformity? Their only certificate of conformity is that the coated parts work well.

But that doesn't count.

He lowered his head, looked at the folder on the table, and felt his face getting hot.

Han Zhiguo spoke up from the side. "Team Leader Wang, these self-made devices are the technological achievements of our center. The turbine blade project at the BJ Aerospace Materials Research Institute was completed using these devices. The project's test reports were all issued by authoritative institutions; you can take a look." He stood up and handed a report to Wang Jianguo.

The report was an ultrasonic testing report signed by Chief Engineer Chen, and stamped with the bright red seal of the Institute of Aeronautical Materials.

Wang Jianguo took the report and flipped through it. He squinted as he read, as if trying to make out something. After a few seconds, he closed it.

"I know about this project. But you did it in Beijing. Did you use Beijing's equipment or yours?" He looked at Jiang Cheng. "Is the equipment at your center the same as the one used in Beijing?"

"It's the same set. We made the equipment ourselves and brought it to Beijing. The core components were processed in Shenyang, and the control system was developed in cooperation with the Automation Research Institute." Jiang Cheng's voice became more steady. He loosened his trouser leg and placed his fingers on his knee.