I feel right at home in the world of the courtyard house.

"Snap—"

A hand slapped loudly on a woman's buttocks. After withdrawing his hand, Li Jing'an leaned back in his chair, chuckled, and squinted as he watched the secretary pour him tea before tremblingly retreating out of the room.

"Your Excellency, here is our price list and a detailed list of the types of machinery you require. We have prepared everything for you." Nozawa respectfully placed a stack of colored documents on the table in front of Li Jing'an. "Due to differences in grade and model, the prices will vary. However, based on the information you provided, we have prepared three combination solutions for you, all of which are core equipment for the entire process from mining to production. You can take a look at them first."

Li Jing'an glanced at him, then at the upright President Guhe and the executives sitting in the chair opposite him, before slowly picking up the file and flipping through a few pages.

The document contained a lot of information, mostly equipment introductions and technical parameters. Basically, there were three models to choose from, from low-end to high-end, with progressively improved functionality. Li Jing'an flipped through it a couple of times before losing patience, slamming the document on the table and gesturing with his chin towards Ye Ze: "Give me a rundown."

"Hi." Nozawa bowed respectfully and picked up another file, opening it.

"Your Excellency, we have prepared three options for you. The first is the most basic model, which is an older machine but has been tested and proven over a long period of operation. However, because it is an early version, its safety features are somewhat outdated, and it requires more manpower, so its efficiency will be lower."

He turned a page and continued, "The second type is an improvement on the first, reducing manpower and adding core security facilities, achieving a better balance between efficiency and security. Of course, it will be about 30% more expensive than the first type."

"And the third type—" Nozawa's tone rose noticeably by half an octave, "is the latest production line that our company has specially designed for you, and it's also our most recommended option. Compared to the first type, it reduces manpower by half, improves safety by several levels, and significantly increases production efficiency. The production environment is cleaner, which greatly reduces the risk of occupational diseases for miners, providing them with ample safety guarantees."

Just as Nozawa was getting into his story, Li Jing'an suddenly stuck out a finger and shook it.

"Don't rush," he said, taking the cigarette out of his mouth and flicking off the ash. "Let me explain the first option."

Nozawa paused for a moment, then quickly said, "Minister, I haven't reported the price of the third option to you yet..."

"Does this even need reporting? It's definitely much higher." Li Jing'an squinted, his tone nonchalant.

"Actually... it's not that much more expensive," Nozawa added sincerely, "but the safety is improved several times over, and the efficiency is also increased, so it's worth it no matter how you look at it."

Li Jing'an chuckled and tilted his head to look at him: "Worth it? How is it worth it? Come on, teach me."

Nozawa carefully unfolded the document: "Here's the thing, Minister. The safety equipment we've added can significantly reduce the disability and mortality rates from workplace injuries, and also significantly reduce occupational diseases. For example, the latest machines produce very little dust, so the probability of developing pneumoconiosis is much lower. This not only saves huge sums of money on medical expenses and compensation, but also reduces labor costs. All things considered, the additional investment in equipment is actually just a small expense."

Li Jing'an's smile deepened after hearing this, tinged with disdain. He put the cigarette back in his mouth, took a deep drag, and slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, looking at Ye Ze through the white mist:

"Young people don't understand the situation. Our country is facing economic difficulties right now; we're just starting out. What we need now isn't high-tech or cutting-edge technology, but quantity. You can buy two ordinary production lines for the same price as one of the latest ones. Can it be twice as efficient? Probably not."

He tapped the table with his cigarette-holding hand: "As for pneumoconiosis and all that, that's even easier to solve—just wear masks. One mask isn't enough, wear two. How much does a mask cost? We can save the money to buy more equipment and contribute to the country's development. Isn't that better than all those fancy things you're talking about?"

Nozawa's lips moved slightly, but he cautiously added, "But Minister... the temperature underground is too high. Wearing a mask will cause breathing difficulties. High temperatures are not good for the workers' health and will reduce production efficiency..."

"Pretentious," Li Jing'an interrupted directly, flicking his cigarette ash into the ashtray. His tone was displeased. "You guys are just being pretentious. You don't know how much power our socialist workers have—you underestimate our workers. Our socialist workers are made of steel; this heat, this difficulty breathing, is nothing to them. Our workers aren't afraid of hardship, fatigue, cold, or heat; they're only afraid of holding back socialist development!"

He waved his hand, indicating that Nozawa didn't need to say anything more.

Nozawa opened his mouth, but ultimately shut it up, lowered his head, and remained silent.

Li Jing'an picked up his teacup and took a sip, but in his heart he was thinking - what safety equipment, what dust prevention and noise reduction, it sounds nice, but a core safety device costs tens of thousands of US dollars, which is an astronomical figure in China.

How much is the compensation for a worker's family in China now? Just a few hundred yuan. At most, they can take over a worker's place in their family, and they're already thanking their lucky stars, praising socialism as a good thing.

When people leave, their positions become available, and young people fill in. This not only solves the employment problem but also accelerates the generational transition and reduces the social burden of elderly care. It's clearly a win-win situation.

Little Japanese, that's not how you calculate things!