94: From Technological Warfare to Space Empire

Wu Xiangrong's insidious nature was immediately recognized by others.

Boss Wang rubbed his hands excitedly and asked repeatedly.

"So when do we make our move?"

Wu Xiangrong leaned back in his chair.

"No rush."

"Miss Yang also provided some information. Lin Yu's factory is currently making money by selling carbon dioxide and vanadium pentoxide, with buyers mainly being chemical plants in Tianjin and Guangzhou."

"We have connections in these places, so we can give them a heads-up and ask them to lower the price, or simply refuse to accept the goods."

"At the same time, we are selling off our inventory at low prices, driving down the market price."

Wu Xiangrong scoffed.

"Hongxing No. 2 Factory is just a dilapidated factory. What revenue does it generate?"

"Isn't Lin Yu supposed to earn 6000 per ton of steel slag? Let's let him earn 3000, then 1000, and see how long he can keep that up."

These words left Boss Li somewhat bewildered.

"Where would we find so much titanium and vanadium to sell?"

Wu Xiangrong glanced at the idiot who had snuck in with a hint of disdain.

"Who told you to actually sell it? Just let the news out."

"I've heard that with more supply in the market, prices have naturally dropped."

"We'll slowly close the net once Lin Yu can't hold on any longer."

In this day and age, titanium and vanadium do not have many uses.

The market has only been open for a few years, and the system is not very sound, with many loopholes.

Wu Xiangrong was confident that using this method to profit and amass wealth would not leave any evidence against him.

He paused, then added.

"And the workers in his factory."

"Don't most people live in the Fangshan area?"

"Find a few unfamiliar faces, go around their neighborhood in the middle of the night, splash some red paint, and get some dead rats. Don't hurt anyone, just disgust them."

"If you dare to go to work for even one day, I'll splash you with water for the whole day."

The smoke in the office grew thicker and thicker, and several bosses laughed loudly in the dim light.

A loud whistle sounded from Wu Xiangrong's steel plant.

"Oh, right."

Wu Xiangrong concluded.

"Ms. Yang has agreed that once the deal is done, Afton's ethyl gasoline additive in the United States will offer us a 20% discount."

"This stuff is in high demand right now; you can make money just by reselling it."

"Besides, our own refineries have never met the octane rating standards."

"Adding a little of this stuff and you can sell it as high-quality gasoline, why not?"

"But let me make this clear, we'll distribute this stuff according to contribution from now on. None of you are going to stand idly by."

"Old Wang, go find the thugs; Old Li, go find the academics and the media; Old Zhou, go contact the chemical plant..."

Wu Xiangrong put his legs up on the desk, lit a cigar, and began assigning tasks.

The others' eyes lit up when they heard about the ethyl gasoline additive, and they nodded repeatedly, agreeing with great enthusiasm.

In the 90s, the quality of gasoline in China was poor.

Ethyl gasoline additives are great for increasing octane rating.

Whoever can secure low-priced supplies will gain a foothold in the oil refining market.

Boss Wang slapped his thigh and shouted menacingly:

"Let's do it!"

"Is that all you're going to do? Damn it, some kid who's only been to school for two days thinks he can cut off our livelihood?"

"Don't they even know whose world this is!"

After whispering about the details for a while, everyone dispersed.

Before leaving, Boss Li asked somewhat hesitantly.

"Regarding ethyl gasoline additives... I heard that they've been completely banned in the United States."

Wu Xiangrong was somewhat surprised to see that Boss Li seemed to be quite well-informed.

But then he laughed and said...

"If things hadn't been tightened up over there, do you think you could have bought such good, cheap additives?"

"How big of a company is Afton? Do we really deserve to use their best stuff?"

"The Americans have been using this for fifty or sixty years. Now that they have better things to use, it's perfectly normal for them to phase it out."

"We're content to just copy what others have already done; you think you can surpass them?"

That made sense, and Boss Li only hesitated for a moment before nodding and leaving.

He had only heard about this from a friend in the United States.

He really didn't know the specific details or the reasons for the ban.

Surely they must have found something better?

After everyone left, Wu Xiangrong stood alone by the window, becoming increasingly ruthless as he recalled his journey to wealth.

He started by dealing in steel permits in the late 80s and has since contracted several private steel mills and oil refineries.

Wu Xiangrong felt that he hadn't earned enough money, even though he had made money. He still had to live at the mercy of others.

In the past, being bold could make you rich.

Times seem to have changed, become better. We no longer need to do anything despicable to support our families and fill our stomachs, and everyone's face shows more hope.

But for him, it seemed like nothing had changed. He looked down on the meager amount of money he could earn to fill his stomach and support his family.

He still lacks any technical skills, but as long as he retains his ruthlessness and iron fist...

Even the most skilled person still depends on their personal connections and methods.

Wu Xiangrong picked up the phone and dialed a number.

"Hey, Gouzi, today you're taking a few guys to Fangshan..."

...

On the other side, Lin Yu had been sleeping until after 9 a.m. and was still not awake.

Because there were many students after the start of the semester, Zhang Guoqiang and his friends stopped waiting for Lin Yu downstairs and instead asked the school leaders for an empty dormitory room to stay in.

The transaction has been completed.

Although there will be another 7 days of exchange and learning with Sergei and his group.

But there's no rush to wake Lin Yu up early.

Zhang Guoqiang whispered his instructions to his comrade who was changing shifts.

"Comrade Lin has been exhausted these past few days, so let's not wake him up too early in the morning. Let someone keep an eye on the stairwell and see when he comes downstairs before we go up to greet him."

"I've arranged for people to keep an eye on the factory, nothing will go wrong."

The soldier who came to change shifts nodded, then spoke hesitantly.

"Team Leader Zhang, Chief Hou just sent word that some people might be targeting Comrade Lin recently, and he wants us to be on high alert. Otherwise, we should advise Comrade Lin to move out."

Zhang Guoqiang nodded:

"I know I will try to persuade Comrade Lin. But some things are impossible to guard against... especially those underhanded tactics."

"All we can do is try our best to deflect any open attacks."

"A hidden arrow... Sigh, it's up to Comrade Lin himself now."

Zhang Guoqiang and Zeng Qingsheng exchanged a glance and sighed in unison.

They've also read the recent newspapers.

They were well aware of this situation, given that the other side was able to mobilize so many media outlets and newspapers.

We can only hope that the all-powerful Comrade Lin Yu has a way to resolve this matter.

……

Tianjin Port in the distance.

A cargo ship is unloading its cargo. In addition to legal goods, the containers also contain dozens of barrels of chemicals that have not been formally declared to customs.

They were loaded onto trucks and transported to several inconspicuous warehouses around Beijing.

The buckets were labeled with all sorts of tags, some saying "cleaning agent" and others "industrial alcohol".

The market in the 90s was like a pot of boiling oil filled with gold.

Before you scoop it up, you don't know if it's really boiling hot oil or just some magical trick of adding lime to vinegar oil so you can boldly throw it into the oil pan.

The bold eat meat, the timid drink soup.

Lin Yu woke up at ten o'clock in the morning. He stretched lazily and saw Liu Bo sitting in his chair, looking at him with a hesitant expression.