Courtyard House: My Time Travel is a Bit Too Strong

Director Li of the Third Machinery Plant, several deputy directors, and Lin Quan sat opposite them.

Having received the signal, Wu Yuxia asked, "Director Li, may we begin now?"

Director Li—whom everyone calls Factory Manager Li—raised his hand and nodded.

Michael pulled a stack of blueprints from his bag and said a few words in the Mi language.

"Director Li, these are the core design drawings for CNC machine tools." Lin Quan reached out and took them.

"Ah Quan, take a look first," Director Li said with a smile and a wave of his hand.

Several deputy factory directors' expressions changed slightly, but none of them uttered a word.

In this factory now, Director Li's word is law, and no one dares to contradict him to his face.

Lin Quan flipped through three pictures, then looked up and asked directly in the American language, "Mr. Michael, this should be the first generation of CNC machine tools, right?"

Michael's heart skipped a beat, but his face remained impassive: "This is our nation's current mainstay model."

"The first generation relied on vacuum tubes, the second generation used transistors, and the third generation used integrated circuits—I heard that your Star Country is already working on the fourth generation." Lin Quan's tone was light and natural, as if he were talking about the weather.

Michael paused, then, without beating around the bush, blurted out, "How do you know all this?"

Lin Quan turned and translated what he said to Director Li and the others, then casually replied, "I have my own reliable sources of information."

"So...you're not planning to buy it?" Michael frowned.

"If you can provide second- or third-generation models, we'd be willing to give it a try," Lin Quan said with a smile.

"Third-generation fighter jets are controlled equipment and can never be exported," Michael said firmly.

"Then let's talk about the second generation," Lin Quan said, and immediately translated for Director Li and the others.

"Two million US dollars per unit." Michael quoted an exorbitant price right off the bat.

"Second-generation aircraft have long been retired from production in your Star Country. They are neither embargoed items nor unique to you—East Island and Hu Country are also shipping them in bulk."

"Even if you don't sell, Dongdao doesn't sell, and Huguo doesn't sell, we can still find secondhand goods. Once it's been turned on and run once, it's secondhand, right?" Lin Quan said with a smile.

Thinking about the number of second-generation machines his factory had shipped out in the past two years, Michael's forehead felt slightly hot.

Seeing that he was speechless, Lin Quan added, "As far as I know, not only your company can manufacture second-generation aircraft in Singapore, but there are also several factories in Taiwan and Hu Kingdom producing them."

"With the foundation of our Third Machinery Plant, we can get our hands on these key components from Dongemens alone—assembling the third-generation machine ourselves is not a difficult task."

Michael's eyes widened, staring at Lin Quan with a mixture of disbelief and skepticism.

Jessica leaned closer and whispered a few words to him.

"Mr. Michael, Ms. Jessica," Lin Quan said, taking the opportunity to speak, "for the second-generation machine, could you two please give us a reasonable price? If it's reasonable, we'll order three units for trial use; if it operates stably and is accurate..." He paused, leaving half a sentence unfinished.

"Five hundred thousand US dollars per unit," Jessica quoted after a moment's thought.

"150,000 US dollars, including shipping, all-inclusive," Lin Quan said decisively.

"150,000? That's not even enough for the materials! Absolutely not!" Jessica's voice rose, her expression anxious.

Lin Quan's heart skipped a beat: "So this is the girl from the Star Country who's in charge?" The thought flashed through his mind, and he immediately started counting on his fingers, calculating the true cost of the second-generation fighter jet line by line, each word clear and unambiguous.

Jessica grew increasingly alarmed as she listened, muttering to herself, "Even if there are slight discrepancies in a few of the numbers he's giving, the margin of error is ridiculously small... Could it be that he really knows someone in our company?"

"If you won't sell, we'll look elsewhere—if we can't buy a new one, we can always find a used one. 180,000 US dollars is enough to get a second-generation machine that's only been used for one day." Lin Quan's smile remained unchanged.

"180,000, deal." Jessica blurted out.

"We'll order three units first, and you'll provide six sets of core electronic components, and be responsible for on-site installation and debugging. We'll pay the full amount after the entire machine is delivered, accepted, and running stably for a week," Lin Quan said, his gaze sweeping across the room.

"We need a 30% deposit upfront. Otherwise, if you change your mind when the machine tool arrives, we'll lose everything." Jessica said crisply, tapping her fingertips lightly on the contract.

"Our Third Machinery Factory is a legitimate state-owned enterprise. It's all in black and white, signed and stamped. How can we go back on our word?" Lin Quan waved his hand with a smile, his eyes slightly curved.

After nearly an hour of back-and-forth negotiations, Director Li and Jessica finally signed the papers and affixed the official seal.

Jessica then extended an invitation: "Mr. Lin, would you do me the honor of having lunch with me?"

Director Li nodded in agreement, and Lin Quan immediately switched to the Mi language to continue: "Our factory canteen chef has excellent cooking skills, so why don't we eat here at the factory? It'll be hot and satisfying."

Her true intention in inviting people to dinner was obvious to everyone – she simply wanted to extract some inside information.

With things getting tense right now, getting too close to foreigners could easily attract gossip.

Going to the appointment alone? That's like walking into the line of fire.

He Yuzhu rolled up his sleeves and personally took charge of the cooking, serving eight dishes and a soup, all of which were excellent in color, aroma, and taste.

Jessica's eyes lit up after just one bite: "This is amazing!"

Michael put down his knife and fork and exclaimed, "I never imagined that the food from China could be so enticing..."

"Miss Jessica, Mr. Michael," Lin Quan suddenly remembered the black lumps dug out by wild boars in the Yunfu mountain valley, "Our Yanhuang country has globally recognized top-quality truffles. Would you two like to take some back and try them?"

"Our company only manufactures CNC machine tools." Jessica hesitated slightly, her tone cautious.

"Miss Jessica, in Singapore, isn't the US dollar the one that calls the shots? More foreign trade routes mean more income, so why not?" Lin Quan smiled frankly.

"Can I see the actual product first?" Her eyes lit up.

Lin Quan immediately relayed the message, and Director Li immediately got up and made a phone call—the pig-head mushrooms from Yunfu were already a highly sought-after delicacy by overseas diners.

The following afternoon, Jessica and Michael stepped into the gates of the Third Machinery Plant again.

The truffles, air-freighted in, are now quietly lying in the small warehouse of the workshop.

Under Lin Quan's guidance, He Yuzhu skillfully fried, roasted, and mixed three truffle dishes.

Lin Quan himself doesn't know how to cook, but he's watched countless food videos on Earth, memorizing the cooking time and proportions.

The two of them took a bite, their eyebrows lifted in unison, and they even forgot to put down their chopsticks.

Half an hour later, the battle resumed at the negotiating table.

"Mr. Lin, we can buy truffles at a maximum of 100 yuan per kilogram."

"Miss Jessica, top-quality truffles from Italy and Languedoc start at 1,000 US dollars—if you don't order them, someone else will be scrambling to get them."

After another ten minutes of haggling, the new contract was finalized: Top-tier 800, Level 1 500, Level 2 300, Level 3 100.

With the truffle deal settled, Lin Quan casually pushed over a few jars of seasonings: "Bring a few of these too? Chili oil, broad bean paste, pickled pepper sauce... Foreigners won't be able to resist them."

Truffles are limited in production and not very profitable; seasonings, on the other hand, have low costs, high profits, and can ride the coattails of the market.

He Yuzhu's skills are such that he could make sauces and render oil with his eyes closed and still not mess it up.