Sail across the sea

Chapter 535 is more conducive to utilizing her abilities.
Upon learning that his future mother-in-law was leaving Maolin, Gao Fan dared not delay and hurriedly bought a plane ticket back to Ruizhang.

When Gao Fan arrived at Gao Yiping's house and asked about the matter, Gao Yiping already knew about it and told Gao Fan that it was a general personally appointed by the leader, who assigned Xu Ying to the State Economic Commission to be specifically responsible for the construction of an independent system for core industries.

"Will the work at the fertilizer company be affected after Aunt Xu is transferred?"

Gao Fan asked with concern.

Gao Yiping shook his head: "Probably not. The fertilizer company's achievements over the years are obvious to all, and Director Xu is not the only one in the province who supports my work. Besides, Director Xu is going to Beijing for a promotion, and she's in charge of the industrial sector, so the province can't possibly not give her face."

"That's good." Gao Fan was relieved, and then said, "Dad, taking advantage of Aunt Xu's transfer to the State Economic Commission, you can also consider expanding the fertilizer company's business outside the province. The country is now encouraging capable enterprises to break through regional and industry boundaries and achieve leapfrog development. In a few years, when our country's strength increases, we will also encourage enterprises to expand overseas."

Gao Yiping said, "Let's not consider overseas expansion for now. After you mentioned expanding our business outside the province to me last time, I discussed it with several other leaders in the company, and we all think that this idea has merit, but we just need to wait for the right opportunity."

“There’s an opportunity coming soon,” Gao Fan said. “I’ve received inside information that the Ministry of Geology will soon launch a comprehensive exploration of the Lop Nur potash deposits. If all goes well, there could be a major breakthrough within one or two years. At that time, the country will consider building a large potash fertilizer base in Lop Nur, and our fertilizer company could consider participating in this project.”

"Potassium fertilizer?" Gao Yiping was somewhat surprised. "You mean, the country might find a large potash mine in Lop Nur?"

"There's a probability of over 90%."

"Where did you hear that?"

“I have a college classmate who is in charge of this matter at the Ministry of Geology.”

"Oh, I know this person."

Gao Yiping responded, but didn't delve into it further. Instead, he kept his attention on the potassium salt news and analyzed:

"Our country's potash fertilizer is almost entirely dependent on imports. Every time the Ministry of Chemical Industry holds a national fertilizer work conference, the ministry leaders talk about this issue, saying that this is a weakness in our country's fertilizer industry and that we should make up for it at all costs, as long as possible."

“In the past, because no large potash mines had been found in China, the Ministry of Chemical Industry had no idea where to start in developing potash fertilizer. If what you said is true, then once the potash mine in Lop Nur is discovered, the Ministry of Chemical Industry will definitely go all out to develop it. The only question is which company to entrust with this task.”

Gao Fan said, "The task of building a large-scale potash fertilizer plant can only be entrusted to enterprises in the fertilizer system. Our Maolin Fertilizer Company is qualified to do this. When the Ministry of Chemical Industry selects enterprises to undertake the task, it considers several aspects: the enterprise's management capabilities, technological reserves, and financial strength."

"In terms of operational capabilities, Maoming Chemical Plant is definitely not a problem. Previously, when it came to converting ammonium phosphate to urea, Maolin Province did the best; the ministry leaders specifically praised us at a conference," Gao Yiping boasted, then continued:

"Regarding funding, if we make some preparations in advance, we should be able to accumulate some. In addition, the Ministry of Chemical Industry should have special funds, after all, the investment in building a large potash fertilizer plant is not something a company like ours can fully afford. As for technology reserves..." "Leave that to me," Gao Fan said. "Once I've built the Canghai Research Institute, I'll arrange a team specifically to develop the potash fertilizer production process, and then I'll sell the mature technology to you."

Do you have professionals in this field?

"Yes. Also, I plan to have Aunt Zhou take charge of this matter."

"Zhou Xiaoyun?" Gao Yiping was taken aback, then laughed and scolded, "Kid, you've even tried to steal my girlfriend from your own father?"

Gao Fan had informed Gao Yiping beforehand about his plan to poach employees from various organizations, and Gao Yiping had even used his connections to gather some information for him. What Gao Yiping didn't expect was that Gao Fan's efforts would actually reach the fertilizer company.

Gao Fan said, "This is also one of the things I wanted to tell you when I came back this time. During this period, I contacted some researchers from various institutions through my connections with Peking University alumni. Once the venue in Ruizhang is finalized, these people will likely come over one after another."

"However, I still lack a candidate to be the director of the research institute. This person should have a very high level of professional expertise, be of reliable character, and must be one of our own, someone who will not side with outsiders."

Gao Yiping nodded and said, "By this standard, your Aunt Zhou is probably the most suitable candidate. I know her character very well; she is definitely a reliable person."

"So, Mr. Gao, would you be willing to give her to me?" Gao Fan asked with a grin.

Gao Yiping said, "She's currently the chief engineer at the fertilizer company, but we don't have enough research tasks here. She spends most of her time guiding the technical work of various fertilizer plants, kind of like a firefighter, which is quite a waste. If she goes to your company, she can focus on research wholeheartedly, which might be more conducive to utilizing her abilities. I'll talk to her about this. I estimate she'll be willing to go to your company."

Gao Fan said, "If that's the case, that would be wonderful. Tell Aunt Zhou that after she comes over, I'll assemble a team for her to specialize in the process development of large-scale potash fertilizer production equipment. I believe she'll be overjoyed."

"You poached my chief engineer to develop production technology, and then expect us to pay for that technology? What kind of logic is that?" Gao Yiping said, feigning dissatisfaction.

Gao Fan said matter-of-factly, "Do you think developing a technology is that simple? I plan to invest 500 million yuan initially, and if that's not enough, I can add more in the future. Can your fertilizer company come up with that much money?"

Gao Yiping shook his head: "Even if we could afford it, we couldn't do it this way. Not only would the company's office meeting not approve it, but the Provincial Economic Commission wouldn't agree to such an investment. From this perspective, your private enterprise mechanism is indeed more flexible, and sending Xiao Zhou to your company is a good thing."

"However, let's get this straight: once your Canghai Research Institute is completed, if our fertilizer company encounters any technical problems that we can't solve, you must provide us with support at any time."

"Don't worry, Dad, the Canghai Research Institute will always be your most loyal support."

(End of this chapter)