Scholars in the courtyard.

Chapter 3056 We Can't Take Advantage of Others for Nothing

Rumble

Streaks of lightning flashed across the dark sky, illuminating the factory beneath the clouds.

The loud sound seemed to be responding to the mechanical rumble below, once, twice.
Like musical instruments working in harmony, one is like a heavy drum striking precisely in the heavens, and the other is like a pipa playing a continuous, soaring melody, together creating a symphony between heaven and earth.

As a witness, Yang Xiaotao stood by the window, looking at everything before him with deep eyes, as if trying to see through the dark clouds and chase after the obscured greenery.

I'm still a little worried.

"Little guy, don't go too far!"

patter
Large raindrops fell on the windowsill, turning the gray-white windowsill dark gray.

Yang Xiaotao reached out and closed the window.

The next moment, the sound of clapping and banging came down like a machine gun, instantly turning the mottled windowsill into a uniform color.

"One autumn rain brings a chill, it's time to wear autumn clothes."

Yang Xiaotao turned around and said to the two of them.

Liu Lixue looked up at the heavy sky outside, then glanced at the clock on the wall; it was three in the afternoon.

To be precise, it was 3 PM on November 11th.

"It's already November, and it's still thundering and raining. This year is really strange; it's never happened before."

As Liu Lixue spoke, Lou Xiao'e, who was typing on the keyboard next to her, stopped working, picked up the water glass on the table and took a sip. "What's there to care about? It's not like nothing ever happens."

Then she added, "In ancient times, it snowed in June. Who knows what kind of heinous things some people did that God couldn't stand by and watch?"

As he spoke, he looked at Yang Xiaotao.

Yang Xiaotao was a little confused when Lou Xiao'e looked at him. "Why are you looking at me like that? I've always been upright and honest, and I've never done anything wrong."

But as soon as he finished speaking, the two of them turned their heads away and laughed.

"Wait, what do you two mean by this?"

"We need to make this clear today, or you'll be working overtime here tonight. You still want to go to the movies?"

"Humph."

Yang Xiaotao issued a threat, and Liu Lixue said with dissatisfaction, "I don't know who fooled Old Zhao and made him run around like this. Tsk tsk, in the end, they even secretly gave benefits to Quancheng."

Yang Xiaotao picked up the cup on the table, took a sip of water, and then solemnly argued, "This matter has nothing to do with me."

"So many cities across the country need to build base stations. Old Zhao is serious, enthusiastic and responsible in his work, so naturally he will take care of everything."

"Let me tell you, they are working diligently, and you are not allowed to gossip about them behind their backs."

Yang Xiaotao skillfully began to turn the tables, but Liu Lixue and Lou Xiao'e had worked with Yang Xiaotao for so many years that they had long understood his habits, so their words had no effect whatsoever.

Liu Lixue scoffed, "Yes, yes, you're just bullying honest people. He's so old and you still have to boss him around, tsk tsk."

"Go away, I already said this is just their work attitude!"

Haha~
Liu Lixue scoffed, "Then you really should learn from her; that attitude is really..."

"It's so worth learning from."

Yang Xiaotao didn't take it seriously. Instead, he took out a book from his drawer and started reading. Then he said leisurely, "This isn't about attitude; it's about personal work methods!"

"Cut~~"

Liu Lixue mimicked Yang Xiaotao's speech, then looked at Lou Xiao'e.

Lou Xiao'e fully understood Liu Lixue's point and continued, "What about computers?"

"You promised to give Old Wang those twenty units, and you even accepted the deposit. Now you're just going back on your word."

Yang Xiaotao put down his book and said seriously, "That's not right."

"I gave them my twenty computers, and not only that, I gave them two extra. Xiao'e, don't talk nonsense."

"Be careful, or I'll accuse you of false accusation. That's a very serious crime."

Lou Xiao'e shrugged. "Yes, you gave twenty-two units, but they didn't ask you to deliver them to Xizhou."

"You're something else, always taking care of your father-in-law wherever you go."

Liu Lixue added, "And the sister-in-law too."

Yang Xiaotao crossed his legs and said, "What father-in-law and sister-in-law? They're staff members at the satellite launch center. They're all there to better serve the public in preparation for the next satellite launch."

"You guys have such low awareness."

"Also, last time there was a problem during transportation, so I call this prevention and delivery in one step."

"To prevent them from causing any more problems."

"Besides, Old Wang has no objection. They originally bought it for the launch center."

"If you don't believe me, ask him!"

The two of them rolled their eyes. They weren't stupid; why would they ask such a question?

Besides, even if we asked Mr. Wang, could he say it wasn't for the Xizhou launch center?
That would be a slap in the face to oneself.

"So you really are 'bad'!"

Liu Lixue concluded, and Lou Xiao'e nodded vigorously in agreement.

Yang Xiaotao couldn't stand their back-and-forth anymore, so he got up and walked out.

"You two finish your work before you leave."

"In particular, Comrade Lou Xiao'e, the electronic version of the record documents and the compiled data must be completed today."

He walked out of the office, looking smug.

"Ah, this is settling a personal score while on official business."

"God, please let some thunder!"

Behind them came Liu Lixue's grief and indignation, as well as Lou Xiao'e's crying and laughing.

Yang Xiaotao whistled, and a green light flew from the window into Yang Xiaotao's sleeve.

Meanwhile, the dark clouds in the sky outside had dissipated, the rain had gradually stopped, and the sky was slowly brightening.

"You're always showing off."

Yang Xiaotao felt the heat emanating from Xiaowei and said irritably.

"Master, this feels so good."

Yang Xiaotao was answered by Xiao Wei's trembling voice and excited expression.

"Be careful, don't burn my clothes."

Yang Xiaotao smelled a burnt smell and quickly said something, then Xiao Wei flew out of her sleeve and flew directly into the air, "Master, I'm going to play."

After saying that, he climbed out of the window and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Da da
Footsteps sounded, and Yang Xiaotao turned around to see Lao Hong walking over, holding a document in his hand.

"You're here and still have the mood to enjoy the scenery?"

Old Hong came up and handed the document to Yang Xiaotao, saying, "This is news from the Guangdong government. The number of pagers there has exceeded 300,000."

"Less than a month, 300,000, wow."

"Add the 500,000 from Shanghai and the 300,000 from here, and that's a million!"

Yang Xiaotao took the document and glanced at it. His face showed no joy, but rather a hint of worry.

"Old Hong, do you think this might just be a flash in the pan?"

"It's like a thunderstorm, violent for a moment, and then it's over quickly."

Old Hong, with his hands behind his back, looked out the window. "Are you worried about this... overconsumption?"

Yang Xiaotao nodded, "Yes."

"Now, the sale of pagers has been fully liberalized in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangdong. The pager station in Jinan has also been built and will be put into use soon."

"Four other cities are also under construction and will be put into use by the end of the month."

"The pagers behind this are definitely not just worth one or two million; it's foreseeable that the cost could reach tens of millions later."

"With such a large quantity and such a large market, do you really think our comrades can utilize it effectively?"

"To put it bluntly, these things aren't like the pots and pans at home; their main function is communication, but..."

"But can it really be used now?"

Old Hong remained silent.

Yang Xiaotao's concerns are not unfounded.

He and Li Hongfeng had also worried that this frenzied buying might be the same kind of "leapfrog" consumption they had seen before.

If that's the case, if it's just a flash in the pan, then while the Nine Departments may seem to have made money, in the end they've damaged their very foundation.

Or rather, it's about overdrawing future credit.

This is absolutely not worth the risk.

"So, you need to control yourself?" Old Hong asked again, but Yang Xiaotao remained silent.

After a long pause, he finally said, "How can we control this? Last time, because we didn't give any places to other places, dozens of local representatives rushed over. I don't want it to happen again."

Old Hong smiled upon hearing this and said, "Then let nature take its course."

"If all else fails, we'll just have to deal with whatever comes our way."

Yang Xiaotao nodded, then looked towards the horizon, where a rainbow could be faintly seen.

The next moment, it appeared clearly before my eyes.

"Look, a rainbow has appeared, which means our future is bright."

Old Hong said happily, and Yang Xiaotao laughed along, "Yes, our future is destined to be bright."

"Let's go find Old Li. We can't rely on our factory alone anymore; we need to build a new one."

Old Hong nodded, then, as if remembering something, said, "Hu Dong, the factory director of the Shanghai tape recorder factory, called. The factory director and secretary of the electronics factory there want to take on this job. What do you think?"

"The Shanghai electronics factory, that must be the logistics department."

"Did Elder Qin and the others agree?"

Old Hong nodded. "Would they dare to make this request without Old Qin's consent?"

Yang Xiaotao shook his head, "That's hard to say. The logistics department is too big. We'd better ask around."

“Right now, we’re cooperating with the Fourth Ministry of Machine Building. I think it would be good for the pager factory to find two electronics factories first.”

"We'll talk about the rest later."

Old Hong nodded, "Okay, I'll call the logistics department later and ask."

"Hmm~"

The two arrived at Li Hongfeng's office as they were talking.

Jinan, the City of Springs.

As Old Zhao strode up Yanzi Mountain, his gaze swept over the base station erected ahead, and he felt gratified.

He visited several places during this trip, but this was the only one that satisfied him.

In terms of the level of importance attached to this matter, the local governments are all about the same, since no one wants to fall behind in this kind of thing.

It's one thing to pay attention to something, but it's another to implement it effectively.

"Sir, we have already built the base station. Here's the paging station."

The speaker was a tall, thin middle-aged man, none other than Secretary Wang of Jinan.

Behind him followed Wang Dahai, as well as officials of all ranks from Jinan.

“Okay, I’ll confirm it with Department Nine later. All they need to do is send the people and computers over.”

Without hesitation, Old Zhao agreed immediately.

The matter is now a done deal; all he has to do is get it done as quickly as possible, as there are many more people waiting to be served.

Upon hearing that Old Zhao had agreed, Secretary Wang and the others were overjoyed and eager to get started.

"Sir, it's windy up here. Let's go down and check the paging station. Even though Leader Yang isn't here, could you help us take a look?"

Upon hearing this, Old Zhao turned around and descended the mountain surrounded by the crowd, only managing to say with a smile, "I dare not make that decision for him!"

Secretary Wang quickly chimed in with a smile, "Sir, everyone knows about your relationship with Leader Yang. If you've checked and found nothing wrong, then Leader Yang certainly has no problem!"

Old Zhao still shook his head with a smile, but the cooperation with the Ninth Department during this period had indeed made the relationship between the two sides closer.

Not only did the relationship between the two parties improve, but it also led to more connections between several other departments.

Previously, the Fourth Ministry of Machine Building was outside the small circle of the Ninth Ministry, so there were some things he could only watch from the sidelines, and even if he wanted to ask questions, he didn't have a suitable opportunity.

Now, he wouldn't say he's become a member of the inner circle, but he can at least have a say in it.

Although the sound wasn't loud, it was enough to quiet people in the industry down and make them listen.

"lead!"

Just as Mr. Zhao was thinking about how to further deepen cooperation with the Ninth Department, his secretary ran over from not far away, holding a second-generation satellite phone in his hand.

Since the successful launch of the Taurus communications satellite, important departments in China have been using the new satellite phones.

It is said that the second satellite is being prepared for launch, and the satellite phone will also be exported as part of the product.

"lead!"

The secretary glanced at the people around him, then hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but didn't.

Upon seeing this, Secretary Wang and the others immediately said, "Leader, please go ahead with your work."

Old Zhao nodded and walked to the side. "What happened?"

"Boss, the director of the Ninth Department Office called. He said he needs to build a factory, a pager factory, and asked if we have any good factory recommendations."

"recommend?"

Old Zhao's eyes lit up. "Have you found out what happened?"

"I asked around and inquired with other departments. It seems that the Guangdong government sold 300,000 pagers in 26 days. The Ninth Department is considering production capacity and is preparing to build a new factory."

"Their intention is to consider our area first, since we have a cooperative relationship with them."

"If we didn't recommend them, they would..."

"Yes, how could there not be!"

Old Zhao jumped up and down twice in excitement, which surprised Secretary Wang and others who had been watching the commotion from a short distance away.

However, Old Zhao didn't care about any of that, as long as he could cooperate with the Nine Departments.

Did they say they wanted several factories?

The secretary shook her head. "No, but I've inquired around, and at least three factories are needed, and the production scale can't be small!"

"Boss, I've also heard that behind the electronics factory in Department Nine are factories that produce core components, factories that provide supporting parts, as well as assembly plants, battery factories, and so on. There are more than a dozen factories and departments in total."

"The previous nine departments had already laid a solid foundation and had all the necessary departments, so they only needed to expand. But we..."

After the secretary explained what she knew, Old Zhao understood that it wasn't possible to just find any factory; it had to be a reputable one.

Moreover, this requires the support of a large number of industries; otherwise, it would be impossible to meet the requirements of the nine ministries.

"Arrange a train immediately, let's go back to Beijing right now."

Old Zhao felt this was an opportunity, an opportunity for the restructuring of industries under the Fourth Ministry of Machinery Industry.

Just as the Ministry of Machine Building used tunnel boring machines to upgrade a portion of the industry through machine tool production.

This is also an opportunity for their Fourth Ministry of Machine Building.

With that in mind, Old Zhao couldn't wait to return to Beijing.

Then, a massive construction project will be launched.

After bidding farewell to Jinan, Old Zhao did not continue to investigate the situation elsewhere, but quickly returned to Beijing.

An internal meeting was held that very evening.

At the start of the meeting, Mr. Zhao shared the news he had received and also outlined his plans.

Everyone was overjoyed, and some even slapped their thighs and shouted that it was finally their turn.

Clearly, they had been envious of the Ninth Division leading the First and Third Divisions to take off from their positions, but they were too reserved and the Ninth Division hadn't made any significant moves in this regard, so they hadn't stepped forward to join in.

But now, the Ninth Division has actually started to exert its efforts in the electronics field.

And this effort has brought them great benefits.

Everyone was happy, and Old Zhao was happy too, but one of his old brothers spoke up, "Old Zhao, I've heard some news, but I don't know if I should tell you."

Old Zhao glanced at the other man, who had been with him for over ten years and was known for his steadiness. He then looked at the crowd and said, "Old Gu, just say what you have to say."

Old Gu nodded, then said, "I heard that the logistics department also has its eye on pagers, wanting a piece of the pie."

"what?"

"Damn it, these guys."

"Why is this guy everywhere?"

The crowd surged forward, and Old Zhao frowned even more.

"Old Gu, are you serious?"

Old Gu nodded. "You all know what the situation is like in the logistics department. It's a mess, and only Old Qin is still managing to keep things in order."

"This news is most likely true."

At this point, Lao Gu solemnly added, "If that's the case, why did the Nine Departments still choose us?"

"That"

"Old Zhao, the Nine Departments are benevolent and righteous, we can't just take advantage of them for nothing."

Everyone present fell silent upon hearing this, and then nodded in agreement.

(End of this chapter)