Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1290 Project, Profit Sharing, and the Technology Purchase Dispute

Because he had a new goal to strive for, Li Long told Gu Xiaoxia about it when he went to bed that night. He was in a good mood, so he made a little more noise that night.

When Sister Yang got up in the middle of the night, she could still vaguely hear the noise from over there. Her face flushed as she secretly complained, "What time is it... they really know how to make a fuss!"
Then, when Gu Xiaoxia woke up early, her throat felt a little uncomfortable, and Li Long gave her some fast-acting cold capsules.

The main problem was that I went to sleep right after finishing up last night and forgot to add coal to the stove, so I got cold in the middle of the night.

"It's all your fault." Gu Xiaoxia took the medicine, then playfully punched Li Long, scolding him, "You're such a troublemaker..."

Li Long just chuckled and didn't try to explain.

Mingming and Haohao, those two scatterbrains, got up early, dressed, and ran outside. Normally, they would have thought of cleaning the stove and helping Li Long set it up.

But Gu Xiaoxia wouldn't let them do it, saying it would easily get their clothes dirty and that they should wait until they grew out of it.

So after the two children got up, they washed up and then ran outside to play.

The advantage of a large yard is that children can find fun things everywhere from their perspective. They are also dressed warmly, so they are not afraid of the cold even after getting up, and the yard immediately becomes lively.

Yang made breakfast, and Gu Xiaoxia helped. Yang deliberately asked, "Auntie, your throat sounds uncomfortable. Do you have a cold?"

Gu Xiaoxia blushed and said that she hadn't covered herself properly with the blanket last night.

Sister Yang seemed to want to say something, but in the end, she didn't. It was a matter between the couple, and she naturally shouldn't interfere. Of course, she did remind Gu Xiaoxia to take her medicine later, saying that the changing seasons were when she was most prone to illness.

As the two chatted, Gu Xiaoxia mentioned that Li Long had taken on work from the Agricultural Broadcasting School.

“I just don’t understand,” Sister Yang said while cooking. “Your uncle isn’t short of money. His purchasing station is getting bigger and bigger, his business is getting better and better, and he’s making more and more money. Your whole family lives in the county, so moving to the city wouldn’t be a problem. Why can’t you give up the land in the village?”

Gu Xiaoxia had actually asked Li Long this question as well, because Li Long's household registration was still in the village, as were Mingming and Haohao's.

Li Long's answer at the time was that the land in the village was their backup plan, their guarantee. No matter how much trouble they caused in the city, they would still have a sense of security.

This explanation wasn't very convincing, but since Li Long wanted to keep the land, Gu Xiaoxia didn't object. She had been well taken care of over the years and wouldn't deliberately oppose some of Li Long's decisions—wasn't a man who was already very successful, well-cared for at home, and good at making money, enough?

She's not one of those people who likes to cause trouble. She's very satisfied now, so whatever Li Long wants to do, let him do it. She'll support him wholeheartedly.

Actually, it wasn't that people at her workplace were subtly trying to get her to act up, but she wasn't stupid. If she were to find fault with such a good husband, wouldn't she be jumping into a fire pit herself?
Li Long pulled Mingming and Haohao out of the pile of jade stones in the corner. The two mischievous kids were searching everywhere for the hedgehog's hibernation spot. When Li Long pulled them out, Mingming was still shouting that it was cold and he wanted to add some clothes for the hedgehog.

Li Long looked at the small blankets they were carrying from his room and couldn't help but laugh and cry: "Hedgehogs know better than you how to survive the winter. Don't worry about them. Come on, go wash up. Look at you, your faces and hands are covered in dirt!"

I took the two children to the well, added warm water to the basin, and supervised them to wash their faces and hands. I also patted them clean. It was almost time for dinner.

"I probably won't be back for lunch," Li Long said. "I'll eat in the village."

"Alright then," Gu Xiaoxia said to Sister Yang, "Sister, what are we having for lunch?"

"It's easy to cook for two people. What would you like to eat?"

Gu Xiaoxia thought for a moment and said, "I learned how to bake bread from a colleague. Let's have something simple for lunch, and I'll come back early tonight to bake bread?"

"Well... I'll just steam some rice and stir-fry some vegetables for lunch," said Sister Yang. Then the two of them discussed how to bake bread.

After breakfast, Li Long drove his Land Cruiser to drop the two children off at kindergarten, then turned around and headed north to see if he could finish dealing with Principal Yang's matter today. It would be best if he could finish, then he'd have more free time afterwards.

Principal Yang was indeed waiting at the entrance of the Agricultural Broadcasting School. When he saw Li Long's car drive up, his furrowed brows relaxed, and he made way for Li Long to drive his car into the school.

The students have already started class, and you can hear the teacher lecturing. Agricultural extension schools accept junior high school graduates or people from the village who are interested in learning agricultural technology. Unlike regular schools, they do not read aloud; the teachers mainly lecture.

Whether or not to learn, and to what extent, is up to the student.

Li Long glanced at the classroom, then turned and followed Principal Yang into the office.

This time, there was no smell of smoke. Li Long said with a smile, "Old Liu did a good job yesterday."

"Sigh, they're just a bit lazy, they won't do anything unless you push them." Principal Yang complained for a moment, then got down to business: "Last night when I got home, I was thinking about what you said, and I still don't quite understand the part about connecting the drip irrigation tape to the capillary tube. Could you explain it in more detail..."

Li Long naturally had no objections. Back when drip irrigation was first implemented, which household didn't spend several days painstakingly connecting the drip irrigation pipes? That memory was so vivid, it's practically etched in his mind, making it a very lively story to recount.

It's just that there's no drip irrigation tape available now, otherwise Li Long could give Principal Yang a live demonstration.

Li Long explained it in detail, and Principal Yang remembered it carefully. The office phone rang in the morning; by then, students were already chatting and playing outside—get out of class was over.

When Principal Yang answered the phone, he said to Li Long, "I bet it was Old Yang calling."

Upon hearing the "hello" from the other end, Principal Yang's face lit up with a smug expression, and he said with a smile, "Professor Yang, what's the matter? In such a hurry?"

"How's it going on your end? I've received two applications for experimental fields. Although they're rather rough, they said it's just an idea and they'll send a detailed report later... How's it going on your end?"

Principal Yang understood that Professor Yang meant that if his side was not good enough, he would choose one of the two; if his side was good enough, he would hold back.

"Don't worry, I'm absolutely fine on my end!"

"You say there's no problem, and that's it? Do you even know the real situation? And how confident are you really?"

This matter is very important, not only because of the matter itself, but also because it involves a series of subsequent plans.

Unfortunately, the time limit given by the autonomous region was very short, which meant that we couldn't do much on our end.

"You may not believe me, but you still believe Comrade Li Long? You're underestimating us, aren't you? Come, come, let me tell you how this experimental field was set up..."

As he spoke, Principal Yang read aloud what he and Li Long had discussed to Professor Yang, from leveling the land to building the pump house, as well as some subsequent management operations.

"Huh? So meticulous? You guys did this? Old Yang, this doesn't seem like your style!"

"It wasn't mainly me; these contents were mostly said by Comrade Li Long. Of course, I also contributed; I compiled them. What do you think?"

At this point, Principal Yang smiled at Li Long.

"How is it? Of course it's great! This is much better than the two simplified versions I have!" Professor Yang on the other end was already pleasantly surprised. "I knew I hadn't misjudged you. Well done, well done... But you need to send over the complete report as soon as possible, otherwise it won't be ready... How about this afternoon?"

"Okay, okay, we've pretty much figured it out. I'll work overtime at noon to organize it and send it to you this afternoon... wait, even if I send it to you, you won't receive it until tomorrow, right? Do you want me to call you and read it to you so you can write it down?"

"Okay, you'll definitely have to publish it later, but time is tight. Call me as soon as you have the report ready and let me know," Professor Yang said.

After hanging up the phone, Principal Yang said, "Comrade Li Long, you heard it too, our task is not easy."

"Actually, it's not heavy." Li Long was quite relaxed. He had already said most of what needed to be said, and there was no need to say anything for the time being.

Anyway, Professor Yang said that the report mainly concerned the setup of the experimental field, the accounting of the expenditure, and the steps that needed to be taken. He also mentioned the mature results that he had optimized many times in later generations. If this still didn't work, then he would accept it.

Upon hearing Li Long's words, Principal Yang chuckled and said, "That's true. This is my first time receiving a task from the autonomous region, and I was a little flustered. Yes, yes, we've almost finished. Come on, let's go through the process again. If there are no problems, I'll write the report as soon as possible."

So let's start by going through the process from the beginning.

Half an hour later, it was done.

Although Principal Yang was somewhat skeptical that the two of them had finished so quickly, it was indeed that fast.

"Hey, our efficiency is really high!" Principal Yang exclaimed first, then said with a smile, "Actually, it's your efficiency that's high. It feels like you've experienced all these things in your mind, so you know them all."

"Then you can get back to work now," Li Long said with a smile. "I need to go to the fourth team. If there are any other problems, call my older brother."

“Alright.” Principal Yang didn’t stop Li Long. He didn’t have time to entertain him after that. Li Long had nothing else to do there. He picked up a document from the table and said, “Look, this is the document about your appointment that I reported to the higher-ups yesterday. It’s been approved today.”

Li Long looked at the freshly printed document with great interest.

"Can I take this document?" Li Long asked.

“No, this needs to be filed. We’ll put it in the archives here,” Principal Yang said with a smile. “Don’t worry, the documents have been issued, so it’s definitely true. Of course, you won’t have to come to work every day. Just come and check on things from time to time. If this project is approved, you can take charge of the process.”

For a township-level agricultural extension school to receive an experimental field project from the autonomous region, that's quite an achievement.

Principal Yang felt that this trip might work out, which is why he placed such a heavy bet on Li Long.

Regardless, judging from Professor Yang's reaction just now, he felt confident that things were going well.

Therefore, giving Li Long this treatment is worthwhile!

Since he couldn't get the documents and couldn't take them back to show his mother off, Li Long decided not to linger and went out to get his car.

Several students were gathered around his Land Cruiser. When they saw him come out, they smiled and asked, "Comrade Li Long, is this your car? What brand is it?"

“Toyota, a Japanese car,” Li Long replied. “It’s commonly known as the Land Cruiser, and it’s an off-road vehicle.”

The group of young people, who loved cars but hadn't studied them much, were momentarily confused by Li Long's terminology. The only thing they could understand was that the car was a Japanese product.

At that time, relations between the two countries were still quite good, and the general public did not have such complicated feelings about Japan. Most people still felt that Japan was developed and that Japanese products generally symbolized high-end and sophisticated things, so several people had envious expressions on their faces.

Li Long didn't explain much. Even if he told them that in a few decades, domestically produced cars would be just as good as those produced in Japan and the United States, they wouldn't believe him.

I started the car and drove away from the campus, turning towards the fourth team, amidst the envious gazes of those people.

As Li Long turned the corner, he even saw someone quickly walk a few steps forward in the rearview mirror, enter the space where the car exhaust was coming out, and seem to take a few deep breaths.

Are these the people who like to smell car exhaust?

Li Long knew these people existed, but this was the first time he had seen them in person. It turned out that when he drove back to the Fourth Team, a group of kids would follow the car, but they didn't like the exhaust fumes; they just liked to join in the fun.

This is considered confirmed.

The frost on the road had melted, leaving a dampness. The fields were a mix of green and brown; the green was the winter wheat that had already sprouted, and the brown was the plowed land left to rot.

There are still rapeseed plants on the ridges that haven't been cut down. They're over a foot tall, green and seemingly unafraid of the frost.

This stuff is great for pickling vegetables, but there aren't many of them, and some have even flowered.

In a few years, the rapeseed growing on these field ridges will become the favorite of the women from the city who come to "hunt in the wild." They will come with bags and pick the field ridges. Whether it is rapeseed or dandelion, it is a good thing for them.

A fleeting glimpse, middle school, elementary school, and then we arrived at Team Three, Weigou...

To Li Long's surprise, there was water in the reed ditch. Could there be another flood in the next couple of days?
When Li Long arrived at his elder brother's house, he parked the car and went to see his mother first. He found Junfeng's wife, Dong Xiaojuan, chatting with his mother, so he chatted with her for a few words and then went to his elder brother's room.

Dong Xiaojuan, holding the child, whispered to Du Chunfang after Li Long left:

"Third Grandma, why does Uncle Xiaolong seem to be getting more and more like an official?"

"Hehe, not at all. It's just that I do a lot of things. What do you call that? Juan said it's called... temperament." Du Chunfang grinned and said, "Come on, the steamed buns are ready. Give the baby a piece."

The bread slices were still baking on the stove; they were now golden brown and smelled delicious.

When Du Chunfang was in her hometown, she liked to eat sesame seed cakes at the market. Every time she went to the market, she would buy a few, bring them back, bake them on a honeycomb briquette stove, and slowly break them apart to eat.

Now, since this isn't available in northern Xinjiang, we can only eat steamed bread slices. This is alright too, it helps to chew slowly.

Actually, there are even better options. Every few days when Li Long comes over, he brings some snacks that Gu Xiaoxia bought for him.

For example, sponge cake, river noodles, sesame cakes, and even—cut cake, which is called Maren candy at this time.

There were soft and hard foods. Although Du Chunfang clearly stated that she liked to eat hard foods, Gu Xiaoxia brought more than just hard foods.

Du Chunfang felt happy, but also a little troubled. Should she eat it or not? Besides, she couldn't possibly finish it all.

At first, she thought it was because of her youngest son that her daughter-in-law bought it; otherwise, her daughter-in-law wouldn't have bought it. Later, she realized that her daughter-in-law was very good and genuinely filial.

Later, she started sharing her treasured snacks with Li Juan, Li Qiang, Mingming, and Haohao.

Ultimately, the family's financial situation improved, and they became less stingy.

Her eldest and youngest sons would occasionally slip her some pocket money, and her eldest daughter-in-law would often cook her some of her favorite dishes.

What else do you want?

When Li Long entered the house, he didn't see his sister-in-law, but he heard his older brother and Junfeng talking inside, so he went in.

Li Jianguo and Li Junfeng were calculating how much money to give to the other relatives.

Li Junfeng's entire family registered their household in the village, and they built a yard. Although they still couldn't afford a car, Li Jianguo had two cars, which he could drive occasionally when he needed to do errands.

So, in a way, they are better off than many families in the team.

"Is the matter at the Agricultural Broadcasting School settled? What did Principal Yang want to see you about?" Li Jianguo asked, putting down his pen.

"Professor Yang from the College of Agriculture applied for a project in the autonomous region: an experimental field for the improvement of cotton drip irrigation."

"I remember you said that if drip irrigation could be successfully implemented, cotton yields could reach three or four hundred kilograms, and maybe even five hundred kilograms?" Li Jianguo vaguely recalled Li Long mentioning drip irrigation. "Is this it?"

“This is it. But right now, drip irrigation isn’t widespread.” Li Long sat down on the sofa, grabbed a handful of sunflowers, and said while cracking them open, “Drip irrigation tape is too expensive, and setting it up requires leveling the land, building pump houses, digging ditches and laying pipes, which is very troublesome. If it weren’t for the funding from the government, we wouldn’t be able to do it ourselves.”

"Is the cost really that high?" Li Jianguo asked. "We have some money now. If we can get this going, and increase cotton production, even if we owe some money, can't we make up for it later?"

“We can’t come back.” Li Long shook his head. “The drip irrigation tape produced in our country is too expensive now. Even the ones produced abroad cost more than one yuan per meter. One mu of land would require more than a thousand meters. The cost is too high. Unless the cost of drip irrigation tape comes down to more than ten cents per meter, it will be more reasonable.”

“Even a penny is expensive. Just the drip irrigation tape alone costs over a hundred yuan. Add in other costs, and it would cost two or three hundred yuan per mu, wouldn’t it?” Li Jianguo shook his head. He really couldn’t afford to grow it.

"If we can increase production to 300 kilograms, that's 600 at the current price. Even if the cost is 300, it's still worthwhile," Li Long said with a smile.
"I imported a set of equipment from the Soviet Union, and it's currently being studied at the Kuishi Agricultural Machinery Factory. If we can develop a domestically produced machine, and then the price of raw materials comes down, we might be able to make it work."

“We’ll have to wait then.” Li Jianguo regained his composure. “I don’t know how many years we’ll have to wait.”

"Let's take it one step at a time. Maybe we can develop a domestically made machine by the end of this year. Then, in two years, when petrochemical plants are established in Dushanzi or Karamay, plastic raw materials will be cheaper, and then we can start making this."

Li Long spoke of the prospects: "However, it would be best if we could secure a project supported by the autonomous region. That way, at least we wouldn't have to pay for the initial costs such as land leveling and pump house construction." "The autonomous region would have such a project?"

“It should happen,” Li Long said confidently. “The reason for setting up this experimental field now is to see how promising the drip irrigation project is. If the prospects are good, then the autonomous region will definitely put more effort into it.”

Li Long used to think that the autonomous region's support projects were a given, but now he realizes that's not entirely true. Henan and Hebei, which he used to refer to as major cotton-growing areas, were also traditional cotton-growing regions, but why did they later shift their focus to northern Xinjiang?

Firstly, people need to grow grain there, and secondly, cotton in northern Xinjiang has high yields and good quality, so they moved here.

Of course, there are other considerations as well, which are beyond the knowledge of an ordinary citizen like him.

The topic basically ended there, Li Jianguo said:
“Junhai and the others plan to go back earlier this year, and I’m here to do the math for them.”

“I’ll pay for their money,” Li Long said. “Brother, you’ve given me most of the money you’ve earned, so you can’t pay for theirs too, that won’t do.”

“Half for each of us,” Li Jianguo said. “Junfeng and I are currently calculating how much each of us should get. We earned more money this year than last year, so we should get a larger share.”

"Of course," Li Long said. "I've worked hard all year, so I should get paid accordingly."

“I’ve earned quite a bit,” Li Junfeng said with a smile. “I’ve already received some money for working for the cooperative. Although it’s not a lot, it’s still several hundred.”

The cooperative's rules stipulate that wages for manual labor are sometimes paid immediately, and sometimes paid at the end of the year. Li Junfeng and his colleagues were paid in cash for weeding, picking cotton, and managing staff for the cooperative.

The main reason is that we trust these people; their ethics are far superior to those of casual laborers.

After Li Jianguo finished calculating, he showed it to Li Long.

Li Junfeng received the most money, eight thousand yuan. Li Juntian received the least, two thousand five hundred yuan.

That's a full thousand more than last year.

If you add the money you earn working at the cooperative, it's about three thousand. In those days, earning that much money a year would make you a wealthy household.

“Sure,” Li Long chuckled. “This will increase everyone’s income. Next year, we’ll take turns driving the three high-powered cars, and I estimate that everyone will earn around five thousand or more by the end of the year.”

“That’s right,” Li Junfeng said. “Using a high-horsepower tractor to plow the land is really fast, and it’s also very profitable. I heard from Qianjin that the plowing fees in other teams have increased this year, with plowing alone costing ten yuan per mu. If you add other fees, it’ll be thirty yuan for the whole thing. Uncle Jianguo, do you think our team will raise the fees next year?”

"Let's not talk about whether prices will rise or not right now. After a while, I reckon Wang the Money-Grubber will come to us to discuss it," Li Jianguo said. "Let's discuss it first and then talk about it."

Although Wang Caimi's life was a bit harder than before, his old tractor could only operate on no more than 500 mu of land each year. But if the whole process of plowing, sowing, leveling, and harrowing cost 30 yuan, he could still make 20,000 yuan a year, including the beginning and end of the year.

Therefore, they definitely won't abandon this part.

However, if he wanted to raise prices, he couldn't bypass the Li family. The Li family had three high-horsepower tractors, far surpassing his own capabilities. If he unilaterally raised prices while the Li family didn't, no one would hire him to plow the fields.

So it was he who was anxious, not the Li family.

The reasoning behind this becomes clear once analyzed.

"Brother, when are we going to split the money?" Li Long asked.

He planned to go back in the afternoon to get some cash, which he would then distribute to his nephews and nieces who were doing the work.

"Let's do it tomorrow. After we split the money, Junfeng will drive the van to the county to buy some things, and then we'll have to head back in a couple of days. It's easier to buy tickets now; later on, train tickets will be harder to get."

"Okay, I'll bring the money over this afternoon," Li Long said. "Where's my sister-in-law?"

"He went to the Lu family's house. Tie Tou's mother said she needed to sew a quilt, so she asked your sister-in-law to help her."

Sewing quilts is a rather tiring task. Usually, if you need to sew several quilts, you'll need to ask the women in your neighborhood for help. This is considered mutual assistance between neighbors and is also a way to strengthen relationships.

"So what are we having for lunch?" Li Long asked with a smile. "Will you cook or will my sister-in-law cook?"

“I’ll make pilaf later,” Li Jianguo said. “Yang Laoliu told Lao Luo that some of the culled sheep wouldn’t survive the winter, so it would be better to slaughter them in advance. Lao Luo agreed and slaughtered two of them. He sent one and a half over this morning, saying that one of them was waiting for you to come and take it away. I thought the ribs looked very fresh, so I thought I’d make pilaf.”

"Alright, alright," Li Long smiled. "Then I'll wait to eat."

He had told Uncle Luo that he didn't need to report to him about slaughtering one or two sheep. He should only report to him when slaughtering a large number of sheep, or when killing deer or roe deer.

Because raising cattle and sheep inevitably involves some unexpected events, sometimes it's too late to report everything.

Moreover, the numbers of cattle, sheep, deer, roe deer, and wild boars have been steadily increasing over the past two years, so Li Long still trusts the elders at Lao Ma's place.

My older brother was a quartermaster in the Production and Construction Corps, so he's quite good at cooking; pilaf is one of his specialties.

So we waited to eat.

At the Kuishi Agricultural Machinery Factory, Deng and his team, including the raw material suppliers they had invited, were all watching and waiting to see the machine start up for the third time.

This time, the raw materials have a stable ratio: 30% new materials and 70% recycled and cleaned waste plastics.

The first two startup tests were half-failed once, and although the other was not a complete failure, the drip irrigation tape produced did not meet the standards and was considered a substandard product, so some improvements were made.

"The spacing between the drip irrigation tape holes this time is 15 centimeters," Engineer Deng reported to Factory Director Du. "This spacing is adjustable; it depends on how far apart the seeds are when sowing."

Director Du nodded, indicating that he understood. This is how sowing and drip irrigation are synchronized. The position of the sown seeds is the same as the position of the drip irrigation nozzles, so that the drip irrigation water can precisely reach the seeds and the seedlings behind them.

Because drip irrigation also serves the purpose of fertilization, the location of this hole is particularly important.

"Start it up!" Seeing that Director Du had no objections, Engineer Deng shouted, and the technicians flipped the power switch and started the unit.

The washed waste plastics were fed into the feed chute, then crushed into small pellets, and subsequently heated.

The air smelled strongly of heated plastic. The windows in the workshop were all open, letting in a draft of cold air, but no one seemed to notice—the machines were radiating heat, and everyone's attention was focused on the conveyor belt outlet.

New plastic granules are added in and quickly mixed with the old materials. They are then heated until they become a single unit and moved to the next stage by the machine.

Soon, a long black tape was sent out from the outlet. Engineer Deng rushed forward and grabbed it without caring that the drip tape was still hot to the touch.

I gently rubbed it and checked the distance between the drip irrigation holes; everything was fine.

It continued production for five minutes without any problems, then shut it down.

Several people were holding onto a piece of drip irrigation tape and watching.

"The thickness is uniform," said Director Du.

"The location of the drip irrigation holes meets the requirements," Engineer Deng also said.

"The finished product is sturdy and has a certain degree of elasticity, much better than the last one," said the representative from the raw materials department.

It seems everyone is quite satisfied with this boot-up.

"Then we'll see how well the machine keeps up with production," said Factory Director Du. "Engineer Deng, shall we proceed with the next phase of testing?"

“Sure.” Engineer Deng was quite confident. “From what I can see, our machine is more suited to our country’s actual conditions than the prototype we brought from the Soviet Union, and it is also more adaptable to raw materials. If its performance meets the standards in continuous production, then we can finalize the design and start production.”

However, after experimentation, it was found that the quality of the products produced after continuous production for more than an hour was problematic.

Clearly, the process has not yet reached the expected level.

"That's quite good. Achieving this much in such a short time has exceeded our expectations," Director Du comforted Engineer Deng. "Let's study it further and try to resolve this major issue before the end of the year. We'll then recommend you for commendation!"

"Yes, we are confident!" Engineer Deng understood perfectly well that the main reason for the problem was the material used in the production of the equipment parts. In fact, the design was basically fine, much better than the "prototype".

However, this material significantly impacts efficiency.

That's fine too; our country really needs to strengthen this aspect further.

The next day, just as the Li family was distributing wages to their relatives, an uninvited guest arrived at the Kuishi Agricultural Machinery Factory.

"Buy our technology?" Factory Director Du was somewhat surprised. "What technology?"

"It's the drip irrigation tape production unit that your factory is currently researching." The other party politely handed over their business card with both hands. "We are members of Inoue Corporation of Japan, and we know about your factory's drip irrigation tape production equipment. The technology is quite good. So we would like to purchase it—don't worry, we will definitely give you a very satisfactory price."

"Are you going to buy it and produce it in your Japan? Can we continue production here, or is it a complete buyout of the technology, and we can't produce it here anymore?" Factory Director Du felt that these people's arrival was a bit suspicious.

The final experiment here isn't even over yet, and someone's already trying to buy the technology. The news leaked way too fast!
"Of course, we'll buy out the technology, the complete technology. After the buyout, you won't be able to produce this kind of equipment anymore," the other party said respectfully, yet firmly.

"How much are you offering?" Factory Director Du asked this question purely out of curiosity.

He wanted to know how much this technology was worth in the other person's eyes.

Whether it will be sold or not is another matter.

"Five million yuan." The two men exchanged a glance, their expressions unreadable, and then one of them said.

Five million! That's a lot!

Factory Director Du exclaimed, "You guys have good taste—is it Japanese Yen, US Dollars, or Chinese Yuan?"

“Of course it’s RMB,” the other party said.

“Then I’ll have to ask the others. It’s not just us who have shares; there are others involved too,” Factory Director Du said. “Why don’t you come back tomorrow?”

As mentioned earlier, we are currently in a period of Sino-Japanese friendship. Although there are anti-Japanese voices in the public, most people still think of Japan as a developed country and admire or envy it.

That was the prevailing tone of propaganda in China at the time.

After the two people left, Director Du called Li Long's purchasing station.

Li Qingxia answered the call and then said that Li Long had gone to the team.

After learning that Director Du had an urgent matter, Li Qingxia said that she would have Li Long call him back.

Less than five minutes after Director Du hung up the phone, Li Long called back.

Factory Director Du could hear other people talking on the phone, so he asked where Li Long was.

"I'm with my older brother. We called some relatives from our hometown to help with the work, and now that it's finished, we need to pay them their wages. I heard from my dad that you have something urgent to do?"

"It's urgent." Director Du then explained the arrival of the two people from Inoue Company, adding with some surprise, "Our factory only conducted its third start-up test yesterday, and it's not even fully successful yet, and they're already here to buy the technology. The news leaked way too quickly."

“There’s nothing we can do,” Li Longtai said, knowing these people’s character all too well. “They have so much money, claiming they’re going to buy up America and the world. They’ll do anything with money. As long as they’re willing to spend money, some of our factory’s technicians or other workers will eventually fall for it.”

Factory Director Du understood, but he was also somewhat helpless; there was nothing he could do.

For example, if you were to give a worker a thousand dollars and ask him what the factory is currently researching, he would definitely be willing to tell you—in most people's eyes, this is not a big secret.

As for why they would target agricultural machinery factories, Li Long guessed it was probably because of machines like snowplows that had already been sold.

After all, it's hard for a factory that can consistently produce machines that are highly adaptable to the times not to be targeted by industrial espionage.

As for whether there were spies at that time—hehe, guess what? Even during this period when Sino-Japanese relations were very good, the northern border region expelled a lot of Japanese journalists and professors every year. Was it purely because they got lost?
The northern Xinjiang region, a major northwest region that produces oil, uranium, and large quantities of coal, has long been coveted by Japan.

Especially because of Lop Nur and Malan!
So Li Long is not surprising at all.

I just didn't expect the other party to be watching so quickly.

"Five million? Heh, I thought Japan was really rich. Looks like they're stingy." Li Long said.
"Old Du, let me put it this way. Right now, the two countries with the most advanced drip irrigation technology in the world are Israel in the Middle East. There's no way around it, since there are deserts everywhere and water is too expensive there. The second is Japan. They also have relatively scarce resources, so they are quite impressive in developing this kind of water-saving technology."

"Then why do you still need to buy our technology?" Director Du was somewhat puzzled.

"What else could it be? First, they want to use our technology as a reference to improve their own. Second, they've bought our technology, so if we want to use drip irrigation in the future, we'll only be able to buy their products."

"Our technology improves their technology? You mean our technology is superior to theirs in some aspects?"

"Otherwise what? You don't think our technology is that backward, do you? At least have some confidence in yourself," Li Long said half-jokingly.

"Yesterday, Engineer Deng said that our prototype is better than the prototype you brought back from the Soviet Union. I just didn't expect it to be this much better!" Director Du suddenly became excited. "Does that mean that if our experiment is successful, we'll basically be the first in the whole country to achieve this?"

"It's pretty much settled, let's leave it at that," Li Long said. "So, do you want to sell it?"

"Of course we won't sell!" Factory Director Du slapped his thigh. "They're dreaming! Our domestic market is so huge. If we sell our technology, then we'll only be able to buy finished products from other companies, and then they can set prices however they want!"

"Yes, that's right. I was just discussing the drip irrigation experimental field with the principal of our local agricultural extension school yesterday. This is an autonomous region project, and it's clear that the autonomous region has also discovered the relationship between drip irrigation for water conservation and fertilizer application for increased yields."

"Selling this technology would be like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs." Seeing that Factory Director Du was quite shrewd, Li Long smiled and said, "They're not stupid either; they might actually be after this project."

“Then we definitely can’t sell it,” said Director Du. “It seems I need to investigate the workers in our factory again; this background check will have to be done again.”

“Of course. Technology will be extremely important and needs to be kept strictly confidential in the future. Industrial spies specialize in stealing technology. Our factory is no longer the same old repair and maintenance factory; we really need to take this seriously,” Li Long said.

"Don't worry, I'll check it out in a bit." Director Du was confident but also cautious. "I don't expect our factory to be rock solid, but at least it can't be as leaky as it is now. Alright, I understand the situation. I won't keep you any longer; I need to get to work and make arrangements!"

After hanging up the phone, Li Long sat on the sofa and continued watching his older brother distribute the money to Li Junhai and the others.

The fact that someone from Japan went to the agricultural machinery factory to buy technology was beyond his expectations.

Although he analyzed the cause and effect very well and accurately for Director Du, it was only after the results were in that he connected them with some information he knew from his previous life.

Looking back now, it's no surprise that agricultural machinery factories emerged too quickly and were targeted.

Director Du's reaction was exactly what he expected—a person with great ambitions wouldn't care about a pittance—of course, the number of pittances was a bit too much.

But compared to future prospects and ambitions, it's really not enough.

So, I need to be careful too.

(End of this chapter)