In 1978, I was admitted to Harbin Institute of Technology

Chapter 209 Factory 122's extravagant reception, was it really just because Principal Li bought a plane worth less than 30?

Where are Professor Fang and his team?

Although he was extremely busy all day, Xie Wei still cared about Xie Rou quite a bit.

Fang Pengju's long-range artillery requires extensive testing.
If it were another organization, it would be impossible to test subsequent steps before completing the previous one, let alone conduct subsequent experiments without resolving the problems discovered earlier.

The school avoided all of this by independently initiating the project.

With Xie Rou's presence as a walking human computer, otherwise Fang Pengju's long-range fire would never have been able to complete a comprehensive environmental test so quickly.

"They're still in Zhangye, not far from Turpan... They sent a telegram hoping the school could send supplies to them. Our school's reputation doesn't carry much weight in the Northwest..."

Yuan Zhenyue observed Xie Wei's reaction and spoke cautiously.

With Li Rui gone, Yuan Zhenyue, the principal's assistant, lost his footing at the school and had to be extremely cautious in everything he did.

When Principal Li left, he did not make any arrangements for Zhang Mingqiu, who was originally the vice principal and had his own assistant; Vice Principal Liu Debao, who was also the deputy secretary, also had his own assistant.

At first, Yuan Zhenyue was extremely confused. He was ready to find Xie Wei several times, but he felt that his personal relationship with Xie Wei was not good enough.

Fortunately, Zhang Mingqiu put him in charge of the school's logistics work first, mainly coordinating the work between the school and the school-enterprise office.

Upon receiving Fang Pengju's request for material support, Yuan Zhenyue knew this was the best opportunity to establish a personal relationship with Xie Wei, so he immediately went to find Xie Wei.

"They've only just arrived in Zhangye? They're still thousands of kilometers away from their destination. If they have to turn back then, they won't be able to get back until the end of the year."

Xie Wei frowned.

We didn't talk about it for this long before.

"Professor Fang's idea is that after the simulated missile tests at the firing range, Wang Yuting should accompany Xie Rou back first... However, some supplies are currently insufficient, especially Xie Rou and the others' personal daily necessities, which is inconvenient..."

Yuan Zhenyue explained the situation to Xie Wei.

For a moment, Xie Wei was stunned.

How to resupply over a distance of thousands of kilometers?

Even if you take a train, traveling from the Northeast to the Northwest, constantly changing trains, you still won't be able to catch up.

He didn't question it; since Yuan Zhenyue had come to him, he must have a solution.

"What? You're planning to go in person, or fly there? The cost..."

Upon hearing Yuan Zhenyue's suggestion, Xie Wei's lips twitched repeatedly.

Damn it, is the other party trying to harm me?
In this day and age, people would fly thousands of kilometers from the Northeast to the Northwest by plane just to deliver sanitary napkins to their younger sister.

If this gets out, it will be an indelible stain.

“We don’t have to pay for the costs. Weijian Machinery Factory has the Y-11, which was just developed a few years ago and has no orders yet… They cover all the flight costs.”

Yuan Zhenyue hurriedly explained.

Weijian Machinery Factory?
Xie Wei was stunned when he heard this unfamiliar name.

I've never heard of an aircraft manufacturing plant in China with such a name.

Harbin has an aircraft manufacturing plant; the Y-11 was developed by Harbin Aircraft Industry Group. How did it become some kind of Weijian Machinery Factory?

"Do we have other aircraft manufacturing plants around here?"

"No, just Factory 122. It's one of the 156 key projects aided by the Soviet Union. Previously, it mainly produced Z-5, H-5, and H-6 aircraft... Principal Li contacted them before. After Weijian Machinery Factory successfully developed the Y-11, it hadn't received any orders yet. Principal Li had talked to the factory leaders before, preparing to purchase one for the university..."

What the hell?

Li Rui is planning to buy an airplane for the school?
Isn't this just nonsense?

Putting aside the school's current financial situation, why would the school buy a plane?
"The school-enterprise cooperation office is always out there contacting business and handling a lot of things, right? You complained before that Harbin was too remote, the trains were too slow, and you spent too much time on the road to get anywhere..."

Yuan Zhenyue, Li Rui's assistant, was the most aware of Li Rui's favoritism towards Xie Wei.

To be honest, Yuan Zhenyue often felt that Xie Wei was Li Rui's biological son.

Do not!
An old father who treats his own son better than this.

Xie Wei was dumbfounded; this had nothing to do with him.

"As Principal Li mentioned before, you can currently manage things remotely from the school, but as time goes on, many things will require your personal attention. Having an airplane would be much more convenient and would save a lot of time..."

"..."

Xie Wei really didn't know what to say.

Is Old Man Li elevating himself or harming himself?

Could it be Li Rui's fault?

The old man is only thinking about himself. Hasn't he ever thought about what would happen if he were to frequently fly around on the school's private jet?
What's the point of talking about the future!
None of the leading cadres in the country have private jets!
"Even if it's really for the convenience of business negotiations and to save time, they should buy planes with a longer range! The Y-11 has a range of less than 1000 kilometers, so it can only fly in the surrounding areas."

To be honest, the information revealed by Yuan Zhenyue slowed down Xie Wei's brain.

This shows how much he was affected by this incident.

“It’s not that Principal Li doesn’t want to buy bigger planes, but buying from abroad requires too many approval procedures, is expensive, and requires a huge amount of foreign exchange, which is simply impossible to get approved. There are no other transport planes in China that can be used as passenger planes. Besides, the Y-11 aircraft from Factory 122, although it has a short range and its speed cannot compare with other aircraft, is cheap!”

"Cheap price?"

The Y-11 is a propeller aircraft with outdated performance and poor carrying capacity. But no matter what, it is still an aircraft.

How much cheaper can it be?
"Yeah, the factory price is less than 30..."

"Wait~"

Although I was shocked by the price Yuan Zhenyue quoted, you have to know that in the 80s, imported cars were incredibly expensive in China.

Domestically produced transport aircraft cost less than 30 yuan, which is even less than imported cars such as Toyota Crown, Audi, and Mercedes-Benz.

Before Xie Wei could even marvel at the Y-11's low price, he realized something was wrong.

What does Yuan Zhenyue mean?
"Has it already been purchased?"

He had just told himself that Li Rui was planning to buy a light transport plane for the school, but judging from Yuan Zhenyue's tone, it was clear that the purchase had already been made.

When Xie Wei heard that the school didn't have to pay, he was still puzzled. With the planned orders reduced and everyone's lives not as comfortable as before, why would Factory 122 show such generosity and spend several thousand yuan to help the school deliver supplies?

Xie Wei originally thought that Factory 122 might be for some technical projects of the school.

"Uh~"

Yuan Zhenyue then realized he had let something slip, "I bought it. Principal Li bought it before he left, and the paperwork was only recently completed..."

"..."

What could Xie Wei say when he looked at Yuan Zhenyue?
What does buying the plane have to do with Yuan Zhenyue?

The old man is gone and still can't keep the school in peace.

Left with no other choice, Xie Wei had to put aside his work and go with Yuan Zhenyue to Factory 122.

"Yuan Zhenyue took Xie Wei to Factory 122?"

After Xie Wei left with Yuan Zhenyue, the news was quickly reported to Zhang Mingqiu and Liu Debao.

"I'm going. I just wonder if that kid will cause a scene if he finds out the money came from the school-enterprise cooperation program..."

Zhang Mingqiu looked worried. "The principal is really something. If the aircraft developed by Factory 122 doesn't have any orders, then it doesn't have any orders! Our budget is already tight. We don't necessarily have to buy an aircraft to support it!" Zhang Mingqiu was dissatisfied with Li Rui's behavior.

The claim that it was to facilitate the school-enterprise office's business trips is simply not a valid reason.

The real reason is that the Z-5 helicopter was discontinued this year, and although the H-5 has not yet been discontinued, planned orders have been significantly reduced. The production of the H-6 has been transferred to Xi'an Aircraft Industry Group and other units. The H-5A, which was modified and upgraded by Factory 122 based on the Il-28, still has not solved the problems of engine cooling and heat dissipation. Its performance is only slightly improved compared to the H-5 and has not entered the mass production stage.

At present, production at Factory 122 has almost come to a standstill.

Although they are leveraging their strong technological foundation to develop civilian products, no military industrial unit is willing to give up the research and development of advanced military technologies.

"Principal, there's nothing we can do about it. Our school has numerous fighter jet-related technology projects..."

Liu Debao immediately told the truth.

"Factory 122 isn't a fighter jet manufacturing unit!"

Zhang Mingqiu simply didn't believe such a reason. What problems could spending more than 30 yuan to buy a Y-11 aircraft solve for a large unit like Harbin Aircraft Industry Group?
More than 30 yuan, that's probably not even enough to pay a month's salary.

"They're not fighter jet manufacturers, and our school isn't necessarily only involved in fighter jet technology research and development!"

Liu Debao's words immediately left Zhang Mingqiu staring at him in astonishment.

Clearly, Liu Debao's words were pointed.

"Old Liu, have you received some news?"

"No. Principal Li just complained a bit before buying the planes, saying that all the planes flying in our skies are foreign passenger planes... The Y-7 hasn't been successfully developed yet, the Y-8 is for military use, and the prospects for the Y-10 are also worrying..."

Liu Debao shook his head and said.

Zhang Mingqiu remained silent.

This is the case.

The country's industrial base was weak and its technology was backward, making it extremely difficult to develop large aircraft.

There are already rumors that the Y-10 project will be cancelled due to insufficient supporting facilities, especially the lack of various key core equipment, and foreign embargoes, which have led to continuous cuts in funding for the project just before its maiden flight.

"Ultimately, it's because we're poor! The country is adjusting its policies to focus on economic infrastructure development, and the limited funds have to be invested in this area, while also ensuring the top priority of military aircraft projects..."

After a long while, Zhang Mingqiu let out a long sigh.

Will the school take over the subsequent investment in the Y-10?
Can't even think about it.

The required funding is in the hundreds of millions!
"Even if we weren't poor, our school couldn't afford such a large project! I really don't know what Principal Li was thinking!"

Now it was Liu Debao's turn to complain about Li Rui's behavior.

The funding required for the large aircraft project cannot be small.
“He wouldn’t have considered this before, but with Xie Wei and the school-enterprise cooperation office, who can say for sure what will happen? In the past, do you think Principal Li would have done this?”

Both of them knew Li Rui well, and even if Li Rui had ideas, he wouldn't act on them if he didn't have money.

It was Xie Wei's appearance that led to the proposal to establish a school-enterprise cooperation office, which, crucially, could also generate revenue.

This gave Li Rui's ideas a chance to come to fruition.

"Ah~"

Secretary Liu lit a cigarette and smoked silently.

Principal Zhang didn't know how to start the conversation, and the office fell silent for a moment.

······
The school and Factory 122 are not in the same district, but they are not far apart, only about 30 kilometers away.

We arrived at the gate of Factory 122 in a short time, riding in the jeep provided by the school-enterprise cooperation office.

It's clear that Yuan Zhenyue communicated with them before coming.

To Xie Wei's surprise, as soon as his jeep arrived at the factory gate, he saw a large group of leaders in cadre uniforms waiting there.

"Are there any factory leaders inspecting our work today?"

Seeing the setup at the factory gate, Xie Wei asked Yuan Zhenyue in astonishment.

"I don't know. When I called earlier, they didn't say anything, they just said they would pick us up at the factory gate."

Yuan Zhenyue was also completely bewildered by the situation outside.

Clearly, the level of hospitality they were being treated was not intended for them at all.

Previously, Yuan Zhenyue was in charge of liaising with Factory 122, and this side only sent the head of the external liaison department. Occasionally, they would meet with leaders at the deputy factory director level from Factory 122.

"How about we turn around and go another day?"

Xie Wei didn't want to approach the other party while they were welcoming their superiors.

In such a setting, it's difficult to discuss anything.

Ultimately, he still wanted to return the Y-11 aircraft that the school had ordered.

Where would a school normally need a chartered plane?
With a range of less than 1000 kilometers and a payload of less than one ton, it doesn't seem to have much value.

"Assistant Yuan, you've arrived?"

Just as Yuan Zhenyue was pondering how to instruct the driver in front to turn around, a cadre in his forties stepped forward and greeted Yuan Zhenyue with a big smile, "Hurry up and get out of the car, our factory director, secretary, and chief engineer are all waiting for your arrival."

"what?"

Yuan Zhenyue was petrified.

Even Xie Wei was completely dumbfounded at this moment.

Just because we purchased a Y-11 small aircraft worth less than 30 yuan from Factory 122, the other party gave us such a high level of hospitality.

How can one enjoy it?

"This must be Comrade Xie Wei, right? We've been wanting to meet you for a long time, and today we finally have the chance..."

The cadre who stepped forward ignored Yuan Zhenyue's bewilderment and shock, walked directly to the car door, opened it for him, and extended his hand to Xie Wei.

Xie Wei hurriedly got out of the car and shook hands with the other party, saying, "Sir, this welcome is too high-level, it's not appropriate!"

With the other party making such a grand display, Xie Wei naturally couldn't continue to use the excuse that he was still a student.

When the other party directly revealed Xie Wei's past experiences, he knew that he could no longer use his student status to deceive these increasingly shrewd leaders.

"Comrade Xie Wei, you're too kind! You know, Principal Li Rui has praised you to our leaders quite a bit before! The factory leaders have always wanted to meet you, but Principal Li simply wouldn't agree..."

The cadre looked at Xie Wei with a broad smile.

His smile, however, made Xie Wei want to get back into the car and have the driver leave immediately.

The other person knows me, but I know nothing about them.

I've never even met him!
Especially that smile of the other person, no matter how you look at it, it looks like a weasel seeing a little rooster!

Hidden motives?

Why would the other side make such a big fuss? Is it really just because Li Rui bought a light transport plane worth less than 30 yuan from Factory 122?
impossible!

"Xie Wei, this is Chen Rongjie, the head of the External Relations Section of Factory 122..."

(End of this chapter)