In 1978, I was admitted to Harbin Institute of Technology

Chapter 215 International Telecommunications Suppliers Form Secret Alliance and Refusal to Yield? Principal Li Appears
"It's not that serious, is it?"

Zhang Mingqiu looked at Xie Wei, his brows furrowed. "Nobody knows where Principal Li is right now..."

"No matter where he is, we have to get him to come back, or we can go find him ourselves."

Xie Wei looked determined.

Xiangjiang Company was proposed and established by Xie Wei. If this company is controlled by the ministry, it will be able to control any products that the school-enterprise cooperation office is preparing to export.

This is something Xie Wei absolutely does not want to see.

As for whether Old Man Li was really punished and sidelined, after understanding the purpose of what Li Rui said and did before leaving, he knew that the old man would definitely not be punished, and might even be promoted because of the school's performance.

"Okay, I'll try to contact him. Right now, nobody knows where Principal Li is..."

Seeing Xie Wei's resolute expression, Zhang Mingqiu wanted to ask Xie Wei what the specific situation was, as he, as the acting principal, could help find a solution, but in the end he gave up.

There are many problems he can't solve.

He also lacked Li Rui's boldness and drive. If it weren't for Li Rui's desire to ensure that reliable people would protect Xie Wei and allow him to grow unchecked, Zhang Mingqiu knew he would have retired from his position as vice principal.

He can't solve the mess left by Li Rui; he can only drag it out.

Although Xie Wei's projects didn't require funding from higher authorities, they did require him to seek policy approvals and permits, and he couldn't apply for them step by step...

Vice Principal Zhang, who has neither senior leaders nor connections with higher-ups, cannot handle this.

"Where did the principal go and what was he doing?"

Wang Zheng, who was standing to the side, finally asked the question he had wanted to ask for a long time.

"I don't know~"

Zhang Mingqiu answered with a bitter face.

If he knew where Li Rui was and what he was doing, why would he give Xie Wei such an uncertain answer as "I will try to contact him"?
······
A desolate Gobi Desert.

The surrounding land stretches as far as the eye can see, with hardly any greenery in sight.

A desolate little airport with only one not-too-long runway, where you can't see planes taking off or landing, nor can you see any planes on the tarmac at the end of the runway.

Turpan Airport.

Construction began in 1953 as an alternate airport for the Lanzhou-Urumqi air route, and it was completed in 54. In 58, it was approved by the General Staff to be retained as an old military airport.

After being grounded in the early 60s, this small airport was usually only used by a few military aircraft that passed by.

Today, a light Y-11 aircraft, with the roar of its propeller engines, slowly landed at the airport.

"It wasn't a military transport plane, nor a bomber..."

"Sigh, it's such a small airplane!"

"Harbin Institute of Technology? Is this the school's plane? Such a small plane flying from the Northeast to the Northwest?"

The airport staff, who had been busy preparing for several days, were filled with disappointment after more than a year of no flights.

They fully expected it to be a bomber formation training exercise.

As a result, it wasn't even a military transport aircraft, let alone a bomber.

How can I not be disappointed?

"It's a miracle that a plane lands at all, otherwise I wouldn't know what the point of working here is! I feel like I'm wasting the country's salary..."

The staff were stunned when they saw the school's name painted on the outside of the plane.

Airport staff are all veterans who have worked for many years. They know that besides the Air Force and airlines, why are schools starting to have airplanes?
"Shouldn't it be a plane belonging to the Production and Construction Corps? Why is it labeled with the school's name?"

Some people are confused.

If it doesn't belong to an airline, it should at least be something the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps uses for planting and spraying pesticides.

"Harbin Institute of Technology! My alma mater! I never imagined we'd have airplanes now. Is this a test flight of an airplane designed and manufactured by our school?"

A middle-aged man in his forties was thrilled when he saw the school's name on the fuselage.

During his time at university, aerospace engineering was a strong point of the school.

"From your school? Harbin Institute of Technology has the capability to manufacture airplanes?"

The people around him looked on in disbelief.

"Don't even mention airplanes, our school can even make missiles and rockets!"

The middle-aged man was taken aback for a moment, then decisively confused design with manufacturing.

……

"Professor Fang, why did you come in person?"

Yuan Zhenyue actually saw Fang Pengju and Xie Rou waiting outside before the plane had even come to a complete stop.

He quickly walked down the gangway and hurriedly greeted them.

"We're waiting for you to transport some spare parts. This is the airport manager..."

Fang Pengju introduced several airport officials to Yuan Zhenyue.

"Is this your school's plane?"

The airport manager was astonished.

I've never heard of any school owning its own plane.

"Our school has many projects, and sometimes we need to send spare parts all over the country. In order to speed up the project progress, the school bought a small plane... It's much faster than the railway..."

Yuan Zhenyue, having become the principal's assistant, naturally knew how to release information to the outside world.

The flight took us to several airports for refueling and inspections, which also served as a form of publicity for the school.

"Our school only bought such a small plane? It can't even transport much stuff..."

Xie Rou looked at the plane in front of her with disdain.

She was reluctant to come, but for more than a month, the journey had been filled with yellow sand, and even though it was already April, there was hardly any greenery around.

This made her even less willing to move.

"When we have enough funds in the future, we'll buy a bigger plane!"

If it were anyone else, Yuan Zhenyue would have already snapped back.

Do you think the plane is too small?

Why don't you go and get yourself a private jet?

But the person in front of me is Xie Rou. In the end, this air transport was still for Xie Rou, wasn't it?

"Hurry up and move your things, we've been waiting here for days..."

Fang Pengju knew what the plane was carrying; only a few parts were being replaced, and the majority of the supplies were being replenished for Xie Rou.

"Assistant Yuan, you must be tired from your journey. Why don't you come back to the guesthouse with us and rest for a while?"

Fang Pengju asked Yuan Zhenyue.

"Professor Fang, I'll skip the rest... I'd like to borrow someone from you..."

Borrow someone?

Fang Pengju looked surprised, not understanding what Yuan Zhenyue meant.

"Is such that……"

Yuan Zhenyue pulled Fang Pengju aside and whispered in his ear the task Xie Wei had given him.

"what?"

Fang Pengju was taken aback, completely unexpected that Yuan Zhenyue had come to the Northwest with such a mission. "Can it work? Wang Yuting doesn't know anything about marketing..."

You're making it sound like I know everything.

Yuan Zhenyue couldn't help but roll his eyes. He knew absolutely nothing, yet Xie Wei, that old silver coin, had assigned him such a task?
Along the way, after much thought, he decided that it would be most appropriate to borrow a female colleague from Fang Pengju's project team to accompany him.

"Even if you don't understand the market, introducing feminine hygiene products to female customers is still better than me, a grown man!"

Yuan Zhenyue looked at Fang Pengju speechlessly.

He couldn't believe that a professor wouldn't even know this much.

“Okay, she’s a girl, so she’s more suitable. But in our team, she and Xie Rou are the only two girls. If she leaves, it won’t be convenient for her to take care of Xie Rou.”

Fang Pengju had some concerns.

Although Wang Yuqing studied mechanics, as a worker-peasant-soldier student, her foundation was not good to begin with, and even though she worked very hard, she was not very good at her professional studies.

Fang Pengju recruited her as his graduate student, but it was for Xie Rou's sake.

After all, Wang Yuqing won't be doing scientific research after graduating with a master's degree; she could be doing research management, though.

"Leave this to me."

Yuan Zhenyue wasn't worried at all about not being able to persuade Xie Rou, and went straight to Xie Rou's side:
"Xie Rou, since your project isn't too busy these days, I need Wang Yuqing to help me with something. You've come all this way to the Northwest, so your brother asked me to take you to try some local specialties, like braised chicken with potatoes or hand-pulled lamb..."

Upon hearing about food, Xie Rou, who had been listless and bored, perked up immediately, "Okay!"

"..."

When Fang Pengju and the others heard Yuan Zhenyue try to persuade Xie Rou with food, they immediately rolled their eyes.

During this period, Xie Rou endured a lot of hardship with the project team, sleeping outdoors and working outdoors. Even when they arrived at some of the accommodations, no one on the project team suggested going out to eat.

Even with sufficient funds, we still have to be frugal.

"Let's rest here for a bit. After the plane is checked and refueled, we'll fly to Urumqi. Once we've finished our business, I'll bring you back..."

Yuan Zhenyue immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Xie Rou is definitely someone we need to bring along.

Even if Xie Wei's market development fails to satisfy him, he probably won't retaliate against him out of respect for Xie Rou.

······
Fuzhou.

The West Lake Hotel was built in 1951.

A negotiation is underway.

"...Ladies and gentlemen, over the past six months, you have also been in contact with other international telecommunications providers and learned about the technology and prices of various companies...1200 dollars per line is already a very sincere price for us!"

A short, middle-aged man in his early fifties, dressed in a suit, said with a serious expression, “We are risking international sanctions to provide you with the most advanced 10,000-line digital program-controlled exchange. This is the world’s most cutting-edge technology… and this is also our lowest price!”

"Mr. Matsuda, we are very clear about that. The price is still too high!"

Luo Dong, the person in charge of the negotiations, also shook his head with a serious expression.

After negotiations between the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications and international suppliers reached a stalemate, the Fuzhou Post and Telecommunications Bureau, which was the first to propose a one-step solution, continued to negotiate with the suppliers.

International suppliers want China’s huge market, but none of them are willing to compromise on prices.

Despite multiple rounds of negotiations, the other party remained adamant about sticking to their price.

Without him!

In their competition to blackmail China, the international telecommunications giants share a very high degree of tacit understanding.

"The price can't be lowered any further. Without sufficient profit, there's only the risk of penalties from the COCOM embargo committee... Moreover, our willingness to provide partial loans demonstrates our company's sincerity..."

Matsuda shook his head.

Left with no other option, negotiations had to be suspended.

"Damn it! Who would believe these bastards didn't secretly make a deal? The price is three times higher than the international market price! And they're using COCOM as an excuse..."

After coming out, Luo Dong couldn't help but swear.

"Director Luo, what do we do now? The city has only raised a little over 400 million dollars in foreign exchange... Even at their rates, with a 40% loan, the difference is too great."

An official asked Luo Dong with concern.

I definitely want to buy it.

This is a done deal.

The post office's telephone communication system is now seriously impacting the province's economic development.

It's worth noting that Fujian Province, which also requested the nation to "take the lead" in reform and opening up, only had one pilot city, while Guangdong Province, located in the Gobi Desert, had three!
Both have port cities and convenient export routes.

As the provincial capital and a major port city in China, Fuzhou is actively striving to become a pilot city for reform and opening up as soon as possible, because only in this way can it develop faster.

To become a pilot project, the supporting infrastructure must be adequate.

After all, the start was later than in the other pilot cities.

Communication is of paramount importance.

"How about we talk to other telecommunications companies?"

Someone suggested.

“We don’t have it ourselves, and they’ve secretly reached an agreement, so it doesn’t matter who they talk to… With such a backward national telephone communication network and such a huge market, even if they lower the price by 10%, how much profit will they lose?”

Luo Dong shook his head and said.

Everyone was silent.

Are we just going to accept their blackmail like this?
Nobody wants that.

That's tens of millions of foreign exchange!
The country was already poor and lacked foreign exchange.

"Let's go back first and report to the city and the province..."

Luo Dong sighed inwardly.

Just as he was walking toward the car next to him, a thin cadre stopped Luo Dong.

"Director Luo, hello, I am Li Rui, the president of Harbin Institute of Technology. I have something here that can solve your problems."

Before Luo Dong could react, Li Rui explained the other party's identity to him.

Harbin Institute of Technology?
headmaster?

Can it solve your troubles?
Looking at the cadre in front of him, Luo Dong's mind couldn't process it for a moment.

Could this be a scam?
"Our school has developed a program-controlled exchange. Although its capacity cannot compare with those abroad, its technology is in no way inferior. Here is the relevant information... Director Luo, you can take a look when you have time. I'm staying at the West Lake Hotel these days..."

After handing over the documents, Li Rui did not linger.

Before Luo Dong could even react, they started walking towards the hotel.

Luo Dong really wanted to call him over and ask him what was going on.

Without knowing who the other person was, he ultimately didn't call out to them.

"Director Luo..."

The others involved in the negotiations gathered around, looking at Luo Dong with suspicion.

Luo Yang pulled up the document, which clearly read "Construction Plan for Harbin City Digital Program-Controlled Telephone Exchange Network"!
"Go back first!"

Although he didn't know if it was true or not, just seeing the title made Luo Dong feel that perhaps the information he had could be the key to breaking the deadlock!
If such a technology were available, even if it were somewhat outdated, it would be enough to persuade international telecommunications providers to agree!

When Li Rui returned to his hotel room, several cadres of similar age all turned their attention to him.

"Old Li, do you think they'll believe you doing this? This system hasn't been built in Harbin yet."

"Yes, if international telecommunications companies find out you have small-scale production capacity, they'll lower prices and flood the market, and your products probably won't have much of a market..."

Several people expressed their concerns.

(End of this chapter)