Reborn in 2011, I am the chief designer of aerospace.

"No, that won't do. It's absolutely a legal and compliant approach. Let me give you a suggestion."

Song Xingye leaned forward and lowered his voice, saying, "But I can't just offer advice for nothing. If you think my idea is good, could you perhaps reconsider what happened earlier?"

"Of course, of course!"

Cheng Long urged him to tell the truth quickly, "As long as it's not illegal and can provide the workers with enough money to survive, everything is negotiable! Tell me now!"

"That's right, Factory Director Cheng, five years ago, you hadn't been transferred to Factory 307 yet, right?"

Cheng Long shook his head. "No, I was transferred here two years ago and came here to take over this mess."

So Song Xingye said, "I heard my teacher mention that five years ago, Songjiang was going to start a shantytown renovation project, and most of the beneficiaries would be the factory's family compound. The district approached the factory director at the time to ask the factory to contribute some money."

So the three large workshops of Factory 307 each contributed 10 million yuan, but the district felt that 30 million yuan was too little, so the institute helped by contributing another 20 million yuan. This 50 million yuan was transferred as a "slum renovation supporting fund."

At this point, he changed the subject, pointing to the dilapidated scene outside the window.

"You've been working here for two years, and the shantytown renovation project hasn't made a single step, has it? Have you even seen a bulldozer? That 50 million yuan is probably still lying dormant in the district's account, isn't it?"

Factory Director Cheng was a shrewd man; he understood immediately. He stroked his chin and said, "You mean... I should get this money back?"

But his brows furrowed again quickly. "But 20 million of this money belongs to the institute, and the other part is a housing reform matching fund, nominally earmarked for a specific purpose. Once it went into the district's treasury, how could it be so easy to get it back?"

Song Xingye calmly advised:

"Factory Manager Cheng, these are basically the solutions. You can decide for yourself. Given the current situation, the hundreds of workers in the factory are practically starving. Who cares about shantytown renovation? The district hasn't taken any action for years, which shows they're being lazy. So there's no need to be polite; we need to be firm when necessary!"

Then, he brought up Professor Xu as a shield again, "My teacher said that Secretary Chen in the district is easily influenced. If you use the 'workers' riot' as a powerful weapon to put pressure on them, you might succeed. Besides, if this money were so easy to get, anyone could become a factory manager. How would you demonstrate your abilities then?"

Factory Director Cheng was flattered by the compliments and began to seriously consider the matter.

At the same time, he also gained a completely new perspective on the young PhD in front of him.

This kid... is far more than he appears on the surface; he knows a lot.

No wonder he was selected as a management trainee by the Star Project. He's not some bookworm from an ivory tower; he's a born leader!

If nurtured continuously, they certainly have the potential to become leaders.

Then Factory Director Cheng laughed and patted Song Xingye's arm cheerfully, saying:

"Little Song, the information you provided is excellent and very valuable. I'll give you credit for this! I'll go to the district finance department to demand an explanation. If we can really get the money back and solve the factory's urgent problem, I'll kowtow to you on behalf of all the workers in the factory!"

Song Xingye quickly waved his hand and said, "There's really no need for that. Getting the money back is thanks to your skill, Director Cheng. I was just mentioning it briefly. Why don't you reconsider what just happened? Where else can you find information about the Yinghuo-1 Mars probe?"

Now that things have come to this, and they've done such a big favor, Jackie Chan can't be ungrateful.

He readily sat back down in his chair, picked up the large tea mug, took a sip, and spat out the tea leaves from his mouth.

Seeing this, Song Xingye knew that his leader was about to speak, so he quickly picked up the thermos and refilled it.

This old fox's change in attitude is just like an NPC in a game—

Give me a hidden quest item, and I'll immediately unlock the advanced strategy guide...

Factory Director Cheng slowly raised three fingers:

"The first way is to go to the group's aerospace archives and apply to access relevant information about Yinghuo-1. However, you'll need a high-ranking person to vouch for you and sign off on it. You could try asking Academician Li."

"The second way is that when the Eighth Academy was in charge of overall planning, China Southern Airlines took on several horizontal projects related to Firefly-1, and they might still have some of the data on file. If you have connections at China Southern Airlines, you can ask them to inquire about it."

As he spoke, Factory Cheng changed the subject, raising an eyebrow.

Song Xingye quickly pressed on, "And third?"

"The third one is difficult. Yinghuo-1 has already been transferred to the launch site, and the test team has already set off. Unless... you can convince Dean Lu to send you to the site. Once you get to the launch site, that's the real front line. What kind of data can't you see?"

After saying that, Cheng Long slammed the lid of the cup shut with a 'clack,' looked down at his nose and remained silent.

Song Xingye's mind raced.

Archives, China Southern Airlines, launch site.

It seems we have no choice but to try each of the three strategies: superior, middle, and inferior.

He nodded, picked up the file folder from the table, tucked it under his arm, and waved, saying, "Thank you for your guidance, Director Cheng. I won't disturb you any longer!"

Cheng Long hummed in agreement and waved back.

……

As the footsteps in the corridor faded into the distance, Director Cheng, who had been calmly drinking tea, suddenly became flustered, as if his backside was on fire.

He quickly grabbed the internal phone on the table and called the finance department, asking them to check if there was a shantytown renovation fund five years ago.

Not long after, a series of hurried footsteps approached.

The finance manager burst through the door, panting, then peeked furtively outside before excitedly saying:

"Factory Director Cheng, five years ago our Factory 307 did indeed pay a sum of money for the shantytown renovation fund. Several workshops contributed 30 million yuan, and the institute helped by contributing another 20 million yuan, for a total of 50 million yuan!"

The section chief, catching his breath, looked indignant: "Most of that shantytown redevelopment area belongs to our family compound, but look at it, it's been five years and not a single shovel has been moved! We're still living in those drafty, dilapidated buildings, where the northwest wind howls like ghosts in winter!"

Cheng Long snorted. "Shanghai is developing rapidly now, and with the real estate market booming since the 08 financial crisis, housing prices are changing every day. How can the demolition standards of five years ago compare to those of today? That Secretary Chen in the district probably just wants to stall until housing prices drop."

After saying that, he glared fiercely at the head of the finance department, "And another thing, this is such a huge sum of money—the shantytown redevelopment fund—are you planning to keep it from me forever?!"

"I'm innocent, factory manager! I've only been here for a year, I had no idea about something that happened so long ago."

The finance manager hurriedly defended himself, "Besides, there are only Cai and I left in the finance department. There are so many messy accounts that we can't possibly keep track of them all. How can we possibly keep track of accounts from five years ago? Unless the factory goes bankrupt and is liquidated, and the group sends someone to audit the assets, we probably won't be able to sort out these old accounts..."

Cheng Long, too lazy to listen to his complaints, impatiently waved his hand to interrupt:

"Alright, alright, stop complaining. Since the shantytown renovation project hasn't even started yet, and this money is still sitting in the district's finances, I have to find a way to squeeze it back from Secretary Chen to pay the factory's wages."

The finance director looked astonished. "This...is this really going to work? Are we abandoning the shantytown redevelopment project?"

"What the hell! Hundreds of people in the factory are starving to death right now, who cares about urban renewal? Anyway, the banks won't lend us money, and we can't sell our shares, this money is our lifeline! Let's get the money back first to pay wages, and then make up the difference later when we have more money!"

The finance director hesitated for a moment, thinking to himself that Factory Director Cheng could talk a good game as soon as he opened his mouth, and he wondered how many connections he had to pull in.

Seeing the section chief's cowardly appearance, Cheng Long knew what he was thinking and said irritably:

"Alright, you don't need to worry about this. If I can't get this urban renewal fund back, I'll just quit! As for whoever wants to be the factory director, let them be. I'm not putting up with this!"

"Go back and quickly tally up the workers' back wages, and make up for some of the wages owed in the last few months. And that Liu Dayong, is it acceptable for him to keep delaying his heart stent surgery payment? He's a provincial model worker; we can't let him down after retirement. Reimburse him for that too..."

Cheng Long's mouth was dry from talking, so he picked up his teacup and took a big gulp.

The finance manager licked his lips and cautiously asked, "So... Factory Manager, how much can you get back? I need to figure out how many months' wages to pay everyone."