78: Bringing his wife and children to Harbin Institute of Technology

For the next week, Zheng Shuyun came to the factory every day as a judge, pointing out flaws and revising the wording.

On the third day, she brought some things over and laid them on the office wall.

"What is this?"

"For demonstration purposes."

Zheng Shuyun clipped the hand-drawn cards onto the screen.

She turned all the content of the report into charts.

She explained that this way, the experts wouldn't get tired of reading.

The first card has a curve drawn on it, indicating a 34% increase in impact strength.

The second card shows a cross-sectional view of a mixer, with key components marked in red.

The third card contains a table comparing national indicators, factory data, and the rate of improvement.

There are eight cards in total, each drawn by Zheng Shuyun herself, with neat handwriting and clear illustrations.

Chen An leaned over to take a look and said, "Sister-in-law, yours is even clearer than the process drawings in our factory."

Zheng Shuyun looked at Ye Bingwen and said.

"I asked the graphic designer to help with the design. His father is a retired lathe operator from our factory. He knows our situation and didn't ask for a single penny."

Ye Bingwen looked at the cards without saying a word.

On the fourth day, we practiced the question-and-answer session.

Zheng Shuyun borrowed a tape recorder from the publishing house, recorded the questions, and played them back to the three people.

"Listen to your own answers." She pressed play.

Liu Xiaojun's voice came through the tape recorder, but it was muffled and unclear.

Liu Xiaojun blushed after hearing this.

Zheng Shuyun looked at Liu Xiaojun and said.

"You can change it. When you answer, open your mouth wider and say it again."

Liu Xiaojun stood up straight and said loudly.

"We use high-quality domestically produced motors!"

Zheng Shuyun turned off the tape recorder.

"Okay, keep this volume. Remember, when you speak, a loud voice gives you confidence, and when you're confident, people will believe you."

On the fifth day, the training focused on unexpected situations.

Zheng Shuyun looked at Ye Bingwen and suddenly asked a question.

"Ye Bingwen, what if this project fails?"

Zheng Shuyun stared at him.

"answer."

Ye Bingwen thought for a moment and then said.

"It won't fail. All technical routes have been verified through small-scale and pilot-scale tests, all process parameters are fixed, equipment modifications have been completed, and personnel training is in place. Project risks are controllable."

Zheng Shuyun nodded to Ye Bingwen.

"Okay, that's a good answer."

She then turned to Liu Xiaojun.

"What if your blender breaks down?"

"I have a backup. I also modified my old mixer, with the same parameters, so it can always be used."

"OK."

Zheng Shuyun made a note in her notebook.

On the sixth day, we practiced posture.

Zheng Shuyun had the three people stand in the middle of the office and corrected them one by one.

"Ye Bingwen, when you give your report, don't put your hands in your pockets, just let them hang naturally."

"Chen An, don't sway when you answer questions. Stand still before you speak."

"Liu Xiaojun, put your hands at your sides, be more natural and confident."

By the sixth night of practice, all three of them had almost memorized it.

Zheng Shuyun pressed the stopwatch for the last time.

"Thirteen minutes and fifty seconds. Tomorrow is your defense. Remember, the data is real, so what are you afraid of?"

Ye Bingwen, Chen An, and Liu Xiaojun all nodded.

The next day, before dawn, Ye Bingwen arrived at the factory.

He changed into a clean Zhongshan suit, and his leather shoes were polished to a shine.

Chen An was wearing the Harbin Military Engineering Institute's school uniform, with the collar buttoned up tightly.

Liu Xiaojun was wearing a new blue work uniform, with two white handkerchiefs folded in his pocket.

Master Li stood at the workshop entrance, looking at the three people.

"Xiao Ye, are you going on a blind date or to defend your thesis?"

Ye Bingwen looked at Master Li.

"reply."

Master Li wiped his hands. "Okay, go ahead. I'll keep an eye on the factory."

The three of them rode their bicycles to the Provincial Science and Technology Commission.

Several cars were already parked at the entrance, and many people were standing in the yard, some smoking and others looking at materials.

Ye Bingwen parked his bicycle in the corner and led Chen An and Liu Xiaojun into the hall.

The staff at the registration desk looked at their documents and pointed to the second floor.

"Third conference room, starting at nine o'clock, you are fifth in line."

The three of them went upstairs and sat down on the chairs in the hallway.

The people in the first four project teams were all looking at the materials, and no one was saying anything.

The corridor was quiet; the only sound was the ticking of the clock on the wall.

Liu Xiaojun was very nervous; his palms were sweaty.

Chen An flipped through the test report in his hand, then closed the folder.

At 8:50, the staff came to call the first group.

The first group stood up, took their materials, and went inside.

The door closed.

The corridor was quieter.

Liu Xiaojun took out his handkerchief, wiped his hands, folded it up, and put it back in his pocket.

When the second group went in, Chen An whispered.

"Director Ye, did we bring our PowerPoint presentation?"

"I brought it."

Ye Bingwen patted the brown paper bag in his hand.

When the third group entered, half the number of people in the corridor had disappeared.

When the fourth group entered, the staff came over.

"Hongqi Machinery Factory, get ready, next."

Ye Bingwen and the other two stood up, straightened their collars, and stood ready for battle.

A moment later, the door opened, and the group in front came out with their heads down, it seemed the result wasn't very good.

The staff came out and waved to Ye Bingwen, inviting them inside.

Then Ye Bingwen and the other two pushed open the door and went inside.

The conference room was large. Ye Bingwen walked slowly to the podium and placed eight cards on the table in order.

"Hello everyone, I am Ye Bingwen from Hongqi Machinery Factory. Thank you to the Provincial Science and Technology Commission for giving us this opportunity to give a presentation."

Ye Bingwen's voice was not loud but very steady as he spoke to the experts.

"Today, on behalf of the project team, I would like to report to you on the project 'Research and Application of Key Technologies for the Preparation of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Phenolic Resin Composite Materials'."

He held up the first card to the expert and said.

"Currently, imported products account for more than 70% of the domestic high-end composite materials market. The core reason is not that we cannot produce them, but that the process stability does not meet the requirements. This is the problem we are trying to solve."

Then, each sheet was shown and explained one by one.

The second card is a technology roadmap.

The third card contains data from the toughening experiment.

The fourth card is about the carbon fiber layup process.

The fifth card is about modifying a blender.

Ye Bingwen nodded to Liu Xiaojun.

Liu Xiaojun stood up, his voice loud and steady.

He finished speaking and stood up straight.

The old expert in the middle glanced at him and then looked down at the paper, writing something.

The sixth card contains the test data and stability verification.

Chen An stood up.

"To the teacher, all test data have been confirmed by Professor Cai's laboratory at Harbin Institute of Technology, report number CH2409012. We conducted three batches of verification, totaling twenty samples, and all of them passed. The dimensional errors were all within the standard range. The original records can be viewed at any time."

He sat down after he finished speaking.

The seventh card represents social benefits.

Ye Bingwen picked up the conversation and continued.

"After the project is successful, it will be able to produce 5,000 composite material products per year, which will replace imported products, reduce procurement costs in the military and civilian sectors, create 15 to 20 jobs, and train 3 to 5 composite material professionals."

The eighth card is the summary.

"Dear teachers, although our Hongqi Machinery Factory is not large in scale, we have the ability and confidence to do this project well. That concludes my report. Thank you, teachers."

Ye Bingwen gathered the cards together and stood quietly.

The meeting room was silent for a few seconds.