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

Chapter 146 Finding the Way

After reading the document, Zhao Zhiyuan looked at Ye Bingwen and said.

"Have you finished this job?"

"The first batch is finished, all 100 pieces are qualified. The second batch is underway, 50 out of 150 pieces have been produced, and all of them are qualified."

"Where's the test report?"

Ye Bingwen thought there was hope and was a little excited. With trembling hands, he quickly took the test report out of his bag and handed it over.

Zhao Zhiyuan flipped through it; it was a thick stack of dozens of pages containing data, signatures, and dates—very comprehensive.

"Xiao Ye, how many people work at your factory right now?"

"Twenty-six."

"Where are the technicians?"

"Chen An is a student at Harbin Institute of Technology, Liu Xiaojun is a graduate of a technical school, Master Li is an experienced worker, and the others are all apprentices."

""

"These few people actually got the job done for the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense?"

"Yes."

After listening, Zhao Zhiyuan remained silent for a while before asking, "How much do you want to borrow?"

"One hundred thousand."

"One hundred thousand?"

"Yes, we'll buy new equipment, expand the factory, and increase production capacity. Right now, we can only produce a maximum of 150 pieces per month. If the equipment catches up, we can produce 300 pieces."

"The school can't guarantee anything for you; rules are rules."

Ye Bingwen's newly ignited hope was shattered in an instant.

"But I'll ask the city for you."

Upon hearing this, Ye Bingwen abruptly raised his head.

"There's a government-business matchmaking meeting in the city, held once a month. Various commissions, offices, bureaus, enterprises, and universities participate. There's one next Wednesday. I'll register you. You can go up and talk about your factory's situation."

"What are you going to say?"

"Tell me what you have, what you want, and what you can give."

After finishing speaking, Zhao Zhiyuan returned the document to Ye Bingwen and took out a business card from the drawer and handed it over.

"This is a colleague from the Municipal Economic Commission. Go to him and tell him I sent you. He will tell you the specific preparations."

Ye Bingwen took the business card and looked at it.

It reads: HEB City Economic Committee, Li Jianguo.

"Thank you, Principal Zhao."

"Don't thank me. Whether it succeeds or not is your business. I've read your report, and the pass rate is 100%. Not everyone can do that. If you have the ability, you should let others know."

With a heart full of emotion, Ye Bingwen thanked him and prepared to leave.

Just as Ye Bingwen reached the door, Zhao Zhiyuan said something else.

"Xiao Ye, I remember that mixer incident very well. Fifty yuan could get you a lot done. Now you have an even bigger deal to do."

Ye Bingwen turned around, looked at Zhao Zhiyuan, and nodded.

"If it works out, your factory will survive; if it doesn't, don't blame anyone."

"I know."

Ye Bingwen stood at the office door, his heart unable to calm down for a long time.

Ye Bingwen then rode his bicycle straight to the Municipal Economic Commission.

The Municipal Economic Commission is located on the fifth floor of the Municipal Government Building.

Ye Bingwen found Li Jianguo's office, knocked on the door, and went in.

When Ye Bingwen met Li Jianguo, he looked to be in his early thirties and was wearing glasses.

When Li Jianguo saw Ye Bingwen, he went up to look at Ye Bingwen's brand name and then at Zhao Zhiyuan's business card.

"You were introduced by Principal Zhao? Please have a seat."

Only then did Ye Bingwen dare to sit down and recount the whole story from beginning to end.

After listening, Li Jianguo flipped through the calendar on the table and said, "Next Wednesday's government-business matchmaking meeting will focus on technological upgrading and financing for SMEs. You can talk about your factory's situation."

"What should I say?"

"Explain what you did and what you need. You have ten minutes, don't go over."

"Just ten minutes?"

"It's only ten minutes. The people sitting below are leaders from various commissions and bureaus, as well as people from banks. If it goes on for longer, no one will listen."

After Li Jianguo finished speaking, he took out a form from the drawer and handed it to Ye Bingwen.

"Fill this out, go back and prepare. Make copies of any materials you need and bring them with you. You can distribute them to everyone later."

Ye Bingwen was very excited and quickly took it and filled it out.

When he got to the section on technical advantages, he thought for a moment and wrote four words: "All qualified."

Li Jianguo glanced at what Ye Bingwen had written and said nothing.

After finishing this matter, Ye Bingwen went straight back to the factory.

On the way back to the factory, he kept thinking: What can I talk about in ten minutes? What can those leaders sitting below the stage listen to the director of a school-run factory talk about? A mixer? Rubber mats? Wooden molds? Would they believe it?

Back at the factory, Ye Bingwen called Chen An and Liu Xiaojun to his office to assign them tasks.

"There's a meeting in the city next Wednesday. I'll speak for ten minutes. If I can get a loan after my speech, the factory can survive. If I can't get a loan, we'll have to think of another way."

"What method?" Liu Xiaojun asked.

"I don't know, we'll see when the time comes."

Chen An took out his notebook to jot down what he wanted to say: "Director Ye, what are you planning to talk about?"

"Tell us what we did and what we need."

"Be specific."

Ye Bingwen thought for a long time and said, "Tell me about our mixer, it costs fifty yuan and it increased the impact strength by thirty-four."

"and then?"

"We made that wooden mold in two hours, just like the one requested by the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense."

"and then?"

"We have 102 items, and all of them are up to standard."

Chen An wrote it down in his notebook and then asked, "Anything else?"

Ye Bingwen thought for a moment and added, "Tell them we're out of money and about to run out of wages, but the work is still going on."

"You should write this too?"

"Write, write the truth."

Liu Xiaojun listened from the side without interrupting.

After Chen An finished writing, he handed the notebook to Ye Bingwen.

"Director Ye, just speak according to this, ten minutes should be enough."

Ye Bingwen took it and looked at it.

There were five points listed in the notebook, written very clearly.

"Okay, that's all for now."

After Ye Bingwen finalized the content of his speech, he practiced it at home every night. Meanwhile, a man sat beside him, holding a small panda.

"Dad, you talk about that machine every day."

"Yes, Dad is going to give a speech on stage."

"Like when we sing on stage in kindergarten?"

"Same."

"So, did you sing well?"

"Daddy doesn't sing, Daddy talks."

An'an thought for a moment and said, "Then you have to speak loudly. Our teacher said that you have to speak loudly when you're on stage."

"Okay, louder."

Zheng Shuyun listened from the side, occasionally interjecting, "This sentence is too long, break it into two sentences." "Make this number clear."

Ye Bingwen practiced like this over and over again, even practicing until he fell asleep.

On Tuesday night, Ye Bingwen finished his final practice session; he was scheduled to speak on stage the next day.

Zheng Shuyun noticed Ye Bingwen's nervousness: "Nervous?"

"A little."

"When you go on stage, don't think of the people sitting below as leaders; just treat them as if they're visiting the factory."

"That makes me even more nervous; I'm even more afraid when people come to visit the factory."

"Just treat them like wooden stakes."

"Won't the wooden stake ask questions?"

"If anyone asks a question, just answer whatever comes to mind."

Ye Bingwen nodded, folded the speech manuscript, put it in his pocket, and went to sleep.

The next morning, Ye Bingwen changed into a clean Zhongshan suit and polished his leather shoes.

Liu Xiaojun arrived at the factory early and was taken aback when he saw Ye Bingwen's attire. He then joked, "Uncle Ye, are you going on a blind date?"

"roll."

At this moment, Chen An came out of the office.

Chen An stated that he had checked everything, including copies of official documents, test reports, pass rate curves, process records, and Engineer Sun's contract.

"Director Ye, everything is ready."

"OK."

Seeing that the group was about to leave, Master Li quickly came out of the workshop.

"Xiao Ye, speak freely, don't be afraid."

"understood."

Ye Bingwen and his companion then headed towards the municipal government building.