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

Chapter 159 Payment

At noon, Ye Bingwen made a phone call to the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense.

He dialed three times in a row, but each time he heard a busy signal.

When he dialed for the fourth time, the call was finally answered, and a woman answered.

The female voice said, "Hello, this is the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense."

Ye Bingwen quickly replied, "Hello, I'd like to see Engineer Sun Jianguo."

"Please wait a moment."

After I finished speaking, there was a brief silence on the other end of the phone.

After a long while, Engineer Sun's voice came through: "Who is it?"

Ye Bingwen replied, "Engineer Sun, I am Ye Bingwen from Hongqi Factory." Engineer Sun recognized his voice and asked, "Factory Director Ye, what's the matter?"

Hearing that Engineer Sun's tone wasn't as harsh as before, Ye Bingwen mustered up his courage and said, "Engineer Sun, there's something I'd like to discuss with you. Could you give us a one-week extension for the second batch of 150 pieces?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

Engineer Sun asked, "What happened?"

Ye Bingwen explained, "The factory has been experiencing some cash flow difficulties recently. The suppliers are unwilling to ship the goods because the payments for materials have not been settled yet, so the production capacity has been affected in the past few days."

Engineer Sun asked again.

"What about the loan?"

Ye Bingwen paused for a moment, then asked in surprise, "Engineer Sun, do you know about the loan?"

Engineer Sun replied, "Principal Zhao Zhiyuan spoke with my superiors on the phone last week."

"Oh—" Ye Bingwen was suddenly shocked. He then realized that Principal Zhao had not only contacted Vice Mayor Liu, but had also spoken to the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense.

Engineer Sun continued, "Director Ye, I can't make the decision about extending the construction period, but I can help you report your situation to higher authorities."

"That would be very kind of you."

Ye Bingwen was very grateful.

"To be honest with you, your first payment was supposed to come through at the end of the month according to the standard procedure, but a few days ago I spoke with our finance department and asked them to expedite the process."

Upon hearing this, Ye Bingwen suddenly felt his throat go dry.

"Engineer Sun————"

"The payment, which was originally scheduled for the end of the month, is now in the final approval stage and should arrive in your account as early as the day after tomorrow."

"the day after tomorrow?"

Ye Bingwen repeated it, his tone filled with disbelief.

Engineer Sun said with certainty.

"Yes, the day after tomorrow."

Ye Bingwen's hand holding the microphone trembled slightly. He said gratefully, "Engineer Sun, thank you so much."

"You're welcome, Director Ye. The wooden mold you brought earlier is still on the cabinet in my office."

Ye Bingwen was taken aback and asked in confusion, "Why leave it there?"

"To remind myself."

After saying that, Engineer Sun hung up the phone.

Ye Bingwen put down the microphone, sat in the chair, and didn't move for a long time.

"The payment will arrive the day after tomorrow; it's a total of 84,000 yuan."

"Once this money arrives, we can pay off the suppliers' debts, pay the workers' back wages, and use the remaining tens of thousands of yuan to buy materials to continue production."

Thinking of this, Ye Bingwen stood up and walked out of the office.

In the workshop, Chen An was directing several apprentices to make boards, Master Li was busy at the milling machine, and Liu Xiaojun was working next to the mixer.

Ye Bingwen walked over to them and called out, "Everyone, come here for a moment."

Master Li stopped the milling machine and came over, and Liu Xiaojun, Chen An, and Lao Hu also gathered around.

Ye Bingwen looked at them and said, "The Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense just called."

Master Li quickly asked.

"How so?"

"The first payment should arrive the day after tomorrow."

The workshop fell silent for a second.

Liu Xiaojun was the first to react and excitedly asked, "Uncle Ye, is it the day after tomorrow?"

Ye Bingwen nodded and said, "Yes, it's the day after tomorrow."

"That----"

Before Liu Xiaojun could finish speaking, Ye Bingwen continued, "Then the suppliers' accounts can be settled, wages can be paid, and materials can be delivered."

Master Li asked in disbelief, "Xiao Ye, you're not joking, are you?"

"It's not a joke, it's true."

Old Hu the carpenter laughed.

That's wonderful!

Chen An looked at Ye Bingwen, his eyes slightly red.

Ye Bingwen turned and went back to his office.

When he got to the office, he sat down in a chair and lit a cigarette.

He was halfway through his cigarette when he suddenly remembered something else.

He took a red velvet box out of the drawer; it was the box for Zheng Shuyun's watch. He held the box in his empty hands, thinking to himself.

"The payment will arrive the day after tomorrow. He needs to go and redeem the watch first. Everything else can be put on hold for now."

In the afternoon, Chen An returned from outside, holding a stack of money in his hands.

"Director Ye, the money from Professor Cai's side has been transferred."

"How many?"

"Four thousand five hundred yuan."

Ye Bingwen was somewhat surprised.

"It arrived today?"

"Yes, Professor Cai had the accountant use the expedited process."

Ye Bingwen stood up.

Ye Bingwen thought to himself that with the 4,500 plus the 5,000 given by Principal Zhao, the total would be 9,500. Once the payment for the goods came through the day after tomorrow, the factory would be back to normal.

He sat back down in his chair and lit a second cigarette.

Chen An looked at him and smiled, saying, "Director Ye."

"Um?"

"We made it through."

Ye Bingwen hummed in agreement, without saying much. He knew that they hadn't completely made it through yet. The loan hadn't been approved, the second batch of orders was still short of seventy pieces, and the third batch of orders, which was already under negotiation for three hundred pieces, also needed to be followed up. The road ahead was still long, but at least they had passed this hurdle.

That evening, Ye Bingwen returned home.

Zheng Shuyun was cooking, and An'an was drawing on the table.

When Ye Bingwen entered the room, An'an looked up at him and said, "Dad, you're back."

"Um.

""

An An said, "I painted a new picture today."

Ye Bingwen asked.

"What is being drawn?"

"The drawing is of you, Brother Xiaojun, and Grandpa Li."

Ye Bingwen walked over and looked at the painting An'an had drawn. There were three people standing in a row in the painting: one tall, one short, and one fat.

Ye Bingwen asked with a smile, "Which one is me?"

"The taller one."

Ye Bingwen responded with an "Oh".

"The shorter one is Brother Xiaojun."

"The fat one?"

"It's Grandpa Li."

Ye Bingwen chuckled. He knew that Master Li was as thin as a stick. He smiled and said to An'an, "An'an, Grandpa Li isn't fat."

An'an said in a serious tone, "He looks fat in his work clothes."

Ye Bingwen patted An'an's head.

At this moment, Zheng Shuyun brought the dishes out of the kitchen.

"How's today?"

"The Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense called; the payment will arrive the day after tomorrow."

Zheng Shuyun paused, holding the dishes in her hands, and asked in disbelief, "Really?"

"real."

Ye Bingwen said with certainty.

Zheng Shuyun put down the dishes and asked, "What about our watch—"

"I'll go redeem it the day after tomorrow."

"That bracelet?"

"Redeem them all at once."

Zheng Shuyun hummed in agreement and turned to go back to the kitchen.

Ye Bingwen watched her back. Under the lamplight, her faded blue cotton shirt looked particularly old. He suddenly remembered that she hadn't bought new clothes for several years.

While eating, An'an fed her toy panda while eating by herself.

An'an picked up a piece of food and said to the little panda, "Little panda, you eat this."

Ye Bingwen smiled indulgently and said, "An'an, the little panda doesn't eat this."

"I know it eats bamboo."

"Then don't bother with it."

"I'll use it to play with."

Ye Bingwen smiled, and Zheng Shuyun smiled too; the atmosphere at the dinner table was much more relaxed than before.

After dinner, Ye Bingwen washed the dishes, while Zheng Shuyun washed An'an's face and brushed her teeth.

After An'an fell asleep, Zheng Shuyun went into the living room and sat down. Ye Bingwen poured her a cup of tea.

"The Charm of Books"

"Um?"

"I'm sorry."

"Why are you bringing this up again?"

"I promise you I'll redeem your watch and your bracelet the day after tomorrow."

"Um.

""

"This kind of thing will never happen again."

Zheng Shuyun glanced at him and said with a smile, "Ye Bingwen, can you please not speak so confidently?"

"What's wrong?"

"No business is ever smooth sailing all the time. You may get through this one, but you might encounter something else next time."

After Zheng Shuyun finished speaking, Ye Bingwen fell silent.

"I'm not blaming you. I'm saying that we're living together for peace of mind. If something goes wrong, we'll face it together."

Ye Bingwen didn't reply and sat there for a while.

Zheng Shuyun looked at him and said, "Go to sleep."

"Um.

""

"I have to get up early tomorrow."

"Um."