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

Chapter 173 The place is deserted

The money has arrived; the next step is to order the materials.

Lin Guoqing provided the contact information for a Hong Kong supplier, and Ye Bingwen had Chen An contact them several times to finalize the price and delivery method.

Based on the usage of 5,000 fishing rods, approximately 800 kilograms of T700 grade carbon fiber cloth would be needed.

The price for 800 kilograms came down to 178,000.

Even if I put all 120,000 yuan into the prepayment, it wouldn't be enough; I still had to pay 76,000 yuan out of my own pocket.

Ye Bingwen transferred HK$76,000 from the loan, along with the prepayment, to the supplier's account in Hong Kong.

The materials were shipped from Hong Kong to Shenzhen, and then transported by rail from Shenzhen to Harbin, taking nearly twenty days in total.

After the materials arrived, Liu Xiaojun was the first to rush over to take a look.

"Uncle Ye, this material is really different."

"Why is it different?"

"Feel it, it's so much better than the one we used before, it's both soft and sturdy."

Master Li also came over to take a look and reached out to touch it.

"This material is excellent; it's a shame to use it for fishing rods. It would even be suitable for military products."

Ye Bingwen was secretly delighted.

With such good material, the fishing rod made from it must be excellent.

The third batch of military orders has also been finalized. Since Engineer Sun wasn't pressing too hard, Ye Bingwen had the workshop allocate some manpower specifically for making fishing rods.

Liu Xiaojun is a quick-witted young man; he figured out the craftsmanship of fishing rods in just two days.

When the first sample was made, Ye Bingwen tried it himself.

The rod is light yet sturdy, and has good elasticity; it's even better than the 98-yuan rod sold in Zhang Weidong's shop.

Ye Bingwen immediately called Lin Guoqing to share the good news.

"Mr. Lin, the sample is ready."

"How was it?"

"Rest assured, you will be absolutely satisfied."

"Okay, okay, Director Ye, please speed up the production, my customers are pressing us hard."

"Don't worry, Mr. Lin, the first batch of one thousand will be delivered within half a month."

After hanging up the phone, Ye Bingwen went into the workshop.

He had never felt so at ease watching the workers busily at work.

Military production is underway, civilian production is also underway, new machines are running, new materials are being used—this is what a real factory looks like.

Accountant Sun hasn't been saying much these past two days, just quietly keeping accounts, occasionally glancing up at Ye Bingwen before looking down again.

Chen An didn't say much either.

But Ye Bingwen didn't care; he was full of energy.

The first batch of one thousand fishing rods was made half a month later.

Ye Bingwen personally supervised the workers as they packed the goods and loaded them onto the train bound for Shenzhen.

After the goods were shipped, Ye Bingwen called Lin Guoqing to tell him that the goods had been shipped.

Lin Guoqing remained as enthusiastic as ever on the other end of the phone.

"Thank you for your hard work, Director Ye. I will arrange for the inspection as soon as the goods arrive, and I will pay the balance within 30 days after the inspection."

"Mr. Lin, thank you for your help."

"Don't mention it, Director Ye. We're going to have a long-term partnership."

After hanging up the phone, Ye Bingwen felt a little relieved.

For the next two weeks, the factory continued to produce the remaining four thousand pieces.

The materials are sufficient, the machines are properly set up, and the workers are familiar with the process, making production much smoother than the first batch.

But just as the second batch of 1,500 was about to be shipped, things started to go wrong.

The phone lines to Lin Guoqing's end started to go dead.

Chen An called for three days in a row, but no one answered each time.

Ye Bingwen started to panic a little, but he remained calm. He thought that Lin Guoqing might be away on a business trip.

Three more days passed before the call was finally connected.

The person who answered the phone was a woman, and she sounded very polite.

Who are you looking for?

"I'm looking for your General Manager Lin, Lin Guoqing."

"General Manager Lin is not in the company."

When is he coming back?

"I don't know."

"Then who can manage things in your company?"

"We can't make that decision on your end. Please call another day."

Chen An hung up the phone and told Ye Bingwen about it.

Ye Bingwen's heart began to pound.

"Come and call in two days."

Two days later, Chen An called again, and this time a man answered.

Who are you looking for?

"I'm from the Harbin Hongqi Factory, looking for Lin Guoqing."

There was a moment of silence on the other end.

Who are you?

"I am Chen An, assistant to Factory Director Ye. Our factory has a contract with your General Manager Lin, and the first batch of goods has already been shipped."

There was another moment of silence on the other end.

"Comrade, let me tell you the truth."

"Please speak."

"Lin Guoqing is no longer with our company."

Chen An sat up straight immediately.

"Gone? What do you mean?"

"He left a week ago and withdrew all the money from the company's account. The company has now been liquidated."

Chen An's head buzzed.

"What about our goods?"

"What kind of goods?"

"Five thousand fishing rods, ordered by General Manager Lin."

"Comrade, I have no record of this contract. I really don't know anything about what you're talking about."

Chen An hung up the phone with trembling hands.

He rushed into Ye Bingwen's office.

"Director Ye, something's happened."

Ye Bingwen knew something was wrong just by looking at Chen An's expression.

"What's wrong?"

"Lin Guoqing has run away."

Ye Bingwen's heart skipped a beat, and the teacup in his hand wobbled.

"What did you say?"

"People from Pengcheng Industry told me that Lin Guoqing withdrew the money from the company's account and ran away a week ago. The company has already been liquidated, and they didn't have a record of our contract."

Ye Bingwen stood up, then sat down, then stood up again.

He paced back and forth in his office several times, his mind a jumbled mess.

Accountant Sun pushed open the door and came in, holding a form in his hand.

"Director Ye, what about the first batch of goods—"

"Accountant Sun, we're in trouble."

"What's wrong?"

Chen An recounted what had just happened to Accountant Sun again.

After listening, Accountant Sun didn't say anything. He slowly took off his reading glasses, wiped them, and put them back on.

"Director Ye."

"Um."

"Have someone check on that warehouse in Shenzhen."

Ye Bingwen immediately understood what Accountant Sun meant.

Chen An immediately went to make a phone call.

When he made the call to Shenzhen, he first contacted a local freight company and asked them to check the warehouse.

The next morning, the freight company called back.

There was no one to receive the goods at that warehouse. After the first batch of one thousand fishing rods arrived, they were just piled up in the warehouse. No one picked them up or asked about them.

To make matters worse, the warehouse staff said that according to industry practice, storage fees for goods that haven't been picked up for more than half a month are calculated on a daily basis, and they already owe more than a thousand yuan in storage fees.

Chen An hung up the phone and slumped into his chair.

Ye Bingwen stood there motionless.

The office was so quiet that you could hear the machines in the workshop outside the window.

After a long while, Ye Bingwen finally spoke.

"Chen An".

"Um."

"You better give me a clear breakdown of the accounts. How much have we actually lost?"