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

Ye Bingwen stood at the school gate, clutching the application form in his hand, watching the direction the car had disappeared in. Zhao Jianguo was coming far too often. Was it normal for a deputy director-general to personally deliver an application form to a college student?

unusual.

He folded the application form, put it in his pocket, and turned to walk into the campus.

The snow fell heavier and heavier, and a thin layer had already accumulated on the ground. Ye Bingwen's footprints were left on the snow, one after another, extending towards the teaching building.

He suddenly remembered the footprints downstairs last night. Those small footprints, which didn't belong to a man, were they related to Zhao Jianguo? Or to Zhou Mingyi?

He stopped and looked back. The school gate was empty; there was no one there.

But he always felt that there was a pair of eyes watching him from the shadows.

It snowed all night long.

Ye Bingwen pushed open the window; outside, everything was a blinding white. Winter comes early to Harbin; it was only the end of October, but the temperature was already below zero. He stuffed the application form Zhao Jianguo had given him into the drawer. Zhang Guangyuan was right; they shouldn't go through private channels.

Ye Bingwen had no classes in the morning, so he went to the department office. Ma Kui was flipping through a newspaper when he saw Ye Bingwen come in and took off his glasses.

"You've come at the perfect time. Li Guoliang, the chief engineer of Harbin Electric Machinery Plant, is an old acquaintance of mine. He's very interested in your brushless motor and would like to meet you."

Ye Bingwen picked up the business card that Ma Kui pushed towards him. Harbin Electric Machinery Factory, the largest electric motor manufacturer in the province.

"He said a 30% efficiency improvement was impossible," Ma Kui chuckled. "I told him to come and see for yourself if he didn't believe me. He asked me to schedule a time this afternoon."

"Okay, I'll go prepare."

Ye Bingwen returned to the lab and disassembled the brushless motor, packing it into a wooden crate. Test data, drawings, and calculation reports were all neatly packed into a canvas bag. Chen Zhiyuan helped him.

"Bingwen, what if the people at the motor factory also have their eyes on your technology like Zhao Jianguo did?"

"I don't know. But Teacher Ma knows Chief Engineer Li, so he should be reliable."

"What if they want to buy it out?"

"Not for sale. Only for cooperation."

The two men carried the wooden crate to the school gate, where Ma Kui hailed a jeep to wait. The jeep drove slowly out of the school gate; the snow on the road had been compressed into ice.

Forty minutes later, the car stopped in front of a large iron gate. The factory area was vast, with white smoke billowing from the chimneys. The jeep stopped in front of a three-story office building, and Ma Kui led Ye Bingwen inside.

Li Guoliang stood at the office door, in his fifties, wearing dark blue overalls, with graying hair and bright eyes. "Old Ma, long time no see."

"Old Li, this is Ye Bingwen, my student."

Li Guoliang glanced at him. "Younger than I expected. Did you bring the prototype?"

"In the car."

Ye Bingwen and Chen Zhiyuan carried the wooden crate into the office, took out the motor, and connected it to the testing equipment. Li Guoliang stood beside them with his arms crossed, his expression indifferent.

Ye Bingwen pressed the switch. The motor rotated smoothly, and the data on the instrument fluctuated.

Li Guoliang stared at the instrument for five minutes, his brows slowly furrowing. Ye Bingwen turned off the motor and walked to the instrument to carefully examine each set of data.

"Did you design the control circuit yourself?"

"Yes."

"What plan?"

"Hall sensor, built from discrete components."

Li Guoliang remained silent for a while, then called over an experienced craftsman. Master Wang squatted down, disassembled the motor casing, examined it for a long time, and then stood up, his eyes shining.

"Chief Engineer Li, I've never seen this winding method before. It's very sophisticated, and the utilization rate is much higher than our current method."

Li Guoliang nodded and looked at Ye Bingwen. "I'll take this motor."

Li Guoliang summoned the heads of the technical, production, and supply departments for an on-site meeting. Their reactions varied: the technical department was excited, the production department frowned, and the supply department shook their heads. Li Guoliang tapped the table.

"You'll have to solve the technical problems yourselves. I only have one question: Can you mass-produce it?"

The technical department said it was possible, but the process needed optimization, which would take three months. The production department said that after process optimization, there shouldn't be any problems. The supply department said that alternative solutions could be found for the components.

Li Guoliang asked everyone else to leave, leaving only himself, Ye Bingwen, and Ma Kui in the office.

"There are two cooperation methods. The first is a one-time buyout for five thousand yuan. The second is technology-based equity investment, with a share of sales revenue."

"Chief Engineer Li, which one do you recommend?"

"Technology as equity. A buyout would be a loss for you. But if you invest, some people in the factory will object." Li Guoliang looked at him. "What percentage are you willing to accept?"

"Ten percent."

"Too high."

"Eight percent."

"Five percent. That's the maximum I can negotiate. And it's only for this model."

Ye Bingwen was silent for a few seconds. "Deal."

The next day, when the contract was being signed, Director Wang from the factory office suddenly appeared. He had a round face and spoke slowly and deliberately, but every word he uttered was barbed.

"A 5% equity stake based on technology, yielding several thousand yuan a year. Why should a college graduate get so much?"

"Based on his skills," Li Guoliang said, his face darkening.

"The technology was produced using the factory's equipment, and the materials were provided by the factory. What did he contribute? A few blueprints?" Director Wang looked at Ye Bingwen. "A one-time buyout, five thousand yuan, you take the money and leave. Simple and hassle-free."

Li Guoliang slammed his fist on the table. "The factory director approved the technology-for-equity swap. What right do you, a mere factory office director, have to change it?"

After a stalemate of more than ten minutes, Ma Kui finally spoke.

"You couldn't have made this technology without Ye Bingwen's blueprints. He also couldn't have made it without your factory's equipment. Technology-for-equity investment is a win-win situation. Surely a large factory in your province wouldn't take advantage of a student?"

Director Wang remained silent. Li Guoliang instructed the legal department to print the contract, which Ye Bingwen and Li Guoliang then signed.

"The first advance payment is five hundred yuan." Li Guoliang handed over an envelope. "The contract hasn't officially taken effect yet, but you can take this money as a token of goodwill."

Ye Bingwen accepted the envelope. "Chief Engineer Li, thank you."

"You're welcome. It's your own skill."

It was getting dark when Ye Bingwen left the motor factory. The snow had stopped, and the ground was icy. He tucked the envelope into his pocket and walked slowly towards the bus stop.

The envelope in his pocket was hard against his thigh, but he felt reassured. Five hundred yuan was enough for An'an to drink milk powder for more than half a year.

When the car arrived at the station, Ye Bingwen got off and walked towards his residence.

When he got downstairs, he saw a person standing at the entrance of the building. Zhou Mingyi was wearing a gray overcoat and carrying a paper bag.

"Ye Bingwen, I heard you went to the motor factory to sign a contract today. Congratulations."

"Section Chief Zhou, how did you know?"

"I know someone at the factory." Zhou Mingyi placed the paper bag on the steps. "It's for An'an's milk powder, imported, with invoices issued by the province."

Ye Bingwen did not answer. "You don't need to do that."

"It's not just being polite," Zhou Mingyi said, looking at him. "I wanted to tell you that Zhao Jianguo also went to the motor factory this afternoon. Didn't you run into him?"

Ye Bingwen's heart tightened.

Zhao Jianguo went to the motor factory? What's he doing there?