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

The equipment was scheduled to arrive on Wednesday.

On Tuesday evening, Ye Bingwen went through all the preparations again.

Everything is ready; all that's left is for the ground to dry completely.

At 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Ye Bingwen had just arrived at the factory when Director Sun came running over from the construction site with a livid face.

"Xiao Ye, something's happened."

Ye Bingwen's heart sank.

"What's wrong?"

"Director Zhao from the Infrastructure Department just called to say that someone wrote an anonymous letter reporting that our factory is illegally occupying school land."

"We demand an immediate halt to operations and that an investigation be launched."

"A whistleblower letter? Who wrote it?"

"I don't know. The letter was sent directly to the Provincial Department of Education, which then forwarded it to the school."

"Director Zhao said that at nine o'clock this morning, the school office, the infrastructure department, and the security department will come to the site for verification."

Director Sun lit a cigarette.

"I've worked in infrastructure my whole life, and this is the first time I've encountered something like this."

Ye Bingwen patted Director Sun on the shoulder.

"Director Sun, don't panic. All the paperwork is complete."

"Principal Liu's signature, the construction department's seal, and the land use application form are all present."

"If they come to investigate, let them investigate."

"Xiao Ye, you make it sound so easy. Have you even calculated how much money you'll lose if we stop work for a day?"

"I've calculated it. But compared to being labeled, the money for a day's work stoppage is nothing."

Ye Bingwen took out his pager and sent a message to both Director Liu and Professor Zhao.

Then he rode his bike to the school office and put all the previously copied filing materials into his canvas bag.

At 8:30, three bicycles were parked at the entrance of the new factory building.

Director Zhao got out of the car, followed by an officer from the school office and two people from the security department.

The faces of the group were not very good.

Director Zhao looked at the steel frame and roof of the new factory building and frowned.

"Ye Bingwen, someone reported that your factory building did not have proper construction permits and is an illegal land occupation and illegal building."

"We're here today to verify this matter."

Ye Bingwen took the stack of documents out of his canvas bag and handed them over.

"Director Zhao, here are all the filing materials. Nothing is missing. Please take your time to look through them."

Director Zhao took the materials and flipped through them page by page.

"Was this land use application approved by Director Sun?"

Director Zhao raised his head.

"Yes. Director Sun personally signed and stamped it."

Director Zhao handed the materials to the officer next to him and asked him to check them.

"Where is Director Sun?"

"At the construction site."

Director Sun walked over from behind the factory building, his face also looking grim.

"Director Zhao, I personally inspected the foundation of this factory building, I supervised the pouring of the concrete, and I also handled the paperwork."

"You said it's a traffic violation, but where is it a violation?"

Director Zhao turned to look at the people from the security department.

"Go to the site and see if it exceeds the land use boundary."

The two security guards took out tape measures and began to measure.

Liu Xiaojun ran over from the old factory building, his face pale.

"Uncle Ye, what happened?"

"It's nothing. Just a routine check-up."

"But they—"

"Xiaojun, go back and keep an eye on the equipment. I'll handle things here."

Liu Xiaojun hesitated for a moment, then turned and ran back.

The security personnel took measurements for ten minutes and then returned.

"Director Zhao, the land use area is consistent with the application materials and does not exceed the red line."

Director Zhao nodded.

"Director Sun, where did the construction team for this factory come from?"

"The school's construction team. They're registered with the infrastructure department."

Director Zhao returned the stack of materials to Ye Bingwen.

"Ye Bingwen, that's all for today. We'll let you know if there are any further issues."

Ye Bingwen took the materials.

"Director Zhao, may I ask you a question? Who wrote the whistleblower letter?"

"The letter was anonymous and its source cannot be traced. However, since it was forwarded by the Provincial Department of Education, the school cannot refuse to accept it."

Director Zhao left with his men.

Director Sun stood at the entrance of the new factory building and stubbed out his cigarette on the ground.

"These people are just bored and have nothing better to do."

Ye Bingwen remained silent.

As he watched Director Zhao and his group disappear, he already knew what was going on.

The letter of complaint was not addressed to the school, but to the provincial education department.

The goal was not to get the school to investigate him, but to get the provincial education department to take notice of him.

It's too conspicuous for a college student to run a factory, producing military products and operating under the Harbin Military Engineering Institute brand.

As long as someone is watching, they can always find something wrong with it.

He was about to return to his office when his pager vibrated.

"Bingwen, there's been some progress on the matter you asked me to investigate."

"explain."

"Do you remember Zhang Demao from the village?"

Ye Bingwen thought for a moment.

Zhang Demao, from Daxing Village, I had a fight with him before over the boundaries of his homestead.

The village mediated the dispute, but the two families have not had any contact since.

"I remember. What's wrong?"

"Someone saw Zhang Demao having dinner with those three people who took the photos last month. It was at a small restaurant in the county town."

"Zhang Demao's daughter-in-law works in the county town and said that the three people were from the province."

"I treated Zhang Demao to a meal and gave him two packs of cigarettes."

Ye Bingwen pieced all the fragments together in his mind.

"Yongqiang, keep an eye on Zhang Demao for me, but don't alert him."

"Okay. There's one more thing. I had someone check the license plate number of those three people; it belongs to the provincial industrial department's motorcade."

"The registered user is—Ma Li."

Ye Bingwen took a deep breath.

"Okay. Yongqiang, be careful over there."

After hanging up the phone, Ye Bingwen sat in his office for a long time.

Ma Li's use of official vehicles and personnel from the Provincial Department of Industry to conduct unauthorized investigations in rural areas was already a breach of the rules.

If we can get solid evidence and report this to the provincial discipline inspection commission, Ma Li will be in serious trouble.

But the evidence isn't strong enough yet, and he himself has a lot of unresolved problems.

Chen An's voice came from outside the door.

"Director Ye! Director Ye!"

Chen An ran in with a smile, holding an official document in his hand.

"It's done! Professor Cai submitted the application for the industry-university-research cooperation base, and the university approved it! Here's the approval document!"

Ye Bingwen took the document and read it through.

The official seal, the official stamp, and Professor Cai's signature were all present.

He placed the documents on the table.

"Xiao Chen, this document has arrived just in time."

"What's wrong?"

"Someone reported that our factory is illegally occupying land, and they just came to investigate this morning."

Chen An was taken aback.

"Who reported it?"

"I don't know. But it's most likely someone from Ma Li's side."

Chen An was silent for a few seconds, then said something that surprised Ye Bingwen.

"Director Ye, Professor Cai said that if anyone obstructs you, you should produce this document."

"The Harbin Military Engineering Institute's industry-academia-research base is not something that anyone can just mess with."

Ye Bingwen suddenly smiled.

Ma Li tried to pressure him by using the provincial education department, but Professor Cai used Harbin Military Engineering Institute to back him up.

This is what he has been waiting for—not just a technological collaboration, but a shield that can protect him from both open and covert attacks.