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

"Sure."

"I know a bit about your relationship with Ma Li. But this guy has a powerful background. Are you sure you can take him down?"

"Whether I bring him down or not is not important. What's important is letting him know that I'm not someone to be trifled with."

Zheng Shuyun carefully put the envelope away.

"I'll submit it for you when you start work on Monday."

On Sunday, Ye Bingwen spent the whole day studying at the factory and didn't go out.

Chen An arrived and installed the PID controller on the press.

After powering on and testing, the thermometer pointer remained steadily at the set value, with fluctuations of less than plus or minus one degree.

"Director Ye, the press is working fine now."

Chen An wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Professor Cai said he'll come to hang the sign next Wednesday. Are you all ready?"

"It's all ready. I've had the sign engraved: 'Harbin Military Industry-University-Research Cooperation Base,' in black letters on a white background."

"Okay. I'll come over first thing Wednesday morning."

After Chen An left, Ye Bingwen stayed alone in the workshop for a long time.

The three pieces of equipment in the new factory building were polished to a shine: a press and a milling machine, lined up in a row.

In a few days, the sign for the industry-academia-research base will be hung up, and this place will no longer be a small workshop.

On Monday morning, Zheng Shuyun mailed the letter.

On Tuesday afternoon, Ye Bingwen was teaching his last review class when his pager vibrated.

It was a call from Zheng Shuyun's workplace.

"Xiao Ye, your letter has been forwarded from the Provincial Party Committee Office to the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection. People from the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection came to the publishing house this afternoon to verify the situation." "I gave them all the materials you gave me."

"What did they say?"

They said they would investigate carefully.

Ye Bingwen hung up the phone, feeling a weight lifted from his heart.

Professor Cai came to hang the plaque on Wednesday morning.

The ceremony was very simple.

Professor Cai, Chen An, Ye Bingwen, Master Li, Liu Xiaojun, along with Wang Guoqiang and several workers, stood at the entrance of the new factory building.

The sign hangs on the right side of the gate, with white background and black lettering, which reads "Harbin Military Engineering Institute Industry-University-Research Cooperation Base".

Below is "Nangang Hongqi Machinery Factory".

Professor Cai spoke, saying that the research on composite materials had achieved phased results and thanking the factory for its cooperation.

Ye Bingwen also spoke, expressing his gratitude to Professor Cai for his support and his hope to continue their cooperation in the future.

After hanging up the sign, Professor Cai went into the workshop.

"Xiao Ye, your factory may have basic facilities, but the management is quite good."

"Chen An told me that you marked the screws and categorized the pipes when you disassembled the equipment, which is a good habit."

"Master Li took the lead."

Ye Bingwen said.

Professor Cai looked at the press's worktable, where several small samples of composite materials were placed.

"I've reviewed the data from the third round of trial production, and it's excellent. The next step is to make the official product molds."

"Professor Cai, how long will it take to make the final mold?"

"One month. I had Chen An draw up the blueprints, and once they were finished, I sent them to the mold factory for processing."

Professor Cai paused for a moment.

"By the way, has anything unusual happened at your factory recently?"

Ye Bingwen's heart skipped a beat.

"What's wrong?"

"Chen An told me that someone reported your factory for illegally occupying land. I also heard that the Discipline Inspection Team of the Provincial Department of Industry came to see you."

"Yes, that happened. But it's all in the past."

Professor Cai glanced at him but didn't ask any more questions.

After Professor Cai left, Ye Bingwen returned to his office, tidied up the photos on the nameplate, and locked them in a drawer.

Friday is the final exam day.

A month of studying day and night has finally come to an end.

He rode his bike to the factory.

Liu Xiaojun was wiping the press machine in the workshop.

"Uncle Ye, are you done with the exam?"

"The exam is over."

"How did the exam go?"

"good."

Ye Bingwen walked to the entrance of the new factory and looked up at the sign.

It stands out in the sunlight.

He was looking at it when his pager vibrated.

It's Liu Yongqiang.

"Bingwen, something's happened. Chen An called to say that Professor Cai has suspended the collaboration."

Ye Bingwen's heart sank.

Why?

"They said there was a problem with the data from the third round of trial production. Professor Tsai retested it, and the results were different from the last time."

Professor Cai suspects that someone tampered with it.

Ye Bingwen's mind went blank.

The data has been tampered with.

Who did it?

He immediately dialed Chen An's number.

"Xiao Chen, what's wrong?"

"Director Ye, Professor Cai retested the third round of trial production samples today, and the data doesn't match the previous ones at all."

"The tensile strength dropped by 30%, and the flexural strength dropped by 40%."

"Professor Cai said that this could not be a problem with the process; the sample must have been switched or tampered with."

"Where should the samples be stored?"

"It's in the sample cabinet in Professor Cai's lab. Only Professor Cai and I have the key."

Ye Bingwen remained silent for a few seconds.

"What did Professor Cai say?"

"He said the cooperation was suspended and that no further trial production would be carried out until the matter was clarified."

After hanging up the phone, Ye Bingwen stared at the sign, his mind in turmoil.

That's a really vicious move.

He rode his bike to the school, found Chen An, and the two of them went to Professor Cai's laboratory.

The lock on the sample cabinet was intact, with no signs of being pried open.

But there was indeed a problem with the samples—three small samples looked the same as before, but they were significantly lighter.

Chen An weighed them on a balance scale and found that each piece was five grams less.

"They've replaced me."

Chen An's face turned pale.

"This is not the original sample."

"Who can get into this lab?"

"People from the materials science department. Undergraduate lab classes are also held here. The door is usually unlocked, anyone can come in."

Ye Bingwen glanced at the wall behind the sample cabinet.

There was a row of hooks on the wall, with a bunch of keys hanging on them.

"Whose keys are these?"

"It's lab technician Xiao Zhou. He's in charge of the lab's daily management."

Where is Xiao Zhou?

"He didn't come to work today. He said he took the day off."

Ye Bingwen stood up, and the line in his mind became clearer and clearer.

Ma Li bribed a temporary worker in the lab to switch the samples.

"Xiao Chen, can you help me find Xiao Zhou's home address?"

Chen An flipped through his contacts.

Xiao Zhou lives in a bungalow behind the school, sharing it with several temporary workers.

Ye Bingwen rode his bicycle to the row of bungalows.

When the door was opened, a disheveled young man stood in the doorway. Upon seeing Ye Bingwen, his expression changed.

"Who are you?"

"My surname is Ye, and I work at the Hongqi Machinery Factory. I need to ask you something."

Xiao Zhou tried to close the door, but Ye Bingwen stopped him.

"Don't be nervous. I'll ask you a few questions, just answer truthfully."

"I...I don't know anything."

"If you don't know anything, then why are you running?"

Xiao Zhou's face turned even paler.

Ye Bingwen took out a piece of paper from his pocket; it was a registration form that Chen An had borrowed from the laboratory.

The note reads that last Thursday afternoon, Xiao Zhou worked overtime to tidy up the lab and spent three hours alone in the lab.

"What did you do in the lab last Thursday afternoon?"