Reborn in 1977, I will no longer be my brother's blood bag.

After the young apprentice from the Chengdong Hardware Factory relayed the message, He Qiuyan frowned.

"Do the people from Nan Hua ask detailed questions?"

"Quite thin."

The young man rode all the way, his forehead covered in sweat. He asked how long the batch of materials had been held up, which company it was originally intended for, and whether there were any similar sizes in the warehouse.

Lin Xiuhe put the ten finished products on the table back into the cloth bag.

"Did he ask us what we would do with it?"

"I asked."

"What about the warehouse?"

"They didn't say. They only said the goods had already been shipped and the buyer had something to use them for."

Lin Xiuhe nodded.

"Okay, thank you for making this trip."

She did not ask the other party to continue keeping an eye on Nanhua.

It's no secret that there's a backlog of materials in the east of the city. Fang Qicheng saw her leave the material supplier empty-handed yesterday, but the street factory started operating as usual the next day. If he really didn't ask anything, it wouldn't be like him.

Zheng Qiaoyun listened most attentively.

"They won't take the rest, will they?"

Director Ye patted her on the shoulder.

"Take care of the six hundred sets you have first."

"I'm just afraid I won't have a job again."

"You've got to do it."

Zheng Qiaoyun then picked up the cloth bag and followed Director Ye back to Linzhou.

After the two left, He Qiuyan stood by the door and thought for a while.

"I think Fang Qicheng's question is off the mark."

Lin Xiuhe looked at her.

"What is that?"

"Why did you dare to buy it?"

He Qiuyan picked up the sample that had been delivered from the east of the city from the wooden shelf.

"The price of standard specifications is going up. This batch of goods has been sitting in the warehouse for months and nobody wants it. By bringing it back, production won't be delayed, and the cost will be lower."

She put the sample back.

"If it were me, I'd also like to see what you would do."

Lin Xiuhe smiled.

"I didn't pay you for nothing these past two days."

"I wasn't just good at calculating salaries."

He Qiuyan rolled her eyes at her.

Just then, the sound of a car came from outside the courtyard gate.

The gatekeeper leaned out of the window.

"Comrade Lin, the people from Nanhua have arrived."

He Qiuyan immediately looked towards the courtyard gate.

"That was fast."

It was Fang Qicheng who arrived.

He didn't go into the operations department today; he just stood in the courtyard and asked one question:

"Is the street factory still operating today?"

"exist."

"Take me to see it."

Lin Xiuhe sized him up.

"Manager Fang now even wants to inspect my processing site?"

"I'm inspecting the goods."

Fang Qicheng laughed frankly, "If you can really make this batch of things, I'd also like to know why no one took it before."

He Qiuyan had already gone to get her bicycle.

"I'll go too."

Lin Xiuhe looked at her.

"No training this afternoon?"

"We finished early today."

She pushed the car out the door, "and I want to see what Manager Fang is planning to learn."

Fang Qicheng smiled.

"Your classmate is even more wary of me now than you are of him."

"She takes Xinghe's wages."

No wonder.

When the three arrived in Linzhou, the street factory was busy.

The batch of stockpiled materials that arrived yesterday had already been cut, and several female workers were assembling them around the worktable. Zheng Qiaoyun was the first to see them; without putting down her work, her gaze fell on Fang Qicheng.

"You're not here to haul away materials, are you?"

Director Ye came out from inside.

"Zheng Qiaoyun".

"Let me ask."

Fang Qicheng was not annoyed.

"No bowel movement today."

Zheng Qiaoyun was still worried.

"We can't stop tomorrow either, we haven't finished making these 600 sets yet."

He Qiuyan suppressed a laugh.

Fang Qicheng nodded.

"Okay, I'll save it for you."

Director Ye led them inside.

Fang Qicheng didn't rush to look at the finished products. He first picked up a piece of unprocessed new material and then looked at the batch that had been cut next to it.

"Is there one more step required?"

"right."

Director Ye explained the actual handling method.

The original specifications weren't too different; the most troublesome thing was that the lengths were uneven, so they needed to be trimmed first. Fang Qicheng picked up a few more lunchbox baskets that had already been made. They looked no different, and their load-bearing capacity was unaffected.

This time, the smile on his face was more pronounced.

No wonder.

Lin Xiuhe stood to the side.

"Do you understand?"

"half."

"What about your other half?"

Fang Qicheng turned around.

"Why did you dare to take the whole batch at once?"

Director Ye also looked at Lin Xiuhe.

At the time, the goods in the warehouse in the east of the city were much more than the actual need of 600 sets. If they couldn't be used in the end, all the money she had invested would be stuck with her.

"I've tried on the size first."

Fang Qicheng is still waiting.

Lin Xiuhe smiled.

"The rest is whether you dare to put your money in."

"I dared, so I took it."

Fang Qicheng stared at her for a moment, then smiled.

"OK."

"I admit defeat on this."

Zheng Qiaoyun was moving materials nearby when she heard this, and her ears perked up.

He Qiuyan couldn't help but smile slightly.

Fang Qicheng looked around again, but didn't ask if there were any materials left from the batch in the east of the city.

But before leaving, he asked Lin Xiuhe a question:

"Are you now more willing to take on these kinds of small, scattered jobs that require revisions?"

"Take whatever comes your way."

"That means you're willing."

Fang Qicheng smiled.

"I happen to have something that Nanhua finds troublesome, but you might find it useful."

This time, even He Qiuyan looked at him.

"What is it?"

"Let's talk about it when we get back to Beijing."

In the afternoon, Fang Qicheng arrived at Xinghe.

He didn't sit for long before taking out a price inquiry form from an out-of-town company from the brown paper bag and placing it on the table.

A mining bureau in Jizhou.

The list is very mixed.

The dormitory's small iron frame, canteen supplies, and a few other small items needed for the workers' living area—each item was small in quantity, but they were required to be adjusted according to the site's dimensions.

Nanhua can certainly do it.

However, once such an order is split up, all the partner factories find it troublesome.

"Nanhua won't accept?"

"It's not that I won't answer."

Fang Qicheng leaned back in his chair and said, "This part isn't worth the trouble of moving several factories together."

Lin Xiuhe looked at the price inquiry form.

"So, for me?"

"You handled it smoothly."

Fang Qicheng answered very decisively.

"The mining bureau has other goods that Nanhua wants to discuss. I won't compete with you for these odds and ends. When you go to inspect the site, please also help me find out the actual situation of the dormitory and canteen."

He Qiuyan smiled after hearing this.

"Manager Fang has a very clever plan."

"How can you make a living if you don't keep accounts?"

Lin Xiuhe also smiled.

"You take the big one, and I'll run the errands."

"You take what you're good at, and I'll take what I'm good at."

Fang Qicheng looked at her.

"We used to fight for the same order."

"This time we don't need to fight over it."

This sentence caused a moment of silence in the room.

Previously, Nanhua had resources, factories, and established clients. When Xinghe first emerged, it could only follow behind and compete for the opportunities left by others.

Fang Qicheng is now willing to directly push some of the tasks that he finds tedious but that Xinghe is best at onto him.

It's not about letting.

He began to acknowledge that Xinghe and Nanhua were not simply on the same side and could not simply clash head-on.

Lin Xiuhe picked up the inquiry form.

"When are you going?"

Three days later.

"How many days will you stay?"

"Commuting to and from the venue, it takes two or three days."

Fang Qicheng stood up.

"If you want to go, I'll give you the contact person."

"What if we don't go?"

"I'll call back tomorrow."

He then walked out.

When they reached the courtyard gate, they looked back one last time.

"Lin Xiuhe".

"Um?"

"This is my first time traveling to another city, so there's no need to rush to get orders."

"First, figure out exactly what they lack."

This sounded like a reminder, but not like a lesson.

It's more like a piece of advice casually left for those who come after someone who has traveled to many places.

Lin Xiuhe smiled.

"understood."

After Fang Qicheng left, He Qiuyan picked up the price inquiry form and looked at it again.

"Jizhou".

"Um."

"Are you really going?"

Lin Xiuhe took the order back from her.

This was the first time since Xinghe opened that someone had actually placed a business deal from outside Beijing on her desk.

She didn't continue calculating how much more this order could bring in, nor did she ask if the mining bureau would expand its procurement in the future.

I only looked at the departure date.

Three days later.

He Qiuyan looked up.

Lin Xiuhe had already put the inquiry form into her bag.

"I'll go."