72: Chapter 72 Expanding Civil Aerospace

Engineer Li: "Hello, President Chen. Engineer Fu mentioned you. I've looked at your data; it's indeed very impressive. However, I'm currently in Xichang following a project for three days. If it's convenient for you, we can have a preliminary chat over the phone first."

Xichang.

The Aerospace City.

Chen Fan replied: "Does eight o'clock tonight work for you? I'm available anytime."

"Eight o'clock is fine. I'll call you."

Concise, direct, without a single word of nonsense.

Chen Fan put down his phone and let out a long breath.

Civil aerospace materials. Fu Dong had pointed out this path for him at the perfect time.

Military orders might currently be blocked, so he would tear open a gap in the civil market. Once the civil sector became a benchmark and accumulated enough technical data and industry reputation, he would fight his way back into the military market—by then, even if Long Zaitian wanted to stop him, he wouldn't be able to.

This was a flanking maneuver.

At exactly eight o'clock in the evening, Chen Fan's phone rang punctually.

He pressed the answer button: "Engineer Li, good evening."

A steady male voice came from the other end of the line, with a slight Xichang accent: "President Chen, sorry to keep you waiting. Engineer Fu sent me your insulation tile data, and the performance is indeed stunning."

Chen Fan felt a sense of stability in his heart.

It was a good sign that the other party got straight to the point regarding technology.

"Data is just the foundation," Chen Fan said. "We value the suitability for actual application scenarios more. I wonder what specific material requirements the project you're working on has, Engineer Li?"

"The requirements are very clear," Engineer Li didn't beat around the bush either. "We are currently developing a Suborbital Tourism Vehicle, and the biggest pain point is the Thermal Protection System. Existing materials are either too heavy, affecting payload and range, or their insulation performance is insufficient, lacking safety redundancy."

He paused, his tone becoming serious: "President Chen, civil aerospace is different from military. Military can ignore costs, but civil must consider commercialization. No matter how good your material's performance is, if the cost can't be brought down or the mass production stability is insufficient, then it's just a castle in the air."

"I understand," Chen Fan said. "That is also our current focus—how to bring the cost down to a level acceptable to the civil market while maintaining performance."

He walked to the computer and pulled up a document: "Engineer Li, I have a preliminary cost analysis and mass production plan here. If it's convenient, I can send it to you now for a look."

"Send it," Engineer Li said decisively. "I'll look at it tonight."

The call ended.

Chen Fan sent the file over, then leaned back in his chair and let out a long breath.

---

For the next three days, the Fanxing Technology factory area was like an "inspection exhibition."

The first day was a joint inspection team from Environmental Protection and Safety Supervision. Chen Fan followed the same pattern, laying out the environmental equipment operation data, hazardous materials management processes, and emergency plan drill records one by one, all organized and detailed. When the inspection team leader left, he even specifically asked for a copy of Fanxing's social responsibility report, saying he would "take it back for the leadership to see."

The second day was Tax and Market Supervision. The CFO took the lead personally, spreading out three years of accounts, tax records, contract filings, and intellectual property certificates across a whole table. The old accountant from the tax team looked through them for a long time with reading glasses before finally nodding: "The accounts are clear, taxes are paid on time—no issues."

The third day was Fire Safety and Labor Inspection. Fire exits were unobstructed, fire extinguisher pressure was normal, and photos of fire drills covered an entire wall. Employee labor contracts, social security payment records, and overtime pay vouchers were bound into volumes, each one accurate upon inspection. After flipping through them, the head of Labor Inspection even asked: "This overtime pay... you really give it according to national standards? Not a cent less?"

Lin Hao grinned from the side: "Leader, our boss said that for Fanxing to make money, it must be earned fair and square. Not a penny less should be given to employees, and not a penny of tax should be missed."

The man glanced at Lin Hao, said nothing, but wrote in the report: [Standardized employment, adequate protection]... In three days, six rounds of inspections.

The inspection reports were sent back one by one, and the contents were surprisingly consistent—this new enterprise called Fanxing Technology was law-abiding and clean. Not only were there no problems, but in many areas, they performed even better than established companies.

When the news reached Long Zaitian's ears, he was drinking tea in a private tea room at the Genting Club.

"Third Young Master," the assistant stood to the side, his voice a bit tense. "Six departments inspected for three days, and not a single problem report came out. Instead... instead, several reports even contained words of praise."

Long Zaitian's hand holding the teacup paused.

The scalding tea swayed gently in the cup, reflecting his slightly furrowed brow.

"Not a single problem?" he asked, his voice calm, but those who knew him understood that beneath this calm, a storm was usually hidden.

"None," the assistant said, bracing himself. "Environmental Protection said their emissions are compliant and data is uploaded in real-time; Tax said their accounts are clear and taxes are paid on time; Fire Safety said their facilities are complete and drills are in place; Labor Inspection said their employment is standardized and protection is comprehensive..."

"Enough," Long Zaitian interrupted him.

The teacup was placed gently on the table, making a crisp clinking sound.

"However, the people we snuck in have thoroughly mapped out the facility situation." The assistant said as he handed the phone to Long Zaitian: "But... the people we arranged to go in have mapped out the internal situation of the factory area. Here are the photos."

The tea room was quiet for a few seconds. Long Zaitian checked them one by one.

Then he closed his eyes and rubbed his temples with his fingers.

He hadn't expected Chen Fan to have such great capability to deal with a "surprise inspection" so easily.

He even turned the inspection into publicity?

"Interesting," Long Zaitian opened his eyes, a cold light flashing in them. "This Chen Fan is more troublesome than I thought."

The assistant asked tentatively: "Third Young Master, then next..."

Long Zaitian did not answer immediately.

He picked up the freshly brewed tea and took a sip. The tea was scalding and bitter, with a very slow sweet aftertaste.

Just like his current mood.

"Since conventional means can't suppress him," he put down the teacup, his voice as soft as a whisper yet every word was fierce, "then let's initiate the 'Melting Pot Project'."

The assistant's brow furrowed: "Understood! I'll go arrange it immediately!"

He turned and left the tea room in a hurry.

"Chen Fan..." Long Zaitian whispered the name, "let's play slowly."

---

The night outside grew darker.

Over these three days, he had dealt with inspections by day and stayed up late revising plans by night, sleeping less than four hours a day. His eyes were bloodshot, and stubble had appeared on his chin.

"Ding," the phone chimed.

It was a message from Su Qingyue: "Chen Fan, I've organized the medical equipment list and sent it to your email. Also... Grandpa Qin just called me; he said he heard about the inspections and asked if you need help?"

Chen Fan looked at the screen, a warmth in his heart.

He replied: "Tell Grandpa Qin thank you for me, but it's not needed for now. We can handle it."

Su Qingyue said in a worried tone: "Okay. Then make sure to rest, don't stay up too late."

Chen Fan smiled and replied with an "Mm."

At that moment, Xiao Zhi suddenly issued an alarm: "Warning, military-grade EMP Attack detected."