88: On-site interviews

“Hello, sir, this is the National Daily.”

The call connected.

The National Daily customer service representative’s bright and clear voice came through the phone.

“Hello, may I ask what your editor-in-chief means by this?”

Li Mubai put down the watermelon rind, which had no red pulp, and asked.

The other party’s speed was a bit unexpected for him.

From the previous hang-up to the current call, only half an hour had passed.

He had predicted that the other party would call at least three hours later.

He never expected it.

The other party’s speed was so fast!

“I’m sorry, sir. This call is not about a decision being made.”

Li Mubai raised his eyebrows: “Then what is this call about…?”

“It’s like this. The editor-in-chief needs to ask you a question, and I wonder if you are able to answer it.”

“Just ask.”

“The editor-in-chief wants to know the precision of the Numerical Control Machine Tool developed by your factory, sir. Are you able to disclose it?”

The woman’s tone was cautious.

Li Mubai smiled brightly: “What’s there to hide? I’ll tell you directly, the precision is within 0.001 millimeters.”

“Thank you for your trust in the National Daily, sir. I’ll go report to the editor-in-chief now, and I’ll inform you of the situation shortly.”

…

National Daily Building.

After hanging up the phone, the customer service lady cheerfully got up and headed towards the editor-in-chief’s office.

She arrived at the door of the editor-in-chief’s office.

She extended her small hand and knocked twice on the door, somewhat reservedly, with not much force.

The reason for this was that she was not an experienced employee, but a university graduate who had not been working for long.

She had been working there for less than a month, all told.

Naturally, she was not familiar with the editor-in-chief.

If it weren’t for Li Mubai’s call, she would have never even been to the editor-in-chief’s office.

“Come in.”

A moderate voice, neither too loud nor too soft, passed through the closed door and into her ears.

Upon receiving permission, she no longer hesitated, reaching out and twisting the doorknob.

Click…

The door opened in response.

The customer service lady stepped inside.

“Did he answer?”

Xie Yanwen looked up and asked.

The customer service lady closed the door behind her, nodded softly, and then walked two steps to the desk, standing timidly with her right hand covering her left, held vertically in front of her:

“He said the precision is 0.001 millimeters.”

Her reserved demeanor was fully observed by Xie Yanwen.

“Relax, don’t be so reserved. You are an employee of the company, not a landlord’s slave; we are all equal.”

“I’ve seen your resume.”

“Graduated from Yanjing University, with a lot of internship experience, and many certificates.”

“Although these certificates are not very useful for your current job, they are enough to prove that you are a person who loves learning. So you don’t need to be nervous.”

“Moreover, I don’t look like a tiger that eats people without spitting out bones, do I?”

Xie Yanwen smiled modestly.

Seeing this,

the customer service lady was also amused by the last sentence, and her nervous mood eased considerably at that moment.

“Are you sure the person said the precision is 0.001 millimeters?”

Seeing that she was no longer overly nervous, Xie Yanwen then pressed again for the millimeter detail.

The customer service lady nodded, affirming: “Yes, I remember it very clearly. That person said 0.001 millimeters. I even made a special note of it.”

“Do you know what a Numerical Control Machine Tool with 0.001 millimeter precision means?”

Xie Yanwen’s sudden question directly stunned the customer service lady.

She was not from a related major and did not know what this represented.

Seeing that the other party did not know, Xie Yanwen spoke to himself:

“0.001 millimeters, let alone domestically, even abroad, it’s unlikely to have a machine tool with this precision.”

“If this precision is real, it means that our country has far surpassed Western countries like Eagleland in the field of Numerical Control Machine Tools!”

“At the same time, with a machine tool of this precision, it also means that our country’s industry will usher in vigorous development!”

“If the machine tool is real, then this news is enough to shake the heavens and earth, and its prestige will spread throughout the world!”

“Even our newspaper will reach a new level because of this news!!”

Listening to Xie Yanwen’s impassioned words, the customer service lady also became emotionally excited.

At this moment, she truly understood what 0.001 millimeters represented!

Just as the atmosphere on the scene was high,

Xie Yanwen’s tone suddenly paused, and his words took a sharp turn downwards:

“However… such a machine tool is unlikely to appear, or rather, it is definitely impossible to appear. Let alone 0.001 millimeter precision, even 0.006 millimeters, our country may not be able to achieve it. The technical difficulties involved are currently beyond our country’s ability to solve.”

The customer service lady looked confused: “Then, Editor-in-Chief, what do you mean…?”

“What I mean is, the person who called is exaggerating. Perhaps they really developed a Numerical Control Machine Tool, but the precision cannot reach 0.001 millimeters.”

Xie Yanwen’s tone was firm, his eyes full of wisdom, as if he had seen through everything.

“Then do we still want to cooperate with them?”

The customer service lady asked.

Xie Yanwen grinned and nodded heavily:

“Yes, of course! How can you not eat meat that’s delivered to your doorstep? How about this: you contact this person first and say that a reporter will be sent for an interview tomorrow. As for the publication fee… when the reporter goes tomorrow, you go with them and discuss it with the other party.”

“Ah? I go to discuss it? But I just started; can I do this job well?”

The customer service lady smacked her lips.

Xie Yanwen smiled slightly:

“Young people need to be tempered sooner or later. If you go to negotiate, you’ll get tempered, isn’t that a good thing? This way, you’ll become familiar with this job faster.”

Hearing this,

the customer service lady showed hesitation, but soon she made up her mind, her tone firm:

“Okay, then I’ll give it a try!”

Soon,

she left the office and then made a call to Li Mubai, arranging the time for tomorrow’s on-site interview.

During this time,

Li Mubai asked about the price.

However, she brushed him off, saying that an on-site negotiation would take place when they arrived tomorrow.

Li Mubai didn’t think there was any problem with this answer.

At worst, if the other party’s price was too high, he just wouldn’t do it. Could the other party force him?

......

The night passed without incident.

In the early morning,

Li Mubai arrived at the Steel Factory early and then inspected the site environment.

National Daily reporters would be visiting this morning, and as the host, he couldn’t let the guests find the environment too dirty and messy, could he?

However,

he was clearly overthinking.

Old Xiao cleaned the factory every night after work.

Inside the factory, except for the steel-making equipment, all other areas were spotless.

Even some sundries were gathered together.

This made the overall environment inside the factory look very tidy.

Soon,

the agreed time arrived.

And at this moment,

outside the factory gate, a white car was also parked.

On the side door of the car, several large characters were clearly sprayed:

National Daily!

.......