Chapter 111 The Versailles Moment: This is just a small sum of nine million eight hundred thousand.

Northwest Gobi, Red Star Technology conference room.

Sitting in the main seat was none other than Lin Xi, who had just returned from the Imperial Capital.

People sat on both sides of the long wooden table; they were the backbone of Red Star Technology.

"Let's begin."

Erga stood up in response.

Wearing a sharp suit, his hair was combed back slick and shiny.

He looked every bit the sales elite.

Looking at him like this, one would never imagine...

...that a year ago, he was just a street loafer idling his days away.

At this moment, he had an uneasy expression on his face, as if he had made some sort of mistake.

"Leaders, regarding this Spring Canton Fair..."

Erga sighed and gently placed the report in his hand on the table.

"We didn't perform well."

Jiang Jun's heart skipped a beat.

He had managed projects at his previous unit.

He knew that in a setting like the Canton Fair, the competition was fierce.

Although Red Star Technology's shavers and fans were good, they were, after all, expensive.

If sales were dismal...

...the R&D funds promised by Red Star Technology might go down the drain.

"Mainly, the FOB price was set too aggressively."

Erga looked full of regret.

"Although we moved 500,000 units of the 'Red Star · gentle breeze'..."

"...because the unit price of the 'forest oxygen bar' was too high..."

"...even though Harrison took 200,000 units..."

"...in the end, we only signed for 300,000 units."

Zhao Qiang couldn't help but clench his fists under the table.

300,000 units is quite a lot!

"Plus, the production capacity for shavers couldn't keep up, so we couldn't take orders."

Erga summarized with a pained expression,

"As of the end of May, the projected foreign exchange earnings for this Spring Canton Fair are..."

He paused, his voice dropping, seemingly ashamed to speak.

"...only 9.8 million US dollars."

The air froze.

The room became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Jiang Jun's hand holding the tea mug froze mid-air.

How much?

9.8 million... US dollars?!

In 1981, when a 'ten-thousand-yuan household' could wear big red flowers and parade through the streets...

...in an era when the country had to tighten its belt for just a few million in foreign exchange.

This number was like a giant sledgehammer.

It smashed down on the heads of these newcomers at the Red Star Laboratory.

Jiang Jun frantically calculated in his head:

According to the official exchange rate, it was 15 million RMB.

If calculated by the black market... it would be an astronomical figure!

Liu Xiaodong stopped chewing his milk candy and stared blankly at Erga.

Is this the legendary... 'didn't perform well'?

However, an even more terrifying scene occurred for the newcomers.

The expected cheering and jumping for joy did not happen.

The old master Li Jianguo, sitting across from them...

...just calmly blew aside the tea leaves floating on the surface and took a sip.

It was as if he hadn't heard 9.8 million dollars, but 9.8 yuan.

Wang Dapao even more boredly picked his ear with his pinky, not even lifting an eyelid.

Even Big Sister Liu, the accountant in charge of the books...

...just mechanically made a note in her ledger and muttered:

"Sigh, just one step away from ten million."

"My OCD is going to act up."

Outrageous!

Simply outrageous to the extreme!

Jiang Jun felt like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden.

This massive contrast made him even start to question his life.

"Wan... Brother Wang."

Liu Xiaodong tugged at Wang Yu's sleeve next to him and asked in a low voice,

"That's nearly ten million US dollars!"

"Aren't you guys... excited?"

Wang Yu glanced at this group of technical geniuses who hadn't seen the world and shrugged.

"It's alright."

He said nonchalantly,

"Last year, just relying on a few run-down workshops, we did eighteen million."

"This year has only just begun. It's a normal performance, normal performance."

Pfft!

Invisible flexes are the deadliest.

The bullet chat in the livestream immediately flooded the screen.

[Hahaha! Look at Jiang Jun's expression! His worldview has shattered into pieces!]

[Total Versailles! This is Red Star Technology's corporate culture: viewing money as dirt!]

[I give Erga's acting a perfect score. That pained feeling was so spot on! I suggest he debut right now!]

[This is the foundation! This is the prestige! You used to be SSRs, now you're just another brick in Red Star!]

"Alright."

Lin Xi rapped his knuckles on the table.

"Let's move past the money."

"Let's talk business."

He didn't care about that 9.8 million.

This was just to give these technical experts some peace of mind—

Here, money is never an issue.

"Tell me about the progress." Lin Xi looked to the left.

Zhao Qiang took a deep breath, suppressed the shock in his heart, and stood up.

At this moment, his back was straighter than ever before.

After all, with such a wealthy backer, his confidence was different.

"Manager Lin, the workload for promoting the m1 kit... is a bit excessive."

"Eighteen machine tool factories, with all sorts of equipment models."

"Although the core algorithm is universal..."

"...the mechanical structure and transmission ratio of every machine tool are different."

"This requires re-mapping, designing connectors, and even fine-tuning the underlying code."

Zhao Qiang gave a bitter smile.

"My Precision Structure Group, plus Xiaodong's CNC Group, has limited personnel."

"We are currently working overtime to push forward."

"But to finish all eighteen machine tool factories, it'll likely take three months."

"Including subsequent technical support and maintenance."

"Simply put... we need more people."

Jiang Jun also added:

"There's also the preliminary research on grating scales."

"The optics part involves materials, coating, and engraving processes; it's delicate work."

"Relying just on me and five team members isn't enough."

In short: they were short-staffed.

The atmosphere in the conference room was somewhat heavy.

He Zhenhua frowned.

He scribbled in his notebook, seemingly calculating where he could transfer more hands from.

"This is indeed a problem."

Lin Xi nodded, yet no trace of anxiety could be seen on his face.

He bent down and pulled a stack of letter paper from the briefcase by his feet.

The paper was a bit crumpled, covered in dense handwriting.

Lin Xi pushed the letter paper in front of He Zhenhua.

"Old He, go invite people according to this list!"

Invite people?

He Zhenhua was stunned and picked up the list.

Jiang Jun and Zhao Qiang also curiously leaned in.

At a glance, the expressions of several people became quite colorful.

Some people on the list were indeed professional technical personnel.

But some were very strange.

[Zhang Mian, 42 years old, successor of the Datiehua craft.]

[Song Changyin, 29 years old, canteen kitchen assistant.]

[Iron Pillar, 38 years old, boiler repairman.]

...

A full two hundred-plus people!

"This..."

He Zhenhua looked up, appearing to understand something, yet also understanding nothing at all.

He said hesitantly:

"Manager Lin, these people... reliable?"

Lin Xi naturally couldn't say these were the SRs dug up by the collective efforts of future netizens.

He gave a mysterious smile: "Don't worry, they're reliable!"