Chapter 173 Chen Guangwei's Plan

"Please speak! Please, go ahead and speak!"

Director Li now looked at Lin Xi as if he were looking at a god of wealth.

Forget one request; he would agree to ten.

Lin Xi walked to the window and pointed at the vast expanse of weed-covered saline-alkali land surrounding the fishing gear factory.

"For the sake of future capacity expansion."

"The city must reserve those hundreds of acres of wasteland around the factory for me; don't lease them to anyone else."

"That place doesn't grow crops anyway; it's just sitting there barren."

"As compensation."

"On top of the rent."

"I will pay an additional 20,000 yuan in profit sharing to the city every year, guaranteed for ten years."

Director Li followed the direction of his finger and felt a surge of wild joy in his heart.

That patch of mudflats wasn't even wanted if given away for free.

This god of wealth was actually offering to pay for it?

"No problem! Absolutely no problem!"

Director Li patted his chest in assurance,

"I will circle it on the map for you right now, and I'll get angry with anyone who tries to touch it!"

In the livestream, comments from netizens floated across the screen:

【What he's circling isn't just land; that's the future 'China Carbon Valley'!】

【This is true strategic vision! A few tens of thousands of yuan has locked in a future trillion-level industry!】

【Is this the 'god's eye view' of a transmigrator? It's too terrifying, yet so satisfying!】

【Thirty years from now, all the anglers and aircraft manufacturers in the world will have to call this saline-alkali land 'Daddy'!】

Lin Xi nodded, looking at the desolate land with deep, thoughtful eyes.

No one knew.

What kind of astonishing future was buried beneath this seemingly worthless wasteland.

That was the 'cradle of prosperity' for China's carbon fiber industry.

And it was also the cornerstone from which he would build the space elevator within ten years.

For 150,000, what he bought wasn't just a factory.

It was an admission ticket to an era.

...

The business matters were concluded.

Director Li was an extremely tactful person; he knew it was time for him to disappear.

"Manager Lin, Director Sun, I won't disturb you any further."

"I still need to go to the city to file the records."

"Regarding the paperwork for those thousand acres of saline-alkali land."

"I will have someone deliver it first thing tomorrow morning."

Director Li retreated politely and thoughtfully closed the door behind him.

Director Sun stretched, stood up, and patted Lin Xi on the shoulder:

"Alright, mission accomplished."

"You two are talking about technical matters; I won't interfere."

"I'm going downstairs to ask the staff for some local dried seafood specialties to take back for my wife to try."

After saying this, Director Sun also strolled away.

The large conference room instantly quieted down.

Only Lin Xi and the still somewhat reserved Chen Guangwei remained.

Without the official pleasantries, the air seemed to become a bit purer.

Lin Xi stood up and picked up the thermos.

Chen Guangwei subconsciously wanted to grab it:

"Manager Lin, let me do it, let me..."

"Sit."

He poured a cup of water for Chen Guangwei.

Then he pulled out a chair and sat down opposite Chen Guangwei.

"Old Chen, the door is closed, and the bystanders have all left."

Lin Xi looked at Chen Guangwei's hands, which were covered in calluses and chilblains, and got straight to the point.

"Now, let's talk business."

"I spent 150,000 in hard cash."

"And I took on such a huge favor to get this factory and hand it over to you."

"Give me the bottom line: how do you plan to save this factory?"

Chen Guangwei held the steaming enamel cup with both hands and was silent for a few seconds.

The steam rose onto his face, making his face, which had been tanned and roughened by the sea breeze, look a bit blurry.

He was silent for five seconds.

"Manager Lin, since you've asked, I won't hold anything back."

Chen Guangwei bent down and reached into that briefcase.

He pulled out a black tube and placed it on the table.

It was a broken fiberglass tube.

"Our factory's current situation is like running a marathon in worn-out shoes with holes in the toes."

Chen Guangwei gave a bitter smile.

"The equipment is all technology discarded by our big brother, the Soviet Union, back in the 50s."

"And quite a bit of it is even furnaces we built ourselves using makeshift methods."

"Expecting this scrap metal to compete with big factories on production volume and quality..."

"That's a dead end."

Lin Xi picked up the tube to examine it, said nothing, and signaled for him to continue.

"I've thought about it for a long time; the only way out is to change production."

Chen Guangwei pointed at the tube, a glimmer of light flashing in his eyes.

"Engage in civilian production."

"Be specific."

"Fishing rods," Chen Guangwei spat out the three words.

Lin Xi raised an eyebrow.

"Manager Lin, please don't think this stuff is low-class."

Chen Guangwei's tone quickened, as if afraid that Lin Xi would look down on it.

"I've studied it; right now abroad, especially in Japan, this kind of lightweight fishing rod is very popular."

"Although our factory's equipment is terrible, our tube-rolling technology is first-class, and the workers' skills are still there."

"Most fishing rods on the market now are fiberglass, which are cumbersome."

"I saw in a foreign magazine that they have started using a material called 'carbon' to make fishing rods."

"They are lightweight, high-strength, and one can sell for several hundred US dollars!"

"If we can manage to produce this thing."

"Even if we just make a rough imitation, the profit would be more than ten times that of fiberglass!"

"I've already inquired about the raw materials."

"Although civilian-grade carbon fiber is troublesome, it can still be imported."

"If you invest a bit more money to import some civilian-grade carbon fiber."

Chen Guangwei became more and more excited as he spoke.

His eyes were flashing with an astonishing light.

"As long as we can make these carbon rods, the factory will survive."

"Everyone will be able to eat meat, and we might even be able to build new houses!"

This was the simplest, most genuine wish of a grassroots factory director in 1982.

To survive, to make money, and to let the brothers who followed him live a good life.

Pragmatic, precise, and feasible.

A wave of comments floated across the livestream:

【This is what a factory director from that era was like; what they always thought about was making sure their brothers could eat first.】

【Old Chen is a pragmatist; carbon fiber hybrid weaving was indeed the way Weihai started back then.】

【But Old Chen's vision is limited! The person sitting in front of you is a cheater!】

Lin Xi looked at Chen Guangwei, his fingers tapping a rhythm on the tabletop.

"Is this your entire plan?"

Lin Xi suddenly smiled, a meaningful expression in his smile.

Chen Guangwei was stunned, his excitement dampened as if a bucket of cold water had been poured on him:

"Manager Lin, this... this won't work?"

"Making money is the hard truth."

"Making money is not wrong."

Lin Xi restrained his smile and leaned forward slightly.

"But what if I said that I ran all the way here from the Northwest."

"Using the connections of the Seventh Ministry of Machine Building Industry, spending over 100,000 to contract this place."

"Wasn't just so you could sell fishing rods and earn that bit of hard-earned money?"

Chen Guangwei opened his mouth, a bit bewildered:

"Then... then what are we doing? Making mop handles?"

Lin Xi shook his head.

He stood up, walked to the window, and pointed at the desolate saline-alkali land in the distance.

"Old Chen, we will make fishing rods, and we will make them on a massive scale."

"But that is only a side business."

"It is to pull the wool over people's eyes; it is the cash cow used to earn our R&D funding."

Lin Xi turned around abruptly.

His gaze was like a torch, his voice lowered, yet every word was like iron.

"What I want to grow from this saline-alkali land is not for fishing."

"I want it to be able to make aircraft wings, rocket fairings, and centrifuge rotors!"

"My goal is the independent research and development of high-performance polyacrylonitrile-based carbon fiber."

"The strength must benchmark against Toray's T300 from Japan, or even the future T800!"

"Clang—"

The lid of the enamel cup in Chen Guangwei's hand fell onto the table, rolled twice, and made a crisp sound.

He looked at Lin Xi as if he were looking at a madman.

"Independent R&D..."

"T... T300?!"

Chen Guangwei's voice went out of tune, his Adam's apple bobbing violently.

"Manager Lin, do... do you know what you are saying?"

"Do you know what T300 means?"

"It's not just as simple as burning fibers black!"

"That is top-tier technology strictly blockaded by the West."

"It is the black pearl on the industrial crown!"

"That is a strategic material!"

Chen Guangwei was so anxious he paced in circles, his hands flailing in the air:

"We don't even have a qualified temperature-controlled furnace."

"We can't even get the purity of the raw material acrylonitrile right!"

"This is impossible! Absolutely impossible!"