Chapter 181 We welcome friends with fine wine, but we meet wolves with hunting rifles!

The interpreter, being very sensible, added an extra touch of weight to his tone.

It carried an aggressive air.

"Yamashita Trading Company has come with the sincerity of one million US dollars."

"We hope to help Haiwei develop."

"But this attitude, as if guarding against thieves, makes us very doubtful about whether there is a foundation for cooperation between the two sides."

"Mutual trust is the cornerstone of business."

The interpreter articulated the words "one million" and "mutual trust" with great emphasis.

The director of the nearby tin inlay factory turned pale with fright, frantically signaling Director Li, terrified that the god of wealth might run away.

If this had been two days ago.

Director Li would probably have already started apologizing, offering amends, and opening the door even if it meant violating regulations.

But at this moment.

Director Li sat steadily on the paint-peeling wooden chair.

He picked up the enamel mug printed with "Serve the People."

He leisurely blew away the tea leaves floating on top.

He remembered what Lin Xi said last night.

"As long as we stand tall, not only will they not leave, but they will kneel and beg us to sell."

Director Li put down the tea mug and looked up.

That face, usually full of flattering smiles, now wore an unprecedented calmness.

"Mr. Nakamura."

"Business is business, and rules are rules."

Director Li's tone was neither rushed nor slow, yet it revealed the stubbornness of a man from Shandong Province.

"It is precisely because we are responsible for this investment that we must establish the rules."

"If we don't even have this basic awareness of technical confidentiality."

"Then this factory is not worth your one million investment, right?"

Nakamura's expression stiffened.

Technical confidentiality? Patent protection?

These words popping out of the mouth of a director of the Bureau of Commerce from an obscure small city in 1980s China.

Gave him a strong sense of incongruity.

This was using his own logic to shut his mouth!

How could this still be that timid little bureaucrat?

He was practically an old slicker who had mingled on Wall Street!

Seeing Nakamura about to explode.

Director Li leaned forward slightly, his smile receding a bit.

In those eyes that were originally narrowed into slits, a sharp light suddenly burst forth.

"Besides, Mr. Nakamura."

"For us Chinese, hospitality is engraved in our bones."

"Whether it's doing business or making friends."

"We can talk openly, and there will be plenty of good wine."

Director Li paused, his voice low and every word as hard as iron.

"But if anyone harbors other motives and wants to touch our foundation..."

"Then I'm sorry."

"We also keep a shotgun behind the door."

The office fell into instant silence.

Only the old-fashioned wall clock made "tick, tock" sounds.

Nakamura stared fixedly at Director Li, trying to find a trace of bluffing panic on his face.

But he failed.

That official just sat there, as steady as Mount Tai.

In the end, Nakamura took a deep breath and swallowed the threat that was on the tip of his tongue.

"Since that's the case, we will go to the Haiwei Fishing Gear Factory No. 1," Nakamura said.

"I want to meet that Manager Lin."

Director Li sat on the sofa without moving, just spread his hands, looking helpless:

"Sorry, that is a contracted enterprise."

"According to the Contract Law, the management rights belong to Manager Lin, and the government has no right to interfere."

"If you want to go in, you have to ask Manager Lin if he agrees first."

Nakamura understood that the formal path today was completely blocked.

"Hmph!"

Nakamura stood up abruptly, his chair making a harsh scraping sound on the floor.

"I hope your side will not regret this!"

After speaking, he took his people and left in a fit of rage.

...

Haiwei City Guesthouse.

"Baka!"

A delicate white porcelain teacup was smashed hard on the floor, fragments scattering everywhere.

Nakamura loosened his tie, his refined face now twisted into something somewhat ferocious.

"How did that Li guy suddenly become so difficult to deal with?"

"Someone must have taught him! It must be that Lin guy!"

This trip to Haiwei, not only did he not steal any technology.

But he didn't even get his hands on the most basic samples; how could he explain it to headquarters when he went back?

Say that he was blocked by a few country bumpkins using scientific management?

It was simply a huge humiliation!

"Mr. Nakamura, please calm down."

The bespectacled assistant who had been following behind.

While cleaning up the fragments on the floor, he lowered his voice.

"We can't touch these officials."

"But what about those workers?"

The assistant pushed up his glasses, a trace of malice flashing behind the lenses.

"I've inquired; the workers here only earn thirty-something yuan a month."

"Thirty yuan isn't even enough for a pack of our cigarettes."

"As long as we give them a little sweetness..."

The assistant rubbed his fingers.

"Even if it's just a radio, or even a few foreign exchange certificates, it can make them sell out their own ancestors."

Nakamura's movements stopped.

He turned around, looking at the low buildings of Haiwei City outside the window, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

"You mean..."

"If the open approach doesn't work, we'll come at them from the shadows."

The assistant smiled sinisterly.

"As long as we bribe one or two people in key positions, what formula, what data—wouldn't it all be within our grasp?"

"Very good."

Nakamura straightened his tie, returning to his elite appearance.

"Go prepare the cash."

"Since they have locked the front door, we will crawl in through the dog hole."

"I want to see if that Lin guy can defend against the open interviews, and if he can defend against human nature!"

...

Haiwei Fishing Gear Factory No. 1, inside the simple workshop supported by plastic greenhouses.

Toray's wire drawing machine was running at a high speed of 1000 RPM, emitting a sharp yet cheerful whistling sound.

Bundles of crystal-clear fiberglass filaments poured down like a silver waterfall from the spinneret, shimmering with a cold light under the lamps.

Chen Guangwei pinched a roll of newly produced filament, scraped his fingernail against the thread, and it made a "zzzt" grating sound.

"The strength is enough, even higher than the imported ones by a notch."

Old Chen's brows were locked tight.

"But the feel is too coarse."

"For making fishing lines, this roughness is just a saw that grinds the guide rings."

"For making rod blanks, the resin won't penetrate, and it will definitely delaminate later."

This is a common problem with fiberglass products.

Once the hardness goes up, it is often accompanied by brittleness and coarseness.

If the post-processing technology doesn't keep up, it's just a high-strength semi-finished product.

"It's the problem with the sizing agent."

Chen Guangwei concluded.

"The current silane coupling agent is too conventional."

"It's hard to improve the feel on this basis."

Lin Xi was holding a caliper, measuring the taper of the tube-rolling mold.

Hearing this, he smiled and didn't pick up on that point.

Instead, he asked an unrelated question:

"Old Chen, do you remember the anti-wear grease I mentioned to you that we developed at the Fengtian Second Machinery Plant?"

Chen Guangwei was stunned:

"Is it the one that added what..."

"The one with polytetrafluoroethylene micropowder?"

"Yes, that's the thing."

Lin Xi put down the caliper and took out a small glass bottle from his briefcase.

Inside was half a bottle of white ultrafine powder.

"I brought a little bit this time."

"I originally intended to use it to maintain the bearings of these old machines."

Lin Xi shook the bottle, and the white powder flowed in the bottle like smoke.

"Polytetrafluoroethylene, commonly known as the King of Plastics, has an extremely low coefficient of friction."

"In machinery, it is an anti-wear agent."

"If we add this thing to our sizing agent..."

Chen Guangwei's eyes lit up instantly.