Chapter 161: Factory Triumph

That afternoon.

Maternal Uncle Zhang Yongqing introduced a new type of flower and tree, excitedly showing and explaining it to everyone.

Sounds of a car arrived from outside.

Before long, Xu Zhiquan walked in with a beaming smile, with Li Rui, Fang Tao, and Cheng Yong following behind.

“Come on, come on, about the mechanical factory…”

Xu Zhiquan pushed open the door and entered the office.

Xu Chen, Fang Jun, and Director Yang naturally followed him in.

Xu Zhiquan picked up the large teacup from the desk and gulped down several big mouthfuls of cold tea.

He waved his hand, signaling for everyone to sit down first.

Then, he slowly pulled out a pack of cigarettes, lit one, tossed another to Director Yang, and only then spoke:

“It’s decided, and the approval process is complete—it’s ours.”

Yang Congxin: “Really?!”

Xu Zhiquan plopped down in the boss chair, propped his legs up on the desk edge, and exuded an air of cocky satisfaction.

Everyone had expected this, but hearing the confirmed result still filled them with excitement they couldn’t hide.

Fang Jun and Yang Congxin had originally joined East Morning Star because of the mechanical factory acquisition, and now with it settled, a weight lifted from their hearts.

Xu Zhiquan took a drag on his cigarette:

“The city called me for a meeting this afternoon—I thought several companies would be there, but when I arrived, it was just me.”

“Then I got the notification…”

“The official announcement should have been sent, but I haven’t had a chance to check it yet.”

As he spoke, Fang Jun was scrolling through her phone and then said:

“The announcement has indeed been posted.”

She handed her phone over to Xu Zhiquan.

Xu Zhiquan held the cigarette in his mouth and took the phone to look it over carefully.

It was just a couple of hundred words, explaining the mechanical factory’s restructuring and sale, with ‘East Morning Star Co. as the winning bidder’ and so on.

Xu Zhiquan laughed heartily a few times and passed the phone to Yang Congxin:

“Director Yang, take a look!”

Yang Congxin glanced at it:

“Why is it so short?”

Fang Jun said flatly:

“Announcements and documents like this are always brief because every word has to be carefully chosen.”

“Only unimportant matters get written out in long detail.”

Xu Zhiquan chuckled:

“Fang’s right! Few words mean big business!”

Yang Congxin adjusted his black-framed glasses, a bit reflective:

“After the first round of talks ended, I thought we might have lost it.”

“After all, we weren’t favored among those companies—we were the weakest, and there were those two ‘preselected’ ones…”

“Who would’ve thought it would circle back to you, President Xu!”

He paused, then added with a smile:

“And mainly, Teacher Xu really turned things around…”

Xu Zhiquan grinned broadly and glanced at Xu Chen, who was huddled back on the sofa, quietly munching on grapes from the fruit plate.

“Teacher Xu’s strategic planning has made key progress today, but you don’t look all that thrilled?”

Xu Chen smiled: “Of course I’m happy—happy enough to be starving!”

Xu Zhiquan burst out laughing:

“Alright, let’s head out and grab a victory meal!”

Xu Chen chewed on a grape and said with a smile:

“Why not eat here in the factory grounds? The environment’s great.”

Xu Zhiquan: “But we’ve got Director Yang and Teacher Fang here.”

“The restaurants in this town are all village-style places—nothing fancy.”

Yang Congxin: “Oh, but President Xu, I was just telling Xu Chen that I want to try some local rural feast!”

As he spoke, he glanced at Fang Jun beside him.

Fang Jun hesitated for a moment, then quickly added:

“I want to try it too…”

Xu Zhiquan smiled and stubbed out his cigarette, then shouted out the door. Li Rui dashed in, his hands covered in mud.

“Li Rui, go to town and book a table at Old Wang’s place…”

“Got it, President Xu!”

With that, Li Rui turned and hurried out.

Xu Zhiquan pulled out another cigarette but just held it without lighting it:

“And there’s more good news…”

“Last time, I brought up the needs you mentioned to the city officials, though I was careful and just hinted around.”

“Of course, I only dared to probe indirectly.”

Director Yang stepped over and lit Xu Zhiquan’s cigarette with a lighter.

Xu Zhiquan looked at Fang Jun and said:

“The funding issue—the city will help sort some of it out.”

“But how exactly and how much, they haven’t specified yet.”

Fang Jun: “That’s fantastic. If the city steps in, it’ll be a huge help.”

“At least getting bank loans will be easier.”

Xu Zhiquan nodded and continued:

“They’ll also assist with introducing the production line.”

Yang Congxin: “Really? They can help with that too?”

“Tiancheng doesn’t have a single large-scale production enterprise.”

“There was the Bright Factory holding it up, but now it’s bankrupt and gone…”

“The city chose East Morning Star because of what we reported—creating jobs, generating taxes, building a company in Tiancheng with billions in revenue…”

“Vice Mayor Wu specifically told me the city’s launching a private enterprise support plan, but they’ve been struggling to find target companies.”

“Chenfeng Electric Vehicles came along just in time.”

“They were considering Changsheng Chemical for the same reason.”

“But due to public protests, they backed off, and besides, it’s an out-of-town company—not like us, born right here in Tiancheng.”

“No company fits better than ours.”

“From what I see, the city plans to make East Morning Star Co. and Chenfeng Technology flagships for private enterprises in the city and province!”

Yang Congxin: “This is too perfect!”

Xu Zhiquan: “It’s not luck—it’s because our initial report outlined exactly what the city needed.”

Fang Jun stayed silent but glanced at Xu Chen.

Xu Chen was chomping on grapes and noticed Fang Jun looking at him, so he smiled and whispered:

“Teacher Fang, have some fruit…”

“…”

Xu Zhiquan went on:

“Next month, city leaders will visit Jiangsu Province and Zhejiang Province for study, and they’ll take us along.”

“For introducing the electric vehicle production line, the city will discuss it with local departments during the trip.”

Yang Congxin adjusted his black-framed glasses, excited:

“This is great! I was worried that might be tricky!”

Xu Zhiquan took a drag and suddenly looked at Fang Jun with a smile:

“When I was leaving today, the leaders specifically asked if Teacher Fang could join the inspection trip.”

“I haven’t discussed it with you yet, so I didn’t agree.”

Fang Jun hesitated: “I’m fine with it—whatever you arrange, President Xu!”

“…”

Truth be told, Xu Zhiquan wasn’t entirely sure if Teacher Fang Jun, with her good background, had quietly helped out on the mechanical factory matter.

Or maybe she didn’t need to—her presence alone might have been help enough…

Then Xu Zhiquan remembered something else, his expression shifting as he said:

“And about that last case, there’s some investigation results coming in.”