Chapter 268 Minister Liu

"Minister Zhao, I'm not asking for money. I just thought it would be a shame not to come see you after all the hard work I've put into coming to Beijing. Steel research was our first research project, and at the time, we were quite nervous, unsure whether our research data would be taken seriously. You've given us so much trust and support, and I'm here to thank you.

We, as people, have nothing else on our minds but to raise the nation's scientific and technological level, no matter how much progress we make. Therefore, money is not important to us; if there are difficulties, we just find ways to overcome them. National development is what matters most."

Zhao Pengfei felt more and more guilty.

"I know you're of high moral character and don't care about these vulgar things, but you can refuse it, but I can't refuse it. This is my fault no matter how you look at it. So, I'll finish this for you in the next two days, and when you go home, I'll let you take the money back."

Xie Yun smiled and said, "If you insist on giving it to me, I won't refuse. We still have a lot of things we want to do, and there will be many places where we will need money in the future."

"Yes, yes. You're right to think so."

Zhao Pengfei finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Xie Yun had no complaints, was always happy, and accepted his compensation without any hesitation.

Xie Yun said, "I also wanted to communicate with you about the latest situation. I've never been to the capital, so I don't know much about what's going on here. Are you treating our research institute's affairs as a confidential matter?"

Zhao Pengfei thought for a moment and said, "It was kept secret. I didn't tell anyone below me, and I kept it vague to the outside world. Under the circumstances at the time, I didn't dare to make any big moves for fear of causing trouble for you. But it wasn't completely secret either. Some people knew about it, and some people found out on their own."

Take, for example, Old Tang from your provincial machinery factory. He's quite cunning. Seeing such a significant technological breakthrough in the steel industry, he assumed there must be someone behind it. He was snooping around, and I suspected he had ulterior motives, so I investigated him and then sent my youngest son to work with him.

Xie Yun: "Director Tang's secretary, Xiao Zhao, is your son?"

"Yeah, you know him?"

"We just met a while ago. We commissioned the machinery factory to produce two pieces of equipment. I went to talk to Director Tang, and Xiao Zhao happened to be there too."

"This kid didn't tell me."

"You're busy with work, and so is he. This little thing isn't worth mentioning." Xie Yun brought the subject back on track and asked, "Do the leaders of the First Ministry of Machine Building know about our steel research?"

"I know. Many of the leaders in these ministries are former military personnel, including the current Minister of the First Ministry of Machine Building, Lao Liu. We have a good relationship, and I told him about this."

Xie Yun nodded, almost understanding what was going on.

"I came here this time because Minister Liu asked me to come. I will go to the Ministry of First Machine Building to visit him later."

"Let's go after dinner. Our department cafeteria is pretty good. Ask Lao Liu to wait, or I can give him a call and ask him to come over for dinner. It's perfect. Let's see what he says to you. I'll be watching over him, so he won't try to bully you."

Xie Yun: “…”

Zhao Pengfei picked up the phone and was about to dial, but after thinking for a moment, he put it down again. "Forget it, I'll go with you to meet him. I'll just eat his meal."

Xie Yun: “…”

☆

Zhao Pengfei accompanied Xie Yun to the First Ministry of Machine Building.

The journey was smooth all the way to the minister's office.

"Old Liu."

"Hey, Lao Zhao, why are you here? What's this?"

"This is Comrade Xie Yun from Qushui County, the poor and lower-middle peasant who invented the automobile engine. Didn't you invite him here?"

Old Liu immediately stood up, walked around from behind his desk, and shook hands with Xie Yun. "Xie, welcome, please take a seat. When did you arrive?"

Xie Yun smiled and went through the standard handshake process with him, shaking his hand three times for two seconds. "Hello, Minister Liu. I just arrived a while ago."

Old Liu asked his secretary to serve tea. After Xie Yun and Zhao Pengfei sat down, he personally closed the office door and told his secretary, "I'm discussing work with Minister Zhao. Don't let anyone disturb us."

"OK."

Old Liu asked Zhao Pengfei, "How did you run into Xiao Xie? And he followed me?"

Zhao Pengfei said, "What kind of friendship do I have with Xiao Xie? I don't need to report to you how we met. Why did you ask Xiao Xie to come to Beijing? Are you really worried that she doesn't have real talent?"

Old Liu waved his hand. "Of course not. We've already built cars, so our strength is unquestionable. Old Yan doesn't know about the Poor and Lower-Middle Peasants Research Institute, but I do. You told me about it before. I'm just pretending. Our First Ministry of Machine Building is not a monolithic entity. Old Yan argued with me over funding for the institute, and he got red in the face. He's a good comrade."

"Do you have to wait for others to fight for it before you give it to me?"

"I learned this from you, didn't I? I gave you such great skills, and you have no reaction? I'm saying this just to disgust you."

Speaking of this, Zhao Pengfei lost his confidence. He pursed his lips and said, "I will make it up."

Xie Yun smiled and said, "Minister Liu, why did you come to see me?"

"Well, first of all, of course, it's about the car business. The commission to produce cars will be given to several factories. They need to learn new technologies, and just reading the manual may not be enough. I want to discuss with you how to train the technicians of those car factories.

Secondly, I have one more thing I'd like to ask if you're interested. The Fourth Ministry of Machine Building wants to research microcomputers. They went abroad for research and saw other people's microcomputers. They came back wanting to build their own.

Honestly, our computers are now comparable to those developed abroad, and are even faster. However, they are all large machines, which are too expensive to mass-produce and widely available. Foreign countries used to have specialized large computers, but are now moving towards smaller, more civilian-friendly ones. In fact, foreign microcomputers are still in their infancy. If we start researching now, we still have a chance to catch up.

The Fourth Ministry of Machine Building is currently placing a lot of emphasis on this and wants to vigorously develop the electronic computer industry. So, I'd like to ask if you're interested in participating. Don't rush to answer me; go back and discuss it. If you're interested, I can connect you with the Fourth Ministry. Old Zhao is also familiar with them. The current Minister of Machine Building, Yuan, like us, is a former soldier. He's a decent man and trustworthy.

Xiao Xie, before, you all started your own research, and once you achieved results, you began to selflessly contribute. This is of course very good; the country needs selfless people like you. Now you can try a different approach. We've already produced so many results, and our scientific research strength is obvious to all. Lao Zhao and I can attest to this. Later, please summarize your research projects. With these research results, our institute will surely be able to dominate the world."

Xie Yun: “…”