As soon as Vice Minister Li returned to the Ministry of Machinery, he immediately arranged for a report to be written, then reported the matter to Minister Duan, and finally went to a certain institute to meet with General Manager Lai.

Upon receiving the news, General Lai met with Vice Minister Li immediately.

After reading the report, Mr. Lai couldn't contain his excitement and asked some questions with concern.

“Vice Minister Li, this…this…isn’t this a bit exaggerated? It’s increased efficiency several times over, and the success rate is almost 100%. You’re a veteran Party member, you should be honest and straightforward, and not fabricate anything.”

"Mr. Lai, I was there at the time. I would swear on my life that this report is absolutely true."

Upon hearing Vice Minister Li's reply, General Manager Lai stood up excitedly, paced back and forth in the room a few times, and then called over a staff member.

"Make arrangements. I need to go to the machine factory tomorrow. Don't disturb anyone. I want to see the machine tools we produce ourselves and express my gratitude to these heroes."

"Okay, Mr. Lai."

Only after the staff left did Mr. Lai sit down again.

"Vice Minister Li, after this mission, what are Comrade Sun Zhengguo's next plans?"

"General Lai, Comrade Sun Zhengguo is currently assembling the remaining machine tools. The next step is to develop machine tools on his own, and the focus should still be on precision machine tools. In his words, it is to complement this machine tool."

Mr. Lai never expected that a casual question would lead to such a pleasant surprise.

"What did you say? Assemble the remaining machine tools? How much material did you prepare this time?"

"General Manager Lai, there are about 10 units, and all the parts have been processed. They just need to be assembled." Vice Minister Li reported truthfully, since there was no way to hide it anyway.

"Well done! Comrade Sun Zhengguo is truly bold and meticulous, having prepared so much in advance."

Don't be fooled by how lightly it's described; you should know that there are extremely high risks involved.

If the development fails, these parts may become unusable.

The two then talked a lot more, including about large-scale production and establishing a laboratory or research institute for Sun Zhengguo.

Because Sun Zhengguo has proven himself repeatedly, if he produces blueprints again in the future, there will be no need for him to go through the hassle of going back and forth. He can start construction directly by submitting an application.

Even for simple things, you can make your own decisions; that's the benefit of having the ability.

After their conversation, Vice Minister Li hurriedly returned to the Ministry of Machinery.

However, he made a phone call to Sun Zhengguo and subtly mentioned that a leader would be visiting tomorrow, and asked him to make preparations.

The next morning, three jeeps arrived at the machinery factory without any warning.

The person in the lead vehicle showed his work ID from the Ministry of Machinery, and the three jeeps were allowed to pass smoothly, heading straight for the small workshop where Sun Zhengguo worked.

Sun Zhengguo was currently in the workshop instructing workers on assembling lathes, completely unaware that General Manager Lai had already arrived.

"Mr. Lai, it's Mr. Lai..."

"..."

It wasn't until he heard the workers cheering that Sun Zhengguo turned around and realized that it was General Manager Lai who had come to inspect the place.

So he quickly put down the blueprints in his hand and strode towards Manager Lai.

"General Manager Lai, welcome to our office."

"Comrade Sun Zhengguo! I want to thank you! You have made a tremendous contribution to the country."

As they spoke, their hands clasped tightly together.

Next, Mr. Lai shook hands with each of the workers on site and greeted them, which moved the workers to tears.

Just as General Lai was greeting the workers, Sun Zhengguo also greeted Political Commissar Yang, who was protecting General Lai, and also exchanged a few words with his brother-in-law Ning Dazhuang.

After all, Mr. Lai already knows about these relationships, so there's no need to hide them.

At this moment, Director Li, who had received the news, also rushed over. However, when he saw General Manager Lai, he was shocked and broke out in a cold sweat. How come there was no prior warning?

Mr. Lai shook hands and greeted Factory Director Li before coming to the new machine tool and looking at it with great interest.

Of course, Sun Zhengguo stayed by his side the whole time. He not only had the task of explaining things, but also had to answer Mr. Lai's questions.

After Mr. Lai finished learning about the new machine tool, he looked at the machine tool that was being assembled and then asked a question.

"Comrade Zhengguo! I'm afraid I have to go back on my word about the machine tools I promised you, because there's a more important place that needs them. So, I'll keep four for you, and I'll use the remaining six. What do you think?"

Hearing that Boss Lai was still discussing it with him, Sun Zhengguo felt a little embarrassed. He actually knew perfectly well where those six machine tools were to be sent.

So he said, "Mr. Lai, if you need them urgently, just leave me two."

"Why?"

This time it's Lai Zong's turn to be puzzled. If it were any other organization, they would have already started making a fuss.

But this guy was different; he didn't make any demands and even voluntarily gave up two machine tools.

"General Manager Lai, we are a research institution, not a production unit. Why do we need so many? Just enough is fine."

This simple and unpretentious answer made General Manager Lai even more gratified.

"Comrade Zhengguo! Well done, I knew you were right. Since you've brought up production, let me ask you, if we need to produce on a large scale, what should we pay attention to?"

"General Manager Lai, large-scale production might be difficult right now. Our industrial system is too weak to assemble so many machines. We can't possibly rely on our sister companies for every single part, can we?"

After hearing Sun Zhengguo's words, Lai Zong was not discouraged, but humbly asked for his advice.

"Then tell me what we should do?"

"Mr. Lai, here's what I'm thinking: why don't we set up a workshop first, and then expand after we've accumulated some assets? I'll try my best to bring out a few more advanced machine tools to gradually fill in the gaps until we reach a certain scale. What do you think?"

After listening to Sun Zhengguo's suggestion, General Manager Lai thought about it and felt it was feasible. The cost wouldn't be too high, since industrial accumulation couldn't be completed in one go; it could only be done gradually.

"Comrade Zhengguo! Since this suggestion came from you, then tell me, where should the new workshop be built?"

As soon as General Manager Lai finished speaking, Factory Director Li, who was following behind, immediately became nervous.

He immediately looked at Sun Zhengguo with the eyes of a wronged woman, begging him to have a change of heart and say a few good words to give this opportunity to their factory.

Seeing the look in Director Li's eyes, Sun Zhengguo felt extremely awkward. He hadn't planned to move anyway, so what kind of look was that? Like a resentful woman in her boudoir?

So he quickly said, "Mr. Lai, I think we don't need to choose a location anymore, let's just stay at the machine factory!"

"Oh! Can you tell me your reasons?" Mr. Lai asked casually.

This is not the time to do favors; we must prioritize the greater good. If the reason is inappropriate, he certainly won't agree.

Sun Zhengguo smiled and said without the slightest fear, "There are three reasons, which I will explain for your reference."

At this moment, Director Li's heart was in his throat, hoping that Sun Zhengguo could persuade General Manager Lai to keep the opportunity.