Today was a rare opportunity, and there was no one else at home. After packing up their things, Li Shaozhong locked the door and the couple went into the research institute.

It is still as warm as spring in the research institute, and the plants planted in the open space are growing very well.

Li Shaozhong took a stroll and saw the bunches of big cherries on the cherry tree had turned red, so he took a basket to pick cherries.

Ye Shuning also picked cherries, "Let's pick more and take them home for the children when we go back. We can say we bought them here."

Li Shaozhong used a pair of scissors to cut bunches of cherries and put them into the basket, while Ye Shuning helped carry the basket.

Li Shaozhong ate a cherry and said, "This cherry is really good, sweet and sour. I want to plant one in our yard and see if it can grow."

Ye Shuning said: "It will definitely grow. This is already a mutated cherry tree. It is very adaptable and can grow in both the north and the south.

The kiwis I planted under the trellis over there are growing well and have already flowered and borne fruit this year. I'll wait and see how the fruit ripens. If they taste good, I can propagate some more. These are fruits with high economic value, and growing them is a great way to get rich. I'll sell them when I get the chance."

Li Shaozhong thought of the experimental base in the northwest and said, "Lao Gu and his team in Liyang County are doing a great job. The scale of sea buckthorn and wolfberry cultivation has expanded significantly, and the sea buckthorn is gradually bearing fruit. What are your plans for the future?"

Ye Shuning asked, "Do you remember Xiao Liansheng, who asked us to help buy cheap clothes?"

Li Shaozhong certainly remembers him. "He was a very responsible person and quite intelligent."

Ye Shuning said, "With the development of the market economy, collective economic entities like department stores and supply and marketing cooperatives will gradually disappear, and Xiao Liansheng will eventually be laid off. I think he's a good person. If we build a pharmaceutical factory in Liyang County, I'd like him to manage it and become the factory director. What do you think?"

Li Shaozhong thought about it and said, "I heard Lao Gu speak highly of him before. He is indeed a very good person and has a good business sense. Letting him manage the pharmaceutical factory should be no problem. I will ask Lao Gu to test his opinion later.

He knows Lao Gu, so it will be easier for them to work together in the future. Besides, we don't have the energy to take care of the Northwest, so we'll just provide the funds and let them handle it. If you're worried, you can send someone over. Li Shutian and Zhao Qing are already in charge, so either Wang Dashan or Li Jinhai can be sent over."

Ye Shuning will find use for these people who returned from Nangang in the future, so she is reluctant to send them to the northwest.

Ye Shuning said, "They are more familiar with this area. It would be better to find someone who is more familiar with the Northwest region."

Li Shaozhong thought about it and said, "That's easy. We can ask our father or father-in-law to find someone. They've worked under so many people, there's bound to be someone suitable."

The two people picked two large blue cherries. There were still many cherries on the cherry tree, so they had to leave them on the tree and pick them later when they had time.

The couple spent a few days decorating the house in Haizhou and then returned to Shenzhou.

After deciding to invest in building a factory in Haizhou, we looked for a professional engineering company to draw up the design drawings of the glass factory.

After returning to Shenzhou, Li Shaozhong spent his days either visiting the chemical fiber factory or the smelter construction site. Two months later, it was finally time to install and debug the equipment.

Li Shaozhong's full participation in the entire process ensured that the F Country Phil company's technicians were not afraid to skimp on their work. The smelting and melting furnaces and other equipment had already been installed, leaving only the inspection and commissioning phase.

During the installation process, Li Shaozhong made several improvements, which made the technical staff of Phil Company very interested in Li Shaozhong's technical improvements and wanted to obtain Li Shaozhong's technology.

Li Shaozhong also took this opportunity to negotiate with Phil Company, saying he would give them the technology, but he would give them a portion of the payment. He would not give the technology away for free.

After communicating with the company's headquarters, Phil's technical staff finally obtained Li Shaozhong's technology in exchange for a 60% reduction in the payment.

Li Shaozhong knew that his improvements to the equipment would eventually be discovered, and it wasn't difficult at all. He might as well take advantage of it now. A 60% reduction in the payment for the goods would save tens of millions of RMB, which would be even more in RMB. This was a significant saving.

Finally, Li Shaozhong handed over the drawings and data of various parts for the improved technology to Phil Company. This technology was not a great one, just a minor improvement made by Li Shaozhong, so it was nothing to give it to the F countrymen.

However, the F countrymen think that these technologies are worth spending tens of millions to obtain, and they may have spent even more on their own research.

After the smelter's equipment passed acceptance and commissioning, the first batch of aluminum ingots imported from abroad also arrived.

While the smelter was installing equipment, Qin Zongye's bicycle factory was also expanding its scale and adding production lines.

Qin Zongye's Yongyuan Bicycle Factory currently boasts a world-class production line for chrome-molybdenum steel bicycles, with an annual output of 400,000 units. Other types of bicycles are not currently produced.

This time, because of the joining of Li Shaozhong, we need to produce new types of bicycles, so we need to add more production lines.

The smelter had several dedicated laboratories for Li Shaozhong to conduct experiments. First, the smelter had to produce aluminum alloys. There were secrets to producing high-quality aluminum alloys.

During the smelting process of aluminum and aluminum alloys, hydrogen and oxide inclusions are the main contaminants of the aluminum melt. Aluminum is highly susceptible to oxidation and also easily absorbs gases. Porosity and slag inclusions, the main defects of cast aluminum alloys, are caused by solid particles such as gases and oxides remaining in the alloy.

Therefore, to obtain high-quality melt, it is not only necessary to choose the correct and reasonable smelting process, but also the refining and purification treatment of the melt is very important.

Li Shaozhong chose to use flux refining to purify the aluminum alloy melt. The flux used in the aluminum alloy smelting, such as covering agent and refining agent, was prepared by Li Shaozhong himself.

Li Shaozhong's custom-made flux has a melting point lower than the aluminum alloy's melting point and a specific gravity lower than the alloy itself. It can absorb and dissolve inclusions in the melt and expel gases from the melt. Furthermore, the flux does not chemically react with the metal or the furnace lining, has low hygroscopicity, and a low vapor pressure. It produces no harmful impurities or gases, is easy to manufacture, and is inexpensive.

This is also a better formula that Ye Shuning and Li Shaozhong came up with after consulting a lot of information with the help of Ye Shuning.

The proprietary flux Li Shaozhong configured, combined with the process flow Ye Shuning had discovered, would definitely produce high-quality aluminum alloy. Furthermore, this "unique secret recipe" was in the hands of Li Shaozhong and Ye Shuning, making it difficult for others to decipher it in a short period of time.