Twenty minutes later, the two sides hurriedly ended their conversation because everyone had to go back to work.
Sun Zhengguo invited Director Li and others to have dinner at the station the day after tomorrow.
Director Li readily agreed, then escorted the group to the door before returning to his office with great satisfaction.
...
As soon as it was time for work in the afternoon, Captain Zhang gathered his men, handcuffed and shackled the four suspects, put them in a police car, and headed to the courtyard to identify the crime scene.
These days, entertainment programs are scarce. When a few police cars were seen parked at the entrance of the courtyard house, they were instantly surrounded by onlookers.
As the group of Bang Geng made their grand entrance, the neighbors were in an uproar.
"Well, so it was an inside job. I was wondering why no one noticed. That little bastard deserves to die; he stole from his own people."
"Exactly! A while ago, a few dried fish went missing from my house. Maybe it was stolen by a thief. Why didn't I think of that back then!"
"Serves him right for getting arrested..."
...
Hearing the comments from the crowd, the three men, including Iron Monkey, realized their shame and lowered their heads, shuffling along in their shackles as they silently walked into the courtyard.
But Banggeng, as if bewitched by someone, was not ashamed but proud, holding his head high and glaring at his neighbors.
"Shut up, all of you! You're all incompetent, yet you're pointing fingers and giving orders. If you're so capable, why don't you go steal one yourselves?"
Well! The scoundrel's retaliation infuriated the neighbors, who then launched into a tirade of curses.
"You little bastard, I'll make sure you die in jail."
"If someone is so young and doesn't learn good things, I think they should be sent to be shot."
...
At this point, even the police behind him couldn't stand it anymore and kicked the guy hard, which finally made him behave.
With the cooperation of her aunt, the on-site identification was quickly completed, and the police officers took photos and collected evidence.
After the scene identification was completed, the police sent the individuals to the detention center.
But what happened this afternoon spread like wildfire, reaching far and wide…
So much so that Qin Huairu, who was still undergoing renovations, received the news while cleaning up the trash.
But she had no choice?
They dared not ask for help on their own, and could only watch helplessly as their son awaited fate's judgment.
...
The following morning, a meeting to plan the work for the new year was being held in full swing in the conference room of the Machinery Department.
Those who were able to sit here were all the top leaders of their respective units. Sun Zhengguo also attended the meeting and, as an important representative, delivered a passionate speech.
After the meeting, Sun Zhengguo and Factory Director Li were about to go downstairs when Secretary Wang suddenly stopped them.
"Wait a minute, Director Sun, Minister Li requests your presence."
"Okay, I'm coming right away."
Sun Zhengguo nodded in agreement, then helplessly shrugged.
"Old Li, you go back first! I'll go upstairs."
"Go ahead, go ahead! Don't keep Minister Li waiting." Factory Director Li said with no small amount of envy.
As unit leaders, factory directors like them rarely see their ministers more than a few times a year.
But Sun Zhengguo is different. Whenever he comes to the ministry, the minister will definitely summon him. Look at that, that's the difference!
After saying goodbye to Director Li, Sun Zhengguo turned around and followed Secretary Wang to the third floor, where they went to Minister Li's office.
"Minister Li, you wanted to see me?"
"Don't be shy, sit down, sit down. Secretary Wang, go and pour Comrade Zhengguo a cup of tea."
"Good leader."
Upon hearing this arrangement, Sun Zhengguo knew that the conversation would likely last quite a while, otherwise he wouldn't have served tea.
A moment later, Secretary Wang brought over a teacup and gently placed it on the table.
"Thank you, Secretary Wang."
"Director Sun, you're too kind."
Having completed her task, Secretary Wang knew that her boss had something to discuss, so she voluntarily left the office.
After he left, Minister Li put down the documents in his hand and then spoke slowly.
"Comrade Zhengguo, just yesterday, I visited an old friend and accidentally discovered a very practical little gadget. I thought it was very good at the time."
Who knew that after making some inquiries, guess what? It turned out it was made by a subordinate unit of our Ministry of Machinery. Can you believe it? Even outsiders have this kind of thing, and I, the department head, didn't know about it. I felt incredibly embarrassed.
After listening to Minister Li's explanation, Sun Zhengguo was also confused. What did this have to do with me?
Minister Li smiled when he saw his expression, and then gave him a reminder.
"What? You look completely bewildered. Looks like you've forgotten. Well, let me remind you. You're familiar with televisions, aren't you?"
After Minister Li's explanation, Sun Zhengguo suddenly understood.
It turns out that all that fuss was about a TV antenna.
What, are you here to settle scores later?
“Minister Li, those TV antennas were indeed made by our research institute, and it’s true that they sell for 50 yuan each. But I didn’t take a single penny of that money; I distributed it all to the workers as welfare. You can investigate if you don’t believe me.”
Sun Zhengguo quickly explained that he would not take the blame for this.
Minister Li felt a headache coming on after hearing his explanation.
"No, Comrade Zhengguo, is that what I meant?"
Sun Zhengguo immediately understood, "I get it. I'll have Master Geng make another one and send it to you."
"Hahaha! You!" Minister Li was so angry that he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"Comrade Zhengguo! I don't have time for idle chatter with you. Just one question: did you design that antenna?"
Sun Zhengguo nodded; it was hard to deny that.
Minister Li then asked, "Then let me ask you, what is the manufacturing cost of the antenna?"
"A little over eight yuan, I forgot the exact change," Sun Zhengguo blurted out without thinking.
"A little over eight yuan?"
Minister Li stared wide-eyed in disbelief; the profits involved were simply astonishingly high.
After a long silence, an idea came to Minister Li's mind.
"Comrade Zhengguo, if I asked you to set up a branch factory specifically to produce these kinds of TV antennas, I wonder if that would be feasible?"
"What?" This time it was Sun Zhengguo's turn to be full of surprise.
Although television stations are just starting out and the number of televisions in use is not large, the terrifying potential and huge market behind them are frighteningly large.
Even in the 1990s, people still bought TV antennas; it was a very profitable business.
Moreover, this thing can be patented in Hong Kong and used to scam foreign exchange from foreigners... It's exciting to think about.
Thinking about all this, Sun Zhengguo, in a good mood, couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Hehehe! Minister Li, I think it's feasible, very feasible. If it's handled properly, we might even reap unexpected surprises."
"Oh! How exactly does it work? Tell me in detail." Minister Li also became interested, after all, Sun Zhengguo never made empty promises.
"Minister Li, I can improve this antenna and repackage it properly. When we take it to Hong Kong Island, we can have our comrades apply for an international patent. Once the patent application is successful..."
Just think about it, how many television sets are there in the world? A conservative estimate is over a hundred million, and that number is increasing every year. If we support a single agent and sell even a single antenna for $20, imagine how much money we could make!
"this…?"
Minister Li's blood pressure spiked; his original intention was simply to open a small branch factory.
But to his utter surprise, Sun Zhengguo painted such a magnificent picture for him, which made him feel incredibly excited.
...
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