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After the Divorce, I Could Hear the Voice of the Future-Chapter 358 - 355: Raising Soldiers for a Thousand Days, Using Them for a Moment
Chapter 358 -355: Raising Soldiers for a Thousand Days, Using Them for a Moment
Lu Liang left the airport, as an airplane taxied down the runway and slowly took off toward the sky.
He looked up for a moment and suddenly asked, “Is the Bombardier order scheduled for six months from now?”
Xu Jiawei replied, “It’s expected to be delivered in 25-30 weeks.”
“Hmm, let’s swing by Zhangjiang on the way.”
Lu Liang simply responded, knowing that even with cars, if they were not in stock at the dealership, it would take at least a week for delivery.
Private jets required even more time, especially for renowned manufacturers like Bombardier; six months was considered fast.
Half an hour later, they arrived at Zhangjiang High-tech Park.
Along with Zhongguang Village in Beijing and Yuehai Road in Shenzhen, it was known as one of the top three Silicon Valleys in the country.
Tianxing Technology had also settled here in Modu, though all of their office spaces were leased.
Once the production base in Su City was built, the R&D departments in Beijing and Modu would gradually move there.
In the future, only the financial operations would remain in Modu.
“Mr. Lu, hello, my name is Zhang Peiqiang.”
A balding man in his forties or fifties, having learned of Lu Liang’s visit, hurried over.
“Chief Engineer Zhang, hello. Don’t mind me; I’m just passing by to have a look,” Lu Liang said with a smile, mentally categorizing R&D into software and hardware.
Software development was based in Beijing, with key figures like Zheng Yaowen, Li Jiahui, and Qin Siyuan.
Hardware development in Modu was mainly overseen by Zhang Peiqiang, a professor from the Automotive Engineering School of Harbin Institute of Technology.
A professor from a flagship major at one of the “Seven Sons of National Defence,” receiving a State Council allowance, was certainly not like the riff-raff outsiders would think.
“All right, Liao Jie, come over and receive Mr. Lu. There’s an experiment waiting for me,” Zhang Peiqiang nodded, called over a work assistant, and hurried off without looking back. It seemed as if the experiment was more important to him than meeting Lu Liang for the first time.
Liao Jie, steeling himself and trying to smile, explained: “Mr. Lu, please don’t take it to heart, this is just how Chief Engineer Zhang is on a regular basis.”
“No problem,” Lu Liang chuckled and shook his head, unbothered by formalities: “Let’s go over and have a look, shall we?”
“Mr. Lu, we are performing a compression test today. We just went to the suburbs two days ago to do a rollover test,” Liao Jie said as he led Lu Liang around the test site. Four black car frames, though unpainted, could vaguely be recognized as the four models Lu Liang had initially chosen.
The current task was to maximize safety performance first and then appropriately reduce it to a reasonable range.
Starting from the top down is always much easier than from the bottom up, and it facilitates future adjustments or configuration upgrades.
Lu Liang nodded slightly and followed Liao Jie to the center of the test site, when suddenly there was a loud crash.
A few tons of iron fell from a height of three meters, striking the jet-black chassis.
“Dammit, I’ve said countless times to conduct the 20-degree incline test,”
“That’s the only way to determine how much pressure a single pillar can withstand.”
“Have you ever seen a car accident where the force is evenly distributed on top?”
Zhang Peiqiang had an expression as dark as water, a stark contrast from when he had greeted Lu Liang.
A thirty-something engineer was scolded as if he were a grandchild, while the others were silent as the grave.
“Get it lifted quickly.”
Zhang Peiqiang rushed forward to inspect the damage to the frame, his brows furrowed: “Get a new one and retest.”
Lu Liang’s eyes twitched. He had seen the purchase order; car frames that cost hundreds of thousands custom-made were now only good for scrap metal.
He couldn’t help but cough a few times and stepped forward to greet him: “Chief Engineer Zhang, you’re busy, so I’ll take my leave now.”
Zhang Peiqiang grunted, still not lifting his head, immersed in the frustration of the experiment gone awry.
It wasn’t until Lu Liang had left that the corners of Zhang Peiqiang’s mouth turned up, revealing a mysterious smile: “Not bad, he’s quite open-minded.”
The engineer who had just been scolded looked aggrieved: “Teacher, I’ve told you before, Mr. Lu is very generous.”
“Generosity isn’t spoken; it’s shown,” Zhang Peiqiang replied with a smile. Both companies have the right to choose their people, and people have the right to choose their companies; luckily, he was a person with that right.
The company he worked for made him comfortable; he didn’t want a boss with narrow vision, being penny-pinching and causing R&D to face limitations everywhere.
Lu Liang’s performance had satisfied him. While it was obvious that Lu Liang was a bit pained, he didn’t say a word of blame and chose to turn a blind eye, out of sight, out of mind.
The engineer looked speechless and couldn’t help but ask, “So, are we going to change this frame or not?”
“Just because the structural integrity wasn’t compromised, why do you think we should change it? Do you think money grows on trees?”
Zhang Peiqiang looked displeased as he glared, “The 20-degree tilt test is fine. Next up, the 25-degree tilt test…”
Another loud crash sounded, and despite being hit twice, the car frame only slightly deformed, with the main support points still intact.
“Maybe he really can make something special happen,” Zhang Peiqiang squinted, his eyes shining with excitement.
An outsider entering a new field can sometimes succeed more easily than practitioners who have cared for the industry for years.
Because they don’t know how, they won’t cut corners or just make do; they always want to create the perfect product.
Cars are products with a very long service life. Sincere efforts will be recognized sooner or later, setting them apart from other brands.
Meanwhile, Lu Liang returned to the company.
Even though it was the weekend, there were still quite a few people who had voluntarily chosen to work overtime, like Zhang Jing and Chen Jinchun.
“Stop right there!”
As soon as Lu Liang stepped out of the elevator, he saw Chen Jinchun’s figure flash by as if she was specifically avoiding him.
It made sense for Zhang Jing to be working overtime, as he planned to invest 30 billion tomorrow, Monday, to blow up the new energy index.
Being newly appointed and wanting to show some results to satisfy the hundreds of thousands of investors in the Public Fund was understandable pressure.
But Chen Jinchun, the most relaxed person in the company—what could her reason be for working on the weekend?
“Mr. Lu, happy weekend ~~”
Chen Jinchun came out from behind the door, her face full of reluctant smiles.
“What are you doing?” Lu Liang’s brow furrowed. Chen Jinchun’s outfit today was a bit peculiar—quite mature business attire. It felt familiar to him, yet he couldn’t place whom it resembled.
“I’m shooting a skit.” Xiao Chen confessed truthfully.
“The domineering female CEO?”
Lu Liang suddenly remembered; this outfit was Tang Caide’s most common ensemble—low-heeled shoes, grey suit, hair up in a bun, with a pair of gold-rimmed square glasses perched on the bridge of her nose.
Chen Jinchun’s eyes widened in shock, “Mr. Lu, how did you know?”
Then, with a quick twist of her eye, she decisively shifted the responsibility to her online followers, nobly claiming, “Although I am utterly loyal to the company and even more so to you, Mr. Lu, they keep telling me to go solo. Just thinking of the 20 million followers, I shot a skit to satisfy them.”
Lu Liang walked over to Chen Jinchun’s workstation with a smile, spotting a banner that read “Grand Opening of Jinxing Media” hanging on the wall, an executive chair that seemed to come out of nowhere, along with various plants and a fortune cat arranged in an orderly fashion.
There were also a few company employees nearby, memorizing lines. They hurriedly greeted him when they saw Lu Liang approaching.
Lu Liang gave a slight nod, turned his head, and smilingly asked, “Enjoying yourselves?”
Chen Jinchun’s head bobbed like a rattle drum; she suddenly scratched her head with an embarrassed look, “Actually, well, there’s a bit of fun in it.”
Lu Liang couldn’t help but chuckle. The company had no contractual hold over Xiao Chen; if she wanted to leave, they couldn’t make her stay, and if she didn’t want to go, there was no need to test her loyalty.
Before leaving, he looked at the work badge on the table, lifted it, and studied it closely, “Why is the font size on your badge bigger than everyone else’s?”
Chen Jinchun’s face flushed, and she answered stiffly, “Maybe they added more ink when they printed mine.”
Lu Liang laughed, told them to continue filming, and mentioned that he’d assign them a new task in a while.
Chen Jinchun’s eyes lit up and she quickly approached to inquire, “Mr. Lu, what kind of task?”
Lu Liang stopped walking, “Have you come across those wilderness construction videos?”
Chen Jinchun eagerly nodded, “Yeah, especially at night, they pop up all the time.”
“Something like that,” Lu Liang said.
After having “fed the soldiers for a thousand days,” it was time for their moment of use.
When construction began over in Su City, he wanted them to go there every week and record the progress.
It would also give netizens a good look at how the 965,700 square meters of land evolved from nothing but weeds to burgeoning production workshops, research buildings, and headquarters towering up from the ground.
The project would span over half a year, and when compressed into a few minutes, it was sure to be impressive.
Lu Liang always believed that marketing was essential but should be executed correctly. Celebrity endorsements were the most foolish method.
With that kind of money, it would be better to shoot a big-budget promotional video, to bombard screens in subway stations and at the Global Center in alternating cycles.
But a nurturing series could work too, like watching a piglet grow, from breeding to fattening, and then being butchered and served on the dining table.
Watching them grow, eating with confidence.
“No problem, leave it to us,” Chen Jinchun declared earnestly, her tiny chest thumping with promise.