The atmosphere was a little off.
One moment, they were a superior and subordinate, like old buddies, but the next, there was a palpable tension, like gunpowder about to ignite.
Director Ren, who had always seemed approachable, surprisingly put on a stern face.
"Little Zhang,"
"Since you consider me your old squad leader,"
"There are some things we need to discuss."
"You used a human wave tactic to snatch up the lithography machines... If I'm not mistaken, you even utilized military satellites to access civilian networks... This is blatant cheating, do you understand?"
Good heavens.
He started by dropping a heavy accusation.
Zhang Weimin also dropped his extremely respectful demeanor, adopting a more business-like one.
"Old squad leader."
"This wasn't my doing."
"It was my daughter, Zhang Xijin, who is also serving in the military, as a lieutenant under my command. She advocated for and spearheaded this initiative."
Director Ren frowned.
He continued to speak from a position of seniority, looking down on Zhang Weimin.
"Little Zhang, in that case, I need to say a few words to you."
"Whether it's a junior at home or a subordinate at work, they must be disciplined properly... Look, if I hadn't disciplined you properly back then, would you have been promoted to Major General so quickly?"
Meng Hao watched the two of them spar, feeling a bit helpless.
What was going on?
Just a few minutes ago, they were getting along amicably, and now they had a sudden change of heart.
Could it be because of the lithography machines?
But after talking for a while, they hadn't mentioned anything about lithography machines!
Zhang Weimin chuckled a few times.
"Mm."
"My daughter's actions were indeed commendable... Therefore, before I left, I decided to promote her to Major."
He was afraid the atmosphere would suddenly freeze.
Seeing that his attempts to act superior and authoritative were completely ineffective against Zhang Weimin, Director Ren's attitude changed immediately.
"Little Zhang!"
"You know as well as I do that Great Xia is being held back by foreign countries... The mobile phone sector, which accounts for half of Hua Wei's business, is now severely lacking in chips... How about you let me use one of the two machines you have first?"
Good grief.
Director Ren was indeed someone who had weathered many storms, a big shot seasoned by the ups and downs of the business world.
His ability to change his demeanor made even a Sichuan opera actor bow in admiration.
Seeing his old squad leader's sudden change of face, from acting high and mighty to using a sob story, Zhang Weimin immediately countered.
He also put on a look of helplessness.
"Old squad leader, you have no idea, our military also needs high-end chips!"
"Moreover, military chips cannot be purchased from abroad; they must be domestically produced... You know that Great Xia's indigenous chips are all mid-to-low-end chips with processes of 28nm or above. This leads to our many high-precision technical equipment being significantly inferior to foreign counterparts in parameters... Therefore, we must import high-precision domestic chips."
Good heavens.
With that one statement.
Director Ren was left speechless.
Indeed.
The military's needs were related to Great Xia's national defense and security.
They should indeed be the top priority.
Seeing that he couldn't persuade his old subordinate, Director Ren blinked.
"Anyway, you have two machines, why not let us have one?"
Zhang Weimin looked at Director Ren calmly and slowly shook his head.
"Actually, to be frank, the military's needs are the most important."
"Old squad leader, you also came from our military."
"How about you make a sacrifice and let us have your machine first."
Good grief.
The student had surpassed the master.
Zhang Weimin's tai chi-like maneuvering skills were inherited from Director Ren, and now he was even more skilled than his mentor.
"Forget it."
"Let's not fight amongst ourselves."
Director Ren sighed.
He reverted to the amiable and approachable demeanor he had at the beginning.
"How about we talk to young friend Meng Hao instead?"
"He is the manufacturer of the lithography machines."
"And he has one in stock... which is said to be reserved by CEO Lei of Chao Mi Technology."
"Huh? Where did Meng Hao go!"
...
Late autumn, early winter!
It was the time when fish were most plump.
A man in his thirties was sitting by the river, concentrating on fishing.
As an employee of a company in Shilin, he had finally found a prime fishing spot in the outskirts of Shilin during his vacation.
As someone who usually couldn't catch any fish and was mocked by his family as a "zero" in the fishing world, he had a premonition that today he would return with a full catch.
The fishing line's float trembled.
This was clearly a sign that a fish had bitten the bait.
He had only cast his line for less than half an hour, and already he had a bite?
This was an unprecedented good omen.
He waited patiently.
As soon as the float trembled a few more times, he would immediately reel it in.
Suddenly.
A young man walked past him.
The clatter of his footsteps directly scared the fish away.
"What are you doing?"
The fisherman glared at the young man with dissatisfaction.
Meng Hao, who also enjoyed fishing, apologized profusely.
"Sorry, old brother."
"I'm being chased, I had to run!"
"Sorry for disturbing your fishing!"
Being chased?
He had to run?
Could it be that he was a fugitive or something?
The fisherman instantly became nervous, staring intently at Meng Hao.
"You, you, what do you want?"
Huh?
Meng Hao was stunned for a moment, then realized.
"Hey, old brother."
"You look so tense."
"I'm not a bad person!"
Not a bad person.
Then why was he being chased?
He looked Meng Hao up and down.
The fisherman felt that Meng Hao's attire and demeanor didn't seem like that of a bad person.
He relaxed by half.
Meng Hao, who was feeling depressed, watched the fisherman re-bait his hook and cast his line. He thought he wouldn't be able to get back to the factory area anytime soon.
He might as well watch the fisherman cast his line and chat for a while.
"Sigh."
"You wouldn't believe it, Director Ren of Hua Wei and the Major General from the military are like sticky plasters, clinging to me and refusing to let me go."
"They insist I increase the price to 3 billion to sell them the lithography machine that rightfully belongs to CEO Lei of Chao Mi Technology."
"It's truly troublesome, you know?"
Anyway, in this desolate wilderness, he didn't have to worry about eavesdropping, and he had never met this fisherman before.
Meng Hao began to vent directly.
What?
The fisherman, who had just re-baited and cast his line, was a bit confused.
A Major General from the military?
Director Ren of Hua Wei?
CEO Lei of Chao Mi Technology?
Clinging to this young man like sticky plasters?
And proposing to snatch up a lithography machine for 3 billion?
Wait.
When did Great Xia even have lithography machines?
It was clear.
This old brother belonged to the category of people who loved fishing and didn't pay attention to livestreams or online news.
The fisherman's heart, which had just relaxed halfway, tensed up again.
This young man looked quite normal, and his speech was quite decent.
Why was he talking such nonsense?
Wait.
In this desolate wilderness.
Could it be that some new mental rehabilitation center had been built here?
This kid.
Could he have escaped from a mental hospital?
It was said that.
These mentally ill people had a "get out of jail free card."
Even if they went mad.
If they stabbed themselves a few times, they could only consider themselves unlucky.
Instantly becoming nervous, the fisherman carefully moved to the side.
He placed a metal rod for hitting fish near his fishing tackle box.
If he discovered that this young man was acting strangely, he would immediately grab the iron rod and defend himself!