Chapter 233 Able to bend and stretch
"Xu Qiang is not in the factory at the moment. He is on a business trip."

"So when will he be back?"

"We'll be back in two days at the earliest. If something happens on the way, it'll be hard to say for sure," said Liu Biao.

"It doesn't matter. No matter how long it takes, we will wait." Zhou Guotao smiled and continued, "In short, we will not leave until this matter is clear."

Although Zhou Guotao's words were polite, and it seemed that he did not want to annoy Liu Biao again, his words were obviously soft but firm, and he would not give up until he achieved his goal.

Before the three of them came, Minister Zhang Zhen had told them that they must thoroughly understand the situation regarding aramid paper, because this matter is of great importance and is related to a major breakthrough in the development of China's military materials. The technical details and the identities of the project developers must also be understood in detail and no details can be missed.

"It's up to you. Xu Qiang is not here right now. Let's talk about it after he comes back." Liu Biao thought for a moment and then said, "I still say the same thing. Our factory never engages in fraud. Even if the minister comes, I will still say so. But if someone throws dirty water on our factory and slanders the reputation of our Shengli Machinery Factory, I will definitely not be polite!"

Generally speaking, when facing an inspection team from the ministry, Liu Biao would definitely do his best to entertain them. But this time, they really touched Liu Biao's sore spot, which led to the current deadlock.

And judging from the current situation, the deadlock can only be resolved when Xu Qiang returns.

Afterwards, Liu Biao arranged for the guesthouse staff to receive the three people properly and then turned and left.

Peace returned to the room.

"Director Zhou, what's the attitude of this Factory Director Liu? He doesn't even take you seriously!"

"Yeah, I think he thinks the emperor is far away and he thinks he is a local emperor. He doesn't want to cooperate with our work at all!"

Two technicians from Institute 201 said somewhat indignantly.

You know, these two technicians had been sent to other places by the Fifth Ministry of Machine Building many times before to cooperate with inspection work. Basically, they were received very warmly every time they arrived at a factory. But this time, not only did they refuse to cooperate with their work, they also got furious in front of Director Zhou. They were simply ignorant of the immensity of the world.

"They didn't say they won't cooperate. It's just that the project leader is on a business trip. Our department didn't contact their factory before, so we can't blame them entirely." Compared to the two technicians, Zhou Guotao seemed very calm at this time. He continued, "We don't need to worry. Since he said that the person in charge of this project will be back in two days, we should wait for two days. If he still doesn't show up by then, I think it will be Director Liu's turn to worry..."

As the director of the Inspection Office of the Fifth Ministry of Machine Building, Zhou Guotao has rich work experience.

In the past four years, Zhou Guotao has inspected nearly 80 subordinate enterprises and discovered more than 20 cases of fraud. In addition, he criticized and rectified more than 30 enterprises. Therefore, he has seen all kinds of leading cadres and has enough means to deal with various emergencies.

Moreover, the department did not set a time limit for this mission, so Zhou Guotao had plenty of time to waste with Liu Biao, waiting for the other party to lose his composure.

In fact, just as Zhou Guotao expected, after Liu Biao returned to the office and calmed down, he immediately felt a little worried.

Liu Biao's worry was not that he was afraid that offending the "imperial envoy" sent by his superiors would affect his future, but that he was worried about the impact on the Shengli Machinery Factory.

Especially at this critical juncture when military-industrial enterprises across the country are facing transformation, if the ministry significantly reduces military orders because of this incident, it will affect the livelihoods of all employees in the factory, and the reputation and fame that Shengli Machinery Factory has worked hard to build in the ministry over the years will also be destroyed.

After much thought, Liu Biao decided to have a talk with Zhou Guotao.

Liu Biao has a somewhat stubborn character, but for the sake of this factory, he can bend and stretch.

Afterwards, he first arranged for the guesthouse to prepare for the banquet, and at the same time came to the room where Zhou Guotao lived again.

"Director Liu, please don't misunderstand me. We are just doing our job impartially, without any personal emotions or subjective consciousness. In the final analysis, we also hope that your factory will get better and better in the future. Otherwise, I don't need to make this trip at all."

Zhou Guotao was also very surprised by Liu Biao's sudden counterattack. He didn't expect that this old man was so thick-skinned. He was furious with several people just now, but in the blink of an eye, he seemed to have become a different person, coming over with a smile on his face to show goodwill.

However, the more Liu Biao acted like this, the more Zhou Guotao felt that things were not simple.

"Yes, yes, yes! Director Zhou is right. We also know that the department is very concerned about the development of our factory. In recent years, it has provided our factory with a lot of support policies. We are all grateful for this." Liu Biao smiled and continued, "How about this, I have prepared wine and food for lunch today, let's talk while we eat."

As long as he sits at the dinner table, that is Liu Biao's home court. Liu Biao has encountered many crises over the years, but he was able to turn danger into safety in the end. This can be regarded as one of his trump cards.

"No, we brought some noodles with us this time." Zhou Guotao patted the bulging briefcase on the hanger and said with a smile, "We also have two bottles of Wangzhihe fermented tofu from BJ. If Director Liu likes it, I can give you one."

"Forget it then..." Liu Biao deflated immediately after hearing that.

As the saying goes, one who receives favors will be grateful and one who receives favors will be soft-hearted.

Li Biao could see that Zhou Guotao looked much younger than him, but he was definitely a tough guy. "Don't worry, Director Liu, we are always fair in our work. The scenery here is nice. We can stay here for two days until Comrade Xu Qiang comes back."

"Okay then." Liu Biao could only nod helplessly, then stood up and left...

……

Two days later, Xu Qiang and his party were seen off by the director of the 9399 Spring Factory and boarded the car back to the factory.

This time, Xu Qiang and his two companions received a high-level reception.

Trust is built on the basis of long-term successful cooperation, and the technology of Xu Qiang and Liu Siying is obviously recognized by these manufacturers.

Chinese people believe in repaying kindness, so before leaving, Xu Qiang was forced to take a lot of cigarettes and alcohol. As for Liu Siying, she refused to take anything. On the contrary, He Jie almost filled the entire trunk of the jeep with large and small bags of specialty snacks.

The car set off in the morning and did not return to the factory until around two o'clock in the afternoon.

However, as soon as Xu Qiang got off the car, the guard at the message room informed him to go to the factory director's office immediately.

So, Xu Qiang went straight to Liu Biao's office without even having time to put his luggage home.

"You kid are finally back!" When Liu Biao saw Xu Qiang appear at the door of his office, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he immediately stood up and closed the door.

"Director, what do you want to talk to me about?" Xu Qiang asked.

"Let me ask you, what on earth did you do this time!?"

"What's that?" Xu Qiang was a little confused by the question.

"It's the bulletproof paper you developed last time. Tell me the truth, did you make that thing yourself?" Liu Biao said seriously.

Because of the inspection by the superior working group, Liu Biao has been unable to sleep or eat these days.

He never thought that the aramid paper developed by Xu Qiang would cause such a big reaction from the Fifth Ministry of Machine Building, and even sent a special working group to investigate. This was something that had never happened in the more than ten years since the establishment of Shengli Machinery Factory.

Moreover, according to the people in the inspection team, this kind of product cannot be produced in China at all, and only three countries in the world, the United States, the Soviet Union and Japan, can produce it. Therefore, the suspected fraud and embezzlement of funds is a very serious problem. If not handled properly, the entire factory will be greatly affected.

So although Liu Biao has always trusted Xu Qiang, he is a little unsure about this matter, so he must find out the truth through Xu Qiang.

"Of course I made the aramid paper, what's wrong with that?"

"I'm telling you, it doesn't matter if that thing was not developed by you. I'll take the responsibility, but you have to tell me the truth!" Liu Biao said in a stern tone, and then said, "This is not a trivial matter. The ministry has sent an inspection team and experts from BJ to investigate the product you developed. If this thing was not developed by you, I can still think of other ways, but if you don't tell the truth, the matter will be serious..."

"Director Liu, I think you still don't trust me." Xu Qiang curled his lips and said, "Although I am sometimes unreliable, I won't do such a stupid thing. If they want to investigate, they can investigate. I haven't done anything wrong, so I'm not afraid of ghosts knocking on my door!"

"Okay, I'm glad you said that!" After hearing what Xu Qiang said, Liu Biao's expression suddenly eased up, and he immediately said, "Then let's go meet the working group now, and you explain the matter to them clearly..."

"But I just got back and I only slept for three hours last night..."

"If you can get rid of them this time, I will give you half a month's vacation and you can even lie in bed and sleep every day!" Liu Biao said straightforwardly.

"Okay then." Xu Qiang nodded after hearing that.

Afterwards, Xu Qiang followed Liu Biao out of the office and went directly to the factory's guesthouse.

More than ten minutes later, when Liu Biao knocked on the door and entered Zhou Guotao's room, the three people inside were eating freshly cooked noodles with lunch boxes.

"Director Liu is here."

When he saw Liu Biao, Zhou Guotao immediately put down the lunch box in his hand and walked up to him and greeted him.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting for a long time. Let me introduce you. This young man is Comrade Xu Qiang. He was the one who developed that paper." Liu Biao said to them.

(End of this chapter)