Chapter 125: Reconciling the Accounts

It was much like the Isuzu double-cab pickup truck that Rang Weidong had bought. The domestic production of Japanese Suzuki micro-vans followed the same path: first purchasing a batch for military factories to dismantle and study, then gradually manufacturing the parts, and finally signing a contract to secure the technology and establish a production line.

These micro-vans were the same.

The taxi driver had come from one of those relevant factories; after all, even professional drivers were a rarity at this time. "Don't you know? A policy was just issued this February allowing individuals to purchase motor vehicles, boats, and tractors to operate transport businesses. Private citizens can now buy and sell vehicles and conduct business."

Rang Weidong did a quick mental calculation. He had contracted the Dongfeng truck from the Hongguang Factory before the Spring Festival, and he bought the double-cab in April. It was indeed right after this round of new policies.

It was clearly a further liberalization to promote the automotive industry. "Well, my... our unit bought an Isuzu double-cab. It’s registered under the Housing Management Bureau. It’s quite comfortable to sit in, but it is a truck after all. It’s inconvenient for running errands in the city or picking up my wife and kids. Have these micro-vans started selling in Jiangzhou?"

The driver pressed the gas pedal, the engine humming loudly. As they left the educational district, both sides of the main road were still fields and wasteland. Urban development at this stage consisted only of a few prosperous streets in fragmented districts; once you left those, it felt like a desolate suburb.

As they reached a slightly busier street on the way to the city center, the driver pointed ahead. "See that building? It’s the Industrial Company. There are several automotive trade companies there. They’ve been selling these vans since the policy started. As for the earlier ones assembled from imported parts—well, you know—the driving experience is completely different!"

It was too dark to see clearly, so Rang Weidong just laughed and acknowledged the point.

The Tax Bureau had been a major user of vehicles over the past thirty or forty years. Tax work, spanning from Shangzhou to the surrounding counties, towns, and villages, required a vast number of vehicles to be constantly on the move.

The fleet was primarily composed of various domestically produced cars.

The old security guard at the gate, who spent his days opening doors and directing parking, had heard enough complaints about these domestic vehicles.

At the very least, until the 2020s, they were essentially being repaired as they were being driven.

The stories regarding the quality and durability of domestic vehicles were truly heartbreaking; the minor glitches were enough to drive anyone insane.

However, the quality of the double-cab with imported parts was worlds apart.

Therefore, one couldn't blame the older, more experienced drivers for refusing to buy domestic cars; they had simply suffered too much.

In any case, these years were just a matter of paying tuition.

He decided to come back tomorrow; it was too late, the offices were closed, and there was nowhere to withdraw money anyway.

When he returned to the guesthouse carrying bags of items and headed upstairs, Dong Xueying urged Rang Weidong to go see her parents. "They already don't think much of me. If you keep hanging around my room, they’ll probably be even more annoyed. I can’t bear that responsibility."

Rang Weidong was more accustomed to the parent-child and urban-rural relationships of several decades later, which were not nearly as stifling.

Nor was he the type to live or die by his parents' words. "Oh, the little comrade has a lot of complaints. My mother seems to have been quite nice to you, hasn't she? We go together, or else you should just wash up and sleep early."

It was barely past eight.

The young woman blushed. "You only ever think of naughty things. Let's go, let's go. I'll risk it, but don't be affectionate in front of them."

That meant anything was fine in private, so Rang Weidong gave her a lingering, passionate kiss at the corner of the stairs before letting her go.

An obviously flushed Dong Xueying decided, "Let's—let's go see them first, otherwise we’ll really just be stuck in the room all night again."

Rang Weidong sighed deeply while holding the baby. "My heart is screaming, and I’m left hanging."

Dong Xueying didn't say a word, just pinched him secretly while holding his arm, then immediately rubbed the spot.

However, once they left the guesthouse courtyard, she let go and distanced herself.

She immediately felt relieved by her own move.

She hadn't noticed when the taxi dropped them off, but as they walked closer, she realized that it was actually Dong Xueqing appearing at the benches in front of the shop!

She looked exactly as she had back in Chengdu—wearing those slim, flared trousers and a white shirt, looking neat and clean. Yet, she was wearing an apron and sleeve covers, with two braids, busy running back and forth.

The older sister, seeing her younger sister running toward them, and seeing the sturdy figure behind her carrying the baby, immediately welled up with tears.

The older sister was much the same; she let go of the child who was walking on its own, her eyes reddening, and hugged her sister tightly, ignoring the fact that she was still holding an enamel bowl and plate.

Rang Weidong slowed down and went over to help the bewildered Feng Chu take the items from her hands.

He allowed the sisters to weep in each other's arms, feeling puzzled. "You two are this emotional every time you reunite after a break? Come, let your little aunt give you a kiss."

He held the baby girl up for the graduate to nuzzle before preparing to go inside.

To his surprise, the sisters, who had seemed so deeply moved, both secretly tried to kick him for his teasing, but their feet got tangled, and they nearly fell over.

Rang Weidong grabbed the younger sister’s waistband—a convenient spot he’d reached out to catch her—and released her immediately. "Seriously? Are you two wrestling? Oh, Director Zhao, what brings you here..."

It was a genuine surprise. The director of the Hongguang Factory was sitting inside, chatting with the driver and the elder Rang, leaving his tongue-tied father exhausted.

He was smoking one cigarette after another!

His mother, behind the stove, kept giving her son looks, urging him to take over.

She held the official in particularly high regard.

Dong Xueqing twisted her neck, anxious. "I brought them! I even brought the tape recorder from the school and the factory!"

Rang Weidong shooed people away. "Go back with your sister and chat. Come get the baby later. Hello, hello, Director. Didn't we settle the payment for this month’s titanium ingots last week? Is there an issue?"

He was the one who felt guilty; in reality, given the current situation, he didn't need to chase the high profits of titanium ingots so desperately.

However, the most profitable item, the camera, had hit a snag with Secretary Zhang, and anything could happen.

After pouring so much money into sanitary napkins and cooked food, he could only say that they didn't need further investment, but they were still a distance away from a harvest. He still had to figure out how to make them popular through advertising.

In short, no single line of business was 100% secure.

Fortunately, Director Zhao still wore a plain, sincere expression. "I didn't expect you to put your main energy into the catering business. I really hope you can sell more of our products. Is this your child?"

Rang Weidong nodded. "Yes, my daughter. Let’s go, let's find a restaurant next door and talk slowly... I hear the prices for non-ferrous metals are rising."

He glanced at the corner of the refrigerator, where a bamboo-woven box typical of Shangzhou was sitting, with two tape recorders on top. He couldn't help but look. "Xiao Qing, are these samples from your side? Take them and go look. Tell your sister to go order some food."

Feng Chu, who had been lingering and reluctant to leave, beamed and jumped over to take them.

The older sister was busy trying to be polite to Rang’s mother, thanking her for hosting her sister.

His mother, suddenly confronted by this high-achieving student, had her previous doubts about her son being involved with a "con artist" shaken, and she wanted to pull her aside to ask a few questions.

Rang Weidong, not wanting to see Dong Xueying embarrassed, ushered them away.

He carried the larger tape recorder in his hand to show Director Zhao. "It’s a good thing you came. Look, this is an appliance we developed in cooperation with the Provincial Post and Telecommunications Equipment Factory. Your product is really hard to expand sales for."

The director, who had just been happy to hear that market prices were rising, immediately became envious and sighed. "We don't have that kind of technical strength. We only know how to screen ore and smelt. These two tons a month is just enough to catch our breath; there's absolutely no movement elsewhere. I'm panicked to death."

They were used to the upstream allocating raw materials and the downstream taking the products; they never had to consider procurement or sales.

Especially for something like titanium alloy, which was far removed from the general market and occupied a very narrow professional field.

They were completely clueless, lazy, and lacked any real skills.

Rang Weidong didn't want to go far. Seeing that the hot pot restaurant next door wasn't crowded, he sat down. Dong Xueying wanted to take the baby, but the infant was humming contentedly against his broad shoulder.

Dong Xueqing held the smaller tape recorder and squeezed into the seat next to him, eager to show off her treasure.

The older sister, sighing inwardly, had to pull her to the counter to order food first, so she wouldn't disturb the men talking business.

"We went to the new factory he's setting up at Jiang University today. Is everything arranged at your unit?" she couldn't help but clarify with her sister.

Feng Chu’s eyes kept drifting back to the table. "I arrived on the early train, got things settled at the unit, and came straight here without eating lunch. I asked around from the retail department until I found this place. It took forever. If I hadn't been afraid of not finding you, the leaders at the equipment factory would have wanted to come over, he-he. Where are we staying tonight? Didn't we say we were going to make a home in Shangzhou?"

Having already "slept with the dragon," she felt guilty, and seeing her sister so happy made her feel even more so. "Where is your job? He said he’d rent a place for you near your office, get it all furnished comfortably, so your work would be convenient and easy."

Dong Xueqing was nonchalant. "It's a bit far, ten bus stops away. His clothes look pretty good. Who bought them for him?"

The sister looked over, feeling a bit alarmed. She had only made her move last night because she liked his clothes, and they had been so busy since then that she’d forgotten to ask!

How busy was he?

Thinking of this, she felt a bit angry and lowered her voice. "What are you doing? I told you to look after him properly, how did you let other women trick him!"

Dong Xueqing finally turned back, shocked. "Who?! How did they trick him?"

The sister whispered in her ear.

The two sisters began to compare notes.

Rang Weidong, on the other hand, was straightforward. "I’ll try to sell more and participate in the better market conditions, but these things can't be rushed. We have to find more ways. Let me give you a few examples."

He spoke, of course, about the tape recorders from the Post and Telecommunications Equipment Factory, the cameras from the Xishan Factory, the sanitary products factory in cooperation with Jiang University, and the food factory he was linking up with the slaughterhouse in Shangzhou. "How many people are in the Hongguang Factory? Can't you use local specialties to do something? You can't wait or rely on others; you have to open up the market yourselves."

Director Zhao shook his head repeatedly. "What can we do in that remote Third-Line factory area? It's all high-security units around us; there are no special products."

He was set on not wanting to use his brain, just wanting to keep his head down and do his work.

Rang Weidong was ready to suggest they make cured meat, but felt it would be stealing Feng’s business. Plus, would they really roast meat in a furnace used for smelting titanium ingots? He figured they would probably be too proud to switch to local specialties.

So, they just ate and chatted.

The driver from the factory had already started eating.

As it turned out, Director Zhao was in the city for a meeting. The higher-ups were further demanding that military enterprises transition to civilian production to find a way out, completely crushing any lingering hope that they could just "tough it out."

He was so worried that he came to see his only current sales channel.

Rang Weidong couldn't bear it and decided to give back a larger portion of the "selling price." He had always been afraid to sell too much, partly because the price gap was too high and partly because titanium ingots were a sensitive commodity.

If he were ever labeled for "speculating on special goods," he might face serious trouble for the large sums involved.

The sisters sat down only when the men started eating and drinking. Dong Xueqing took the baby and started talking about the research and development of the tape recorders. "We tried selling them in Chengdu, and they sold quite well. If you were still there, you could definitely bring a truckload over to sell."

She couldn't help but share with her sister, "He drove a big truck to our school last time; it couldn't even fit into the alley. The gate to our school is so narrow..."

Rang Weidong was indeed thinking hard about what he could do for the Hongguang Factory. Even though his ideas weren't exactly brilliant, and he hadn't figured out how to consolidate the sales rights for the tape recorders, the mention of the truck sparked an idea. "How about the factory uses its trucks to run transport? The policy just allowed it."

The director was stunned. "Can that really work?"

The driver’s eyes lit up with excitement.