Chapter 73

Ye Qing hurriedly stopped a taxi and headed back to the factory.

A pure black Rolls-Royce Phantom was parked at the entrance of Ye Qing's factory, and Master Jingqiao was standing beside a burly man in a suit.

When the taxi came to a stop, the door of the Rolls-Royce also opened, and a middle-aged man, wearing a dark long-sleeved shirt and loose casual pants, with a ruddy complexion and an imposing presence, got out of the car.

This man was not particularly tall, but the aura he exuded was very powerful. When he got out of the car, the driver and bodyguard, who had been complaining incessantly beside Master Jingqiao, immediately stopped talking and walked forward respectfully.

He was Li Huaxing, the leader of the manufacturing industry in Zhongyun City, a guest of honor at the municipal committee, and the head of Huaxing Heavy Industry.

As long as one was involved in manufacturing, no one would be unaware of Li Huaxing's name.

Li Huaxing was fifty years old, with one son and one daughter, and he was the envy of everyone in Zhongyun City, a true winner in life.

One could say that if any boss of a company in Zhongyun City could establish a relationship with Li Huaxing, it would be like gaining an additional layer of a halo.

This halo was so powerful that even banks would look at them more favorably. If Li Huaxing were to vouch for a loan, the bank would be more than happy to offer a large credit line.

Even if the mayor wanted to discuss economic and business issues with Li Huaxing, he would have to have his chief secretary personally invite him.

Even if the chief secretary went personally, it was not certain that Li Huaxing would come immediately.

If the mayor were to see Li Huaxing personally run to the door of a small, obscure factory and wait for over forty minutes for an unknown person, it would surely shock him to the point of retinal detachment.

The person Li Huaxing was waiting for was, of course, Ye Qing.

Even after waiting for forty minutes, Li Huaxing showed no sign of impatience.

The incident began with the signing of the agreement with Tian Sheng Group. Huaxing Heavy Industry had recently signed a large equipment procurement agreement with Tian Sheng Mining.

Among the items were five 240-ton wheeled mining trucks.

This was the largest wheeled vehicle product in Huaxing Heavy Industry, a land steel giant standing 6 meters tall and 12.5 meters long.

With 2,500 horsepower, a single vehicle weighed nearly 200 tons, and a single tire was three meters high.

The ability to manufacture large mining vehicles was almost a benchmark for the capabilities of a heavy industry company. Even Huaxing Heavy Industry only produced forty such vehicles a year.

However, these forty vehicles could bring in a total output value of 920 million yuan, with each unit priced at 23 million yuan.

The Three Gorges Dam, once considered a world wonder, relied entirely on imported similar models of mining vehicles to transport rocks and block the Yangtze River.

Now, domestic manufacturers could also produce these industrial giants that required five tons of fuel per refueling, although the quality still lagged behind that of foreign veterans.

But the price was lower...

The 240-ton wheeled mining truck was the latest product launched by Huaxing Heavy Industry, an upgrade from the 190-ton model.

A prototype was built and tested, and there were no issues.

They happily advertised it and successfully received an order for five units. Huaxing Heavy Industry began mass production with great enthusiasm, but then a serious problem arose...

Of course, problems needed to be solved; otherwise, a delay in the order or a serious issue with the first new product would damage the reputation Huaxing Heavy Industry had built over many years.

But who could solve the technical problems of the 240-ton wheeled mining truck?

There were very few domestic companies capable of manufacturing such heavy industrial products: Sany, XCMG, Xiangdian, and Liugong?

Seeking help from these competitors would only make them laugh.

Li Huaxing could imagine that not only would they not help, but they would also label him as overambitious, incapable, and arrogant, among other unflattering terms.

Seeking help from abroad?

Relying on foreign veteran heavy industry companies, who would rather see all domestic heavy industries die, especially the world giant in mining equipment, Caterpillar Group.

When domestic heavy industries were not yet established, Caterpillar was extremely popular in China.

However, every time a domestic company produced a similar product, Caterpillar's sales would drop by a third.

This was a third of global sales, especially in underdeveloped countries with poor purchasing power, where domestic heavy industry companies were squeezing them out.

Seeking help from them was not an option. Li Huaxing held three technical breakthrough meetings, but the old technicians, despite their high blood pressure, could not find a solution.

In a moment of desperation, Li Huaxing suddenly thought of Longxi Beach, that small mechanical processing plant.

He thought of the small plant at Longxi Beach because of a report from the yacht driver.

Tian Sheng Mining had ordered five units and other large-scale mining equipment, which made Li Huaxing very happy. When he heard that Xia Mu, the jewel of Tian Sheng Mining, wanted to go sea fishing, Li Huaxing was more than willing to lend her his private yacht and driver.

Xia Mu's sea trip was not smooth. The yacht driver had just taken her around the Zhongyun coastline when, near Longxi Beach, both propellers were damaged.

Li Huaxing was not at all upset by this news. The two propellers cost only a few ten thousand yuan, and it was his driver's fault.

Why would Li Huaxing be upset?

But a small incident piqued his interest.

The driver said he randomly found a nearby shipyard to dock and repair the yacht. However, the shipyard had already closed down and was now run by a mechanical processing boss.

In terms of mechanical processing, who in Zhongyun could compare to Li Huaxing in terms of technology and scale?

But this mechanical processing plant gave Li Huaxing a lesson in action.

The driver said the boss of the processing plant, probably because the yacht took up too much space and he knew Xia Mu, made two sets of aluminum alloy propellers and installed them on the yacht.

A seven-blade, large-angle, high-speed propeller, to be processed in a short time, was something even Huaxing Heavy Industry could not do.

Of course, if Huaxing Heavy Industry wanted to produce this, they could buy a few sets of specialized equipment.

When Li Huaxing heard this, he was impressed and curious, thinking that perhaps the factory had some special processing techniques or a master-level craftsman.

As for the amateurs at the shipyard, who claimed that the DMG machining center and the precision were better than the original factory, Li Huaxing almost laughed out loud.

Huaxing Heavy Industry was not without DMG machining centers, and Li Huaxing knew very well whether they could produce propellers.

But if it were the pure, unaltered version from abroad, it would be no problem.

However, Li Huaxing thought this possibility was very small, and the most likely scenario was that they were handmade.

After all, the world's first propeller-driven ship was built in 1836, and 180 years ago, there were no CNC machining centers or vertical CNC milling machines; everything was made by hand.

Handmade precision, especially in a rush, could not compare to the original factory.

Li Huaxing, who had a pathological obsession with precision, immediately ordered two original factory propellers from abroad.

When the original factory propellers arrived yesterday, Li Huaxing took advantage of the evening to have the workers replace them.

The two workshop-level propellers were also brought back by the workers because Li Huaxing was very interested and wanted to see how capable this small processing plant was, to be able to produce two propellers in half a day.

When the two propellers, which he considered to be of substandard precision, were placed in front of him, Li Huaxing was so shocked that he almost threw the crystal glass worth tens of thousands of yuan.

What the hell, these are not workshop-level propellers at all!

These are clearly world-class!

Li Huaxing used all the measurement methods he could, including micrometers, micrometers, roundness gauges, and angle gauges.

The final conclusion made Li Huaxing curse, calling the two original factory propellers garbage, waste, and toys.

After the workers sheepishly reinstalled the two propellers, Li Huaxing suddenly stood up from his chair.

That's right!

Wasn't the problem Huaxing Heavy Industry was facing a mechanical processing problem?

The other party must have special processing techniques and a world-class master craftsman.

The next day, Li Huaxing specially had his driver take him to the small processing plant at Longxi Beach to visit the boss.