ABT Chapter 0081: Project Approval
Early in the morning, both An Ning and Old Zhang called.
Li Fanyu, curled up like Garfield in his warm bed, groaned and hummed as he listened to their chatter on the phone.
An Ning urged him to prepare and go to the city together to visit Cheng Gang. Old Zhang, on the other hand, said he was already waiting at the company and was ready to run errands for the laboratory starting today.
Covering his face, Li Fanyu thought, Well, no more sleep for me. He called An Ning and suggested meeting directly at the company. When visiting Cheng Gang, they could take Old Zhang along. With a scholarly professor and a former high-level executive from a foreign company, they had a solid combination, one that should be able to handle the situation.
When Li Fanyu arrived at the company, he found the two of them already chatting enthusiastically. He hadn’t expected them to know each other, and they even had quite a history.
An Ning’s late father, An Zhiyuan, had worked with Old Zhang on the first generation of Hongqi cars in the early 1980s. Two years ago, when An Zhiyuan was seriously ill in the hospital, Old Zhang had visited him. This was a solid revolutionary friendship, and they both greatly respected each other’s qualifications and abilities. They had thrown Li Fanyu aside and started discussing the automotive laboratory.
Only after they had talked enough did they remember there was someone else in the office. Since Li Fanyu had no expertise to contribute to their discussion, he waited until they turned their attention to him and suggested they strategize on how to persuade Mayor Cheng.
Approvals were necessary, but funding was also crucial, as setting up the lab would be quite costly. Li Fanyu’s plan was to keep the lab close by so he could easily utilize the resources when developing cars in the future. It would also provide a cover for the high-tech projects from Xapp. However, when it came to funding… well, that was another story.
The three of them arrived at the city government, and instead of heading to the mayor’s office, Cheng Gang’s secretary led them directly to a conference room.
In the conference room, prepared either intentionally or unintentionally, were a projector, a whiteboard, and a camera on the round table. Cheng Gang and another person were already waiting there.
An Ning and Old Zhang exchanged smiles. It seemed the city was indeed serious about the laboratory; otherwise, they wouldn’t have arranged such a setup.
Li Fanyu stepped forward, and the secretary introduced the person beside Cheng Gang as Wang Pengju, the head of the City Development and Reform Commission.
Today, Li Fanyu’s job was to leverage his connections to persuade Cheng Gang to support and fund the project, relying on the expertise of his companions.
After brief introductions, there was little small talk. Cheng Gang immediately brought up the topic of the laboratory.
An Ning and Old Zhang had been waiting for this. They immediately launched into a detailed explanation, covering everything from industry incubation to talent attraction, and the numerous benefits of establishing the lab for data collection and future independent research.
Cheng Gang and Wang Pengju listened quietly, occasionally asking questions and sharing thoughts on key points. Before they knew it, more than an hour had passed.
“That’s basically it. We hope Mayor Cheng and Director Wang will seriously consider it. If the lab can be established in our city, it will certainly attract industry talent and serve as a seed for an industry cluster.” An Ning put down the whiteboard marker and sincerely added one last appeal.
Wang Pengju stretched his hands and looked at Cheng Gang, then stood up and said, “Alright, you can go back now. We’ll hold a meeting to discuss this further.”
An Ning’s smile froze; she had heard this too many times in Nanhe. Every time they said they’d discuss it further, the response was always some form of rejection or obstruction.
In China, the government has its own “black language.” While not as incomprehensible as old bandit codes, it’s still highly inscrutable. Phrases like “we’ll discuss it,” “in principle,” and “contact the relevant departments” are all part of this code.
An Ning understood that if they said they would discuss it, it was likely not going to happen.
Li Fanyu also frowned. Seeing that Cheng Gang had no intention of keeping them, he signaled to Old Zhang, who still wanted to speak, to leave.
The three of them went to a dumpling restaurant next to the government building. Looking at the steaming dumplings in front of them, none of them had any appetite.
Things had seemed promising; why did it fall apart at the end? Li Fanyu felt a bit frustrated.
After a disheartened meal, he returned to school with Old Zhang—Old Zhang had already resigned and was packing up his things.
Seeing Old Zhang silently packing his office belongings, Li Fanyu felt a pang of sorrow. Without students and this job, if the lab couldn’t be established, Old Zhang would have nothing left.
A nearby mechanical engineering professor sighed, “Old Zhang, how about I talk to the principal and help you withdraw your resignation?”
Old Zhang, packing his drawers, lightly thumped a cup on the table and said, “Old Li, I appreciate your intention, but I’ve already made my choice. There’s no turning back now. I chose this path, and no matter how tough it gets, I’ll grit my teeth and keep going.”
The professor shook his head, knowing that this would be Old Zhang’s response.
“Hey, Old Zhang, packing up? I heard from the principal that you resigned. After working together for so many years, I’ll miss you.” Deputy Principal Liu stood at the door, knocking and giving a mocking smile.
Old Zhang didn’t turn around. After years of clashing with Liu, he knew this was just an attempt to gloat.
“Old Zhang, let me tell you, establishing a lab isn’t easy. Even if you manage to set it up, can you guarantee results?”
Old Zhang didn’t like this remark. “How can you know the results without trying? Labs should be organized by educational institutions. It allows students to apply theory to practice, combining research and teaching to cultivate industry talent. But look at our university’s investment in this area—just one teaching lab with equipment from the last century!”
“You see, you get angry after just a few words. I’m not arguing with you. When that lab fails to materialize and you’re sitting idle, remember what I said today.”
Old Zhang snorted and ignored him. He swept all the items on the desk into a box. He didn’t want to stay at this school a minute longer.
At that moment, Li Fanyu’s phone rang. Seeing the caller ID, he quickly answered.
“Hello, Mayor Cheng!”
“...”
“Really? So the city agrees? Thank you so much.”
“...”
“An engine testing lab isn’t large enough? Then...”
“...”
“Okay, got it! Thank you, Mayor Cheng!”
After hanging up, Li Fanyu’s smile was so wide it almost split his face. He waved his phone and said to Old Zhang, “Professor Zhang, the city has decided that the lab project is urgent and should be large in scale. They’ve approved our project but want to elevate it to an automotive research center.”
Old Zhang threw the box on the ground, “That’s fantastic!”
Deputy Principal Liu, watching Old Zhang celebrate, left silently with a dejected look.
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