ABT Chapter 0116
The factory had stopped production, and Sun Guoyi led a group of idle workers to brainstorm ways to reduce costs.
In reality, it was just finding something to do; the production process was already established, and if they wanted to increase output and reduce costs, they would have to compromise on quality. But the boss, Li Fanyu, had set the standards very strict, willing to sacrifice everything but not compromise on quality.
So, this issue was unsolvable. But idle hands make idle minds. You couldn't let a group of workers collect salaries and sit idle at home, could you?
Currently, Positive Faith Power had no sales network, and there was only the ZGX888 product. If the engine couldn't get orders, they could only sit tight like this.
Running a business was like being a parent. Seeing your own child struggling like this, what kind of feeling would that evoke?
Li Fanyu was getting increasingly frustrated. After calling Anning and learning that there had been no progress there either, he sat alone in his office, feeling annoyed.
Looking at the clouds outside the window, he couldn't help but ask himself; had he bitten off more than he could chew?
Since obtaining Xapp, he had grown accustomed to sailing smoothly with the help of these cutting-edge technologies. Now, trying to carve out his own path with existing resources proved to be challenging.
In his heart, he was conflicted. On one hand, he had benefited from Xapp's technology many times, and it could indeed help him develop. But he didn't want to become dependent and subservient to Xapp. This factory was the product of his resistance. After the system upgrade, he still had a lottery he hadn't used, driven by the desire to rely on himself and take a chance.
But it seemed difficult now. He had heard that doing business, especially in the industrial sector, was tough, but he hadn't expected it to be like this.
Would he regret it? He didn't. He had considered that while black technology could help him earn his first pot of gold, and aid in his development, he couldn't rely on it forever. If he didn't strive to establish his own foundation and always relied on external help, he wouldn't be any different from the flashy domestic auto industry.
Thinking only of making quick money, one could sell the EA888 engine for three to five billion, as easy as pie. But if one only thought of making quick money, there would inevitably come a day when the oil would run out.
He needed to leverage Xapp's advantages while also establishing his own foundation. That was the direction he idealized.
Reviewing Positive Faith's current business, whether it was used cars or modifications, they were only hovering on the periphery of the automotive industry. Establishing a factory and producing engines was the first step into this field, a stepping stone.
But now, it seemed that this door was a bit hard to push through...
Lost in thought for an afternoon, it was already time to leave work. Seeing the workers bustling to clock out, Li Fanyu snapped back to reality.
He wiped his face and stretched lazily—ah, another day with nothing gained.
Just as he put on his coat, the phone rang. He picked it up and saw that it was Cheng Ke calling.
He hadn't been to school for a long time since he had been either in the lab or at the factory all this time. The matter of making engines had already spread throughout the school, and the school leaders were just short of making a portrait of him to hang on the wall. If it weren't for the lab and engine work, the school would probably have ordered him to repeat the year.
Everyone knew he was busy, so Cheng Ke hadn't called him much during this time.
Now, seeing Cheng Ke's call, Li Fanyu quickly answered, "What's up?"
"Are you busy, Fan ge?" Cheng Ke asked tentatively.
"Not really, just about to leave work. What's up?" Li Fanyu asked with a smile.
"I'm feeling down and want to have a drink..."
Huh, why was everyone feeling down these days? Drinking wouldn't solve the problem. But what could make Cheng Ke, who was usually as carefree as a bird, feel down, Li Fanyu was curious.
So he agreed and took a taxi to the university.
Half an hour later, Li Fanyu saw Cheng Ke standing at the school gate with a plain face. The usually cheerful girl now looked as gloomy as a wilted eggplant. Her watery eyes were slightly red, as if she had just been crying. Despite the near-zero temperature tonight, she was only wearing a thin jacket.
"What's wrong?" Li Fanyu hurried over and took off his two-in-one windbreaker, draping it over her shoulders.
Cheng Ke didn't say a word, just pulled him to the nearest barbecue joint and ordered two bottles of beer without hesitation.
Li Fanyu realized she was trying to drown her sorrows in alcohol. He quickly intervened, signaling the waiter to bring the menu and ordered a random selection of dishes.
The eating habits of Tiancheng people were quite distinctive, summed up in two words: hearty appetite. While barbecue joints could pass as dinner in other places, Tiancheng people were different. Barbecue was usually eaten as a late-night snack after dinner. So, at this time, it was just Cheng Ke and Li Fanyu in the barbecue joint.
No matter how Li Fanyu asked, Cheng Ke remained silent, finishing three bottles of beer in a very short time, accompanied by a plate of grilled potato slices.
Finally, Li Fanyu couldn't take it anymore, snatching the cup from her and slamming it on the table.
"Cheng Ke, if you keep this up, I won't talk to you anymore! If there's something wrong, just say it. Why did you call me here if you're not going to say anything?"
Cheng Ke, being scolded, immediately turned red-eyed, her eyes starting to well up with tears, her nose twitching, and her mouth trembling as if she was about to cry.
Seeing her like this, Li Fanyu panicked, "Hey hey hey, Keke, don't cry. I'm sorry for scolding you. If you're feeling bad, I shouldn't have scolded you. Oh oh oh, don't cry, don't cry. This morning I saw a joke online that was really funny, let me tell you. It's about Samsung, Xiaomi, and Apple playing Landlord together. Xiaomi plays a 6, Apple plays a 7, and Samsung gets anxious. Guess what it plays?"
Cheng Ke, looking at him with a confused and babbling expression, couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity. She wiped away her tears and said, "Bomb..."
"Oh my little niece, I finally got you to laugh," Li Fanyu wiped his sweat and sighed in relief.
But little did he know, Cheng Ke was still thinking, pursing her lips and starting to shed tears again, "Fan ge, my parents are getting a divorce..."
Li Fanyu slapped his face... Damn, the midlife crisis. There was nothing he could do about internal family conflicts. He could only console her while accompanying Cheng Ke in drinking to drown her sorrows.
Unknowingly, two bottles of beer were drunk—just as Cheng Ke had expected, she got drunk.
Cheng Ke couldn't handle much alcohol, but she had a good tolerance. When she drank too much, she didn't make a fuss; she just fell asleep directly.
Li Fanyu watched as Cheng Ke, heavily intoxicated, was about to crawl onto the table. He quickly paid the bill and carried the little drunk pig back to the dormitory.
People became extremely heavy when they drank too much, and Li Fanyu was panting as he walked downstairs to the women's dormitory, struggling with how to get Cheng Ke back. Then he saw a handsome uncle standing at the entrance of the dormitory building, looking like he was about to fall apart, angrily running over after tossing his cigarette butt on the ground.
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