ABT ### Chapter 191: The Rise of Hongqi
Looking at An Ning, whose face was still flushed but smiling in her sleep, Li Fanyu finally felt at ease. When he first realized he had fallen for An Ning, he was a bit anxious due to their age difference. Although An Ning looked as young as twenty, the gap in their ages was undeniably real. However, after some soul-searching, he found his answer and felt relieved.
This woman made him feel at peace. Her smile could dispel all his worries and troubles. Sometimes love is complicated, and sometimes it is very simple. Thinking of this, Li Fanyu gently brushed her nose with his finger. Feeling the tickle, An Ning wrinkled her nose slightly. Even in her sleep, she knew it was her dear one being affectionate. She smiled and hugged Li Fanyu’s waist, pressing her face to his chest to prevent him from continuing his mischief. Li Fanyu, feeling her warmth, fell into a deep sleep.
Early the next morning, he was awakened by a delicious aroma. Wearing pajamas and slippers, he groggily made his way to the kitchen.
"Sis, what smells so good?"
Although they had already crossed that line, An Ning still liked to call him "little brother," and Li Fanyu found calling her "sis" very natural. However, this was only in daily life; in certain intimate moments, their terms of endearment would change to something more blush-inducing.
An Ning was tasting the soup with her finger. Seeing him come in, she smiled and said, "Good morning, glutton. Go brush your teeth."
Li Fanyu nodded, turned on the TV, and then ran to the bathroom. Just as he picked up his toothbrush, a news report on TV caught his attention.
"According to statistics, in 2016, four models from our domestic brands were launched. Among them, Guangqi Legend and Zhengxin's Audi A4 and X-Power achieved good results in the city SUV and B-class sports car markets. Recently, there is good news from Hongqi Company: China's first independently developed and produced C-class luxury car, the Hongqi Shengshi, is about to roll off the production line. It is reported that the Hongqi Shengshi adopts a design language with Chinese characteristics and is equipped with the highly praised ZGX888 engine. The launch of the Hongqi Shengshi marks a significant development in China's automotive industry, indicating its capability to produce high-quality, comfortable cars..."
Hearing this, Li Fanyu spat out the foam from his mouth. Oh, the Shengshi is about to launch?
It seemed that Lu Heming was truly frightened by him. In just four months, they had overcome the technical difficulties. However, the C-class car market was dominated by the Germans. With Hongqi's strength and scale, competing with them was a tall order.
Currently, the domestic car market was essentially a three-way battle among Germany, Japan, and the US. The Japanese held half of the market, with numerous brands excelling in various segments, making them formidable competitors. The Americans entered the Chinese market later, and their initial high fuel consumption and rough craftsmanship didn't suit China's needs. So now they were focusing on technology to capture the mid-range market and take a bite out of the Japanese share. This behavior was reminiscent of Liu Bei in the Three Kingdoms.
The Germans, on the other hand, had been in the Chinese market for a long time and maintained a high-end image. Though they offered a wide range of models, their luxury and C-class cars were the most representative. With these two aces, they had always looked down on the Japanese and Americans, like Sun Quan observing from East Wu with a smug sense of superiority.
Now, with the Hongqi Shengshi entering the C-class market, a showdown with the Germans seemed inevitable. Considering Hongqi's company culture, Li Fanyu shook his head, thinking: Hopefully, that billion-yuan R&D investment will yield some results...
An Ning saw him standing dazedly in the bathroom and walked over to hug his waist. "What are you doing? Daydreaming so early in the morning?"
Li Fanyu snapped out of it, wiped the foam from his mouth with a towel, and said, "Oh, nothing. Just heard something about Hongqi on the news."
An Ning laughed, "The news said the Shengshi is about to launch, but it seemed to be subtly praising our Zhengxin. In that brief report, X-Power, A4, and GZX888, our company's three products, all got a mention. You must be feeling smug, right?"
Hearing her say this, Li Fanyu finally realized, "Oh, now that you mention it, it does seem like that!"
An Ning laughed at his expression and playfully slapped his back. "Alright, come have breakfast."
...
Lu Heming hadn't eaten well for days. Ever since he was intimidated by that mosquito, he had poured all his energy into the development of the Shengshi C-class. Despite his reputation for greed, he had risen through the technical ranks. In a state-owned enterprise landscape often characterized by non-experts leading experts, Lu Heming was somewhat of an anomaly.
Putting aside his usual scheming for R&D funds, Lu Heming had truly been pouring his heart and soul into the project. Previously, apart from attending meetings, he rarely showed his face in front of the engineers. But recently, he had almost become one of them, visiting the development department daily whenever he was at the company. Seeing their boss’s dedication, the engineers naturally worked harder, leading to the rapid progress on the Shengshi C-class, which was now set to launch in just four months.
It was said that even the senior official overseeing industry had personally praised the project, saying, "Hongqi is doing well, still retaining the perseverance and drive of the older generation of industrial workers."
Hearing this, Lu Heming was ecstatic. Gaining recognition from the higher-ups meant that if the Hongqi Shengshi C-class achieved good results, he would surely have prospects for promotion. Thinking about this, he almost felt grateful to that bizarre mosquito! With the chance to climb higher, he no longer cared about skimming R&D funds. At his level, further advancement was extremely difficult. With no connections or foundation, he had thought this was the end of the road for him. But if he could move up, the future would be bright, and money would become secondary.
He found several opportunities to repay the previously misappropriated R&D funds and increased his visits to the development department. His diligence was such that he visited twice a day, seven days a week, making even the cleaning staff feel ashamed of their own work ethic.
However, as the test car was assembled and the test results came in, he was left utterly dumbfounded.
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