With Xie Changning’s help, Wang Guofu and the others were confident. They thought their factory would have 15 kids make the leaderboard. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

But in the end, all 30 children made the admission rankings.

And their scores were all in the upper-middle tier!

The upper-middle tier! What did that mean?

It meant that the month-long crash course from their factory director had caused their fundamentals and skills to improve by leaps and bounds! They had even beaten the kids from the big factories, who had access to far more resources!

"My son! My son’s on the list!"

"Move it, you’re blocking me! I’m trying to see my daughter’s name!"

"My daughter! Look, my daughter got first place in the welding specialization! First place!"

"From now on, if anyone dares say a girl can’t handle tough technical work, I’ll have my daughter take a file to their mouth! Hmph!"

The workers were ecstatic.

There was a shared sense of pride. When the factory’s children succeeded, everyone’s reputation was boosted.

This was especially true for the parents of those children. They came to work grinning from ear to ear, starting conversations with, "How did you know my daughter placed first in her specialization on the entrance exam?" and "How did you know my son made the rankings?"

Everyone was happy, and Xie Changning was happy for them.

The children had learned so much from Xie Changning, and now they had bright futures ahead of them. Their respect for her grew even deeper.

When Xie Changning entered the R&D lab, the team members were all lined up in a neat row. The moment she walked in, they burst into applause in unison.

"Welcome back, Director!"

"Are you welcoming me back, or are you just happy I brought back the kids’ test results?"

Xie Changning had grown familiar with everyone at the factory by now, so she felt comfortable joking with them.

At her words, they all chuckled and scratched the backs of their heads.

"Ah, the Director’s onto us!"

"You know how much we were all waiting to hear about the kids’ results."

After the small talk, they turned their attention to the progress on the printer.

It was just as Xie Changning had expected. The initial electronic components weren’t usable, but—

"The procedures are all correct, it’s just that your hands aren’t steady yet. Take your time. If you keep improving this quickly, we can test if the printer can work as a standalone unit next month!"

The patents for printers were all held by foreigners.

If Xie Changning wanted to break through that monopoly, she had to do it with technology they hadn’t yet mastered.

’Yes! I’ll beat the Japanese to the punch with their own technology! Haha!’

’Come to think of it, the Japanese stole so many of China’s traditional medicinal formulas and herbs. Me snatching one of their patents... wait, no. This was developed by our own team members. How could you possibly call that ’snatching’?’

Xie Changning’s mood brightened considerably.

R&D was a money pit. Even though everyone was trying their best to control costs, the monthly losses still amounted to tens of thousands of yuan.

Initially, when the R&D team members learned how much had been spent, they were all distraught, but—

"R&D requires investment. Don’t focus on how much we’re spending; focus on how much foreign currency we’ll earn when we succeed! Once we successfully develop this printer, each unit will sell for anywhere from a few thousand to over ten thousand US Dollars!"

Xie Changning worked to dispel their anxiety.

"Even abroad, the annual production of printers is only about five hundred thousand units. Our printer is a standalone model. The market for it is wide open, full of potential. Demand won’t be low."

"These expenses are temporary. Don’t be afraid."

Xie Changning’s encouragement calmed their restless hearts.

Their minds were completely captivated by the grand vision Xie Changning had painted for them.

’This is amazing!’

’An untapped market for printers, and a standalone model at that! There’s nothing else like it!’

"And that’s not all. I’m going to register a patent and have the nation back us up. In the future, if foreign countries want to use our technology, they’ll have to pay us for it!"

"Wow!" The workers didn’t know what a patent was, but it sure sounded amazing!

Foreign countries had a monopoly and refused to export new machinery to China. But now!

Now they had a chance to compete, to go head-to-head with them!

In an instant, the workers were fired up. Without even waiting for a word from Xie Changning, they sprang into action, their morale soaring. The dejection from moments before was completely gone.

Xie Changning watched them in silence, a hint of a smile playing on her lips.

’As expected,’ she thought, ’the Chinese can never resist the call to battle.’

Perhaps the vision Xie Changning had laid out was just that inspiring. The R&D team shed their previous insecurity, their morale surged, and as a result, their error rate dropped significantly.

Their material consumption decreased...

Xie Changning nodded. ’Good. A virtuous cycle.’

As the R&D team buzzed with activity, the workers in the other workshops also got busy.

Ever since their collaboration with the Feige Bicycle Factory, the Anong County Machinery Factory had been getting more and more partnership offers. Even the factories that had previously refused to help were now tentatively reaching out to them.

Wang Guofu mused, ’It must be the temptation of our high-carbon steel...’

Xie Changning had no intention of refusing to cooperate. They were all state-owned factories, ultimately backed by the same country.

Xie Changning wasn’t one to hold a grudge over such things.

However, if any issues arose down the line, she would certainly be selective about who she chose to help.

But that was a matter for another time.

As things stood, the Anong County Machinery Factory was booked with orders until the end of the year!

"Director, we can’t take any more orders. The lead times will be too long," Wang Guofu advised.

He believed that once the Autumn Trade Fair was over, their factory could begin mass-producing its own printers, and they wouldn’t need to continue with these contract manufacturing jobs at all.

"Uncle Wang, for now, we need their money. Otherwise, we won’t be able to afford new machinery next month."

Even second-hand machines are very expensive right now.

For any parts that could be machine-produced, Xie Changning preferred to save on labor and increase output.

Wang Guofu’s jaw dropped.

"The machines we’ll be making are very expensive. The sale price of a single unit will cover the entire factory’s operating costs for a month or two. Making them by hand would be far too slow, don’t you think?" Xie Changning said with a smile.

Wang Guofu stared blankly at Xie Changning for a moment before the realization hit him.

’The Director means...!’

’We’re taking these orders now to fund the new machines we need to start mass-producing the printers?!’

Hearing this, Wang Guofu said no more. He would follow Xie Changning’s lead completely.

’This modern mindset is really something else!’

With the factory’s affairs settled for the time being, Xie Changning began to think about what second-hand machinery might be available for purchase domestically.

’I’m not worried about them being old,’ she thought. ’I can modify them.’

’As long as I can find a source...’

After some thought, Xie Changning decided she needed to contact Director Zhao.

The day before her trip to First Automobile Works, Xie Changning contacted Director Zhao and asked him to help her find several types of machines.

"Ah, Xiao Xie, you’re a good comrade! Excellent, excellent!"

When Xie Changning said she needed to acquire more machinery, Director Zhao immediately got to work.

The machines she wanted weren’t new—some were even ten-year-old models. Even if foreign import channels were closed to them, Director Zhao had his own ways to get the parts imported in batches and sent to Xie Changning for assembly.

"It’s all thanks to your excellent leadership, Director! Where would I be today without you?" Xie Changning said, and she meant it.

’With a leader this supportive, how could she not speak from the heart!’