Chapter 122: One Million Transformation Fee

Page (1/3)

Liu Yueru was suddenly awakened by Shen Guodong, mumbling softly, "What time is it? Is it time to go to work?" After two nights of being tossed about by Shen Guodong, Liu Yueru finally understood the joy of not wanting to get out of bed. Previously, she had hardly slept through the night. Now, she was gradually becoming addicted to the feeling of sleeping in Shen Guodong’s embrace. Shen Guodong gently patted her head and said, "You rest a little longer. I’ll get up and make a couple of eggs for breakfast, then we’ll head out to work." After all, Liu Yueru was still an elementary school teacher and needed to be punctual. After quickly preparing breakfast, they shared a farewell kiss and went their separate ways to work.

Upon arriving at the factory, Shen Guodong immediately sought out Zhou Meiniang. "Meiniang, our factory is finally ready to start operations." "Just in time, Guodong. I have something to tell you—the approval funds have come through. Do you know how much money it is? It’s incredible." Shen Guodong was puzzled. "Didn't we apply for 500,000 yuan? How much did they actually give us?" "We did apply for 500,000 yuan, that’s correct, but this time it’s different—they gave us a full 1,000,000 yuan. A full million." Hearing this, Shen Guodong was stunned. "How is it possible they actually gave us a million?" "I was dumbfounded too. When I got the telegram this morning, I thought it was a mistake. I checked three or four times before confirming that it was indeed a million." Shen Guodong wanted to ask the steel mill director what was going on—how could there suddenly be an extra 500,000 yuan? Could it be that the steel mill director was secretly adding 500,000 yuan? But that seemed unlikely. This was an era when even having 10,000 yuan was rare, and such wealth was unimaginable. Now, an allocation of 1,000,000 yuan—what did that even mean?

Page (2/3)

If they used this million yuan to build the factory, they could construct a state-of-the-art facility. Yet the question remained—where did this extra 500,000 come from? Shen Guodong didn’t hesitate and went to the communications room to check the telegram content. The message was brief: "Special approval for Fengcheng Machine Tool Factory, renovation fund 500,000 yuan." It clearly stated 500,000 yuan—where did the other 500,000 come from? Shen Guodong was baffled, especially since Meiniang wouldn’t deceive him. How could she mistake 1,000,000 for 500,000? Curious, he asked Meiniang again. She replied, "It’s definitely 500,000 yuan. There’s another line you must have missed." "Total: 1,000,000 yuan." Seeing those figures, Shen Guodong speculated, "Could the extra 500,000 be from money they won through bidding? Paid in full upfront?" Still uncertain, Shen Guodong dialed the phone to call Lu Zhigang, director of the Shen City Steel Mill.

When the call connected, Lu Zhigang laughed heartily. "What’s this? The little brother here calling to thank me?" Shen Guodong asked, "Director, how did we suddenly get an extra 500,000 yuan? Wasn’t the allocation 500,000? Why is it now a total of 1,000,000?" Lu Zhigang explained, "Ah, that extra 500,000 came straight from our steel mill’s own pockets. We wanted to help you renovate." Shen Guodong was stunned. "The Shen City Steel Mill is sponsoring our machine tool factory with a million yuan?" "Yes, exactly. Since the bidding tasks are about to be handed over, we want your factory’s machines to be well-maintained and fully operational to serve us." "We believe the First Machine Tool Factory will provide excellent tools for our steel mill in the provincial capital." Hearing Lu Zhigang’s hearty laughter, Shen Guodong couldn’t help but think that Director Lu truly dared to bet on anything.

Page (3/3)

Was he basically misappropriating public funds to support them? That would normally be unacceptable, even unethical. Yet, since it was helping them, Shen Guodong felt pleased and nodded. "In that case, thank you, Director Lu. I’ll get to work immediately and ensure this won’t affect the bidding process." Lu Zhigang agreed, "Alright, I’ll be waiting for your good news, Mr. Shen." After hanging up, Shen Guodong smiled quietly at being called "Mr. Shen"—Lu Zhigang had really gotten himself into something risky. If the 500,000 yuan hadn’t been approved by the steel mill director himself, it wouldn’t have happened. If this blew up, the director might lose everything; he was truly daring.

Just after ending the call, Zhou Meiniang asked in bewilderment, "How did you find out where the extra 500,000 came from?" Shen Guodong stared at her and said, "Of course I know. It took courage for the steel mill boss to shell out 500,000 yuan to sponsor our factory. Now our factory is probably the richest around." After all, suddenly having a million yuan was astronomical—equivalent to billions in the near future.

He then told Meiniang, "Have Baldy’s team come over. Let’s gather some people and renovate the surplus factory buildings, then draft some rough plans." Meiniang said, "I have a cousin studying design at Capital Normal University. Maybe she could help." Shen Guodong nodded, "Good idea. Let her come and take a look at the factory, then work on the drawings quickly." He trusted Meiniang’s recommendation and decided to have Baldy’s crew carry out the work. After all, Baldy had already invested tens of thousands in their venture; this was a way to repay him. Renovations often involved favors to connected people, as there was a lot of profit to be made.

As expected, when Baldy heard the news, he was thrilled. "I knew you wouldn’t shortchange me, brother Shen. This is a sweet gig coming right up." Shen Guodong reminded him, "Baldy, remember it’s a great job, but you have to do it well. The money’s secure, but you have to make it look good."