Great Power Industry: You're a private company building an aircraft carrier?

A few days flew by.

Kobe Steel.

"What are those South Koreans up to these days?" Mori asked his subordinate calmly.

"They went to the East."

"East? What steel import business does the East have? Find out! Our Kobe Steel also has the same type of steel, and the quality is better than their East Japan Steel!" Moriwaki subconsciously assumed that the South Koreans had gone to the East to sell steel.

"They went to inspect the rolling mill."

"Inspecting rolling mills? These guys must have eaten too much kimchi. Where would the East get such advanced rolling mills? In the past year or two, the East has bought a few second-hand rolling mills from our island nation. Do the South Koreans want to buy a third one?"

"Dongfang has built a 5.5-meter-wide rolling mill, which has just been put into production."

"What?" Moriwaki's eyes widened. "That's impossible. Easterners love to buy scrap from us. Even secondhand rolling mills are the most advanced in their hands. How could they possibly build their own rolling mills, especially 5.5 meters wide ones?"

The subordinate took out a videotape, inserted it into the office VCR, and soon, the news anchor from the Oriental News Network appeared on the screen.

"Next, we will broadcast domestic news. Our Laiyang Iron and Steel Plant and the First Heavy Machinery Plant have jointly built the first 5.5-meter-wide rolling mill in China and the world. Its emergence fills a domestic gap and represents the strength of our country's industry..."

Moriwaki stared wide-eyed at the screen as sparks flew, steel plates rolled, formed in the rolling mill, and then underwent quenching and other processes to finally become qualified steel plates.

"Impossible, this must be fake news. Easterners are masters at spreading false information!" Mori muttered to himself. "Only we can build the most advanced rolling mill. The Easterners don't have that capability! Call Ishino here, immediately!"

A few minutes later, Hirotoshi Ishino ran into Moriwaki's office, his face covered in sweat.

"You should be familiar with Laiyang Steel Plant in the east, right?"

Ishino Hirotoshi nodded, "Of course I know him! There's a guy there named Qin Chuan, he's incredibly cunning!"

“Their factory recently built a rolling mill with a width of 5.5 meters. Go and see if it’s real or not.”

Ishino Hirotoshi's face changed instantly.

Although the news broadcast on the East is broadcast globally, it doesn't mean that everyone watches it. Ishino Hiromitsu had just heard this surprising news.

boom!

He felt a thunderous voice explode in his mind, seemingly accompanied by a sentence:

Mr. Ishino, shall we make a bet? We at Laiyang Steel Plant can manufacture the key components of this rolling mill ourselves.

Easterners want to manufacture their own rolling mills, and even 5.5-meter rolling mills!

At the time, he thought it was a joke, but now it seems that Easterners are absolutely serious! Moreover, they never make empty promises; if they do, they will definitely do it!

"Ishino, Ishino!" Moriwaki's dissatisfied voice rang out.

"Please give me your orders."

"Go to Laiyang Steel Plant in the east immediately!"

"What?!" Ishino Hirotoshi finally realized what was happening, and his expression immediately changed.

What's the point of going? If he goes, Qin Chuan will definitely laugh at him! Every time he goes, he feels like a clown; he absolutely doesn't want to go a second time! But…

Since Moriwaki has already given the order, how can he refuse?

……

Dongfang, Laiyang Steel Plant.

"Brother Chuan, a reporter has come in and wants to interview you."

"Just say I'm not here!"

"Okay." Li Jianshe strode outside: "Our Engineer Qin said he's not here!"

Qin Chuan was speechless for a moment. When did Li Jianshe become stupid?

Jingle Bell!

The phone rang.

Qin Chuan winked at him: "Talia, you come and pick them up. If they're just visiting, tell them I'm not here."

Antonina made an OK sign with her left hand and picked up the phone with her right: "Hello, who is this? Leader Luo? Which Leader Luo?"

Before Antonina could finish speaking, Qin Chuan snatched the phone away: "Hello, Boss Luo, it's me, Qin Chuan. You can call me Xiao Chuan. You're coming? Great, you're welcome! You have time, of course you have time! And you have foreign clients? Great!"

Antonina gave Qin Chuan a complicated look. You're clearly playing favorites against him!

"Luo Guangrong, the leading official in our Ministry of Metallurgical Industry." Qin Chuan hung up the phone and said to Antonina, "Even though we are a private enterprise, we are still subject to his jurisdiction. Remember his voice?"

“Got it.” Antonina readily agreed: “Boss, do you want me to handle public relations?”

Qin Chuan rolled his eyes at her: "Don't try to corrupt a leader of this rank with sweet talk, because... come with me to receive him!"

A convoy drove into the steel plant and stopped outside the extra-wide steel plate production workshop.

“Mr. Zheng, this is the most advanced rolling mill production line in China, and also the most advanced in the world!” Luo Guangrong said. “We originally planned to import it from the island nation, but the islanders asked for too much money, so we decided to build it ourselves. It’s better to rely on ourselves than on others.”

Jung Soo-hwan got out of the car with a complicated expression.

They originally intended to use this as a means of lowering prices, hoping to force Kobe Steel to back down by purchasing rolling mills here. But now, Jung Soo-hwan has a feeling that coming here might be the right choice!

"How much did the islanders quote you?"

"Five billion US dollars."

five billion!

Jung Soo-hwan clenched his fist. The islanders were simply playing favorites, quoting 5 billion to the East Asians and 50 billion to their side. No matter the price, it was unaffordable! South Korea, being a developed country, had its price increased tenfold!

"Welcome, everyone," Qin Chuan greeted them.

"Mr. Qin, let me introduce you. This is Mr. Zheng, the representative from Dongguo Steel. Mr. Zheng, this is Mr. Qin. He is the one who built this production line."

"Mr. Zheng, are you here for a visit and learning?" Qin Chuan asked.

Antonina, standing beside Qin Chuan, had a sudden thought: this sentence contains a hidden meaning!

If they lower their haughty heads and say they're here to visit and learn, they'll receive a warm welcome from Qin Chuan. But if they can't swallow their pride and insist on saying they're here to inspect and guide, see if Qin Chuan doesn't give them a hard time!

Some of the leaders following behind Luo Guangrong frowned. "Young man, how can you talk like that? So disrespectful to foreign guests."

However, Luo Guangrong thought highly of Qin Chuan and had been praising him all day at work these past few days. His subordinates couldn't very well go over Luo Guangrong's head and criticize him.

"We heard that Dongfang has built the world's most advanced rolling mill production line, so we want to come and visit it. If possible, we would also like to buy a similar production line back home."

Luo Guangrong frowned. These South Koreans hadn't told him the truth, only saying they were there to visit. He hadn't expected them to actually want to buy things!

Can Qin Chuan be sold?

The saying "Teach your apprentice and you'll starve" is an age-old truth. And this is the only place in the world to find a steel plate this 5.5 meters wide!

While steel plates around 5.2 or 5.3 meters wide are generally sufficient for most uses, what if a customer requires 5.5 meters? In that case, we'd have to source them from Dongfang!

If South Korea also sets up such a production line, wouldn't it steal business from Laiyang Factory?