A professor's rebirth: I entered Tsinghua University in 1977.

Liu Hongyi returned from the capital and flew directly to Ningzhou.

Here, we met with the technical team sent by the Saudi electrolytic aluminum plant.

Faisal did not come in person this time.

As a prince and the "flagship figure" of the younger generation of his royal family, His Royal Highness is also very busy and has a lot of work to deal with in the country.

The person in charge of the team this time is named Qasim, he is Faisal's brother-in-law, um, one of them.

As a Saudi prince, Faisal had more than one wife.

Therefore, he has quite a few brothers-in-law.

Mr. Qasim, a relatively young man, about thirty years old, was a very capable man. He must have had some talent to stand out from the "brother-in-law team."

Before Qasim came, he received personal instructions from Faisal, telling him that after arriving in China, he must not put on airs like a rich man in front of Liu Hongyi, and must make sure to make this cooperation a success.

I paid 40 million, and all I bought was "friendship".

If you mess things up by putting on airs, and you spend 40 million just to get "unhappy", His Royal Highness the Prince will never use you again.

So Qasim's attitude was very friendly.

Through conversation, we learned that Qasim was not from a humble family. His family was considered a prominent family in Saudi Arabia. His family had been married into the royal family for generations and was considered a very powerful "in-law".

No wonder this person is polite, well-educated, and speaks excellent English.

There was no obstacle in communicating with Liu Hongyi. The translator sent by the foreign affairs department was a little bored - is there nothing to do?

Secretary Liu Hongyi's English level is not inferior to his at all.

Well, that's easy to understand. After all, he's a top student at Qinghua University, the student union president, and an outstanding young scientist.

After listening to Qasim's self-introduction and learning that he also came from a prominent family, Liu Hongyi was completely relieved and became very optimistic about the prospects of this cooperation.

Why do you say that?

It is clear that Qasim also has political ambitions.

Of course, he had to help his brother-in-law build a large "foundation" in China.

In the future, when Faisal becomes prominent in domestic politics, Qasim will naturally follow suit.

It's a happy occasion for everyone.

Because Qasim arrived with real money and a complete technical team, he received a warm welcome in Zhennan. The director of the Zhennan Provincial Government's Foreign Affairs Office accompanied him throughout the trip.

The deputy provincial governor in charge of industry and the deputy mayor of Ningzhou in charge of industry also accompanied him throughout the trip.

All services are very thoughtful and meticulous.

The Qasim team then went to Zhuang'an for a field investigation accompanied by Liu Hongyi and others.

To be honest, the last time Faisal came, it was more of a "tourism" than an inspection. His Royal Highness didn't quite understand the specifics of how to build a factory. He's the one who handles big things.

When it comes to specific cooperation, Qasim becomes more serious.

First, he questioned the traffic conditions in Zhuang'an.

"Dear Secretary, this road is not easy to travel on..."

As you know, the English word for secretary is the same as the word for secretary. In other words, there's no such word as secretary in English; there's only secretary. Comrade Secretary could only reluctantly become a "secretary."

The secretary smiled and explained, "Dear Mr. Qasim, please don't worry about this. The new high-grade highway is under construction and will be completed and open to traffic by June next year at the latest."

Later, Qasim proposed to conduct on-site survey of bauxite deposits.

Liu Hongyi had anticipated this a long time ago. After Faisal's last visit, the infrastructure construction of the bauxite mine had actually begun.

Liu Hongyi is very determined to develop this pillar industry.

Even if Faisal changed his mind midway, he would continue to develop the electrolytic aluminum and thermal power plants and would never give up halfway.

After arriving at the bauxite mining area, Qasim directed his accompanying technical team to take samples on site, saying they would be taken back for testing.

Liu Hongyi did not have any aversion to Qasim's rigorous work style. On the contrary, he admired it very much.

Mr. Secretary is still a scientist at heart, okay?

The most important thing is that Zhuang'an's aluminum mine is not afraid of testing.

This has been verified by high technology in later generations.

Even compared with Saudi Arabia's bauxite, it is not inferior.

After inspecting the bauxite mines, Qasim inspected the coal mines.

On the coal mine side, Qasim once again raised the question that the scale of this coal mine is not enough to support a large thermal power plant.

The secretary smiled and said, "Dear Mr. Qasim, this is why we are asking His Royal Highness Prince Faisal to invest another 20 million to build a large thermal power plant. This large thermal power plant will naturally also include the construction of a large coal mine."

Yes, for religious reasons, Faisal would not provide a loan directly to Zhuangan.

The doctrine allows lending, but not charging interest.

Charging interest is illegal in Saudi Arabia.

But there is a workaround for everything.

That is, they can convert the loan into an investment and earn a profit, which is not illegal.

Therefore, the 40 million provided by Faisal was all investment, not a loan.

Not only is the electrolytic aluminum plant a cooperative venture, but the thermal power plant is also a cooperative venture. The electrolytic aluminum plant cannot use the electricity provided by the thermal power plant for free; it must pay the market price.

Thermal power generation is a huge market and a big business even on a global scale.

After a thermal power plant is built, if there is redundancy in electricity, it can be sold directly to the power grid.

In this regard, Faisal has no worries at all.

China has just begun its reform and opening-up policy and is at a critical stage in building its international credibility. We offer relatively favorable terms to all foreign investors. Defaulting on debts or undermining partners is a non-starter.

Moreover, Faisal could trust the personal character of a top scientist who personally created Liu's Law.

Three days later, the two sides sat down for negotiations again.

Qasim looked very satisfied.

Clearly, the bauxite test results didn't disappoint him. His other questions were also largely answered. Yes, China is still very backward, especially Zhennan, and even more so Zhuang'an, which are extremely poor.

But from another perspective, isn't this poverty the reason why they are here?

If Saudi Arabia were a developed industrialized country, with its own weak industrial base, how could it be their turn to come to China to invest and build factories?

The negotiations went very smoothly.

Two days later, the two parties formally signed a preliminary cooperation agreement in Zhuang'an, Ningzhou, and the two major projects of electrolytic aluminum and thermal power plant entered the practical operation stage.

Once again, the cadres in Zhennan witnessed what "Liu Hongyi speed" meant.