At the military factory in Dayang Country.
Jiang Chuan sat at his desk. After hearing Wang Mingyuan’s words, he narrowed his eyes slightly.
“So basically, with the raw materials we have for the mortar, we can only produce 200 shells and 100 barrels?” Jiang Chuan asked.
Wang Mingyuan nodded firmly. “That’s right, Boss Jiang. As things stand, our materials are running critically low. If we don’t purchase more materials, the production line might have to shut down today.”
Jiang Chuan sucked his teeth, but he didn’t let anything show on his face. He simply waved his hand. “Alright, I understand. You can head back for now.”
Only after Wang Mingyuan left the office did Jiang Chuan allow himself to let out a sigh.
This was a big deal. An absolutely big deal.
Without materials, the military factory couldn’t produce. And without production, there was no way to deliver on time. This was the kind of thing that could seriously damage his reputation.
Most importantly, materials were something he genuinely couldn’t get his hands on in a short amount of time.
Previously, he had always bought materials from the system shop. But now his military-industrial points were completely spent—not a single one left.
Trying to buy materials from the system shop was clearly unrealistic at this point.
If he spent money to buy them, that would work, but the delivery speed definitely wouldn’t be fast enough. By the time the materials arrived and the production line restarted, there was no way he could deliver on time.
What was he supposed to do?
He’d only just completed three orders, and already two of them couldn’t be delivered on schedule. If word got out, how would his military factory continue operating in the future? Credibility would become a massive problem.
Jiang Chuan paced back and forth in his office, his mind racing for a solution.
Then, mid-step, he froze. He suddenly looked up as an image popped into his head.
It was a steel pipe. And a gas tank.
That’s it!
A steel pipe plus a gas tank—with just some simple modifications, that would make a perfectly decent makeshift mortar!
This thing would even perform similarly to the two types of mortars he was currently producing, but at a fraction of the cost.
How much could a steel pipe and a gas tank possibly cost? And there was zero technical skill involved. The usage was incredibly simple too—just pull it out and fire.
It perfectly matched one of the main requirements for the people over there when it came to weapons: simple, easy to get, and powerful.
Exactly!
Jiang Chuan slapped his forehead and made his decision on the spot. “This steel pipe plus gas tank idea will definitely work. If I actually gave that Smaha a proper mortar, he’d probably need a ton of time just to teach his men how to use it.”
He remembered that during the Gulf War in the last century, a certain country bought tanks from Jiuzhou but didn’t know how to use them. When the enemy attacked, those soldiers actually hid inside the tanks and refused to come out.
They turned the King of Land Warfare into a land turtle. It was absolutely pathetic back then.
Ever since then, the saying that those people aren’t too bright and can’t handle good weapons had spread far and wide.
Thinking of this, Jiang Chuan hurried back to his computer and started searching.
He wanted to see if the steel pipe factory and the gas tank factory he knew from his previous world still existed in this world.
If they did, he could just buy ready-made products, bring them back, modify them a bit, and be done. That would save him the trouble of producing them himself, save time, and ensure delivery within the deadline.
After a furious burst of typing on the keyboard, Jiang Chuan finally found the information he was looking for.
[Laiyang Machinery Factory, producer of high-quality steel pipes. To place an order, please dial 1****…]
Well, well. Exactly the same as the world before he transmigrated. Same factory. Same vibe.
Jiang Chuan didn’t rush to make the call. Instead, he started searching for gas tank manufacturers.
It didn’t take long before he found Mino Special Equipment Manufacturer located in Sudi.
After briefly browsing the official websites of Mino Special Equipment and Laiyang Steel Pipes, Jiang Chuan couldn’t help but marvel.
He had to admit—in this world, it seemed no genius had discovered this business opportunity ahead of time. Both major factories were barely surviving.
Basically, there was no hope of capturing the domestic market. They were just barely holding on, doing whatever they could to avoid going bankrupt.
But the worse off they were, the better—at least for Jiang Chuan. This was a solid opportunity.
Without any hesitation, he picked up the phone and dialed the number listed on Laiyang Steel Pipes’ official website.
…
At Laiyang Machinery Factory.
Factory Director Liang Shaoke sat in his office, smoking a cigarette, his face full of worry.
Laiyang Machinery Factory had been around for decades now, and he had worked there for over twenty years.
From the initial military-to-civilian conversion, to the factory’s booming success when it once captured 80% of the national market, to now—when its market share had shrunk to less than 1%—Laiyang Machinery Factory had weathered far too many storms.
But he couldn’t just watch it go under.
It was like his own child. How could he stand by and watch it collapse?
But right now, they were struggling with no orders. The factory workers had already been on leave for a full week.
And it looked like they’d be on leave again next week…
What was he supposed to do?
Just as he was at his wit’s end, his secretary burst through the door, panting, holding a phone and rushing into the office.
Liang Shaoke frowned. “What are you doing, running around in a panic like that! How many times have I told you—you must be steady when handling things!”
The secretary swallowed hard and caught his breath. “Um, Director Liang, someone… someone wants to buy steel pipes. And their first order is for a thousand of them.”
Whoosh!
Liang Shaoke shot to his feet, eyes wide. “Why didn’t you say so earlier!”
Before he even finished speaking, he had already grabbed the phone and put on a smile. “Hello, hello! I’m the director of Laiyang Machinery Factory. My surname is Liang—you can call me Little Liang.
I heard you need steel pipes? Well, you’ve made the right choice picking Laiyang Machinery Factory. We’re famous for our quality. I guarantee that after just one purchase, you’ll check the quality yourself—and it’ll absolutely blow away any steel pipe from any factory in the country!”
Liang Shaoke couldn’t afford to care about anything else right now. As long as there was an order, he’d do whatever it took. Never mind lowering his posture—he’d happily go drink and flatter someone with a grin on his face if that’s what it took.
The main thing was, the other party was asking for a thousand steel pipes right off the bat. That was a major client, no question.
And this was just the beginning. Once the cooperation succeeded, the other party would definitely come back to order more.
That was the whole art of business—find a way to lock in one customer first, then use that customer to keep expanding. Eventually, you’d end up with a whole network of clients.
Of course, the prerequisite was that you had to keep that one customer first. If you couldn’t even handle one, forget about handling others.
Just as Liang Shaoke was feeling nervous, afraid the other party might hang up, he heard a young voice on the other end of the line.
“Hello, Director Liang. I’ll just ask you one question—a thousand steel pipes, 450mm caliber. How long would it take you to produce them?”
