Chapter Ninety-Two: Then Let Us Found a Company

What more was there to say? The heads of the factories and institutes who had hurried over from the base had nothing left to say. Their only thought now was this: the project must go on.

After a long silence, the chief designer sprang up from his bed and declared with fervor, "We have to settle this project. It truly concerns the rise and fall of our entire base. Everyone must place it at the very top of their priorities."

No sooner had he spoken than the ten men seated there were already fully committed. Even if you told them to work late shifts for a month straight, probably not a single one would refuse.

Having spoken of the good, there was naturally the bad as well. A project this enormous could not possibly be swallowed whole so easily.

Director Bai voiced the concern that he and Yang Hui had both been carrying: "This project is so huge now, so lucrative it practically drips with fat. We have to find a way to take the whole thing in hand. At most, we can parcel out a few subprojects."

A pack of wolves guarding a peach orchard was a major problem. If that problem could not be solved, all the early work on the project would merely be paving the way for others.

Among those who had come from the base, some had already understood the chief task of this trip to the capital. With a little imagination, one of them blurted it out.

"So you called us all here together so we can protect this project as a group?"

That sounded rather good, actually. Protecting the project’s achievements... yes, exactly, they had to defend this hard-won result. This was a difficult campaign of protection.

Once the project had been laid out for everyone, the next topic was a difficult one to broach.

The director was the head of his institute, one of the major figures throughout the base. It would not be appropriate for him to speak personally about establishing a company, as that could easily create an unfavorable impression.

After all, if such a company were formed, the institute would certainly need to hold significant influence. It was not proper for the director to say it himself, so naturally the task was pushed onto Yang Hui. Subordinates existed to draw fire at crucial moments.

Director Bai caught Yang Hui’s eye, and Yang Hui knew it was his turn. The director wanted him to speak about forming the company. Naturally, Yang Hui understood the director’s calculations.

But so what? The method he was about to propose would let him scoop up the biggest share of the spoils. With his own little schemes in mind, Yang Hui began to speak.

"Leaders of the factories and institutes from the base, I have a few words I’d like to say."

The director, the chief designer, and the man responsible for the model aircraft control system all knew Yang Hui, but the others did not. They looked at him with puzzled expressions, wondering who this young fellow was.

The chief designer smiled and introduced Yang Hui to the others. "This young man is Yang Hui, from the capital. He volunteered to bring his whole family here to our base. And his technical ability is indeed excellent. I, Old Yu, can see that much clearly."

The chief designer’s introduction summed up Yang Hui’s achievements before the air show, but it was the air show itself that had become Yang Hui’s greatest accomplishment. The director then added a few more flattering words on his behalf.

"Yes, this young man is from our institute. Very capable. He went with me to the air show this time, and it was he who talked us into the trainer aircraft project."

"Talked us into it" was not entirely unfair as a description of Yang Hui. There was some basis for it.

For example, at that very moment Yang Hui was at it again: "All that is in the past. Let’s talk about the present and the future."

That was better. The young man was good—he did not claim credit arrogantly, he focused on the present, and he looked toward the future. Truly he had the bearing of the sages of old. The leaders from the factories and institutes who were meeting Yang Hui for the first time all had a favorable first impression.

And once a first impression was favorable, it would unconsciously begin to shape one’s thoughts.

Yang Hui continued from where he had left off. "When we went to Paris for the air show, we did, in fact, bring back the model aircraft project, and we also secured an initial major investment deal for a trainer aircraft. But when we deal with the outside world, there is a very big problem. We are only a base. When we say that to others, they simply do not understand it. They ask right away: what company are you?"

Company did seem to be a fashionable word these days. And what he said did make sense. Any organization handling outside projects was operating under a company name. It seemed the base really did have a problem here.

The chief designer cooperated smoothly and asked, "So what you mean is that to carry out this trainer aircraft project now, we need to establish a company to communicate with both Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, right?"

That question hit the point exactly. Yang Hui gave an affirmative answer.

"Yes, that is exactly what I mean. For the trainer aircraft project, we must align ourselves with international practice."

Very good. To work on the trainer aircraft project, they had to align with international practice. Fine, no problem. Everyone agreed with that. But as for what this company would actually look like, that still had to be explained in detail.

The factory director from Yunma Works was the one preparing to speak. He began by asking, because among the people from the base, few really understood the concept of a company.

"So what exactly would this company be like, and what would each of our factories and institutes need to do?"

This touched on the specific circumstances of every factory and institute, which made it a difficult issue. But the opportunity was rare, and they had to seize it.

"To put it concretely, the entire base would establish a consortium. Compared with the base’s current structure, the connections among the factories and institutes in the consortium would be much tighter, and some matters would be coordinated by the company’s upper management."

Seeing that everyone still did not quite understand, Yang Hui thought for a moment and changed his wording.

"Put another way, for the sake of this trainer aircraft project, everyone would merge into a company structure more closely bound than the base itself, surrender part of their authority, and then let the company step forward to take on the trainer aircraft project."

Just a moment ago they had not quite understood. Now they did: in essence, everyone was being asked to hand over part of their authority to the company. That was something they would have to think carefully about.

Seeing the leaders of the factories and institutes below beginning to make their own calculations, Yang Hui could only accept it. Everyone was human; they all had to think for themselves and for the factories and institutes they represented.

The chief designer asked another question, one that broke the stalemate directly.

"What authority would we need to hand over? Would this be limited only to external project cooperation, or would authority be permanently surrendered going forward?"

"Yes, Old Yu has asked the right question. If it’s only for external projects and unified action, that is still something we can do." A chorus of agreement rose again. In the end, these questions only showed that everyone’s hearts were not fully aligned. But that was normal and understandable.

Yang Hui answered the question everyone cared about most in a very straightforward manner.

"This company is being established for external purposes, so the authority handed over will naturally apply only in external matters."

After explaining that, Yang Hui added one more sentence: "However, if the company finds some profitable civilian projects for domestic use, it can still bring everyone in to do them together, of course on a voluntary basis."

Why was Yang Hui saying it this way now? He had no choice.

The company was being established on a voluntary basis, not by mandatory order from above. Naturally, they had to take it slowly and first see how it worked on external projects.

Most importantly, many of the company’s future projects would probably be tied to external cooperation. With that alone, they could keep everyone united for a long time. After a few years, once everyone had adapted, everything else would fall naturally into place.

Everyone whispered with the person beside them, exchanged a few words, then nodded.

"All right, that should be acceptable to everyone. Then what do we do next? How is the company established? And what will its management structure be like?"

The few questions seemed complicated, but in truth none of them were difficult to solve.

"As for establishing the company, we should seek approval from above. As long as we say it is for external project cooperation, there should not be much of a problem."

Having resolved how the company would be approved, the question of management structure arose. This was clearly something everyone cared about, but Yang Hui and the director had already discussed a plan.

"As for the management structure, the company will be like the base now. The leaders of the major factories and institutes will jointly form a technical decision-making body. As for external contact with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, we can leave that to everyone’s judgment."

Leave it to everyone’s judgment? What other judgment could there be? To leave a man like Yang Hui unused, someone who was skillful at persuasion and had experience in it, would be nothing short of a crime.

The ever-approving chief designer was the first to speak. "No need to think about it. I think Yang Hui should handle it. He is very good at persuading people, and he has experience negotiating with those two countries. He is the one who should go."

That was precisely the position Yang Hui wanted most. Negotiating projects with those two foreign countries and conveying their design requirements for the aircraft models—these were all powers that amounted to real authority within the company.

For now, it could not be seen clearly. Slowly, later on, everyone would come to understand it. But by then it would be too late. The project would already have begun, and who would dare come blustering in with nonsense then?