Chapter 15: The Four Sheep Corporation

Seeing that they were almost at the station, Ma Jian stood up and reminded, "Guoyang, let's go, we've arrived."

Zhao Guoyang responded with a soft grunt, grabbed his luggage, and headed toward the back door.

After getting off the bus, he couldn't help but rub his waist. After two days and nights on the train, followed by more than an hour on the bus, it was truly exhausting.

"How is it? Still able to handle the journey?" Ma Jian cheerfully patted Zhao Guoyang's shoulder.

Zhao Guoyang straightened his back and said, "It's alright, though it feels like riding is harder than walking."

"Come on, if you walk from one end of the world to the other, you won't arrive until the year of the monkey," Ma Jian joked, gesturing with his hands. Then he changed the subject. "But Guoyang, you're young and full of potential. Work hard—I have high hopes for you."

Zhao Guoyang felt that he'd heard those words before, but he replied modestly, "I'll certainly do my best."

Looking around at the desolate open land, Zhao Guoyang couldn't help but ask, "Factory Director Ma, how far is it to Siyang Group from here?"

"It's right ahead!" Ma Jian pointed with his lips.

"The vast expanse you're seeing now has already been allocated by the Yangcheng government to Siyang Group for their new factory area. They just haven't started construction yet."

"Once you cross that intersection up ahead, you'll reach the current office buildings of Siyang Group. Don’t worry, it’s just a few hundred meters."

Zhao Guoyang nodded, not particularly surprised.

After all, Siyang Group was one of the most renowned enterprises in Yangcheng—a flagship company and a major taxpayer.

Moreover, barring any surprises, they were about to cooperate with Yamaha from Japan, earning foreign exchange. Naturally, the government would support them, and allocating such a large tract of land made perfect sense.

The two walked leisurely, turned the corner, and continued down the road until at last they saw the distinctive "Four Sheep" sculpture, emblematic of Siyang Group.

When Zhao Guoyang and Ma Jian reached the factory gate, the guard immediately came out to question them.

"Where are you from? What’s your business here? Do you have a letter of introduction?" The guard, seemingly unimpressed by their attire, assumed an air of seriousness.

"Hello, comrade. We're from Hongda Machinery Factory in Ninghai City, Jiangnan Province. My name is Ma Jian. I visited several times last month—Minister Wang from your technical department received me. This time, we're delivering vehicle frames." Ma Jian smiled apologetically as he handed the guard a cigarette.

"Ninghai City? Delivering frames? Haven’t heard of it. Let me make a call and check for you." The guard frowned, gestured for them to wait, and went into the reception room to make a call.

Watching his own factory director bow and scrape before a mere guard, Zhao Guoyang felt a vague sense of discomfort.

Yet there was no helping it; the factory needed their orders, so they had to be deferential—even to the guard, who was treated like a lord.

Perhaps the cigarette worked its magic, for the guard soon returned from the reception room. He shook Ma Jian’s hand politely and said, "Director Ma, our Minister Wang says your factory’s vehicle frames have just arrived—almost at the same time as you. He asked you to go directly to him. You may enter."

"Thank you, thank you, comrade," Ma Jian replied gratefully.

"By the way, Director Ma, if you trust us, you don’t have to lug your luggage around. Just leave it in the reception room." The guard pointed kindly at the large bag Zhao Guoyang was carrying.

"I trust you, of course. Thank you, comrade," Ma Jian said, quickly snatching the luggage from Zhao Guoyang and heading toward the reception room.

With the burden of his luggage lifted, Zhao Guoyang felt a wave of relief. Following Ma Jian, he walked while surveying his surroundings, mentally appraising Siyang Group’s factory layout.

"The warehouse, sub-assembly workshop, and parts workshop are all within twenty meters of each other, which cuts down on unnecessary running around. That’s a sensible layout."

"The largest workshop must be the main assembly shop. Looks decent, though the scale is a bit small."

"That rumbling sound over there must be the engine workshop. Judging by the volume, Siyang Group’s engine technology isn’t anything special."

To be fair, in the nineties, a large manufacturing enterprise like Siyang Group represented the most advanced production level in the country. Yet, to Zhao Guoyang, it was unimpressive.

Before his rebirth, Zhao Guoyang was a celebrated figure in the industry, recognized worldwide. He had visited nearly all the major manufacturing companies, some of which had hired him as a special consultant. Given all that, he naturally didn’t think much of Siyang Group’s current scale.

Ma Jian’s first stop was to introduce Zhao Guoyang to Wang Youchun, the deputy director of Siyang Group’s technical department and the man who had received Ma Jian on his first visit.

Ma Jian was familiar with the technical department building. As they walked, he reminded Zhao Guoyang to be extremely polite when meeting Director Wang, since their factory’s first major order depended on his favor.

Zhao Guoyang, of course, followed Ma Jian’s instructions.

Though he didn’t regard Siyang Group highly, he knew that, for now, they were the financial lifeline of his small factory—offending them was out of the question.

"Hey, aren’t these frames the same batch that was returned last time? I’m not mistaken—the serial numbers haven’t changed," a raspy, duck-like voice sounded outside a nearby workshop.

"I told your factory to redo them properly, but you just brought them back again? Do you think the inspectors at Siyang Group are fools? No way, these frames don’t meet quality standards and can’t be warehoused. I’m reporting this to the higher-ups." The duck-voiced man kept shouting.

"Station Chief Xiao, I’m just a delivery driver—I don’t know anything about quality issues. But I promise, these frames from our factory have really been reworked," a familiar voice reached Zhao Guoyang’s ears.

Ma Jian, obviously hearing it too, quickly stopped and looked over.

There, their factory’s truck driver, Xiao Feng, was arguing heatedly with a wiry, monkey-like middle-aged man in Siyang Group’s uniform.

Behind him, the truck was loaded with frames.

Seeing this scene, Ma Jian and Zhao Guoyang hurried over.

Their arrival caught the attention of the two men in conversation. As soon as Xiao Feng saw Ma Jian, he called out desperately, "Director Ma, thank goodness you’re here!"