Chapter 18: What Is the True Intention?

Poor Director Ma—he was the classic case of getting caught in the crossfire while lying down, nearly suffering collateral damage to the reputation of his ancestors thanks to the barrage from the surrounding employees of the Sanyang Group.

It was common knowledge that in these times, anyone who could get into the inspection station at a factory was usually a seasoned veteran, someone who’d climbed up from the very bottom rung. What hadn’t these people seen before? Hardened old hands, they were masters at biting sarcasm, leaving Ma Jian wishing he could sink into the ground and disappear.

Seeing Director Ma’s embarrassed expression, Zhao Guoyang hurriedly stepped in front of him and raised his voice, “Leaders, senior masters, please listen to what I have to say first!”

Zhao Guoyang’s voice carried power and instantly quieted the Sanyang Group crowd. Clearing his throat, he stood tall and declared in a measured tone, “Everything I just said is true—there is no exaggeration. If you really think the chassis from Shunxin Machinery is top quality, then you are gravely mistaken!”

As soon as Zhao Guoyang finished, the hush in the crowd erupted once again in murmurs and agitation.

Station Chief Xiao was delighted by the commotion. He put one hand on his hip, pointed at Zhao Guoyang, and said, “See that, kid? This isn’t just my opinion. Your nonsense has provoked public outrage!”

Old Zhang, one of the inspectors, glanced at Chief Xiao, frowned, and stepped out from the crowd. He addressed Zhao Guoyang, “Young man, you speak so convincingly, I doubt you’re just bluffing.”

“How about this: tell us your reasons. If they make sense and can convince us, we will plead with Chief Xiao on your behalf and let your factory’s chassis into storage. How about it?”

“Master Zhang is right—let’s hear what he has to say!”

“Let him explain—why is he making such alarming claims?”

“That’s right, let’s see what this kid can come up with!”

The people behind all shouted in agreement.

Zhao Guoyang was about to speak when a deep, raspy voice rang out from not far away, “What’s all this noise? Crowding around during work hours—don’t you all have jobs to do? Get back to your posts!”

Zhao Guoyang looked toward the voice and saw a middle-aged man approaching, hair flecked with gray, wearing glasses and a navy-blue jacket.

As soon as this man appeared, the previously aggressive Chief Xiao immediately straightened up and behaved.

He hurried over to greet the newcomer, exchanging pleasantries before recounting the entire incident in detail. Naturally, Chief Xiao embellished the story, exaggerating Zhao Guoyang’s arrogance and disrespect. Whether the middle-aged man believed him or not was another matter entirely.

Anyone who could command such respect from Chief Xiao was obviously a leader, even if you only guessed with your toes.

Indeed, this man was Liang Hongjun, head of the Technical Quality Department at Sanyang Group—a bona fide mid-level executive.

Ma Jian had met Liang Hongjun once before on a business trip to Sanyang. On seeing him now, Ma Jian quickly put on his most ingratiating smile and went over to shake hands and exchange greetings.

“Oh, Director Ma! Hello, hello! You’re here delivering the chassis, aren’t you? Thank you for your hard work!” Liang Hongjun was an affable man and exchanged a few polite words with Ma Jian, then turned his attention to Zhao Guoyang.

Seeing this, Ma Jian hastily introduced Zhao Guoyang: “Minister Liang, this is Zhao Guoyang, acting deputy section chief of our Hongda Machinery Factory’s Technical Department—just call him Xiao Zhao.”

Zhao Guoyang didn’t find it strange that Director Ma had just assigned him the title of “acting deputy section chief”—he knew it was simply to give him more authority in this conversation. After all, what right would an ordinary technician from a supporting factory have to speak with the head of the Sanyang Group’s Technical Quality Department?

Liang Hongjun was a straightforward man. After a brief handshake, he got right to the point, asking what Zhao Guoyang had discovered.

Zhao Guoyang explained, “Minister Liang, here’s the situation. When I saw this chassis, I suspected there might be a problem with the material used for its main body, so I raised the issue with Chief Xiao and the Sanyang colleagues. Perhaps I didn’t explain myself clearly, and everyone misunderstood…”

“Hmph, you’re clearly just making trouble for no reason!” Chief Xiao couldn’t help but interrupt.

“The chassis from Shunxin Machinery uses the superior No. 20 steel instead of Q235. That’s a great thing. Yet you not only treat it as a problem, you exaggerate, claiming Sanyang Group is courting disaster. Tell us, what’s your real motive?”

Zhao Guoyang ignored Chief Xiao and fixed his gaze on Liang Hongjun, speaking with careful emphasis, “Minister Liang, I believe you know the difference between Q235 steel and No. 20 steel.”

Seeing Liang Hongjun nod slightly, Zhao Guoyang continued, “Q235 steel has a yield point of 235 MPa and an elongation of 21–26%.”

“It’s widely used for general mechanical parts requiring moderate strength and ductility, such as pins, shafts, tie rods, connecting rods, bushings, bolts, nuts, cylinders, gears, brackets, frames, and welded components.”

“As for No. 20 steel, in its normalized state, it has a yield point of 245 MPa and elongation over 25%. When quenched and tempered, its yield point reaches 280 MPa, with elongation over 22%.”

“It’s widely used for parts that don’t bear heavy loads but require high toughness, such as forged tie rods, sleeves, clamps, and shims in heavy and general machinery, as well as small and medium carburized or cyanided parts in general machinery, automobiles, and tractors…”

Those around were momentarily stunned by Zhao Guoyang’s fluent and detailed explanation. None of them had expected that this fresh-faced youth would be so intimately familiar with the properties of both types of steel—he could recite them as if listing family treasures.

As he went on, Liang Hongjun’s eyes grew brighter, and he kept nodding in agreement.

Zhao Guoyang continued, “No. 20 steel is high-quality carbon structural steel, while Q235 is carbon structural steel. Everyone knows No. 20 steel costs more than Q235. In cases where loads are light and requirements aren’t high, the two can indeed be interchanged.”

“But—” Zhao Guoyang’s tone suddenly shifted.

“If I’m not mistaken, the chassis supplied by Shunxin Machinery is for a straddle-type large motorcycle, with a displacement of at least 125cc.”

At this point, Liang Hongjun had already guessed what Zhao Guoyang was getting at. He looked approvingly at the young man and nodded, “Exactly, Comrade Xiao Zhao, you’re right. This chassis is a prototype, made by Shunxin Machinery for our new Sanyang 125 motorcycle trial.”

Zhao Guoyang picked up the thread, “Since it’s a large motorcycle, your factory must have a general estimate for its load capacity. I’d wager it’s no less than 200 kilograms.”

Liang Hongjun nodded again at these words, his smile growing broader. Chief Xiao and the inspection station staff looked at Zhao Guoyang in astonishment, wondering how this young man could guess so accurately.

Zhao Guoyang strode over to the chassis in the inspection yard, rapping his knuckles on the main frame. “Minister Liang, the inspection just now confirmed that the main frame of this chassis uses No. 20 steel.”

“If it were an ordinary scooter, perhaps it wouldn’t matter much. But since this is a heavy-duty motorcycle with a load exceeding 200 kilograms, I’m sure you, as an expert in the industry, can already see the hidden dangers…”