stjorthotic Chapter 3368 Racing Against Time
Chapter 3368 Racing Against Time
Chapter 3368 Racing Against Time
After a long silence, Singan finally spoke up, "Damn Frenchmen, don't they know the impact this shipment of supplies will have on the Indian Empire?"
"A bunch of money-grubbing bastards, shit."
Singan paced back and forth in the cockpit, watching as the Arromanche began to turn, its speed increasing uncontrollably.
Jajip, who was standing nearby, spoke up, "Captain, should we report this?"
Xin Gan nodded vigorously. "We must report it. Not only report it, but we also need to expose this matter to other countries. I think many countries don't want China to receive this batch of supplies."
Jajip's eyes lit up, then he nodded silently. "So, do we need to contact the country as soon as possible?"
"Can you contact the country?" Singan asked.
The communications officer next to him shook his head and said, "Captain, our radio has been broken for two months and is still under repair."
"It's still not fixed?" Xingan looked angrily at the communications officer beside him.
The correspondent waved his hand helplessly and said, "The engineer sent from China is working hard to fix it, but he can't even understand the circuit diagram. The equipment we're using is British, and there's a big difference between them."
A silence fell over everyone. Jajip asked from the side, "When will we be able to contact people back home?"
The messenger shook his head. "We'll probably have to go to the next port."
After he said this, both of their expressions changed.
With half a month's voyage still to go before entering port, it was hard to say where the Arromanche would be at that time.
Xin Gan was unwilling to give up, so he said, "Order the speed to be increased, and at the same time contact nearby merchant ships to ask if they can contact the homeland."
"We must spread this news as soon as possible and make sure that the Arromanche's voyage to China is made clear."
"Yes!"
Jajip nodded solemnly and then left, leaving Singan with a face full of resentment.
……
Four Nine Cities.
Yang Xiaotao stood at the entrance of the alley and said goodbye to Comrade Lao Jin, Ms. Cui and Aunt Jin Pingping.
After the great-grandfather's funeral, the three of them stayed in Beijing for a while.
Zhang Shengli and Zhang Kangzhan, the two brothers, went back early because they had work to do.
The three of them had nothing to do, and Jin Pingping had reached retirement age, so she stayed here a little longer.
If it weren't for some things to do in Shanghai, the three of them wouldn't want to go back so soon.
Standing at the entrance of the alley, Lao Jin's expression was somewhat complicated.
Back in Yangjiazhuang, I often spent time with my great-grandfather. Although we hadn't known each other for long, we were like close friends, the kind of friendship that didn't involve discussing personal gain.
The passing of his great-grandfather has made Old Jin reflect on the cruelty of time.
When they reached Yang Xiaotao, Lao Jin took out a pack of cigarettes from his bag, and the two of them smoked them against the wind.
"Grandpa, don't worry, go back home. There shouldn't be any problems here."
Yang Xiaotao offered words of comfort, and Comrade Lao Jin nodded, "If you have time, take the children to Shanghai and let them get out and relax."
Yang Xiaotao nodded, and the two silently smoked, their eyes looking to the side.
Ms. Cui held Dudu in her arms, pressing her cheek against the little girl's face repeatedly. She would occasionally reach out and touch Rongrong's ponytail, then look at Duanwu, who looked much more mature, with tears in her eyes.
"Qiuye, if you have time, take the children back to Shanghai for a visit."
Ms. Cui spoke earnestly to Ran Qiuye. Qiuye nodded beside her, "Grandma, please take care of yourself. We will definitely come to see you when we have time."
Yang Xiaotao came to his side and continued, "We'll go this October."
He told her the time, and Ms. Cui smiled when she heard it. "October 1st, we'll be waiting for you at home. Don't forget to come!"
Yang Xiaotao smiled and was about to speak when he heard Ms. Cui say, "I know you're busy, so if you don't want to go, then don't go, but you must send the child to me."
As soon as he finished speaking, Yang Xiaotao felt a lump in his throat.
It's true that grandparents are always closer to their grandchildren; this is practically two generations apart, isn't it?
After speaking, Yang Xiaotao saw his aunt Jin Pingping standing to the side. "Auntie, when you go back, have a good talk with Uncle. What can't be discussed?"
However, when she went north this time, her uncle Zhang Wu couldn't come because of work, and her aunt was still holding a grudge.
The two did not speak during this period, but Zhang Wu called the Ninth Department many times, wanting Yang Xiaotao to help explain.
Yang Xiaotao was well aware that Zhang Wu was currently focusing his work on the "Emperor Wu of Han" ship, and he understood Zhang Wu's difficulties. He would often comfort his aunt whenever he had a spare moment.
Jin Pingping was not an unreasonable person, but for such a big event as her great-grandfather, everyone else came, even some people who were not close to Yang Xiaotao came from afar, but her uncle-in-law did not come. What would outsiders think?
This made her feel uncomfortable, as if she had let Yang Xiaotao down.
Jin Pingping simply smiled and nodded, then said, "Xiao Tao, I'll leave Xiao Qing in your care."
"Of course, just call us if anything happens. I've figured out that brat. Nobody else can handle her, only you guys can." After saying that, he looked at Ran Qiuye and said, "As her sister-in-law, help her find a good family."
Ran Qiuye smiled and said, "Little Qing has a lot of suitors now, it's just that she has high standards."
Jin Pingping snorted coldly, "What's the use of having high standards? Besides, don't I, as her mother, know what she's capable of?"
"If it weren't for your support, how high would her standards be?"
Speaking of Zhang Qing, Grandpa Jin, who was standing to the side, became displeased. "How can you talk like that? I've watched Xiao Qing grow up."
"Shut up!" Before Lao Jin could finish speaking, Ms. Cui scolded from the side, "It's all because you spoiled him."
Well, everyone has their match. In this family, Grandpa Jin's status is probably even lower than Yang Xiaotao's.
He pulled Yang Xiaotao aside, and the two of them stood at the entrance of the alley, smoking again.
"I've heard about what's going on here. I hope we can take things a step further in the future."
Grandpa Jin's eyes were full of anticipation, but Yang Xiaotao just smiled and said, "Who can say for sure what the future holds?"
"I'm still young!"
Upon hearing this, Grandpa Jin nodded in satisfaction, "Very good. Your composure is much better than those two rascals, Kangzhan and Shengli."
Yang Xiaotao smiled silently without speaking, but Lao Jin said solemnly, "Many old comrades in Shanghai asked me to send their regards to you."
Yang Xiaotao blinked, then smiled and said, "Please also convey my regards to them and thank them for their concern."
Upon hearing this, Old Master Jin's beard trembled, and he was very pleased.
The two didn't say much; everything was understood without words.
At this moment, Old Jin felt that his grandson was becoming more and more dignified. Only a grandson like this could shoulder the responsibilities. Those impetuous people were not someone you could entrust with important tasks.
Just as the two were talking, a jeep suddenly stopped at the entrance of the alley, and two people jumped out of the car. The one in the lead was none other than Yu Zecheng, with Song Tao following behind.
Upon seeing the two, Yu Zecheng quickly approached them. "President Yang, President Peng has some matters to attend to and needs you to go there immediately."
Then he smiled at Lao Jin and said nothing more. Yang Xiaotao knew that under normal circumstances, Yu Zecheng wouldn't appear, and when he did, it usually meant that things were already very serious.
What's more, Song Tao was added this time!
"Grandpa, I won't see you off. Grandma, Auntie." Yang Xiaotao spoke to each of them one by one.
Comrade Lao Jin waved his hand dismissively, saying, "You just do your thing. We're not going to the front lines to fight. We'll be back as soon as we get on the plane."
Then he urged Yang Xiaotao to leave quickly.
The aunt behind them stepped forward and said, "Don't worry, I'm here. I'll take good care of them on the way."
Yang Xiaotao nodded, then looked at Ran Qiuye.
Ran Qiuye then said, "I will take them to the airport, don't worry."
Without saying much, Yang Xiaotao got into Yu Zecheng's car and quickly headed to where Boss Peng was.
The car sped away, but instead of heading to Mr. Peng's residence, it went to Mr. Chen's office building.
Yu Zecheng said, "Peng and the others are waiting in the High-tech Industry Research Lab."
Yang Xiaotao nodded, then got out of the car and went upstairs.
Upon arriving at the office building, I saw General Manager Peng sitting to one side, Elder Zeng sitting to the left, and Elder Zhang, the rotating director of the research office for this month, sitting with him.
Upon seeing Yang Xiaotao, Boss Peng immediately waved his hand, telling him to sit down quickly.
The four people sat down and the door closed.
Mr. Peng then spoke up, "We've received news from the foreign trade department that someone wants to harm the Arromanche."
Old Zeng also took out a stack of documents and handed them to Yang Xiaotao, "Various kinds, take a look!"
Yang Xiaotao reached out and took it, examining it carefully.
Then Mr. Peng recounted the story of the Arromanche, saying, "Recently, there has been a lot of news about the Arromanche internationally."
"Some say the Arromanche is full of dangerous items, some say it's carrying large-scale arms deals, and others say it contains precision machine tools."
"In short, it contains a large number of traded goods between France and China!"
"However, some people speculate that France may have other purposes for using the Arromanche for this transport."
"In short, the international news is making a lot of noise, which makes me very uneasy, because the more attention it receives, the more complicated it becomes."
After listening to what Mr. Peng had to say, Yang Xiaotao asked, "Mr. Peng, so why did you call us here this time?"
Peng nodded. "The ship is currently passing through the strait. Our people are monitoring it, but other forces are also getting involved. We need the Arromanche to get into the Pacific Ocean quickly."
"At that time, we can send ships to provide support, and we can also avoid the notice of other forces."
"However, it's clear that our involvement alone isn't enough to exert enough pressure; we also need cooperation from France."
"So I hope you can contact the people in France and ask them to help mediate and try to get the ship to our side."
After Mr. Peng finished speaking, Mr. Zeng chimed in, "After tracking down rumors from various places, we discovered that these rumors originated from India."
"Therefore, we believe that it was not France that deliberately exposed themselves; they did not have any ulterior motives."
"India?"
Yang Xiaotao looked at Old Zeng in surprise.
"Yes, that's right, the initial rumors originated from them!"
"Those bastards!"
Old Zhang, upon hearing this, cursed from the side.
President Peng waved his hand, "It's no use saying all this now. India will settle accounts with us sooner or later!"
"Right now, to ensure the Arromanche's safe arrival, we must at least enter the Pacific Ocean as soon as possible."
"Only in this way can our ships advance to provide escort!"
As Peng spoke calmly, Yang Xiaotao nodded, "Okay, I'll contact the people in France."
"At the same time, we are also preparing ourselves to prevent any unforeseen circumstances!"
The group nodded in agreement. Yang Xiaotao immediately found a satellite phone in his office. After thinking for a moment, he decided not to call France directly, but instead called Faisal in the desert first.
It was midnight in the desert, and Faisal was resting in bed.
The phone rang, and Faisal struggled to push the two legs that were pressing down on him aside before answering the call.
"Faisal, my friend, I hope I haven't disturbed you!"
Hearing Yang Xiaotao's voice instantly dispelled my displeasure, replaced by an indescribable shrewdness.
Some time ago, the 100,000 Jiaoyang 76 computers that Yang Xiaotao had promised were delivered to him.
He personally tested the new computer, and it was indeed as smooth as Yang Xiaotao had said, with performance far superior to the Jiaoyang 75.
One hundred thousand computers were no match for the wealthy in the desert; they were all snapped up in less than a week.
Currently, he is negotiating with China's foreign trade authorities, seeking a larger share of the market.
However, the performance of the Chinese Sun76 computer quickly attracted worldwide attention after the news broke.
The island nation's computer factories have not completed their upgrades, resulting in a very scarce share of the international computer market. Basically, every computer produced in China is taken away by other countries.
It's definitely a seller's market!
The money they made was so enviable that even Faisal felt that those who sold oil probably didn't earn as much as those who sold computers.
When she heard Yang Xiaotao's call, she started thinking about how to get a larger share of the company.
"Haha, Yang, no offense, I was just about to get up for a midnight snack!"
Faisal said happily, convinced that a phone call in the middle of the night must mean something was wrong.
Yang Xiaotao laughed and said, "I'm still a little embarrassed! It's so late!"
Faisal's hearty voice came through the phone, "Yang, you're being too polite. You know I'm really looking forward to your call."
Faisal laughed and blurted out his true feelings, "Your Sun 76 is amazing..."
Yang Xiaotao naturally understood what the other party was thinking and also needed the other party to mediate, so he said, "Of course, I heard that your sales are very hot, and you sold 100,000 computers in just one week."
Faisal laughed heartily, "I have to admire you. You Chinese are truly ingenious; you actually managed to make such a wonderful computer. You know, when I saw those circuit boards, my head was spinning. I had no idea what they were, but now that I have a computer in front of me, I'm using it with great pleasure..."
Faisal spoke at length, his voice filled with admiration.
Yang Xiaotao occasionally chimed in, while President Peng and Old Zeng listened quietly.
Everyone knew that the more critical the moment, the more calm and composed they needed to be.
(End of this chapter)