Chapter 48 Military-Civil Cooperation

  "I'd like to do a deal with Commander Yue, with the profits split 50/50 between us. The profit earned by the troops will be used to purchase this batch of engineer shovels. What does Commander Yue think?" Qin Hai said slowly.

  "Do you want to cooperate with me in business? Am I wrong?" Yue Guoyang was stunned, this is the most arrogant request he has ever heard.

  "Qin, don't talk nonsense. How could Commander Yue possibly do business with you? Besides, you're just a worker, what kind of business can you do?" Chen Heqian saw that Qin Haiyue was talking more and more nonsense, so he quickly interrupted him to avoid angering Yue Guoyang.

  Qin Hai ignored Chen Heqian's dissuasion and said, "Commander Yue, perhaps if I put it another way, you'll find it easier to accept. Now that the country has shifted its focus to economic development, military spending is being squeezed, but equipment construction for the troops can't be delayed. In this situation, the troops can consider cooperating with local authorities. The troops have some resources that local authorities don't possess. If they can share these resources, it will be a win-win situation. Local authorities can develop their economy and the troops can improve their equipment. Why not do it?"

  Qin Hai's idea was the result of his deliberation for many days. He knew that in the 1980s, military funding was extremely tight, and many troops had to find ways to make money to improve their living conditions and equipment. He proposed this suggestion to Yue Guoyang based on this historical context, and he believed that Yue Guoyang should be interested in such a cooperative approach.

  Yue Guoyang fell silent for a moment before asking in a gentle tone, "How do you plan to cooperate with the troops? What kind of resources can the troops provide for you?"

  Qin Hai heard Yue Guoyang's words and knew that the other party had already made up his mind. After all, this was out of the need to improve the equipment of the troops, and not involved in Yue Guoyang's personal gain. There were some things he could do openly and justifiably, the key was whether Qin Hai's proposal was reasonable or not.

  Qin Hai Dao said: "General Yue, rest assured. I hope the support provided by the troops is not complicated. Firstly, I hope the troops can give me a name, so that my friends and I can set up a small factory to produce various military-civilian dual-use equipment."

  "This is not difficult." Yue Guoyang replied. He knew that although there were also some private individuals running businesses in today's society, the policy control over this type of private enterprise was very strict. Qin Hai hoped that the troops would provide a nominal position, which was nothing more than trying to avoid some policy restrictions. On this point, he believed that the provincial military region's influence was sufficient and could completely provide Qin Hai with an umbrella of protection.

  Qin Hai nodded and continued, "With this name, we can start refining steel in a regular way. I don't have the equipment for steelmaking now, so I'd like to ask Commander Yue to help solve the problem of steelmaking equipment."

  "This I'm afraid I won't be able to help with." Yue Guoyang shook his head, "Refining steel requires a steel furnace, right? Where am I supposed to get that for you?"

  Qin Hai smiled and said, "I'm not asking Commander Yue to provide me with a steel furnace, but I'd like to ask Commander Yue to help me coordinate a relationship. I've inquired about it, and the Pingyuan County Iron and Steel Factory has two idle steelmaking equipment sets locked up in the workshop, serving no purpose whatsoever. If Commander Yue can help by making a phone call to the Pingyuan County government to allow us to rent these two sets of equipment, then our problem will be easily solved."

  "Can we coordinate with Pingyuan County Government?" Yu Guoyang turned to ask Ge Dongyan who was standing beside him.

  Ge Dongyan glanced at Qin Hai, then took a step closer, putting his mouth to Yue Guoyang's ear and whispered a few words. Yue Guoyang nodded repeatedly and said: "If that's the case, it'll be easy. Little Qin, I can agree to this. You continue."

  Qin Hai didn't know what Ge Dongyan had said to Yue Guoyang, nor was he interested in the details. He continued, "If the steel production problem is solved, my plan is to first use the engineer shovels as a product. One part will be provided to the provincial military district, and another part will be sold on the market. The profit from market sales will be used to make up for the cost of providing this part of the product to the provincial military district. In this way, the military district can obtain these engineer shovels at no cost."

  "Sales in the market won't be easy, will they?" Yue Guoyang shook his head and said: "I heard Xiaoge say that your price for this entrenching tool is 100 yuan per unit. Who would be willing to spend so much money to buy an entrenching tool on the market?"

  "This is the third thing I wanted to ask Commander Yue for help with."

  "How could I feel like I've been cheated?" Yue Guoyang said with a smile, "In the blink of an eye, there are already three things. Alright, you tell me, what's going on."

  Qin Hai Dao said: "I want to ask Commander Yue to help us sell pickaxes."

  As soon as this was said, Chen Heqian and Ge Dongyan both let out a snort, almost laughing out loud. Yue Guoyang also had a helpless look on his face, saying: "Little Qin, you're not mistaken, are you? I'm at least a military region commander, helping you sell shovels?"

  "Yes, this axe can only be sold by Commander Yue." Qin Hai said.

  "Who is it sold to?" asked Yue Guoyang.

  "The military of Iraq and Iran," Qin Hai said.

  "Iraq and Iran!" Yue Guoyang's face was completely expressionless this time, he stared at Qin Hai, his heart filled with astonishment.

  Who would have known that at this time, the Iran-Iraq War was raging like wildfire, and on TV and radio, all they talked about were things related to the Middle East. So it wasn't strange for Qin Hai to know about Iraq and Iran. The key point is, no matter how intense the Iran-Iraq War was, what did it have to do with Anhui Province? How could Qin Hai possibly connect a shovel to the Iran-Iraq War?

  "General Yue, think about it. The two countries are fighting so fiercely, with tens of millions of troops deployed on both sides. Don't these soldiers need shovels? Both countries are wealthy and spare no expense in buying planes and tanks. What's a few thousand shovels worth? Even if one shovel costs $20, 10,000 shovels would only be $200,000, not even the price of a single missile. Do you think they would skimp on such a small amount?"

  "It's not calculated that way." Yue Guoyang's brain was a bit dizzy, he stubbornly retorted: "This engineer's shovel is indeed not expensive for the two Iraqs, but why do they want to buy it? And why do they want to buy it from you?"

  Qin Hai Dao said, "The reason is simple. My engineer's shovel has good quality and multiple functions. Even Commander Yue couldn't help but love it at first sight. Let alone those two Yi... uh, those inexperienced officers?"

  He wanted to use the word "turtle" to describe the two officers, but after thinking about it, he swallowed his words. In front of Yue Guoyang, he shouldn't be too presumptuous, otherwise, Yue Guoyang would think he was too frivolous.

  "I think that even if the two armies of Iraq want to purchase engineer shovels, they will import them from European and American countries. It's impossible for them to import our products." Yue Guoyang said uncertainly.

  "Western countries probably wouldn't deign to produce such a product, and besides, their products would definitely be more expensive than ours. I believe that as long as Yue Shiling is willing to promote them, they will definitely choose our products," Qin Hai said.

  Yue Guoyang somewhat understood Qin Hai's train of thought, he let out a long sigh and said: "Alright, even if what you say is right, how could I possibly go help you be a salesperson?"

  Qin Hai smiled and said, "Commander Yue misunderstood. I'm not asking you to personally go sell it, but rather to ask you to use your connections within the troops to introduce our engineer shovels to both Iraq and Iran. Now that the whole world is doing arms deals with both countries, I think our country should also take action."

  "What's wrong with your head!" Yue Guoyang cursed and stopped. He knew that many units of the military were already doing business with Iraq and Iran, who were very interested in tanks, fighter jets, missiles and other military equipment from China. The country was also taking advantage of this opportunity to earn precious foreign exchange. One of his former comrades-in-arms was engaged in trade with Iraq and Iran, if he asked for help to promote this magical engineer's shovel, it might have some effect.

  This was something that Yue Guoyang found inconvenient to mention to Qin Haiming, but in his heart, he had already accepted Qin Hai's suggestion. He even thought that if they could really sell 10,000 entrenching shovels as Qin Hai predicted and earn back $200,000, then the provincial military region would not only get some free entrenching shovels, but also be able to retain a portion of the funds for other equipment upgrades.

  Qin Hai saw the change in Yue Guoyang's expression from gloomy to sunny, knowing that he had already been persuaded. The arms trade between the country and the two Iraqs was confidential at the time, but later on, these things were made public, and some of those who experienced it wrote articles recalling the details of the transaction at the time. Qin Hai dared to propose such a seemingly absurd suggestion to Yue Guoyang precisely because he understood this situation.

  "Commander Yue, if not, then I suppose this matter is settled between us?" Qin Hai asked tentatively.

  Yue Guoyang said, "It's not that simple. Such a big thing, how can I make a decision alone? It must be discussed collectively at the party committee meeting. However, the idea of military and local cooperation is still worth promoting. Okay, Little Qin, you go back to the base first, and wait for the Military Region Party Committee to discuss and come up with a result, then I'll get back to you."

  Qin Hai Dao said, "Commander Yue, I came to see you today for another matter, which is to bid farewell. My work at the base has been completed and Professor Chen also agrees with my departure. I plan to return to Pingyuan today."

  "Is that so?" Yue Guoyang looked at Chen Heqian.

  Chen He nodded and said: "Yes, Xiao Qin's work has been perfectly completed. He is eager to return to his unit, and I have agreed. However..."

  "What's wrong?" asked Yue Guoyang.

  Chen Heqian said: "Xiao Qin played a very big role in this project and worked extremely hard these days, but it seems that we didn't get any compensation, which is not quite right. Our research group all belongs to different units sent over, receiving travel allowances. Xiao Qin's side doesn't have any allowance, I feel a bit uneasy about it."

  "This is a bit difficult." Yue Guoyang scratched his head and said, "Don't look at me as a commander, but I also don't have any funds to give Qin a subsidy."