: He didn't spend a single penny and even earned £1.

Chapter 93: Not a penny was spent, and a ten thousand pound was earned.

But once they got back to the hotel, Li Wanshu and Shen Chun started questioning them loudly.

"Jiang Fan, if you can't give a clear explanation, we'll have to report this to the higher-ups when we get back. You're violating discipline."

Shen Chun remained as businesslike as ever, while Wu Nian tried to persuade her quietly, but was glared at by her.

Li Wanshu also frowned, but his tone was more moderate than Shen Chun's. He still disagreed: "Comrade Jiang Fan, we're here to buy perforating machines. Why are you suddenly bringing up logging machines at their factory? Isn't that creating unnecessary trouble? If it strains relations between the two countries, who will take responsibility?"

Jiang Fan had anticipated an interrogation while he was at the factory, but he wasn't in a hurry to defend himself. He poured himself a glass of water, gulped down two mouthfuls, and then slowly said, "Comrade Shen Chun, Officer Li, please don't be hasty. Although I was a bit rash, I can guarantee that I did nothing wrong."

Shen Chun was about to argue that you did nothing wrong?

But Li Wanshu stopped him again, signaling Jiang Fan to continue.

Jiang Fan put his water glass on the table and began to speak: "I heard Comrade Wu Nian say on the train that the Soviet Union's forest coverage exceeded 45 percent, making it one of the countries with the richest forest resources in the world. The Ural region is covered with forests, and there is so much wood that it can't be used up."

"But I found that they didn't have any forestry equipment in the factory, and you could even say that their level of forestry mechanization is not keeping up with their current needs."

"Furthermore, my conversation with the factory manager just now revealed that their annual logging efficiency is low, with lodging, rotting, and transportation losses accounting for at least 20% of the total output."

"Just think about it, 20%! That's a huge loss!"

Shen Chun raised an eyebrow slightly, but still maintained her indifferent expression.

"I've heard about the Soviet Union's forestry problems before, but what does that have to do with us? We can't even manage our own Greater Khingan Mountains, so why should we care about theirs? Besides, I've never heard of that logging machine you mentioned in any academic journal."

After being questioned, Jiang Fan was not annoyed, but instead chuckled.

"That's a huge deal! It shows that what they lack is heavy machinery that can operate in the forest. And now Ansteel can convert tanks into tractors. With just a slight modification, it can become a perfect logging machine."

"As for Comrade Shen Chun, you haven't met him, which only means you haven't read enough books."

Faced with the continuous questioning, Jiang Fan finally got a little angry. Fortunately, Wu Nian and Li Wanshu mediated the situation, preventing it from escalating further. However, Li Wanshu still asked Jiang Fan to come up with a specific plan first.

Jiang Fan, naturally, was not intimidated. He immediately pulled out paper and pen and quickly drew a few strokes.

"You see, the plan is actually very simple: just keep the tank chassis, remove the entire turret, cut off two-thirds of the armor plates at the rear of the hull, add a rotating hydraulic grab arm and grab bucket, and add a bulldozer blade to the front."

"The core part uses the diesel engine that Ansteel makes itself. We adjust the injection advance angle and idle speed to adapt it to the low-speed, high-torque working conditions. The rest is just welding the iron frame and installing a few oil pipes."

After he finished speaking, Jiang Fan specifically looked at Shen Chun.

"Comrade Shen Chun, the commander said you studied mechanical engineering. What do you think? Is this plan feasible?"

Shen Chun didn't actually have any problem with Jiang Fan. It was just that after hearing about what Jiang Fan had done, she had a competitive mentality towards the strong, which is why she acted this way.

Now that she could witness Jiang Fan's personal drawing and new ideas, she immediately stared at the hastily sketched drawing, carefully examining it for more than ten seconds before speaking.

"—Theoretically, there are indeed no major flaws."

"The chassis has sufficient load-bearing capacity, and there are readily available modification solutions for the power take-off interface. As long as the hydraulic system is compatible, it is not a problem to grab logs weighing less than one ton. The front bulldozer blade can also assist in cleaning the work surface. It is indeed a complete closed-loop design."

Jiang Fan was pleased with this recognition from a high-achieving student: "Well, in that case—"

But before he could finish speaking, Li Wanshu interrupted him hesitantly: "But our main task this time is to buy perforating machines. If you suddenly start a cooperation on forestry machinery, how are we going to report to the leaders when we get back?"

Seeing that he still had doubts, Jiang Fan immediately said seriously, "Officer Li, although we're here to buy equipment, there's no rule saying we can only buy equipment!"

"China cannot develop by relying on others' charity. We must learn to do business on our own and build a good relationship with this Andre factory so that it will be convenient to buy anything in the future."

"Besides, if the deal goes through, we can not only buy the punching machine at a low price, but also earn some foreign exchange on the side. What's wrong with that?"

At this moment, Wu Nian also timidly raised her hand: "Minister Li, I think—we can give it a try."

At this moment, two opinions emerged in the room, and all eyes fell on Shen Chun.

To everyone's surprise, Shen Chun put down the blueprints and nodded.

"Officer Li, theoretically speaking, Comrade Jiang Fan's plan is logically sound and can indeed fill the gap in the Soviet Union's small-scale forestry machinery."

"If we can reach an agreement, this cooperation will be beneficial to us."

These words clearly indicated that he had agreed with Jiang Fan's idea. Li Wanshu's lips twitched. He looked at Shen Chun, who had been questioning Jiang Fan just a second ago, but now stood firmly on his side. He was speechless for a moment.

Three to one.

Li Wanshu sighed helplessly: "Alright, let's see how things go first."

"But let me make it clear from the outset: if the Soviet Union is not interested, this matter must be stopped immediately and never brought up again."

"After I return to China, you will all help me write my self-criticism report."

Jiang Fan grinned: "Don't worry, Officer Li, I guarantee they'll be interested."

Jiang Fan was indeed quite confident about this.

Furthermore, there are reasons why he only sells the patents and doesn't allow Ansteel to manufacture the products entirely on its own.

You should know that the Soviet Union would build this logging machine in just a few years.

His proposal now is essentially taking advantage of an information gap; whatever he can earn is worthwhile.

For the next two days, the small room in the hotel became a temporary workshop. Shen Chun was even more enthusiastic than Jiang Fan, dragging him out of bed early every morning to study the blueprints.

The two men lay face down on the table, repeatedly discussing the modifications.

"Jiang Fan, look here. If the hydraulic cylinder of the grab bucket is mounted on the side of the chassis, the center of gravity will shift greatly, making it easy to tip over when working at the bottom of a slope. We need to move it forward and fix it on the vehicle's load beam. This will stabilize the center of gravity and allow more space for counterweights at the rear."

Jiang Fan secretly admired her. This girl was indeed a graduate of German studies; she saw things very clearly and was even more insightful than Zhou Chunsheng.

So all the practical matters were left to this girl.

Wu Nian couldn't get involved at all; her job was just to serve tea and water.

Seeing the two who used to be at odds suddenly become such a perfect team, I couldn't help but smile to myself.

Li Wanshu, as the clerk, was naturally in charge of business receptions.

On the third day, the final draft of the drawings was completed. Jiang Fan rolled it up, and the group went to the office building of Andrei Machinery Factory again.

Natasha was still accompanying them.

Soon, the group met in the office.

Without wasting any time, Jiang Fan unfolded the blueprints and explained the design concept and manufacturing process of the forest logging machine.

Shen Chun added details from the side, while Wu Nian translated them into Russian sentence by sentence, which made Vega nod frequently.

Of course, Jiang Fan didn't reveal all the core details, leaving these old Russians to study them carefully in a few years.

After the entire explanation was completed, Vega did not immediately express his opinion, but first had his technical team conduct an evaluation.

The office was quiet for nearly ten minutes before a unanimous agreement was reached.

"Mr. Jiang, your design is very clever."

"If we follow our original approach and remelt the T-34 chassis for steelmaking, it will be extremely expensive."

"But if we convert it into a logging machine according to your plan, the cost will be very low and the effect will be greater."

"Since we're going to cooperate, what are your conditions?"

Jiang Fan first glanced at Li Wanshu, after all, he was the team leader for this negotiation trip.

Seeing that he had no objection, Jiang Fan indicated that he could talk it out himself, and then he stated his conditions directly.

"First, we will provide the design drawings and technical parameters, and you will be responsible for the chassis modification and the assembly of the whole machine."

"Secondly, for every forest logging machine produced using our blueprints, we will be charged an 8% technology licensing fee."

"Third, the scope of authorization is limited to the Soviet Union; exports are subject to separate regulations."

"Fourth, I know you will definitely study this logging machine, but within a year, all the core equipment must be provided by Ansteel, and you must pay £10,000 as a deposit for the core equipment."

"Is that acceptable?"

Ten thousand pounds?!

When Jiang Fan said this, the four people traveling with him immediately stopped their subtle movements.

Jiang Fan didn't inform me about this?

Why is he making decisions on his own again?

Jiang Fan was also tense at this moment, his palms were sweaty.

But he kept telling himself to stay calm and not to make a fool of himself!

After listening, Vega turned to talk to his technical team for a few moments, then looked back at Jiang Fan and extended his hand: "Okay, it's a pleasure to work with you."

Upon hearing the definitive conclusion, Jiang Fan finally breathed a long sigh of relief, stood up, and shook hands.

"It's a pleasure working with you."

But he didn't show much emotion on his face, giving the impression that he had seen it all before.

He then signed the agreement under Natasha's watchful eye, received a box of pounds as a deposit, and settled the matter of the punching machine.

Jiang Fan hadn't seen this punching machine in the previous warehouse. Vega excitedly introduced it, saying, "This old fellow was manufactured in 1946. Because the factory switched to a new model with a larger caliber, it was only in service for a year and a half before being put into idleness."

"The assembly is complete. The bearings have slight wear, but replacing them will not affect the accuracy at all. Given your specifications, this equipment is excellent."

It should last at least ten years.

However, Li Wanshu did not lower his guard because of Vega's boasting. He immediately asked Shen Chun to check carefully, mainly the spindle sealing surface, gear grinding marks, bearing clearance and lubrication lines. After more than 20 minutes of inspection, Shen Chun stood up and nodded to Li Wanshu and Jiang Fan.

It means: Good stuff, no problems.

Li Wanshu finally felt relieved and extended his hand to Vega: "It's a pleasure to cooperate with you, Mr. Vega."

After the payment was made, Natasha, who was accompanying the group as a translator, added to the discussion.

"Oh, gentlemen, I've already drafted the transportation contract. You can submit it through diplomatic channels after you return home, and then the punching machine can arrange rail transport for you."

The atmosphere was exceptionally harmonious at the end.

Both sides felt they had gotten a great deal.

After signing the last page of the agreement, Vega even opened a bottle of vodka and raised a toast: "To the forest, to the steel, to friendship."

Jiang Fan took a sip, and the vodka made him wince from the spiciness.

As the four men walked out of the gates of the Andrei factory and stood in the early autumn evening breeze of the Urals, none of them rushed to speak.

Finally, Wu Nianxian spoke first: "—So, you got ten thousand pounds just like that?"

Shen Chun pursed her lips, unusually refraining from arguing, and muttered something under her breath.

"The design itself is definitely worth the price."

Li Wanshu, on the other hand, was more composed, simply holding the suitcase full of pounds like he was holding his own son.

Jiang Fan smiled and said, "Let's go home first thing tomorrow morning."