"Serious problem? What problem could I possibly have? I think you're spewing nonsense."
Lu Fangquan was stunned for a moment. Wang Yu's words made so much sense that he was unable to refute them.
As the director of a car factory, it was perfectly reasonable for him to have new car models.
Were fire trucks not considered cars?
As for Wang Yu's retort, Lu Fangquan scoffed, thinking, 'What problem could I have?'
"A very simple problem: why did this fire spread so severely?"
Wang Yu asked calmly, looking at Lu Fangquan with a meaningful gaze.
"The residential compound of your hardware factory has an unreasonable structural design. It's narrow and cramped, severely obstructing the fire department's rescue efforts. It even led to intense burning and massive smoke because it was adjacent to your factory warehouse.
How do you explain that?"
Lu Fangquan sneered. He thought Wang Yu would have some profound insight, but it turned out he was just being as unreasonable and accusatory as himself.
This was good. Fang Zhongtian had already instructed him to stir up trouble and make a scene. That way, he could muddy the waters and suppress the fact that their electric water heater caused the fire.
Thinking this, Lu Fangquan looked at Wang Yu disdainfully.
"Why do I need to explain anything? It was just an unforeseen accident. What could I have done about it?
At most, you're saying the housing structure is unreasonable. Do I have to take responsibility for that too? I think you're looking for trouble, Wang Yu. You say you have no ill intentions towards our hardware factory, but I strongly suspect you deliberately sabotaged it from within, causing the fire to be so severe!"
Lu Fangquan then looked at Wang Yu with a cold smirk. 'Can't you just be unreasonable and throw mud? Who says I can't do that?'
"What nonsense are you spouting? Our young director, with great virtue, came to help you put out the fire despite past grievances, and you speak such rubbish?"
"Exactly, exactly! How can someone be so shameless? Our young director risked his life to help you! He's almost exhausted now."
"You ungrateful wretches."
…
The workers from the car factory started to grumble, shouting at Lu Fangquan.
The members of the hardware factory's security department also stepped forward, puffing out their chests and spewing profanities. A verbal battle ensued between the two sides.
Seeing this scene, a smug smile appeared on Lu Fangquan's lips. This was exactly the outcome he wanted!
"Alright, everyone, please quiet down!"
Wang Yu raised his hand to stop his subordinates from arguing. "We came to help put out the fire out of moral obligation. Since they don't want our help, there's nothing more to say."
At Wang Yu's command, the people from the car factory fell silent. Only Fang Jie and the hardware factory's security members continued to spew their insults, but no one paid them any attention, making their efforts rather futile.
"I truly have no interest in your hardware factory, Director Lu," Wang Yu said, looking at Lu Fangquan. "As for your buildings, it's probably not just a matter of unreasonable construction, is it?
If I'm not mistaken, these residential buildings for your employees were converted from the original factory structures, weren't they?
Using industrial land for residential purposes, tsk tsk!"
With that, Wang Yu shook his head and turned to leave. He had rested for a while, and his earlier exhaustion had somewhat recovered. He nodded at Zhou Wei and got up to leave.
He still had a mountain of things to deal with and no time to bicker with Lu Fangquan.
"Wh-what?"
Lu Fangquan's face darkened. He nearly collapsed to the ground.
Wang Yu was right. Their factory and land were industrial land, so the costs were very low. However, converting it into residential use would be a completely different matter!
Normally, converting factory land into a residential compound would at most be a violation, nothing major.
But now, with such a massive fire, the situation had escalated dramatically!
Lu Fangquan had thought everything was airtight, but he never expected Wang Yu's eyesight to be so sharp and see through it at a glance!
"Quick, stop him! Don't let him leave!"
Seeing Wang Yu about to walk away, Lu Fangquan quickly ordered the security guards to stop him.
However, before they could make a move, they were intercepted by Zhou Wei and the members of the fire brigade.
"Director Lu, is it? I think we should have a chat about the cause of the fire and the nature of your buildings."
Zhou Wei said to Lu Fangquan with a very pleasant expression.
"This..."
Lu Fangquan swallowed hard, forcing a stiff smile onto his face. He sighed inwardly, 'It's over!'
…
Wang Yu returned to the car factory. He was quite satisfied with the debut of his new fire truck. Although there were still some areas that needed improvement, they were not major issues.
He could make improvements and optimizations while applying for vehicle homologation. Overall, it was a good thing. Indeed, practice is the sole criterion for testing truth!
Of course, before that, he needed to deal with the Japanese before completely taking over the steel plant and improving its smelting technology. Only then would the material quality be up to par, paving the way for the next step.
Wang Yu was in good spirits, but Wang Jin and Fang Zhongtian were not.
Their various small appliances had just been stocked in the department store channels and were quickly promoted throughout the province. All the products sold unexpectedly well, with many selling out immediately.
Just as their future looked bright, one piece of bad news after another began to arrive.
First came the issue of spontaneous combustion of electric water heaters. Initially, they thought it was a minor problem or due to improper operation. Wang Jin and Fang Zhongtian planned to use their connections to suppress it. Even the hardware factory fire, which caused the biggest commotion, was firmly attributed by Lu Fangquan to personal issues… although Lu Fangquan was now in such a panic that he had no energy to deal with these matters.
But then, similar situations quickly emerged from all over the province. The phenomenon of electric water heaters spontaneously combusting led to accidents, big and small!
Once or twice could be explained away as accidents due to improper operation, but with this many occurrences, anyone with a brain could tell something was wrong!
Electricity was not widely available in those days. People who could afford and use electric water heaters were at least of some status, so they wouldn't just let it go easily.
And that wasn't all. Besides electric water heaters, other small appliances also started having problems, such as electric fans getting stuck, the timer function, a major selling point, failing, electric pressure cookers suddenly exploding, and so on…
Countless accidents and problems overwhelmed the state-run department store channels across the province, flooded with customers demanding compensation and voicing their complaints!
The curses were constant throughout the province, and the phones at Jiangyang County Department Store and the Metallurgical General Plant were ringing off the hook!
Wang Jin and Fang Zhongtian's faces turned as pale as corpses. Even if they were fools, they knew by now that Wang Yu had played them!
The design drawings they had stolen must have been tampered with! No wonder Wang Yu was so confident back then; this was the reason!
But the problem was, they couldn't say anything about it and had to swallow their losses!
No wonder Zhao Tao from the Agricultural Machinery Factory had always sneered at their actions. 'Fellow sufferers under the same sky!'
That scoundrel Wang Yu was probably laughing so hard his teeth would fall out by now, gloating at their misfortune!
…
In fact, Wang Yu was far too busy to gloat.
In a simple yet grand conference hall, a group of experts from the island nation looked grimly at Wang Yu, who was smiling.