Chapter 3 The Ten-Year Deadline

By the afternoon, news of Wang Ye's departure for the Red Star Machinery Factory had spread widely. Not only within the Mechanical Engineering Institute, but also throughout the entire Huqing University campus, many were discussing it.

The overwhelming majority's initial reaction was that Wang Ye had gone mad. Only a very few thought he was courageous, but almost no one believed he could lead the Red Star Machinery Factory's military-to-civilian transition to success.

After all, everyone knew what kind of place the Red Star Machinery Factory was.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, having packed his belongings, Wang Ye was sent off by his friend and the other student as he headed downstairs from the dormitory.

To be honest, Wang Ye never expected that the other student would come to see him off. Even though there hadn't been a direct confrontation just now, their faces had turned red with anger, and he had even left in a huff.

"Be careful on the road, Ye. Call me if you need anything!" said Wang Ye's friend, patting him on the shoulder. The other student, however, looked at Wang Ye seriously and said, "They say birds of a feather flock together, but I have to admire your abilities, Ye."

"And as for what my friend said earlier, I heard it. Though I was angered when he called me weak, I'm more curious about what you, the strong one in his eyes, can achieve in such a situation."

"Are you willing to make a bet with me? Let's set a ten-year deadline. How about it?"

"If by then you have truly achieved something remarkable in such adverse circumstances, I'll apologize to you with a celebration. But if you fail, don't blame me for laughing at you!"

"Of course, your abilities are something I acknowledge."

"And if you decide to pursue your career abroad, I won't say anything about other places, but at least with Mitsubishi, I can definitely arrange something for you!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Ye burst into laughter, even attracting curious glances from the surrounding people. His friend, standing aside, seemed to be enjoying the spectacle, looking forward to it.

"Haha! Of course! Ten years! Let's make it ten years!"

"I welcome you to come back and see our Red Star Machinery Factory. See how different it is from now!"

"And of course, I welcome you to come back and see this country, this land, and our motherland. See how much it has changed over the years, and whether it's worth building up!"

"If by then you change your mind, I warmly welcome you back to help build our homeland!"

With that, Wang Ye sighed lightly, patted the other student on the shoulder, and said, "You may not agree with what I say, but please always remember, no matter what methods you use, you can never wash away your Chinese blood. In the eyes of foreigners, you will always be an outsider."

"Remember my words: Dogs don't mind the poverty of their homes, and children don't mind the ugliness of their mothers. In fact, the moon in foreign countries is not as round as they say, and our country is not as bad as they think."

"We can only thrive within the embrace of our motherland, and only then can we accomplish great things!"

"All things are born from the heart."

Finally, Wang Ye pointed to his chest, looked at the other student, who seemed stunned, and at his friend, who was giving him a thumbs up, waved his hand, picked up his luggage, and left with big strides.

"Wow! What a broad vision!"

Watching Wang Ye leave, his friend made a sound of admiration, then turned and left, leaving the other student still standing there in a daze.

Meanwhile, walking down the street, Wang Ye couldn't help but feel a myriad of emotions. The situation of the other student was not an isolated case but a microcosm of thousands upon thousands of cases in this era. In the next forty years, some would return, some wouldn't, and some would even grow to hate this land more and more.

The reason was simple, just as the old dean had said earlier.

Failure is not shameful; it is refusing to admit failure that is the most shameful. For them, making mistakes was not scary; what was scary was that they didn't dare to admit their mistakes.

Some even hoped that China would collapse completely, so they could comfortably say, "See, we were right! China is hopeless!"

After transferring a few times on the bus, at five o'clock in the afternoon, Wang Ye finally boarded the green train bound for Quancheng City, the provincial capital of Luqi Province.

In the crowded and bustling carriage, after a moment, Wang Ye found his seat. It wasn't that Wang Ye didn't want to buy a sleeper berth; it was just that, with the progress of reform and opening up, population mobility had only just begun to increase. Moreover, due to the inadequate transportation capacity of the national railways, sleeper berths were still considered a luxury.

Because they were considered luxurious, buying a sleeper berth ticket required a letter of introduction from the unit. However, it was clear that Wang Ye had left too hurriedly and hadn't applied for a letter of introduction from the Fifth Ministry.

Moreover, there was an interesting anecdote about the introduction letter for sleeper berths a few years later.

In May of this year, the Fifth Ministry was renamed the "Ministry of Armaments." In 1986, the Ministry of Armaments would be completely disbanded, and the entire organization would be split in two. One part would establish the National Machinery Industry Commission, and the other part would establish the Northern Industry Corporation.

As for the part of the Northern Industry Corporation, many military experts and scientists, when on business trips, were refused sleeper berth tickets if they presented the introduction letter from the Northern Industry Corporation.

The reason was simple: What Northern Industry Corporation? Never heard of it. Must be some small factory. No berth tickets for you!

"Oh no! This isn't good. I don't know the way!"

Standing at the exit, Wang Ye muttered to himself.