On the morning of February 2nd, Hu Lei crawled out of bed to find the room dim and gloomy. Reaching out to pull the light cord, the cord—which had felt tight these past few days—snapped right off. Cursing silently, Hu Lei got up and walked to the window. Outside was a vast expanse of gray fog. Pushing open the window, damp air poured directly into the room, and Hu Lei hurriedly shut it again.

Arriving at the dining room, breakfast was already laid out on the table—fried dough sticks (youtiao), tofu pudding, and the like. Hu Lei's wife was instructing the children to be careful on their way out. Hu Lei picked up today's morning paper from the small table and began to read while he ate.

"...Two days ago, regarding the International Court of Justice's acceptance of the blood-written petition from the people of Indochina, the French government lodged a protest with China... With the wisdom of the Chinese people, one can certainly see from this matter that France's aggressive ambitions towards China have never been eliminated..."

Reading the news in the Asian edition of *The Times*, Hu Lei felt a genuine contempt in his heart, yet he couldn't help but sigh. Just then, Mrs. Hu urged him to hurry up and eat so he could take the children to school. Hu Lei put down the paper and ate his breakfast with a heavy heart.

As a Hebei native, Hu Lei had already grown accustomed to southern breakfasts. Eating today, however, his mood wasn't great. The British were too cowardly—so cowardly that Hu Lei felt all his past perceptions were wrong. But this cognitive dissonance was painful, making him angrier the more he thought about it.

After breakfast, Hu Lei drove his newly purchased domestic car to take the children to school. The heavy fog outside still hadn't dispersed, so he had to drive very slowly. Everyone on the street was doing the same, making the overall traffic speed even slower. The drivers all seemed to be in terrible moods, with car horns blaring one after another. Agitated, Hu Lei also angrily slammed on his horn, joining the ranks of those venting their frustration.

Fortunately, the traffic police were out in force. As the number of people directing traffic increased, the speed of the traffic flow picked up, and he managed to get the children to school without being late. With a belly full of grievances, Hu Lei arrived at his company. Just as he sat down, his secretary delivered several documents to a grim-faced Hu Lei. A glance at the top document revealed it was from the Shanghai Patent Office. He had only heard of this department. Having suffered when dealing with government departments in the past, Hu Lei flew into a rage and cursed hatefully, "What the hell kind of department is this Patent Office? They don't make a peep usually, but now that they're short on money, they think of us!"

Seeing Hu Lei's outburst, the secretary didn't want to get caught in the crossfire and turned to leave, letting Hu Lei curse alone in his office. With no one around, Hu Lei found he couldn't keep cursing. Finally, he simply ignored the documents, changed into his work clothes, and went to the workshop to start working.

As soon as he operated the machine tools, all his worries and unhappiness vanished. Moreover, the quality of the batch of domestic machine tools purchased recently was extremely high, with machining precision far exceeding that of imported ones. The new functions were designed with great ingenuity. Although only Hu Lei and the two technical workers he personally trained could utilize these functions in the factory, it was enough to satisfy the production of parts with special requirements.

After finishing his own share of the work, Hu Lei began to instruct two apprentices on how to use the new functions. By after 11:00 AM, Hu Lei felt the workers' concentration was waning, so he ordered them to rest after finishing the parts in their hands.

Returning to his office, Hu Lei saw a clean-cut, middle-aged man in his thirties sitting inside. Even after washing with soap, the oil stains on Hu Lei's hands hadn't been completely removed. But Hu Lei went up to shake hands anyway. Seeing his old classmate's slightly uncomfortable expression, Hu Lei laughed, "Feng Qian, how long has it been since those hands of yours touched a machine tool?"

Feng Qian waited for Hu Lei to release his hand, then took out a tissue to wipe his hand while sighing, "I guess I'll never compare to you in our major again."

The two sat down, and Feng Qian advised, "Old Hu, even if you don't want to return to Hebei, you could be a workshop director in a factory in Shanghai. You're wasted in a small factory like this."

"I don't want to go!" Hu Lei shook his head in refusal.

"Did you make some prediction again?" Feng Qian asked.

Now Hu Lei became somewhat unhappy. However, he couldn't blame Feng Qian for bringing it up. In 1922, when He Rui went to war with Japan, Hu Lei had just passed the exam for the National Peiyang University. It wasn't that he wasn't patriotic, but he opposed all radical approaches. So Hu Lei had declared that the war would definitely be lost. At the same time, he cursed He Rui for disregarding the country and starting a war just for his own reputation.

By the end of 1923, Hu Lei was criticizing He Rui again for the mass slaughter of foreigners in the concessions in China, saying it would trigger a siege by foreign powers.

When the National Defense Force of the Republic of China sank the British fleet at the mouth of the Yangtze River with suicide attack aircraft, Hu Lei didn't curse, but merely sighed, "Such fine men; if they knew in the underworld, I fear they would regret such a rash decision!"

Whenever it came to He Rui's policies, Hu Lei would always sing a contrary tune. But every single time, the result was different from Hu Lei's judgment. When Hu Lei graduated in 1926, the development of the Sino-British War was again different from what he had predicted; France stepped in to mediate, and Britain had actually decided to cease hostilities.

Hu Lei kept his mouth shut, not wanting to talk about these things, but a wave of unhappiness in his chest was impossible to suppress. He decided to speak his mind freely. "Chairman He is indeed a genius given by heaven. However, he cannot tolerate the heroes of the world; his mind is perhaps not broad enough."

Feng Qian and Hu Lei were old classmates and knew Hu Lei's views. Hu Lei's family were landlords in Hebei. His father had switched to industry and had considered selling all the family land to invest in a factory, betting everything on one throw. As a result, when the Sino-Japanese War started, land prices fell, so they delayed. When He Rui launched the Unification War, land prices fell again, so Hu Lei's family thought to keep waiting. This delay led them straight into the "Land Redemption." This time the land was all sold, but the price was only 120% of the sales price of the average grain yield in a normal year in the past. If Hu Lei's family had sold the land earlier, the price would have been much higher. So it was no surprise that Hu Lei didn't care for the He Rui administration.

But they were alumni after all, both graduates of Tianjin University (National Peiyang University), the spiritual sustenance of the Beiyang lineage. Feng Qian couldn't help but advise, "If you go to a state-owned enterprise, you can use the most advanced equipment and access the most advanced technology. It's much better than being in this small factory. Even if you still want to go it alone, there will be plenty of opportunities once you've learned the skills."

Seeing his old classmate being so loyal, Hu Lei told him the truth. Hu Lei was the second son in his family. Three years ago, he took the investment given by his family and came to Shanghai to start a machining enterprise with a classmate, mainly producing various spare parts. Recently, the factory snatched an order to provide parts for a synthetic ammonia plant, and the profit was quite good.

After explaining the current situation, Hu Lei sighed, "If you had come to find me half a year earlier, I probably would have gone to a state-owned factory. Now, not only have I got orders... come with me, I'll take you to see something."

The workshop was a fairly standard factory workshop. Following Hu Lei into the plant, Feng Qian's eyes lit up when he saw the new equipment. He couldn't help but praise, "Old Hu, impressive! Even many state-owned factories haven't bought this equipment yet!"

Hu Lei responded to his old classmate's praise with a bitter smile. He took Feng Qian behind the machine tools and pointed to some seals for him to see. Feng Qian was stunned. These seals were used in foreclosure situations, meaning Hu Lei's equipment had been seized. Feng Qian felt he might need to help out, so he leaned in to read the contents of the seals carefully, which put his mind at ease. It turned out the seals only prohibited the unauthorized movement of this equipment; it wasn't a seizure.

Hu Lei then explained. He had bought this batch of equipment with a loan. Since the price wasn't cheap and Hu Lei didn't have that much money on hand, he had relied entirely on taking the order contract to the bank to complete the procedures. The bank, fearing Hu Lei couldn't fulfill the repayment, had put seals forbidding movement on his machines, and people came to inspect them regularly.

After finishing, Hu Lei said with some resentment, "If my family's land hadn't been confiscated back then, would it have come to this!"

Feng Qian didn't want to sympathize with Hu Lei now. "If you're just complaining a bit, I have nothing to say. If you want me to judge the rights and wrongs, then there's no need."

"How would you judge it?!" Hu Lei got a bit heated.

Feng Qian, taking the stance of a government official, replied bluntly, "Even if your family sold that one or two hundred *mu* of land, you couldn't afford this equipment in front of you. You were able to get the loan entirely because of current policies. In the Beiyang era, you wouldn't have been able to afford this equipment even more!"

Although Hu Lei was very unhappy in his heart, he knew Feng Qian wasn't lying. Finally, he could only mock himself, "It seems I am unaware of my own blessings."

Feng Qian replied seriously, "Old classmate, national policies have changed hugely these years. I still advise you to go to a state-owned enterprise. With your professional ability, in a few years, you can become a senior engineer and participate in good projects. No matter how hard you try now, you can't keep up with cutting-edge changes. Why waste your talent!"

This was the second time Feng Qian had seriously offered this suggestion. Hu Lei and Feng Qian were both from old Beiyang backgrounds and were considered family friends. Although unhappy, they had graduated from the National Peiyang University. Hu Lei's older brother was a student of Zhao Tianlin, and students of the National Peiyang University from old Beiyang backgrounds all took former President Zhao Tianlin as a role model. Zhao Tianlin had followed He Rui, so no matter how rebellious Hu Lei was, he wouldn't dare to truly deceive his masters and destroy his ancestors.

The factory was located within Shanghai's planned industrial zone, with a commercial service point nearby. It was lunch break, and workers from nearby factories came to eat. The box lunch area, in particular, was crowded with people. The two bought a portion each and took it back to the office to eat and chat.

Hu Lei asked how Feng Qian had come from the capital to Shanghai. Feng Qian replied, "The Ministry of Technology is perfecting patent application matters."

Hu Lei froze, immediately put down his chopsticks, and took out the document he received this morning. Feng Qian looked at it. "This is a document issued by the Ministry of Technology. It encourages all enterprises to apply for patents."

"What does that have to do with a small factory like mine?" Hu Lei finished speaking and threw the document back onto the table with some dissatisfaction.

Feng Qian said while eating, "The country now hopes to make breakthroughs in technological iteration. I thought of you. Back in school, you came up with quite a few new designs."

Hu Lei recalled his glory days, sighing in his heart. If the He Rui government hadn't carried out land redemption back then, he very likely would have accepted the Ministry of Industry's work arrangement. But the He Rui regime had plundered the land of the entire landlord and gentry class, giving Hu Lei a terrible impression of He Rui!

However, seeing his old classmate already shouldering such responsibility, Hu Lei couldn't help but be envious. He asked if Feng Qian could help with something. Although the profits were good, the spare parts Hu Lei's factory produced weren't for high-temperature, high-pressure equipment, but ordinary parts. Yet the responsibility was equally great. Hu Lei's factory not only had to keep all warehousing receipts for five years but also ensure that the processing workers in the factory could be found at any time within five years.

Hu Lei was helpless, but for the sake of the orders, he had to sign five-year contracts with the technicians and workers responsible for processing in the factory. Without contracts, if the technicians and workers left after finishing one order, where would Hu Lei find people to bear the responsibility then?

Feng Qian listened while eating, and by the time Hu Lei finished speaking, he had finished his box lunch. The box lunch tasted really good. It was divided into a 50-cent option with two dishes, and an 80-cent option with three dishes, one of which was meat. Hu Lei had bought the one-yuan portion, two meat and one vegetable. Although it used chicken and fish, there was plenty of seasoning and oil. It was very fragrant. Added to a portion of rice, it was very filling.

Satisfied, Feng Qian wiped his mouth and poured some hot water before saying, "Do you know that state-owned enterprises now sign contracts for a minimum of three years? The first time is a three-year contract. If performance is good, the second time will be a five-year contract. If performance is average, they'll renew for three years. After that, it's signed every five years. This is the latest management model. Without long-term contracts, employees can't feel secure. Why do government employees feel relatively secure? Because of stability!"

"But how can small factories like ours be stable?" Hu Lei felt Feng Qian was standing up without feeling the back pain.

Feng Qian spread his hands. "If you aren't stable, who dares to trust you? If no one trusts you, you can't get high-profit orders. Brother, listen to my advice. Going to a big factory has big factory benefits. Someone capable like you has room to display your skills."

Hu Lei felt he still couldn't accept it, so he sought a compromise. "Is there a way for a small factory like mine to grow big quickly?"

Feng Qian thought for a while before answering, "There is a way. But I'm afraid you won't be willing."

"Let's hear it!" Hu Lei also let go of his arrogance at this point. Working alone in the factory, he could only sulk by himself. Now seeing his old classmate about to take charge of a side, he indeed felt a great setback in his heart.

Feng Qian replied, "You can cooperate with some state-owned enterprises. Now SOEs are also willing to outsource some projects to other small factories. The goal isn't to earn that price difference, but to seek a reserve force for the industrial chain. If you can join, you can get support from state-owned enterprises. At that time, you can at least take on some research projects."

"...Can you help point out a path?" Hu Lei finally lowered his proud head. After all, reality was too cruel. If the scale wasn't large enough and there were no stable orders, any single mistake could ruin all of Hu Lei's previous efforts.

In the following days, the wind finally picked up, completely blowing away the dense fog. When the clear sky appeared overhead again, the citizens of Shanghai discussed it animatedly. This smog was truly strange; they hadn't encountered it much before.

Unlike the Shanghai citizens, employees from British foreign firms who had spent time in London were quite accustomed to it. Over the past century, as the number of factories in London grew, at some point London became perpetually shrouded in fog. Shanghai's little bit of smog dispersed as soon as the wind blew, whereas London's smog seemed like it would never disperse. Moreover, Shanghai's smog at least didn't have that smell of industrial waste gas, which was much better than London.

The British originally had a British Foreign Firms Association in Shanghai, which suspended operations when China and Britain entered the war phase. It had now fully recovered. Seeing the bright sky gradually becoming covered by a faint smog again, a portion of the British merchants couldn't help but complain, "Can those helping with property lawsuits help us sell back the real estate we were cheated out of before? If they can't do that, there's absolutely no value in paying such high legal fees!"

This group of British merchants were those who, fearing harm in China between '24 and '27, had sold their real estate in Shanghai at low prices and fled China. But after '28, they ran back. As British people, they naturally had a tradition of various entanglements. Because they sold in a hurry, the contracts they signed were very incomplete. So quite a few British merchants wanted to exploit this loophole. After trials, a few British merchants who had truly been maliciously extorted out of their houses by bold local Shanghai scoundrels actually got their houses back through court judgments.

British merchants who identified with Common Law case law wanted to follow this path, but invariably hit a wall. Now this group of British merchants had re-established properties in Shanghai at higher prices, but a portion still held a grudge, missing the value of the land and properties they had bought at low prices in the past.

But these people were a minority after all. More merchants sipped authentic Chinese tea and discussed the situation they faced.

A merchant who looked quite aristocratic spoke with an authentic Eton accent, "Chinese factories are developing too fast. Have we misunderstood something about China?"