Franklin Turner had no idea what Henry Sullivan was thinking, or rather, even if he did, he couldn’t be bothered to care. He continued:

“First of all, our enterprise leaders lack the ability to cope with market competition—or to put it more bluntly, they lack even the awareness of market competition. They’re used to the state taking care of everything. Once they have to face the market, not to mention competing with foreign companies, even when facing township enterprises, our state-owned enterprise leaders are all utterly useless.”

“Utterly useless?” Henry Sullivan shot him a surprised look.

“It means someone whose combat power is only five out of a hundred.” Franklin Turner said. He knew his choice of words might puzzle others, but he couldn’t be bothered to change his habits. If you don’t like it, go dig up my background—if you can find out I’m a transmigrator, I’ll admit you’re awesome.

Henry Sullivan wasn’t interested in digging deeper. He just took these words as the kind of banter young people used these days. When he talked with his own daughter at home, he often got confused by her choice of words too.

“Mm, what else?” Henry Sullivan asked.

“The enterprise lacks technological innovation. The main products of Lin Yi Machine are still the same types of machine tools imported from the Soviet Union in the 1950s. Although there have been some modifications and upgrades, the progress is extremely limited. In the early 1980s, the Second Bureau facilitated Lin Yi Machine’s introduction of CNC machine tool technology from Japan’s Sakuma Company, and they’ve been doing OEM production of several models for Sakuma for almost ten years now. Lin Yi Machine is still stuck at the OEM stage and hasn’t developed any independent technology.”

“And?”

“The workforce is bloated. I did a rough calculation—based on Lin Yi Machine’s current production capacity, 2,000 employees would be more than enough for the whole factory, but right now they have a whopping 6,800 employees, not even counting over 1,000 retirees. With such a heavy burden, how could they possibly not be losing money?”

“Anything else?”

“There’s more… but it’s more a matter of personal opinion, not easy to say.” Franklin Turner pretended to hesitate.

Henry Sullivan said, “What’s there to be afraid of in front of me? I’m not going to use your words to convict you.”

Franklin Turner was actually waiting for Henry Sullivan to say this. He needed Henry Sullivan to give him a “get out of jail free card” before he could say what came next. He said, “Other things—well, I think the leadership team at Lin Yi Machine is problematic. The factory director, chief engineer, chief economist—every single one of them, if you look into it, I guarantee none of them have missed a chance to line their own pockets.”

As soon as he said this, Henry Sullivan fell silent.

After a long while, he finally nodded and said, “That’s not just your personal opinion. Last month, the entire leadership team at Lin Yi Machine was taken down. The criminal facts involved are truly shocking.”

“All taken down? Heh, I bet there are some who were wrongly accused. But if only half were taken down, there’d definitely be some who slipped through the net.” Franklin Turner said.

Henry Sullivan ignored Franklin Turner’s grumbling and asked, “In your opinion, if Lin Yi Machine gets a new leadership team, is there still hope?”

“No chance!” Franklin Turner said flatly.

“No chance?” Henry Sullivan glared at Franklin Turner. “What makes you so sure there’s no hope?”

“With Lin Yi Machine’s situation, unless you use drastic measures, it doesn’t matter who you put in as factory director—it’s hopeless. If you put in someone upright, at best they’ll keep themselves clean, but there’s no way they’ll bring the factory back to life. If you put in someone with selfish motives, Lin Yi Machine will probably die even faster. It’s simple logic: the old team at least already got their fill, but a new director will definitely try to grab even more than the last one. That’s what I call the ‘fat pig law.’” Franklin Turner said.

“Franklin Turner, do you even know what you’re saying!” Henry Sullivan finally couldn’t take it anymore. He slammed the table, his eyebrows nearly standing on end.

Franklin Turner quickly changed his expression, beaming as he said, “Chief, don’t be angry. Didn’t I just say, this is just my personal opinion. Actually, Lin Yi Machine can still be saved—it has great potential. For example, if the bureau could send you to be the factory director, I’m sure you could turn losses into profits in a year, make money in three years, and in five years wipe out Mazak and DMG…”

“Wipe out Mazak and DMG?”

“It means beating Mazak and crushing DMG.”

“You think I’m that capable?” Henry Sullivan asked with a cold laugh.

Franklin Turner looked genuinely sincere, nodding vigorously. “Absolutely! If you take charge, Chief, you’re worth three people—no, eight!”

“Then, if you were made factory director, how many would you be worth?” Henry Sullivan asked.

“Me?” Franklin Turner was stunned. Looking at Henry Sullivan’s face, there didn’t seem to be any hint of mockery. Thinking back to how Henry Sullivan had someone page him to come back, only to chat with him about Lin Yi Machine for so long—could it be that he really wanted him to be the factory director?

If it were anyone else, Franklin Turner would never have such a delusion. Lin Yi Machine is a large enterprise under the ministry, and the factory director is at the bureau level. No matter how desperate they are, they wouldn’t pick a young guy who’s only been out of college for two years to be factory director.

But Franklin Turner is a transmigrator! Think about it—those predecessors who traveled back to ancient times, weren’t they all made generals at fifteen, granted titles at eighteen, and crowned emperor by twenty-two? He, Franklin Turner, is so outstanding, so dashing—maybe the minister has taken a liking to him and will directly appoint him as factory director at Lin Yi Machine. Who knows?