Fang Bai returned to his rental to rest for a while, then hurried back to school for afternoon classes. After school, he left campus, had dinner with his Younger Sister, continued studying that evening, and occasionally went to school to run or play basketball.
Chinese was difficult to improve quickly, so Fang Bai mainly memorized poems and short passages likely to appear on the exam. For now, he was compiling what he needed to memorize so he could focus on it before the college entrance examination.
English could not be improved overnight. It required accumulating vocabulary and sentences. He reviewed it every day and required himself to be able to speak it too. In the near future, he would have use for it.
Chemistry mainly required categorizing and compiling chemical equations, and it still mostly came down to memorization. Physics and mathematics relied mainly on drilling problems, while politics and biology depended on memorization and were not easy to improve.
Fang Bai had been reborn for some time now, but he had actually only spent a little over ten days studying. During this period, he had focused mainly on English, insisting on memorizing at least thirty new words and commonly used sentences every day. He could feel that his English grades had improved greatly.
These days, high school English vocabulary only amounted to two or three thousand words. Fang Bai planned to become familiar with all the high school vocabulary within two months.
Of course, remembering words was one thing; being able to use them proficiently was another. Some students understood what every word meant, but once they were put together into a sentence...
Heh, only a ghost would know.
From 1990 to 1992, the maximum score for the national unified college entrance examination was 710 points (600 points in Shen City): Chinese and mathematics were worth 120 points each; English, physics, chemistry, and politics were worth 100 points each; biology was worth 70 points, for a total of 710 points.
Fang Bai had scored 59 points in English, barely failing to pass.
He had scored 96 in Chinese, 106 in mathematics, and his worst subject was physics, with only 55 points. He had scored 68 in chemistry, 60 in politics, and 50 in biology, for a total of 484 points.
The teacher's overall evaluation had been: His grades were fairly balanced across all subjects, with no weak subject!
Of course, he did not have any particularly strong subjects either. His foundation had not been solid.
After attending class for two and a half days, Fang Bai took leave after finishing two afternoon classes and went to Jiayu Processing Plant again.
When Qin Donghai saw Fang Bai arrive, he said warmly, "Mr. Fang, we just finished another company's order. We started processing Hengli Company's order this morning, and efficiency has been high. We should be able to finish all five hundred pieces in eight days."
Fang Bai understood his father-in-law's meaning and concern. He was afraid that there would be no more orders after this batch of five hundred pieces was completed.
"Don't worry. There will be orders. You may even need to hire more people and work overtime."
"Haha, that would be best."
Fang Bai watched for a while before leaving the workshop. There had been no suitable used equipment available for purchase recently.
He had also visited the used equipment market and inspected quite a few machines. He found that bargains were not so easy to come by, so he no longer held much hope.
In fact, he had calculated the cost in time.
Once Hengli Company's order was completed, he could earn nearly three thousand yuan. It would take roughly a little over a day, including finding the order, negotiating it, collecting payment, designing the Workholding Fixture, and so on.
His father-in-law's profit would also be around three thousand yuan, not including his own processing fees.
During the early stage of accumulating capital, Fang Bai could still accept that time cost.
Fang Bai returned to his rental, changed into formal attire, took his briefcase, stuffed in his custom-made business cards, and prepared to go out in search of orders.
He had worked in this industry in his previous life, so he was familiar with every major valve manufacturer in Wen City and knew which ones could outsource orders.
He intended to visit Boli Valve Company. It had been established in 1985 and was somewhat larger than Hengli Company. Its main products were forged steel valves and Gate Globe Valves.
The owner of this company generally did not handle internal affairs. Outsourced processing and production management were handled by production director Hua Feng. Fang Bai had dealt with Hua Feng in his previous life and worked with him long-term, so he knew quite a bit about him and his family.
Hua Feng was greedy too, but he had principles. He knew that poor-quality outsourced products would ultimately hurt himself.
He neither smoked nor drank, nor was he interested in women, but he liked green tea. Ordinary salesmen found him difficult to win over.
If Fang Bai went directly to the owner to seek cooperation, he might offend Hua Feng. Hua Feng would then nitpick everything, and any cooperation would not last long. Finding the right person was important, and so was catering to his preferences.
This time, Fang Bai was not going directly to Boli Company to see Hua Feng. Instead, he planned to visit his home.
At the company, Hua Feng was very sensitive about accepting benefits, afraid that the owner would find out.
Fang Bai went to the supply and marketing cooperative and bought an elementary school backpack and a box of green tea. Then he went to a fruit stand and bought several jin of apples.
Carrying the gifts, he arrived at the Tube Building from his memories. There were more than ten rooms on the second floor, and the three rooms at the very end of the east side belonged to Hua Feng's family of three.
Fang Bai went up to the second floor and saw that the iron gate in the corridor was locked, leaving him unable to enter. However, he could see that all three room doors were closed, and there was no sound from inside. He guessed no one was home.
He checked the time. It was already five in the afternoon. After waiting a few minutes, a young woman of around thirty came up from the first floor with a little boy. Seeing Fang Bai standing outside her family's iron gate, she looked curious.
Fang Bai smiled and spoke first. "Hello, sister-in-law. I'm a business friend of Mr. Hua's. My name is Fang Bai, and I came specifically to visit him.
"Xiao Yang is in first grade already, right? I can tell at a glance that he's smart and adorable. Uncle brought you a backpack. I hope you keep doing better and better in school."
After speaking, he handed the new backpack to the child. Seeing that an uncle was giving him a gift, the little boy liked the backpack very much and accepted it curiously.
The young woman briefly looked Fang Bai over. He was formally dressed and had a bright smile, so he did not seem likely to be a bad person. Then she heard him praise her child, saw that he had brought a gift, and noticed the other gifts in his hands. Seeing that her son liked the backpack, she did not refuse, and she was delighted inside.
"Hello. Hua Feng should be home soon. Come inside and sit for a while first."
After saying that, she had the child thank Fang Bai, then took out her keys and opened the iron gate.
Fang Bai acted as though he were already familiar with them and began chatting with the little boy. He asked about the boy's classmates, his teacher, and whether he had any girls he liked.
Hearing a topic he enjoyed, and seeing that the uncle before him looked gentle, the child eagerly began chatting with him.
Fang Bai sat in the living room chatting with the child and occasionally exchanged a few words with the young woman.
Seeing her son chatting so happily, the young woman was happy too.
After about ten minutes, Hua Feng, in his thirties, rode home from the company on his bicycle.
Hearing the sound of a bicycle downstairs, the young woman went outside and craned her head over the balcony to take a look. Seeing that it was her husband, she went downstairs and said quietly, "A guest came to the house. He says he's your friend, named Fang... something. He bought our son a backpack, and he also brought a box of tea and fruit. He's very generous."
Hua Feng frowned upon hearing that. "I don't have any friends surnamed Fang."
"That's strange. But he looks educated and very young."
Hua Feng hurried upstairs. Before he even reached the living room, he heard his child's laughter from inside and immediately felt reassured.
When he entered, he saw a young man teaching his child the alphabet song, ABC. It completely bewildered him.
He really did not know this young man!
When Fang Bai saw Hua Feng return, he stood up, took out a prepared business card from his trouser pocket, and handed it over with both hands, smiling. "Hello, Mr. Hua. This is our first meeting. My name is Fang Bai, and I also work in the valve industry."
Only then did the young woman realize that the two men were not familiar friends.
Hua Feng accepted the card and glanced at the front. There was only one name on it: "Fang Bai." On the back was a line of text: "Professional one-stop sincere service; proficient in valves and mechanical equipment."
After Hua Feng had looked at it for a moment, Fang Bai extended his left hand. Hua Feng shook it and smiled. "Hello, Mr. Fang."
Fang Bai lowered his stance and smiled. "Mr. Hua, please forgive the disturbance on my first visit. The main purpose of my visit is to help Mr. Hua solve Boli Company's production difficulties."
"Oh? Is that so? Let's hear it." As Hua Feng spoke, he signaled for his wife to take the child away.
The wife knew the two men might need to discuss business, so she took the child away. But the child insisted on hearing Uncle sing the alphabet song, so she had no choice but to carry him away by force.
Regarding the total score for the college entrance examination, I got it wrong previously. If any individual subject scores were not corrected, please remind me. Thank you.
Before you continue