Phones had fairly loud speakers back then, and Li Long had good hearing, so he could clearly hear both the gatekeeper and the person on the other end.
"...He says he wants to cooperate with us? Technical cooperation, or does he want us to make something for him?"
"Technical cooperation." The gatekeeper had understood him quite well and conveyed Li Long's idea clearly. "He has something he wants made. I think he wants to work with our factory to make it." After saying that, the gatekeeper turned to Li Long.
"Did I get that right?"
"Yes, exactly." Li Long smiled. "That's what I mean. I think there's a good market for this thing. It's convenient, and plenty of people should use it. I provide the technology, your factory provides the machinery and manufactures it, and we split the proceeds."
The gatekeeper relayed Li Long's additional comments.
"He provides the technology? What school did he graduate from?" the person immediately asked.
"I'm a farmer. I studied and developed it myself," Li Long answered before the gatekeeper could relay the question.
"He says he's a farmer. He never attended a specialized school. He studied and researched it himself."
"Does he have any experience, then? Working at a repair factory or a farm machinery factory, for instance?"
"No, but I'm a farmer, and I've always worked in the countryside. I understand farmers' needs pretty well." Li Long knew this was his weakness. Even in the 2020s, employers still gave preference to experienced applicants, let alone in this era.
"So he has nothing at all and is just talking big? Forget it, then." The person in the Technical Department rejected him outright. "Tell him we have a lot of urgent development work here. We don't have time to listen to his ideals, designs, and