Volume One, Chapter Nine: We Are the Masters

“Maimaiti, have you finished organizing the wind energy assessment data and the wind turbine procurement planning list I asked for?”

Inside an office in Dabancheng Town, converted from a residential house, Wang Xiquan approached Maimaiti’s workstation, clutching a stack of documents, his tone serious.

“All done, Teacher Wang. Here it is. Do you need it urgently?” Maimaiti handed over the report and couldn’t help but ask.

“We’re scheduled to negotiate the introduction with representatives from the foreign wind turbine companies through the Ministry of Foreign Economic and Trade Cooperation the day after tomorrow. These materials will be crucial for fact-based discussions. I plan to review them thoroughly tonight.”

Since the documents weren’t confidential, Wang Xiquan had no reason to hide anything, especially as he hoped to glean some useful suggestions from Maimaiti.

Since last month, after Maimaiti agreed to Wang’s arrangement, Wang had officially seconded him from the Hydromechanical Plant to his team.

During this time, aside from a few deep and candid exchanges, Maimaiti mainly performed menial tasks around Wang, such as serving tea—much like before.

Although enjoying the benefits of a junior technician, no official title was assigned, so outwardly, Maimaiti was regarded merely as Wang’s administrative assistant.

Moreover, because Xiao Guodong neither openly nor covertly supported Wang’s wind power research, Maimaiti was also rather unwelcome within the bureau. Given his experience, no one had much reason to think highly of him anyway.

Nearly half a month passed like this until last weekend, when the temporary office was set up. Wang finally brought him and another seconded technician to Dabancheng and officially assigned him the task of organizing the data.

Compared to other seconded technicians who had to simulate and calculate data within a tight timeframe, Wang’s task for Maimaiti was quite simple.

Originally planned to be finished in four days, Maimaiti completed the entire compilation in less than two.

It wasn’t due to a lack of effort.

Rather, this data had been deeply engraved in his mind from his past life, so he could simply retrieve and use it directly.

Of course, Maimaiti had also worried that this world might not be exactly the same as the one he remembered, so where precise data was required, he carefully cross-checked it. His conclusion was that they weren’t merely related—they were exactly identical.

Even the English names of the two Danish wind power companies contacted by Wang through the Ministry of Foreign Economic and Trade were word-for-word the same as those Maimaiti had known in his previous life.

“Maimaiti, what do you mean by this? I asked you to compile a comparison table of specific parameters and total prices for the wind turbines from Bonus and Vestas. Why did you only give me the parameters without listing the prices?”

Wang Xiquan slammed Maimaiti’s report down on the desk, his anger threatening to erupt.

Though he had previously spoken kindly and appeared approachable, Wang was ruthless when it came to work. Mistakes were mistakes; they couldn’t be glossed over with vague familiarity.

His loud voice attracted the attention of others at nearby workstations.

Upon seeing it was that mysterious Maimaiti, everyone exchanged ambiguous looks before returning to their tasks.

Maimaiti noticed it all.

For the past two weeks, he had been waiting for an opportunity to prove himself, and the selection of procurement companies might just be the perfect and unmissable chance.

“Please don’t be angry yet, Teacher Wang,” Maimaiti said calmly. “From what I understand, the quotations from these two Danish companies are generally inflated, and there’s room for bargaining.”

This statement hit Wang like a bombshell, leaving him momentarily stunned.

“What do you mean?” Wang furrowed his brow and fixed his gaze on Maimaiti.

“Well, Teacher Wang, take a look at this report. Vestas’ 55kW fixed-pitch stall-regulated turbine is quoted at $438,000 per unit. That’s nearly $130,000 more than the V15-55/11kW units they supplied to the Malan Wind Farm in Rongcheng, Shandong, already exceeding current international market prices.

“Moreover, Bonus’s bid for the 55kW fixed-pitch wind turbine is nearly $500,000 per unit, with only eight months of after-sales warranty and no complimentary maintenance services. This completely violates the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods—uh,”

Maimaiti suddenly fell silent, recalling that although China signed the CISG agreement in 1981, it only came into effect two years later, in 1988.

Regardless of treaty enforcement, since these companies are engaged in wind turbine import-export sales, they must know that turbines require at least one maintenance inspection after installation and grid connection to ensure safe and proper operation.

Wang Xiquan, however, didn’t notice this detail. He was more intrigued by Maimaiti’s earlier mention of “international market prices.”

“You say Vestas’s quotations exceed international market prices—are you making this up or do you have evidence?”

“Teacher Wang, you might have been too busy to notice. You see, Vestas and Bonus are foreign subsidiaries aggressively marketing their wind products between the Ministry of Foreign Economic and Trade Cooperation and the Hydropower Department, hoping to capture our domestic market. Otherwise, what other motive could they have?

“So last week, during my free time, I went to the Xin Da Library and browsed recent foreign journals. In one called Windpower Monthly, I read an article by an American researcher about current international wind power market trends and changes in U.S. policies.

“It mentioned that since the second international oil crisis struck America, severely damaging its economy, the U.S. was forced to shift focus to new energies like wind power. California—well, that’s one of their states—was the first to introduce tax incentives, attracting 90% of global wind power investments. But last year, after the state government suspended these incentives, the wind power investment market there faltered and declined.

“This greatly impacted companies like Vestas and Bonus, which heavily depended on the U.S. market. Vestas even faced bankruptcy and had to sell off most of its assets to survive.

“You see, Teacher Wang, under these circumstances, how could they have the nerve to quote such high prices? Instead, we can afford to act like the big shots in negotiations—”

Maimaiti stopped just in time, carefully watching Wang’s reaction.

But contrary to his expectations, Wang didn’t show a flash of surprise or realization. After studying the report carefully, he merely nodded slightly and said steadily, “I’ll keep what you said in mind for reference.”