Chapter 118: Foresight (Happy New Year, dear readers, may the Year of the Dog bring you prosperity and success)

Since sitting down, Zhao Guoyang had felt somewhat bewildered while listening to the verbal sparring between Li Kejian and Mayor Huang.

He hadn’t done anything particularly extraordinary, had he? Why had he caught the eyes of these two prominent figures, to the point where they were vying for his attention?

After Mayor Huang and Elder Li finally ceased their back-and-forth, Fang Xuesen cleared his throat, pressed his hands down, and said, "Now, Mayor Huang, Elder Li, I think we shouldn't get too far ahead of ourselves. Shall we talk to young Zhao about something else first?"

Hearing Fang Xuesen's words, Huang Zhigang and Li Kejian paused, then nodded in agreement.

Ji Chongxuan, sitting to the side, seemed unable to wait any longer. He turned his gaze toward Zhao Guoyang and blurted out, "My turn, my turn. Let me ask the first question."

Ji Chongxuan’s eyes were wide, and his shock of gray hair trembled with excitement. The sight made the corner of Zhao Guoyang’s mouth twitch, and he instinctively shifted slightly backward.

Ji Chongxuan took no notice of this. When Zhao Guoyang had prompted the young woman beside him to answer the mustache-wearing man’s question earlier, he had been standing right next to Li Kejian and had clearly seen the look of shock on the old man's face.

Li Kejian had later explained that only a handful of people in the country could have answered that question, which made Ji Chongxuan all the more astonished. Now that he had the chance to face this prodigy directly, Ji Chongxuan was determined to "interrogate" him properly.

With a face crinkled in a smile like a blooming chrysanthemum, Ji Chongxuan tapped the table and asked, "Young Zhao, I have a question I’d like to ask, and I hope you will answer me truthfully."

Zhao Guoyang nodded subconsciously, wondering what this academician wanted to ask.

"It’s like this: regarding that question about Honda that the young woman answered earlier, how did you know the answer?"

"I’m referring to the third point—the claim that the new generation of Honda Accord engines uses dual-balance shaft technology," Ji Chongxuan said, holding up three fingers.

Once the question was posed, everyone in the conference room turned their eyes toward Zhao Guoyang.

Zhao Guoyang paused for a moment before blurting out, "I read it in a journal published in France, I believe it was called the *World Automotive Engine Report*."

"*World Automotive Engine Report*?" Li Kejian’s voice rose significantly.

Seeing him react, Zhao Guoyang felt a pang of worry: he had just made up the name of a journal—did it actually exist?

In truth, Zhao Guoyang knew about the Honda engine technology because of a collaboration he had with Guangzhou Honda in his past life. Looking back, Honda had begun implementing this technology internationally around the time of the third and fourth generation Accords. When Zhao Siyan was about to go on stage earlier, he had casually mentioned this detail, hoping to increase her chances of winning. He hadn't expected that this extra bit of input would be a mistake; one lie often requires countless others to cover it up.

Zhao Guoyang glanced calmly at Li Kejian and, seeing that he seemed to be trying to recall the fictional journal, quickly cleared his throat. "Elder Li, it’s a French-language journal. I happened to see it while wandering the streets in Guangzhou during a business trip. It was held by a foreigner. It’s likely... not distributed here."

After Zhao Guoyang finished his explanation, Li Kejian and the other bigwigs had no reason to doubt him. Indeed, as a developing southern city, Guangzhou was home to many foreign business people and technical experts. It was common for such people to carry obscure journals from their home countries. It was perfectly plausible that Zhao Guoyang had simply run into one.

As Li Kejian, Huang Zhigang, and the others nodded, Ji Chongxuan asked, "So, young Zhao, you know French as well?"

Seeing that this chapter was finally about to close, Zhao Guoyang quickly replied, "Yes, I’ve studied it a little."

Fang Xuesen, sitting in the seat of honor, his eyes lighting up, suddenly spoke in French: "Tu sais où est la Seine?" (Do you know where the Seine is?)

Without blinking, Zhao Guoyang retorted, "Le nord de la France, un bouchon Luo Shan tour, M." (Northern France, the Loshan Tower, sir.)

Although Fang Xuesen was the only one present who spoke French, everyone else had the ability to judge the situation. Once Zhao Guoyang spoke that fluent French, there was no longer any doubt about his proficiency.

Mayor Huang Zhigang’s face was now beaming with a smile he could barely contain. He couldn't help but exclaim repeatedly, "Good, very good! I never imagined that besides your profound professional knowledge, you would be so learned and talented, even versed in French."

"By the way, you know Japanese as well, don't you? Then I must ask: besides these two foreign languages, how many others are you fluent in?"

Looking at the Mayor’s expectant face, Zhao Guoyang felt conflicted. After a moment of hesitation, he replied, "Uh... I suppose I know a bit more English. As for the others—Spanish, Portuguese, and German—I know just enough to get by."

"Ah, you know that many foreign languages?" Li Kejian seemed to doubt his own ears.

Zhao Guoyang nodded and said candidly, "For simple technical exchanges, it shouldn't be a problem. In university, I had some free time, so I dabbled in the languages of several Western developed nations, thinking it might make technical exchanges easier in the future. After all, our country’s industrial development has much to learn from others internationally..."

Hearing these humble words, Huang Zhigang, Fang Xuesen, and the other leaders were filled with emotion. To be so diligent and studious at Zhao Guoyang’s age, and to think with such long-term vision—"farsighted" was not an overstatement.

The conference room fell silent for a long moment. Li Kejian composed himself and asked, "Young Zhao, regarding the views you shared with me at the Siyang Group about our country’s 'Three Big, Three Small' automotive strategy, could you explain them in detail to us?"

Hearing Li Kejian’s question, Fang Xuesen immediately perked up. In fact, as the executive deputy director of the Machinery Industry Commission, he would soon be promoted to the full position. The biggest issue currently before him was how to draft the preliminary strategy for the future development of the domestic automotive industry.

As a pillar of the nation’s heavy industry, the standard of the automotive industry undoubtedly represented the country’s image. The Premier had mentioned this issue several times at ministerial meetings to the leaders of the Machinery Industry Commission and the Planning Commission, urging them to find ways to accelerate the development of the domestic auto industry. Fang Xuesen dared not forget the Premier’s earnest instructions for even a second. It was partly for this reason that he had come to the Songjiang International Auto Expo in person.

Now, could this extraordinary young man, Zhao Guoyang, provide constructive insights for raising the level of the automotive industry? This was what Fang Xuesen was eagerly anticipating.