The next morning at 10 a.m., a convoy of more than thirty automotive engineers, led by Li Li, stepped out of Piao City International Airport in style.
A row of gleaming Audi vehicles was already waiting outside.
Vice President Huang of Audi was there in person to greet them.
"President Li, welcome. I'm Huang Ming, Vice President of Audi. Our President Lu is already waiting for you at the factory. Please—this way."
Li Li smiled, slightly embarrassed.
"Vice President Huang, thank you for the personal welcome. You didn't need to trouble yourself."
They exchanged pleasantries and boarded the cars bound for the Audi factory.
As soon as the engineers sat down, they couldn't help but marvel.
"Wow, the Audi A4 is incredible. These seats are insanely comfortable."
"Our production quality is still nowhere near this."
"When can we build cars like this?"
Someone sighed.
"Let's not kid ourselves. We'll stick to the low-end segment. We can't afford to compete in the luxury market."
Lu Haifeng was already waiting at the Audi factory gates, ready to receive them personally.
After all, these visitors were here to bring money. Courtesy was essential.
As the cars pulled up, Haifeng stepped forward with a smile.
"Welcome, President Li. I hope you'll stay a few days so I can be a proper host."
Li Li laughed.
"President Lu. That's exactly why I brought so many engineers—we came to learn everything we can from your team."
That was no exaggeration. The real reason Li Li had brought this many engineers was to study Audi's systems and—if possible—take some tech back with them.
Before long, other bosses from domestic automakers began arriving.
At the front of the group was Li Changcheng from Great Wall Motors.
He strode up and clapped Haifeng on the back.
"President Lu, congratulations! May wealth flood your doors!"
"Thank you," Haifeng said. "I appreciate it—really. It's an honor to have you all here from so far away."
"Please, come in."
Li Hai from Taishan Motors followed.
"President Lu, congrats on the smooth success of Audi's development!"
Everyone echoed the sentiment.
They weren't just being polite. Audi had pulled off what few thought possible.
"I've never admired anyone before," said one of the visiting execs, "but you've earned my respect, President Lu."
"In just seven or eight months, you've sold over 500,000 A4s. We wouldn't see that number if it were us."
"Don't say that," someone else laughed. "No one can compare with Audi's R&D muscle. They're operating on a whole different level."
Haifeng smiled and nodded, then gathered the group.
With everyone present, it was time to begin the factory tour.
They boarded the company's dedicated buses and headed to the first phase of the Audi plant.
Haifeng didn't bother hiding anything.
This was just the assembly zone. No secrets here. And even if they wanted to copy it, they couldn't. No one else had this level of infrastructure.
The guests fell silent as the buses rolled up to the towering facility.
This factory was enormous.
Inside, Audi had prepared sightseeing cars to tour the floor.
Stamping. Welding. Painting. Assembly. Testing.
Each section showcased top-of-the-line industrial equipment.
The engineers' expressions said it all—envy, admiration, awe.
"The automation level here is insane!"
"Look at those robots. That's got to be a 90% automation rate!"
They were right.
Haifeng's plant ran with 90% automation. The whole place ran like a precision instrument.
None of the domestic visitors had ever seen anything like it.
Li Li leaned toward Haifeng.
"This is a modular architecture platform, right? I've seen something similar at Benma Group, but their system is nowhere near this."
Haifeng nodded.
"It is. We worked hard to develop it ourselves. The automation rate is 90%, with an annual output of 200,000 units. We've built three workshops like this so far."
The guests went quiet for a beat.
Three lines. 600,000 car output. At this level of automation?
They were floored.
One of the execs did the math in his head.
"Our Lichi factory line can only handle 50,000 units—and that one costs nearly ¥10 billion."
And even that line's equipment couldn't compare to what they saw here.
They didn't ask where Haifeng got his equipment. They knew better.
But that didn't stop them from wanting it.
It would be a game-changer if they could buy this modular platform, even just the core components.
Lower costs. Higher quality. Modernized production.
The envy was real.