Chapter 15: I, Lin Wendong, Will Not Engage in Anything Illegal!

"Exactly." Lin Wendong nodded, then continued, "This is what I meant by the vast blue ocean of the overseas market!"

Li Youtian was stunned.

"The domestic market is too saturated, and besides... don't you think the profit margins on toy guns are too low? You should change the materials—swap the plastic for steel pipes."

"This way, the profits won't just multiply tenfold; the market demand will be insatiable!"

As Lin Wendong spoke, Li Youtian’s expression grew increasingly dark. Finally, unable to contain himself any longer, he slammed his hands onto the table and stood up abruptly.

"Enough! Are you trying to make a fool of me?"

He grabbed the contract, ready to tear it to shreds.

"Are you suggesting we manufacture real firearms? Are you insane, or are we? Do you have any idea what kind of crime that is if we get caught?"

Li Youtian let out a torrent of colorful language, which made it clear just how furious he truly was. He felt as though he had been treated like a circus monkey. After all that talk, it turned out the plan was to build real weapons? And yet, just moments ago, Lin had sworn up and down that this wouldn't violate any laws and was completely legal and compliant.

Legal my foot!

Li Youtian was practically boiling with rage. While he wasn't well-versed in Chinese law, he knew the reality. In China, you hear about drug lords being caught and massive stashes of contraband being seized, but who has ever seen news about large-scale arms manufacturing? It’s a joke! Once it reaches that level, it’s no longer just the police; the military would take over, conduct live-fire drills, and eventually flatten the place with missiles. It is no exaggeration to say that if their village, Mang Village, were to do this, it would be wiped off the map within months.

Seeing Li Youtian's reaction, Lin Wendong remained remarkably calm.

"Director Li, you’ve misunderstood me. I am not asking you to manufacture firearms; that is illegal. I will say it again: I, Lin Wendong, do not break the law!"

This statement stopped Li Youtian, who had been about to turn and leave.

He snorted indignantly. "Then what was that talk just now? Isn't that asking Mang Village to build weapons to sell to the Middle East?"

Lin Wendong sighed. "You see, I told you that you misunderstood me."

"Since we have already signed the contract, I will tell you the truth."

"When I asked you to change the materials, I meant for you to produce components. For example: steel pipes 415 millimeters in length with a 7.62-millimeter caliber."

"Or, for instance, slender metal boxes designed to hold rectangular objects."

"Or various types of metal handgrips, and..."

Li Youtian listened, dumbfounded. It took him a long moment to process the information, his eye twitching as he realized the implication.

"A steel pipe 415 millimeters long with a 7.62-millimeter caliber... do you know what else that is called?" Li Youtian took a deep breath. "An AK-47 barrel!"

"And... these slender boxes? Aren't those magazines?"

"Handgrips? Those are stocks!"

"How is this not asking us to manufacture weapons?!"

At this moment, Li Youtian reached his breaking point. Forget the fact that he was currently in Tazhai Village; he wanted to beat this young man who had been toying with him senseless.

To Li Youtian, he had been treated like a fool all day. Was this kid just bored, looking to have a laugh at the expense of a man in his fifties? First, he promised it was legal, and then he suggested manufacturing weapons—is that supposed to be legal? Then he backtracked, claiming it was just parts—what is the difference? His mood had been on a roller coaster all day: hope, shattered, reignited, and shattered again. He wanted to flip the table.

Lin Wendong, however, remained unfazed. He waved his hand, signaling for Li Youtian to keep listening.

"You have it all wrong. We plan to establish a company abroad and then hire Mang Village to supply these components."

"Forget it. Mang Village will absolutely not produce firearm components!" Before Lin could finish, Li Youtian interrupted with a cold, resolute snort.

Poverty, at least, was stable. It was better than being rich for a few days before ending up on the receiving end of a 7.62-millimeter round.

"Sigh, if that's how you feel, I'll be blunt. When our overseas company places orders with you, we won't label these parts by their actual names. You can just pretend you don't know..."

Lin Wendong had discovered that the laws of this world differed significantly from the Earth of his past life. The most crucial difference was the lack of territorial jurisdiction. In other words, if you commit a crime abroad, you are safe upon returning to China, provided you haven't broken any laws within Chinese borders.

According to Lin Wendong's plan, they would set up an arms company overseas. Mang Village would manufacture the parts, ship them to the foreign company for assembly, and finally, they would be sold as finished products.

While the idea seemed legally precarious, it was entirely viable in this world. At most, it could be described as exploiting a legal loophole. As long as the procurement from Mang Village didn't involve any names associated with firearm components, it would pass.

For example: refer to the barrels as steel pipes, the magazines as boxes, and the stocks as handgrips. Is it illegal to export steel pipes? Is it illegal to export boxes? Is it illegal to export handgrips? There is no law prohibiting the export of these items. Even if they assemble them into an AK-47, they are sold as separate parts; how could they possibly know what the buyers would do with them?

"Director Li, you should think carefully. A guaranteed profit of 50 million a year, potentially even over 100 million!" Lin Wendong's voice was like a siren song, slowly wearing down Li Youtian's resolve.

"I can guarantee that as long as Mang Village only produces these parts, you will never violate Chinese law. Besides, we’ve already signed the contract; our two villages are partners. If there is a problem, Tazhai won't be able to escape either."

"Do you really think I would do anything to harm Tazhai?"

With that final sentence, Lin Wendong sighed, his expression a mix of disappointment and genuine-looking sincerity. It was as if to say: We were kind enough to bring you along on the path to wealth, but you fail to understand our good intentions, letting our sincere efforts go to waste.

Of course, the expression was entirely staged.