Two months were almost up, and quite quickly too.
Production lines for the XL2500 sniper rifle and the Gust assault rifle were on the verge of completion in Rheinmetall AG. The core for the giant, almost five hundred ton Thunder Dragon intelligent lathe had also been assembled, and built in Rheinmetall AG.
Xia Lei had been following Ling Han's instructions, controlling the rate of the work being done so that they weren't faster or slower than the German end throughout this period of time. He always progressed at just the right pace, and the German side could not say anything truly negative about it.
He also organised everything he saw in Rheinmetall AG throughout this period. His head already contained a virtual version of Rheinmetall AG that was exactly the same as the real Rheinmetall AG. There wasn't a nail, cable, or optic fibre that his version of Rheinmetall AG left out.
Now as long as Xia Lei reviewed it in his head, he could create a Chinese version of Rheinmetall AG that produced all of the weapons and defensive systems that Rheinmetall produced, if he were given funding and equipment!
Actually, he hadn't only used his brain to copy Rheinmetall AG. While organising, he had discovered some malpractices on some of the assembly lines, and a few products which weren't up to par. If he were the one building this factory and producing these products, he would reform the assembly lines' malpractices and promote the weapons' performance to achieve even better results!
This was a miracle. He had the only brain in the whole world that could accomplish this so thoroughly.
On the other hand, after almost three months of construction, Annina's castle had began to take shape. It cost twenty million euros and was erected at Annina's home town, the village of Werden. Of course, it wouldn't be a true castle from the Medieval Ages. Castles like those could not be built in several or even ten years, and twenty million euros would be far from enough. The castle which Sergey designed and constructed for Annina combined modern fads with a Medieval Ages Gothic style. The castle had the gorgeousness and retro style typical of Gothic buildings with a modern feel, so it was very beautiful.
From the pictures which Liu Zhennan had brought, the castle that Sergey constructed seemed like it came out of a fairytale world. An ancient castle, with a modern exercise room, and art room, along with a charming garden. Xia Lei fell in love with it just by looking at the pictures, so Annina, who would live there someday, would love it even more.
"Lukas, I don't know what to say, I…" Annina was very emotional. They were in Xia Lei's room. If it wasn't for Tang Yuyan, Long Bing and Liu Zhengnan present, she definitely would have jumped into Xia Lei's arms and thanked Xia Lei in her most practised way.
Tang Yuyan said, "Miss Annina, do you know what kind of a home Director Xia has for himself? Yep, I know. It's a small flat in Haizhu that isn't even 100 square meters. But he built a castle for you which cost twenty million euros. You should thank him well indeed. There aren't a lot of good men like him."
Annina was full of gratefulness. Her eyes filled with happy tears. "I know. I went there before. I don't know what to say… really… I think I’m the happiest woman in the world.”
Although they had both heard the same thing, Xia Lei took it differently. He knew that Tang Yuyan was saying that he was picking up girls with money since he lived in a run-down house but bought a castle for another girl. He felt a little awkward but he put on a small smile and intentionally played it calm. "Hehe, Yuyan, you don't know what happened between me and Annina. She started Thunder Horse Military Factory with me. Thunder Horse Military Factory couldn’t have gotten here today without her. She brought in more than twenty million euros in profits for me so she deserves this."
The atmosphere in the room immediately became a little awkward.
"Director Xia." Liu Zhennan was very smart and he helped Xia Lei change the subject. "Sergey said he still needs two months before he can finish his work and we will already be back in China by that time. I don't know how we are going to inspect his engineering project. You’ll have to make a decision on this, Director Xia."
Xia Lei gave a small frown. "We're only going to stay here for another week at most. After two months, we won't be here anymore…"
Annina cut Xia Lei off. "Director Xia, I can stay here. It's mine so I can stay to inspect it myself. It’s been my dream and I finally have what I’ve always dreamed of. I want to…"
She didn't continue. She looked at Xia Lei nervously.
She wanted to stay in Germany; Xia Lei understood that.
She was German and this was her home. Her relatives and friends were all here. In the beginning, she had been forced to stay in China, but that wasn't what she wanted. She did love him but she also loved her home, family, and friends. Now, she had made a decision, even though it was difficult for her.
Xia Lei was silent for a moment but in the end he still nodded. "I understand. I respect your decision."
Annina couldn't hold herself back anymore and she did not care about Tang Yuyan or Long Bing’s presence as she jumped into Xia Lei's embrace, hugging him tightly. She couldn't help the tears which flowed from her eyes.
Tang Yuyan glanced at Long Bing for some reason and their gazes met. Whether it was Long Bing or Tang Yuyan, both were clearly surprised. They hadn't imagined this outcome.
Annina whispered into Xia Lei’s ear, "You are my angel. I will love you forever. Even if you have a hundred women, please don't forget me. Perhaps I will marry another man and have children, but my heart will belong to you forever. In the future, if you come to Germany, I will come to you as long as you give me a call."
Perhaps only a German lady like Annina could voice a love confession like this.
Xia Lei didn't know why, but he felt a little disappointed, sad, but relieved. He made a small smile and nodded lightly. He whispered into her ear, "I will."
Annina kissed Xia Lei's cheek, then let him go.
Liu Zhengnan laughed and said, "Director Xia, I’ll give Sergey a call. He knows what to do."
Xia Lei nodded. "Let’s do it that way, then."
There was a knock knock knocking at the door.
Long Bing went over to open the door. Sylvia stood outside.
"Who are you looking for?" Long Bing broke the silence, her voice cold.
Sylvia smiled sweetly. "Um, I'm looking for Mr Xia."
Tang Yuyan interjected before Xia Lei could respond. "Why are you looking for Mr Xia? It’s the weekend, so please come back on Monday to discuss work."
Sylvia didn't mind Tang Yuyan's attitude at all. She shrugged and smiled as she said, "Does it seem like I've come to talk about work?"
If she wasn't here for work, then she was here for some personal matters.
What did the European version of Szlamy want, coming to the door dressed like this?
Long Bing and Tang Yuyan's eyes went to Xia Lei's face.
Xia Lei's head started hurting. He braced himself and went up to her. "Miss Sylvia, do you need anything from me?"
Sylvia laughed and said, "So Mr Xia, your project is on the verge of completion. The CEO of Rheinmetall AG, Mr. Mark Armin, is inviting you to his house to attend his birthday party. Many of the higher-ups of Rheinmetall AG are going to be present, and he really hopes you can come."
"I see…" Xia Lei didn't want to go but it was difficult to refuse straightaway. After all, they still needed Rheinmetall AG to do the inspection when the project was complete. It would be bad if Mark Armin deliberately found fault with it.
Sylvia added, "Mr Xia, don't worry. There will be a Special Forces squadron to protect you. No one will pose a safety problem. On another note, Mr. Mark Armin also said that he wants to discuss a future collaboration between the two companies with you at his birthday party."
Everything had already been planned out, and a Special Forces squadron had been especially invited, just for him. He would seem unreasonable if he still refused. Xia Lei nodded and said, "All right, I'll go."
Long Bing said, "I will go make preparations."
However, Sylvia replied, "I'm sorry, Mr Mark Armin only invited Mr Xia."
Tang Yuyan's face immediately darkened as she coldly asked, "What is the meaning of this?"
Sylvia said, "I'm so sorry. This wasn’t my idea, but Mr Mark Armin's. This is a private party and it's also at Mr Mark Armin's house, so he doesn't want too many strangers going there."
Tang Yuyan was about to throw a tantrum but Xia Lei spoke first, "No worries, I'll just go there and come back. There shouldn't be any problems with a German Special Forces squadron protecting me."
Long Bing walked to the window and pulled open the blinds to glance out. Below the guests’ living quarters stood several German Special Forces soldiers and a few Mercedes-Benz G-class heavy duty military vehicles which were also equipped with two heavy machine guns, one in front and one in the back — overwhelming firepower.
Xia Lei really wasn't in much danger with these security arrangements.
Long Bing looked back from the window and said, "You can go. We will wait here for you."
Tang Yuyan couldn't raise a good objection with Long Bing saying that.
Sylvia smiled and said, "This way, Mr Xia."
Xia Lei glanced at Long Bing, Tang Yuyan, and at Annina last before he followed Sylvia out of the room.
"She's clearly dressed like that to seduce people. How slutty." Tang Yuyan mumbled to herself.
Next to her, Long Bing said, "You'd definitely be better looking than her if you dressed like that."
"Piss off. I won’t wear that." After a pause, she suddenly said, "Would I really look better than that little German slut if I dressed like that?"
Long Bing said, "You just have to wear a skirt that’s one size smaller."
Tang Yuyan was speechless.