A hundred flavors of life

Chapter 1506 Never seen it before, but awesome! (Please subscribe!)
Ma Xiao suggested that Yang Baihui register a new company, and then she and Hua Shier, as shareholders, would sign a contract with the machinery factory in the company's name, which would be safer.

Hua Shier knew Ma Xiao's concerns. These days, when cooperating with large state-owned factories, especially with patent licensing, one has to be careful. Otherwise, if the factory leadership changes or the policy changes, things can easily get complicated.

The situation is even more dangerous for Hua Shier, the patent holder, who is also a worker on unpaid leave at the machinery factory.

Hua Shier nodded in agreement, and Yang Baihui went to complete the registration procedures. With Ma Xiao's connections, the procedures were naturally expedited.

Two days later, Yang Baihui, Ma Xiao, and Hua Shier jointly signed a contract with the machinery factory.

The contract stipulates that the production line and technology will be provided by Hua Shier's company, while the machinery factory will provide labor and premises. Sales will be handled by the new company. Regarding profits, Hua Shier, as the patent holder, will receive 30%, with the remaining profits split equally between the machinery factory and the new company.

Okay, the new company also has Huashi Twelve shares, so he will take double the profits as usual.

Of course, he developed all the technology, so naturally no one objected.

After finishing his writing, Director Chen shook hands with the three men, then pulled Hua Twelve aside with some anticipation and said:
"Guoming, our factory is counting on you!"

Hua Shier smiled and said, "Don't worry, Factory Director. We'll strive to make this factory a great success and ensure that no worker is laid off!"

Factory Director Chen nodded emphatically, and then held a factory meeting in the afternoon to announce the good news: the workers would not be laid off, but would be reassigned to produce new products.

The entire factory was in an uproar, especially the workers who had been worried about being on the layoff list. They had been unable to eat or sleep these past few days, but now that they heard they no longer had to worry, they were so excited that tears welled up in their eyes.

When the workers learned that Cui Guoming had funded the purchase of the production line and the introduction of the new project, they were all extremely grateful.

That evening, many people brought gifts to the factory's residential area to express their gratitude to Hua Shier, but he declined them all. These people hadn't had any expenses for three months, and the money they spent on fruit was probably borrowed. He figured they might as well take the gifts back to supplement their children's nutrition.

As a result, these workers dropped off their things and left without giving him a chance to refuse.

Later that evening, afterwards... and afterwards still afterwards, Li Xiaozhen hugged Cui Guoming's arm and said happily:

"Tell me, when I chose you, wasn't it like I won the lottery?! How could you be so lucky?"

Hua Shier asked, puzzled, "Are you talking about waist walking, or something else?"

"Durian!" Li Xiaozhen blushed and punched him hard.

After signing the contract, Ma Xiao went abroad the very next day to work, efficiently applying for patents for Hua Twelve overseas.

A few days later, they also sent over some information and price lists for bicycle production lines via fax.

After reviewing the materials, Hua12 found that the best ones were the Japanese and German production lines.

Is this still a choice?

He couldn't let the Japanese get away with it, so he decided to abandon the German production line.

Yes, that's right. He wants the Japanese production line, which is not only cheaper but also saves a lot on shipping costs.

As for the Japanese getting a good deal?

If they don't pay later, it won't be considered a bargain!

Or you could pay them and then get the money back from somewhere else in Japan. It's just a rat's kidney, what's the big deal?
One production line costs more than 20 million RMB. Fortunately, thanks to Ma Xiao's strong argument, the shipping costs were covered by the Japanese.

The day after Ma Xiao paid the deposit in Japan, 2423 million ounces of gold, equivalent to approximately 753.6 tons, mysteriously disappeared from the underground vault of the Bank of Tokyo.

After the incident was exposed, the Metropolitan Police Department responded quickly, but no matter how hard they searched, they couldn't find a single clue.

After Ma Xiao returned to China, when he met Yang Baihui and Hua Shier, he mentioned this matter:

"More than 700 tons of gold! This is definitely not a simple matter. I have a feeling it was done by one of the Japanese themselves!"

Hua Twelve gave a thumbs up: "Senior Brother is right!"

Yang Baihui giggled, and Ma Xiao angrily punched him.

A few days later, the president of the Bank of Tokyo, along with several other senior executives, held a press conference and then committed seppuku (ritual suicide) on the spot to apologize.

Several people died, and the gold is definitely gone.

The disappearance of over 700 tons of national gold reserves from the vault is not merely an economic case, but a fatal blow to the entire national governance system.

What's worse, Japan's economy was already in a long period of pain following the bursting of its bubble, with land prices plummeting, banks accumulating mountains of bad debts, and businesses going bankrupt one after another. The public was already on edge.

This gold mystery is tantamount to dropping an atomic bomb on the ruins.

Tokyo stock markets triggered circuit breakers for three consecutive days, with the Nikkei index halved.

The Japanese yen plummeted against the US dollar like a freefall, panicked citizens flooded bank branches, a bank run swept the country, and many local banks declared bankruptcy overnight.

International rating agencies downgraded Japan's sovereign credit rating to junk status, causing government bond yields to soar and completely cutting off government financing channels.

In Japan, housing prices have plummeted.

Apartment prices in Tokyo’s central districts once soared to hundreds of millions of yen at the peak of the bubble, but now listing prices have fallen by 70% in a week, yet there are still no takers. Everyone is in a hurry to cash out and run away, and no one wants to hold a single piece of Japanese assets.

On Donglin's side, Hua Shier's eyes lit up as he watched CCTV's international news reports.

The next day, he went to the company to talk to Ma Xiao and Yang Baihui:

"Should we go to Japan and buy some properties at rock-bottom prices? Houses there are like cabbages right now, buying one would be a steal!"

Yang Baihui now wondered why her husband was so troublesome, and she said with amusement:
Aren't you afraid that housing prices will fall further?

Hua Shier laughed and said, "It's pretty much bottomed out. Besides, houses aren't like other assets; they can't just run away! Even if the price drops further, we can just buy in a few years and wait!"

Ma Xiao's eyes lit up too. Her grandfather always focused on cultivating an international perspective in the younger generation, so she saw an opportunity in it.

"I think it's a good idea!"

Yang Baihui looked at the two of them with amusement: "People are suffering from disaster, and you two are thinking about making a fortune off the national crisis."

Hua Twelve chuckled:
"What does the Japanese devils' misfortune have to do with me, Cui Guoming? Besides, do you understand national and personal vendettas? We can't miss this opportunity to give the Japanese devils a good thrashing."

At this moment, Ma Xiao thought of something:
"By the way, Guoming, the Japanese company that sold us the production line called this morning to say that the goods have been shipped. They want to get the warranty deposit in advance, so they offered to extend the warranty period to two years if we agree."

When Ma Xiao first went to negotiate, the agreement was to pay a 20% deposit first, then 30% before delivery, 40% after the goods are delivered, installed and tested and qualified, and the remaining 10% warranty deposit after the 12-month warranty period.

Hua Twelve asked Ma Xiao:

What is the company's reputation like?

Ma Xiao nodded and said:
"Before I contacted this company, I asked a friend, and they said their reputation was absolutely guaranteed!"

Hua Twelve laughed:
"Why would a company with such a good reputation want to breach its contract for a mere 10% warranty deposit?"

Yang Baihui, who was standing nearby, said, "It must be due to the current environment in Japan!"

Hua Shier snapped his fingers:

"That's right. The Japanese yen is practically worthless now. Several Japanese banks have gone bankrupt. This company has definitely been affected, and quite significantly. I suspect the company is facing a life-or-death crisis, otherwise they wouldn't be trying to get back even 10% of their warranty deposit ahead of schedule!"

Ma Xiao didn't know what Hua Shier was trying to express:
"Shall we agree? It's not a bad deal to extend the warranty by another year!"

Hua Shier gave his partner an annoyed look: "Do I care about that one year of warranty period?"

"What do you mean?" Ma Xiao was even more confused. "They're both facing a life-or-death crisis. Can they really guarantee the quality during this one-year warranty period? Not only can we not agree to pay in advance, but we also have to delay the remaining payment. Once the production line arrives, is installed and debugged, we'll say we don't have the money on hand and need to wait two months to settle the account. If they don't agree, let them take the lawsuit. Can they afford to delay?"

Ma Xiao understood somewhat: "You want to lower the price!"

"What do you mean by 'lowering the price'? This is called 'cutting the price'!"

Hua Shier became more and more excited as he spoke:

"They have to use 10% of their warranty deposit for emergencies. If they can't get the remaining 40% of the payment, will their company go bankrupt? So they are definitely the ones in a hurry. If we tell them that there are problems with the product quality and ask for a price reduction, they will definitely agree in their current situation."

"And if they go bankrupt early, we might not have to pay them any more money!"

Ma Xiao didn't know what to say, and chuckled:
"You're really something else! I've never seen such a shrewd businessman!"

Hua Twelve smiled and said:
"That just shows you're inexperienced. Besides, I'm not a shrewd businessman. Who told them to be Japanese? I have no remorse for dealing with Japanese!"

Yang Baihui found it amusing to listen from the side:
“Brother Cui, you’re overthinking it. Even if the other party goes bankrupt, according to Japanese practice, the money will be taken over by the bankruptcy administrator, who will then entrust our lawyers or partner organizations to recover it. This debt can’t be evaded.”

Hua Shier is a lawyer himself, so how could he not know this? However, he didn't argue, just chuckled.
"Then let's wait and see!"

A few days later, the production line was launched in Donglin. After the Japanese workers finished installing and debugging the machines at the machinery factory, they received a call from Japan urging them to settle the bill.

Ma Xiao followed Hua Shier's instructions, but after half a month, news came that the company that sold them the production line had declared bankruptcy because it could not repay its suppliers.

It is said that after the company went bankrupt, the boss, in an attempt to challenge the limits of human endurance, jumped off the cross-sea bridge and sacrificed himself to nature!
That very night, Hua Twelve traveled to Japan through a portal, retrieved the contract he had signed with the Japanese when purchasing the production line, and then burned it.
This made him even more righteous, and the next day he said to Ma Xiao and Yang Baihui:

"Look, how can a company that can go bankrupt so easily guarantee product quality? If I hadn't been careful, we would have been cheated by them!"

Ma Xiao and Yang Baihui were both amused and exasperated, thinking to themselves that if they had settled the bill promptly, the company might not have gone bankrupt.

Just then, the office television was showing "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," specifically the scene where Prime Minister Zhuge Liang scolds Wang Lang.
"I have never seen such a shameless person!"

Ma Xiao and Yang Baihui could no longer hold back and burst into laughter.

Hua Shier pointed at the television: "Look, as expected of the Prime Minister, he can see through the true nature of the Japanese devils even through a television set!"

He shouldn't have said anything; after he did, the two women laughed even harder.

When the Japanese company went bankrupt, the technicians who came with the production line paid for their own way back home. No one here chased after them for their debts, saving them more than ten million yen in outstanding payments. Where could they possibly seek justice?
As soon as the Japanese technicians left, Hua Shier ordered the workshop to be sealed off, and every day he would use his "divine machine refinement" skills to modify the Japanese production line in the workshop.

He had done this kind of thing before in the 'human world', so he was already very experienced.

A few days later, the production line was up and running, and one after another 'high-tech geared bicycles' were produced.

Factory Director Chen approached Hua Shier, excitedly presenting him with a proposal:

"Guoming, take a look! I've finished the pricing and marketing plan!"

Hua Shier took it, flipped through it, and a smile appeared on his lips:
"Old Chen, how much are you planning to sell this car for?"

Factory Director Chen held up two fingers, gestured again, and said confidently:

"How about 1200? It's much cheaper than those imported cars with transmissions on the market, but our car has an automatic transmission. It's positioned as a high-end domestic car, targeting those foreign brands!"

"I've already had the sales department at the factory calculate it. The first batch will consist of 5,000 vehicles, which will be released to the Northeast market to test the waters. If they sell well, we'll expand production to 50,000 vehicles next year to cover the whole country!"

Hua Shier placed the proposal on the table, leaned back in his chair, looked at him, and slowly began to speak:
"I won't sell this car for less than ten thousand."

Factory Director Chen thought he had misheard: "How much?"

"Ten thousand RMB, one car."

Factory Director Chen's eyes widened, his mouth agape in astonishment:
"Guoming, are you crazy? Ten thousand? A bicycle? Who's going to buy that?"

Hua Shier took out a cigarette, offered one to Factory Director Chen, lit one for himself, and exhaled a smoke ring.
"Old Chen, let me ask you, what do you think of this car?"

"Needless to say? I rode it, and it was fantastic! Going uphill was effortless, going downhill was automatically stable, and it was very safe. It's better than any other bike I've ever ridden!"

"So, how much better do you think this car is compared to those imported cars with transmissions on the market?"

Hua Shier didn't wait for Factory Director Chen's reply and said directly:

"Let me tell you, the core technology behind my development of this bicycle is the 'micro hydraulic sensing module.' With just this one technology, we are at least thirty years ahead of the world!"

This wasn't just something he made up; in fact, purely mechanical continuously variable transmission (CVT) bicycles were never mass-produced in later generations. All the mass-produced models were electric versions.

The closest thing to it is a purely mechanical continuously variable transmission (CVT) system announced by American inventor Haven Mercer in 2023, but there is no mature product yet.

The reason why it cannot be mass-produced is simple: the response to triggering automatic gear shifting is not intelligent or sensitive enough. However, the 'miniature hydraulic sensing module' that Huashier developed with its ingenious technology perfectly solves all the problems.

Hua Twelve's claim that he is 30 years ahead of the world is an understatement.

He smiled and flicked his cigarette ash:
"Our automatic transmission bicycles are something only we can produce in the whole world. It's a unique business for Scorpion Papa, and you're selling it for 1,200? Are you crazy?!"

Factory Director Chen opened his mouth: "But this is too expensive, ordinary people like us can't afford it."

Hua Shier laughed: "Who said we were going to sell it to ordinary people? With such a rip-off price, of course we're going to export it to earn foreign exchange!"

Factory Director Chen's eyes lit up when he heard about earning foreign exchange: "Guoming, are you serious? This can earn foreign exchange?"

Hua Shier knew why Director Chen was able to bankrupt the large factory with tens of thousands of employees in the original storyline: besides being stubborn and self-willed, he also lacked foresight.

He was too lazy to say much more to Director Chen and directly stated his plan:
"Go back and get ready. I'm going to Japan, and when I get back I'll take you to Taiwan. There's a bicycle award there, and Ma Xiao has already helped us register. With our product, winning a design award shouldn't be a problem. After we win the award, we'll go to Europe to exhibit, and once we sign a big contract there, you can start production right away!"

Factory Director Chen asked timidly, "If we go to Taiwan to apply for an award, will the higher-ups allow it?"

Hua Shier had no choice but to educate this legal illiterate man about the law:
"According to the management regulations, you can apply to participate in economic, scientific, cultural, educational, sports, and academic activities there. The higher authorities encourage such exchange activities. You are, after all, a cadre; it would be good for you to read more books in your spare time!"

Old Chen thought to himself, "No wonder I can't beat him. This kid knows everything!"

The next day, Hua Shier, Yang Baihui, and Ma Xiao went to Japan to buy up properties, specifically targeting Tokyo real estate that had already plummeted in price. Afterward, they went to soak in a very famous local hot spring, managing to make money and enjoy themselves at the same time.

One month later, Wanwan.

At the awards ceremony of the '1995 Advanced Bicycle Design Competition', Huashier's 'Automatic Gear Bicycle' unsurprisingly won the special award.

The jury's comments were written in a rather official style:

"This product demonstrates groundbreaking innovation and sophistication in the field of transmission systems. The application of automatic sensing technology is remarkably forward-thinking, providing new possibilities for the bicycle industry!"

In layman's terms: We've never seen this before, but it's really awesome.

In June, at an international bicycle and accessories exhibition in Cologne, Germany, Hua12's 'automatic transmission bicycle' and 'miniature hydraulic sensing module' caused a great sensation upon their debut and even received the exhibition's 'Special Recommendation for Innovative Products'!
Orders poured in like snowflakes. Ma Xiao and Factory Director Chen spent their days negotiating with people, and finally signed an order for 5,000 vehicles at a unit price of $1200.

Five thousand vehicles is not the limit of the order, but the limit of the production line. There is only one production line, and we cannot produce enough for all the orders.

Even so, Director Chen was so excited that he walked with a limp, unsure which leg to step with.

A $600 million deal! That's a real achievement for him. How could he not be excited?

When the news of Donglin Machinery Factory working overtime to produce goods reached China, it was featured on CCTV's evening news the next day.

Thus, famous singer Cui Guoming once again gained attention for his "unconventional" behavior!

Thank you to 08a and Little Tiger of the Demon Realm for the donations, and thank you to all the brothers who voted with monthly tickets and recommendation tickets. Thank you so much!