this man is not calm

Chapter 508 Big is Strong
According to common sense, it is unrealistic to improve the ability to manufacture and tune gasoline engines in a short period of time. Without accumulation, it is not certain that you can study the ready-made excellent products clearly.

This thing requires long-term and large-scale investment, and the gradual accumulation of data and talents before it can be iterated, upgraded and improved step by step.

The efficiency of an internal combustion engine not only depends on the quality and operating conditions of gasoline and diesel engines, but is also closely related to the type and quality of the fuel.

The dedicated R&D team lived up to expectations. While delving into the core technologies of gasoline and diesel engines, they also spent a lot of energy in the fuel field. For example, for natural gas engines, a small amount of hydrogen was added to industrial methane, biogas, coke oven gas and coalbed methane. This greatly improved the relatively slow combustion speed of natural gas and the insufficient lean combustion performance, and greatly improved the thermal efficiency.

The same phenomenon also occurs in the fields of liquid ammonia, methanol and dual-fuel engines, proving that the idea of ​​"the machine is slightly inferior, but the fuel is sufficient" is correct.

As the price of hydrogen remains high, and considering the cost of using mixed gas fuels, when replacing hydrogen with several other similar combustible gases, not surprisingly, dimethyl ether stands out. It not only helps natural gas to burn quickly and fully in the cylinders of internal combustion engines, but also reduces harmful substances such as hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides in exhaust emissions, achieving multiple goals at one stroke.

Whether adding additives to fuel gas or using alternative fuels can be promoted can only be seen step by step. At least there is no problem for Jinshang's companies to use them in the industrial and commercial fields. They have complete certificates and licenses and are qualified to sell them to the outside world. However, it is hard to say whether users can accept them.

The initiative of replacing diesel with high-quality alcohol ether fuel has not been implemented for long, and it seems to be a good idea. Low-quality alternative fuels can only be used in dual-fuel engines, medium and low-speed diesel engines, special-purpose mining trucks, loaders, and heavy agricultural machinery. The worst ones can be put into boilers for heating or power generation. In short, nothing will be wasted.

In addition, there is a solid-state hydrogen storage research and development direction recently proposed by a cooperative technical team of universities, which makes Jin Shang feel quite refreshing. This thing seems a bit "unpowerful" on large commercial and private cars, but it can be used in short-distance two-wheeled commuter cars with a range of tens to a hundred kilometers, which seems to be very promising.

The difficulty lies in the research and development of solid-state hydrogen storage technology, new materials, and catalysts without rare precious metals. In addition, the progress of proton exchange membrane fuel cells is very smooth. If the overall cost can be reduced to a certain level and installed on long-distance freight trucks, the operating cost will be slightly more expensive than that of diesel heavy trucks.

"It seems that our company's technology level has a bright future as a "production tool" in the industrial and commercial fields, but it is a bit useless in terms of civilian private cars!"

Before the technology advances to several levels, the existing level of hydrogen fuel is still far from enough for urban commuting, private cars and long-distance travel. Not only is our own capability insufficient, but our peers around the world also seem to be not doing well.

Only solid oxide fuel cells have shown unexpectedly good results in the fields of fixed power generation, distributed new energy power stations and cogeneration. The thermal efficiency in actual trials has been stabilized at more than 80%. Under ideal conditions in the laboratory, the large-scale coal gasification fuel cell power generation technology (IGFC) with near-zero carbon dioxide emissions and the distributed power generation technology that can use hydrogen, methane, methanol and ammonia as fuels have a comprehensive thermal efficiency peak of more than 92%, which is really surprising.

This is much higher than the thermal efficiency of supercritical power generation technology and various combined cycle systems. Such achievements have attracted the attention of many industry experts and decision-makers above.

Given the overall domestic energy environment of "rich in coal, less oil and lacking gas", it would be a blessing if this technology could be rolled out for commercial use.

Even the current comprehensive thermal efficiency of over 80% is enough to attract the attention of many people.

There are rumors that several important awards in the field of science and technology will be presented to the R&D team. This is not only an important honor but also a great gain. The increase in fame is one aspect, and direct economic benefits as well as various subsidies and tax exemptions can also bring great benefits.

As the Spring Festival approaches, a series of good news makes Jin Shang feel much better.

As the Spring Festival approaches, it is the annual peak consumption season again. The consumption of meat, eggs and milk has increased rapidly, but the prices have not risen year-on-year. This shows that the supply channels of Jin Shang, his second uncle Zhang Hua and his future father-in-law's agricultural and animal husbandry commercial consortium have not been affected and they have filled the demand gap in a timely manner.

In particular, agricultural and aquatic products such as tea beverages, vegetables and fruits, freshwater fish, and processed non-staple food from the south were supplied by the expanded inland freight fleet and the northward movement of cold chain logistics ships from rivers and seas to the coast, thus preventing the shortage of green vegetables that occurred in previous years from happening.

Then there are the several greenhouses and breeding centers built by Jinxi Culture in the "Green City" demonstration park, which really let the people in western Beijing experience the happiness of not having to eat pickled cabbage and radishes every day in the winter.

The Mama Ranch run by Zhang Yunying, far away in Tanghai, is also on the right track, with tourists and consumers coming in an endless stream, which surprised friends and relatives who had not originally placed too much hope.

The fresh food supermarket and hot pot restaurant nearby are doing extremely good business. The fresh fruits and vegetables in Yisheng Supermarket are in short supply from morning to night. Beef, mutton, eggs, fruits, green leafy vegetables, etc. are even in high demand and must be reserved in advance. The price is not high, the quality is excellent, and the taste is great. They are a symbol of peace of mind in the hearts of old customers.

The popularity of Yuanqilou is increasing. If you don’t book in advance, you won’t be able to get a seat at all.

Fresh food supermarkets that sell in large quantities and chain hotpot restaurants with shockingly high profits are doing well, and they are really making money.

Even Uniqlo's shipments have been rising steadily, with new winter clothes sold out in North China, Central China and several major cities along the southeast coast. Lao Jin's garment factories are so busy that they are unable to cope with the workload and have to request OEM work from surrounding factories.

Logically speaking, the economic situation has improved slightly in the past two years. However, driven by the aftermath of the bursting of the financial bubble, the growth rate of international trade has slowed down significantly, and the domestic economy has also been affected to varying degrees.

During the economic boom period from New Year's Day to the Spring Festival, which goes against the trend, private consumption was thoroughly activated.

Goods traveling from north to south gather in Gyeonggi Province, one of the largest consumer markets in the country, nourishing the entire Beijing metropolitan area like a spring breeze and rain.

With the arrival of the coldest season of the year, primary and secondary schools begin their winter vacation, and college students finish their final exams and prepare to go home for the New Year.

In this festive atmosphere, sales of Jinxi Mall's e-commerce platform, offline service stores and hypermarkets across the country have also shown explosive growth.

When automobile consumption was not yet mainstream, real estate had not yet ushered in a period of dramatic growth, and consumer electronics represented by mobile phones and computers were booming, the "four major items" including refrigerators, color TVs, washing machines and air conditioners accounted for the bulk of domestic demand.

Taking the largest TV manufacturer in the country as an example, its sales exceeded 16 billion yuan in 1997, and the annual turnover of the top five peers were all over 5 billion yuan. From this perspective, we can understand why this era was the golden age for large-scale chain appliance malls and home appliance giants, and economic growth was driven entirely by them.

1998 was the year when the economy fell from its peak, from 16 billion in the previous year to 12 billion. Judging from this year's trend, the downward trend has not stopped, but the decline has narrowed.

The reasons for this include normal economic fluctuations and ups and downs in consumption on the one hand, and the increasing number of competitors and intensified price wars are also important factors that cannot be ignored.

In terms of total sales for the whole year, color TV sales volume increased by 18%, while sales revenue remained basically flat. Profits have been squeezed to the limit in one round of price cuts after another. Many local small and medium-sized home appliance companies with poor quality control, incomplete supply chains, weak sales and complacency are in trouble.

The same thing happened to refrigerators, air conditioners and washing machines, but to different degrees. Planet Smart Manufacturing, a subsidiary of Jinxi Culture, is a disruptor in the white goods industry. As a competitor of marine appliances switching to civilian use, it has won the favor of many "new immigrants" in big cities by relying on online marketing, door-to-door service, high-quality after-sales service and affordable benefits. It has not only established a firm foothold, but also prepared to suppress the profit margins of traditional electrical manufacturers and distributors.

There are no middlemen to make a profit from the price difference. It’s just that simple.

By engaging directly with front-line sales and connecting with end customers to the greatest extent possible, the prices of traditional home appliances have been reduced to extremely low levels in three years.

Technology has advanced, products have been upgraded, quality has improved, currency has depreciated due to inflation, but the absolute price of goods has hardly increased. This is the dimensionality reduction attack that e-commerce has brought to the physical distribution model.

What is the annual sales volume of color TVs produced by Planet Manufacturing?
Three billion.

It is exactly one-fifth of the "leader".

This figure is basically the same as the total sales of two and a half generations of Venus game consoles. If we add in small household appliances such as mobile phones, PHS, range hoods, water heaters, refrigerators, air conditioners, hair dryers, induction cookers and microwave ovens, the total sales of all-caliber household appliances and consumer electronics and the service fees collected are close to 18 billion, with a net profit of just over 3.1 billion.

The world's "color TV king" made the most money in 1997, with a net profit of 2.6 billion. Last year, amid the siege of the "price war", the net profit was just over 2 billion.

Relying on brand cluster tactics, online marketing, self-operated outlets to provide after-sales service, and the promise of free door-to-door installation, three-year warranty and lifetime maintenance, even if a single product is not top-notch, it is only at an upper-middle level in the niche segment, and the overall volume has expanded to the point where it is more profitable than the most profitable home appliance manufacturer in the country.

In the process of moving from the "blue ocean" to the "red ocean", while domestic peers were still competing for channels, engaging in price wars, and actively offering themselves to be "controlled" by major home appliance stores, Planet Intelligent Manufacturing had already overtaken them by taking another path.

In this slightly cold winter, the sales of game consoles, accessories and consumables entered the peak season, driving the hot sales of peripheral products. The monetization capabilities of several major IPs began to gradually increase, especially the image licensing of several major characters such as "Journey to the West", "Legend of the White Snake", "Fengshen" and "Three Kingdoms", which received more than 2 billion yuan.

This money is so easy to earn.

The cultural industry really makes money. If you don’t make money, it’s either because you don’t have the skills, the timing is wrong, or you’re using the wrong method.

From another perspective, the moat of cultural consumer products is like a dimensionality reduction attack to outsiders outside the cultural circle.

After more than three years, the seeds that were sown have finally grown and it is time for them to blossom and bear fruit.

"The speed of making money is getting faster and faster, and it has far exceeded the speed of spending money."

At the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of the cartoon comics playground prepared for family tourists in the largest indoor theme park in western Beijing, Jin Shang, Li Xuan and Mei Wenhui attended the celebration together. The couple then chatted in low voices on the observation deck while looking at the bustling crowd.

On the first day of opening, the discount was the biggest in order to attract popularity and get off to a good start. At least now it seems to have been a success.

Parents, grandparents who brought their children to play; young people carrying backpacks and shoulder bags; couples who were ready to go to the movies and visit the video game arcade, as well as tourists who came to join in the fun, filled the spacious halls and aisles.

As a last resort, the security guard at the door hung up a warning sign and began to restrict entry to avoid accidents.

Xinghai Plaza, a new consumer market center that is said to have the largest business area in North China and is led by Mei Yingnian and his son Mei Wenhui, and in which Jin Shang has a considerable share, has finally opened after three years of construction and investment promotion.

Old Jin has gone to celebrate the opening of the new Uniqlo store on the first floor and the Yuanqilou specialty store on the fourth floor. His second uncle Mei Yingnian has gone to attend a financing meeting hosted by a municipal bureau. Mei Wenhui, who was there to entertain on his behalf, chatted skillfully with the guests and seemed to be very good at socializing. I'm afraid he has participated in many such events in the past.

Jin Shang and Li Xuan didn't have that concern. They just said hello to the people they knew and went around wandering around to kill time.

Li Xuan responded to Jin Shang's teasing in a tone that she was already used to:
"For this commercial plaza, your main focus is still on the indoor theme park and the surrounding areas of the cinema, right?"

"Yes! I plan to exchange the profits from the cinema with my second uncle, and we will have cross-holdings. The Nan brothers will also be happy to see this happen. Introducing a strong partner will be beneficial to the expansion of the cinema chain."

"It seems that money is really just a numbers game for you."

"It's not that exaggerated. Whenever I see eight or nine-digit funds, I still feel a little cautious. The scale of Jinxi Culture and several of its sister companies is already large enough to be of great importance. It may not be very obvious in Beijing and a few other super cities. What do you think...if I go to your hometown Yunmeng to invest in an industry, or spend a few hundred million to build a machinery OEM factory to produce two-wheeled electric vehicles and Zengcheng vehicle parts?"

"Then you are throwing a depth charge. Last year, the GDP of the entire county-level city was not fully calculated. It is said that the approximate scale was around 2.5 billion. If you go... you might be regarded as a liar... if my grandfather did not introduce you."

This may sound a bit exaggerated, but the fact is that the resources that Jin Shang can mobilize can indeed be described as "rich enough to rival a country." The total GDP of more than half of the countries in the world is smaller than the economic scale created by Today's Culture and its holding companies.

Except for a few megacities, most prefecture-level cities in the country may not be able to accept hundreds of millions of foreign investments, and higher-level units are needed to organize and coordinate.

Not to mention a small county like Yunmeng with an underdeveloped economy. It cannot eat a "cake" that is too big, and its "teeth" and "stomach" are not that good, so it cannot digest it.

Only those related to agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery, which have some foundation at the local level, can make some progress.

"Just saying, if you go to your hometown to invest, you can only raise pigs, grow rapeseed, feed fish, etc., and let your grandfather and uncles do it. I just sigh that the speed at which money makes money is indeed much faster than making money honestly!"

(End of this chapter)