That year the flowers bloomed 1981

Chapter 1069: Before fighting against the outside world, one must first make peace with the inside
"Director Li, are you back?"

"Yeah, I came back yesterday."

"Then you didn't rest at home for a few days? But during your absence, we felt like we lost our backbone. If you can come to work one day earlier, we will feel more at ease one day earlier."

"Hehehehe~"

When Li Ye returned to work, many of his colleagues expressed their welcome and longing for him. However, he was somewhat uncomfortable with the fawning style.

Even a "positive" technology-based enterprise like the First Branch Factory seems to be no exception.

So Li Ye reminds himself from time to time that, apart from his parents, no one will praise you without any desire. When others praise you, you'd better not take it too seriously.

However, Li Ye still took Lu Zhizhang's words seriously.

When he saw Li Ye, he praised him while complaining, "You've been out for more than a month and you didn't even have a day off when you came back. Are you trying to compete with those workers for the title of model worker?
But you’re finally back! I’ve been so busy these days, and if you hadn’t come back, my brain would have exploded.”

Li Ye threw a small box to Lu Zhizhang and said with a smile: "I'll give you a little souvenir first to help you calm down. You are the pillar of our factory, so don't fall down."

As Lu Zhizhang opened the box, he said, "I used to think I was the mainstay! But after you left, I realized that I was only half a pillar. I don't know how you dealt with all those messes before.
Hey, what is this? Hetian jade? "

After Lu Zhizhang opened the box, he found several pieces of blue and white jade inside.

Li Ye said with a smile: "Hetian jade? What are you thinking? This is Qing Province jade, it's not worth much."

"Hey, what's the point of money? Even a small gift is worth a lot of thought!"

Lu Zhizhang put the box away with a clear conscience, and then said to Li Ye solemnly: "After you left, a few things happened in the factory. Let me tell you about it."

"First, Mitsubishi has lowered the price of its engines for us again. I told you this, but I heard some news these days. It seems that the higher-ups gave some guidance to General Manager Ma, saying that it is better to buy than to make."

"The second is that Lao Jie and his team have a disagreement on the next research direction of the engine. They had a fierce argument a few days ago. I couldn't persuade them, but I couldn't help you when you were not at home, so I didn't tell you."

"Third, just the day before yesterday, the Fengtian Automobile Factory announced the price of their new model, which was just a little lower than the price we planned to launch. After careful analysis and comparison, Manager Ma, Lao Jie, Wu Yan and I all believed that it was a great threat to us."

"."

Li Ye listened to Lu Zhizhang quietly, then asked, "Tell me what's going on with Lao Jie and the others? Who's arguing with whom? Is it because of a dispute over the technical solution, or is there a sign of a power struggle?"

Technical personnel are not immune to political intrigue, so Li Ye is most concerned about solving their problems. If they are arguing for personal gain, then that is a serious problem. If it is a purely technical debate, then Li Ye would still support it!
Quarrels prove that these technicians have their own ideas. Only with ideas can there be the possibility of continuous progress. If everyone does not argue or quarrel and lives in harmony, wouldn’t everyone become a slacker?

But Lu Zhizhang asked in surprise: "Are you most concerned about Lao Jie and the others?"

Li Ye also asked in confusion: "What else? Hasn't our first branch been technology-oriented since its establishment? Aren't technical matters the most important?"

Lu Zhizhang looked at Li Ye for a long time before he smiled helplessly.

In his opinion, Li Ye's ideas are always unexpected, but he can prove that he is right every time.

If we follow Lu Zhizhang's idea, the problems of Lao Jie and others are not that big, because "everything is under control". As long as he or Li Ye gives an order, all the technical personnel will obey.

But the other two questions are different. The above gives the guidance of "it is better to buy than to make", which is completely contrary to the original plan of the first branch. So is the first branch going to "disobey orders"?

The Hiace vans in Fengtian are obviously better than the Beijing brand commercial vehicles of the first branch, but the price is slightly lower than that of the Beijing brand. This issue is even more serious.

You know, the first branch has invested a lot of money in new car models over the past year, and the profit from 1041 alone is already stretched. If the commercial vehicle project fails, I don’t know how long it will take to recover.

But Li Ye didn't care about these at all.

Because he had already guessed this would be the result.

It is better to buy than to make, which is a very popular saying in recent years. The cancellation of many technological projects in the mainland is related to this saying.

But the technological development route of a branch does not rely on outsiders, so it is useless for anyone to give guidance. I don't need you to approve R&D funds, so what kind of guidance can you give?

And on Fengtian's side.
Li Ye whispered, "Old Lu, the price of new cars in Fengtian you mentioned is lower than ours. Could it be that they heard about it from us?"

Lu Zhizhang was shocked and asked, "Did they get wind of this? You mean someone on our side tipped them off?"

Communications in those days were far less developed than in later generations, and interpersonal relationships were not as close. Not only did some news spread very slowly, but people also did not understand the value of such news, and there were no channels to deliver the news.

The pricing given by Fengtian was so targeted that Li Ye naturally suspected that someone was taking advantage of the situation.

Lu Zhizhang frowned and thought for a long time, then said with a complicated tone: "If there really is a traitor, who do you think it is?"

The cars produced by the first branch factory have not yet been launched on the market and the prices have not been officially announced. It was only at a meeting two months ago that Li Ye was forced to mention the price due to Niu Hongzhang's strong request.

Looking at Lu Zhizhang's complicated expression, it was obvious that he was in a bad mood as well.

Niu Hongzhang and Li Ye have different opinions, but they are from the same pot after all. If it is really him, then this matter is serious. "Let's try and find out if it is him."

Li Ye smiled, then picked up a pen and wrote down a few prices on a piece of paper: "We will sell our new car at this price when it goes on the market. Whoever objects most strongly has something to hide."

Lu Zhizhang took the price written by Li Ye and said in shock after taking a look: "Li Ye, are you clearing out your inventory?"

The price Li Ye originally quoted to Niu Hongzhang ranged from 250,000 to 280,000, but the price he wrote down now was only 198,000 at the highest, a reduction of almost 100,000 at once.

A car price reduction of 100,000 yuan was unacceptable to Niu Hongzhang, not to mention Lu Zhizhang.

This 100,000 yuan is pure profit! According to the current price calculated by a branch factory, selling at this price may even result in a loss.

But Li Ye smiled faintly and said, "Old Lu, since they have made a move, we can't be timid. I have asked someone to calculate it a long time ago. As long as the sales volume increases, the profit will still be considerable at this price."

Lu Zhizhang smacked his lips and said in a very tangled tone: "But I think it will still sell well even if it's 50,000 yuan more expensive! There's no need to be so ruthless, right?"

"Ha~"

Li Ye chuckled and said, "Old Lu, business competition is very cruel. If you are not ruthless enough, you will not be able to become a leader."

Didn't Li Ye know that he could sell it for 220,000 or 30,000? But he wanted to cut it to the limit.

In the 1980s and 1990s, so many car brands emerged in the mainland, many of which were imitations of Toyota, Hiace, or other international brands. Why did none of them survive?
It’s not that they don’t understand marketing. For example, Songliao Automobile, which invited Uncle Benshan to be its spokesperson, has already made use of the celebrity effect early on.

But in manufacturing, economies of scale are the real killer.

Why did the flower growers of later generations, after developing high-tech products such as tunnel boring machines, sell them at 10% instead of 90% of the price offered by foreign companies?
Because if you lower your price a little, the other party will also lower their price a little.
If the other party has a brand advantage, you won’t be able to sell your products.

When you see that it's not working, you lower the price a little bit, and then the other party lowers the price a little bit too. After repeating this cycle a few times, they will no longer follow you in lowering the price.

Because your prices have been dropping continuously, the market no longer trusts your products, and old customers think that buying from you is too rip-off.

If you buy this year, you will suffer a loss next year, and another loss the year after. This market will collapse soon.

As long as the other party can keep the price stable, they will be sought after by the market relying on their good reputation over the years.

Therefore, as long as you can control your own costs, when you engage in a price war, you will be able to defeat the enemy in one step.

在九十年代的时候，一辆纯进口的丰田海狮售价是41万，搭配丰田4Y发动机的型号落地接近二十万，而搭配新晨491QE发动机的12座标准型落地大概15~16万。

However, the domestic production rate in Fengtian is alarmingly low, and the bottom line of the offer must be higher than 200,000. So after Li Ye called out the price of 198,000, the other party had no way of accepting it.

Except for a small number of imported parts, all the parts of the first branch are developed by the unit that Wen Leyu has been holding in recent years. The supply can be guaranteed with the lowest profit until the day when the market is occupied and a leading position is achieved.

If you keep clinging to the meager profits and struggle for several years to produce a few thousand or tens of thousands of vehicles, you will eventually be squeezed out by those joint venture brands!

The best thing to do is to quickly increase production while mainland users are highly tolerant. Otherwise, when everyone starts to be picky, users will not buy into your product if it's even a little bit off.

Only after you have production capacity can you be considered to have the foundation and qualifications to compete in technology. Refining products based on market feedback and striving for excellence without end is the only way to success.

If you only compete on price, you are just walking on one leg. If someone trips you up, you will fall into the mud and won't be able to get up.

"Old Lu, we will announce the price today and accept pre-orders from all dealers. Also, please use your connections at the head office and observe Lao Niu's reaction. To fight foreign enemies, we must first stabilize the internal situation."

"."

Lu Zhizhang stared at Li Ye for a few seconds, then suddenly said, "You may not be able to see Lao Niu's reaction today. He is still in Sunlight City!"

Li Ye was stunned and said strangely: "This is not right! It has been so many days, those relatives of martyrs who were hospitalized should have recovered by now, right?"

Lu Zhizhang said with a smile: "Yes, the patient that Lao Niu took care of recovered, but Lao Niu caught a cold and was hospitalized."

"."

"Hahahaha~"

Li Ye held it in for a long time, but finally laughed out of glee.

He still remembers the scene when he quarreled with Niu Hongzhang in Shannan. Niu Hongzhang said, "Isn't it just a cold? What's the big deal? You are so delicate."

But what about now?
If you have the ability, don’t treat a cold as an illness!

Why are you in the hospital? Can't you just take some Isatis indigofera?

(End of this chapter)