Thirty Entrepreneurship: Recycling of second-hand aircraft carriers at the beginning

Chapter 604 Working Together

"Mr. Lin, shouldn't you consider making some changes? You're still sticking to the same old methods all day long, without even realizing how much the situation has changed. Don't you think about why your business is still stagnant while Lin Chen has achieved great success? Just look at the housing market."

Among Lin Chen's projects, the most attractive feature is undoubtedly the affordable housing. The reason is simple: building such housing in this location can attract urban white-collar workers and solve many practical problems.

Moreover, these low-rent housing units can be renewed after the lease expires, which is equivalent to building a building and then making a steady profit.

Looking at those completed residential communities, the residents feel extremely comfortable after moving in; these are the best houses available today.

"Take a look at these prices. Compared to yours, this is blatant price gouging. You don't care about the survival of us real estate companies at all!"

Everyone was stunned when they saw the price.

"I don't believe they can make a profit at this price unless I see for myself how they operate. If I find out they've cut corners, I won't let it go."

Therefore, Mr. Lin decided to review the project.

"Okay!"

The president smiled.

“I know what you’re thinking. In that case, I’ll take you to see it.”

And so they formed a new inspection team, which was actually an investigation team, to try to refute everything Lin Chen had done.

Lin Chen also received the news.

"Don't rush, let them come. I want to see what tricks these people can pull. I can say for sure that they will all slink away with their tails between their legs, because our house is absolutely top-notch in terms of performance and there won't be any problems."

Lin Chen knew perfectly well that, firstly, the construction team was all his own, and secondly, every step of the construction process was rigorously controlled. To ensure quality, virtually every apartment underwent strict quality testing, meaning that the quality of each floor was far superior to that of the apartments built by previous developers.

Furthermore, Lin Chen plans to continue upgrading building materials, aiming to elevate the real estate industry to a new level through technological innovation. This would not only lower property market prices but also address numerous environmental issues.

In his view, this was absolutely a measure with no drawbacks whatsoever.

……

After some investigation, Mr. Lin returned looking dejected. He never expected that Lin Chen's house was indeed impeccable in terms of quality.

"Mr. Lin, is there anything else you'd like to say?"

The president asked with a smile.

Boss Lin didn't say anything and simply turned and left. But back home, he felt extremely frustrated. If things continued to develop like this, it would be difficult to salvage the situation.

However, this has raised a new problem. Since the new materials basically do not require bricks and tiles, this will affect many brick kilns.

Sure enough, not long after, many brick kiln owners went directly to Boss Lin, hoping he could give them an explanation. After all, they also needed to survive; if the new materials became widespread, they would all lose their jobs.

"Oh dear, I'm not sure either. This new material is really giving me a headache. First of all, this new project is receiving key support from relevant departments, which will definitely be a huge blow to traditional industries. Think about it, the most direct impact will be on traditional building materials, like brick and tile factories, which may really have to disappear from the scene."

Mr. Lin's words took the brick kiln owners by surprise.

“We have to survive too! There are so many brick kilns across the country, and we don’t earn much money, plus we’re doing hard manual labor, don’t you think?”

These brick kiln owners are also frustrated. Although they are trying to innovate, most of them still use the old techniques. Now, they are facing the pressure of transformation.

The distraught Mr. Lin had no idea what to do. He had previously maintained good relations with these brick kiln owners, and if he suddenly decided to use new materials, he feared they might threaten him.

But if he doesn't use the new materials, he won't be able to sell his house. If he goes directly to Lin Chen to buy the materials, wouldn't that just be letting Lin Chen profit?

Clearly, he was quite resistant to the emergence of this new technology.

Mr. Lin was at his wit's end, so he simply called all the other real estate company owners to his company.

"Everyone, as you all saw when we went to the association today, the president has been completely fooled by Lin Chen. We can't trust him unconditionally like before!"

Mr. Lin shook his head helplessly. At this moment, he had to stabilize everyone's emotions and make everyone understand how huge an impact Lin Chen's appearance would have on the industry.

Moreover, ever since the president visited Lin Chen's model house, he has been preoccupied with the new materials and is even thinking about how to promote them.

Therefore, Mr. Lin felt that the change of chairman was definitely not a good omen for them.

Now that this new industry has emerged, those people are making a fortune, but the houses these people's businesses have built are all losing money.

Everyone present nodded in agreement when Mr. Lin said that. Indeed, profits were already pitifully low, and the emergence of new materials had unexpectedly pushed housing prices down even further.

"What should we do?"

Clearly, Mr. Zhao was also deeply worried about the situation, feeling it had reached a point where things were beyond repair. They had been considering a transformation from the beginning, but were still clueless. The reason was simple: besides building houses, their company had virtually no new technologies.

"Now I understand, science and technology are the primary productive forces. But I just don't believe that real estate, a pillar industry in our country, is really going to be ignored."

"Look at this, once Lin Chen's house comes out, it not only affects our real estate industry, but the home appliance industry will also suffer. What will happen to those companies that specialize in air conditioners? And what about those brick kilns? How will they survive? Isn't anyone going to do anything about it?"

……

The business owners started discussing it amongst themselves.

"I think we need to form a system, or at least carry out a technological innovation, otherwise we will be eliminated sooner or later."

"That's right! If that were to happen, the consequences would be unimaginable!"

"Unthinkable? It's not that serious! I don't like hearing those words; they sound so dismissive. Don't forget, we're a well-known developer. Do you think Lin Chen can bring us down?"

One of the bosses got angry.

However, everyone knew in their hearts that if things continued like this, their respective companies would really be unable to survive.

Mr. Lin immediately convened an emergency meeting. “Everyone, the real estate project our company developed is indeed quite good, and consumers are very satisfied, but it has triggered a series of chain reactions. I’ve heard that many real estate developers have recently joined forces, and even the home appliance industry and brick kilns have been affected.”

Actually, no one was surprised to hear this news. They had worried about this situation when the project was first initiated, and it turned out to be true.

"Actually, there is a way to solve the problem, which is to upgrade the industry. In other words, we may have to reinvest in research and development to help those related companies overcome their difficulties."

At this point, everyone was facing a dilemma. Although the material they were currently using was in the form of wooden planks, its production was directly related to the generator in the "Everything Can Be Repaired" factory. Even if they shared the formula, there was no guarantee they could produce it.

"To be honest, this method won't work. First of all, the brick kilns simply can't produce the relatively environmentally friendly materials we have."

……

"Perhaps there is a way."

Li Xue came up with an idea.

"Look, whether it's bricks or porcelain, they're all fired, right? Our porcelain can fetch a high price as handicrafts, and the technology exists all over the world. Wouldn't it be better if brick kilns switched to making porcelain?"

"Where are the customers?"

Huang Chen immediately voiced his objection.

"These brick kiln owners mainly serve real estate companies. Are they supposed to go around telling them every day, 'We plan to build houses with porcelain'? If they directly approach their target customers, the original porcelain manufacturers definitely won't be happy. Suddenly, a bunch of new companies have emerged..."

Everyone agreed with his statement. After all, industry upgrading is inevitable, and some outdated industries will definitely be eliminated gradually.

"From a macro perspective, the emergence of a new technology will inevitably lead to the demise of some industries, especially our construction industry, which will definitely be the first to be affected. Besides, even if brick kilns disappear, they might be able to solve some follow-up problems."

"Actually, not necessarily."

Lin Chen suddenly thought of a solution.

"First of all, the design concept of the brick kiln needs to be updated. It's too outdated now. The level of those designers is really not good! If they don't make changes, the products they produce will still not meet environmental protection requirements."

Actually, if you think about this carefully, you'll find there's a problem. The key is how to find the optimal solution.

“My idea is very clear: we have to find a way out for these brick kilns. But the people in these brick kilns only know how to make bricks. It’s probably not realistic to expect them to directly popularize environmentally friendly materials, especially in rural areas, since the locals may not have the need for such materials.”

"what do you mean……"

"I think there are two ways for these brick kilns to transform. First, they can directly transform into porcelain manufacturers. The country has a huge demand for porcelain now, and the market prospects for industrial ceramics are also good. Think about it carefully, doesn't that make sense?"

Upon hearing this, everyone quickly realized that it was indeed true.

"Moreover, the ceramic market has huge potential, and it would be a good thing if new companies could join. We can use technology to help them upgrade their industries. Besides, there are quite a few people who like to use ceramic tiles. If we can find a breakthrough in this area, the problem will be solved."

As everyone knows, the porcelain and tile industry is highly profitable, and if more companies participate, prices will definitely decrease.

"Let's talk about the home appliance industry. Air conditioners are consumables, so how could they possibly disappear from the market in the future? Take industrial air conditioning for example. Even if our materials are usable, the machines in the factory will generate a lot of heat. For steel mills, even if our materials are used, the effect may not be ideal."

This complicates matters, and the home appliance industry will certainly be affected to some extent.

"The home appliance industry is not limited to air conditioners; it also includes televisions, washing machines, and various other products. Although air conditioners are the most expensive, they can also produce other products, such as microwave ovens, which are selling quite well in the market right now."

Everyone knows that air conditioners are relatively more expensive, which is the main problem we are facing right now, and this may trigger a series of chain reactions.

"Also, air conditioners will need to be upgraded in the future. To be honest, our materials can indeed keep the air conditioner warm in winter and cool in summer, but there will definitely still be people who want to buy air conditioners. How should I put it, the air conditioner market will definitely be impacted, but I don't think the impact will be too great, after all, no company is focused solely on producing air conditioners now."

Lin Chen could only try to stabilize the situation and see what the best solution would be.

Of course, the main problem right now is to help everyone clarify their thinking, but these things can't be done by just imagining.

Clearly, this new idea only came about through internal discussions.

Ultimately, we still have to rely on technological means to solve the problem.

"Here's what I'm thinking: we need to find a way to enable those brick kilns to produce ceramic tiles using their existing equipment."

This might be a good approach.

Lin Chen returned to the lab and shared his idea with the computer.

“Master, I don’t really think much of your idea. The reason is simple: if these brick kilns were willing to upgrade their industry, they wouldn’t have come to us to complain before. To be honest, those brick kiln owners probably don’t have a high level of education.”

"How could I not know?"

Lin Chen shook his head helplessly.

“All our current efforts are aimed at driving the development of the industry. Within the city, the traditional real estate industry is still very large, but after the completion of this landmark building, I believe that even more amazing projects will follow.”

This is the biggest guarantee at present.

"Master, I've been thinking about something. We mainly deal in technical materials, but do those brick kiln owners only supply housing construction companies? For example, don't municipal engineering projects need these materials?"

Upon hearing this, everyone suddenly understood.

"Everything has its use, and the factory has military connections. Asking the military for help might be the best option. Besides, in terms of municipal engineering, those facilities will eventually need to be upgraded after a long period of use, right?"

This makes the situation clear.

"Therefore, we cannot be out of touch with reality. Moreover, we have a good relationship with those in charge. Now we should consider how to help companies better fulfill their social responsibilities and do a good job in publicity."

Lin Chen was taken aback by these words.

"Good grief, I'm here to do research, and you're giving me this nonsense."

(End of this chapter)