Siheyuan: I eat melons while doing scientific research

Chapter 1260 Greed and Wrath (4k)

This is a very interesting country that is somewhat detached from mainstream Western society—the land of bullfighting.

Contrary to many people's subconscious first reaction, the United Kingdom was not even one of the seventeen League of Nations members that participated in the Korean War.

Because of its attitude in Season 2, it remained outside the mainstream for a long time. It even joined the National League in 55. Before that, it was excluded due to historical reasons. It was only in 55 that this chapter was finally turned over.

It joined the Oceania Convention 82 years ago, and its participation in the convention has been somewhat half-hearted, for a simple reason.

—This thing is too far from the biggest hypothetical enemy of the Oceania Convention. Geographically speaking, it is still hiding behind Gaul. Even if the Gauls collectively expose their armpits, they may not be able to hit it.

"What use am I if the polar bear hasn't attacked? What use am I if the polar bear has attacked?" This is probably the mentality of the Bullfighting Kingdom. In fact, its biggest hypothetical enemy isn't the polar bear, but John Bull.

After all, the Mediterranean Sea, the gateway to the Atlantic Ocean between Europe and Africa, is still firmly in the hands of the British. For the Bulldog nation, this is the most painful thing.

Meanwhile, some people from the Kingdom of Bullfighting were watching everything with curiosity.

Unlike the Gauls, with whom we have had many dealings, and the British, with whom we have a delicate and complex relationship, the people of the Bullfighting Country are curious about everything in front of them, whether it is people, language, atmosphere, architecture or exhibits.

These people in the Bullfighting Kingdom belong to the middle group, neither high nor low. Those at the top are unlikely to reveal their intentions or inclinations in such a chaotic situation, while those at the bottom are unlikely to receive invitations. After all, the people who help us distribute invitations in these unfamiliar areas are not fools. They know that these invitations can win people over, and they still have to consider different levels when distributing them.

Or rather, those at the lower levels, even those who received invitations, couldn't find transportation to get here.

As first-time visitors to this land, unlike the wandering Gauls, they cautiously maintained a close-knit group, so that they could help each other should anything happen.

However, their mood quickly relaxed, at least their worries about safety completely disappeared. Although this Eastern country was poor, it maintained a very positive spirit; seeing them made one feel that everything was hopeful.

They weren't the only ones with similar feelings; in fact, many people felt the same way, such as the author of "Red Star Over China" who interviewed people in the revolutionary base areas of Northwest China during the War of Resistance Against Japan.

Against this positive backdrop, they were delighted to find that the people of the East were very friendly and welcoming to them. This friendliness and warmth was not based on nationality, but rather on the same attitude towards all guests.

Of course, they also knew that this friendliness and enthusiasm were contingent on them not crossing anyone's lines. After all, this country was notorious for its fighting prowess.

In any case, this at least allowed them to relax and participate in the exhibition with a completely relaxed attitude. Once they were relaxed, they were able to discover more details and opportunities.

“Daniel, I think we have a lot of opportunities here!” They maintained their group-based approach and witnessed the fierce competition at various booths. This competition was fierce at the individual level as well as at the trade organization level. Although the forms of competition varied, some were overt and some were covert, these middle-level people from the Bullfighting Nation saw everything clearly.

Everything here is indeed worth fighting for, but that only applies to competition among rivals. As for robbing the owner of this place... that would be more like it fifty years ago.

“Ugo, I think you’re right, but I think we should do something first.” Daniel looked at the bustling crowd in front of him, lost in thought.

"what's up?"

“Ugo, Martin, and all the gentlemen here, people from all over our country have gathered here. I think we should organize ourselves and deal with the Easterners as a whole. Only when we pool our strength can we do bigger things, right?”

"Daniel, are you afraid that we'll give up too many benefits in our competition? Do you want to form an alliance?"

"Yes, I think you've all realized that each country can have only one exclusive agency responsible for trade with them. In the most likely scenario, this agency should be our government agency, but it's clear that our current government agencies lack both the capacity and the motivation to do so, which presents us with an opportunity. Furthermore, gentlemen, you should realize that we must unite; otherwise, none of us alone will have the financial resources to handle the cash flow problems that arise after actual trade commences. Are we going to hand this opportunity over to a larger bull?"

"So how do you think this alliance can be guaranteed?" asked another person from the Bullfighting Country.

“This exhibition still has quite a while to go. My suggestion is that we leave the exhibition now and go back to the hotel. Then we can collectively sign an agreement to establish a joint-stock company after we return to China, and then we can talk to them in the name of this joint-stock company,” Daniel said.

Although there is a time constraint involved in this operation, it is not impossible to act expediently in urgent situations. Everyone else is pondering and thinking, and the inclination is gradually to reach a consensus.

“But why should we leave now instead of waiting until the exhibition ends? Time is running out, and the exhibition is about to close.” Mr. Martin was reluctant to leave even a little bit of time behind.

Daniel pointed to his head: "I'm afraid of greed... I'm afraid that if we keep watching, the greed brought by huge profits will destroy the fragile alliance we've formed so far. So I think it's more reasonable to suspend the visit until this alliance is truly formed."

Their conversation revealed that Daniel was implicitly in charge of the trip, and Daniel himself lived up to his position, pointing out the group's biggest hidden danger.

They may lack funds, but they may have greed that far exceeds the amount of money they have.

His intention was clear: to use contracts to restrain greed, and then concentrate his efforts on dealing with the Easterners.

“Okay, Daniel, you’ve convinced me.” Ugo nodded.

“Me too…” Martin agreed.

Eventually, everyone joined the agreement.

Daniel's guess was correct. If they continued to visit, the possibility of their fragile alliance falling apart was almost 100%, because there were just too many tempting exhibits. For example, around the same time they reached an agreement, a near-fight broke out at the Zhenxing Electric booth.

The main players in the battle are flat-screen TVs and TN-LCD dot matrix displays.

The conflict was between two sides—the Gauls and the Russians—while everyone else watched, including the already small number of John Bull.

The production of flat-screen TVs is difficult. Since Gao Zhendong handed over the technology of flat-screen TVs to Lou Shouxing, it took Lou Shouxing more than a year to actually mass-produce them. This time also included the time for intellectual property protection, including both the East and West sides.

The appearance of this color TV immediately ignited the emotions of all the visitors!

“Comrade, look what this is? A color television?” A technician from the White Bear Company pointed to the booth of Zhenxing Electric Technology.

"It seems so, but it also seems not. Good heavens, this 'television' is way too expensive!"

"But I think it's worth it. Look at its colors, and look at the degree of distortion in the image. It's even flat! Flat!"

Lou Shouxing adopted Gao Zhendong's terrible idea. These 17-inch flat-screen color TVs collectively transformed into "saturation warriors," playing the most vibrant and saturated videos of the era on a VCR. This immediately put the foreigners, who had only ever seen gray, foggy color TVs, to their knees in awe.

Most importantly, it was flat! The picture tube of this color TV was actually flat! And compared to all the color TVs of today, the colors were much more vibrant and richer. Although it did not reach the pinnacle of later CRTs, in this era, it was a game-changer for color TVs from any country, without exception, including the US.

This made everyone who visited immediately want to buy it! Although the price of this color TV was quite high, everyone's instinctive reaction was to buy it as much as they could afford it! Even if it meant exceeding the quota!
Unfortunately, this booth was special because it belonged to Zhenxing Electric Technology. They were just exhibiting and didn't bring many samples, so they couldn't even buy two units per person. There were only a few units, which wasn't enough.

Not only flat-screen TVs, but also the mature TN-LCD dot matrix displays. Looking at their thickness, the technicians at White Bear immediately came up with countless applications. At the very least, replacing some of the instruments on airplanes and tanks with this thing could save a lot of weight!
Almost immediately, the Gauls and the White Bear started fighting over those few flat-screen TVs and TN-LCDs that weren't sold according to quotas.

Ordering goods shouldn't be a problem, especially since they use different channels. The Gauls sell directly through Zhenxing Electric Technology, while the White Bear orders through us. This applies not only to the White Bear but to all the countries in the Economic Assistance Association.

However, there is a problem with this, namely timeliness! And what was most time-sensitive in the 60s? Armaments! In the 60s, it was common to see equipment with a technological level that could serve for at least twenty years relative to the present level being replaced after three to five years.

Clearly, for the polar bears, the priority is to get these "civilian" devices back as soon as possible to determine the possibility of mounting them on their weaponry.

A monitor with rich colors, vibrant images, and no edge distortion would be a waste to use only for entertainment. Moreover, White Bear has to consider the possibility that it will not be available through official channels later, so for now, he'll scavenge as many as he can.

After all, it was clearly written on the Zhenxing Electric Technology booth that it was Aocheng Zhenxing Electric Technology Group. They knew exactly where Aocheng was currently under temporary management.

Even for them, imitation required sufficient samples. However, with their technology, this thing was indeed quite difficult to imitate, and their televisions were still incredibly popular in the 80s.

The Gauls' reasons for snapping up these color TVs were similar to those of the White Bear: to secure their profits. They even hoped to bypass the patents and achieve similar effects by studying these prototypes as soon as possible, so they could also get a share of the profits. However, this hope might be dashed. Gao Zhendong had Lou Shouxing only produce the flat-screen TV, but the patent protection extended to technologies with similar effects, such as cylindrical screens.

Licensing is easy, but bypassing all patent barriers is quite difficult.

John Bull did not participate in the struggle for a simple reason—they knew that Zhenxing Electric was in Macau, but they knew even better that Zhenxing Electric was in Hong Kong Island.

So a bunch of foreigners watched as the Gauls and the polar bear engaged in a fierce oral exercise. It was lively, but ineffective, mainly because they couldn't understand each other. After all, the group consisted mainly of technicians and businessmen, and not many people were fluent in multiple foreign languages.

If the people of the Bullfighting Kingdom are fearing greed, one of the seven deadly sins, then the people on this stage are caught in the rage of the seven deadly sins.

Fortunately, they didn't actually make a move; they still knew where they were.

The farce ended after our exhibition staff separated them, with Zhenxing Electric Technology writing on these products in the five official working languages ​​of the National Union of Electric Power: "For display only, orders welcome, not for sale on site."

Although the outcome was not ideal for either side in the dispute, the people from the Gallo Triangle Aircraft Company outside the booth were overjoyed.

These things can be used on commercial regional jets! There are ample reasons to use them, both technically and in terms of public relations.

The people from Delta Air Lines believed that since Zhenxing Electric Technology was able to set up a booth here, it would be no problem for Oriental, as Delta Air Lines' partner in the civil aviation regional jet project, to obtain these products. They could even mobilize Zhenxing Electric Technology to provide aviation-grade customization for these equipment.

At this point, Triangle Company increasingly felt that participating in the cooperation with the Easterners was a wise move. They put forward many correct suggestions, corrected their own mistakes, and the other party's abundant human and technical resources greatly accelerated the design and manufacturing progress of the aircraft.

Outside the exhibition hall, Lou Xiao'e and her group, who had spent half a day exploring and had made a lot of progress, spotted a group from the Bullfighting Kingdom heading back to their hotel to finalize an agreement.

Lou Xiao'e found it strange to see this group of foreigners walking out in an orderly fashion, mainly because they were quite conspicuous.

"Hey, brother, sister-in-law, look, why did those people run away?" It's strange that she described their normal departure as if they had suffered a defeat.

"Ah, that group of people looks like they're from the Pyrenees Mountains west of Gaul. They haven't been communicating with us much, perhaps because both sides haven't fully prepared some things yet. They plan to come back tomorrow, for example, for technical translation," Lou Shouxing guessed casually.

(End of this chapter)