The Red Era, the Opening University Speech

Can Chapter 138 help the country rise 20 years earlier?

The development of the tape recorder progressed very quickly, with almost no technical barriers, and most of the time was spent on the production of parts.

It took only one day and one night for the tape recorder to produce a sample.

Then Li Mu asked Guan Jianmin to invite people from the First Ministry of Machine Building to come over, while he himself took the things to find Wu Youxiang and Wang Shoujue.

When the two saw him coming, they attached great importance to it and immediately held a meeting.

When the people from the First Ministry of Machine Building and the Foreign Trade Commission came over, Li Mu began to introduce the functions of the tape recorder to everyone:
"This recorder uses hard magnetic material as a carrier, and uses the residual magnetic properties of the magnetic material to record the sound signal on this small tape."

"You could say that this tape is a container for storing sound."

"I'll demonstrate it to you guys next."

After pressing the recorder, Li Mu spoke a 30-second recording and then played it.

Hearing the clear sound from the tape recorder, everyone in the conference room was shocked.

Especially Xu Mingxin from the Foreign Trade Committee, he stood up excitedly and said, "Great, great, Comrade Li Mu, your tape recorder has a very high economic value!"

"Indeed, whether it is technology or design, it is probably quite advanced in the world." Secretary Liang of the First Ministry of Machine Building also stood up and applauded.

But he added, "I just don't know what the cost is."

The price of tape recorders does not seem cheap. If they are too expensive, it will be difficult to produce and sell them overseas, after all, the market is unpredictable.

"The cost is about 30 yuan, but selling the machine is not the biggest source of income, the tape is." Li Mu took the tape out of the recorder and continued:

"The cost of a tape is less than 1 yuan, and we can sell it for 1 yuan or even 2 yuan."

"It's so expensive, will anyone buy it?" Wu Youxiang couldn't help but ask.

The profit has increased dozens of times, it's simply terrifying!
Li Mu smiled and said, "Of course someone will buy it. This price is much cheaper than the records sold by Emperor M, and the sound quality is pretty good. It is the most cost-effective choice."

"I agree. Our Foreign Trade Committee has carefully studied the foreign markets in recent times. There will definitely be a good market for tape recorders." Xu Mingxin was the first to agree.

Secretary Liang also said: "If the cost is not high, there should be no problem. I will report this to the leader when I return."

……

The First Ministry of Machine Building and the Foreign Trade Commission both acted quickly.

The meeting was held in the morning, and people from both sides came in the afternoon.

The first person Li Mu met was He Zhenhua, a patriotic Hong Kong businessman who had returned from Hong Kong.

After seeing him, the other party immediately stepped forward and shook hands enthusiastically: "Mr. Li, I have heard of you for a long time, I have heard of you for a long time!"

"Have you heard of me?" Li Mu was a little puzzled.

He Zhenhua smiled and said:
"Of course I know you. We are the ones who sell the air fryers you make to Continent O."

"My father often mentioned you and said he would come to see you if he had the chance."

……

The two exchanged pleasantries for a while, and then Li Mu got straight to the point and took out a tape recorder.

After listening to the introduction, He Zhenhua immediately concluded: "Mr. Li, this tape recorder will definitely be a big seller in Europe and even in the United States!"

"I can sign an order for 5 tape recorders and 50 tapes right now. What do you think?"

"Mr. Xiao He has a good vision!" Li Mu sighed. He is indeed a businessman who can get along well with Daying and Xia Kingdom. His vision and courage are impeccable.

He then asked, "But what about the price? How much do you plan to set?"

This question made He Zhenhua stunned. In his impression, scientists in Xia country have always been ashamed to talk about profits.

After thinking for a while, he said, "I estimate that the unit price of each tape recorder should be around 18 pounds, and the unit price of the tape is 25 pence."

This price was not inflated. Cooperating with Xia Guo was the policy set by his father, and they could accept a slight loss.

Not to mention this kind of business that is sure to make money.

"The price is quite reasonable. It seems that you are here with sincerity." Li Mu glanced at Xu Mingxin beside him and said, "How about a 60:40 profit distribution?"

"60% and 40%?" He Zhenhua was stunned. Xia Guo had sold the previous air fryers directly to them, and the profit was fixed.

I didn't expect that this time they would directly ask for pure profit.

He hesitated and said, "Mr. Li, you only need to produce, and we will be responsible for transportation and sales. These two links will consume a lot of manpower, financial resources and material costs."

"If the ratio is 60:40, we might lose money if we are not careful."

Although there are guidelines set by his father, He Zhenhua will not follow them blindly.

If we give in too much, there is no guarantee that the Xia Kingdom will not become more aggressive later.

"Then it will be 70:30." Li Mu observed He Zhenhua's speech and found that he was indeed not lying, so he lowered the share ratio a little.

"Okay, 73 then." He Zhenhua gritted his teeth and agreed directly.

Although this share still has certain risks, it is worth taking.

Cooperation with Xia State is a long-term strategy, and the rewards they will get will increase in the future.

After discussing the sales, He Zhenhua offered to treat Li Mu to a meal.

But Li Mu still wanted to meet someone from the First Ministry of Machine Building, so he could only decline and say he would make an appointment another day.

As soon as He Zhenhua left, Xu Mingxin couldn't help but give him a thumbs up and praised him, "Li Mu, you are really good. This Mr. He is not easy to deal with."

"My boss originally asked me to earn 15% of the profit, but I didn't expect you to double the profit."

"It's just double. If I insist on 4%, he would actually agree." Li Mu smiled faintly.

Hearing this, Xu Mingxin was a little surprised and said, "Why is that? Although they are patriotic businessmen, they are still businessmen after all. They can't do business with us at a loss, right?"

"Haha, Director Xu, I think you should change your mind." Li Mu laughed and said, "We are constantly coming up with new products, and our technology is far ahead of the world."

"This means that if people abroad want to buy, they can only purchase from us."

"Mr. Xiao He is a smart man. He knows that we will have more products in the future. Whether it is out of political considerations or economic judgment, he will not be hostile to us."

Hearing this, Xu Mingxin suddenly understood.

……

Afterwards, Li Mu met with Secretary Liang who came from the First Ministry of Machine Building.

The production of tape recorders and tapes could not be met by relying on the old radio production line, so there was only one solution - to build a factory.

The First Ministry of Machine Building had already been prepared for this and had already decided on the factory site and would begin construction soon.

Later, Li Mu assigned the two graduate students of the tape storage group to the First Ministry of Machine Building, and asked them to be responsible for the subsequent factory production line construction issues.

The sales problem was solved, Li Mu had nothing to do, so he went home to rest.

In the next few days, he didn't go anywhere and was busy studying at home.

Because, the final exam is coming again!
Although due to the significant improvement in his brain power, his level is now fully sufficient to cope with the academic exams of his sophomore year.

However, having learned from the last lesson, he still planned to prepare early.

……

Under the banyan tree in the slum, Li Mu was reading a textbook for his elective course, occasionally glancing at Li Lan and Li Yu who were happily playing nearby.

The two little girls ate meat every day, their faces were chubby, and they looked even more adorable when they were lying on the ground counting ants. As he watched them, he suddenly thought, "They are already seven years old now, should they be sent to school?"

Li Lan and Li Yu, who were having fun, suddenly felt a chill on their backs. It was summer, but it felt like returning to winter.

"Brother, come and play." The two turned their heads and looked around suspiciously, but found nothing. Instead, they saw Li Mu staring at them, and they walked over with their short legs to pull him.

"Forget it, there's no need to rush when it comes to studying." Li Mu thought to himself as he looked at the two's cute appearance.

……

Hong Kong, Ho family.

Kevin came to the villa again, but this time, he was no longer wearing a mid-range shirt and suit, but a high-priced custom-made suit from Country F.

His temperament is no longer timid, but full of the confidence of a successful person.

When he saw Mr. He, he extended his hand and said warmly, "Long time no see, dear He."

"Long time no see, Mr. Kevin has changed a lot!" Looking at him, Mr. He smiled slightly.

Air fryers are now monopolized by the Taigu Group in Continental O, and are sold at a sky-high price that is almost twice their cost price, making Kevin suddenly a hot figure.

"This is all thanks to my cooperation with you, Mr. He. I will always remember your kindness." Kevin said.

Mr. He laughed and said, "It's just mutual benefit, it can't be called a favor, Mr. Kevin, you are too kind."

"Okay, I won't waste any more time. I came to you because I have a new product that I want to sell to you."

After saying this, he signaled to the butler next to him, who immediately took out a prototype of a tape recorder.

After a brief introduction, Kevin's eyes lit up immediately and he asked, "How much do you plan to sell this tape recorder and the tapes?"

"The tape recorder costs 20 pounds and the tape is 30 pence." Mr. He said lightly.

"This is impossible! It's too expensive!" Kevin shook his head upon hearing this. He had suffered a loss at the hands of Mr. He before, so he studied a lot of negotiation skills after returning.

He knew there was definitely room for bargaining at this price.

Mr. He smiled and said, "It's a little expensive, but you still make money regardless, don't you?"

"Any new product has risks. Even if I think it will sell well, the board of directors may not agree if the cost is too high," Kevin said.

If goods from Hong Kong want to be sold to Europe, they can only go through them. He feels that he has the capital to lower the price.

"Then Mr. Kevin, do you want to take a look at the sales situation at M Emperor before making a decision?" Mr. He glanced at the servant who walked to the door, and said lightly.

Hearing this, Kevin was stunned and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Nothing. Excuse me, Mr. Kevin. The Governor of Hong Kong and the people from RCA Radio Company of M.I.E. are here. I have to excuse myself for the moment."

Kevin was surprised, but before he could ask, Mr. He walked out.

"Wait, Mr. He!" He stood up quickly.

He knew that he had lost again in this confrontation.

But even if we lose, the worst that can happen is just a small loss. We must get the tape recorder!
……

Time flies and more than half a month has passed.

Li Mu successfully completed the final exam and walked out of the examination room.

"Let's go to a restaurant." Before we even left the teaching building, Zhang Kai and Li Jian came up to us.

Neither of them bothered to ask him how he did in the exam, since they knew he would do well anyway.

Li Mu shook his head and laughed, "You two caught me and killed me alone. That's a bit too much. We must split the profits evenly this time!"

"Go away, you're eating as much as eight people. Aren't you taking advantage of us?" Zhang Kai joked.

The three of them walked out of the teaching building chatting and laughing, and saw Wang Ya and Shao Yanan when they came down.

Seeing them, Wang Ya came up and said, "Xu Qing asked us to have dinner together after the exam and asked us to invite you. Do you want to go?"

"She's treating?" Li Mu asked.

Wang Ya and the other three people around her all let out a "Huh~" sound at the same time.

"Ahem, just kidding." Li Mu coughed twice to ease the embarrassment, then said, "Let's go. We are planning to go to a restaurant too. Let's go together."

Afterwards, several of them left Beijing Institute of Technology while chatting and laughing.

As soon as I walked out of the school gate, I saw a lot of people walking in one direction in groups.

Seeing this scene, Li Mu asked the old man at the door: "Why are there so many people here?"

Hearing his question, Wang Ya and others also stopped, their eyes full of curiosity.

"I heard that Kyoto is going to build several new factories. There is a huge shortage of workers, so they are recruiting from all over the country," the old man explained.

"Recruiting? That's a good thing." Zhang Kai muttered, "My cousin is graduating from high school this year. If he can get a job at the factory, he won't have to wait that long."

Li Jian on the side also said: "I have a cousin who is also graduating this year. She was supposed to stay at home and wait for her graduation. She must be very happy to hear this news."

In this era, the competition for jobs in the city is still quite fierce, but it is not as fierce as it will be in a few years. However, students still need to wait for a job assignment after graduation. In addition, if there is a good position in a factory, people will fight for it and use all their abilities to get it.

Li Mu looked at the huge team, thoughtful.

He had already overestimated the number of unemployed young people in the city, but he didn't expect it to be too few.

There were hundreds of them just from what he saw, and there were probably even more that he couldn't see.

Although it is because working professions are more popular in this era, it also shows the severity of the current employment problem.

"Why don't you go and see which factory is hiring? We're not too hungry now anyway." Zhang Kai suddenly said.

"I have no objection." Li Jian was eager to try.

Wang Ya and Shao Yanan standing by also nodded, with thoughtful expressions in their eyes. It was obvious that some of their relatives in the family might also have to go to the countryside to work.

Seeing this, Li Mu nodded slightly and said, "Okay, let's go and take a look."

Then a few people followed the team to the recruitment place.

……

In front of an open space in front of the factory, people who came to register formed several long queues.

The factory staff in charge of registration held up a loud speaker and shouted, "Come on, come on, those who can read, go this way, those who have graduated from junior high school or high school, go this way."

Upon hearing the order, the crowd was quickly divided into several distinct teams, with one or two hundred people who could read and write, and thirty or forty people in junior and senior high school.

The difference can still be seen from this. If in a few years, after graduating from high school, I am afraid I will only be able to go to the countryside to work.

Just as Li Mu was sighing with emotion, Zhang Kai suddenly shouted, "Which side does that college student stand on?"

The moment the voice came out, the crowd was silent for a moment.

The middle-aged man holding the loud speaker looked at Zhang Kai and scolded him with a smile: "Go away, go play somewhere else. If you were a college student, you could just go there directly."

His words made the people queuing around him laugh.

College students, there is no need to queue up here.

"The continuous and large-scale increase in urban employment will definitely bring changes to the future because of me! In this life, I wonder if I can do my best to make the motherland rise 20 years earlier?" Looking at this bustling scene, Li Mu thought of the large-scale educated youth going to the countryside a few years later, and couldn't help but feel a strong sense of mission.

(End of this chapter)