The Red Era, the Opening University Speech

Chapter 163 Congratulations, Li Mu!
The National Academic Exchange Conference proceeded smoothly.

During the event, there were many theoretical collisions and debates among academic giants, which were so exciting and amazing that people could not help but applaud.

But only there.

The exchange of theories can certainly promote scientific and technological progress, but it takes time to test.

The possibility of achieving results in a short period of time is very slim.

After Li Mu attended several small exchanges and discussions, he soon discovered that these experts and professors seemed to prefer introducing their schools to him rather than communicating.

So on the fourth day, seeing that Master Qian Wu was no longer present, he did not go there either, but instead went straight into the Semiconductor Research Institute to do experiments.

……

Within the electronic watch development team.

Wang Shoujue and a group of people stood in the back a little nervously, watching Li Mu conducting the assembly experiment of the electronic watch.

Each component is precisely installed on the watch frame according to the drawings.

The process was not complicated or difficult, but it made Wang Shoujue, Wu Youxiang and others behind him feel frightened.

……

Li Mu carefully tightened the last screw, installed the battery into the electronic watch, and completed the final calibration and debugging.

Looking at the numbers clearly displayed on it, a hint of joy appeared in his eyes.

Holding up his electronic watch, he smiled and raised his voice a little:

"Done! The test results are fine!"

After hearing the news, the heavy stone that had been weighing on Wu Youxiang and Wang Shoujue's hearts finally fell to the ground.

"Congratulations, congratulations!" The two of them clapped their hands and congratulated Li Mu and Huang Kun.

In the laboratory, everyone who had worked hard for a long time clapped their hands desperately, and the young graduate students gave each other a big hug.

Although electronic watches do not have many breakthroughs in technology, they are very important in creating foreign exchange!

Wu Youxiang said to Li Mu with a big smile on his face: "Congratulations, Li Mu, you have successfully created a new industrial product. I will report it right away and take credit for you. Your contribution is once again outstanding this time!"

Hearing this, Li Mu hurriedly said:

"It's all thanks to Team Leader Huang and all the experts and professors. I probably spend less than four hours here every day. The credit should go to the entire electronic watch research team."

“The credit goes to everyone, and the research is done by everyone together.”

"If I had to say that I did it alone, it would probably only be the installation work, but my two sisters, who are just 5 years old, can do this job too!"

His words made everyone burst into laughter.

Wu Youxiang did not dwell on the question of who had made the greater contribution. After talking for a while with a smile, he headed to the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

……

After reporting the news to Guo Mo, the latter did not delay and soon went to the First Ministry of Machine Building in person.

When Leader Qiu heard that the two were coming to visit, he knew there was good news, so he went out to greet them and said, "I was wondering why the magpies were calling on the branches today. It turns out that there are distinguished guests coming!"

"Haha, Lao Qiu, it's hard to say whether you are a distinguished guest or not, but I do bring you good news. The electronic watch has been successfully developed!" Guo Mo said with a smile.

Leader Qiu, who was about to make a few jokes, froze in his face, and the cigarette he had just taken out fell to the ground.

"Really, so fast?" he asked, stuttering a little.

That is an electronic watch with a profit margin of forty to fifty times. Once it is successfully developed, it can be put into mass production.

This will not only generate a large amount of foreign exchange, but also create a large number of urban jobs in the country.

Guo Mo affirmed:
"It's absolutely true. I came here to inform you first. I have to go to the Foreign Trade Committee later to tell the boss."

"If we want to sell electronic watches, it's not enough to just make them. We also have to find a way to sell them smoothly."

"Especially the issue of pricing, we need to think about it carefully. To be honest, I still feel a little uneasy about the initial price of 700 yuan proposed by Li Mu."

"Its cost is only $18, but if it is sold at such a high price, I'm afraid OM and the patriotic businessmen in Hong Kong will be worried."

He expressed his concerns.

Leader Qiu nodded and said, "Okay, then I'll go with you to the Foreign Trade Committee and discuss this matter as soon as possible."

Just as Guo Mo and his companions were heading to the Foreign Trade Commission, at the Semiconductor Research Institute.

After leaving a few people to continue data testing on the electronic watches, Li Mu started to work on the style design of the electronic watches.

Although he had hired some craftsmen to help with the production, he was never satisfied with the finished products.

With the current aesthetic level in China, it is indeed a bit difficult to design a watch that foreigners are willing to pay for.

He simply started painting himself.

By the way, ask Huang Kun and a few graduate students to give it a try. Product design is also a very important thing. Good design can greatly increase sales.

The watch body is beautifully shaped and full of futuristic sci-fi feel, which can be said to be a modern design in this era.

Looking at his design, Huang Kun and several graduate students looked at their own designs and quietly hid their drawings without leaving any trace.

"The first batch can be used according to this, and then improvements can be made later." Li Mu turned his head and continued: "As for the subsequent designs, they must not be so simple all the time."

"The design of this watch body is a big deal. If it is done well, it can increase sales a lot."

"We can also carve some cultural symbols of our country. Who among you is interested in doing this?"

He looked at several graduate students, then took the drawings in their hands one by one and looked at them.

Huang Kun and others need to conduct research, so they certainly cannot be responsible for the design, so they can only choose from these graduate students.

"Yours is a good one. You drew a dragon zodiac sign. That's quite creative!" Li Mu pointed at one of the drawings and looked at a young graduate student with admiration.

There is no shortage of technically savvy graduate students in the semiconductor industry, but there are probably not many who have design talent.

Li Mu originally wanted to assign the task directly, but when he saw the graduate student's eyes full of rejection, he was stunned.

I almost forgot, this is the Semiconductor Research Institute, and everyone who can come in deserves the title of a chosen one.

Asking them to do design is indeed a waste of their talents.

Thinking of this, Li Mu said: "If you have any ideas, you can follow me and learn from me. The same goes for you."

“The design may seem simple, but it is actually very difficult to master.”

"And its importance is directly related to the upper limit of product sales. The better the design, the higher the sales of our electronic watches."

"Like Team Leader Huang's piece, some people might think it's a loss if it's sold for 500, but what about mine?"

Everyone's eyes couldn't help but look back and forth between Li Mu and Huang Kun's design drawings.

"It is indeed better looking and more exquisite." Huang Kun spoke first, not at all annoyed by being used as a negative example.

"Yes." Li Mu nodded and said, "What ordinary people abroad pursue is different from what we do. The more fancy something is, the more they like it."

"This watch, without any decoration, costs only 500 yuan at most, but if it is made more exquisite, it can be sold for 1000 yuan, and people are still scrambling to buy it!"

“That’s the value of design.”

"Then I will learn from you." Upon hearing this, the young graduate student who had been hesitant just now immediately said with bright eyes.

Even the students who were originally glad to have escaped the disaster were no longer calm and started to speak out:

"We'll learn it too. More skills mean more paths." "Yeah, it doesn't look complicated. Maybe it'll be useful in the future."

"I didn't think too much about it. I just wanted to give those foreigners a good beating!"

……

After solving the design problem, Li Mu did not continue to go to the handheld game console development group and the J language research group.

The situation with handheld game consoles remains the same as before, and it is unlikely to be successful in the short term.

There has been considerable progress in the programming of Tetris. After Wu Xi and his team worked all night for several nights, they refined the programming language to the extreme.

Anyway, with Li Mu's level, he can hardly see any problem.

Then it is tested on the computer. If there is no problem, it can be installed quickly after the handheld game console design is completed.

After completing his time there, he returned to school to continue studying crop cultivation and physics.

……

The next day.

When Li Mu was about to go out, Xu Mingxin came to visit his dormitory and invited him to attend a meeting on the export of electronic watches.

So he turned to the Foreign Trade Committee first.

……

In the conference room.

Li Mu heard the fierce quarrel in the corridor.

Xu Mingxin gave him a helpless expression and then took him in.

When Li Mu appeared, the noisy voices suddenly quieted down.

Dong Huaxing first breathed a sigh of relief, then quickly said, "Come on, Li Mu, tell us how we should formulate a better sales strategy."

"You gave good suggestions for the products you invented previously. I still trust you."

"We have been discussing this for a long time and we don't have any good ideas."

With just a few words, he set the tone.

After arguing for a long time without any result, just listen to what others say first.

Li Muxian glanced at the people in the conference room. Secretary Liang from the First Ministry of Machine Building was present. When he saw him looking at him, he nodded slightly to show his goodwill.

Others were probably the economic experts from the Foreign Trade Committee and some patriotic businessmen.

He Zhenhua, whom I had met before when selling tape recorders, was also there. The two looked at each other and smiled without saying anything.

Li Mu cleared his throat and said:
"Since the leader thinks highly of me, I will just give you a few of my personal suggestions."

“First, we need to focus on publicity and let OM’s mainstream media constantly instill a message to the public before the electronic watch is launched on the market.”

"Our electronic watches are very high-end. Only if they are high-end enough can they be sold at a high price."

“But won’t a price that is too high affect sales?” an expert immediately retorted.

Price affects demand. If it’s too expensive, I won’t buy it. This is a very simple truth.

Li Mu smiled and continued:
“This will involve the production of subsequent electronic watches.”

"We can divide electronic watches into three levels. The first level has the most functions, is the most exquisite, and is the most expensive."

"Then from the second tier down to the third tier, the price difference will be at least 500 yuan."

"This price is too expensive. Having said that, I'm afraid the first batch can only be sold for more than 1000 yuan. Will anyone really buy it?" A patriotic businessman couldn't help asking.

More than 1000 yuan, with this money they might as well buy a royal handmade mechanical watch!

"It's expensive." Li Mu smiled and said, "I didn't plan to sell many high-end electronic watches. The key is to make an impression on those OM people."

“Electronic watches are not inferior to, and are even better than, mechanical watches.”

"Our country is now leading the way in semiconductor research. Although we know the cost is very low, foreign countries don't know, right?"

"Scarcity makes things valuable!"

After he finished speaking, there was a moment of silence in the meeting room.

Although Li Mu did not have any very professional analysis, his words were reasonable and it seemed that selling it this way was feasible.

"Pa pa pa~" Dong Hua got excited and the applause instantly rang out like thunder.

He said with emotion: "What a good idea! It gave us a good idea and solved our concerns about the price."

"We have been backward for a long time and are used to selling cheap things!"

……

Afterwards, the experts and professors below began to discuss and formulate sales strategies based on Li Mu’s ideas.

On this side, Dong Huaxing brought Li Mu and He Zhenhua to the office.

As soon as he came in, he said, "Mr. Xiao He is the negotiating representative of the patriotic merchants. He came here specifically to discuss the price with us."

After hearing these words, Li Mu roughly knew what role he would play later.

"Mr. Li, long time no see." He Zhenhua greeted him first, with a calm expression and a hint of sharpness in his eyes.

He smiled and said, "It's been a while. There's no need for small talk. I'm very busy with my research. Let's get straight to the point."

"I'm sure you're well aware of the profits from electronic watches. How about a 50-50 split?"

"I told you that you will never suffer any loss if you cooperate with us. That's very fair, isn't it?"

He Zhenhua was not too surprised by Li Mu's direct response. He just frowned slightly. These words actually sounded a bit threatening.

There will be no loss in cooperation, which means it is possible not to cooperate?

There are indeed a few Chinese businessmen in Hong Kong. After seeing how much money the He family is making, they seem to be looking for ways to contact the mainland.

Thinking of this, He Zhenhua sat up straighter and said something pitiful:

"That's very kind, but you just need to produce the goods and ship them to Hong Kong, and then you can sit back and count the money. We don't have it that easy!"

This is true, but it does not apply to electronic watches.

Even if the profit is only 50%, it is enough for these businessmen to make a fortune.

Seeing that he was indifferent, He Zhenhua continued: "Besides, the cost of electronic watches is too low, the high price will definitely not last too long."

"Once profits decline, we may even have to pay back money."

“But how do you know that we won’t launch more high-end electronic watches in the future?” Li Mu smiled.

Mr. Xiao He thought he had concealed his thoughts well, but he didn't know that he had been seen through by him long ago.

There is no doubt that the other party is reluctant to break off cooperation with Xia State.

There is more than one He family in Hong Kong, but the Xia Kingdom will only cooperate with them because the He family performs the best.

If they are unwilling, many people will rush to join in, especially in recent years, after many successful industrial products from the mainland have been selling well around the world, this situation has become increasingly serious.

Thanks to the book friend "You are the sand that cannot be held" for another reward of 100 coins
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(End of this chapter)