The Red Era, the Opening University Speech

Chapter 202 Net Profit of $6 Million
It was almost noon when Jiang Ying and Wang Ya finally prepared the food and filled the table.

Li Mu also ended his conversation with Master Qian Wu and Zhao Jiuzhang and started to eat.

Master Qian Wu was a little surprised to see so much food. After asking Jiang Ying, he found out the reason.

He smiled and said, "Eat quickly, eat quickly. This time you must eat your fill before leaving."

"Yes, you always bring something with you every time. How can we let you go hungry?" Jiang Ying also advised with a smile.

Facing the two people's persuasion to eat, Li Mu had no choice but to say, "Then I won't be polite."

However, having said that, he still didn't eat too much. He kept eating while talking to everyone, and finally put down his chopsticks when he was only 50% full.

Jiang Ying was worried that he was not full yet, so she stood up and said she would make some more.

Seeing this, Li Mu hurriedly waved his hand to refuse, then pulled Wang Ya and ran away.

……

The next day.

After resting, Li Mu continued his research work.

While I was thinking about the mass production process of distributed projection lithography machines in the laboratory, I suddenly heard a noisy sound coming from outside.

He frowned and went to close the door.

Before I had taken two steps, I saw a large group of people rushing in.

The leader was Dong Huaxing from the Foreign Trade Committee. Seeing Li Mu, he was overjoyed and said:

"Advisor Li, good news, good news!"

"This year, our sales of various products abroad have generated foreign exchange income of 7 million dollars and 4 million British pounds."

"The net profit is nearly $6 million!"

Upon hearing the news, Li Mu couldn't help but tremble all over.

Although I had known some sales information in bits and pieces before, it was far less shocking than the direct statistics.

"Congratulations, leader. It's not easy!" Li Mu reacted quickly and congratulated him.

Dong Huaxing laughed when he heard this and said, "It's really not easy for you, and for the comrades in the Semiconductor Research Institute. Without you, we wouldn't have achieved what we have today."

"I have discussed this with your Dean Guo, and will ask the higher-ups to allocate some money to give everyone some bonuses and benefits."

"Even if the higher-ups don't allocate money, there will definitely be rewards," Guo Mo on the sidelines interrupted.

If we don't do anything to show our appreciation for such a huge contribution, wouldn't it discourage the people working below us?

"Then I would like to thank the two leaders on behalf of all the comrades in the Semiconductor Research Institute." Li Mu said with a smile.

The amount of the reward is actually not important. What is important is that their contribution is recognized, which is the most important thing.

Dong Huaxing said: "By the way, in addition to telling you this good news, I also have something to discuss with you today."

"That's a coincidence. I would also like to trouble you to tell me about the overseas sales market situation." Li Mu nodded and said with a smile.

……

Then, everyone came to the meeting room.

Dong Huaxing first introduced the current overseas sales market to Li Mu.

After the air fryer became a hot seller in Daying, it quickly became a world-famous best-selling product and was sold all over the world.

Although Emperor M knew that the goods were produced by Xia Country, he chose to turn a blind eye in the face of sufficient benefits.

The profit of electronic watches is huge, but because they are exported from Hong Kong and have gone through a layer of packaging, their cost has not yet been discovered, so there will not be any problem for the time being.

Instead, it was the programmable switching systems that triggered a sales frenzy around the world.

After the RCA Radio Company in America introduced this new type of switch, it quickly became popular in all 50 states there.

The advantages of high reliability, modular design, versatility, flexibility, easy maintenance and strong anti-interference quickly eliminated the electromechanical switches they originally used.

Since the boss has used it, the younger brothers under Emperor M will naturally follow suit and introduce it quickly.

The cargo ships on the Hong Kong side were transporting goods day and night, which even caused the senior officials to complain. This was originally a shady channel, but it turned out to be more lively than normal trade.

It will be very difficult for them to deal with this!

——Of course, if you add a little more money, it is possible.

……

After listening to Dong Huaxing's story, Li Mu frowned slightly.

The fact that products produced in Xia country are selling well all over the world is not entirely good news.

You have to know that their products are mainly sold to Japanese countries such as OM, and the two sides are still openly hostile at this time.

It’s okay to do small things now, but once the benefits reach a certain scale, it is very likely to be banned.

This will undoubtedly be a huge blow to Xiaguo's nascent semiconductor industry.

Seeing that Li Mu looked unhappy, Dong Huaxing, who was originally in high spirits, was stunned for a moment and asked, "What's wrong? Is there any problem?"

"There is a small problem." Li Mu said bluntly: "Leader Dong, do you remember that I told you that I would find a company abroad to disguise it?"

"The Type 02 computer hasn't been designed yet, so I don't think this is urgent."

"Now it seems that it must be done immediately, but not for the Type 02 computer, but to cover up the program-controlled digital exchange."

"Oh, why is that? Our sales are going very smoothly now." Dong Huaxing asked puzzledly.

Guo Mo, who was standing next to him, asked, "If we want to set up a company in Hong Kong, do we have to move the factory there as well?"

"Of course." Li Mu nodded slightly.

The program-controlled digital switch is different from the lower-production Type 01 computer. There is no factory, only a shell company. With such large-scale production every day, it is easy for people to find out its true identity.

Guo Mo wondered, "But if this is the case, our country will undoubtedly lose a lot of income, and more importantly, jobs!"

"Losses are inevitable, but there is nothing we can do about it." Li Mu shook his head. Seeing that everyone still didn't quite understand, he thought for a moment and explained:

"The reason why we are able to sell products to the OM market now is actually the result of their upper management turning a blind eye to it under the collusion of interest groups."

“But this situation cannot continue forever.”

"When the benefits reach a certain level, they will inevitably attract the attention of their government."

"If we don't want to be banned, we must at least have a decent disguise."

His explanation made Dong Huaxing and Guo Mo suddenly realize.

"You're right. We can't just consider the immediate benefits. We have to have a long-term vision." Dong Huaxing nodded continuously. The previous sales were so smooth that he almost forgot that Xia Guo was now in an extremely embarrassing situation.

I was originally following Big Brother, but now things have become strained.

Because of ideological issues, there is no chance of easing tensions with OM, and it is simply unrealistic to engage in trade openly.

Only when he saw Dong Huaxing and Guo Mo nodded did Li Mu secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

After all, it involves issues such as employment and domestic industrialization. If neither of them agrees, there is nothing he can do.

Dong Huaxing first gave a few instructions to the secretary beside him, asking him to notify the people coming from Xiangjiang as soon as possible, then looked at Li Mu and said a little embarrassedly:

"There is one more thing I would like to trouble you with."

"You can tell me whatever you want. I will never refuse as long as I can help." Li Mu smiled. Looking at his expression, he could probably guess what it was about.

As expected, Dong Huaxing continued:

"It's about the sales of handheld game consoles." "There are almost no precedents to refer to when it comes to selling electronic games at home or abroad."

"We contacted Hong Kong. Although they promised to fully support us, they asked you to develop a sales strategy."

After he finished speaking, he looked at Li Mu with anticipation.

People are no strangers to games.

However, electronic games are still an area that no one has entered.

"This is easy. Don't worry about making money in the early stage. Just make as much as you can after deducting the costs. Let's build our reputation first." Li Mu said after thinking for a while.

Although Goose Cube is fun to play, its popularity is actually based on more than ten years of development in the gaming market.

Becoming an overnight success and selling like hot cakes are certainly good things, but it is a bit unrealistic.

Dong Huaxing was stunned after hearing this answer, and said, "But if the profit is too low, the distributors in Hong Kong and abroad may lose their enthusiasm."

"And if the price is very low at the beginning, and you want to increase the price of the handheld later, I'm afraid there will be resistance."

As long as the Xia country can build a factory and start production, it doesn't care about profits at all. Maintaining a balance between income and expenditure is a profit.

Xiang Jiang also said that the channel dealers from OM did business with them not because of their good relationship, but purely because of the amazing profits.

It is hard to say whether they will continue to cooperate once there is no sufficient benefit.

Facing Dong Huaxing's doubts, Li Mu smiled and said, "Who said we have to make money by selling handheld game consoles? The product we really want to make money from is games!"

……

Hong Kong.

After receiving the news, He Zhenhua immediately notified several factories and asked them to stop their current production work and prepare to take over the assembly production lines transferred from the mainland.

This sounds simple, but it is quite tricky.

Given the money-making ability of programmable digital switches, those Chinese people might have other ideas after learning that Hong Kong has a production line.

In order to avoid mistakes, he must prepare in advance.

……

After doing all this, He Zhenhua hurried back home and told Mr. He about the handheld game console.

Although the mainland side provided a sales strategy, he was still a little unsure.

Selling at low prices is a bigger problem than moving the assembly line of programmable digital switches to Hong Kong.

After listening to this, Mr. He pondered for a long time and laughed:

"Zhenhua, when it comes to doing business, I'm afraid your vision is not as good as this Li Mu."

"In the short term, his method will definitely not bring high profits, and we may even have to lose some money."

"But when it comes to business, there's no reason to make money all the time. If we lose some money now, we can earn it back ten or a hundred times in the future!"

Although he did not have Li Mu's ability to foresee things, he had developed a sharp eye after experiencing the ups and downs of the business world throughout his life.

Handheld game consoles aren't really what makes money; games are.

As long as people like games as a form of entertainment, it is easy to get them to spend money.

……

Semiconductor Research Institute.

It was already very late when Li Mu walked out of the laboratory.

Huang Xinhua followed him out and said, "Don't worry. The difficulty of mass production of distributed projection lithography machines is not much less than that of research and development."

"The current production capacity can barely keep up."

"But once the chip upgrade designs for electronic watches, programmable digital switches, and Type 01 computers are completed, the required quantities will increase exponentially!" Li Mu sighed.

Today's distributed projection lithography machines are basically manufactured by hand, and it takes at least half a month to produce one.

This production capacity will definitely not be able to meet the subsequent development needs of the semiconductor industry.

"It's already very good. Our research speed is undoubtedly the first among all research institutes under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. I really don't know why you are in such a hurry." Huang Xinhua shook his head and smiled.

It is no exaggeration to say that the Institute of Semiconductors is now the pinnacle of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Coming up with research results is as easy as drinking water and eating, and it can also create huge economic value, benefiting the entire Academy of Sciences.

It also changed many people's impression of scientists.

They are not a bottomless pit that can only burn money. The products they develop can also be used for people's livelihood, helping the people of Xia to achieve a better and happier life.

Looking at the satisfied smile on Huang Xinhua's face, Li Mu smiled bitterly but said nothing more.

Before we knew it, 61 is coming to an end and 62 is about to begin.

That special moment in time is getting closer and closer.

This era may have become a little better because of his appearance, but it may still not be able to stop the arrival of that torrent.

Li Mu also understood that the general trend might be difficult to change.

But he still wants to bring more good to this era through his unremitting efforts, so that hundreds of millions of people can live a life without worries about food and clothing as soon as possible.

If it is not possible to bring welfare to everyone, even if it is only for a part of the people, and their fate goes in a different direction because of his appearance, it is all good.

……

Back to HKUST.

It was already late at night, but Li Mu was still sitting at the table.

As usual, General Zhao picked up a book and read it beside him.

After taking a quick look, I found out that it was a book on mechanical engineering.

"Brother Zhao, why are you suddenly interested in mechanical engineering? Do you want to go to university?" Li Mu put down the work at hand and asked with a smile.

Zhao Canjun looked embarrassed and said, "I just took a look. I don't really understand it, let alone taking the college entrance examination. I am satisfied with just having a high school diploma."

"Besides, being with you, I can occasionally go to class and attend classes, which is not much different from going to college."

Having said this, his face was full of satisfaction.

"No one is born understanding. You learn it by watching. If you want to learn, you can listen more in the future." Li Mu said.

Officer Zhao shook his head and said, "No, no, my main task is to protect you. If I go to study, wouldn't that be a dereliction of duty?"

Although Li Mu is always surrounded by many comrades from the Security Committee who are secretly protecting him, it is difficult to deal with unexpected accidents when he goes into the dormitory to rest.

So no matter what, he could not leave Li Mu.

"Then, I'm at the Semiconductor Research Institute, so you won't have to worry about me. You can go to class at this time, and I'll also give instructions to those above me." Li Mu thought for a moment and said.

General Zhao was stunned when he heard this, and remained silent for a long time, before he whispered gratefully: "Thank you, thank you!"

But he was still worried and said, "If there are special circumstances, and you leave the Semiconductor Research Institute early, you must tell me first."

"No problem." Li Mu nodded slightly.

Looking at the undisguised joy and gratitude on General Zhao's face, his eyes were full of smiles.

In fact, he asked Zhao Canjun to attend the class not only to satisfy his desire to learn, but also had some other plans.

(End of this chapter)