In 1978, I was admitted to Harbin Institute of Technology

Chapter 257 This is ten million US dollars in foreign exchange! That bastard called me in the middle of the night urgently, asking me to come back and take the blame?
"Hey Wang Zheng, don't bring out the roast duck. Save it for Xie Rou to eat tomorrow..."

Looking at Du Guowang and Liang Hongbin, whose faces were dark, Principal Li, whose eyes were narrowed with laughter, shouted outside.

Wang Zheng, who had just carried the roast duck to the kitchen door, suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Should I serve it out or not?

Judging from their expressions, Xie Wei knew the inside story. Li Rui was about the same age as Du Guowang and the others. Outside of work, none of them would give in to the others. After Xie Rou recognized Du Guowang and his wife as her godparents and then called Li Rui "grandpa" according to their age, this kind of scene became quite common.

Who wouldn't want to be an elder to their peers?

"No, it's too hot now, and we don't have a refrigerator. It'll go bad by tomorrow."

Fearing that the group would start arguing about this, Xie Wei quickly changed the subject.

"Speaking of refrigerators, I was just about to talk to you about getting the university-enterprise cooperation office to invest some research and development funds in this area when I came back this time."

Li Rui spoke first.

When Xie Wei heard Li Rui mention that the school-enterprise cooperation office should invest in the research and development of refrigerators, he felt like slapping himself. Principal Li was still Principal Li after all.

"Get the refrigerator?"

Zhang Mingqiu asked Principal Li.

"That's right. Currently, many organizations are preparing to import technology from abroad. If we can develop it using the technology from the university, it can save the country a lot of foreign exchange. From what I understand, in developed countries, every household has a refrigerator... The market is huge."

Principal Li began by speaking.

Currently, household refrigerators have not yet become commonplace in Chinese households.

"Snowflake in the capital and Vanke in Huadu, don't they already have the technology?"

Seeing Xie Wei's expression, it was clear that he was unwilling to invest funds in this project. Wang Zheng, who had just entered, asked Principal Li.

It's not that China lacks technology.

As early as 1956, the Capital Medical Equipment Factory, which originally produced medical refrigeration equipment, developed China's first refrigerator—the Snowflake Refrigerator.

Due to limitations in production technology and planned production, the scale of production was not very large. Refrigerators were considered luxury appliances that were out of reach for ordinary people. As a result, after China's reform and opening up, Snowflake Refrigerators imported a large amount of foreign technology and production lines, but lacked competitiveness and eventually went bankrupt and was acquired by Hisense.

In 1978, Huadu Household Appliance Factory No. 1 hand-made its first refrigerator; in 1980, Huadu Second Light Industry Repair Factory successfully developed a household refrigerator and introduced a refrigerator production line from Singapore, thus enabling the large-scale production of China's first generation of household refrigerators...

The market is too big, and the production volume is too small.

There are very few refrigerators in the whole country, and you can't find more than a handful in the entire Northeast, let alone private households owning refrigerators.

"What kind of technology do they have? Core components like compressors are all imported! Wanbao imported production lines and technology from Singapore, costing tens of millions of foreign exchange. Many companies are applying for foreign exchange to import them..."

Principal Li said with a dark face.

"No compressor technology? That's impossible. If they really didn't have it, how did Snowflake Refrigerator Factory produce them?"

Xie Wei clearly didn't believe it.

He acknowledged that the country was technologically backward and had a weak industrial base in the 1970s and 80s, but he did not believe that such a large country could not even manufacture a compressor.

"It's imported, of course. Otherwise, what do you think the country does with its annual foreign exchange reserves?"

Li Rui rolled her eyes at Xie Wei, annoyed.

This kid doesn't seem to know much about unrelated technical fields.

"Well, we can talk about the refrigerator another time. Let's get down to business."

Xie Wei didn't want to talk about refrigerators. Although refrigerator technology has a huge market in the next few decades, it's like color TVs, air conditioners and other home appliances. A lot of projects are being launched in a rush, and technologies from all over the world are fighting for dominance in the Chinese market. Foreign companies that control the technology and core components take away a lot of profits.

Until the price war began in the 1990s, the entire market was a bloodbath, and a large number of related companies went bankrupt.

Given Li Rui's personality, it's impossible that he wouldn't allow the school-run enterprise to invest in factories after the school has acquired the technology.

Even if it's just producing compressors, the pressure from international capital will cause a lot of funding for school-enterprise cooperation to be squeezed out—Wanbao is the most obvious example. After introducing technology from Singapore, Wanbao built a factory with an annual output of one million compressors, which went into production in 87. It was at that time that "foreign goods" entered the Chinese market on a large scale. By 90, the number of imported refrigerator compressors exceeded 500 million units, while Wanbao's compressor production did not reach 92 units until 78.

Just production volume!

Rather than sales figures, back then, Wanbao's warehouses were piled high with outdated compressors...

Upon hearing Xie Wei say that they were getting down to business, everyone sat up straight, and their relaxed expressions turned serious.

"Tell me, what are you planning to sell that you called me back in such a hurry? I'm warning you, don't even think about getting your hands on strategic missiles or nuclear weapons technology!"

Li Rui's expression turned serious.

After Xie Wei met with Minister Zheng, the ministry discussed the matter and gave Xie Wei a list of equipment and technology that could be sold.

Xie Wei disliked the items on the list at the time.

Li Rui was in a hurry to come back because he was afraid that Xie Wei would sell the strategic missile technology or nuclear technology from the school.

The school does not have complete strategic missile technology or complete nuclear bomb technology, but these two fields are the school's traditional strengths. As long as there is enough funding, the school can integrate its existing technologies and draw on its best personnel for research and development. It will not be long before a strategic missile with a range of several thousand kilometers can be produced.

Li Rui had always thought himself very bold, but after Xie Wei expressed his desire to sell strategic and nuclear missiles, he realized that compared to Xie Wei, he was quite timid.

"I won't sell that. You need to find a way to get $1000 million in foreign exchange..."

"Who gave him the fake alcohol?"

When Li Rui heard the amount Xie Wei mentioned, his eyebrows twitched several times. He stiffened his neck and asked the others, then his face darkened as he asked Xie Wei, "Do you know how big this amount is? How dare you ask for such a large sum of foreign exchange without a reason? Don't you have any units of measurement in your mind?"

Without waiting for Xie Wei's explanation, he looked at Zhang Mingqiu and Liu Debao with a dark expression.

"I told you to keep an eye on him, is this how you keep an eye on him?"

Zhang Mingqiu looked completely innocent, shocked by the amount Xie Wei mentioned. Last night, Xie Wei asked him to make a phone call, and Zhang thought something urgent had happened, but Xie Wei hadn't mentioned it at all.

If I had known, I would never have made that call.

Liu Debao was caught in the crossfire; he only found out that Zhang Mingqiu had called Principal Li that morning.

"Xie Wei, with the reform and opening up, the country needs to import advanced foreign equipment and technology, and it is already short of foreign exchange. You are asking for so much. If you don't have a project that can convince the higher-ups, it is simply impossible!"

Liu Debao also realized what was happening.

Even Du Guowang, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but say to Xie Wei, "A foreign exchange project worth ten million US dollars is a very large project for the entire country. Although it doesn't warrant discussion at the table of seven leaders, it should at least require collective discussion and decision-making by the leaders of the ministry. What are you trying to do?"

Even though Xie Wei doesn't come to the electromechanical project often now, Du Guowang still invites Xie Wei to his home to drink with him whenever he has free time.

He always treated Xie Wei as a junior.

Fearing that the young people would become too arrogant, he had to speak up and explain.

Upon hearing Du Guowang's words, Xie Wei inwardly scoffed: There are countless matters at the seven-leader meeting table, all of which are major issues related to the country's development. How could ten million US dollars possibly be on the table!

Do they really think leaders have too much free time every day?

"Is there anything else? If not, then let's talk about the technology research and development projects for components such as the air compressor for refrigerators and the picture tube for color TVs..."

Clearly, Principal Li's extended stay in the capital suggests that he wants the school's projects to align with national policy directions.

"Yes, yes, let's talk about something else..."

"It's getting harder and harder to get together these days, so let's have a few more drinks. Who knows when Principal Li will be back next time?" Everyone chimed in, changing the subject.

"This money is not only related to solving the school's current financial mess, but also to the school's future development."

Xie Wei remained unmoved.

With a serious expression, he stared at Li Rui, deliberately emphasizing the word "mess".

A fleeting moment of embarrassment crossed Li Rui's face, but he cursed inwardly: "You think you're so tough now? Not only are you picking on my sore spots, but you're also rubbing salt in the wound!"
"How does this relate to solving the current predicament and future development?"

Li Rui, whose face was not looking good, remained silent, while the others kept glancing at the two of them.

Zhang Mingqiu picked up the Double Happiness tea mug on the kang table, took a sip of wine, and then spoke.

"This ten million US dollars is intended to be invested in the international futures and stock markets."

"Bang~"

The dishes and wine cups on the kang table jumped up.

Li Rui, whose face was already pale, became even more contorted as he pointed at Xie Wei and angrily rebuked him:

"Futures? Stocks? You know nothing about that stuff? Don't even mention you, there are hardly any people in the whole country who understand it! I think you've become so arrogant you've lost all sense of proportion! Countless experienced speculators internationally have lost everything..."

Li Rui couldn't help but be furious.

If Xie Wei had said anything else, he wouldn't have been so angry.

He was indeed responsible for the mess at school, but that doesn't just lead him to mess things up and gamble in unfamiliar casinos like international futures and the stock market.

“Principal, this isn’t something we do ourselves; we hire professionals… We’ve exported rocket launchers and received a large sum of funding, but can we just leave that money sitting there unspent for too long? What will the higher authorities think? What will other departments think? Besides, many of the advanced equipment needed for the school’s research projects—forget applying for foreign exchange, even if we had the money, could we buy it? For example, can we get the electron microscopes needed for the school’s physics lab, materials lab, and large-scale integrated circuit research?”

Xie Wei spoke very quickly, showing no mercy to Li Rui.

"I told you before that we needed to ask the higher authorities to retain a portion of the foreign exchange earned by the school, but what happened? Now our chip research is being hampered by research equipment, and the progress is much slower... And what about the other advanced equipment the school needs? Aren't they all embargoed? Even if we get them from the black market, we need money!"

Everyone knows this.

Before the school had its own HZ-80 chip, similar chips were purchased in small quantities from the international black market. No matter how urgent the project was, research institutes and university laboratories had to wait in line for the chip.

High price and poor performance.

Some are even second-hand.

Factory 14 can now provide HZ-80 and even higher performance chips, but the most advanced chips still cannot compare with those internationally, and it faces the same problem.

Everyone present was a high-ranking official and key member of the school, and they knew the inside story.

At this moment, everyone became heavy-hearted, either drinking or lighting a cigarette, hoping that the swirling smoke could take away the sorrow and frustration in their hearts.

After a long while, Li Rui exhaled a puff of smoke, stubbed out his nearly burnt-out cigarette butt in an ashtray made from a porcelain bowl with most of its enamel coating chipped off, and asked Xie Wei earnestly.

"Are you sure your investment will yield a return?"

"cannot!"

Xie Wei didn't even hesitate, "The stock market is risky, and investment requires caution. The same goes for the international futures market..."

"you!"

Li Rui almost lost his temper.

"Pfft~"

"Cough~cough~"

The others either choked on the alcohol or the smoke.

He looked at Xie Wei with a strange expression.

Is this kid trying to be funny?

"While we can't guarantee it, we can leverage our good relationship with the military and our intelligence network to understand the international situation... This is what I learned from my interactions with the Iraqis—they let slip that they were about to take action against Khomeini next door... When Khomeini came to power, the international oil crisis erupted, with international crude oil prices soaring from $14 to $29. Even with oil-producing countries frantically increasing production, international crude oil prices are currently only stable between $17 and $18. Once the Iran-Iraq War breaks out, Iraq's crude oil exports, as a major global oil exporter, will definitely be affected... Oil prices will surge again..."

Xie Wei revealed this information with nine parts truth and one part falsehood.

The outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War would cause international oil prices to surge to $41 within just two months, then fluctuate little until reaching $39 in February 1981, before rapidly declining...

As long as you know the trend, in such an environment, even if you don't understand anything, you can double your profits by only operating two waves, once going long and once going short.

"Do you think those big foreign investment banks wouldn't know this information?"

Li Rui asked Xie Wei.

"Of course I know, let's make some money and leave."

Xie Wei didn't want to explain; it was too difficult to explain.

It can't be said that the West never believed that a large-scale war would actually break out between Saddam Hussein and Hormone, can it?

Starting in March 1979, small-scale military conflicts broke out continuously along the border between the two sides. Saddam Hussein did not begin to mass troop movements in Basra in the south until September. Even then, Homeni and her men did not believe that Saddam Hussein would launch a war.

Not to mention Western countries.

"Also, this $1000 million isn't something I asked my superiors for; rather, I hope to transfer this money from this transaction..."

"Bang~"

Li Rui slammed his hand heavily on the kang table again. Trembling, he looked at Xie Wei and, no longer caring about the demeanor of a high-ranking official, pointed at Xie Wei and cursed, "You bastard, you called me back in the middle of the night just to take the blame for you?"

At this moment, Zhang Mingqiu and the others, who were just in the background, had exclamation marks or question marks above their heads.

"Anyway, you already have plenty of responsibilities, so taking on one more won't make a difference. Besides, the school can't handle this kind of thing; only you can..."

Faced with Li Rui's furious outburst and the possibility of him hitting him at any moment, Xie Wei maintained a calm facade.

In fact, he had straightened his legs, which were originally sitting cross-legged, and placed one palm on the kang (a heated brick bed).

As long as Li Rui suddenly attacks, Xie Wei will definitely be able to escape in the shortest amount of time.

"Besides, if it weren't for all those military projects you were involved in, the school would be living a very comfortable life right now!"

At this moment, Xie Wei completely forgot about how he had tricked Li Rui into bringing the J-9 team to the school.

He also forgot that he himself had single-handedly supported the long-range rocket project.

Just as he said, Principal Li should take the blame.

I'm still young, making mistakes will hinder my progress.

"Kid, I'll let you say it again!"

Li Rui was trying his best to control his urge to hit someone, constantly reminding himself that this was the successor he had chosen, and if he crippled him, he wouldn't be able to take over.

To everyone's surprise, Xie Wei didn't care at all, and his attitude became even worse: "That's exactly right! If it weren't for those canceled military projects, how could the school be having such a hard time? Besides, the leaders of the military and the ministry let the projects stay at the school, but they didn't give us any extra money or anything..."

(End of this chapter)