Exciting 1979!

Chapter 507 Wei Ming and Li Zhi's Twins

On their first night in Berkeley, the three young people had trouble falling asleep, still feeling the excitement. The two girls, in particular, were both excited and a little nervous about their upcoming studies abroad.

Unable to sleep, Wei Ming was making a shopping list, with the most important item being his computer, which he now couldn't do without for his writing.

However, I'll probably have to replace this computer soon after I buy it. It's really inconvenient to use a PC without a mouse these days. The earliest widely available commercial personal computer with a mouse was probably Apple's, which is probably only in the last couple of years.

The next morning, Wei Ming took the two girls downstairs for breakfast, and when they left, he gave each of them a spare key.

Wei Hong was quite disgruntled. It was one thing to do it for herself, but there was no need to do it for Li Zhi. Did she really intend for her to stay overnight here as well?

Lizhi was secretly delighted; it seemed that Wei Ming wasn't entirely indifferent to her after all.

Wei Ming: "Don't get me wrong. Although I've rented the house, I won't be living in Berkeley forever. I still have a lot of things to do in Los Angeles, and I might have to go to New York often. If I'm away from home for a long time, Xiao Li, remember to come over and help me take care of things."

Lizhi pouted and said, "Oh, I know."

As they walked, Wei Ming, a food blogger, looked up and exclaimed, "Hey, a Mexican restaurant, let's go in and take a look."

Mexican Americans are a large group in the United States and are quite talented in food. Wei Ming really likes Mexican tacos.

Corn is very important in the Mexican diet; whether it's Taco, Quesadillas, or Sopes, they all order corn-based dishes.

Upon first taste, both women gave it a positive review. It wasn't too sweet at all; it had both salty and spicy flavors. The spicy flavor, in particular, made Xiao Hong feel very comfortable, after all, she had half Sichuan blood in her veins.

Wei Ming said, "After we finish eating, let's go to Stanford to get Xiao Hong enrolled."

"Oh, starting school today? There's no rush," Wei Hong said lazily. She still wanted to keep an eye on her brother for Amin.

"Take some time to adjust before the official start of school. Call me anytime if you have any questions. Remember my home phone number?"

"So, how many of you can't remember?" Wei Hong chuckled, pointing to her head.

Lizhi touched the notebook in her bag. She didn't remember it, but she wrote it down in the notebook.

Since there were only three of them, they simply drove one car. Although the Chevrolet was a sports car, it also had seats in the second row, but they weren't very spacious. Xiao Hong simply lay down in the back.

Lizhi was driving, and Wei Ming told Xiaohong, "When you get to school, ask Bu Suanzi how to get a driver's license. Having a car will make everything more convenient and efficient."

"He hasn't even taken a driving test himself, and you're asking him?"

"How do you know he doesn't have a driver's license?" Wei Ming was taken aback.

"Oh, he's a poor international student who can't afford a car, how could he possibly spend time getting a driver's license?"

"Well, you have a point."

Stanford University has no gates or walls. As the car drove, they were already in Stanford. They drove directly to the dormitory building where Bu Suanzi lived.

"Teacher Wei, student Wei Hong, you're here!" Bu Suanzi was already waiting downstairs.

Lizhi looked at the men and women coming and going in the dormitory building, and just as Lingling had said, there was no distinction between men and women.

Wei Ming's first question was, "Xiao Bu, do you have a driver's license?"

"No, but I'm planning to take the exam this semester. The lab produced some results, and the professor gave us a bonus. I'm planning to buy a used car then, as long as it can be driven."

Wei Hong laughed and said, "That's perfect, let's take the exam together then."

Wei Ming asked, "Why aren't there exams during the summer vacation? Does your boss really exploit students like this?"

Bu Suanzi waved his hand and said, "No, I went back to China this summer, and I didn't have the time or the money."

"Oh, you're back in China!" Wei Hong exclaimed in surprise.

Bu Suanzi smiled bitterly, "Yes, I spent some time with my dad and also took a look at our new home."

Then Wei Ming introduced Li Zhi to him, and then Bu Suanzi led them to complete the enrollment and check-in procedures for Wei Hong.

"Since Wei Hong is a graduate student, she lives in an apartment like ours, which is cheaper than renting outside. There are single rooms, two-bedroom apartments, and family apartments with three bedrooms. I live in one of these. It's cheaper to split the cost among three people, but you have to get along well with your roommates."

Wei Ming asked, "Where are your roommates from?"

“One is Indian, and the other is from Hong Kong,” Bu Suanzi laughed. “My Hong Kong classmate and I often team up to debate scriptures with our Indian classmate and compare whose food is better.”

Wei Ming asked, "Did you win or lose?"

Bu Suanzi laughed and said, "We were not at a good position at first because neither of us is very good at cooking. But after watching your 'A Bite of China,' we finally turned the tide."

This book is quite popular in the United States, and an authoritative list has included it as one of the ten must-read books for those who want to understand China, alongside "Dream of the Red Chamber" and "Red Star Over China".

However, it's quite embarrassing that they turned a winning situation into a losing one. Fortunately, Xiao Hong's cooking skills are quite good, with about 30% of her mother's ability, so she won't embarrass Chinese cuisine.

Wei Hong asked with concern, "Senior Brother Bu, can I live in the same apartment building as you? That way we can look out for each other."

“I’m afraid that won’t work. This is a doctoral apartment building. There are several graduate student apartment buildings for you to choose from. Would you like a single room or a double room?” Bu Suanzi asked. “Oh, don’t worry, if it’s a double room, your roommate will definitely be of the same sex.”

Wei Hong looked at her brother, Wei Ming, who thought to himself, "It's not safe for people of the same sex either." He said, "Let's stay in a single room."

Although he hoped that Xiaohong could have some social life and make some friends at Stanford, it was perfectly reasonable for female students to bring their boyfriends back to stay overnight in this kind of apartment dormitory. He was worried that Xiaohong would feel embarrassed and that she would be led astray. It was just a matter of paying more money.

Bu Suanzi nodded, knowing how to fill out the form next.

Because international students would cause some trouble, the morning session didn't end, so the four of them had lunch at the Stanford school cafeteria. They continued in the afternoon and finally managed to get Wei Hong into her apartment dormitory.

Wei Ming didn't want the child to suffer, so he chose the largest single room, which, according to Bu Suanzi, felt even bigger than their three-person room.

While they were cleaning the room, neighbors passing by would peek in and say hello; there were men and women, some with white hair and some with yellow hair.

Wei Ming remained silent, letting Xiao Hong go over and socialize on her own.

Wei Ming's past training for her has been effective; she went to Germany and Hong Kong, and she is not afraid to communicate with foreigners at all.

"Alright, that's enough for today. I won't keep you company anymore. Don't cry when you're alone tonight," Wei Ming said emotionally, putting a hand on his sister's shoulder. "If you really feel like crying, just call me. I'll come see you every few days."

"Brother, don't worry, I can manage on my own." Xiao Hong hugged her brother.

This hug made Wei Ming's serious expression even more strained; he was worried about his brother.

Although you have an exceptionally high IQ, your EQ and relationship skills are both very poor. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been deceived by a gay man and lost half your life's happiness in your past life.

Wei Ming gently patted Xiao Hong, then glanced at the calm and honest Bu Suanzi. Luckily, he had him keeping an eye on things.

As Wei Ming turned to leave, his eyes were even a little red. He didn't want to have a daughter, otherwise he would probably feel even worse when she went to college and left him.

Seeing that Wei Ming was not in a good mood, Li Zhi asked softly, "Why don't we just go home and rest now?"

Wei Ming waved his hand: "It's not dark yet, let's go for a stroll in the city first."

Only after the Chevrolet was out of sight did Wei Hong take Bu Suanzi's hand, their fingers intertwined, and she said with a slight blush, "Senior brother, show me around the school."

Bu Suanzi pushed up his glasses to hide his nervousness: "Okay, let's go to the library first."

~
After returning to downtown San Francisco, Wei Ming felt much better, and it was getting late.

He asked, "If I want to buy toys, is Walmart the best place to buy them?"

Lizhi and Wei Lingling have been to the United States for business research several times. She said, "Walmart is indeed quite comprehensive, but the most comprehensive is Toys "R" Us. It is the largest toy and baby product retailer in the United States and even the world, with hundreds of branches, accounting for a quarter of the market share in the United States. There is one right in front of us."

"Oh, then let's go check out Toys"R"Us."

From afar, you'll see their logo, Toys "R" Us, with the R reversed, and a very tall mascot, a giraffe. Lizhi explains, "Its name is Jeffrey."

After parking the car and going inside, Lizhi pushed a shopping cart directly in, just like in Walmart, except that all the goods here were toys, making it a toy version of Walmart.

So the store was full of parents with their children, watching and playing, it was quite lively.

While this model is convenient for children and parents, it always feels like it doesn't offer enough protection against risks.

But there were so many toys! Wei Ming had never seen so many kinds of toys at the same time, and he was dazzled by them.

Seeing that they were standing still, the sales assistant greeted them warmly, "Hello, do you have a boy or a girl?"

Lizhi blushed and looked at Wei Ming with shy eyes, biting her lip.

Wei Ming gently put his arm around her shoulder: "We have both men and women, twins, let's just take a look."

After declining the saleswoman's offer, Wei Ming said to Li Zhi, "Could you tell me about the toys and market in the United States?"

"You didn't come here to buy toys?"

"How old am I to still be doing this? I'm here to do market research," Wei Ming said seriously. As a shareholder of Langning, he certainly hopes that Langning will do well, and ideally become number one in the world.

“Oh,” Lizhi then explained, “Last year, the US toy retail market was worth $99 billion. Although the baby boom has faded, the economy is improving, and people are more willing to spend money. At the current growth rate, it will definitely break the $10 billion mark this year! And the US toy market accounts for about half of the global market share.” A market worth tens of billions of dollars—who wouldn't be envious? Wei Ming asked, “So how much of that can we capture?”

"It should be around 200 million," Lizhi said confidently, referring to the North American market. Langning only officially started focusing on the European market this year.

In just six months after its launch in 82, Transformers' sales in the United States exceeded one hundred million US dollars. Throughout this year, there have been ongoing animated sequels to maintain its popularity, and Lanning's toy offerings have become more diverse, no longer relying solely on the Transformers series.

Wei Ming then asked, "Which is the largest toy manufacturer?"

"The biggest one is probably Mattel, after all, Barbie is too strong. In addition, Mild Milk, Hasbro, Tonkotsu, and Fisher-Price are all contenders. Outside of the United States, there is Lego from Denmark, Langning from Hong Kong, and Bandai from Japan, which are also among the top ten companies."

However, Toys "R" Us is not divided by company, but by type. For example, plush toys are the largest category, which can be bought by all ages. Almost all major toy manufacturers will have a presence in this category, including Lanning.

Wei Ming glanced over and said, "Could those pandas be Steel Egg and Bass?"

“That’s right!” Lizhi happily picked up a pair. They were initially connected by Velcro, but they could also be separated and came in different sizes and shapes.

The panda design is not copyrighted, and Americans also love this animal. In order to differentiate themselves from the competition, Langning obtained the licenses for the two giant pandas from Ocean Park Hong Kong and developed this panda couple plush toy, which is specifically designed for couples and is very suitable as a gift.

Besides creating love stories for them and stuffing love notes inside the toys, they also stand out in terms of materials and price. They are all made in Langning's Shenzhen factory, Made in China.

This is also Lanning's best-selling plush toy in the United States, while the best-selling plush toy is the Smurfs series.

The panda couple has sold over five million US dollars in just six months since entering the US market. With Christmas coming up, it's no problem for them to sell over ten million US dollars for the whole year. These two little guys are really promising. Maybe they can even have their own comic book or animated derivative works in the future.

Besides the pair of pandas, Wei Ming also saw a dog that looked just like Einstein, with its tongue lolling out and its white fur standing on end.

Wei Ming laughed and said, "This must be the history buff."

"Yes, these are a series of historical dog plush toys developed by the American branch specifically for American history. There's also a comic book of the same name. However, American history is too short, and Americans don't really like studying history. So, the sales of toys like Washington and Lincoln are just average. But the sales of Einstein and Martin Luther King Jr. toys are quite good. They are trying to get some celebrity licenses to develop products like Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable," Lizhi explained. Americans still prefer dogs to cats.

Because the plush toy category is too broad, with low barriers to entry and fierce competition, it's hard to say who's the best. However, at a glance, it seems that Japanese and Hong Kong products are placed in the most prominent positions, clearly indicating that they are the best-selling items, such as couple pandas, Monchhichi, and Hello Kitty.

In the 70s, Japanese toys, like their automobile and home appliance industries, began to make a major foray into the American market. However, in recent years, they have been surpassed by Hong Kong. It is worth noting, though, that some European and American products, such as teddy bears, have also begun to be manufactured in mainland China to reduce costs.

Wei Ming bought a pair of Steel Eggs and Bass, and then bought a Monchhichi. He then went to the car section.

Americans can't live without cars, so car toys are a major category, just as popular as plush toys. They are mainly targeted at boys, but men also love to play with them.

Transformers are not in this section; they are placed in the center of the toy supermarket, in the super hot-selling area.

Cars, trains, ships, and airplanes are all categorized under this category. Langning also has such products. After acquiring Hong Kong's Silverlight Toys Company last year, they own their electric toy series. Their small helicopters sell well, while electric cars sell only so-so because the competition in this segment is too fierce.

In the realm of car model toys, the true king is Mattel's Hot Wheels series. Mattel is undoubtedly the market leader, holding two major series: Barbie and Hot Wheels. The former has been around for over twenty years, and the latter for over a decade, and they remain the No. 1 among similar products on the market.

These exquisitely crafted and realistic car model toys were so appealing that even Wei Ming wanted to play with them.

He was just bragging to Lizhi, but after a while, he bought a Ferrari and a Lamborghini sports car, both with a metallic sheen.

While Wei Ming was making his selection, a little white boy next to him begged his parents to buy him a toy train set from the Japanese company Tomi, the kind with tracks, and designed to resemble the Japanese Shinkansen.

Something suddenly flashed through Wei Ming's mind when Li Zhi called out to him.

“Look, honey,” Lizhi said naturally.

Wei Ming was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized, oh, they are now husband and wife, and they have a pair of twins.

Lizhi pointed to several realistic metal toy pickup trucks and said, "These are Tongka's cars. They are very good at making cars. Their Transformers is also a major competitor of Transformers in the United States."

"Oh?"

Then Lizhi pointed out to Weiming the ever-changing lion, which also has the ability to transform.

After seeing the booming sales of Transformers last year, Toka immediately went to the United States and introduced Bandai's Robot Warrior series, renaming it Transformers.

They are also opposing sides, good and evil. The righteous side is called the Guardians, whose leader can turn into a small airplane, while the leader of the evil side can turn into a motorcycle.

Moreover, this company is currently producing animations, completely following in the footsteps of Transformers.

Wei Ming examined the materials and workmanship, and they were actually quite good. As expected of an established company with decades of experience in making car toys, it was indeed impressive. However, the design was rather ugly.

The Transformers actually appeared earlier in the previous life, but it still couldn't beat Transformers. Now it's even less likely. Wei Ming looked at the children's attitudes towards Transformers and Transformers and estimated that once the Transformers TV animation comes out, this company should give up the struggle.

As long as Transformers don't do anything stupid and keep innovating and introducing new technologies, they could become a long-lasting toy like Barbie.

However, Hasbro did make a fatal mistake in its previous life by producing a Transformers movie. In order to make way for new characters and toys, they killed off a number of the original heroes, including Optimus Prime. Players had already developed an emotional connection with these robots, so they naturally couldn't accept it. As a result, the popularity of Transformers plummeted, and it took several years to recover.

In this lifetime, I must not make this kind of basic mistake again.

Afterwards, they browsed the educational toys, the king of which was the Rubik's Cube, a super hit from a couple of years ago, which is copyrighted by Ideal Toys in the United States.

Moreover, next to the Rubik's Cube toys were some related books. Among them, Wei Ming saw "Rubik's Cube? Anyone Can Play It," which he co-authored with Xiao Hong. Thanks to his name, Mr. Why, this book was the best-selling among similar books.

Besides Rubik's Cubes, various board games and card games are also selling very well in this area. This is Langning's weak point, and they are currently developing the "Jumanji" board game.

Wei Ming felt that the millionaire theme could actually be adapted into a board game, and there were successful examples in his previous life. He could discuss it with his aunt later.

There are also early childhood toys that Lanning didn't venture into, which is Fisher-Price's strength with very high profit margins. Later, it seems that the company was acquired by Hasbro and became their sub-brand.

Hasbro's key to future success and growth lies in acquisitions. The merger with the similarly sized Magic Burley next year will be a brilliant move. And right now, Hasbro has only just climbed out of its slump.

Wei Ming and Li Zhi arrived at the girls' section, where the most eye-catching product was undoubtedly Barbie dolls. Her ever-changing designs always made the little girls want to buy another one.

Next to Barbie is Hasbro's new product launched last year, My Little Pony, which is considered a competitor to Barbie, except that it is not in human form, but a little mare.

With the launch of My Little Pony and the reboot of the G.I. Joe series, Hasbro has once again risen to the forefront of the US toy market. However, without Transformers, the most successful toy series in history, it will be difficult to reach the heights of its predecessor.

Barbie has a keychain boyfriend Ken and some relatives and friends, and My Little Pony also has many friends. Their core gameplay revolves around dress-up.

Wei Ming, a grown man, was not easily tempted by these kinds of products. He let Lizhi choose what she liked to buy, and she immediately picked a Barbie with two ponies.

Even if I've lost my childlike wonder and have no interest in decorating them, they're still pleasing to the eye when displayed in my room.

There were so many toys for girls that Wei Ming was overwhelmed and couldn't think of any good toys specifically for girls.

I think we should still ask the opinions of girls in this age group.

This Toys "R" Us also sells video game toys, and the Atari 2600 game console and a wall of various game cartridges are quite impressive.

However, almost no one went there, and even with cassette tapes drastically reduced to slashed prices, nobody bought them. Atari's reputation was completely ruined.

Aside from the insanely terrible game "E.T.", Atari allowed third parties to produce video games for its consoles, with absolutely no oversight. As a result, players would buy dozens of games, and only one or two might be passable, while the rest were garbage. What was the point of playing then?

Nintendo later learned from this lesson. Initially, they only developed their own games. Although they later opened up to third parties, they imposed strict restrictions, were very cautious in choosing partners, and required third-party game developers to pay them a deposit.

Of course, Nintendo does not yet have such a strong industry position.

Wei Ming believes that the video game industry still needs to be developed, as a major challenge for the traditional children's toy industry in the future will be the impact of video games, represented by Nintendo and Sony.

"Xiaoli, let's go."

Wei Ming had observed the situation thoroughly and felt that compared to the urgency of developing toys for girls, Langning's priority now was to maintain its leading position in Transformers and then develop toys for all ages, enriching the range of toys for infants and toddlers as well as board games and card games for older children.

Arriving at the center of the mall, Wei Ming glanced again at the Transformers surrounded by little boys.

The older Transformers toys didn't have a car logo, while the newer ones all have the Chevrolet logo, and some toys even use the classic Chevrolet pickup truck design.

Besides Transformers, there's another hot toy next to it, which is expected to compete with Transformers for the biggest hit item of the year. That chubby, round humanoid doll is called Cabbage Doll.

Their success can be summarized in one sentence: "Adopt, don't shop."

Lizhi squeezed through the crowd to join in the fun and learned that the toy wasn't being sold, but rather "adopted," which of course cost money.

Moreover, each cabbage doll has its own unique birth certificate, just like a real baby. The birth certificate is printed with the baby's name and footprints, and the baby's bottom is stamped with the "midwife's" stamp.

Customers who purchase cabbage dolls must also sign an adoption agreement to establish a "foster parent and foster child" relationship.

The company that produces cabbage roll dolls is Coleco, which is also a video game company. Fortunately, the video game industry is not doing well now, so they seized the new trend of cabbage roll dolls. They have a technology that allows them to produce dolls that are unique and no two are the same.

Lizhi's eyes lit up, and she immediately picked and chose, adopting a boy and a girl. As Wei Ming had said, they had a pair of twins, a boy and a girl.

After leaving Toys "R" Us, they planned to find a place to eat before shopping at Walmart.

Lizhi held her son and daughter, and longed to breastfeed them.

"Honey, what names do you think we should give them?" Lizhi asked.

However, as they were passing under a railway bridge, watching the slowly moving locomotive, Wei Ming suddenly realized what his fleeting inspiration had been!

……

(Yesterday's guaranteed minimum)
(End of this chapter)