My Lord, you need to stand up!

Chapter 347 The Lord is Not as Good as the Princess
Consumers thirty or forty years from now will not take the demystification of electronic products very seriously.

They're all scientific products, why make them so mysterious? Just dismantle them.

Wei Dong, that hothead, was absolutely right; the internal structure of the Famicom was indeed very simple.

But the problem lies precisely in that finger-sized 6502 main chip on the motherboard.

The next day, when Wei Dong drove to the factory and found five electromechanical experts and mechanical engineers covered in oil, he almost thought they were working illegally.

Wearing those jumpsuits, his eyes were practically glowing green.

Compared to shopping, eating sushi, and going to Disneyland on my own, I feel a kind of capitalist's guilty conscience: "How did things turn out like this?"

"so amazing!"

"There's so much to learn, I don't want to sleep!"

"You don't look like you slept well either?"

Wei Dong was asked to produce the motherboard, power board, and controller circuit board that he had disassembled: "Can we find replacement parts for these components domestically?"

That was his main intention; at the very least, he couldn't leave the Famicom casing behind, lest any of the Japanese soldiers here see a few Tokyo University students dismantling a game console and immediately know what they were up to.

Several guys quickly gathered around to watch, and Lao Gao even stepped back a few paces to act as a sentry, while also taking pictures of the area.

The only thing that bothered me was the female Hong Kong businesswoman; the way she was squatting down next to me wrapped in a trench coat completely lacked the atmosphere of a proletarian worker conducting research.

Then came the devastating news: "Impossible, this 6502 is a microprocessor chip, which cannot be produced domestically at all."

"A few years ago, Factory 742 introduced a 5-micron chip production line from Toshiba. All the integrated circuits for black-and-white and color TVs in the country were sourced from them. This is a 3-micron chip, which is simply impossible to produce."

To Wei Dong's surprise, "The machine isn't expensive, less than two hundred yuan. Is this chip very advanced?"

University electromechanical experts have more experience: "Japan and Citibank can already achieve a production precision of one or two micrometers. We can only import 5-micrometer equipment. This is the most mature mass-produced chip. You can ask about the price in the electronics market to get a clearer picture. It seems that this chip costs less than 100 yuan."

Wei Dong gritted his teeth and asked, "How much would a 3-micron production line cost?"

The guys didn't even dare to think about it: "It must cost several hundred million. Shanghai No. 14 Factory has tried to replicate this type in the lab, but the performance and yield were very low, let alone mass production."

"Two months ago, I saw a document about Project 653, which seemed to involve more than a billion yuan allocated to three localities, but the money is still nowhere to be found."

"They still don't have the money. I heard that all the funding for this year has been blocked and will be changed to loans instead of allocations, so many factories will be completely cut off from funding..."

It gave Wei Dong a chill; even 30 or 40 years later, people would still know about this chip bottleneck.

I thought these things had nothing to do with me. As an ordinary person doing my own business, I had no connection to such a top-level project that involved my lifeline.

But now it's right beside me: "What's going on with this 'allocation-to-loan' scheme?"

In the break room of the automated machinery factory, the engineers from the two machinery factories knew better than the university experts: "In the past, the factory was allocated working capital or technical transformation funds every year. After the unit made a profit, the profit was handed over to the treasury. Starting last year, the allocation was changed to loans. Not only do we have to repay the loan every year, but we also have to pay interest. And if there is a profit, we still have to hand it over to the treasury. With both ends blocked, won't the factory quickly fall into losses?"

"Moreover, at the beginning of this year, loans were suddenly suspended and payments were collected in various places. The few factories that were left were also shut down. If our factory hadn't been doing food and sanitary napkin factory work all along, we probably would have gone bankrupt too."

Pushing inefficient state-owned factories into the market was indeed a step in reform, but in practice it was disastrous.

Moreover, at this point, the importance of the chip is clearly lower than that of other components.

What university experts know is: "The automotive and mechanical industries are more heavily invested in aerospace, which is also a large project, plus the ethylene petrochemical project, which is worth tens of billions. The electronics industry requires large investments but has a slow return. Last year, Shanghai's ion implanters were still being exported to Japan, but now they have all stopped. Only by going abroad can we see that the gap is not that big now, but if we skip this critical juncture, we will be left behind."

So when Wei Dong left the machinery factory, he was filled with a heavy heart.

It's like having a general idea of ​​what's going on, and being right next to this huge wave, yet feeling powerless to change anything.

The farce surrounding the loan around the time of the Single Day revealed to him the ever-changing nature of various policies and directives during the reform movement, from their initial intentions to their implementation.

Xishan Factory, Xiangshan Factory, and Hongguang Factory further demonstrated to him the difficulties faced by these third-line factories, proving that every snowflake was not innocent.

Even though it managed to boost Xishan Factory, it couldn't lift Hongguang Factory, let alone Xiangshan Factory, which was still proud and stubborn before it hit rock bottom.

These are just three insignificant small factories; third-tier factories alone are hundreds or thousands of times larger.

However, the core of the electronics industry is not located in the southwest region.

Just thinking about this complex and chaotic situation makes my scalp tingle.

What does this have to do with me? I shook my head vigorously, trying to get rid of this mess completely, but I couldn't shake it off no matter what I did; it was like a fishbone stuck in my throat.

Qin Yuye followed him out and saw him almost bump into the car as if he didn't realize it, and he was also absent-minded when he reached out to pull the car door.

Finally, he asked, "It sounds to me that this part isn't made in France. Is that a serious problem?"

Her gentle words were like a refreshing spring, clearing away much of the tangled mess in Wei Dong's mind, which was not particularly impressive to begin with: "Of course, we can't produce this stuff ourselves. If it sells out quickly, we'll be cut off from supplies."

The Hong Kong girl was a little puzzled: "Why don't you supply goods? Isn't it common sense that you can get goods if you pay me?"

Wei Dong instinctively responded: "European and American countries have imposed sanctions..."

Only then did I realize that I had misunderstood, subconsciously projecting the situation of twenty or thirty years from now onto the present.

At that time, there was no blockade; they were desperately trying to sell to the mainland, hoping to destroy the remaining electronics industrial base. Once the mindset shifted, things became much clearer.

And with a touch of self-deprecation: "Let's go crazy supplying the mainland with these chips. Let's go ask if we can find a supplier."

Yes, it's simple, twenty-three dollars a piece.

If the quantity reaches 50,000 or 100,000 pieces, it could even reach 20 US dollars!

When the two returned to Akihabara, they didn't need Wei Dong to take out the string of circuit boards that were jingling in the car and find a department store that specializes in electronic chips and semiconductor components.

According to the company, the 6502 chip, which was developed ten years ago, was already a very mature 8-bit microprocessor.

Apple computers, Famicoms, and a large number of embedded systems and automated industrial equipment all use this as a core component.

Then several factories have been authorized to produce it in large quantities, which is quite common.

Tokyo-based electronics retailers don't manufacture these things, but they can act as agents for their products.

It was probably this twenty dollars that triggered Wei Dong's subconscious fawning smile as he looked at Qin Yuye!
Even Hong Kong girls are wary: "Why is he suddenly smiling at me like that? He must have ulterior motives!"

But she couldn't suppress the smile on her face, making it clear that she was open to negotiation whether it was treachery or theft.

When I was consulting with the company earlier, they also mentioned that these factories are all participating in the Tokyo International Technology Fair, and they could go and talk to them.

I even showed them a promotional flyer.

Before Wei Dong could react to Qin Yuye's translation of this "Science Expo," he saw the strange and enormous buildings on the promotional leaflet and carefully reviewed the English text. He had some basic knowledge, though not much.

I could barely make out some words: "EXPO85? Does this word mean 'expo'? Is 'World Expo' the 85 World Expo?"

The Hong Kong girl, who had received a completely British education, was bewildered: "Yes, 'Wanguo' means the world."

Holy crap, when China hosted its first World Expo, it caused just as much of a sensation as the Olympics, with people from all over the country flocking to Shanghai to see the excitement.

The old security guard with the missing hand certainly wasn't qualified; it seems that even Grandma Shi went to see him with her son.

We definitely need to go and see.

I'll drive there in no time, it's only 50 or 60 kilometers.

That's why he fawned over the driver on the way: "Look, these jeans sell for twenty dollars in Japan, and the chip also happens to be twenty dollars. Is it possible for us to buy the chip here and ship it back? I'll convert the money for you in mainland China."

The most difficult thing at this point is that even if you have RMB, you can't buy things around the world.

It's useless for them to take your money.

The RMB has absolutely no purchasing power internationally.

In international trade, if you collect piles of RMB, it's practically worthless.

If it can't enter the circulation field, no other company will want RMB.

Therefore, foreign exchange reserves are a crucial indicator of what can be purchased internationally.

The main function of the Guangdong Trade Fair is to sell goods abroad in exchange for valuable foreign exchange so that it can buy good products from foreign countries.

The Qin siblings' business model is precisely what allowed them to sell jeans, a type of processed goods that most Hong Kong merchants could only earn a dollar or two for, at the price of branded goods.

One pair of pants is worth one chip!
This deal is incredibly profitable.

Qin Yuye had never seen him so amiable and even humble: "Is this business very profitable?"

Her suspicious look was also quite charming.

Wei Dong also felt that he couldn't deceive people like this: "Yes, it's very profitable. Even if a pair of jeans is a high-end fashion item, the factory cost is only nine yuan and eighty cents, but it sells for twenty dollars. If we exchange it for a chip, we can turn it into a game console or an educational machine and make money again..."

That Famicom cost about 180 yuan, but if you resell it in mainland China at the black market exchange rate, it would cost more than 300 yuan!
Something that cost ten yuan has increased in value by twenty or thirty times!
The most valuable asset was Qin Zhiming's successful branding of jeans. For decades afterward, domestically produced jeans were only manufactured as OEM products and failed to recapture the European and American markets.

After hearing this explanation, Qin Yuye finally understood that she was the most valuable princess.

He smiled slyly: "Then all the money I earn is in RMB, which I can't take to Hong Kong."

He felt it was too insincere to say it out loud, so he changed his mind: "Of course you can convert it to Hong Kong in various ways, but you won't earn as much."

How could Wei Dong bear to let the funds flow out of the country? These were such precious funds at this time: "Invest! Invest in the mainland, and I guarantee you'll make a fortune right now. I'll definitely help you multiply your funds several times over!"

I really bragged last night that all the dollars I earned from jeans went to someone else.

It only dawned on me now that the most valuable thing is foreign exchange.

A perpetual hard currency.

Qin Yuye seized the opportunity to play hard to get: "Hong Kong investment brokers all use sweet talk to swindle old ladies out of their money. You've seen this trick many times before. You need collateral."

In his quest to boost the computer industry, Wei Dong was reckless: "Whatever you want, I'll mortgage it for you!"

(End of this chapter)