My Lord, you need to stand up!

Chapter 398 Since we've already started on the first day of the lunar month, why not do it for 365 days?
So when we went to the city in the afternoon to discuss the computer factory investment project, everyone was astonished to see that the investor, who was worth tens of millions of dollars, actually arrived in a snail-like car!
Isn't this a bit too pretentious?

Weidong, you have a car now!

That's right. Among the fixed assets of that foreign trade company, besides the old villa of more than 300 square meters on the certificate, there are also two cars with Shanghai license plates parked there.

Before Wei Dong negotiated, he curiously went to check the address and found that the place had been vacated and moved overnight.

This place is just two or three kilometers away from the vacuum food machinery factory, accessible directly by a road.

No wonder Stone was able to find this place despite his small size.

But Wei Dong only glanced at it and thought, "Is this a place I can live?"
Do you really think that just because it's spoils of war, you can enjoy it to your heart's content?

Just because Wu Xi can laugh and scold this and that kid doesn't mean others can joke and tease him.

This is hardly a generous and dignified offering.

They had no choice but to withdraw, merely to save face.

How many people are waiting to see the joke, waiting to fan the flames?

The lawn alone is three or four hundred square meters, and the garage houses a Bluebird and a Honda sedan.

Is this a test for our lord?

Why don't you go and see what kind of cars are in my garage in Jiangzhou? I'm unmoved by the Hong Kong businessman's test.

This is nothing.

So Wei Dong just curiously went into the courtyard for a stroll, without even going inside the two- or three-story old villa, and took a few photos with his camera.

Having already made up his mind, he went to the post office and called the secretary in Jiangzhou to inquire whether Jiangzhou was interested in setting up an office in Shanghai. He offered to have the Jiangzhou Commercial Sales Association sponsor and assist with the management of the office.

Provide your address; we can send someone to inspect and conduct research if needed.

Wei Dong was very certain that Jiangzhou's Beijing office had just been established, and its Shanghai office was definitely a blank slate.

Later, even Shangzhou had a liaison office in Shanghai.

That means there must be a demand for it.

The city's secretary remained calm, showing surprise but not making a decision hastily: "I'll report first. Weidong, when you get back, you can explain everything to the city in detail. Doing a good job is the most fundamental core. I heard that the new project in the Economic Development Zone has started, and Hong Kong businessmen have launched new investment applications. The Sales Association shoulders the important responsibility of exploring new situations, establishing new standards, and developing new industries."

This series of parallel sentences must have some meaning.

Wei Dong, however, was unable to translate it.

I only remember that back in May, people were saying that Hong Kong businessmen were coming over, and things had already started to get complicated.

He readily agreed and said he would go back as soon as he finished his work.

Having accepted this gift, I still need to finalize things with the authorities in Shanghai.

As soon as they met, he laid everything out: "I took over several computer research institutes that were relocated from the Fifth Ministry of Machinery Industry, and that's why I decided to promote the research and development of the computer industry and strive to make basic computers available throughout the country within three years."

There was no negotiation whatsoever. Wei Dong simply had Lao Zhang accompany the foreigner to sign the factory construction agreement with the Shanghai Foreign Affairs Office and the Economic and Trade Office.

The key is to discuss with several people in the city how much of a situation you can achieve.

So how could this opening line not pique everyone's interest? "Oh? Tell me your thinking. Right now, the government's allocated research funding is being cut back. What are you going to do? Use private enterprises to undertake the research and development?"

Wei Dong's response was indeed unique: "From middle-aged and elderly people to young people, it is too late to learn computers at this time. Our economic situation and actual application environment are also different from those of developed countries. It is impossible to catch up completely in the short term. Therefore, we should focus on improving the entry barrier for young people to enter the computer age."

The other person listened very carefully: "Go on, a computer for teenagers? What specific product is that?"

To Wei Dong's delight: "Hey! A computer for teenagers, that's the concept! We're just thinking of calling it a learning machine. This idea comes from the most popular game console in Japan right now. The Famicom, which retails for about 170 yuan in the Tokyo electronics market, and the Apple computer, which is selling globally and costs a little over 10,000 yuan, both use the same CPU chip..."

The strength of Shanghai lies in the fact that even when discussing such cutting-edge technology, the people present can keep up with the thought process: "Why is there such a big difference?"

Let Wei Dong explain in detail: "The people at Citibank still think that since they have mastered high-end technology, they should reap wealth all over the world, and you have to buy it no matter how expensive it is. But Japanese products are closer to practical life, like their electronic watches, cars, and home appliances. They follow the strategy of low profit and high volume to capture the market. In fact, Citibank has already lost to Japan in these areas. I prefer to learn from Japan's approach. For example, we are now reselling jeans back to Japan and the Citibank market..."

Well, he's like a storyteller, he hasn't even finished one story before he jumps to another.

But they are all interconnected: "Textile exports are our main foreign trade, but we only earn the meager processing fees. One of my partners happens to be a jeans king who started the HK brand in the 1970s and re-exported to Europe and America. However, he went bankrupt and transferred this part of the business to us. Well, by using this brand system, we can ship jeans that cost 12 yuan in Jiangzhou to Japan and North America and sell them for 20 US dollars. This is still lower than the price of hundreds of US dollars for European and American brands. I want to transfer this strategy to the foreign trade of other types of industrial products."

East China is a key region for the country's textile foreign trade.

Before the garment export trade was driven by Hong Kong merchants along the eastern coast of Guangdong, the region had been wealthy since the Qing and Ming dynasties by trading textiles. Therefore, everyone here must be very clear about the current state of textile export trade in this area.

You're lucky if you can make a dime on a pair of pants!

The profit margin is less than one percent.

This price will be four or five times higher!
Shocked, so surprised that I was speechless.

Shanghai is not without high-priced textiles; the best embroidery in the country is here. In the 1950s and 60s, it was actually producing top-quality clothing for Europe and America. Queen Helan's coronation dress in the 1960s was made here.

But what they earn is still the labor fee after being exploited at each level.

Wei Dong only wanted to explain the whole story clearly, just like how he communicated clearly with the people in Jiangzhou City so that they could work together to promote productivity.

"I have attended many meetings, and as the deputy director of a third-tier factory, I have been working hard to promote reforms. I often hear debates about whether to buy or manufacture. I have a small suggestion that is a compromise: the focus should be on contract manufacturing... This preserves our manufacturing capabilities, promotes trade revenue, and supports scientific research and development. This is easier to implement than simply buying or simply developing and manufacturing ourselves."

In fact, the idea that "it's better to buy than to build, and better to rent than to buy" was the top-down approach at this stage.

Because of the huge gap in technological strength, vehicles, ships, computers, various mechanical equipment, and chemical products are expensive and not easy to use.

Initially, the focus was on industrial gems like 10,000-ton giant ships, but when they couldn't keep up, they had no choice but to abandon building them themselves.

However, by following the human truth of "give a foot and you'll get a foot," the categories gradually expanded to almost everything.

It's so easy and convenient to buy them, since the department that spends money isn't the one that makes money and suffers the most.

The fundamental reason for the tight credit in the past two years is that people bought too much and couldn't make ends meet.

Someone present hesitated, as if wanting to speak, then asked, "Did you bring this up in Pyeongjing?"

Wei Dong shook his head: "Pingjing doesn't have much of an industrial scale, why would I bring this up? Jiangzhou is trying it out, but I think Shanghai is a better place to implement this situation."

Someone immediately asked, "Isn't this just processing trade?"

Wei Dong had to inquire further, as this was the main model of foreign trade in coastal areas after the reform and opening up: processing with supplied materials, processing with supplied samples, assembly with supplied parts, and compensation trade.

The first three are easy to understand; they are the contract manufacturing model. Compensation trade, on the other hand, involves foreign parties providing equipment and technology, while domestic parties compensate with products and labor.

To put it bluntly, it's like getting something for nothing, with little technical content, and it can only be at the very bottom of the entire industry chain.

Even after twenty or thirty years, it seems that many foreign trade factories are still at this level.

It was only when the trade war broke out that industries gradually upgraded.

Wei Dong quickly realized: "The most important link is missing. They only charge processing fees and don't take responsibility for sales profits and losses. They're giving away the most lucrative part, leaving us only to earn a pittance. No wonder..."

Some people present also noticed something: "You guys sell jeans and you take full responsibility for the sales profits and losses, so your profits suddenly increased. Is it the same with the computers that you plan to manufacture in China?"

Wei Dong nodded emphatically: "Why was I able to get Apple's support? They also have their own market competitors. Citibank has IBM, and Japan has a series of brands such as Toshiba, Sony, Panasonic, and Fujitsu. They lost 30 million US dollars in the first quarter of this year, but we participated in their sales work. In less than 60 days since April, our sales have doubled compared to the whole of last year. We are a partner with sales capabilities, not just a workforce that only knows processing trade. As long as we are given the opportunity to compete in the international market, we can earn foreign exchange ten times or a hundred times more efficiently!"

understood.

Now I understand completely.

Applause erupted, no wonder Apple would give such a strong support to this young Chinese man.

With 800,000 computers and 2 billion in sales, capitalists would naturally be willing to cooperate with such a profit-making expert.

Some people's eyes had already begun to show deep thought.

Only one person turned to ask with interest, "Could you elaborate on how you assist Apple with sales?"

Wei Dong blurted out, "I originally went to Japan to inspect electromechanical products, specifically equipment for vacuum machinery factories. But now that the World Expo is being held in Tokyo, I went to visit various computer products because my ideas for learning machines are already very clear; all I need are to fill in the gaps in each aspect. Then, at the Apple booth, I met the CEO who was supposedly exiled after losing a power struggle within the company..."

Then it all fell into place: "I won't buy their computers because they're so expensive, and they're still very basic. They're figuring things out as they go. It's not worth spending huge sums of foreign capital to import them. But we can help them with production and offer suggestions for improvement. That's not just about getting a small service fee. For example, this time we used our foreign exchange to buy chips at very low prices through Apple's procurement channels. We'll then use those chips to produce a learning machine, a basic computer, that will cost around 200-300 yuan. We'll try to get it into primary and secondary schools and universities as quickly as possible and also drive the development of a whole range of software and hardware companies."

The people in Shanghai now fully understood: "Jiangzhou's reform exploration this time truly has a fresh force!"

Then the thoughtful one finally spoke up: "Your idea is very interesting. Is it possible for your team to organize and sell more of our products overseas?"

She added, "Since you can sell jeans, and you're good at selling all sorts of things in China, why not just take them all and sell them worldwide?"

This left Wei Dong somewhat bewildered. Exposed?
(End of this chapter)