My Lord, you need to stand up!

Chapter 422 The weak are easily angered like tigers, the strong are calm as water.

But the difference is really not that big.

Wei Dong turned on the AUX computer, which also had a standard Apple graphical system: "This thing is still very simple. It's essentially a small, independent program. After booting up, it displays an interface. The user opens a program, closes this program, and starts that program. When closing that program, this program is opened at the same time. The device can only handle one program running at a time, but this program is very sophisticated and ingenious. It's only a little over 200 KB. We can use this as a basis to develop our own Chinese system."

Once this step is missed, and hundreds of millions or even hundreds of millions of computers on the market are using foreign systems, it will be difficult to compete with the overall ecosystem.

This is a reality that everyone in later generations knows.

People in the city clearly haven't realized how remarkable their own Chinese system is: "Is it important?"

Wei Dong nodded: "Right now, computers are still in their early stages, just used for typing, drawing, and doing accounting. In the future, the entire banking system and the entire tax system will be connected. Every company's accounts will be connected to the tax bureau. Everyone can communicate and play games online at home. If you say that the computer is from abroad and the system is from abroad, won't others know everything about you?"

Even though this situation didn't occur during the forty years that Wei Dong was able to see, the tax system had been issuing such warnings.

As expected, everyone listened with solemn expressions, clearly understanding the principle of self-reliance, independent production, and research and development of advanced technologies.

But what would be the consequences if we couldn't independently develop and produce computers?

It really is worth listening to Wei Dong's explanation: "For example, if all our equipment... such as the computer chip motherboards in elevators, were completely controlled by foreign companies, even if we could produce the best products, but we lacked the key chips, foreign countries could strangle us at any time. Wouldn't that paralyze all places in the country that use computers and chips?"

I gasped in shock: "It seems that the consequences of this are indeed more serious than the inability to produce cars independently."

Cars are indeed a product of rudimentary methods, not that they are unusable, but they are inefficient. Even when completely enclosed, they can still meet the minimum requirements on their own.

Spending so much money on cars these days is a bit...unreasonable.

Rang Weidong wasn't criticizing: "I'm not against prioritizing the automotive industry right now. After all, the development of the automotive industry can bring huge social and economic benefits in the short and long term. I guess there are also a lot of compradors advocating that it's best to buy computers, since the investment is large, the results are slow, and there's no return to be seen in the short term. So I volunteered to use the power of private enterprises to do this well."

This will certainly draw a round of applause immediately.

If Jiangzhou can capitalize on this technological boom to develop its electronics industry, it will definitely benefit in all aspects.
Even computer experts, no matter what kind of computer they are, probably don't know exactly what computers can do right now.

At this point, computers are just typewriters operated by specialists. Even research institutions haven't figured out how this thing will change society and usher in the computer age.

Even foreign computer experts are working on technical goals such as how many calculations per second.

Just like even the most advanced scientific research results, there is still a process of transforming them into market applications.

In terms of specific applications... it's fair to say that Steve is currently the best at it.

Wei Dong, however, knew better than Steve how to use computers. His knowledge of a single tax system networking project alone was enough to surpass the understanding of all current computer professionals.

Now everyone is convinced that this sales genius really does understand computers!

Of course, Wei Dong explained that he had taken advantage of his overseas trip to study and think carefully: "Once we start producing products, we will give priority to universities, primary and secondary schools in Jiangzhou City."

The city government was naturally both pleased and worried: "We will give our full support to the city for being able to lead the country in the computer age, and we will try our best to ensure expenditures even though education funds are currently tight."

A qualified capitalist would step in and solve problems in such situations: "No need, no need. This is our contribution to Jiangzhou, which we are rooted in. We will gradually provide computer teaching equipment to the education department through free donations, and we will also do our best to assist Jiangzhou University and other local universities in focusing on the training of computer professionals."

The education department was overjoyed: "The planning for primary and secondary schools in the Economic Development Zone has also begun. We aim to start enrollment next spring. We will get the primary schools running next year. Jiangnan District is prepared. We can now enroll school-age children from relevant factories and units nearby to ensure that their growth is not delayed."

Maintaining local relations is a matter of course.

But what Wei Dong didn't care about was such a convenient exchange: "That's why we thank all parties in the city for their support. We also hope to scale up the scale of OEM manufacturing for Apple and the research and development and sales of our own products within two or three years. The purpose is not to make money. We will try to use the income from other industries to support computer research and development, reduce costs, and try to control the cost of this machine to three to five hundred yuan. On the one hand, we will resist the entry of foreign computers, and on the other hand, we will popularize and cultivate our own computer newcomers. Only when there are more young people who are familiar with computers, love computers, and are good at computers can we take the initiative in this computer era."

So how could the way people in the city looked at him not have changed?

If last year he was merely regarded as a skilled economic reformer and an exploratory option for the commodity economy.

It has now become incredibly sophisticated and has even been associated with high technology.

Previously, the focus was on developing manufacturing productivity; now... even though the assertion that technology is the primary productive force has not yet been made, it is already an undeniable trend.

Instead, there were far fewer inquiries and urgings. They only mentioned that the city would establish a new computer office to receive information from here at any time, and that the city would help connect with various parties to provide assistance.

Whether it's the universities and education system in Jiangzhou, or the Science and Technology Commission that should be in charge of this area.

However, everyone understands that at this time, the administrative departments and competent authorities can only restrict the research and development of private enterprises, and should let them make breakthroughs in this area. They then carefully examined the 100,000 6502 chips currently stockpiled on the fourth floor.

Wei Dong also briefly mentioned: "In Tokyo, these chips cost about twenty dollars each, but through Steve, we were able to get them directly from the manufacturer at a wholesale price of nine dollars. The capital tied up is, of course, the profits from exporting jeans. We had some dealings with some people in Shanghai who wanted to make a fortune in computers, and their foreign exchange was frozen. So, to facilitate future chip purchases, we will try to build up some overseas capital reserves so that we don't become easy prey for these greedy people."

Everyone in Jiangzhou must have sensed the danger involved.

They exchanged somewhat bewildered glances: "Could you explain the whole story in detail?"

Seeing that they weren't going to shirk responsibility or pretend not to hear, Wei Dong then described the arrogant attitude they had displayed: "...There are always some talented people who can handle all the procedures and sell in-demand products at high prices. I don't need to elaborate on the profits in this area. Cutting off someone's money is like killing their parents. If it weren't for the future of the computer industry, I wouldn't have gotten involved in this mess at all. But in life, one must know what to do and what not to do. If I run into any problems in this area in the future, I hope you can help take care of all these hardworking employees."

Having said all that, what Wei Dong was asking for wasn't to lend a hand to his brother, but rather to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages to preserve his life.

Instead, they only care about not hurting so many people.

At this point, it became clear that the tens of thousands of employees in several major industries and the various investment projects in the city were putting enormous pressure on Wei Dong's cash flow, and were also a heavy burden.

This act of putting on a show was so convincing that for a moment, the city officials who wanted to say something righteous and eloquent couldn't even utter a word.

The tremendous changes brought about by reform and opening up have indeed brought considerable benefits.

So who is most likely to seize the initiative?

This self-evident reality should be an unspoken understanding when dealing with officials, and it's not something that can be prevented simply by someone making a statement.

Some people choose to climb the social ladder, seeking a higher level of protection.

Wei Dong, however, presented it openly and honestly.

Logically speaking, someone in their early twenties who has a thriving business and extensive connections should be so arrogant and conceited that they look down on everyone else.

Wei Dong remained calm and composed: "I don't actually have any leadership connections. I only met a few people when I accompanied you to meetings in Pingjing, and we've never kept in touch since. I'm focused on sales to help more people change their lives and improve people's livelihoods in Shangzhou, Jiangzhou, and other places. I'm well aware that I'll encounter all sorts of people who only see this industry or wealth and want to plunder it, but that won't affect my desire to give back to this era. I'll just try to be as prudent and reasonable as possible in my approach. Please don't put me at the forefront of everything. Sometimes I feel that good partners are harder to find than profitable projects. Let's cherish what we have."

Finally, someone nodded deeply: "I can certainly imagine the pressure and challenges you face. Your long-term vision and calm attitude beyond your years are even more trustworthy. As long as you can operate fairly, Jiangzhou will stand firmly with you and resist all kinds of evil practices."

Others also chimed in, which made Wei Dong not care how much weight the promise carried, and he smiled and invited them to come downstairs for a visit.

The computer manufacturing workshop is located downstairs from the expanded new jeans factory area, which will increase production to 150,000 pairs of jeans per month for Japan and North America.

Currently, Jiangzhou Sewing Machine Factory is assisting in improving the production equipment for industrial sewing machines.

The natural course of action is to rapidly increase the scale.

Next door is a large office area that accommodates hundreds of clerks, production managers, and construction operations managers.

Go downstairs to the bustling food street.

The stadium is so big that even employees who aren't on shift would come to eat on time, making it incredibly crowded and lively.

But it's clear that this applies to both the food stalls and restaurants on either side, as well as the area around the canteen with the longest queue.

Seeing Wei Dong accompanied by some officials who looked like they were walking in, even if they didn't know who these people were, they felt genuine enthusiasm and familiarity from all sides: "Wei Dong! The cold meat salad is pretty good today, want to try some?"

"Over here, over here! Let the boss have some of our chicken giblets today!"

"Hello, Brother Dong, there's an empty seat here..."

In their eyes, there really is only the boss, not the local officials.

Without self-control, an entrepreneur might easily lose their way and start to believe they are a powerful ruler ruling over a region.

In the years since the reform and opening up, there have been quite a few arrogant individuals who have met with such fates.

But Wei Dong knew very well that if he continued down this path, he would inevitably have to fight those compradors.

(End of this chapter)