My Lord, you need to stand up!

Chapter 459 You don't even understand the industry, what business are you doing?

This made Wei Dong want to avoid dealing with these kinds of people.

He never even takes the initiative to contact Wu Xi.

If you can seize the opportunities of the times, you can make a fortune quietly.

But I know I can't avoid it.

If I were just selling cured meat or cameras, probably no one would care.

Once you start selling sanitary napkins, you'll inevitably have to deal with the government.

Once the scale grows large and the wealth increases, it will inevitably attract the attention of various parties eager to take advantage.

In fact, many people online have already summarized that high cognitive ability and making money are two different things.

People with a deep understanding of the world and a very accurate and direct perspective on issues are everywhere, but this ability to see the essence of things often doesn't make them money.

Because the essence of making money is the pursuit of fame and fortune, it requires currying favor, bowing down, compromising, and being pragmatic.

The higher one's level of understanding, the further one is from reality, and the less one would stoop to being such a vulgar person.

Wei Dong's "cognition" is exceptionally high, which is precisely because he has opened his third eye.

Then they would be even less willing to bow down and agree.

I can make money through my own abilities, why should I be bothered by this and that?

But being a leader means being pragmatic and compromising. He doesn't have a trace of anger now: "What's there to be happy about? The car factory is being restructured, and we need $4.6 million in foreign exchange every month. We're raising funds to build houses without making a penny or taking anything with us. We're also using the funds to build welfare facilities. The night market is even losing money just to attract customers. Since we've made some money during the reform and opening up, we're just giving back to society and serving the people."

Wu Xi had personally heard Wei Dong complain about the delay in his foreign exchange remittances. Now, hearing this, she smiled, found herself a bowl and chopsticks, and picked out a bottle of Taibai wine.

On the contrary, Shen Cuiyue, who had been standing behind the small counter, immediately brought the staff over to remove the previous soup pot and replace it with a new one, and put on several plates of crispy side dishes, peanuts, and braised dishes.

Although the shop is old, run-down, and small, it follows all the rules perfectly.

I also received a thank you from Wu Xi.

Xu Rao failed to notice this detail: "Four million six hundred thousand US dollars in foreign exchange... that's a lot of pressure. Do you have any ways to make money overseas?"

Wei Dong had already realized that his ability to earn foreign exchange was also a kind of bargaining chip: "It's alright. The Economic Commission gave us some quotas for bartering. We have to solve the predicament of the joint venture factory not having any parts to start production. Every car we build is like cutting into our own foreign exchange reserves. It's not easy."

Every sentence revolves around foreign exchange, and each phrase carries multiple implications.

Xu Rao finally turned his head to look at the shiny Audi sedan outside: "There is a saying that FAW is encouraged to copy this Hans car, using Citi's engine and copying the chassis structure of Hans, but using domestically produced parts."

This instantly brought back memories for the old gatekeeper: the Audi 100, which later became a real official car.

The standard for mayors nationwide.

Then came the jokes about how, in places where civil service exams are popular, the Magotan is considered more prestigious than Mercedes-Benz or BMW.

He didn't mince words: "Those who think this way haven't personally experienced what a modern car production line is like. Based on my experience working at Pingqi, the most direct and effective way to develop the automotive industry and catch up with advanced productivity is to introduce models like the Cherokee for production. Anyone who tries to cobble together some compromises is just wasting money and will eventually have to hold their nose and introduce joint ventures."

Wu Xi had already taken a delicious bite, and then another piece of salt-baked heart and tongue would be simply wonderful.

The chopsticks froze in mid-air as he watched the two of them turn and stare at him. "You guys chat, I'll just grab a bite. But as Dongzi said, anyone who starts with the idea of ​​saving money and making do will most likely end up paying the price in tuition. Going straight to the right place is the most reliable choice."

Xu Rao scoffed: "But one Cherokee is enough to give them a headache. Shanghai is also working on a joint venture for Santana. If they get another joint venture for Audi, they'll go crazy. They'll have to import parts to assemble everything. That little bit of foreign exchange won't be enough."

Wei Dong waited for him to finish venting his emotions before speaking: "The problem with Cherokee is that the factory is located in Beijing. There are too many higher-ups meddling in things, and Beijing doesn't have a complete and abundant automotive parts supply base. FAW is in the heavy industrial base of Northeast China, Santana is in the developed economic zone of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, and even Suzuki minivans are in Jiangzhou, a heavy industrial city. All of these can quickly achieve localization of parts. It's just that Beijing is more difficult. That's why I reported to the leaders that from an industrial and commercial point of view, this joint venture should not be located in Beijing. But from a political point of view, only those who get things done can solve the problem."

Wu Xi quietly ordered another piece of spiced pork intestines, feeling satisfied. She then handed Wei Dong her wine glass and drank it herself.

But the attitude of agreeing is very clear.

Xu Rao pressed further, "How do you plan to resolve this?"

Wei Dong thought to himself, "You're really used to being a freeloader. No wonder you lack critical thinking skills." But he neither confronted him nor let slip anything: "In the long run, we definitely need to achieve localization. In the short term, we need to solve the foreign exchange problem for purchasing imported components. These are professional solutions for industry and commerce. Since I've become the vice president of this Cherokee company, I will naturally lead the team to explore and solve them."

Xu Rao clearly didn't care whether he could get this method to show off on the Audi project.

Having already established a certain level of familiarity over a few words, I immediately steered the conversation to my real concern: "Won't you be overwhelmed with this computer project? Will you need someone to share the workload?"

Shen Cuiyue, who was in the distance, was pretending to slowly write and draw on the ledger with her head down, and she gripped the pen tightly.

Hearing this, Wei Dong said unhurriedly: "This project was initiated by the Fifth Ministry of Machinery Industry to drive the work of the Computer Research Institute. Now it has also merged with the Chinese Learning Machine project led by Factory 742 of the Fourth Ministry of Machinery Industry. I have not been involved much at all. All departments that wish to participate are welcome to talk to the Fifth and Fourth Ministries of Machinery Industry. There are more than forty factories and research institutes."

This is a clean slap on the wrist. If you want to talk, go talk to the Fourth Ministry of Machine Building or the Fifth Ministry of Machine Building. It would be foolish not to use such a big name.

Xu Rao's previously lazy and carefree expression finally changed: "This is a computer agency business that I've invested heavily in in Hong Kong, and you've also taken over a foreign trade company in Shanghai. The current situation is that your computer business has completely overstepped its bounds!"

The voice wasn't harsh, but a little urgent.

Wei Dong was told not to mention the information he got from the old fogies in Hong Kong: that the claim of buying the agency rights for two million US dollars was either bragging or that he had been scammed.

"First of all, Shanghai's acceptance of the foreign trade company is compensation for the result of the unwarranted disruption of the business order. During that period, the huge losses caused by the sale of various commodities in Shanghai and the repatriation of foreign exchange were compensated. Secondly, regarding the boundaries of computer sales, there is no concept of home computers in the world now. It is my own invention. Your computer products are certainly not intended for home sales, so how can you say that you have crossed the line?"

Xu Rao's face began to darken: "Of course, I was targeting the banking and financial systems. This batch of development was planned to be no less than 40,000 computers, but now everything has been halted, and everyone is demanding that your computer products be compared first!"

Wei Dong laughed: "How much are you selling it for?"

Xu Rao's expression twisted: "An IBM computer costs 19,800 yuan, and Citibank's professional financial software costs 2,400 yuan. Now you're actually asking people to customize software with banks? You're not being ethical, you're being too greedy!"

Wei Dong didn't even bother to discuss your profiteering methods: "I guarantee the computers here will be under 2,000 yuan, and the software will be 30 yuan. Isn't that one-tenth of the price? That's the result of complete domestic production. Car purchase restrictions are being implemented, and there are cheap computer solutions available. How could the government spend hundreds of millions of yuan to waste money? Brother, let me be frank, this is the characteristic of the development of the computer industry. Yesterday's gold price may be tomorrow's cabbage price and nobody will want it. If it weren't me, there would be Zhang Weidong and Li Weidong doing this computer business. Trying to make profits through import trade will only lead to losses sooner or later. It's just a matter of how much."

Perhaps 85 was a pivotal year. The latest Apple computers, the Famicom, the ZTE Learning Machine, and now Weidong's X Computer all used the 6502 chip.

At this very moment, Wei Dong pierced through the boundaries of several electronic products, creating a Frankenstein's monster that looked more like a computer than Apple, had more gaming potential than the Famicom, and was more educational than a learning machine.

It's even cheaper than all of them!
In this situation, IBM was merely a bystander caught in the crossfire.

However, a warning suddenly popped into Wei Dong's mind: once X Computers began to be fully launched, IBM, which was hindered by its business of tens of thousands of computers, might have initially underestimated this poor mainland market, but would it hold a grudge against the 6502 chip because of the instigation of comprador intermediaries, and later cut off his supply channels?

He couldn't completely trust a capitalist like Steve.

Before Xu Rao could say anything more, Wu Xi finally spoke up: "Even I, a layman, understand this. At one-tenth the price, who would dare to make the entire banking system's computers for you? Dongzi's computers are products that the Fourth and Fifth Ministries of Machinery Industry are overseeing. With domestic alternatives available, who would dare to buy imported goods? It would be a death sentence."

Wei Dong quickly chimed in, saying, "Back to that software, it costs over two thousand yuan per set and it's based on the financial habits of Europeans and Americans. Our thirty-one sets are purely domestically produced programs for our own use. I went to see their program samples a couple of days ago, and bank experts were making adjustments step by step. Do you think it's easier for our entire banking system of tens of thousands of people to adapt to that foreign software, or for the current software to adapt to our usage habits? Besides, would a financial and banking system dare to use foreign software? They could leave a backdoor in it and steal all the information."

Sure enough, both Wu Xi and Xu Rao wanted to know what a backdoor was!

If you don't even know this, how can you be doing computer trading? Wu Xi simply said, "Forget it, don't bother with this. Be careful not to cause trouble. Take over Gangzi's guesthouse business. It's more reliable than this. It's only a few hundred million, and it doesn't involve foreign exchange. These days, anything involving foreign exchange is considered a serious matter. Don't cross the line with the Economic Commission. They're really tough on you right now."

Xu Rao still looked pained and reluctant to part with it.

Wei Dong sighed inwardly, but still compromised: "I'll see if I can find a way to make up for how much you've invested in the computer."

Xu Rao quickly looked up at Wu Xi.

He shook his head and said, "I have to observe from the beginning to the end. Wei Dong is currently managing both the computer and automobile lines, and his own project is the main focus. We can't afford any mistakes. Bringing you here is just a private reminder for you."

Xu Rao finally admitted helplessly: "I signed an agency contract with IBM for computer parts, promising to sell two million US dollars worth of goods, otherwise I would have to breach the contract and pay compensation."

Wu Xi, holy crap, why did you sign this kind of contract with those foreign devils? Did you do something shady and get caught red-handed?

Wei Dong didn't delve into the reason: "What part?"

Xu Rao returned to the Audi and took a mysterious iron box from the glove compartment.

It's about ten centimeters square, twenty centimeters long, and very heavy.

Wu Xi even suspected that this guy might have been bribed by enemy agents to spy on him!
Even Wei Dong didn't recognize it, but Xu Rao uttered a long-forgotten term: "This is called a hard drive..."

(End of this chapter)