My Lord, you need to stand up!

Chapter 55 Don’t Catch the Ambitious Mouse
After thinking about it, Weidong realized that there was no one he could ask for advice at the moment, so he could only call the reporter.

Besides, isn’t it an agreement that we can contact this reporter after the camera goes on sale and do some advertising?

It was from this Jibei City Post Office that a long-distance call was made to the Sichuan Province Sunshine Daily News Agency.

There were also a lot of people guarding outside.

Yu Songhai had indeed reminded this important source of information, and the reporter station immediately found him: "Haha, after the Spring Festival, I asked Comrade Xiao Dong about your situation. He said you were very busy with your work. How are things going now?"

Weidong pondered this and said, "Let's put it this way. That X camera, which costs less than 30 yuan, has been selling like hotcakes in the market. We've sold over 5,000 units in about half a month. We're aiming for sales of over 10,000 units per month."

Yu Songhai must have been taking notes: "Hmm, hmm, very good. Has the situation at this military-to-civilian optical instrument factory improved?"

Let Weidong describe it: "We're running at full capacity, and the entire factory is working overtime. They told me before that the production capacity was about 200 units a day, but now it's up to 500. To expand sales further, I'm afraid we'll have to get other nearby military factories to join the production line. I'm striving to help them sell 100,000 units a year!"

He felt that he had plucked up the courage to shout.

This was indeed because he thought of the fact that point-and-shoot cameras were once very popular all over the country, so he took the right path to popularize simple cameras.

But even if he had the guts, he never imagined that point-and-shoot cameras would set a sales record of 500,000 units per year in the 1980s and 1990s!
And this is just the exclusive achievement of one of the major brands.

There are actually many similar models on the market.

However, his model of choosing a single sales point and moving towards the goal of 100,000 units was a peak that later point-and-shoot cameras were unable to achieve.

It’s a bit like a super internet celebrity promoting products at a tourist attraction.

Yu Songhai was pleasantly surprised. "I've heard that the highest annual output of Xiangjiang brand cameras is only about 30,000 units. Can this place produce so much?"

Rang Weidong didn't hide it: "It's mainly about simplifying a lot of parts and complex settings. The main goal is to allow everyone to take photos and develop images without any training. Well, according to economic theory, this large-scale use of cameras will also lead to a large-scale production and sales of film, and even more so, the rapid development of the film developing and enlargement market, which will invigorate the economy and drive the development of the entire industry."

This is also a word often used by the tax bureau, and it is also the most commonly heard cliché in the Internet age.

But it was certainly novel at the time, and Yu Songhai was adept at summarizing it: "Well said! A small camera can drive massive development. If our society and economy were driven by countless cameras like this, it would enrich every aspect of life. Our industrial development, the transition from military to civilian use, and the entire social landscape would be effectively improved. That's fantastic!"

Rang Weidong was willing to share some more information: "Yes, film is still very expensive at the moment. Imported color film costs twenty or thirty yuan, while domestic black-and-white film can be reduced to five yuan. Add in the development fee, and each color photo costs almost two yuan, while a black-and-white photo only costs twenty-four cents. So the most important thing right now is to develop domestic color film. I'm in northern Hebei now, and I'm planning to visit the Kaixuan Photosensitive Materials Factory in Jicheng to see if I can reach a sales agreement with them."

In the 1980s, not to mention ordinary people, all worldly-wise people would blindly think that foreign goods were better.

Imported goods are synonymous with high quality.

Only a very small number of extremely strong scientific researchers and visionary leaders will insist on developing domestic products through self-reliance.

So Weidong's casual remark that domestic products should be used to defend against imported products dominating the market shocked professional journalists.

I had to pause and savor this for a few seconds, then reflect seriously: "Yes, you're absolutely right. This is a significant improvement over the military-to-civilian conversion of production. We journalists also have this misconception, always believing that imported equipment and imported film materials are the best work setup. We need to reflect on this. Only by truly developing and promoting domestically produced products into the market can we truly gain a foothold in the global market."

People speak with this accent nowadays.

Jiang Weidong stopped making big promises and just got down to business. "But there are definitely many practical issues involved. For example, when I was selling cameras, I asked if I could bundle imported film with them, but people looked down on me. Domestic film is mostly sold by state-owned enterprises within the planned economy, so they don't seem to be very enthusiastic. So, I'm going to the Triumph Film Factory in Jicheng this time. Do you have time to go and visit with me? Otherwise, they might just ignore me."

Yu Songhai immediately thought seriously, "That's fine, but I won't go. I can immediately contact the Pingjing Headquarters or the Jibei Provincial Press Station to cooperate with you. This is the unshirkable obligation of our news organization. I will also immediately visit the Xishan Optical Instrument Factory you mentioned."

This was also due to his wealth of experience. What if Weidong's achievements were all just bragging? If the newspaper printed it in black and white and it turned out to be fake news, his future would be ruined. Therefore, he absolutely had to verify it on the spot. Especially since Weidong immediately exclaimed, he was a little wary: "What? Can't I go and see it?"

Rang Weidong shook his head into the phone. "No, no, I'm just going to visit and visit casually, but there's one detail I hope you can understand. I'm a businessman. I purchase goods in full and sell them, taking on huge risks. I also registered a brand and printed and produced camera packaging and manuals. These investments are huge. If you help Xishan Factory promote them, more people will come to help them sell. That would mean my investment would be wasted. Xishan Factory would no longer have to maintain an exclusive supply relationship with me, and I wouldn't be able to communicate with you in the future."

Yu Songhai understood immediately: "Oh, I see. Don't worry about this. The focus of my publicity is you. Didn't we say we wanted to set an example? It was you who helped the Guangyi Factory convert its military-to-civilian sales. I definitely won't mention any specific factory... No, there will probably be a lot of people calling the newspaper asking for the contact information of this camera factory. Can't I just give you that contact number?"

Weidong's main concern was his lack of trust in the other party: "Last time you said you wouldn't disclose my information, but you ended up sending me all these firsthand news, editorials, and letters from the public. I was even called in to talk to the city leaders."

Yu Songhai's occupational disease: "What did you say? How did you communicate?"

Weidong described it to the reporter's satisfaction: "That's very well said. The greatest significance of commodity circulation lies not in the transportation from manufacturer to consumer, but in the social division of labor that this circulation process will form, making the entire society more prosperous..."

Weidong couldn't help but say: "Only then can we form a harmonious new society."

The reporter smacked his lips. "Right! During this period of intense upheaval caused by reform and opening up, we must emphasize this harmonious situation and allow more people to participate in this transformation in a more gentle manner. Only then can change unfold silently and subtly."

In fact, the main tone at this moment is generally to take bold and decisive actions, dare to fight and fight, and take a tough attitude to grasp, violently and impact.

This kind of humanistic approach was quite rare, and Yu Songhai was bold enough to offer some advice to Weidong: "The specific form of publication isn't decided by me, but it's my requirement that you be mentioned. And you see, the city is treating you with respect, which will help your work, right?"

Weidong laughed and scolded, "What a bullshit help! I used to have some profit in Shangzhou's sandstone, citrus, and agricultural cooperative businesses, but now they're forcing me to give all the money to the disadvantaged."

Yu Songhai immediately asked about the vulnerable groups, and only praised them after he understood. "I find your use of some words is very clever. This is also a good idea. Caring for vulnerable groups is the responsibility of leading role models. This is indeed what you should do."

Let Weidong laugh and scold you, and you will have something to say.

Yu Songhai, in turn, emphasized that this is the responsibility of news supervision and you must be a good leader.

Weidong secretly curled his lips, the leader was about to be imprisoned and had not been released yet.

Anyway, after satisfying the reporter's KPI, Weidong finally turned to his own questions. "I have to make money, right? So I'm not here just for this film deal. It's actually part of a deal that You Qili and the others reached earlier. We're going to ship the accumulated tallow in the north to chemical plants in the southwest. These plants have been deprived of their raw material sources since the planned economy was abolished, and I don't have the ability to transport and develop raw materials myself. Do you have any suggestions?"

He also stated his attitude: "I don't really want to do this business anymore, but I've already acquired a lot here, and the chemical plant over there is waiting to be put into production. Old You is still detained. I came here to help him repair his business reputation and losses, but I didn't expect them to hold me back and not let me go."

These days, reporters for major newspapers are really know-it-alls. Later, many big bosses were transformed from reporters who traveled all over the country and gained a lot of knowledge in the 1980s and 1990s.

Yu Songhai thought for a moment and said, "I've interviewed all the chemical factories in Shuchuan that you mentioned. Actually, I suggest you get some samples first and go to the Guozhou Chemical Factory. I have a friend there. If the quality is up to standard, you can let them trade on their own and hand over this line to them."

This doesn't quite conform to the principles of reselling, allowing the supply and demand sides to meet, but the profit isn't too great and it's quite troublesome, so Weidong is really happy to give it up.

Then we made an appointment for him to come to Jicheng within three days, meet up with the reporters there to visit the film factory, and then bring the oil samples back to Guozhou.

This prefecture-level city in Shuchuan Province is located between Xishan Factory and the provincial capital of Shudu. Yu Songhai had just finished interviewing Xishan Factory and was waiting for him at the chemical plant to meet and discuss in detail.

Until this moment, Yu Songhai had not asked Rang Weidong how he sold thousands of cameras.

That's the key.

(End of this chapter)