My Lord, you need to stand up!

Chapter 612 Tell me, is it righteous or not?

In reality, the wafer fabs that were taken from Penang were theoretically products that were strictly prohibited in Batumi.

The Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls (COCOM) was a trade blockade organization that began imposing embargoes on Soviet-affiliated countries in the 1950s. It took several years to add the mainland to the blockade list, and then it quickly escalated to include more prohibited goods than Russia and the United States.

Perhaps the mainland is just too vibrant.

It is precisely because of this blockade that Hong Kong has become even more prosperous. Since large-scale operations are impossible, they can always manage to do things in a subtle and meticulous way.

As for the ports in the mainland, even if they grow bigger and stronger, without being included in the monopoly of international shipping alliances, no ships will come to dock and load/unload, and they can only serve as feeder ports under the designated hub ports.

Therefore, even though Wei Dong was a shareholder of Citibank, he would have needed to submit a report and apply for permission to send these goods to the mainland. This was an incredible act of breaking the embargo.

If discovered, or if this factory starts production in the future and appears on the financial statements that publicly listed companies like AMD and Apple are required to disclose, it is likely to be severely punished.

But now it's the capitalists who are driven by profit. They've found a reason: this is an old factory built in 1973, and the equipment is no longer cutting-edge, so moving it to the mainland to build a factory is not on the list of banned factories.

What improvements or enhancements the shareholders make after acquiring the shares is another matter entirely.

More importantly, starting from the late 1970s, as European and American countries successively established diplomatic relations, the mainland had already introduced a large number of dual-use military technologies and equipment.

Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls (COCOM) has successively relaxed the export approval procedures for various technology products.

Last year, it was decided to implement free exports to the mainland, delegating export approval authority to member countries and eliminating the need for item-by-item approval, resulting in extremely relaxed export controls to China.

Wei Dong seized this opportunity precisely at this critical juncture, knowing it was a significant loophole.

The billions spent importing so many cars in recent years would have been better spent on importing these things more effectively, at least enough to bring chip manufacturing levels on par with the 1980s.

Even if it is shut down later, or even if relevant technical personnel are trained and retained, the gap can be calculated from this point onwards, and the strategic significance will be completely different.

This is the main reason why he's a bit obsessed and insists on getting the things back no matter what.

Putting aside the chip blockade in 30 or 40 years, even his current computer business can't be controlled by others forever and forced to use the 6502. That's a chip from more than ten years ago, costing only a few dollars each. How good could it be?
If we can get this back now, and squeeze it to produce a 286, it will be a perfect match for the 1980s. If we can quietly break through to 386, it will be barely enough for the entire 1990s.

So, following the experts on a tour of the packaging plant, Wei Dong felt an overwhelming urge to get it back, he absolutely had to get it back!
If we don't set up packaging plants, the wafers will still be sent here to be assembled, and in the end, we'll still be held hostage by others.

Of course, the most difficult part, wafers, can already be produced, and the Xizhou plant also has certain packaging capabilities. If we work hard, we can probably catch up in the future.

But none of them are as good as this ready-made child; you can take him home and take care of him as a child.

Experts have confirmed that upgrading and improving this facility would require an investment of around $20 million to match the new wafer fab.

Lin Wangfu was even more adept at this. He had always envisioned adding a pulse code modulation circuit to his sound card chip to form a PCM circuit, converting the original analog signal into a digital pulse signal, so that the sound card with heavy electronic sound could truly move towards realistic sound quality.

This is something that the electronics industry in Singapore cannot do.

So before, I could only think about it.

But after the packaging plant was upgraded, it was able to customize the chip he requested.

He would definitely recommend upgrading now, and he could even be stationed at the factory as a front-line engineer to help develop this chip, which would make the sound card the best in the world!
Of course, these words were spoken to Wei Dong, and only Brother Fa listened attentively and only partially understood them.

Fortunately, his acting skills are superb, and he was able to make his eyes look less empty and blank.

Lin Wangfu was surprised to find that his boss's gaze was not blank: "I know what you mean. If this thing is developed, you will definitely make a fortune. But like I told Brother Fa, if you are just a small business owner in Singapore, you won't be able to keep such a great thing. You will have to cooperate with big companies. But Steve, hehe, if you only tell him an idea, he has plenty of amazing people who can make it for you, and even better than you. So you can only be guaranteed to be treated like a person if you make something yourself first, have a patent, and then talk to him."

This is the experience gained from having Weidong make the PPT. Even if the basic version that Lao Huang and his team made was bad, it still secured a patent position.

Little did they know that this was the very script that would lead Lin Wangfu to lose so much blood decades later.

It was Lin Wangfu who first created the MP3 player. Steve saw it at an electronics exhibition, which inspired him to request technology licensing or joint investment. After Lin Wangfu refused, a battle that lasted for more than ten years began. By the time the wealthy Apple lost the case and paid compensation, Lin Wangfu had been basically bankrupted.

Steve is tolerant of geniuses, but if a genius doesn't follow him, he will absolutely treat them as a mortal enemy and kill them.

So now, Lin Wangfu, in his early twenties, says, "Then I'll secretly hide this chip among a bunch of other solutions and have them prototype and test it."

Wei Dong glanced at Fa Ge, who seemed to understand nothing but was still thoroughly enjoying himself, and teased him, "Interested? Invest in our sound card company, and I guarantee you'll make money."

Chow Yun-fat said, "However, I only have ten million Hong Kong dollars, and I'm planning to buy an apartment next to yours to be your neighbor."

This gave Wei Dong a moment of hesitation. Buying property in Hong Kong right now is a good investment; prices are just starting to rise, and there's a strong possibility of a significant surge before 97. Missing out is a real possibility.

Even if the sound card company makes money, it will still need to spend a lot of money to buy a house in the future.

He scratched his head and said, "Alright, buying a house won't delay you. I'll use your endorsement fee from 20 years from now to advance 20 million Hong Kong dollars and invest it in this sound card company."

Chow Yun-fat's usually flawless acting expression faltered for a moment: "Investing with money from twenty years in the future?"

Wei Dong nodded casually: "If you do the math, you'll have to be our spokesperson for free for the last few years, okay?"

It completely stunned Chow Yun-fat.

He signed a 30-year shampoo endorsement contract with Rang Weidong.

Starting with HK$500,000 a year, add HK$100,000 each year until it reaches HK$3.4 million a year after thirty years.

The endorsement fees for the last five or six years have been deducted and are now being advanced.

Putting aside the inflation at that time, how much was 20 million worth?

If things continue to develop steadily, even without these investments, what significance does HK$20 million have for Chow Yun-fat at the age of sixty?
The difference between the current 20 million investment and the present one is almost astronomical.

He's already as good as a godfather.

Lin Wangfu also realized in his mind that this was practically a free share, and he stared wide-eyed, desperately trying to figure out what the intention was.

Let Wei Dong explain to the major shareholder: "Your sound card is fine, it's sold alongside Apple computers, so there shouldn't be any major problems. But as for the speakers, if Brother Fa is a shareholder, it's his own company, so you'll have to keep advertising and promoting them, which will increase speaker sales. We need to sell them like crazy all over the world."

Lin Wangfu also realized that sound cards, as electronic accessories, might not need brand ambassadors as much, but this speaker would be extremely valuable if it were associated with a top celebrity.

He quickly nodded with a smile: "Then we must definitely help Chow Yun-fat become a world superstar! At least a world superstar in the Chinese-speaking world!"

Chow Yun-fat sat up straight and clasped his hands in a fist and palm salute: "I have been in the film industry for more than ten years and have always been wary of all kinds of people because I am a penniless young man. One wrong step can ruin my whole life. Since I worked with Brad Pitt last year, I have known his honest character. This time, he has been very sincere in helping me. From now on, we will be partners who work together. If there is any demolition, I will do my best to help him even at the cost of my life."

His Cantonese pronunciation was strained, but he tried his best to convey sincerity. Perhaps knowing that no matter how serious he was, he would easily sound like he was acting, he deliberately added a touch of theatrical banter.

Wei Dong laughed so hard he almost fell over: "Yes, yes, yes, I guarantee you'll make a fortune during the demolition. It's settled then. We'll sign the agreement and make the payment when we get back to Hong Kong. I'll also trouble Lao Lin to handle it the same way I do. Two ten million Hong Kong dollars each in two different companies, and we'll keep Brother Fa firmly tied to the boat."

Lin Wangfu laughed heartily. Actually, once you think about it, you'll find the key point: Wei Dong paid for Chow Yun-fat's money, but signed a lifetime endorsement deal for Creative Computers. As long as Chow Yun-fat remains popular and his reputation stands, all of Creative's future products, especially his favorite music-related products, will naturally become famous.

Won't the money just keep rolling in?
Chow Yun-fat laughed, immediately adopting the demeanor of a big boss and instructing the R&D experts: "You need to launch this product as soon as possible, and I can immediately promote it to everyone..."

He was dressed like an ordinary tourist, but he acted like a billionaire.

Wei Dong quickly clapped with Lin Wangfu and said that this was the first shareholders' meeting.

Lin Wangfu described it as somewhat like the Oath of the Peach Garden.

Wei Dong invited them to visit Shanghai and Jiangzhou whenever they had time, and to introduce them to more brothers: "My roots are still in the mainland, so I'll leave the overseas business to you two. It's only a matter of time before Lao Lin's products are sold all over the world. I estimate it will be done next year. Whether Brother Fa wants to go to Hollywood to become a world superstar depends on you. I can definitely provide assistance, but now is probably not the right time."

Chow Yun-fat asked why, but his eyes didn't seem particularly eager; he just didn't quite believe it.

He's nobody now.

During the time of "The Bund," he was just a minor actor earning a salary from TVB, and as everyone knows, his salary was meager. Even though he had just become popular again with "A Better Tomorrow," he was only temporarily famous in Hong Kong and hadn't made any money yet, let alone achieved any artistic status or international influence in film.

He himself hadn't thought that far ahead.

Wei Dong, however, knew very well that watching TV series and videos was his main pastime while on duty. He had seen all of Chow Yun-fat's movies and watched many movie reviews about him, but he didn't know much about his love life and gossip.

"What can you act in overseas now? It's still based on the foreigners' dominant position, asking you to play the Chinese they imagine. It's not like that. Either you can act in beautiful period martial arts films and bring out the flavor of Chinese culture, or you can act according to your own acting style. So now is the time for Lao Lin and me to work hard to gain control of the Chinese voice. When we can really demand that Hollywood movies must listen to us, that will be the time for you to give full play to your talents. Right now is just the time for you to hone your acting skills."

These words didn't charm Chow Yun-fat; instead, they made Lin Wangfu's blood boil. As a Malaysian-born Chinese who grew up, studied, and lived in Singapore, he felt the impact all too well: "Okay! I will definitely follow Pitt and strive for that kind of status!"

He even grabbed the three people's hands and put them together...

Mao leaned against the corner of the coffee shop and watched from afar, thinking to himself, "Heh heh, the big brother has tricked the little brother again."

(End of this chapter)