Nanyang 1931: From piglets to giants

Chapter 28 Everything is going well

Not surprisingly, for several days in a row, Chinese newspapers all over Southeast Asia were talking about Zheng Yi and his machine.

The first thing the Chinese did was to successfully run an industrial chain designed for rubber, one of the most important pillar industries in Southeast Asia. This news itself is very valuable. Anyone with a little bit of intelligence can see that this is a major event that will change the entire Southeast Asia.

In British Malaya, the most influential Chinese newspapers were Nanyang Siang Pau founded by Tan Kah Kee and Sin Chew Daily founded by Aw Boon Hu.

The reviews of him and the machine in Nanyang Siang Pau were mostly positive, with almost the entire article filled with praise, while Sin Chew Daily was much more "objective".

While acknowledging that his machine was indeed more efficient, he also emphasized the huge problems that replacing human labor with machines would cause for workers' jobs, and the hidden worries it would bring to society.

Almost the vast majority of Chinese in Southeast Asia made their livings by tapping rubber, whether as piggeries or hired workers. In fact, it can almost be said that the social environment in Southeast Asia was shaped by rubber, and the Chinese in Southeast Asia cannot do without rubber.

But now that they have machines, aren’t they facing the possibility that rubber will leave the Chinese in Southeast Asia?

If hundreds of thousands of Chinese laborers left the rubber plantations, where would they go? Return to China? Not to mention where the money for the boat tickets would come from, who would be willing to leave their homeland and travel to Southeast Asia to make a living if they could still survive in China?

Without rubber, there is no life.

Although everyone understands that machines replacing human labor is an inevitable trend, this does not stop everyone from hating it. In order to find a reasonable excuse for their hatred, the word "traitor" is a natural choice.

In particular, Sin Chew Daily specifically emphasized the fact that his mechanical equipment used a large number of Japanese motors and that its core was actually Japanese equipment.

When such facts are spread to the public opinion, they will naturally be further distorted. Now a popular saying in the market is:

"What do you mean by domestically produced machine? Taiyou just made an iron shell, and everything inside is Japanese. Zheng Yi is a Japanese lackey. Apart from the logo, it's actually a Japanese machine."

The people in the factory were indignant about such statements. After all, the motor is the motor, and the equipment was indeed designed by Zheng Yi. Besides, do you think this iron shell is easy to make?

Is it an easy thing to start from scratch and build a car part by part?
Everyone can understand that civil society is worried about the unemployment wave and is transferring its anger to machines, but when the upper lip touches the lower lip, how can this machine become Japanese?
However, strangely, Zheng Yi appeared to be unusually calm.

Everyone felt that General Zheng was really magnanimous and had excellent emotional management skills.

But in fact, Zheng Yi was not angry at all. He even found it funny when facing such public opinion.

He didn't even care much about the so-called traitor claim.

It’s simple, it’s just that he had experienced this kind of public opinion in his previous life.

In his previous life, he was in his fifties and was about to retire. He was born under the red flag and grew up in the spring breeze. People of his generation may have experienced a little more, especially those of them who are engaged in technology.

From lagging behind to catching up, from catching up to being on par, and from being on par to basically leading, I've heard so many rumors along the way:

"All domestically made products are garbage, and they're just for the purpose of defrauding subsidies."

"If students from Peking University and Tsinghua University don't go abroad, they are incompetent."

"Do researchers at state-owned enterprises study technology? Aren't they all studying the ways of the world?"

"I've written a lot of papers, but I haven't seen any products."

"What do you mean by domestically produced products? They're just assemblers. Their core technologies are all from others. They don't have any assembly skills."

"Although we have mastered the core technology, the materials are still not theirs."

"Although we have made breakthroughs in material technology, the patents still belong to others."

“Although the patents are all theirs, they are actually just messing around.”

"Foreign equipment is expensive because their workers are paid more. Domestic equipment is cheaper because of cheap labor. Even though its specifications are not as good as domestic equipment, there is a reason for its high price."

"It's true that there are no such equipment abroad, but that's because they're too lazy to make it and think the profit is too low. It's not like they can't make it."

………………

It is indeed infuriating to hear such sarcastic remarks. When he was young, he would indeed blush when hearing such remarks.

But after hearing it so many times, I just let it go. Why should I get angry with these mediocre people?

These sarcastic remarks can actually be a driving force.

When he reached the summit, looking back at the path he'd taken, the rumors and gossip that had once infuriated him had become nothing more than jokes, topics of conversation among his buddies over drinks, even the thrill of bragging, the feeling of superiority that boomeranged back in his face. Now, with his life relived, hearing these familiar snide remarks again, he wasn't only no longer angry, but even felt a special kind of familiarity.

Moreover, this has objectively played a positive role in stimulating the subjective initiative of his brothers and preventing them from being proud and complacent when they achieve results.

In the previous life, their research and development speed was so fast, at least in his professional field, they were able to achieve comprehensive lag to comprehensive overtaking, and finally even comprehensive leadership, which was definitely due to these rumors.

Look, I’m here to help again in this life.

It's still mandatory.

Of course, the main reason is that these rumors will not have any substantial impact on them.

Although the second production line is still under trial, the factory’s current technology is indeed not mature enough.

But the company's prospects are beyond doubt. After Li Xiaoshi made a promise that at least some of Tai's workers would not be in danger of unemployment, but might instead work in machinery factories, learn skills, and get salary increases, their internal morale has taken a 180-degree turn.

With huge sums of money pouring in, Chinese tycoons in Malaya and even the entire Nanyang showed great interest in their equipment. They found Li Xiaoshi through various channels and expressed their desire to purchase the equipment, even at a higher price.

Even though the factory is currently expanding production to the maximum extent regardless of cost, the demand is still frighteningly high.

A large number of British plantation owners also showed great enthusiasm, because they really did not have this thing in Europe. Even the British Colonial Office gave them great support.

In addition to tax breaks and land discounts, they also took the initiative to connect with them and introduce people from British power companies to them.

Even the leaders of Shell and the power company's European headquarters came to Malaya in person to meet with Zheng Yi and Li Xiaoshi to solve their electricity needs.

The British are very good at calculating. Collecting taxes is not as easy and hassle-free as collecting electricity bills. Moreover, after mechanization, the output of rubber will also increase greatly. They can just collect taxes from the rubber industry.

Malaya, and even the entire Nanyang region, is far from reaching saturation of development, and there is still a large amount of vacant land waiting to be developed.

If the British power company could treat the power supply as an infrastructure and push it together with his machines to every plantation in Malaya, it would be of great benefit to the advancement of Zheng Yi's production line.

The cost of 60,000 to 70,000 yuan can be reduced to less than 30,000 yuan in an instant!
Even the British forced their hand in his machinery factory, with British Electric Power Company, Shell Oil Company, and several powerful Colonial Office officials holding a total of 35% of the shares.

Even if we sign an agreement and he charges a higher electricity bill, what does it matter?

Anyway, the Japanese will invade in ten years and the British will be gone.

After the Japanese leave, it is time for the Southeast Asian countries to pursue national independence.

At that time, the Chinese would take back these generators and the British shares in the name of resisting Japan. Wouldn't this be a very reasonable thing to do?

As for whether they can defeat the Japanese and how they will defeat the Japanese, that at least has nothing to do with them, the British.

Win-win!

Zheng Yi himself also became a British citizen because of this.

Anyway, China at that time recognized dual citizenship, and all these overseas Chinese had two motherlands. When he became a British citizen, he gave up his colonial citizenship of British Malaya, but he still retained his Chinese citizenship.

As a result, Zheng Yi's production line became even more popular, because if you buy a production line, you get a power grid!

When his machinery factory was really mixed with the two British manufacturing giants, British Electricity Company and Shell Oil, it had transformed into a sword that was extremely sharp, invincible, and could cut through anything, at least in Southeast Asia!

Just three days later, Li Xiaoshi approached him and said, "Mr. Tan Kah Kee of Singapore, Li Qingquan of the Philippines, Zhuang Xiyan of Indonesia, Yi Guangyan and Xiao Focheng of Siam, and Robert Ho Tung of Hong Kong have all expressed interest in acquiring shares in our machinery factory. They're all powerful and influential figures. What do you think?"

"Now the British have taken away 35% of the shares, and we only have 65% left. If we dilute them further, we will lose our absolute control over the factory."

Zheng Yi: "Many hands make light work. The people you just mentioned are all the top leaders among the Chinese in Southeast Asia.

We already have the stigma of being traitors. If you don't let them join in and make some money together, do you want us to become public enemies? Don't you want to be the leader of the overseas Chinese in Guangdong? I think this is an opportunity."

Li Xiaoshi: "That's true. I was afraid you might be dissatisfied with it. Since you have such a plan, I can operate it with confidence.
The fifth day of next month is my father's birthday, and all of them will come to celebrate. Under the pretext of celebrating, we can discuss it in detail then. We are also ready. No matter what, the initiative must be ours."

Zheng Yi: "Okay, then I'll prepare it and see if I can give the old man another birthday gift."

(End of this chapter)