Return to Hong Kong Island for a Century

Chapter 325 Digging a Hole (6000+ words)

As everyone knows, industrial orders can drive up GDP across the entire supply chain. If the final retail price is two hundred million US dollars, then the total figure reflects the total value of mining, smelting, transportation, parts processing, and so on.

This figure is usually several times higher, meaning that the $200 million Panda plane brings $800 million to $1 billion in GDP to China.

Of course, it's actually more than that, because this is the export price Li Song is paying; Li Song actually has to pay extra.

Although the more orders Li Song received, the more he lost, Li Song was going to lose money to gain publicity. If he received 20,000 orders, even if he couldn't enter the aircraft market in the future, these small planes could be seen all over the world for a long time to come.

Then Li Song achieved his goal.

The people back home were also prepared, and they received the news earlier than Li Song, because Nick celebrated on Sunday night and only told Li Song the good news the next morning.

Domestically, planning has already begun today. Although such temporary plans are rather troublesome, they are necessary because of exports and some preparations have already been made.

When BMW received Li Song's call, they held a departmental meeting overnight, something Li Song had already prepared.

The parts were all contracted out to other factories, and the arrangements were made in advance.

BMW's main focus is on powertrain systems, as well as unibody casting of the fuselage and wings. As for aircraft doors and other components, these can be manufactured by other factories.

In fact, a lot of people were paying attention. Nick arrived in Hong Kong Island three days later. By the time Nick left Amy, the number of Panda planes crowdfunded had exceeded 20,000.

After the news was reported, orders came in from countries such as Canada, South America, Europe, and Africa.

Many foreign companies in Africa commute by air much faster than by other means.

Moreover, the Amazon River in South America limited transportation to waterways and air travel.

There are also some large landowners and ranchers in South America.

In Northern Europe and some remote parts of North America where transportation is inconvenient, people mainly rely on airplanes.

Because the Panda mini-plane can take off and land in a variety of environments after the landing gear is replaced.

It can be used not only for spraying pesticides and fertilizing farms, but also for patrolling, herding, sowing, commuting, and so on.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Li, aren’t there too many orders? Can we close the crowdfunding at any time?” On March 12, Li Song picked up Nick at the airport, and Nick asked as soon as he got in the car.

"Nick, do you have any suggestions? I believe you are professionals." Li Song certainly didn't want to cancel the order, but he couldn't say it outright.

The more orders Li Song secures, the longer other small aircraft manufacturing companies will have to endure the industry downturn.

Ten thousand aircraft might mean three years of hardship, while twenty thousand might mean five years.

It's not that Aramco only sold 10,000 aircraft in three years, but rather that these small aircraft manufacturers may need three years to recover their market share.

Originally, these small aircraft manufacturers shared the market equally among several companies, but now there are 10,000 fewer, which is a significant number and represents a large market share.

Because these companies are operating according to the original market configuration from production line to sales, their costs will increase, leading to losses.

Of course, there's also the issue of inventory, which not only puts pressure on the company itself but also on the entire supply chain.

Many of Aramco's businesses operate with debt, so when these small aircraft manufacturers can't sell their planes, they don't have the money to repay their loans and then can't pay other suppliers.

Some large companies may just be losing money, but some small companies may be facing bankruptcy.

Ten thousand aircraft could bankrupt a small aircraft manufacturing company, or some companies in the supply chain, because they would have no orders for a short period of time.

Large enterprises have a wide range of businesses, while small enterprises only have a few small categories of businesses.

Li Song's idea was that the longer the downturn in the Amer International small aircraft industry lasted, the more opportunities he would have to find a distributor in the future, earn some hard-earned money himself, and hand over the retail profits to the distributor.

Of course, Li Song couldn't say it himself, so he praised Nick, saying that Nick was a professional.

“Mr. Li, the order book is unpredictable right now because there are many other orders. Some people’s planes need maintenance, such as replacing the engine, but the cost is very high, so they simply replace it with a new plane.”

"There are also some companies, many gold mining companies or teams in Marcelo and Marshall, that are in very remote areas. They won't equip themselves with a $40,000 aircraft, but they are very willing to equip themselves with a $10,000 aircraft because that way they can handle some emergencies, such as when the equipment breaks down and they need some spare parts. You know, many companies there are seasonal, and they can only mine in the summer."

"Another area is South America. The east side of South America is rainforest, and the west side is mountains. Road transport in places like Chile is too bad, so these small planes are used for rescue, patrol, and handling emergencies."

"More importantly, small planes are safer, easier to handle, and more cost-effective than helicopters. Of course, the convenience of helicopters is irreplaceable by other aircraft," Nick said at length.

Li Song wanted to donate small planes to the mainland instead of helicopters because helicopters require more advanced technology, while small planes are simple and easy to operate.

Moreover, small aircraft offer excellent value for money. They are equipped with a six-cylinder horizontally opposed engine, resulting in significantly lower fuel consumption and maintenance costs compared to helicopters.

To put it bluntly, neither Li Song nor the users of the 300 small planes felt like a big burden.

If we replaced it with three hundred helicopters... Li Song would probably go bankrupt.

"From our club's perspective, of course the more orders Mr. Li places, the better, as this will increase our club's influence."

“But we also considered that the more orders Mr. Li placed, the more losses he would incur,” Nick said, looking at Li Song.

For a crowdfunding club, the more members the better, and the more airplanes sold, the greater the influence.

Because after the aircraft is sold, the club still needs to maintain things like after-sales service and maintenance.

There are no barriers to becoming a member of the crowdfunding club, but to ensure long-term support and communication among members, there must be something to serve as a link.

This is also the main reason Nick came this time: to continue expanding the crowdfunding club's products and then expand the crowdfunding club's influence.

However, the crowdfunding club was worried that Li Song would lose too much money.

Of course, the club also knows why Li Song did this; it's simply to build brand awareness.

However, from the club's perspective, there are limits to building a brand.

Just like large companies that advertise, their advertising expenses are planned and arranged; it's impossible for them to increase advertising expenses without limit.

After Nick finished speaking, he looked at Li Song.

"Personally, I can accept orders up to 50,000 units. I wonder if setting the order at 50,000 units is too high?" Li Song knew that he wanted to make the brand famous, and the other party knew it too.

So they simply stated a huge number.

"Ah!" Nick had thought that Li Song's bottom line was at most 20,000 orders!
Because the club had done cost accounting, even for a single plane in mainland China, Li Song would lose several thousand US dollars.

An order of 10,000 aircraft would result in a loss of tens of millions of US dollars, 30,000 aircraft would result in a loss of approximately 100 million US dollars, and 50,000 aircraft would mean a loss of over 150 million US dollars!
So when Nick heard Li Song's answer, his eyes widened visibly: "Isn't Mr. Li losing too much?"

"As long as someone likes the panda airplane, I don't care if I lose some money!"

"Of course, I think the club shouldn't reveal the exact number of this order!"

“On the contrary, the club should give a time limit, that is, the crowdfunding period should end in two or three months!” The two bodyguards drove the car, and Li Song talked to Nick in detail in the back.

Nick instantly understood what Li Song meant by the time limit, which was a limited-time sale.

"Two or three months is probably too short a timeframe, because our crowdfunding club is establishing branches in Europe and South America!"

“However, in North America, crowdfunding clubs can offer a three-month timeframe!” Nick explained.

At the same time, he was impressed by Li Song. Mr. Li's business skills and business acumen were simply unimaginable to ordinary people.

"I was just saying that, you can decide the specific time yourself."

"There are two advantages to doing this. First, those who are still observing will definitely place an order as soon as they know there is a time limit!"

"In addition, there are other small aircraft manufacturers in your country!"

"I think the club has probably also faced some criticism from Aramco, since the orders raised by the crowdfunding club have had some impact on other aircraft manufacturing companies."

"Having this timeframe will give these aircraft manufacturers the illusion that the Panda aircraft has to reduce orders due to cost reasons!"

"That will slow down their reaction time, and they might even wait and see!" Li Song chuckled and explained.

Nick hadn't expected that the time limit Li Song mentioned had such a deeper reason behind it.

He couldn't help but give Li Song two thumbs up and praise him: "Mr. Li's idea is fantastic!"

"Several aircraft manufacturing companies on Aramco's side are asking lawyers and relevant individuals to submit an antitrust investigation."

"And an investigation into unfair competition!"

"However, as far as the club is concerned, this kind of thing doesn't really matter!"

"Because sometimes litigation is needed to maintain certain relationships."

"The club could hire relevant professionals as consultants!"

"Then the club can naturally use these people as stepping stones to enter their circle."

"The club has no problem with these two allegations because it is a non-profit organization."

"And since Mr. Li is the provider of the crowdfunding product, there is no market monopoly or unfair competition involved."

"Because the main entity behind this crowdfunding campaign is our crowdfunding club."

"Furthermore, Mr. Li did not benefit from these orders; on the contrary, he lost money."

Upon hearing Nick's words, Li Song suddenly understood.

I never expected that going to court would have such benefits, but Nick is right!
It's like someone wants to join a crowdfunding campaign without filing antitrust or unfair competition lawsuits. Then the club can then legitimately contact people from those two departments.

Li Song knew that public relations were essential for doing anything in Amer.

If public relations are handled well, any problem can be solved.

Of course, most of the time, public relations with Amei (America's company) are done with money.

However, there are also a few times when people get so angry that they resort to violence, such as being shot in the back and committing suicide, cutting off their own head from behind, or crashing a plane.

It's very easy to cause an airplane accident; just activate some hardware programs to make the hardware malfunction or cause problems.

"That's great! We are law-abiding citizens!" Li Song nodded.

If the antitrust and anti-unfair investigations conducted by Aramco are substantiated, the consequences will be severe.

Many of their historically powerful companies were dismantled as a result of these two investigations!

"Mr. Li, do you know about the yacht?" Nick finally asked the question he most wanted to know, because if the crowdfunding club wanted to expand its influence, it could only add some new products!
"Since the notebook is willing to provide crowdfunding products, I think the crowdfunding club should accept it!"

"Let Xiaoben complete the relevant procedures first, and then I'll take over. Of course, the price I offer will definitely be lower than Xiaoben's!" Li Song said with a smile, revealing his plan.

Upon hearing Li Song's words, Nick immediately guessed what Li Song was thinking!
"Mr. Li, your idea is fantastic!"

“If we crowdfund a yacht, even more companies will be dissatisfied with us!” Nick knew that Panda Aircraft had already united the small aircraft manufacturers in China to find the owner of the crowdfunding club. If they launched a yacht crowdfunding product now, they would offend those yacht manufacturers again.

Since the notebooks came to us on their own initiative, these problems are naturally left to them to solve.

“But if we use the smaller notebook to do this first, and the smaller notebook completes the process, then we will hand over the order to Mr. Li!”

"If the process in the notebook doesn't finish, we'll know where the problem is and then we'll start working on it!"

"Moreover, the little devils still have a lot of influence over our area!" Nick knew that doing this would offend the capitalists in the country and also the little devils.

But as the saying goes, "Man dies for wealth, and birds die for food."

Nick himself was not content to be just a reporter.

The crowdfunding club is gaining more and more influence, and now has tens of thousands of members, although most of them are just there to fill the numbers because the club has no entry requirements.

Of course, the club will make some improvements later, such as changing those who have already placed orders to VIP members.

If we add more products, it's only a matter of time before the crowdfunding club reaches 100,000 members!

A club with 100,000 members, and I am both a founder and a member of the management team!
Its influence in various aspects is quite significant!
To put it simply, once we sell so many small planes, negotiating a very favorable insurance deal with an insurance company shouldn't be a problem.

Of course, these are just some minor aspects; the bigger benefit is the opportunity to meet more powerful and influential people.

That's why Nick doesn't care about offending the Japanese or the capitalists in the country.

Because if you want to get things done, you have to offend some people!

"That's right, that's my idea."

"Furthermore, we can create some fake orders to get those little schemers to push things forward relentlessly, even if it's just for a small deposit!"

"Because I'm confident that the price difference between the product I propose and theirs will be enough to cover the deposits!" Li Song didn't know why, but whenever he set a trap for Xiao Zhuanzi, his not-so-original ideas kept coming up one after another!
Nick understood what Li Song meant: the yacht could be paid for with a deposit of one thousand dollars!

So if there are 10,000 people, that would be an order worth 10 million US dollars.

The little notebook will definitely keep pushing these things forward.

Once Xiaobenzi completes the process, the price difference between Lisong's yacht and Xiaobenzi's yacht will definitely not be a thousand dollars. Therefore, those customers who received a thousand dollars in exchange for Lisong's order are willing to do so!

Nick then heard Li Song say, "Don't give Xiaobenzi too many orders at once. Let Xiaobenzi have the illusion that they did the right thing!"

Nick clapped!

No wonder he's a world-renowned author!
This is a complete set of tricks!

Nick thought it would be strange if the little notebook didn't fall for it.

Li Song chuckled: "Actually, the crowdfunding club could have initially refused this offer, then had Xiaobenzi do public relations, and then the crowdfunding club would have internally recommended the product."

Nick was truly frightened by those little notebooks when he heard this.

If you want to promote your product in a crowdfunding club, then you definitely need to do some public relations for the crowdfunding club; at the very least, you can donate some money.

"Mr. Li, thank you for your generosity!"

"We will complete the order for 50,000 aircraft in the shortest possible time!" Nick didn't care how much impact the order for 50,000 Panda aircraft would have on the domestic and global small aircraft manufacturing industry!
After all, those aircraft manufacturers didn't give him anything, while Li Song gave him a small plane directly.

Furthermore, Li Song donated one million US dollars to the crowdfunding club.

I also receive subsidies for working part-time at the crowdfunding club.

Although the crowdfunding club is a non-profit organization, it still incurs various expenses, including staff salaries.

Because the club needs professional staff to provide services, and it also needs uninterrupted service!
This kind of charity organization is different from those that go out and give away free food, because those who give away free food don't go every day.

Moreover, the time spent there is not too long, unlike clubs, which provide almost 24/7 service to members.

This is actually a common tactic used by most charitable organizations. After receiving donations, many charitable organizations will promise to donate a certain amount of money each year!

The rest of the money is in charitable organizations.

"Nick, at the end of this month, the Star Shine aircraft will be flying from Hong Kong Island to Europe for flight permit and airworthiness certification. I would like to invite some journalists to fly on this aircraft!"

"Of course, we also have advertising business that we can discuss with the newspaper." Li Song knew that in the Western world, there was no such thing as getting something for nothing; everything had to be about money.

Although the crowdfunding club was self-supported, one thing is one thing!
Nick nodded: "Of course, no problem!"

"I will recommend a reliable candidate. I don't know how many people this plane can carry?"

“It can seat ten people!” Li Song replied.

"Then Mr. Li, you can notify me a week in advance!"

"it is good!"

"Does Mr. Li's type of small business jet sell in Western markets?" Nick asked again.

"It's hard to say, but it's highly unlikely!"

"Because we don't have the same high reputation as established aircraft manufacturers."

"Moreover, if the price of such luxury goods is reduced too much, they will not be favored by wealthy people!" What Li Song said is true. Many private individuals abroad actually purchase business jets tax-free!

Because many wealthy people abroad have to pay too much tax.

Purchases of luxury goods can be tax-deductible.

This is actually stimulating consumption by the wealthy.

Because only when the rich spend their money can others earn money. If all the rich's money is kept in banks, then social consumption cannot be stimulated, and the flow of funds cannot be promoted.

"Mr. Li, there are actually many kinds of products that can be crowdfunded, including cars, televisions, refrigerators, air conditioners, and so on!"

"That includes motorcycles, of course." Having arrived at the hotel, Nick finished speaking and prepared to get out of the car!

"Of course, there will be many more products to crowdfund in the future, and I think the number of members in the crowdfunding club will soon exceed one million." Although Nick's words sounded a bit greedy, Li Song liked them very much.

I want to manufacture my own mobile phones and personal computers and then penetrate the European and American markets!
Crowdfunding is a great approach!

Li Song isn't afraid that these people in the crowdfunding club will covet his things; he's afraid that they won't covet them at all!
It is believed that Ame's market will become very exciting with the emergence of crowdfunding clubs.

To penetrate the mobile phone and computer markets in countries like the America, other methods are needed.

They want to increase product awareness and enhance brand premium.

First, you need people to use your product.

"See you tonight!" Nick was at the hotel adjusting to the time difference, so Li Song didn't get out of the car!
"Okay!" Li Song nodded.

After dropping Nick off at the hotel, Li Song went to Phoenix TV.

Phoenix TV was not far from the hotel where Nick was staying.

Li Song had already gone to Parkson Department Store a couple of days ago, so this time he came to Phoenix TV for a stroll.

The factory next to Phoenix TV has also been bought, and it will be turned into a water obstacle course!
However, the water obstacle course cannot be carried out right now because the weather is too cold.

"Brother Le!" Not long after Li Song arrived, Liu Jiale appeared.

"Boss!" Liu Jiale was incredibly impressed with Li Song's ideas. The water obstacle course program mainly had two highlights: one was watching beautiful women with great figures fall into the water.

Another thing is watching these challengers constantly make fools of themselves, making all sorts of embarrassing mistakes!
Actually, variety shows in Hong Kong were quite open at this time. I seem to remember that several talented people were doing interviews on the set of some high-level movies. There was also a certain talented person who seemed to be producing high-level movies!

(End of this chapter)