The Self-Cultivation of a Reborn Massage Therapist

Chapter 443 Signing the Contract

In 2020, China's private aerospace sector welcomed its second wave of new players.

In the first wave, those who were destined to fail have already failed. How can purely private enterprises, which can't even meet the basic requirements for controlled materials, possibly succeed?
Taking Red Arrow Aerospace as an example, it was only after state-owned capital entered the market that it truly expanded its business scale. However, when Xiong Tiantian, the "little fat man," brought state-owned capital in to take stock, he discovered that Red Arrow's early "unorthodox" development had sown many hidden dangers, and various problems began to surface.

Everyone understands that state-owned assets are the backbone of China's aerospace development. However, the entry of state-owned assets has also brought new problems:

No one dared to gamble their future and take responsibility for being bombed more than three times.

No one can afford to bear the heavy responsibility of being accused of "wasting state-owned assets."

Therefore, the national team pursues a steady and solid approach. However, cutting-edge technologies with high risks and high failure rates, such as vertical recovery, can only be left to commercial aerospace companies to "test the waters" and make mistakes.

As one engineer put it:
"One of the major challenges of vertical recovery is flight control during the recovery process, which requires a large amount of data. Without data from several failures, there is no starting point for improvement. It is almost impossible to expect the simulated data to be exactly reproduced in the real world. Scientific research always requires a scientific attitude."

After a busy morning, Zhao Xiaochui hurriedly ate a few bites of food and drove his eye-catching red Ferrari to the headquarters of Relaxing Mobility.

Ou Xiaokui, who had been waiting for a long time, quickly stepped forward and began to report on the specific details of the Red Arrow project.

After listening, Zhao Xiaochui asked Ou Xiaokui with some confusion, "State-owned capital has stepped in to support us, so why are private capital companies withdrawing instead?"

Ou Xiaokui gave a bitter smile:
"Boss, the difference is huge! SpaceX has achieved 26 successful launches this year, a 100% success rate, and successfully recovered 22 first-stage rockets... Those people just look at how fast Red Arrow is burning through cash..."

Zhao Xiaochui nodded. In his previous life, he had heard that Red Arrow Aerospace had received investment from a great philanthropist. So, he had driven him away?

Thinking of the philanthropist who became incredibly popular on the internet 25 years ago, Zhao Xiaochui couldn't help but feel a small sense of accomplishment.

At this moment, the two had arrived at the reception room on the first floor of the headquarters building. They pushed open the heavy solid wood door, and there were already several people sitting inside.

Several key investors of Red Arrow Aerospace were present: a representative of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Zhejiang Province, Xiong Tiantian, investment director of Qindi High-end Equipment Manufacturing Fund, and the two founders of Red Arrow Aerospace.

The investment terms had already been agreed upon; this was a purely financial investment, and Zhao Xiaochui would not be involved in day-to-day management.

Amidst the expectant gazes of the group, he spoke and asked:
"If I sign the papers, will I become the largest shareholder?"

Several people nodded.

Zhao Xiaochui looked down to confirm the contract terms and said calmly:

"Although it's a private investment, after the signing, I will have a professional team from EasySlowMove get involved to conduct a thorough due diligence on Red Arrow's management. Anyone who's just coasting along or drawing salaries without working will be eliminated one by one."

Zhao Xiaochui thought for a moment, then asked curiously:

He paused, then pointed east:
"In addition, the production base of Red Arrow can remain in Zhejiang, but the core R&D team must relocate to Beijing. I own the property here, with spacious grounds and no rent. Key talents will also have their household registration and related benefits resolved."

Xiong Tiantian, standing to the side, looked completely bewildered, while the representative from Zhejiang State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission nodded excitedly, clearly having heard rumors about Zhao Xiaochui.

Zhao Xiaochui rolled his eyes at Xiong Tiantian's silly expression. Even the slow-witted Xiong Tiantian realized she'd gotten a great deal, scratching her head and chuckling, "Brother Chui, is there anything else you want? Just say the word!"

Zhao Xiaochui thought for a moment, then turned to look at Wang Jianmin, the co-founder of Red Arrow Aerospace. This man had a strong "national team" background, coming from the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, and was a senior expert in the Long March series rockets.

Facing such a tech expert, Zhao Xiaochui's tone became somewhat reserved: "Professor Wang, how much does it cost to blow up a SpaceX rocket over there?"

Wang Jianmin listened, smiled slightly, and explained softly:
“Mr. Zhao, SpaceX has a special test program called ‘Grasshopper’. They don’t build complete rockets, but rather single-stage test vehicles specifically designed for crashing and exploding.”

"They make this small rocket jump, hover, move horizontally, and then land back on the platform. Fly → explode → analyze → improve → fly again. The faster this cycle is, the faster the technology matures."

"During that period, the internet was full of compilations of them blowing up rockets. Outsiders watched the spectacle and thought it was a failure. But in our view, it was not an accident at all; it was something they had planned."

"They only really exploded seven times, in January, April and June of 2015. Although the rocket successfully completed its main launch mission, at the last moment of landing, due to various problems such as control precision, leg locking device, propellant sloshing, hydraulic system, etc., it exploded, overturned or fell into the sea one after another."

"It was these seven explosions that provided SpaceX with the most valuable data, which led to their current mature recovery technology," Wang Jianmin concluded.

Zhao Xiaochui nodded and asked the last question:
"How much money would they burn if they bombed it once?"

"For the early 'Grasshopper' test vehicle, the cost per test was between $5 million and $15 million. For the official Falcon 9 rocket, a single failure would result in a loss of approximately $35 million."

After listening, Zhao Xiaochui subconsciously glanced at the bank card beside him and blurted out:

"That's it?"

The people present were speechless for a moment: "..."

Zhao Xiaochui turned to look at the Zhejiang state-owned assets representative and Xiong Tiantian, his tone filled with confusion:

"With so little money, you don't even dare to go all out and bomb?"

Xiong Tiantian retorted irritably:
"Easy for you to say! Who will take responsibility? Who will bear the pressure of online criticism? Those keyboard warriors don't care if you're conducting an experiment or not. As soon as the rocket explodes, they immediately start criticizing you for 'wasting public funds' and 'lacking technical skills.' Their spittle could drown us!"

Zhao Xiaochui waved his hand, his tone resolute:
"I'll take responsibility!"

The scene fell silent instantly. Wang Jianmin looked at Zhao Xiaochui, his fingers trembling with excitement.

Zhao Xiaochui just smiled nonchalantly:
"Anyway, I'm already seen as a 'heartless capitalist' by many people. You can all shift the pressure onto me and issue a statement saying that the new boss is stupid, rich, and loves watching rockets and fireworks!"

"..."

These bold remarks left everyone speechless. The signing event ended in this awkward atmosphere.

As he was leaving, Zhao Xiaochui suddenly remembered the blunder caused by the accidental firing of a "skyrocket" by a company in his previous life, and quickly turned around to give him some instructions:
"By the way! All experiments must be conducted far from residential areas, entirely at sea! Safety first!"

The group nodded repeatedly in assurance.

(End of this chapter)