Film and Television World Life Record

However, the twelve Hawk 75 fighter jets he ordered have not yet arrived, otherwise it would have cost another $480,000.

Within just a few days, the ordered goods were received, resulting in a direct expenditure of $1.6 million, equivalent to 1.6 tons of gold. Building an army certainly costs money.

However, this was not the end of the matter. In order to replenish the firepower of the entire army at all levels and prepare to face the Japanese, heavy machine guns also needed to be purchased.

Moreover, the troops will soon be formed after the expansion, and all the necessary equipment should be provided.

After careful comparison, Li Mu finally chose the Browning M2 heavy machine gun, a classic heavy machine gun that was first developed in the 1920s. At that time, the gun was only mounted on aircraft as an aircrew machine gun, mainly used to deal with light armor and hard targets.

Later, in 1932, the M1921 heavy machine gun underwent a transformation, with the water-cooled barrel being removed and replaced with an air-cooled barrel. This improved heat dissipation, made it lighter, and solved the problem of water shortage during combat. It was then named the M2 heavy machine gun and became a classic.

This heavy machine gun is also highly versatile. It can be issued to infantry machine gun squads, modified into a coaxial or bow machine gun for tanks, or mounted on the top turret of armored vehicles and tactical military vehicles to become vehicle-mounted suppressive fire.

It also has great potential in warships and fighter jets.

Even in modern society, this gun remains in service as a defensive weapon on tanks and armored vehicles.

With the thin metal plates of Japanese armored vehicles and tanks, a single burst from an M2 heavy machine gun would leave a row of holes. It could be used not only as suppressive fire but also as a powerful weapon against armored vehicles and tanks.

Similarly, given the limited defensive capabilities of the small Japanese aircraft, this heavy machine gun was also a formidable anti-aircraft weapon, and its effective range of 1.8 kilometers was not just for show.

The price was naturally not cheap, $1,580 per machine gun, more expensive than a light truck. Li Mu spent $158,000 to buy 100 machine guns. He also spent $120,000 to purchase two million rounds of heavy machine gun ammunition.

Arms are indeed expensive things.

……

After purchasing the weapons with lingering fear, Li Mu breathed a sigh of relief, after all, he had spent nearly two million US dollars.

Next, he purchased various experimental equipment, as well as some machines and production equipment necessary for producing penicillin. These were all conventional biopharmaceutical production equipment, capable of producing not only penicillin but also other drugs.

Including some promised experimental equipment to the school, another million dollars were spent.

Li Mu calculated his finances and found that he only had a little over two million US dollars left. Of that, he had to leave one million US dollars to the Far East Trading Company so that they could acquire a pharmaceutical factory in the United States.

Li Mu had the following plan regarding penicillin.

Production was carried out domestically, keeping it as secret as possible, ideally without the factory knowing what was being produced. The raw materials were then handed over to the Far East Trading Company, which transported them to the United States for further processing, bottling, and packaging before selling them under the name of an American company.

As for sales channels, we can cooperate with some large companies, share profits, and make money together.

As for others copying it, they can make a fortune for themselves without the Far East Trading Company's involvement, so they are not afraid.

Penicillin is not actually rare. If you want to and are willing to spend the money, any laboratory can make it, but the cost is too high.

If production costs can't be reduced, there's no point in copying it; who knows how low Li Mu's production costs are?

To maintain secrecy and make money, Li Mu could even obtain penicillin packaged in American factories from the Far East Trading Company and bring it back to China to sell as an imported drug.

Of course, the price can be cheaper; for soldiers injured in battle with the Japanese, it's fine to sell or give them away for half price.

People will only think you are incredibly capable and generous, and they won't associate penicillin with Li Mu, nor will they be envious, since it's a foreign product. Who would have thought that such a cutting-edge drug would be produced domestically?

……

After giving the Far East Trading Company one million US dollars, Li Mu only had a little over one million one hundred thousand US dollars left, but he still had to spend the money he needed to spend.

He is setting up a metal mold processing plant, and the factory buildings are already completed, in order to accumulate some experience for the future production and research and development of light weapons.

They spent another $500,000 to purchase a batch of industrial machine tools, lathes, grinders, drilling machines, molds, and other metal and steel processing equipment. With these and some skilled technicians, a medium-sized mold and metal processing plant was established.

In addition, Li Mu ordered two more bullet production lines. War is all about logistics, and buying bullets is not only expensive but also inconvenient. If a war breaks out in Europe, it will be impossible to buy bullets from Germany anymore.

Why not set up two production lines and manufacture bullets ourselves?

The technology for producing bullets is not particularly difficult. Decades ago, starting with the establishment of the Hanyang Arsenal, China possessed the technology and capability to independently manufacture bullets. In recent years, the number of arsenals capable of producing firearms and bullets has increased significantly, and the country has no shortage of workers in this field.

Set up two production lines, hire some skilled technicians, and production can begin immediately.

Speaking of which, many firearms in China are imitations of Mauser rifles. For example, the now famous Zhongzheng rifle in China is a copy of the Mauser 1924, and it is compatible with the Mauser 98k ammunition purchased by Li Mu.

This is also why many people in China prefer to use German-made weapons; they are compatible with many domestically produced rifle bullets, saving a lot of trouble.

This makes things much easier, as China clearly has considerable experience and skilled workers in producing these bullets. Moreover, some of the bullets produced can be sold domestically, and when bullets are in short supply, some can also be procured domestically.

Producing your own bullets has another advantage: it lowers the price of firearms. For example, a Mauser 98k rifle with 500 rounds of ammunition costs $45.

Actually, the gun itself only costs twenty-five dollars; the other twenty dollars is for five hundred rounds of ammunition.

Having the ability to produce bullets means having a source of supply, eliminating the need to purchase and stockpile so many bullets at once, incurring such high costs.

After some consideration, Li Mu also ordered one artillery shell production line. Although China was not good at manufacturing artillery, its ability to produce artillery shells was quite good. Not to mention the capital, even in the north, where there was a shortage of equipment and materials, a considerable number of artillery shells were still produced during the War of Resistance.

Go back and have Muwu Trading Company find more experienced people in this field; they should be able to get started quickly.

Chapter 422 Camouflage Uniforms

In addition, two grenade production lines were purchased. Although they could be made manually without production lines, as is the practice in the north, having production lines would allow for faster production and ensure quality.

After paying the deposit, Li Mu only had three or four hundred thousand US dollars left, which made him feel poor.

It seems he needs to find a way to make some quick money. He doesn't lack domestic currency, but he does lack foreign currencies like US dollars.

After thinking it over, he found a bank, took out more than 900 kilograms of gold as collateral, and borrowed 900,000 US dollars to start purchasing some of the most scarce goods in the country.

First, there was the gasoline, in 200-liter barrels, at $3.20 a barrel. Li Mu purchased 100,000 barrels of gasoline at once, spending $320,000.

Converted, one barrel is 200 liters, 100,000 barrels, or 20 million liters.

One cubic meter equals one thousand liters, and twenty million liters equals twenty thousand cubic meters of space.

In addition, gasoline drums also take up space; 100,000 drums of gasoline would take up approximately 21,000 cubic meters of space.

With the remaining $900,000, Li Mu purchased a large quantity of steel and rare gunpowder raw materials, and finally spent it all.

The gasoline, steel, and gunpowder raw materials purchased in the final batch, worth over one million US dollars, were undoubtedly scarce and highly sought after in a war-torn country.

Li Mu decided that he would sell these things domestically, accepting only gold, US dollars, or British pounds. He was so poor he could barely make ends meet, so he had to earn some money first.

He wasn't worried that others wouldn't have the money to buy. These days, which of the warlords, big merchants, or wealthy people in China didn't have accounts in foreign banks and hoard large amounts of foreign currency, and which of them didn't have a batch of gold on hand?

In the current domestic situation, strength is the only true measure of success, and these hard currencies will always find buyers.

After finishing his business here, before returning to China, Li Mu heard some news: in the north, up to Kuala Lumpur, someone had recently set up a flying club, and many Southeast Asian Chinese were learning to fly planes there.

After a little consideration, Li Mu asked Su Ming to sign him up. He didn't mean anything by it; he also wanted to learn how to fly a plane.

……

Upon returning to Wuhan, Li Mu immediately sought suitable buyers for these in-demand goods through Muwu Trading Company.

Gasoline, steel, and gunpowder raw materials are all strategic resources that are currently in short supply in China, and are definitely hard currency.

Although it only accepts purchases in gold and foreign currency, and the price is not cheap—several times higher than the international market price—given the current situation in China, being able to buy such scarce strategic materials at all is already a blessing; who cares about the price?

As a result, the gold was sold out in a short period of time, and Li Mu ended up with more than 500 kilograms of gold, 2.2 million US dollars, and 300,000 pounds.

The current exchange rate between the British pound and the US dollar is 1 to 4, so 300,000 pounds is equivalent to 1.2 million US dollars.

All in all, this time they made nearly four million dollars.

Sure enough, strategic military supplies are the most profitable. Of course, after such a long war, both gasoline and various military raw materials are scarce, which is why they sell for such high prices and are sold so quickly.

……

Having tasted success, Li Mu returned to Nanyang, unloaded all the weapons and equipment he had purchased, and then went to Hankou again before returning to Singapore.

This procurement was on a larger scale, including gasoline, steel, gunpowder raw materials, medicines, various domestically scarce equipment, strategic materials... a wide variety of items, totaling $3.2 million, filling the entire space. Without wasting any time, they returned to Wuhan.

Upon arriving in Hankou, they contacted buyers through Muwu Trading Company and sold about one-third of their inventory, recovering nearly three million US dollars. However, the volume of shipments decreased sharply, and the market prices of various goods continued to fall.

Li Mu instantly understood: with so many supplies flooding into the market at once, short-term demand was met, and the goods were no longer so scarce, so prices naturally came down.

It seems impossible to make quick money and repeatedly profit this way. Actually, a steady, long-term approach is not bad either.

Half of the remaining goods were stored in the Hankou warehouse for gradual purchase; the other half were taken back to Nanyang, where they could be used and also sold to surrounding and northwestern regions.

……

I haven't had to worry about Nanyang for a while now. Everything is developing steadily, and the construction is beginning to show results.

With the banditry in the countryside swept away and the various shady forces in the city eliminated, the level of public security has reached a new height.

On the other hand, as the commissioner of the administrative office, Li Mu carried out a major overhaul of the governance of the entire region. With the gun in hand, no one dared to oppose him or find fault with him.

They dealt with a lot of people; some were executed, some were sentenced, and some are still working on road construction in the mountains.

Such ruthless methods and determination thoroughly frightened many people. In addition, some new people were promoted and some talents were recruited from other places to fill these positions, so the matter did not cause any waves.

On the contrary, it has made the entire region even more prosperous.

Originally, due to the war, some people from coastal areas and many large cities threatened by the war relocated here. After living here for a while, I have experienced the security environment and the level of governance here, which is quite remarkable.

More importantly, prices here are stable, and many foreign goods are more readily available than in big cities, making them all the more precious and valuable in this era of war.

So, upon encountering such a rare and wonderful place, people naturally called upon their friends and acquaintances, and word spread quickly, leading to a large influx of people from the Nanyang region fleeing the war and migrating inland.

A few days ago, the government office specifically counted that the total population of the region had reached 6.3 million, of which 1.2 million were migrants from various places in the last six months.

The key point is that in that era, most people who could bring their whole family with them to migrate, apart from those fleeing famine, had some family wealth or a skill.

This has also brought more technical talents to the Nanyang area from various industries.

The influx of so many people boosted consumption, and the numerous projects initiated by Li Mu further stimulated employment and consumption. All sorts of businessmen saw the opportunity, and department stores, car dealerships, theaters, teahouses, dance halls, nightclubs, jewelry stores, jade shops, restaurants, Western restaurants... and even cinemas, which are usually only found in big cities, sprang up accordingly.

The entire area became increasingly prosperous, resembling a major city from the Republican era.