Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
After hanging up the phone, Wong Quan Long dashed to Shang Hai as fast as he could. In the Baoshan industrial area, Xing Hai Company rented their second factory of eight hundred square meters as the second research and development base for various research works. Chen Jin waited for Wong Quan Long in the new factory.
…
Three hours later, in the testing laboratory, after a series of testing by the technicians, Chen Jin crossed his arms and asked, “What do you think, Chief Wong? The spare parts I brought here should meet the quality standard, right?”
Wong Quan Long was over the moon and exclaimed, “Yes! Absolutely! They can completely replace the imported Japanese parts, but…” A little bit skeptical, he asked, “Supplying 1.5 million set of parts in six weeks, Chief Chen, are the two local suppliers that you found really capable of doing that?”
“Don’t sweat it. 1.5 million sets are not going to be a problem. The suppliers I found are not doing to encumber me.”
Even more confused, Wong Quan Long leaned forward and asked quietly, “Chief Chen, if there are local suppliers that can produce such quality brushless motors and moving parts for the mechanic arms, with a supply capacity of a million, and they’re in our country, they should be pretty well-known, and they are very likely to be on CCTV… how come I have no idea who these suppliers are?”
“Do you really want to know how I found the two channels?” Chen Jin asked, looking at him.
“Yes!” Wong Quan Long repeatedly nodded his head.
“This is very confidential. Come in, let’s talk in a quiet place.” Chen Jin brought Wong Quan Long to an office with a nice soundproof facility, explaining everything to him.
Of course, he made up the whole story.
He said that the batch of brushless motors and mechanical arm moving parts he brought were not the products of formal factories, but the scientific research findings from the two research institutes. They belonged to the laboratory products that were not widely promoted. As for the names of the two research institutes, Chen Jin said that he could not disclose them because they were state secrets.
Wong Quan Long’s eyes lit up. He thought about the work Chen Jin’s father was engaged in, and he suddenly had a realization. “The two institutes must belong to the military scientific research institutions working for the government. Otherwise, how can there be confidentiality requirements?” He continued nodding his head and said, “No wonder I can’t see the name of the manufacturer and the production number on these two parts. They were laboratory products.” However, if the parts could be supplied in the quantity of a million, it means the technology is sophisticated enough to meet the standard of mass production. Why do they hold themselves in the laboratory production phase but not advance to industrial mass production?
Chen Jin explained, “The primary task of the two research institutes I found is not to research on the brushless motors and the moving parts of the mechanic arms. It is just their sideline. Once they have a major project, the two tasks will be cast aside, and the production line will be halted as well. When I first placed the order of 1.5 million, it took me a great deal of effort to persuade them. Let’s wait until this order is finished, then I’ll place the order again if they’re available.”
Wong Quan Long furrowed his brows, shook his head, and commented, “That’s not right, Chief Chen, the supply chain is too unstable. Besides, with the technology, wouldn’t they consider going into factory production and promote the two products in the civilian market? Take the brushless motors as an example, that is a market of at least a few ten billion dollars, don’t they want to earn more money?”
Chen Jin spread his arms out and said, “I asked the same question too, and you guess what they said? No time. They don’t have any time to earn money. They still have many research projects on hand.”
“But others have time, they can ask someone to promote the technology for them.” Wong Quan Long pushed his glasses up a bit. He just couldn’t understand what these people were thinking.
“Bingo!” Chen Jin snapped his fingers and nodded. “You’re right, Chief Wong. I was thinking the same thing too. So…” His face was filled with much suspense and a bit of pride, as he smiled and said, “After a series of intense discussion, I persuaded them to collaborate with me.”
Wow! Wang Quan Long suddenly turned his head and looked at him. He twitched his mouth, blinked, and asked curiously, “Chief Chen, you guys… What’s the actual collaboration plan?”
“Hahaha!” Smiling cockily, Chen Jin leaned back into the sofa chair, positioning himself more comfortably. Without much emotion he said, “I bought the production technology of the two spare parts… with around a billion.”
Wang Quan Long was completely flabbergasted. He murmured, “A billion… only a billion? For such a high-quality technology of the brushless motors and the moving parts of the mechanic arms? This…” He suddenly pounded on his chest violently. Looking up, he mourned, “Why? Why can’t I, Wong Quan Long, have such good things happen to me?” He looked at Chen Jin, with his red eyes filled with envy, jealousy, and bitterness.
After quite a while, Wong Quan Long adjusted his attitude, passionately served Chen Jin a cup of tea, and asked in a fawning smile, “Chief Chen, about the two research institutes, can you introduce me to them? I would love to meet the experts there.”
Naturally, Chen Jin could tell nothing.
Wong Quan Long sighed. It’s always good to have parents working for the government. The success earned by entrepreneurs like him, who could only strive hard on his own with no connections at all, was not even comparable to the success someone achieved by merely greeting and asking a favor in their social connections. Such constant comparisons were just pointless. Being envious was just a luxury to him.
Chen Jin, getting down to the business, introduced his proposal. “Chief Wong, this is my thought. In order to completely tackle the supply problem of the brushless motors and the moving parts of the mechanic arms, I am planning to invest in two companies, which can specialize in manufacturing the two core parts. For the brushless motors, I plan to buy in the shares with the technology asset. I will acquire the shares of a company which has more exceptional ability in producing brushless motors so that they can quickly enhance the technology and manufacture electrical products that will compare to the Japan Yaskawa Electric’s. There are very few companies that develop the moving parts of the mechanic arms, so we’ll directly acquire one of them. Chief Wong, you’ll be investing the money, while I will be responsible for providing the technology. Once the subsidiary is established, you and I will hold half of the company’s shares respectively. Chief Wong, would you like to seize this opportunity?”
Chen Jin planned to acquire shares by providing technology to two companies that specialize in producing brushless motors and the moving parts of the mechanic arms. It was quite difficult for some people to understand why Chief Chen gave away the technology to acquire shares of others’ companies. If he found two subsidiaries to manufacture the two core parts, he could earn all the money. How good was that? In fact, he did consider it, but discovered that it was not very practical.
First, establishing two subsidiaries from scratch would take up a lot of time and effort. A year would not necessarily be enough. They would be working like crazy every day. Second, the supply chain problem of the Ling Feng Jing Mi Company must be alleviated within two months! In these two months, Chen Jin had to sweat like a pig and carry 1.5 million sets of spare parts weighing seven to eight tons, from the Base of Operations to his Mercedes-Benz with the help of the simulated robots. If the pre-order of Wa-wah robots was opened again, the total sales might reach ten million. Then his career of being a porter would have to continue in the long run. How did he get the time to set up a subsidiary then?
The technology on Planet Haierfa was definitely advanced, yet if he had to carry everything from there to the earth to meet the industrial production demand, Chen Jin simply could not do it alone. For sure the best solution would be building a few capsule factories on the planet and get them to the earth for production. This would save part of the troubles. But the diameter of the planet portal was only a meter long, how could he get the capsule factory, which is as large as an intermodal container, to the earth? Therefore, providing technology to work with other companies seemed to be Chen Jin’s only choice. Not to mention, this was also the choice to tackle the problem of efficiency.
After listening to Chen Jin’s proposal, Wong Quan Long quickly stood up. “Yes, I do!” Extremely grateful, he exclaimed, “Chief Chen, the offer you are making now is like a pie from the sky. I will certainly grasp hold of it. Chief Chen, thank you for giving me this opportunity.” His slightly greasy face was very red. Over the moon, he incessantly bowed to Chen Jin and said, “Chief Chen, all the best for our collaboration!”
Chief Chen stood up, putting forward his hand. “All the best!”
The two hands were firmly held together.