Rebirth in 1960, My Industrial Age

Chapter 352 It’s Time to Ask for Money
"Damn it, those Chinese people, how could they do this."

The top executives of a small semiconductor company did their best to unleash all the abusive words they knew at the meeting, just because China had disrupted their plans to sell lithography machines.

They prepared so much for this sales exhibition, but they didn't expect it to be ruined by the Chinese.

"President Masato, these are uninvited guests. They are bad guests. We can warn them or even ask the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to intervene."

A young man said angrily, but before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by President Zheng Teng.

"Zousuke-kun, this won't work."

Chairman Masato interrupted with a gloomy face and said, "Unless we can unite, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will not come forward to support us."

Although their lithography machine business was disrupted, there are many other collaborations between Xiaorizi and China. It is impossible for their relationship with China to be destroyed because of one of the trade issues.

What's more, the market for lithography machines is not that big. Even thanks to the rapid development of Computer China, the global market for lithography machines is only about US$1 billion.

And only a few companies can involve such high-end and sophisticated technology.

"President, what should we do now? We also got a report on the lithography machines that China wants to sell. To be honest, they are much cheaper than ours."

Another company executive said, "If we sell it at this price, we will definitely lose money, and we can't be sure that this is the lowest price Huaxia can offer."

Chairman Masato was silent for a while, and his silence made others in the meeting room dare not speak.

After a while, President Shoto finally spoke up, "Where are our 'clients'?"

"They are still waiting and watching, probably to see who will offer a lower price."

When he said this, the company executive could not help but curse: "These bastards, don't they know that we share the same hatred and the same enemy? Why do they rush over like dogs to lick bones when China is a little cheaper!"

The others remained silent after hearing this. If there is a cheap one with good performance, those people will of course choose the other one.

If we let them come, they will definitely choose cheap and cost-effective ones; the money is earned for themselves, and the dedication is for others. It’s not a "cousin" company with cross-holdings.

Their high-end lithography machines sell for $9.2 million, while China's high-end lithography machines sell for $8 million, and their resolution is 0.1 micron lower than theirs.

This is a blatant targeting. Not only high-end models, but even mid- and low-end ones are cheaper than theirs, and the cheap prices are their loss-making prices.

Now they will lose money if they sell, and the loss will be even greater if they don’t sell. Moreover, if they want to sell, they have to lower the price first, otherwise no one will be willing to buy.

"President, what should we do now?"

"President, we all listen to you. Please make the decision."

Others don’t dare to give suggestions now, as this may involve the decision of life and death of the company, so it is better to let the president decide.

Finally, President Masato was silent for a long time before he slowly said, "Let's lower the price first. Lower the selling price to the same price as Huaxia's lithography machine. I will then meet with a few friends and try to get through this difficult time."

The only good news is that China is exporting to their country, which has many restrictions.

Even if they lose money by lowering the price, as long as they can make some money back, they still have hope of survival. The premise is that the current price is the lowest price in China.

However, I'm afraid Zheng Teng will be disappointed. Zhou Fengnian proposed a plan to sell lithography machines to other companies, and making money is secondary.

The main purpose is to kill the semiconductor industry. Only when they die can China dominate the market of hundreds of billions of dollars in the future.

What's more, the current price is far from China's cost, even if it drops again, they can afford it.

When Xiao Rizi can no longer bear it, Zhou Fengnian has another plan, which is to invest in Xiao Rizi's semiconductor companies and allow them to produce China's colorful lithography machines.

However, they are only allowed to produce, and all technical patents and so on belong to China. After they make money for a while, they will live their lives without any power to resist.

But before that, they have to beat the small-time semiconductor companies into despair.

If they were not on the verge of bankruptcy, they would not consider a joint venture. And given their character, even if they did, they would definitely consider Amei first.

After Zhou Fengnian proposed the plan in China, the implementation was handed over to others. He had a lot of things to be responsible for and it was impossible for him to just focus on this one.

It will take time to defeat Alibaba and Aramco's semiconductor industry, and it will take at least five or six years to see initial results.

Before that, Zhou Fengnian was still busy with domestic construction.

Ring ring ring!
When Zhou Fengnian was busy in the office, the phone on the desk suddenly rang. After answering the phone, he heard his wife's voice from the other end of the line.

"Fengnian, my parents are coming today, you should come back early in the evening, and my eldest brother and second brother will also come over for dinner."

"Okay, I get it, but why are they here together? What's the matter?"

After Zhou Fengnian finished speaking, he asked, he remembered that Zhou's father planned to put down his work and come over after his great-grandson was born, so why did he come here early now.

"Are you here permanently or are you just coming to visit?"

Zhou Yan on the other end of the phone said, "He should be a permanent resident. Dad even brought some luggage with him. He plans to move out of Xianyang's courtyard house and live there."

Their cadre villa complex is also livable, but it's a bit remote and under strict security, so Zhou's father feels it's too unpopular.

So I planned to live in the courtyard house bought by Zhou Xianyang. Now I can spend some money to renovate it and connect it to heating and gas tanks.

With a toilet installed in the house, living conditions are no worse than in a tube-shaped building.

"Okay, I got it. I'll be back after get off work."

After Zhou Fengnian finished speaking, he hung up the phone and looked at the time. There was only about an hour left before the end of get off work.

It was a rare day today when Zhou Fengnian got off work on time. When the time came, Zhou Fengnian just arranged his work. Before Wang Mingjie reminded him, he packed up his things and prepared to go home.

When he got home by bus, most people had arrived earlier than him.

The eldest brother Zhou Weitian and the second brother Zhou Jiaan are both bosses and arrange their own time. The fourth sister came from their hometown with her parents, and the fifth sister is usually more free.

Zhou Xiaomei also had a very stable job as an assistant professor at the university. During the most turbulent years, she was kept at home by Zhou Fengnian and did not hang out with that group of people.

It’s good to work in a university now. My family is not short of money. I can gradually be promoted to the position of professor in the future.

Zhou Xiaomei and her husband are the only ones in the family who don't do business. That's just their personalities. They can't get away from it and just like stability.

However, Zhou's father has given them money twice, and now the couple has nearly 100,000 yuan in savings, which can be said to be quite rich in that era.

Especially since Zhou Xiaomei has several powerful brothers, she doesn’t worry about the family’s money at all. Even if she wants to buy something in the future, won’t her brothers help her?
After Zhou Fengnian put his briefcase in the study, he went downstairs to the living room, sat next to Zhou's father and asked, "Dad, why are you here at this time? Is there anything going on in the village?"

"Nothing, I was thinking of renovating the house in the village. Now it's uninhabitable, so I came to live in the city." Zhou's father smiled a little ostentatiously and said, "Alas, the village insisted on building a house for me. Can I accept this? After a long time of pushing it back, I also think it's time to build one.
We can just use our own money to build a few more two-story buildings, so that we will have a place to live when we return."

Zhou Fugui felt that Hongjia Village was their ancestral home. Although Sijiu City was good, he would still return to Hongjia Village when he got old.

The older generation always talked about returning to one's roots, but Zhou Fengnian didn't know why they had to do that, and Zhou's father's surname was not Hong.

Zhou Fengnian thought for a moment and asked, "Then you're completely done with the fertilizer factory?"

"No matter what, I discussed it with some people in the village for a long time, and finally let a young man take charge, and also invited two people from the city."

Father Zhou said with a smile: "According to what you said, our fertilizer factory has also started some kind of chemical management, but the general direction is still in accordance with what you said.
Our family's dividends are still there, and the dividend distribution time is about the same as before. The next dividend distribution is expected to be more than 2 million."

The Zhou family received the largest share of the fertilizer plant's dividends. At the beginning, Zhou's father invested the money very decisively and directly took 10%.

Now the sales channels of Hongjia Village Fertilizer Factory have spread to three provinces and regions, so it will not be a problem for the company to make a net profit of more than 30 million next year.

Apart from investing in village infrastructure, the rest will be distributed to the villagers.

China's agriculture will develop better and better in the future, and chemical fertilizers will develop rapidly.

According to Zhou Fengnian's estimation, if the Hongjia Village Fertilizer Factory maintains its current development, it will be able to develop into a fertilizer giant in the north within the next 20 years, with sales likely to spread to more than a dozen provinces.

Now Song Weinan's transportation business has taken off along with the fertilizer factory. He has six transportation trucks alone and can earn 50,000 to 60,000 yuan a month.

If we have more trucks, we can take orders from other factories and slowly become the king of personal transportation in the city.

Zhou Fengnian smiled and said, "It's good to retire. If you take good care of yourself now, I can guarantee that you will be healthy for ten or twenty years. If you continue to do this, I can't guarantee it."

"How dare you talk like that, you bastard?"

Zhou Fugui scolded with a smile, but in his heart he was also fantasizing about his great-grandson growing up and having children, and then having five generations living under the same roof.

Thirty years ago, he would never have thought that this day would come.

Later, while waiting for dinner, Zhou Fengnian asked his eldest and second brothers how much money they could come up with recently.

Zhou Fengnian plans to set up a medical research institute.

Recently, the situation between them and foreign countries has become increasingly tense. If they do not purchase some instruments and equipment from outside, I am afraid that the rare semi-open situation will return to the bottleneck period.

If it gets stuck, China can also build it on its own, but it will have to start from scratch, which is a waste of time.

When Zhou Weitian and Zhou Jiaan heard that Zhou Fengnian wanted money, they immediately calculated how much they could give.

None of them thought of not giving. If their own brothers asked for it, they would give it even if it meant emptying their family savings.

Fortunately, Zhou Fengnian would not ask for it until the end of the year. After the two brothers calculated, they would be able to come up with 13 million by then.

By then, Zhou Xianyang will be able to provide some support, and it will not be a problem to raise 20 million yuan, which is enough to buy the instruments and equipment Zhou Fengnian needs.

According to Zhou Weitian and Zhou Jiaan’s current earning rate, it is only about a year’s profit. Now Yushantang can earn more than 10,000 a day.

Zhou Jiaan's clothing factory earns even more. He almost monopolizes the popular clothing in several nearby provinces. Even in more distant places, clothes produced by his factory can be found.

The two nephews and brother-in-law Song Weinan wanted to provide some support, but Zhou Fengnian waved his hand and refused, saying that this much was enough.

After he spends a few years developing drugs for several diseases and then cooperates with the country, there will be basically nothing to worry about.

While eating, Zhou Fengnian suddenly thought of something and asked, "Wei Nan, Chun Hua, and He Tai, have you applied to become medical students?"

Song Weinan said, "That's true, Third Brother. This kid has always wanted to be a doctor since he was a child, and he hasn't changed when he grew up. He just started college this year."

Song Hetai's nephew was admitted to university last year. Zhou Fengnian was not in Beijing, but he heard Zhou Yan mention it on the phone.

Thinking about it now, Zhou Fengnian felt that it was just right, so he said: "After Hetai graduates, let him come to me. In two days of rest, let Hetai come to talk to me."

He planned to ask his nephew whether he liked clinical medicine or pharmacy. If it was the latter, he could give him some help.

"Okay, Third Brother, when Hetai comes home for the holiday, I'll ask him to come find you."

Song Weinan quickly said that if his son could learn from his third uncle, he would definitely gain more than in school.

Their whole family is taking Zhou Fengnian's health-preserving pills. Don't they know how good Zhou Fengnian's medical skills are? Although I don't know where Zhou Fengnian learned it, it is definitely better than the professors in the medical school.

During the meal, the family talked about a lot of things.

The most important thing is that Zhou Fengnian plans to purchase sophisticated biopharmaceutical instruments and equipment at the end of the year, and it would be best if it cannot be done through the Ministry of Foreign Trade.

Now China is like a sweet potato to foreigners, and they are trying every possible way to get a bite of it.

If China wants to buy something more important, they will try their best to get back ten times the price, as if they have a ten-fold membership card and have to pay ten times the price when buying things.

After dinner, Zhou Fengnian drove his eldest brother and his family back home. His second brother Zhou Jiaan had bought a car early, but his eldest brother Zhou Weitian had not yet.

After getting in the car, Zhou Weitian took a breath and said, "Don't mention it, it's really comfortable to have a car."

"Buy one, brother."

Zhou Fengnian casually said: “Now you can earn a car a day, even if you don’t have a driver’s license, you can hire a driver, and the monthly salary is almost the same as that of a security guard.

This way you can go home relaxed after a tiring day, and the money spent is worth it; besides, you still have to run around."

After listening to Zhou Fengnian's words, Zhou Weitian and Qu Ying suddenly felt that it made sense. They were big bosses, and it was a bit inappropriate for them to ride bicycles all day long.

Zhou Weitian thought for a while and said, "Then I'll go get a driver's license, and then I'll buy two cars. Wife, I'll hire a driver for you."

Next they plan to open another restaurant. They originally planned to open two, but they had to raise money for Zhou Fengnian by the end of the year, so they had to postpone the opening of one restaurant.

Private restaurants in the city of Beijing have sprung up like mushrooms after a rain, and even old hotels such as Fengzeyuan have reopened, and it seems that they have been transferred to individuals.

However, its popularity still cannot catch up with Yushantang, whether in terms of decoration, customer flow, reputation, etc.

In particular, the Imperial Kitchen is the designated reception venue by many government agencies. Although most of the invitations are made by approval, the Imperial Kitchen is not without a backer, and now all the approvals can be reclaimed.

At this rate, it will become the number one chain restaurant in the city within three years.

(End of this chapter)