50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 335 Technology and Ruthless Work

Sun Zhiwei worked hard in the store all afternoon, and closed the store on time at 4 o'clock. The daily turnover broke through 10 dollars for the first time in history.

When he was settling the bill with Belinda, she pulled out a large wad of cash from her bag, amounting to fifty or sixty thousand dollars. This made him quite surprised.

"Belinda, where did you come from?"

"Boss, in the ten days you were gone, I sold several exhibits. Let's check the receipts."

This girl is pretty clever. She's only been away from home for a few days, but she's managed to fool quite a few people.

He glanced at the receipts; thankfully, there were only seven or eight, and most of the prices were normal. The most expensive one was an 18th-century statue of the Virgin Mary that sold for $50,000.

Sun Zhiwei was able to identify the Madonna image through spatial analysis as being by Thomas Lawrence, a representative painter of the French Rococo art.

However, the painting was unsigned, and without updated technical authentication, Sun Zhiwei could not definitively prove that it was his work.

That's why he only listed it for $5. Actually, he didn't expect it to sell; he just didn't want this famous painting to be forgotten.

"That painting wasn't signed, how did you convince the customer?"

"Actually, I just compared the painting's materials, pigments, lines, colors, and composition with other Thomas Lawrence paintings, just as you described in your story."

"In the end, a similarity score of 94.5% was given, and then the customer decided to buy it himself."

I see. It turns out that I made up a good story, and that the customer probably wanted to take a gamble, and he was rich enough not to be afraid of failure.

But if he wins the bet, it's a hundredfold profit. That guy must be a gambler in finance, and most likely a gambler himself.

Sun Zhiwei noted down the customer's name on the receipt: Daniel Cohen, a typical name for a girl named You Zi.

Daniel means "God is my judge," and Cohen represents the priestly class, one of the highest-ranking surnames in the Yuzi.

He wasn't familiar with the name; it probably wasn't a neighbor living nearby. He just remembered it and didn't think much of it.

The two quickly settled the accounts, and then Sun Zhiwei paid Belinda two weeks' wages of $200, plus a commission of $2750.

Belinda, thrilled with the large sum of money, ran back to school. Sun Zhiwei, as usual, took the accounts and cash and walked home.

As he passed by the mall entrance, he routinely checked the restroom tanks and was surprised to find new waterproof bags.

His expression remained unchanged, and he didn't stop walking, but within seconds he put the waterproof bag into his spatial storage and washed off the markings on the water tank with water.

After he left the mall, there was only a little water left in the restroom, and no other traces remained.

This method of intelligence exchange is so secure that the liaison officer still doesn't know who she's in charge of contacting, or even if they are male or female.

With the domestic accounting work in full swing, there was no time to manage the liaison office. Therefore, the tasks he received this time, assigned by Deputy Director Han, were two long-term assignments:

1. Collect various military technology data and finished products.

2. Increase export trade volume by obtaining foreign orders.

This mission has no time limit, but it's the kind of long-term mission that won't be canceled; you send back each completed task as soon as you get it.

Sun Zhiwei welcomed this kind of mission the most, as it allowed him to guide domestic attention through various intelligence gatherings.

As for the demand for export orders, Sun Zhiwei realized that China urgently needed foreign exchange.

To gain more foreign exchange, we need to expand exports. However, diplomatic relations with the United States have not yet been established, and many countries have not yet opened trade channels with us. We are still on the COCOM embargo list.

Another reason is that the number of goods that can be exported from China is very limited.

There are no high-tech products at all; most of them are low-end goods, even raw materials for export, and the prices are very low.

Of the solutions he can think of right now, only two are feasible: high-end liquor and rare earth elements.

High-end liquor still requires some strategic planning, but rare earths can be stockpiled in advance to drive up prices.

There are many reasons why domestic baijiu (Chinese white liquor) doesn't sell well. However, the biggest reason is that its taste and alcohol content clash with modern Western drinking culture.

The fact that domestic baijiu is too spicy, has too high an alcohol content, and is too strong in aroma is both an advantage and a disadvantage.

Just like the other day, he was drinking with old Lancaster, each of them drinking a glass of whiskey straight.

That kind of whisky is only 43% ABV, so the taste is very weak. Most people even add water or ice to adjust the whisky to around 20% ABV before drinking it.

In China, no baijiu (Chinese liquor) has an alcohol content below 50%, and many baijiu even exceed 75%, which is higher than that of medical alcohol.

How can Westerners who are used to drinking beer, champagne, and wine drink this kind of strong liquor?
Aside from the Russians, I doubt anyone from any Western country likes Chinese spirits.

Therefore, changes must be made.

When he got home that evening, he opened his study and began writing a plan titled "A Plan to Create a Famous Export Wine" based on his own ideas.

The plan first points out the characteristics of popular Western alcoholic beverages, and then requires domestic distilleries to modify their high-yield domestic baijiu production based on the characteristics of Western baijiu.

Dilute existing baijiu with water to reduce its alcohol content, add fruit flavoring to change its aroma, and add thickeners to increase its viscosity.

There are also hop flavorings to increase hop volume, curcumin to enhance color, and sweeteners to give drinks a pleasant aftertaste.

In short, whatever Westerners like, we provide them with.

They like the liquor to cling to the glass, right? Just add more thickener and it will cling to the glass.

Don't they like the golden color of rum and whiskey? Adding more turmeric pigment would make it look better.

However, he also explained that some additives may cause some health problems, but Westerners are resilient; they even dared to drink radioactive 'radium water,' so these additives are nothing to them.

We can simply create a new brand to operate the blended liquor business, and if it goes wrong in the future, we can just abandon the brand.

The key is that once this thing is developed, it can generate huge profits, potentially billions of dollars in export revenue annually.

In the report, he also wrote down the chemical names of all the additives he knew.

The top scientists in China are still around. Knowing the chemical names, it should be their instinct to create the corresponding chemical agents.

Sun Zhiwei spent three days writing down everything he knew in a report, and drew a big picture of the future for China.

They also took the time to buy more than a dozen of the most popular types of alcohol and packed them in a box.

A week later, the report was delivered to Deputy Director Han through the liaison officer. Almost on the same day, a case of wine that he had anonymously mailed also arrived at the liaison office.

(End of this chapter)