Xiaomi Heavy Industry, its first entrepreneurial venture!

Chapter 196 Smith: I want two thousand, but give me five hundred first! (First update!)

After sending the message to Baroque, Smith didn't wait for a response, shoved his phone into his pocket, and turned back to the control panel.

On the console, Qin Chao was having a great time.

The switch was turned on repeatedly, causing the metal shuttle to return to its original position, then it accelerated rapidly, only to be caught by the cable and forced to brake.

Each time the brakes were applied, the test track emitted a deafening roar, like the howl of an ancient beast.

Every time the sound is heard, it makes people's blood boil.

And so, going back and forth every three minutes, under the watchful eyes of a crowd, Qin Chao played the game a total of 102 times. Just as he was about to continue playing, Cao Bin stopped him:

"Secretary Qin, this cable is nearing its design limit; we can't continue using it."

Upon hearing that he couldn't play, Qin Chao looked regretful. He glanced at the switch one last time, then stretched and turned to walk towards Xiao He and Lin Yi.

It was at this moment that he noticed the group of people who had been following him were gone.

Just as I was about to ask a question, I saw Xiao He raise his left hand, look at his watch, and say:

“Secretary, it’s 17:13 PM now. Of the plans you made for today yesterday, apart from coming to eat, you haven’t completed any of them.”

"Oh—" Qin Chao let out a long exclamation of surprise, then quickly turned his face away: "In life, one must know how to balance work and rest."

"All you do is go to work every day, what kind of talk is that?"

After offering two flimsy excuses, Qin Chao looked at Lin Yi again:
"Is your chef still at get off work?"

"Pack up a whole table of lunch for me, and I'll take it home to my kids."

Hearing this, Lin Yi looked over in confusion, while Xiao He, who was beside him, seemed to understand his thoughts and explained:

"As arranged by Secretary Qin, I was supposed to come here in the morning, attend the opening ceremony, and then go to my son's house to pick up my granddaughter."

"But he seems to have completely forgotten about it."

"I can already imagine what he'll encounter tonight."

As he spoke, Xiao He crossed his arms, a look of amusement on his face.

Lin Yi smiled and said:
"I'll make arrangements!"

Before leaving, he called out to Cao Bin, "Please take good care of Mr. Smith for me. I'll come back as soon as I'm done with my work."

He turned around and led Qin Chao and Xiao He toward the factory canteen.

Walking under the dim streetlights, the three of them cast long shadows. Suddenly, Qin Chao stopped and asked:

Is there a large market for this type of cable?

After he stopped, Lin Yi also stopped and looked over, where he could see Qin Chao's serious face.

Lin Yi could roughly guess why he would ask that question.

After thinking for a moment, he shook his head and said, "This market isn't big; it can only accommodate one or two companies at most."

"Even two companies can't accommodate it; it's a winner-takes-all situation."

"The fact that I was able to secure this order means that the company that manufactures these cables in America is no longer in business."

Hearing this, Qin Chao showed a regretful expression, turned around and continued walking forward, muttering to himself as he went:
"I thought this market was huge and I could do more."

Lin Yi quickly caught up, smiling as he asked, "Are you short of this GDP?"

Qin Chao stopped, shook his head, and then continued walking forward: "It's not that we lack GDP, it's that we lack a benchmark."

"At this level, you need to set a benchmark in order to move forward, especially since I've reached a very awkward age."

"This benchmark needs to be more obvious and larger."

Finally, Qin Chao stopped and looked up at the sky. The ground was so bright that one couldn't see the stars at all. He sighed, exuding a sense of loneliness, and then continued walking.

Sensing the desolation in his voice, Lin Yi couldn't help but sigh, "Then let's take it slow!"

"You still have a few years left in your term, there's no rush."

These words seemed to awaken Qin Chao; he smiled, and his whole being seemed to come alive again.

By the time I packed my food at the cafeteria, more than an hour had passed.

After seeing Qin Chao off, Lin Yi returned to the testing workshop.

As soon as he walked over, Cao Bin waved the load he was carrying at him:

"After 120 full-load uses, the hook showed slight deformation at the pulling position."

"Significant deformation appeared after 130 cycles, and the deformation reached the safety warning range after 140 cycles."

"The deformation exceeded the safety warning range on the 150th time, and it can no longer be used."

Taking the data list from Cao Bin, Lin Yi turned around and went to the control panel. He tapped on the keyboard and brought up the previous monitoring footage.

Find the corresponding time on the data list, and then continue searching through the screen.

At the 130th time point, zooming in on the monitoring screen reveals subtle deformation on the taut cable.

At the 140th time point, the deformation became very obvious; even without zooming in, a bulge could be clearly seen on the cable.

After 150 repetitions, the bulge transformed into a bend the size of two adult fists.

Turning around, Lin Yi tossed the data list to Cao Bin:

"Remove this cable, record the data, and replace it with a new cable tomorrow to continue the operation."

"Okay!" Cao Bin took the data list with both hands, put it in the folder, turned around, and nodded to the person next to the track platform.

The people next to the track received the signal and turned around to dismantle the cable on the track.

Lin Yi, who remained in front of the control panel, glanced at it briefly before turning and walking towards Smith beside him.

Approaching the other person, he smiled and then asked:

“Mr. Smith, a gentleman’s word is his bond. I said I could do it, and I definitely can.”

"Now, it's your turn."

The sound brought Smith back to his senses, and he slowly turned his head to look at Lin Yi beside him.

Only at this moment did he truly take the young man in front of him seriously and begin to re-examine him.

At this moment, Lin Yi was no longer a person in his eyes, but a lump of gold, a glittering, walking humanoid gold.

Before today, his only expectation about this cable was that it would be usable.

If the cable can withstand fifty or sixty interceptions, then it is a success.

It can replace the previous goods.

But today, Lin Yi gave him too many surprises.

During the time Lin Yi was away, he successfully extracted data information about the testing equipment through subtle questioning.

That huge iron lump weighs 50 tons.

During testing, it can accelerate to 300 kilometers per hour in just two or three seconds.

The arresting cables used on the America aircraft carrier were only required to intercept fighter jets traveling at 240 kilometers per hour.

These fighter jets will release fuel upon landing, so their maximum weight will not exceed 45 tons.

Don't underestimate its weight of 5 tons.

At a speed of 200 kilometers per hour, 5 tons is an extremely terrifying number.

But here, he witnessed a cable intercepting a 50-ton iron lump traveling at 300 kilometers per hour, and it intercepted it a full 150 times.

150 times!
This is beyond the realm of usability; it has far surpassed that realm. Taking a deep breath, Smith steadied himself, looked Lin Yi up and down, then extended his right hand and said:
"Mr. Lin, let me first congratulate you on the success of your experiment."

"Congratulations on the successful cooperation."

“Then we’ll stick to our previous agreement: $20 per cable.”

"As for the quantity, I'd like to buy 2000 at once, but 2000 cables would cost $4 million."

“This amount is exceptionally large. Even if we have the money and transfer it to the Federal Savings Center of America, they will still investigate the funds.”

"So, my idea is to give me 500 sticks first."

"Then the $1 million was transferred in multiple batches through multiple banks, which would not trigger an investigation by the American Federal Savings Center."

"It will save everyone a lot of trouble."

What do you think?

Upon hearing that this guy only wanted 500 sticks this time, Lin Yi's eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a hint of danger.

At the same time, his eyes darted to the side, his gaze sweeping over the chair, keyboard, and even the table next to him.

He would squeeze each item as he scanned it, as if trying to feel the texture of the equipment from a distance.

Sensing the murderous intent emanating from him, Smith quickly jumped to the side, his hands flailing wildly:

"Um... it's not that I only want to order 500, it's that I only have 500 of the money on hand."

"Understand?"

"I'll transfer the money to you, you give me the goods, I'll take back America, deliver the goods, and get the next payment. Then I can earn more, understand?"

"I don't understand!" Lin Yi said with a long face, turning around to continue searching for something convenient.

Finally, Lin Yi found a wrench.

I took the wrench in my hand, squeezed it, and it felt quite nice.

He then turned to look at Smith:

“Mr. Smith, I remember saying that our investment in the factory alone for this project exceeded 1.1 million RMB.”

That was just an initial estimate.

"To achieve your data goals, I've added these testing labs."

"After these additions, the cost of factory buildings and equipment alone has increased to 3.5 million yuan."

"And the cost of a single cable is as high as $17."

“I sell you a piece for $20, and I only make $3. Of that $3, I still have to pay taxes.”

“If you only take 500 units of goods, I can’t break even.”

"Since I can't break even the costs, I'll just have to break even you."

"I suppose..." Lin Yi paused, then gently slapped the wrench from his right hand onto his left, making a crisp snap.

He then took a step forward, his eyes fixed directly on Smith:

"Mr. Smith's two ounces of meat should be enough to cover my costs."

As Lin Yi pressed closer, Smith retreated step by step until he reached the wall. When he had nowhere left to go, he quickly raised his hand to stop Lin Yi: "No, no, no! Murder is illegal!"

"I'm going out to make a phone call to contact my next client."

"How about I ask him to transfer me more money? I'll order 600 sticks first."

"We'll produce 600 units first; that should at least recoup some of the costs."

"Heh—" Lin Yi responded with a cold laugh, casually pulled over a chair next to him, plopped down, crossed his legs, and said:
"You said you would make a large purchase, which is why I thought I would take a gamble."

"After all, with industrial upgrading, you can benefit, and I can benefit too."

"But now, you pat your butt and say you only need to be a little small."

"Mr. Smith, you're driving me crazy!"

While the two were talking, Cao Bin and the others had already finished replacing the cable.

These men, covered in butter and with gloomy faces, each carrying a wrench, slowly approached Smith.

Upon approaching, none of the men spoke; instead, they stared intently at Smith.

Stared at by them, Smith gave an awkward smile and held up one finger:
"I'll call my supplier right now, 1000 sticks, I'm ordering 1000!"

"Okay!"

As he spoke, he took out his phone, indicating that he needed to make a call, and then told Lin Yi and the others to leave first.

Lin Yi gestured to Cao Bin and the others, telling them to step back a bit, and he followed suit.

Seeing Lin Yi and the others step aside, Smith sighed and pressed the dial button.

After pressing the dial button, he prayed frantically in his heart, hoping that General Baroque on the other end of the line would be available to answer the phone.

He was very lucky; the call was answered shortly after he dialed the number.

That husky, slightly magnetic voice came from the other side:

"Sergeant Smith, I expect an explanation for why you're calling me at this time."

Upon hearing this, Smith on the other end of the phone was stunned.

He quickly switched from the call screen to the text message page.

Seeing the message in the text message box, he frowned and tentatively asked on the phone:

"General Baroque, did you see the message I sent you?"

"I haven't seen it!" Baroque answered decisively, then countered with, "So, what exactly do you want with me?"

Suppressing his urge to explode in anger, Smith spoke to Baroque as calmly as possible:

"General, I am now in China, and I have successfully found a replacement for the arresting gear."

"But the manufacturer's price is a bit high, and in order to offset the cost, they require a purchase of 4000 pieces at once."

“I talked to them for a long time, and they were willing to lower the price a bit and purchase 2000 sticks at once.”

"And the price of each one is $50."

He finished speaking very quickly, then took a deep breath:
"The price of 50 includes shipping costs, which is to ship it to the port of America."

"So overall, it's actually very cheap."

After saying what he wanted to say, Smith held his breath and waited for the other person's response.

There was nothing he could do; the guy on the other side was the real big shot, while he was just a nobody.

Only when the big shots speak up will I have enough funds; if the big shots don't speak up, I'm nothing.

After a long silence, a deep voice came from the other end: "How's the performance? Can it exceed 50 launches?"

Upon hearing the other party inquire about performance, Smith breathed a sigh of relief and replied repeatedly, "150 times!"

Fearing the other party wouldn't believe him, he quickly added more details:

"In order to sell their products, this company built a testing platform based on their own imagination."

"The equipment they used for testing weighed 50 tons, and the launch speed was maintained at around 300 kilometers per hour."

"The calculated data perfectly meets our requirements!"

(End of this chapter)