Return to Hong Kong Island for a Century

Chapter 422 Boeing's Reaction

"If they retaliate against us, that would be even better!"

"That would hurt our national pride."

“Yes!” Boeing’s shareholders chimed in, because none of them believed that a certain Eastern country would take countermeasures.

The Ama people are proud, and their technology, lifestyle, and wealth give them ample confidence.

Moreover, it is the world's pole.

Of course, at the official level, there is still considerable apprehension towards certain countries.

Because certain countries caused Aramco to suffer a major defeat after World War II, Aramco has continued to instigate unrest in neighboring countries and create chaos in their vicinity.

But in the end, they failed, both the South Vietnam and the Third Leader.

The reason why the third leader wanted to cause trouble back then was because the two major powers tacitly approved of it, or even encouraged it, and provided him with money and equipment as he asked.

Several senators sat on the sofa, watching Boeing shareholders say this. One of them shrugged: "It's not because of certain countries in the East, it's because of the fat bear."

"Some Eastern countries are key support points for counterbalancing the fat bear."

"It can tie down a lot of the fat bear's armed forces, and some countries in the East have enough strategic depth, and they have an iron will."

"Although the little army has also been armed, it does not have enough strategic depth. It will be destroyed in one strike from the fat bear."

“We must restrain the fat bear, or we may lose Europe,” one senator said.

Amer's large corporations have close ties with politicians.

Why does Boeing hold such a prestigious position in Aramco and even worldwide? Anyone who speaks ill of it will immediately commit suicide.

It is precisely because of the continuous development of political influence.

Boeing does not yet have the same influence it will have decades later.

What truly made Boeing the undisputed leader in Aramco was its acquisition of Rockwell International in 96. Rockwell International manufactured the AT-6 trainer jet and the B-52 bomber, and also took on orders from the Aramco Department of Defense and NASA.

Then in 97, they acquired their biggest competitor, McDonnell Douglas.

Before this, although its influence was considerable, it had not yet reached the point where no one dared to speak or act against it.

"So you're saying there could be an unexpected outcome in the Senate vote?"

"And this accident came from a fat bear?" Boeing shareholders had a bad feeling after hearing the congressmen's explanation.

"Ah."

"The fat bear is our only enemy; our priority is Europe."

"We cannot lose Europe. If we lose Europe as a buffer zone, we will face the fat bear directly. Moreover, we must support certain countries and prevent the fat bear from having ice-free deep-water ports."

"In fact, decades ago, Fat Bear wanted to occupy the deep-water port of a certain Eastern country and even threatened it with mushroom eggs. We stopped Fat Bear at that time."

"If the Bears acquire ice-free deep-water ports, we will face a tremendous threat; their warships will fill the entire Pacific Ocean," the senator added.

"Now Fat Bear is in Tokharistan, trying to control that place, which is not allowed. It is a key point between Asia and Europe, and going south even directly into the Indian Ocean is also not allowed."

"Fat bears are the top priority."

"Of course, this is just one possibility."

When Boeing shareholders heard this, they knew that it wasn't just the opinion of these few people, but the attitude of the entire Senate.

Who are the people in the Senate?
Those were the local tyrants of each state, with certain families controlling the economy and politics of the entire state.

This is why the Aramco central government has little control over the states, because the state governors cannot possibly have their own "mother-in-law."

Boeing's shareholders are not unaware of politics; they simply have to do it this way.

Because of public opinion and other influences, failing to do so would mean losing the market.

The effect was excellent; the bill passed the House of Representatives, and the stock price soared instantly.

It's not just Boeing, but also related companies like General Motors and Pratt & Whitney.

Boeing also knew that Wall Street still made a profit this time, because in finance, as long as money flows and the stock market fluctuates, profits are made.

"Alright then!" Boeing's shareholders didn't press the matter.

Because these shareholders have many options, if the bear is too much of a threat, then Boeing can go into military products, since they have already built good relationships with these congressmen.

Another factor is the stock market. Before the House vote, Boeing's shareholders had already acquired a significant amount of shares through other means, including some politicians.

With stocks soaring, selling them means instant profits.

The stock price is expected to fall after news of the Senate's delayed vote.

Moreover, even if the Senate votes on it, it won't pass in one go, because that's when they make money.

To put it bluntly, the stock market is all about profiting from information asymmetry, and capitalists can provide information to politicians, making them stock market gurus...

All of this is legal income...

"If the bear poses a significant threat, then regarding weaponry..." a Boeing shareholder added.

“Of course…” The councilors nodded.

Historically, it was on October 2, 1981, that the U.S. military adopted the B2 project from Grumman, Boeing, and MIT, and it was even announced by the actor president himself.

Lockheed Martin's project was not adopted, and the procurement plan was initially 100 aircraft, then 132, and finally 21, with each aircraft costing $24 billion, equivalent to 30 B-52Hs.

Boeing is responsible for manufacturing the central fuselage, bomb bay, outer wing sections, and landing gear.

The B2 program was referred to as B-1B at this time, and it's hard to say what the shady dealings were.

It is certain that the military exercises conducted by the US military in September had a certain positive impact.

"Thank you, cheers!"

“Let them all come up,” the Boeing shareholder said, raising his glass, and then called the atmosphere team up to the second floor.

The guests were all handsome men and beautiful women, including famous models and socialites from all over the world, as well as actors.

At this time, Li Song was inspecting Qiansheng Technology Company.

Projection lithography machines have solved the problem of contamination caused by contact between the photomask lithography machine and the silicon wafer.

The projection lithography machine was developed in 1973 and was introduced by PerkinElmer Scientific Instruments.

In 1978, GCA introduced an automated stepper projection lithography machine with a resolution of 0.5 micrometers.

After 2000, ASML shortened the wavelength of the light source to 134 nanometers using immersion lithography technology.

This technology utilizes the principle of refraction in pure water, and it is this technology that established ASML's dominant position.

Before this, manufacturers like Nikon and GCA had a considerable market share.

The first contact lithography machine in mainland China was developed in 66, the step-by-step lithography machine was developed in 85, and the prototype of the extreme ultraviolet lithography machine was finally manufactured in 08.

Qiansheng Technology's technology is an automated stepper projection lithography machine, only three years behind that of foreign companies.

This is also thanks to China's technological reserves in step-by-step lithography machines.

Otherwise, production wouldn't have been possible so quickly, considering that a step-by-step projection lithography machine was manufactured back in 85.

Li Song was only listening to reports here; the lithography machine was also in the testing phase because all the technologies were complete.

This includes light source technology, stepper control technology, and so on.

The rapid pace was due to the accumulated resources in mainland China.

For example, developing a control system for automatic stepping machines would take a lot of time, as it involves hardware, motors, guide rails, and control programs. Studying each of these individually presents a series of challenges.

However, this does not apply to Li Song, and it has been further optimized by engineers 99 years later, making it even more mature.

Although the wafers and lithography machines are several years behind Aramco, Li Song knows that the difference lies more in applications.

Others develop chips for mobile phones, computers, CNC automation, and other applications, which requires massive R&D funding and also faces the risk of failure, immaturity, or being preempted by competitors.

It doesn't exist on my end; the second-hand platform has mature technology.

More importantly, it's about time. Others need several years, but how long will it take me?
Of course, once the foundation is laid, Li Song will reduce his reliance on second-hand platforms.

This is the only way for a company to develop healthily.

Both factories provided extra meals that evening. Li Song first visited Huazhong Technology Company, and this was his second visit.

Inside the cafeteria, Li Song, wearing a white coat, was distributing food to everyone, including instant noodles, sausages, and some vacuum-packed cooked food.

At that time, many families did not have refrigerators, so these pre-made products were high-end goods.

Back then, if you visited someone's home and they cooked you some ham sausages, it was a sign that they considered you a VIP. Unlike a few years later, when the shelves were full of them but few people bought them.

"Everyone line up, one at a time!"

"Thank you all for your hard work during this time."

"I hope everyone will keep up the good work!"

"The bonus has been received."

"As soon as mass production begins this year, we'll give everyone a bonus, plus an extra month's salary," Li Song said.

It wasn't just Li Song distributing benefits; the factory manager and other senior executives were also doing it together.

It's unrealistic for Li Song to do it alone.

Each person takes a net bag containing two boxes of instant noodles, one large ham sausage, one bag of braised ribbonfish, half a salted duck (vacuum-packed), and half a pound of fresh longan.

"thank you boss!"

"Thank you, boss," the factory workers said to Li Song after receiving the nets.

Let's not even talk about the benefits at foreign-invested enterprises, although the basic salary is the same as that in domestic companies.

However, there is overtime pay, performance-based pay, full attendance bonus, meal allowance, transportation allowance, etc.

The performance-based pay mentioned here refers to the amount of work completed each day.

This is completely different from the tens of millions in performance figures that Li Song mentioned.

The reason why the basic salary is the same as in China is mainly because it sounds better to outsiders.

Although everyone is asked to keep their wages confidential, none of these workers don't have relatives.

Therefore, the basic salary is the same as the salary in China.

In addition, there is a year-end bonus and other benefits.

These things now require tickets and money to buy outside.

The development of vacuum-packed cooked food technology has increased the income of fishermen along the coast.

Before this, coastal fishermen could only dry the fish they caught into dried fish or sell them to local fishing companies, but these companies needed cold storage facilities.

Of course, canned products existed before vacuum-packed cooked food technology.

However, most of the canned goods are exported.

For example, canned fruit is mainly exported to Fat Bear.

Li Song isn't very skilled in management; he mainly relies on the factory rules established by the second-hand platform!
There is also a strict regulatory system.

However, Li Song was not stupid. Whenever bonuses or benefits were distributed, Li Song would always be there in person.

Being present in person can help to build closer relationships with the workers.

After distributing benefits at Huazhong Technology Company, Li Song went to Qiansheng Technology Company next door!

They also give out perks here, not because Li Song is stingy with giving out more fresh fruit or fresh meat like chicken, duck, and fish.

The main reason is that it's summer now, and it's not easy to preserve these fresh things.

Not every household has a refrigerator or similar appliance.

The workers and technicians at both factories were very happy to receive their benefits.

These items represent the boss's recognition of everyone's work, and they can also be brought home so that family members can enjoy them together.

These things may not mean much in a few decades, but right now, carrying them around will make people look at you with more respect.

Of course, both factories have their own dormitory areas.

The new dormitory area is still under construction.

The main reason is that these two companies are a joint venture, with Li Song holding 49% of the shares, although the management is handled by Parkson Company!
However, many decisions still require the input of shareholders.

The shareholders of these two companies have to go through a series of procedures to make any decisions.

Therefore, unlike Chang'an Aircraft Manufacturing Company, these two companies were able to allocate housing to everyone early on!
After distributing the benefits to the two factories, Li Song left both factories.

Of course, Section Chief Zhou, who was following Li Song, and the others who were driving also received benefits from the factory.

Although Li Song only had one car traveling from Shanghai to Wuxi, he knew that there were people from relevant domestic departments both in front of and behind him.

When Li Song was inspecting two factories in Shanghai.

The higher-ups are having a bit of a headache right now. Not only are the relevant departments arguing amongst themselves, but they are also arguing with each other.

This was because Li Song provided a catalog of ongoing research projects in the West.

These directories cover the entire industry.

Some research projects don't even exist in China.

These are all good projects, but the higher-level department needs to select a portion of them.

On the one hand, the higher authorities were unaware that Li Song could bring out all these research projects.

The reason Li Song didn't publicly state that these research projects could be made public is because making them all public would be too frightening!
In addition, the investment required to replicate all of these research projects would be too large.

Even for some projects, there is relevant research in China.

However, when you get someone else's research project, you first have to replicate it, and in the process of replicating it, you need to consume materials.

This alone makes it impossible to acquire all the projects.

It's impossible for higher authorities to require so many projects to be replicated and researched simultaneously.

Because the mainland's finances are simply not as good as the West's!

Now, each department needs to refer to the relevant catalog and select one or two important projects.

Moreover, these projects do not involve military applications.

The main issue is that the projects that Li Song considers valuable are not yet finalized by Aramco. For example, the 117 experimental model is scheduled to make its maiden flight in October this year, and the combat model will make its maiden flight in October next year.

Although this aircraft was not ideal in retrospect, it ushered in a new era of stealth aircraft.

It's worth mentioning that the concept of stealth aircraft was proposed by scientists from Fat Bear!

(End of this chapter)