I was reborn without dreams

Chapter 187 99 Combined into 1, it's heart-fluttering!

The leader of the delegation from Yuzhang University of Finance and Economics was Wen Xiaobo. His academic achievements were average, but his ability to secure funding was top-notch in the past.

To be precise, their ability to secure funding was top-notch before 1946, but it completely failed starting in 1946 and plummeted.

This is not just a problem for Wen Xiaobo alone; it is a predicament faced by the entire Yuzhang University of Finance and Economics.

After all, since last year, the school has become jointly built by the central and local governments.

Go ahead and build them, one by one without making a sound.

If it were a big city like Beijing or Shanghai, that would be a good thing. But Hongdu City is the provincial capital of Yuzhang Province. Why shouldn't it give Hongdu University the resources it has?

This predicament is very bad. It is almost certain that for a long time to come, the school will encounter many difficulties in building a high-level institution, and will not be able to get much help from others. It will most likely have to rely on itself.

So here's the question: if it's a science and engineering university, it actually has this opportunity. A second-tier science and engineering university only needs to produce one groundbreaking product or research result to completely transform the school and compete with top-tier universities.

Yuzhang University of Finance and Economics is not a science and engineering university; its function thirty years ago speaks volumes: it was a school for finance and trade cadres.

Most provinces bordering Yuzhang Province do not actually face this predicament because highly skilled personnel have a wide range of employment opportunities.

This is a result of matching the level of economic development.

Just like Jiangning University of Finance and Economics is relatively weak, but it is located in Jiangkou Province, so its actual performance is similar to that of a top-tier university. In the small territory of Jiangkou Province, it can deliver a "critical hit".

The reason is closely related to the "sitting merchants" tradition of Jiangkou Province. People from Jiangkou Province who are unwilling to leave the province can still raise the price of an ordinary first-tier university in the provincial capital to a top-tier university. This is a supply and demand relationship.

So when Wen Xiaobo saw the general situation of "Zhang'an Industrial Park", his heart sank. If things continued to develop like this, would Yuzhang University of Finance and Economics still be able to recruit high-quality students from Jiangkou Province and Jianghuai Province?

We can't stay the same, and we have to be quick.

Otherwise, ten years will fly by, and all the school evaluations will be just for show, not worth considering.

Wen Xiaobo's ability to establish himself at Yuzhang University of Finance and Economics has nothing to do with his retired father, who used to work in a higher-level ministry; it's all due to his personal abilities.

In fact, Wen Xiaobo had already discovered two years ago that the Hu family was unreliable. So when Hu Xianda died in Japan, he knew about it but didn't even go to pay his respects. Instead, he restrained his students and relatives and made a rather surprising decision within just a few days.

During breaks at the Zhang'an Industrial Park, you can hire a staff member to wander around. Except for some high-tech research labs that cannot be accessed in the core area, you can see everything else.

Wen Xiaobo has never relied solely on his words to secure funding. While his academic achievements are not significant, his practical experience is quite remarkable.

So he made a request to the receptionist at "Zhang'an Industrial Park" that he wanted to visit the factory area.

This surprised the management committee, but they still agreed.

Although Zhang Da'an and Fang Daqiao were not in Jiangning, Guan Changsheng of "Zhang An Health" was there. As the vice president of "Zhang An Health", his presence did not disgrace Wen Xiaobo's status.

"Director Wen, this is the assembly line area of ​​'Zhang An Electronics,' which mainly handles final assembly and testing."

Guan Changsheng had some understanding of the boss's business, though he couldn't know everything, given his limited abilities. However, he could still chat with him about it.

"That's quite a large scale. Can it accommodate ten thousand people?"

"Yes, it was originally designed to accommodate 150,000 people. The third phase hasn't started yet, mainly because each new factory area requires new modernization."

Guan Changsheng pointed to a testing line not far away, "This kind of equipment that uses industrial vision technology is all thanks to President Du's breakthrough in algorithms. This equipment, jointly developed with Andong University, costs more than a million yuan for just one camera. But the boss said that the price can be reduced to five thousand yuan in the future."

"..."

Your boss is truly amazing.

Of course, you are too.

Wen Xiaobo discovered that Guan Changsheng, the boss, was not simple, yet relatively simple as well.

Because Guan Changsheng has an almost obsessive superstition about his boss, which is inconceivable in any company or department. To reach this level, how could it be simple?
There is no doubt that Guan Changsheng's thought process is so simple; he is unconditionally superstitious.

Do you care?
While Wen Xiaobo was secretly scrutinizing Guan Changsheng, the now 1.8-meter-tall and upright Guan was also secretly observing Wen Xiaobo: This guy has an incredibly sharp eye; the boss has always wanted someone who can manage things, and he's quite suitable. Moreover, this guy clearly wants to seek development; staying in Yuzhang is nowhere near as good as coming to Jiangkou Province.

Guan Changsheng also noticed that this was an inspection team from Yuzhang University of Finance and Economics, which was quite formal, further indicating that Wen Xiaobo had come with a mission from the university.

Something's up here.

They clearly want to find some Jiangning roast duck to eat.

If you're just average, you'll get a bowl of duck blood and vermicelli soup; if you're lucky, you'll get half a salted goose; if you're really lucky, you'll get a whole roasted duck.

Back then, just to eat roast duck, I went all the way to the countryside of Shazhou City and knelt down and kowtowed to the owner before I could finally fill my stomach.

Guan Changsheng reasoned that someone like Wen Xiaobo, who held a position in a prestigious university, must come from a wealthy and influential family. Since he was now out making a living at this age, it was likely that something had happened in his family, either someone had retired or the family had fallen on hard times.

He didn't really understand what the university environment was like, so he asked around. He chatted with Jiangning University of Finance and Economics and realized that nowadays, apart from prestigious universities like Peking University and Beijing University, most universities are short of money.

Being short of money is good, because only when you're short of money can you ask your boss for a hand.

The boss has a lot of money.

"Mr. Guan, if I may ask, isn't it a bit wasteful to use such expensive equipment in labor-intensive industries?"

"The boss said it will be cheaper in the future."

"..."

"Perhaps Director Wen is not fully aware of our boss's capabilities. Firstly, advanced equipment will be cheaper in the future because our boss also works on government and enterprise industrial projects. We also sell the equipment we develop. For example, the chemical plant in Wudu City has purchased this set of industrial vision equipment for safety monitoring. Secondly, this one factory area alone will have no problem generating 2 billion yuan in revenue this year."

"How many?"

"To be conservative, two billion. 'Top Scholar Star' is very popular."

"that's true."

"But the 'Top Scholar Star' is nothing special. Once summer vacation arrives, the 'Golden List Phone' will be launched. In fact, we've already started distributing stock. The phone production line is right next door."

"what?"

For a moment, Wen Xiaobo felt as if he had stumbled into the "White Tiger Hall." "A cell phone?"

"That's how the large-sized, single-level welfare housing of Jiangning Institute of Technology came about."

"..."

Good guy.

Guan Changsheng didn't discuss the specific details with Wen Xiaobo; there was no need.

"No wonder I saw a 'Zhang An Electronics R&D Center' when I came in; I didn't expect it to be so close to the production area."

"The boss said that if we start late and want to overtake others, we can only increase our R&D efforts and optimize our management system. However, the R&D center doesn't have a heavy workload for mobile phones right now. The real pressure isn't that, but I can't say what it is. If Director Wen can come and cooperate more in the future, we'll find out sooner or later."

"Is there a project more important than a mobile phone?"

"There are plenty."

Seeing that Wen Xiaobo was interested, Guan Changsheng immediately invited him to visit "Zhang An Health". Since it was close by, they took a low-speed electric shuttle bus, which was actually an electric golf cart.

The large open space in the middle is still farmland, but colorful flags have been planted, indicating that it has been requisitioned.

"Director Wen, look, this area will be the fourth phase of 'Zhang An Health' and its warehouse area. We at 'Zhang An Health' also have our own R&D center, which currently has 27 laboratories. The supercomputing laboratory project in cooperation with Wudu University is also here, specifically used to run drug design models. It is a key project of the province, with a total investment of over 150 million yuan."

"..."

"In addition to the 'Top Scholar List' product line, we have added calcium tablets, vitamin tablets, and other products, all located in the third phase of the factory. These are all high-volume products. The profits are quite good. Currently, many local state-owned factories are doing OEM manufacturing for us, and we can still sell 30 to 40 million yuan worth of products a month."

"..."

"That's a biological agent laboratory, jointly built with Jiangning University. The total investment is estimated at 70 million yuan, and it's currently about 60-70% complete, which is quite good progress."

"..."

Every time Guan Changsheng mentioned a project, Wen Xiaobo would mentally set up a cash register and add money to it.

As he added more and more, he realized something was wrong; how much money was going to be spent?

As if sensing Wen Xiaobo's doubts, Guan Changsheng smiled and said, "Director Wen may think that our investment is too large, but this is actually quite conservative. Back when 'Zhang An Health' was booming, we could sell 200 million worth of goods, but in the end, the boss artificially suppressed it to 60 million. Supply couldn't meet demand."

Looking back, Guan Changsheng sighed, "Back then, the East District was overconfident and tried to force the boss to expand production. The boss wiped them out in no time. They were no match for us."

"..."

Very well, now we understand why "Zhang'an Industrial Park" didn't have a "Welcome" sign. It turns out it wasn't that Jiangning City didn't fight back; rather, they did fight, but they didn't win.

Divine gold.

It even made me overthink things.

How could they have lost?!
Wen Xiaobo roared inwardly.

If this happened in Hongdu City, they would have beaten you to a pulp. Are the officials in Jiangning City too kind?
should be.

That's for sure!
Jiangdong rats are just pathetic.

"Director Wen, may I ask you something, if I may?"

"Please feel free to ask, Mr. Guan. There's no question of whether it's presumptuous or not."

"Well……"

Guan Changsheng nodded. "Director Wen must have come to Jiangning with a mission this time, right?"

"Yes."

Anyone could see that, and Wen Xiaobo had no intention of hiding it; there was no need for it.

"To find funding for Yuzhang University of Finance and Economics?"

"Yes……"

Having said that much, I'm not so confident anymore.

A poor man has little ambition, a thin horse has long hair; this applies everywhere.

"Director Wen, do you know how much money Jiangning University of Finance and Economics has made from management software?"

"Ok?"

Startled, Wen Xiaobo asked in surprise, "Make money?"

"My boss doesn't do business that doesn't make money."

"How much did you earn? Wait, shouldn't this be considered software? Jiangning University of Finance and Economics doesn't have the capability to develop software projects, does it?"

"Accounting, management, statistics, etc., anything related to economic management can be done. Our boss not only gives away civilian antivirus software for free, but also regular office software, as a freebie. But professional tools are charged, so we make money from government and enterprise units and subsidize individual consumers."

At this point, Guan Changsheng said with admiration, "The boss is just so kind-hearted."

"..."

Did you know that your boss burned someone in Japan?
Wen Xiaobo was somewhat shocked, not expecting that this could make money, but upon further reflection, it made perfect sense.

Because in Yuzhang Province, very few government agencies directly use pirated Microsoft systems, and they spend a lot of money on office software suites.

The main purchase was of "Fantasy" brand computers, with genuine operating system software included as a bonus. This was a major order signed between "Fantasy" and "Microsoft".

Actually, before "Fantasy" Company signed the big deal with "Microsoft", they were already working on a localized version of Linux, which was sufficient for office use.

It just so happens that "Fantasy" company, as the largest supplier for government and enterprise procurement, happens to be a major customer of "Microsoft".

Actually, it's not that no one has interfered; there were hopes that some preferential treatment could be given to government and enterprise offices, but in the end, nothing came of it.

From a development perspective, if "Fantasy" Company were to develop its own operating system at this point, even a slightly modified version of Linux as a backup would be acceptable, or it could be a dual-system setup, allowing it to secretly develop its own system.

However, there has been no action taken even after the brand logo was changed to "Lenovo".

Before "Zhang Xiaobai Technology Co., Ltd." started offering free office software, some insightful people in Jiangkou Province tried to act as matchmakers, hoping that everyone could work together to develop a Linux distribution that didn't require a high degree of localization. Naturally, the result was a complete mess.

Head Coach Zhang knew from the beginning that this project had no chance of success, so he focused on expanding the "Ah Zhang Xiaobai" ecosystem.

He doesn't care what others do; he just follows the established procedures.

In short, all the regular application functions for personal users are free, and the value-added parts are greatly enhanced, which makes the "Little Black Dog Community" extremely active, even more extensive than the programmer communication in "Zhang Xiaobai Bar".

The main reason is that individual developers can earn a little money for food. For example, the skins and fonts of "Xiaobai Input Method" can make a little money, although not much.

You can earn a few hundred yuan a month, that's usually the case, unless it's an official skin. If you get a short-term license, you can quickly develop one, and in that case, besides the official buyout fee, you can occasionally get a share based on the number of skin downloads, but it won't be much higher, around a few thousand yuan.

However, the high activity level is due to its low difficulty, making it a good practice project for college students.

After successfully practicing with "Xiaobai Input Method", you can try to advance in the community, which usually involves various mini-games such as tower defense, shooting, and elimination. "Xiaoheigou Community" has various tools available for download, as well as a resource library where you can both download and upload.

The largest online game platform in China was born quietly. It may seem like it doesn't make money, but as long as the game is developed and passes the community review, it can be sold to "Zhang Xiaobai Technology Co., Ltd."

Theoretically, it wouldn't be impossible to create a series of nested games and sell them to the company. Of course, that's just theory; in reality, it's not like that. After "Zhang Xiaobai Technology Co., Ltd." acquires the copyrights for these mini-games, they can be sold internationally in English, Japanese, and other languages.

Taking the 9th Beijing International Book Fair last month as an example, Huang Dingjun's comic serial magazine in Qinjiang sold not only comics but also a bound volume of the magazine "Electronic Games".

The introductions cover the worldviews, settings, gameplay, levels, and so on of mini-games, essentially creating a "Devil Fruit encyclopedia." National copyright holders don't just focus on books and audio-visual products; game copyrights are also copyrights.

Many game console and game companies in Europe, America, and Japan hunt for good concepts, regardless of their form—movies, TV series, novels, or even comic books.

Then, they can grow and strengthen their business through derivative products.

A classic example is the video game series Tomb Raider and Resident Evil. The reason they became hugely successful movies wasn't because of the adaptations, but because the concepts and content themselves were very strong.

Therefore, "copyright hunters" and "copyright dealers" are very willing to exchange ideas, since not all places are suitable for adapting the same worldview.

However, generally speaking, "copyright hunters" and "copyright dealers" prefer to deal with peers who win by volume. Quality... well, it's not that it's unimportant, but it's just that it doesn't carry as much weight.

Quantitative change leads to qualitative change; this is a well-known principle.

In terms of the sheer volume of content, China is the largest globally, without exception. This is determined by its rich cultural heritage and the length of its verifiable history.

Whether it's legends, stories, figures, events, geography... the various combinations create an almost infinite depth of content.

Of course, this is on the premise that you have the capability to develop it.

One is "Three Kingdoms", and the other is "martial arts". In the long history, these can only be said to be a small group, but they have been able to support a large number of practitioners from working to retirement.

It's a bit of a shame that the main people supported were Japanese.

Zhang Da'an's current frantic accumulation of mini-game copyrights is not just for fun. With these approved mini-games, whether he develops his own game console or adds functionality to mobile phone systems, it will be a sure-fire way to make money in the future.

The difficulty in developing a handheld console lies not in the hardware, but in the depth of copyright. Before a masterpiece is sure to emerge, stockpiling quantity is the optimal solution.

Just like the "99-in-1" 8-bit game cartridges from many years ago, it actually only contained one game, Contra, but "99-in-1" sounded really cool, even though it was a pirated cartridge.

If Guan Changsheng and Wen Xiaobo had a deep conversation, it would be like Guan Changsheng was using the "99-in-1" offer to whet their appetites. Even though Wen Xiaobo rationally told himself that it was bullshit, how could you expect to generate profits for free by making free software?
But when Guan Changsheng said yes, my body obediently believed him and wanted to hear what other insights he had to offer.

"Director Wen, actually our boss is planning to integrate and upgrade the existing software to create a more professional ERP system. I heard that Luzhou University of Finance and Economics is very interested, after all, they've had some success with it and are even in charge of business restructuring."

"You can make ERP systems too? And you didn't just copy them?"

"How could that be? Our boss doesn't do business at a loss. Besides, my boss is a genius, how could he plagiarize?"

"Mining companies in Yuzhang Province spend hundreds of thousands just on the system itself. The service fees are even more outrageously expensive, and they can only buy foreign systems. Are you really planning to develop an ERP system?"

"It's a package deal. My boss is a literary genius, so he definitely wants to use his own."

"If it really succeeds, selling the entire Yuzhang province would definitely bring in tens of millions a year."

For a moment, Wen Xiaobo felt that this was a business deal that even a well-established finance university could cooperate with, so why did Luzhou University of Finance and Economics have everything?
My Yuzhang University of Finance and Economics has worked so hard for so many years, can't we even have a decent meal?
He knew that for Yuzhang University of Finance and Economics, the development process was actually similar to that for Jiangning University of Finance and Economics; he was essentially a semi-client consultant making requests and suggestions.

After all, they are professionals, and they certainly know more than programmers in areas such as corporate management, operations, and cross-departmental coordination.

The key point is that alumni of Yuzhang University of Finance and Economics are in senior management positions in various companies, and their advice is significantly more valuable than that of Jiangning University of Finance and Economics.

Resource management in a food system is relatively simple, which is completely different from a super-corporation managing a small society.

Wen Xiaobo was intrigued. This business was definitely worth doing, and unlike other similar companies, Zhang Da'an had a unique sales advantage.

The internal needs of the "Zhang'an Industrial Alliance" alone can support a group of people, not to mention the supply chain-related enterprises within the "Zhang'an Industrial Alliance," plus the needs of related units in the industrial sector of Jiangkou Province itself. Tens of millions a year is a very conservative estimate.

Not to mention that Zhang Da'an also has a hidden super customer group, namely the parents of his students.

At this moment, Wen Xiaobo felt a bit thirsty.

(End of this chapter)