In this era, as long as you're bold, making money is still very easy. Although there are significant risks, it's undeniably lucrative.
As his wealth grew, Liu Guangqi quickly became the next one to fall into the trap. The extravagant lifestyle soon led Liu Guangqi astray.
Unlike Yan Jiecheng, Liu Guangqi was at least somewhat shrewd. Learning from Yan Jiecheng's experience, Liu Guangqi was much more low-key.
Although they were constantly developing their own influence, they were only doing some other business in their own factories and had not completely turned into a criminal organization.
Liu Guangqi generally didn't engage in robbery or extortion, but he did force some women into prostitution. Being involved with drugs, gambling, and prostitution inevitably leads to exposure to these things; in fact, it's common for drug dealers and gamblers to sell their children when they're high.
In order to recoup his money, he inevitably came into contact with these kinds of things. Years of working in these industries had long since made Liu Guangqi's mind incredibly ruthless. Otherwise, he wouldn't have allowed others to sell that kind of stuff in bars in the past.
These industries can indeed make money quickly, but the risks are equally enormous. The reason Wei Hua avoids these industries is because they are difficult to control.
Even if you can keep yourself clean, who knows what your subordinates might do? One wrong move and you could be implicated.
Moreover, these aren't the only profitable industries. Whether it's beverages or food, if you do it well, the profit margins can be quite high.
The most profitable products were undoubtedly high-tech ones, with profits that could only be described as exorbitant. Seeing the gradual popularization of mobile phones, Weihua began producing actual cell phones.
These phones, which cost less than a hundred yuan, are being sold for one or two thousand yuan. Even at such high prices, they are still in high demand.
As more and more people become wealthy, even though a phone costs one or two thousand yuan, many people still grit their teeth and buy one, which quickly became a symbol of wealth.
Seeing that mobile phones were selling like hotcakes, Wei Hua thought of another product that day: VCDs. He certainly hadn't forgotten the VCDs he watched as a child.
Others might not remember the legends of Jiang Wanmeng and Sun Yansheng, but Wei Hua does. Wei Hua also remembers running to other people's houses every day as a child to watch all sorts of movies.
This multi-billion dollar market suddenly collapsed the following year, even though VCD technology still exists in later generations.
To prevent a recurrence of the tragedy, Wei Hua immediately ordered research into the technology. After explaining the characteristics of VCDs and other relevant information, he began the research.
To profit from others, one must be ahead of the curve. From now on, all related technologies will require patent fees. If anyone refuses to pay, Wei Hua will be happy to see what kind of retaliation they will face.
For domestic patent holders, a symbolic transaction is sufficient for patent review; for foreign patent holders, a technology blockade must be imposed, just as other countries previously imposed blockades on their own countries.
Technology blockades shouldn't be limited to VCDs and current mobile phones; even CNC machine tools and other things must be subject to some restrictions.
If you obediently pay the money, everything will be fine. But if you have any ulterior motives, you'll just have to accept your bad luck.
With the emergence of second-generation products, first-generation CNC machine tools gradually began to enter the market. The latest generation of products were naturally kept for internal use, while only the next-generation products were sold.
After CNC machine tools entered the market, many people had ideas about them. Previously, other countries could only obtain CNC machine tools through various means, but now they can finally purchase them through normal channels, and many countries have placed orders for quite a few.
Back when CNC technology was still largely a concept, everyone wanted to acquire it. Patents have always existed, but whether or not one pays the fees is another matter entirely.
After purchasing the CNC machine tool, everyone began experimenting with various data. While conducting experiments, engineers started disassembling the machine to study its structure and analyze its technology and techniques.
This isn't just a one-country phenomenon; it's something almost the entire world is doing. For powerful nations, researching these things isn't difficult because their technological chains are very complete; they have readily available transistors and other technologies.
With samples, as long as you put in the effort, you can master the complete technology in just a few months. Those countries that are not very strong can't even produce a single ordinary machine tool, so how can they produce these high-tech products?
Only Russia has a similar strength to China in the entire world. Although it has shifted its focus to heavy industry, its basic strength remains.
Less than three months after disassembling the CNC machine tools produced by Xianglong Group, Da Mao had already produced similar products. Although they were hastily assembled, their performance was acceptable.
Looking at the parts processed by the CNC machine tool, the entire Russian was in a panic. This was just a product that his country had cobbled together over the past few months, and its performance was far inferior to that of Xianglong Group. But even so, the products produced by the machine were no worse than those made by ordinary low-level technicians.
What's the point of spending over a decade training skilled workers in China? The precision of machinery produced by Xianglong Group is somewhat comparable to that of a mid-level technician. So, what level of precision does China's most advanced equipment currently possess? With all that, what's the point of having highly skilled workers?
This caused many scientists in Russia to doubt themselves. Many of them had previously provided aid to China and participated in numerous projects.
When they think about their own country's development over the past few decades, and then think about the development of others over the past few decades, they feel like they've wasted their lives. Countries that used to rely on their country for all kinds of technology have now surpassed them.
Many people can't help but wonder if something went wrong, otherwise how could China's technological development be so rapid? Or perhaps their country has taken the wrong path.
Scientists weren't the only ones with this idea; even the leadership on the Russian side shared similar sentiments. They felt that these same people, who used to be their subordinates, were now on equal footing and had even begun to surpass them in many ways.
In order to develop cutting-edge equipment for their own country as quickly as possible, Russia immediately established many advanced research laboratories. A new round of military competition slowly began.
As for the so-called patents, Mao hadn't even considered them. Why should he pay patent fees for something he researched himself? Besides, the United Nations had long since ceased to exist.
By the time the United States experienced the earthquake, the United Nations was already defunct; nobody took it seriously anymore. As for patents, no one cared about them anymore.
Patents are nothing more than a tool the Americans use to exploit the world. Now that even the US has become a second-rate country, who cares about patents anymore?
Just as Russia was ramping up production of these devices, a powerful cold front began to spread from Siberia.
Although it's cold in Russia, the intensity of this cold air mass is unprecedented. Wherever the cold air passes, everything is frozen.
Temperatures of minus 70 or 80 degrees Celsius were unbearable. Everyone could only huddle in their rooms, shivering. In places with heating, it was alright, but in places without heating, people could only rely on burning firewood to keep warm.
As for things outdoors, they simply couldn't survive. Whether it was livestock or anything else, everything in the wild would freeze to death. In many places, even power lines were damaged by the freezing. The entire country seemed to have entered the Ice Age.
The extreme cold of minus seventy or eighty degrees Celsius is like a ruthless sculptor, using ice and snow as a knife to carve the vast land of Russia into crystal-clear yet deathly silent ice palaces.
A bone-chilling cold permeated the air; each breath felt like ice crystals freezing in the lungs, causing one to shiver uncontrollably. Exhaled breath instantly turned into white mist, then dissipated into the endless cold. People's faces were frozen red, their skin feeling as if it were about to tear; even thick clothing could not completely block this chill that came from the depths of their souls.
The trees were covered in thick armor of ice, their branches drooping as if bowing in submission to the endless cold. Occasionally, a gust of wind would blow, and a "crack" would be heard—the sound of the fragile ice breaking under the pressure of the wind, a groan from nature in this extreme cold.
The rivers and lakes of Da Mao have long lost their former gentle flow; they are completely frozen over, with a thin layer of snow covering the ice, like giant mirrors reflecting this silver-clad world.
In such an environment, even human-made structures appear incredibly fragile. Thick frost flowers cover the windows of houses, like a carefully crafted decoration by nature. And the walls of the houses have cracked under the onslaught of the severe cold, as if they could collapse at any moment.
The extreme cold has turned Russia into a true ice and snow world, with every inch of land covered in ice and snow, and every sky shrouded in dark clouds. In this deathly silence, only the howling wind and the cracking of ice echo, as if telling the legend of the Ice Age.
Such extreme cold not only tests the resilience of nature but also the wisdom and courage of humankind. Surviving in such an environment requires far more effort and wisdom than usual to withstand this harsh challenge from nature.
Fortunately, this cold air mass didn't last long, disappearing from Russia in about two weeks. After leaving Russia, the cold air mass lingered in the Arctic.
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