Chapter 222
Ye Manzhi is going to Japan.
Upon hearing the news, Ye Shouxin rushed from the military industrial complex to his daughter's home. As soon as he entered the house, he asked, "Zhengrong, why didn't you stop her? Why did you let her go to Japan?"
Wu Zhengrong said with a smile, "She went to Japan for work, which is a political mission. No one can stop her."
“…”
"Grandpa, my mom is going to negotiate on behalf of the country," Wu Yuzhuo said proudly, "and she'll be able to save foreign exchange for the country!"
Two days have passed since my mother came back from Beijing, and she has also been exaggerating her role in the inspection team for two days.
Wu Yuzhuo has always stood on his mother's side, and this time he has become a loyal supporter of his mother!
Ye Shouxin muttered, "She doesn't speak Japanese, what can we talk about if we go there?"
Ye Manzhi didn't need to argue for herself; Xiao Wu's supporters stepped in and said, "There's a translator on the inspection team. My mother is in charge of making suggestions. The translator can speak Japanese! She doesn't speak French, English, or Arabic, but she can still sell Shuguang Factory's products to Europe and the Middle East!"
Chang Yue'e hugged her granddaughter and sighed, "I've said that being a street propagandist is really worth it!"
This little mouth is always chattering.
Ye Manzhi broke off a slice of orange and stuffed it into her father's mouth, saying happily, "Dad, you, the deputy director of the workshop, are not as conscious as Yan!"
Ye Shouxin said with a bashful look, "There's everything in China, why do you have to go to Japan?"
"We're going to inspect the color TV production line. Learn from the enemy and defeat them, understand? Our technology in this area is relatively backward. Once we introduce advanced technology, we'll surpass them sooner or later!"
Chang Yue'e asked, "Laiya, when are you leaving? How long will you be gone?"
"I don't know. I need to go through the procedures for going abroad first," Ye Manzhi looked at his father again. "Comrade Ye, please talk to me before I leave!"
"You're not going away forever, why are you saying so much?"
"When I come back from Japan, I'll be considered someone who's been abroad," Ye Manzhi said proudly. "By then, we might not even have a common language. While I'm still here, you should take the time to communicate with me more."
Old Ye: “…”
It's just a trip abroad, but look how capable she is, she keeps showing off!
However, these days, let alone going abroad, even leaving the province or city can make you brag among relatives and neighbors for several days.
If he could also go abroad, he would show off from the beginning of the year to the end of the year!
Ye Shouxin was still proud of his daughter after all. He said with a straight face, "Even when you go abroad, you have to stand up straight and don't bring shame to the people of Binjiang, okay?"
"I know, I know!" Ye Manzhi raised his chin. "That's what I'll do then, looking at them through my nose!"
Old Ye couldn't hold back his expression and said with a smile, "If you have the guts, then you can really leave like this!"
His daughter went abroad to negotiate and made a contribution to the country, which made him feel proud.
He stayed at his daughter's house for dinner, drank a bottle of Moutai given by his son-in-law, and left with a light heart.
Chang Yue'e supported him and complained: "My daughter went abroad, my son-in-law paid for the wine, and everyone else is fine, but you got drunk!"
"Well, I'm happy, what's wrong with drinking a little wine?"
"Don't spread the news about Lai Ya going to Japan. Don't cause trouble for our daughter."
"I definitely won't tell you," Old Ye muttered, "Just keep your mouth shut."
The two of them supported each other and went home.
On the other side, after seeing her parents off, Ye Manzhi sat down in front of the sewing machine again, intending to rush to make two shirts.
One is hers and the other is Wu Zhengrong's.
She tapped away at her sewing machine and said to the man leaning against the headboard, "I hadn't originally planned to buy Dacron. I even advised Xiu Lan not to buy it yet, believing the price would surely drop in two years. But when I received the notice from the Fourth Ministry of Machine Building to go abroad, I was so excited that I spent all the money and tickets I had on me."
Wu Zhengrong said indifferently, "Just buy it. It's perfect for when I go abroad. You have to wear a suit when attending business events abroad."
Ye Manzhi has been making clothes for twenty years and is considered an "old tailor". It didn't take long for her to make a men's shirt.
"Try it on you first!"
She watched Wu Zhengrong put on his new shirt, straightened his collar, and said with satisfaction, "Dacron is indeed crisper than cotton. It saves the trouble of ironing."
Wu Zhengrong has a tall and straight figure, and he looks even more elegant in a crisp and well-fitting new shirt.
"It looks great! If I can't come back before the Spring Festival," Ye Manzhi tapped his chest, "this is your new outfit for the New Year!"
After Ye Lai Ya came back from Beijing, she kept talking about going abroad. When Wu Zhengrong heard her talk about going abroad in a roundabout way, he couldn't help but raise the corners of his lips.
"What are you laughing at?" Ye Manzhi tapped his chest again. "While I'm not abroad, you should talk to me more. When I come back from Japan, Grandpa will be the only one in our family who can speak the same language with me!"
Wu Zhengrong asked knowingly, "Why are you the only two who have something in common?"
"Because we've both been abroad!"
Among all of Ye Manzhi's relatives, only Grandpa Wu had studied abroad.
When she comes back from Japan, she will be the second person in the family to have been abroad!
whee!
"Director Wu, you haven't been abroad and seen the world, have you? With your profession, I'm afraid you may not have the opportunity to do so in the future! Oh—" She sighed pretentiously and said like a country bumpkin, "I'm about to surpass you and become the most knowledgeable person in our family! From now on, if there are any important matters at home, you'll have to listen to me!"
"..." Wu Zhengrong looked at her and asked, "I've been to North Korea, so that should be considered as being abroad, right?"
Ye Manzhi: “…”
It seems so.
Seeing that she didn't respond, Wu Zhengrong said calmly, "Before, when you had never been abroad, we could still communicate face to face. Now that you are going to Japan, the distance between Japan and North Korea is not far, so communication between husband and wife should be smoother, right?"
Ye Manzhi: “…”
I always feel that this statement is weird.
She glared at him, unbuttoned the shirt in front of her one by one, and rudely pulled the new clothes off him.
"I'll make the shirt smaller for Youyan, not for you!"
Wu Zhengrong laughed and said shirtless, "I've always listened to you on important matters at home. Now that Director Ye is going abroad to see the world, I'll definitely continue to listen to you on important matters."
Ye Manzhi threw the clothes back into his arms, "That's better."
There is actually nothing big happening in their family, but no matter big or small, the right to speak is firmly in her hands, and the two comrades surnamed Wu have to listen to her command!
Thinking of this, Ye Manzhi instructed: "I don't know when I will be back. Go and boil some water."
Her words were incoherent, but Wu Zhengrong understood her very well and went out to boil water for both of them to take a bath.
*
After Ye Manzhi returned to the factory, she was not in a hurry to reveal the news that she and Pan Kunlun were about to go abroad.
When she heard that the Provincial Revolutionary Committee was going to organize a theoretical study class, she first went to the province to apply for a study place for Shuguang Factory.
"The province will gradually launch theoretical training sessions within two years. Everyone will have the opportunity to attend. The first session will last two months." Ye Manzhi looked at Wang Zaofu and said, "Director Wang, our Shuguang Factory only has one spot available. I've been a bit busy lately, so you can go first. However, while you're improving yourself in the class, don't forget to apply for the right to use the military railway!"
"OK."
Although the study classes organized by the Provincial Revolutionary Committee cannot be compared with those of the Party School, attending the study classes can expand one's network and is also capital for future promotions. Wang Zaofu is aware of this and certainly will not refuse such an opportunity for further study.
He thought that when Ye Manzhi said she was a little busy recently, she meant she was busy with the factory's business. After all, she had just been on a business trip to Beijing for more than half a month, and there was a lot of work piled up in the factory.
If Wang Zaofu had known that Ye Manzhi would soon go abroad for inspection, he would never have gone to that theoretical class for further studies!
There are plenty of theoretical training courses, but Ye Manzhi has few opportunities to go on long-term business trips.
Now that the top leader has left, the work of Shuguang Factory should be fully responsible by him as the second-in-command. He can take this opportunity to take some of the work into his own hands!
At this time, Deputy Director Wang was still kept in the dark. After getting the only study spot, he went to the province on time to expand his network.
A week after he reported to the Provincial Revolutionary Committee study class, Ye Manzhi announced in the factory that he would be going abroad for inspection with the team.
The documents for going abroad were processed on an expedited basis. She and Pan Kunlun took the certificate issued by the Fourth Ministry of Machine Building, reported their itinerary to the provincial and municipal party committees, arranged their work at the factory, and then met up with the inspection team at the time notified.
China and Japan have just recently restored diplomatic relations, and there are currently no direct flights to Japan.
The inspection team will first go to Hong Kong Island and then take a flight to Japan from Hong Kong Island.
I didn’t expect that during this trip to Japan, I could also visit Hong Kong Island!
Ye Manzhi was immediately cheering in his heart and wanted to do a somersault.
Even if she could only stay for a day, she would be very satisfied!
She will have something to brag about when she gets home!
There are 14 people in the inspection team, including cadres from Factory 305 and several ministries, as well as several experts in the electronics industry.
Most of the team members had no experience traveling abroad, so in order to avoid affecting the country's image, everyone followed the instructions given during the pre-trip training and behaved with restraint and courtesy.
Even though he was full of curiosity about the outside world, he still listened and watched more, and there was no situation like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden.
It was Ye Manzhi’s first time traveling abroad and also her first time taking a plane.
After the plane took off, she could no longer resist the urge to take pictures and secretly took out the camera from her bag!
"Director Ye, can I take a picture for you?" Yue Songmei asked proactively.
They were the only two female comrades in the team, so they naturally sat together.
Ye Manzhi nodded repeatedly and asked her to take a photo of him and the scenery outside the window. He then whispered, "Let's switch seats later. I'll help you take a photo of the clouds outside!"
The camera and film were Ye Manzhi's own. After taking pictures of the clouds, she secretly took a picture of the airplane meal.
Then I silently sighed in my heart, fortunately I had fought for this opportunity to accompany Director Li from Factory 305.
Really see the world!
…
The plane arrived that afternoon. Since China had not yet sent an ambassador to Japan, the delegation had to find a guide on their own.
The guide this time was a Chinese overseas doing business in Japan.
"There are approximately 18 television manufacturers in Japan, 13 of which produce color TVs. Since you want to purchase production lines, you should first look at large companies like Hitachi, Mitsubishi Electric, and Panasonic."
Director Li asked, "Can these companies' production lines be exported? Can we visit their production workshops?"
He Jianye nodded and said, "As long as you are willing to pay, you can see anything."
Everyone: “…”
This is damn capitalism.
The inspection team has a "daily reading" activity every day. All team members have to take a quarter of an hour to study the quotations and the three old articles in the hotel.
The next morning, after doing "Daily Reading", everyone went to visit Hitachi's TV factory.
The Japanese side sent several special personnel to accompany the inspection team. They were all talking about technology in the front, so Ye Manzhi did not move forward.
She and Yue Songmei walked behind, accompanied by a female staff member from the Japanese side.
Ye Manzhi asked a few questions that she was curious about.
"Ms. Sato, what is the output per shift for each of your production lines?"
Yue Songmei, the Japanese translator for the Ministry of Foreign Trade, relayed her question and then said to Ye Manzhi, "400 to 500 units."
Ye Manzhi was surprised and asked, "Did you hear it wrong?"
"No, I asked twice."
Ye Manzhi quickly said, "Then ask again, how long do they work each shift?"
Is it because working hours in capitalist countries are too long and workers are exploited?
Otherwise, how could they produce so much?
However, Sato replied: "We also work 8-hour shifts."
Ye Manzhi: “…”
Oh my god, the Shuguang factory can only produce 37 TV sets per shift.
If what Sato said is true, then their output is more than ten times theirs!
She was deeply shocked, but she had to pretend to be calm and composed on the surface.
"Ms. Sato, you produce so many televisions every day, so the domestic market in Japan should have been saturated long ago, right?"
There are only a few people in Japan, and they produce tens of millions of televisions every year, all of which must be exported.
"Our domestic market has long been saturated, especially for black-and-white TVs. As early as seven or eight years ago, the household penetration rate reached 80%. Therefore, most TVs now are sold to overseas markets."
“…”
Upon hearing this, Ye Manzhi and Yue Songmei felt mixed emotions.
Japan began to develop and research televisions in 1953, and China's first screen was born in 1958, only five years later than Japan.
However, fifteen years later, domestic black-and-white televisions still could not be mass-produced, and televisions had not entered the homes of ordinary people, while the domestic market was already saturated!
Ye Manzhi sighed jealously, what a damn evil capitalism!
She couldn't wait to see the production workshop. How could so many televisions be produced in each shift?
The inspection team was invited by the Japanese side to the factory, where there was a color TV assembly production line on one side and a testing production line on the other.
When Ye Manzhi saw the scene inside, he couldn't help but shrink his pupils.
She was very familiar with the workshop of Shuguang Factory. It was more semi-manual than semi-automatic.
The production line in the workshop in front of me is actually fully automatic!
Conveyor belts are installed on the ground and in the air. After the chassis is assembled, it is transferred to the conveyor belt and sent to the next place where workers install cathode ray tubes and other components. The overall process is in order.
Because the production line is very long, the area of the workshop is more than twice that of the Shuguang factory workshop.
Ye Manzhi whispered to Yue Songmei, "Songmei, please ask her for me what the factory price of a color TV is."
"It's about 400 US dollars." Sato said generously.
Shuguang Factory has been engaged in export trade all year round, and Ye Manzhi is familiar with the exchange rates of various foreign currencies.
Upon hearing this, he quickly came up with the result of 808 RMB in his mind.
She frowned and thought for a while, then asked, "What's the factory price of that 14-inch black-and-white tube TV?"
Sato shook his head and smiled, saying, "Our company no longer produces tube TVs. The factory price of a 14-inch transistor black-and-white TV is about $108."
In other words, the factory price of a 14-inch TV is less than 220 yuan.
The profits in capitalism are very high, and other people’s cost price may be only one hundred and seventy or eighty yuan.
The cost price of Shuguang Factory is 391 yuan.
She didn't ask any more questions and followed the inspection team to visit other workshops.
The first day was spent at the Hitachi factory.
After returning to the hotel, Director Li of Factory 305 called everyone to a meeting.
The overall atmosphere in the room was rather depressing.
The huge gap caused a huge psychological gap, and the technical team's discovery also made everyone at a loss as to what to do.
Director Li took a deep drag on his cigarette and said, "The technical requirements for color TVs are very high. Judging from the technology and equipment we have now in China, if we only buy a complete machine assembly line, I'm afraid it won't solve the problem. We'll also have to build a cathode ray tube production line."
Another researcher continued, "The quality of our domestically produced phosphors is not good. The red color tends to be orange, the green color tends to be bluish, and the blue color isn't saturated enough. We may need a new phosphor production line."
Another engineer said, "The glass shell of the cathode ray tube is also a problem. I guess we'll need to set up a production line for that."
This is just what is needed to produce cathode ray tubes, not to mention other accessories.
Ye Manzhi told everyone what he had learned. "I asked Ms. Sato, who received us today, and she said Hitachi can only sell complete machine production lines and cathode ray tube production lines. They don't have any other production lines. The price for these two production lines is estimated to be around 70 million US dollars."
"How much?" Director Li dropped the cigarette butt from his mouth.
Ye Manzhi: "70 million US dollars."
Director Li: “…”
This has completely exceeded expectations!
They originally planned to buy only one complete production line with a budget of around 20 million US dollars.
The domestic situation regarding other equipment will be solved by domestic means.
He felt that a production line costing 40 million RMB was already a sky-high price, and that he would definitely be able to pick the best one by coming to Japan.
After visiting the site, I found that one production line is not enough!
But 70 million US dollars is too expensive!
This is just the price of two production lines...
Ye Manzhi felt that today was only the first day, and it was normal to feel a little shocked. Everyone had to cheer up and regroup.
But she was not the leader of the inspection team, so it was not her place to say such morale-boosting words.
She coughed lightly and reminded, "Director Li, please say a few words to everyone."
Director Li came to his senses, offered a few words of encouragement, and then said with a smile, "This is just the first company. We have over ten options! Let's see how the other companies perform first!"
The inspection team had a tight schedule and went to different cities to inspect the TV factories of three other companies.
After more than ten days of stopping and starting, the results were not ideal.
They changed their procurement plan from one complete machine production line to one complete machine plus three accessory production lines.
However, it is not possible to purchase all the items from the same company, and they need to be purchased from different companies.
The total was a whopping $130 million, which was a complete overspend.
Yue Songmei said: "Their quote must be inflated. They see that we are from outside the area and ask for exorbitant prices!"
Ye Manzhi looked at the guide and asked, "Are there any large middlemen in Japan who are engaged in import and export trade?"
"Yes." He Jianye nodded.
"Can we find a local middleman to help us get the price?" Ye Manzhi said, "I've seen many European middlemen at the Canton Fair. If we have them negotiate with local manufacturers, they can get a certain discount."
"I could try to find a middleman, but I'm not sure how much commission he would ask."
"It's okay, just try it first."
Ye Manzhi felt that the quotations given by Japanese companies were generally too high and too inflated.
Let the middlemen explore the way first, and they will have a better idea of the situation.
As for whether an intermediary is needed to negotiate, that is another matter.
He Jianye went to help contact the middleman, and the inspection team rushed to visit the next factory without stopping.
A few days later, He Jianye helped convey the middleman's quotation.
US$110 million for four production lines.
$20 million cheaper than the company's direct bid.
In order for the middleman to make a profit from the price difference, the quotation can actually be compressed.
After dinner that day, Ye Manzhi and Pan Kunlun went out for a walk together.
They were inspecting a factory in a small city between Osaka and Kyoto. It was dinner time and there were few people on the streets.
Ye Manzhi strolled along the street and asked softly, "What do you think, Director Pan?"
Pan Kunlun shook his head and said, "The Shuguang Factory must have worked in vain this time."
They went abroad with the investigation team, and also wanted to eat the meat while others did.
The budget for purchasing the production line is as high as 20 million US dollars. If we can help Factory 305 to negotiate the price, perhaps we can use the remaining budget to get some advanced equipment for Shuguang Factory.
However, the quotation for the four production lines has already reached hundreds of millions, which is not enough for Factory 305 itself, so how can it possibly give a share to Shuguang Factory?
"It wasn't all in vain, at least we've broadened our horizons and seen the world." Ye Manzhi said in a relaxed tone, "If we hadn't come out once, how would we have known the gap was so huge!"
"That's right."
"I've actually been thinking a lot these past two days," Ye Manzhi said. "The factory price of a Japanese color TV is as high as $400, which is over 800 RMB. Their technology is so mature, yet the prices are still so high. If we were to produce them ourselves, the factory price would probably be 900 to 1,000 RMB. Director Pan, do you think this is normal?"
Pan Kunlun was completely confused by her question: "What's wrong?"
"Let's not look at the problem from the perspective of the producer, but from the perspective of the consumer. Can anyone really spend 900 yuan in one go to buy a color TV?"
You should know that the most popular three-turn and one-ring one now has a unit price of no more than 200 yuan.
Pan Kunlun: “…”
900 yuan is indeed too much.
His salary is not small, but if he is asked to spend 900 yuan at once to buy a color TV, he may not be willing to spend the money.
Ye Manzhi said, "Currently, there are only about ten provinces and cities in China with television stations, and all of them are in black and white. If the construction of television stations doesn't keep up, even if consumers buy color TVs, the images they see will still be in black and white. And it will take at least two to three years to build a television station."
"you mean……"
"I think black-and-white TVs might be more suitable for the current domestic market," Ye Manzhi analyzed calmly. "The factory price of a 14-inch transistor black-and-white TV in Japan is around 220 RMB. If our TVs could be priced down to 220 RMB—no, 300 RMB would be fine—then many urban residents should be able to afford them."
A 300 yuan black and white TV, as an entry-level TV, can actually meet the needs of most families.
"The domestic black-and-white TV market in Japan has long been saturated, with major companies primarily producing TVs for export. I've been looking at data from the past decade and see that over the past three years, national black-and-white TV production has been declining year by year, while color TV production has been increasing significantly. This suggests that the international market for black-and-white TVs, particularly in Europe and the United States, is also saturated."
Ye Manzhi pondered this and murmured, "Perhaps many large companies have already planned to transform. Just like we want to eliminate tube TVs, they may also want to eliminate black and white TVs."
Pan Kunlun followed her train of thought and asked, "Director Ye, do you want their black-and-white TV production line?"
"Yes, the leaders of the Fourth Ministry of Machine Building said that the production line can be either new or old, and the main purpose is to save foreign exchange. So our Shuguang Factory can actually consider introducing a transistor black-and-white TV production line. Their single-shift output is more than 10 times ours. If this is successfully introduced, the annual output of Shuguang Factory's televisions will reach 300,000 to 400,000 units!"
Pan Kunlun reminded her, "The government wants the latest technology and equipment, and is only willing to pay for color TV production lines. If you want to purchase old black-and-white production lines, the central government may not be willing to pay for the foreign exchange."
Ye Manzhi smiled and said, "Before I came out, I talked to the leaders of the Provincial Foreign Trade Bureau. The province can provide us with $1 million in foreign exchange support. We can figure out the rest ourselves."
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