Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 700: Securing First Place and Aiming for Third.
Zhou Zhengdong sat on the sofa, slurped down a bowl of noodles, put down his chopsticks, picked up a handkerchief to wipe his mouth, and smiled contentedly, "That feels good."

Chen Fan pushed the tea he had brewed in advance in front of him and asked curiously, "Wasn't there an airplane meal? Didn't you eat it?"

Zhou Zhengdong picked up his teacup, lifted the lid, and blew on it twice. "I was looking at documents the whole time on the plane, I didn't have time to eat anything."

Zhou Yali sat opposite her, holding a little monkey in her arms, showing no respect whatsoever, and grinning broadly.

Zhou Zhengdong's face darkened; he felt that this daughter was no longer a good option.

Chen Fan suppressed a laugh and quickly changed the subject, "How's the situation?"

Zhou Zhengdong glared at his daughter first, "Aren't you going to clean up the dishes? You don't act like a proper young lady at all."

Zhou Yali pouted, holding two little monkeys in one arm and taking the bowls and chopsticks to the kitchen with the other.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Zhou Zhengdong felt much better. He picked up his teacup and took another sip before saying, "I spent a few days there, contacted quite a few people, and also had the company arrange for people to collect a lot of information."

At this point, he suddenly changed the subject and complained to Chen Fan, "These frequent communications these past few days have only strengthened my resolve to enter the communications field. It's really terrible."

If I make a phone call to the United States, it's considered fast if it takes half a day to get through; sometimes telegrams are even faster than phone calls. Did you know that Shanghai actually opened direct telegraph and telephone lines with the United States in the 30s, but they were later closed? It wasn't until 71, in preparation for communications with Nicholas Nehru's visit, that direct wireless telegraph, telephone, and fax circuits between China and the United States were reopened.

Then, in 73, two satellite earth stations were built in Beijing and Shanghai and put into use for communications. Construction of the submarine cable between China and Japan began in 74 and was completed and delivered in 76. In this way, by using Japan as a relay station, communication capabilities with the United States were accelerated.

As of this year, there are 214 million telephone subscribers and 418 million telephones nationwide. However, the vast majority of these are business phones, with very few personal phones. In addition, manual operators are still widely used, and even crossbar automatic exchanges are rare, let alone more advanced program-controlled digital exchanges…

Chen Fan leaned back on the sofa, lit a cigarette, and calmly listened to his rant.

After finally waiting for him to finish speaking, he flicked off his cigarette ash and chuckled, "Outdated equipment indicates a need for technological upgrades and iterations; low installation volume indicates a promising market prospect."

Throughout history, doing business has always involved buying low and selling high, taking advantage of information asymmetry to transport goods from one place to another and profiting from the price difference.

Therefore, to develop the economy, communication and transportation are two prerequisites that must be addressed. Doesn't this just prove that you chose the right entry point?

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhengdong couldn't help but nod. "Yes, that makes sense."

He turned to look at Chen Fan and couldn't help but grin. "Your mind is perfect for starting a business. Some people see a backward place and think there's no market, but you see great potential. You're definitely a natural businessman."

He then turned to his daughter, who was carrying a small monkey and walking this way, and said, "Learn from your brother more, and stop being so irresponsible all the time."

Zhou Yali was stunned. "I just went to the kitchen to wash a dish. Why are you criticizing me again?"
Zhou Zhengdong lit a cigarette and told Chen Fan what he had been doing these past few days.

In summary, we first talked with the leaders of the postal and telecommunications system and reached a cooperation agreement.

The higher-ups were quite pleased with Zhou Zhengdong's suggestion.

Putting aside other matters, whether it's developing the economy or anything else, improving communication capabilities is undoubtedly beneficial.

There was no other way before, but now that someone has presented them with a good solution, what reason do they have not to agree?
In the absence of corresponding funds and technology, foreign capital can make advance payments so that some parts of the country can use more advanced equipment ahead of time, thereby improving my country's international communication capabilities. At the same time, it can also set an example of an open investment enterprise and help the country acquire advanced foreign technologies and increase its technological and talent resources.

If something is meant to achieve multiple benefits, then taking even a day longer to consider it is disrespectful to yourself.

After obtaining the letter of intent to cooperate, Zhou Zhengdong also sent over the information that the American company had collected via international telegram.

The materials are not numerous, but they are all packed with useful information.

Zhou Zhengdong, with a cigarette between his fingers, forgot to smoke it and said to Chen Fan, "Fujitsu and NEC from Japan, BTM from Belgium, Lucent from the United States, Siemens from Germany, Ericsson from Sweden, Nortel from Canada, and Alcatel from France—these are all the world's best telecommunications equipment companies today."

After comparing various options and considering factors such as technology, price, and after-sales service, I plan to select Fujitsu, Lucent, and Alcatel as my potential distributors.

Throwing away the cigarette butt that had almost burned his finger, he explained, "Fujitsu offers the best value for money, Lucent is located in the United States, making negotiations the most convenient, while Alcatel falls somewhere in between. In addition, among Western countries, France has a relatively friendly attitude towards China and was the first major Western power to establish ambassadorial-level relations with China. The headquarters of COCOM is also in Paris. All these factors make it easier to operate."

Chen Fan frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and asked, "Do you want to choose one of them, or do you want to try for all three?"

Zhou Zhengdong leaned back on the sofa and said with a smile, "Strive for three and secure one. If possible, I'd like to secure the agency rights for three companies. Although having multiple agencies will result in inconsistent technical standards, it will also help avoid over-reliance on a single company."

Chen Fan nodded slightly, then asked, "What about the price? Which company has the advantage?"

Zhou Zhengdong thought for a moment and said, "I have also arranged for someone to investigate this. Currently, the price per port of a 10,000-line program-controlled exchange is between $300 and $500. Fujitsu's price is the lowest, and Alcatel's price is the highest. In addition, the additional terms are also different."

He suddenly let out a long sigh and said, "Equipment procurement, operation permit application, after-sales training, we have to negotiate each and every one of them."

Chen Fan did some quick calculations and was somewhat stunned. "A 10,000-line program-controlled exchange costs at least 3 million US dollars? Is it really that expensive?"

Zhou Yali, who was sitting to the side intently petting the monkey, also gaped, "So your novels are selling like hotcakes, little brother? But all you've earned so far is only enough to buy the cheapest 10,000-line programmable switchboard?!"

Zhou Zhengdong snapped out of his daze and said irritably, "That's why they say the most expensive thing in the world is technology. The technology of program-controlled digital switches is controlled by a few countries, and they've formed an alliance to block high-tech technologies and related equipment from opposing camps."

"You don't have this technology. Not only will you have to spend a fortune to buy it, but you'll also have to beg them to sell it to you. My Zhou family's savings over decades are only enough to buy twenty or thirty switches. This kind of thing is really not something ordinary people can handle..." He shook his head and sighed, then looked at his daughter, "If the tech company you're managing now can successfully develop that network router, it will be considered to have mastered an advanced technology and gained the qualifications to deal with tech giants."

He paused for a moment, a worried look appearing on his face, but the next second, his expression returned to normal, suppressing his worries.

He had also heard Dr. Douglas Engelbart talk about the application prospects of this multiprotocol router, especially given the global success of the Apple II and the fact that personal computers were beginning to enter ordinary households. If it were possible to connect all the computers in the world into a network, then the value of this network router technology would be no less than that of a program-controlled switch.

Even according to his nephew Chen Fan's prediction, if Gordon Moore's prediction comes true—that the number of transistors and resistors integrated on semiconductor chips doubles every 24 months—then in the foreseeable future, the functions of personal computers will become increasingly powerful, and their prices will gradually decrease, eventually reaching a level that ordinary families can afford, thus entering thousands of households.

By then, the technology of multi-protocol routers will even surpass that of process control switches.

The Zhou family, who possess this technology, knew without a doubt that they would never be able to keep it.

However, that day is still a long way off; let's wait until Dr. Engelbart has developed this technology first.

Perhaps things won't unfold exactly as my nephew and Dr. Engelbart imagined.

With that thought in mind, he gently rubbed his face, temporarily putting the problem aside, and continued to consider the matter of the proxy switch.

Chen Fan threw away his cigarette butt, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and asked, "Switches are so expensive, does the Zhou family have enough working capital to cover the cost of the equipment?"

Zhou Zhengdong snapped out of his daze, turned to look at Chen Fan, and grinned, "With banks around, who would use their own money to do business? As long as the return is greater than the bank loan interest rate, it's definitely more cost-effective to borrow from the bank."

At this moment, Zhou Yali raised her head and said confidently, "Our Zhou family has partnered with several other Chinese families to establish a bank. We don't need to look for other banks; we can solve our loan problems internally. Although this bank's capital is not particularly large, far less than those big banks, with the Zhou family's shares and assets, it's not a problem to easily lend out tens of millions of US dollars."

Zhou Zhengdong crossed his legs and continued her words, "Not to mention that Yali's publishing company is making a fortune every day. As long as we hold the publishing rights to your novel, there are plenty of banks willing to lend us money, so there is absolutely no problem with equipment funding."

As soon as he finished speaking, he frowned slightly, then changed the subject, "The specific partners for cooperation haven't been finalized yet."

Chen Fan looked at him, puzzled. "Partners? You mean domestic postal and telecommunications companies? Isn't that determined by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications?"

Zhou Zhengdong shook his head and said, "The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications only provides policies, it doesn't designate partners. We still need to negotiate the specifics ourselves. Currently, the Beijing Post and Telecommunications Bureau has expressed its willingness immediately, and Beijing, as the capital, is currently the city with the largest demand for international communications in the country. Besides that…"

He paused for a moment, then turned to look at Chen Fan. "I'm thinking of making Shanghai the second city we'll be cooperating with. What do you think?"

Chen Fan nodded without hesitation, "Sure."

He smiled and said, "Once you've secured the agency agreement, I can introduce you to the deputy chief engineer of the municipal long-distance telephone bureau, and you can discuss it directly."

Zhou Zhengdong was somewhat surprised, "You know a technical lead like this?"

Chen Fan smiled and said, "He is a member of the Municipal Writers Association. I have met him a few times at the Shanghai Writers Association's events."

Zhou Zhengdong clicked his tongue and couldn't help but grin. "I suddenly realized that your identity as a writer is similar to my identity as a lawyer. You can really get involved with all sorts of people."

Chen Fan shrugged. "Actually, I was also in the health system at first, but I transferred my work relationship with the Writers Association after joining it."

Hearing this, Zhou Zhengdong couldn't help but laugh even more heartily, "It's even better that you've transferred, otherwise you wouldn't have had the chance to get promoted."

Chen Fan smiled slightly, but didn't say anything.

Given his contributions, if he had remained in the healthcare system, his status might not have been lower than it is now.

As first aid manuals become more widely disseminated and first aid techniques become more popular, his contributions will become increasingly valuable. Even if he does nothing else afterward and just acts as a mascot, he will still be qualified to enter a ministry and obtain the title of deputy director.

Perhaps, with the help of the reform and opening-up policy, ... well, maybe they won't even need to take advantage of that policy, and they'll be sent out to conduct health exchange activities with other countries.

It's important to understand that even in those years, as our relations with Japan and the United States normalized, we began and developed cooperation and exchanges with Western countries in the field of health. Coupled with our existing exchanges with Eastern European and Asian, African and Latin American countries, the opportunities to travel abroad were simply too numerous to count.

However, just as he and Buffett said, he neither needed nor was interested in such an opportunity, so he was indifferent to gains or losses.

In comparison, he still prefers his current workplace, where he can travel all over the country without anyone bothering him. This kind of free life is really great!
Zhou Zhengdong took a sip of tea, turned to look at his daughter, and said, "Tomorrow I'm going to Japan to discuss a collaboration with Fujitsu. The company's negotiation team will also arrive in Japan tomorrow. Dr. Engelbart has recommended an expert in the field of communications, who will also be coming tomorrow. Get ready and come with me."

Zhou Yali was struck dumb, staring blankly at her father, her eyes filled with disbelief. "I have to go too?"

Zhou Zhengdong looked at her and said, "Didn't you say it yourself? We chose you as our partner to grow bigger and stronger, and create new glories. How can we grow bigger and stronger if you don't even go?"

Zhou Yali's gaze darted around, "But...but it's no use if I go. I don't understand technology, I don't understand the market, and I don't know how to negotiate..."

Before she could finish speaking, Zhou Zhengdong waved his hand and said, "That's precisely why you need to learn. I don't expect you to be an expert in the technology, but at least you should know some basic industry knowledge. Otherwise, how can I entrust after-sales maintenance to you?"

Zhou Yali rolled her eyes and lay down on the sofa, saying, "Let me die."

(End of this chapter)