Dreaming back to 1949, the great powers were there to deceive us

While the two sides were arguing, Hu Zhenhua hung up another picture: a steam turbine generator set.

Xu Xiping, director of the Dalong Machinery Factory, Shan Shengli, manager of the Sifang Boiler Factory, Mao Gong, manager of the Modu Electric Motor Factory, and others gathered around the drawings to look at them.

Compared with the Sibuxiang, Hu Zhenhua put a lot of effort into the steam turbine generator.

Except for the lack of technical parameters, he drew almost everything he knew, including the anatomical diagram of the turbine and the shape and layout of the blades.

Xu Xiping looked very attentively. He held a magnifying glass and studied it inch by inch.

He is both the factory director and the chief engineer.

Hu Zhenhua picked up the teacup and took a few sips.

The entire venue has been divided into two groups, one is competing for the Sibu Xiang assembly, and the other is studying the steam turbine generator.

Mao Gong, the manager of the Magic City Motor Factory, was the first to leave the crowd. He sat down next to Hu Zhenhua and said,

"Mr. Hu, the largest motor in our motor factory is 6 megawatt. I wonder if it can meet your needs?"

6 megawatts means that 1 kWh of electricity can be generated in one hour. If it operates non-stop throughout the year, the annual power generation of a unit will be around 6000 million kWh.

But considering that the generators may have been falsely labeled and overhauled, it is actually quite remarkable for a generator set to generate 3000 million kilowatt-hours of electricity throughout the year.

After Hu Zhenhua did a simple calculation in his mind, he felt content.

The entire Chinese nation's annual power generation is only 40 billion kilowatt-hours.

A smile appeared on Lao Hu's face.

"Mr. Mao, I can only say that a 6-megawatt motor can barely meet the threshold required by Tongan. I hope you can develop a generator set with even higher power. There's no upper limit!"

Hu Zhenhua paused and said,

"Now, please give me a quote. What's the approximate price for this generator set?"

"How about 12 yuan? If you buy more, we can lower the price!"

Hu Zhenhua silently calculated in his mind that one dollar was equivalent to about 150-200 yuan in later generations, and the price of a generator set was nearly 2000 million yuan, which was too expensive!

Old Hu had no idea about the price of steam turbines, and he didn't know whether the price was reasonable at the moment. He thought about it and asked,

"Approximately how much copper does your generator set use?"

"Every megawatt consumes about 4 tons of copper. For 6 megawatts, that's 23 tons of copper."

Hu Zhenhua had a clear idea in his mind. In a generator set, the cost of copper usually accounts for 10%-20%. The current international copper price is about US$500 per ton, and Maogong's quotation is still very sincere.

Considering that this was the Republic of China and supplies were scarce, the price of 12 oceans was not unacceptable.

"Can you deliver 20 units within three months?"

Mao Gong suddenly felt as if his heart was hit by a huge hammer.

What surprised him was that Hu Zhenhua did not bargain at all, and what was even more shocking was that the order was for as many as 20 units!

Mao Gong pinched his thigh to make sure he was not dreaming. Fearing that he had neglected his big sponsor, he immediately said,

"Mr. Hu, I really want to take this order, but there are practical difficulties!"

Hu Zhenhua roughly knew what the specific difficulties were: one was lack of money, and the other was lack of copper.

Last year, the entire Chinese copper production was only about 2000 tons (the world's total annual production is 200 million tons). Not to mention anything else, the mere 2000 tons is not enough to be used for electrical wires.

Hu Zhenhua's current orders require up to 460 tons of copper, almost accounting for a quarter of the annual output.

The only way to solve this problem is to import, which requires foreign currency.

Hu Zhenhua lit a cigarette and said,

"If you're short of money, Tong'an can pay you 20 yuan first. You can borrow the rest from a foreign bank!"

"loan?"

Mao Gong felt as if a basin of cold water was poured over his head, and his fiery heart also cooled down.

Loans mean risks.

It is one's own business, and one knows how it feels. Dalon Machinery Factory has not been able to pay wages for more than three months. Not to mention whether the foreign company is willing to provide loans, even if there are loans, once the money arrives, it is estimated that all creditors will come to the door.

By then, only a few of them can actually be used for production!

But the order from Tongan is the only chance for Xinzhong Machinery Factory to turn around!

Hu Zhenhua blew out a puff of smoke and asked,

"What, are you having trouble?"

A blush appeared on Mao Gong's face, which was caused by embarrassment.

"Mr. Hu, to be honest, our factory's financial situation is not optimistic. I'm afraid the bank won't lend us money!"

"Doesn't your factory have any assets to mortgage?"

"Right now, major banks are very cautious about real estate mortgages, often offering discounts of 20% to 30% when appraising properties!"

Hu Zhenhua was helpless. These foreign companies were not stupid. He looked at Mao Gong and asked,

"How much can you lend me?"

"At most 10 yuan!"

Hu Zhenhua almost vomited blood.

I had to invest so much money to be able to borrow 10 yuan from a foreign company. What the hell is this?

Mao Gong looked at Hu Zhenhua's ugly face, and his heart skipped a beat. He quickly said,

"I'll go back and think of a way to raise another 10 yuan. Adding that to Tong'an's deposit, I can at least complete the order for three units. We can snowball our success!"

Hu Zhenhua rubbed his eyebrows and felt a chill in his heart. He guessed that except for those compradors, the situation in other factories was the same.

Plans are far behind changes, and Tongan Company’s plan is about to fail before it even starts.

He thought for a long time, and suddenly recalled a case, and asked hurriedly,

"I'm placing orders worth millions with you. Can these orders be mortgaged to a foreign company to secure a large loan?"

Mao Gong was silent for a moment, feeling a little unhappy, and asked tentatively,

"We can develop in a snowball fashion, right?"

Hu Zhenhua snorted coldly.

"Our demand for copper is so great that if we can't buy it all at once, believe it or not, the price of copper will go through the roof in a week!"

Mao Gong's heart trembled again. He really ignored this problem.

It is estimated that the entire Shanghai cannot even gather 400 tons of copper, and most of the copper is concentrated in the hands of foreign companies.

“Hoarding so much copper is too risky!”

He looked at Hu Zhenhua eagerly, and his meaning was very clear: Why do you want me to hoard copper? Are you trying to cheat me?

Hu Zhenhua rubbed his eyebrows again. This was the first time the two sides had met and there was a lack of trust between them!

Old Hu didn't want to interfere too much, but now it seems that if he didn't get involved, those foreign companies would not have been fooled.

You can’t catch a wolf without sacrificing your child, and you can’t catch a gangster without sacrificing your wife.

Those foreign companies, who relied on their extraterritorial power in the past, plundered countless wealth from China. Hu Zhenhua did not feel any psychological pressure when setting a trap for them. He gritted his teeth and shouted,

"Mr. Mao, Tongan will provide you with a 20 yuan deposit and a 50 yuan guarantee. This is all I can do! You must complete the stocking preparations within a week, otherwise, this order will be cancelled!"

"this?"

Hu Zhenhua was a little angry and shouted,

"Mr. Mao, what are you afraid of? This is our first meeting, and I'm willing to transfer a large amount of funds to you. Besides, can't the goods we stock maintain and increase their value?"

Lao Hu's voice was so loud that the other people arguing suddenly quieted down and stared at this side.

Shan Shengli, the manager of Sifang Boiler Factory, came over and said with a smile,

"Mr. Hu, please don't be angry. Mao Gong is a timid man, always hesitant. We at Sifang Boiler Factory are willing to take on orders he wouldn't dare accept! But, can we offer the same terms as Xinzhong? We only require a 10 yuan deposit and a 30 yuan guarantee!"

Hu Zhenhua turned his head, stared at him, and asked,

"Are you sure you can match it with a 6-megawatt boiler?"

"No problem at all! Each ton of steam can generate approximately 200 degrees of electricity. With a 6-megawatt generator, we only need to produce 30-40 tons of steam per hour! Sifang Boiler Factory has been immersed in the boiler industry for many years and is fully capable of this!"

Hu Zhenhua nodded.

"Okay, I agree to your request. Please provide a quotation. After I confirm it, we can sign the agreement. I need boilers for 20 generator sets. I hope Manager Dan will be sincere when he quotes you!"

Shan Shengli was overjoyed and quickly patted his chest and promised,

"Mr. Hu, please rest assured, I am absolutely sincere!"

After setting this precedent, other managers immediately gathered around.

"Mr. Hu, can you also provide a guarantee for our loan? I need a limit of 20 yuan?"

"Mr. Hu, my company needs a 30 yuan guarantee."

……

Hu Zhenhua's head was buzzing with their noise, and he couldn't stand it anymore. He slammed the table and shouted,

"Quiet!"

Wang Mo from Levi Company actually joined in the fun, which made Lao Hu alert. When he saw that everyone had quieted down, he spoke up.

"Everyone, not everyone will give Tongan a guarantee. You must meet two conditions. First, you must have the ability to continue operating. Second, you must be able to complete Tongan's orders!"

Hu Zhenhua glanced over and suddenly saw that Wang Mo, who was in charge of Li Wei, was delighted. He quickly added another condition.

"Oh, by the way, there's one more thing. You must be truly in trouble. If anyone tries to siphon off Tong'an's funds, I will immediately cancel all orders and claim compensation!"

This condition had no effect on most people. When they saw that Lao Hu stopped talking, they began to shout their demands loudly again.

Hu Zhenhua pressed his hands together,

"Everyone, come one by one. I wonder if you have decided who will assemble the Sibu Xiang?"

Wang Mo, who had been silent, immediately raised his hand. He was proud of his status and did not push forward like most people.

Hu Zhenhua looked at him with a smile and made a gesture of invitation.

"Mr. Wang, please speak!"

Wang Mo was quite pleased to see that everyone's attention was on him, and said with a smile,

"Although the Sibu Xiang's structure is simple and the technical difficulty isn't high, it's still a vehicle. We just discussed that for the sake of uniformity, six manufacturers interested in assembly should form an association to standardize the required parts, and then compete freely! As for how much they can accomplish, it's up to each of them to decide."

Although Hu Zhenhua didn't understand what was going on here, he also heard a clue: free competition?

What a joke, who can compete with Levi?

Although Hu Zhenhua did not want to interfere too much, in order to prevent Li Wei from becoming too powerful and threatening his own plan, Lao Hu smiled and said,

“I wonder which six manufacturers are interested in assembly?”

Han Shen, the manager of Anyuan Auto Repair Shop, was the first to raise his hand.

Next came Wang Mo, manager of Levitra, and Zou Du, manager of Xinzhong Machinery Factory.

Hu Zhenhua looked at the other three people again.

Baochanghao, whose main business is the production of pistons, is managed by Yu Heping.

Yang Fuxing Machinery Manufacturing Plant manufactures automobile chassis, and the manager is Wu Shou.

Zheng Xingtai Auto Parts Shop manufactures gearboxes, and the manager is Zhao Fu.

These six companies are indeed the leaders in Shanghai’s automotive industry.

Hu Zhenhua laughed heartily.

"It's well-deserved that the six of you are leading this effort. I wonder if TA Company can join in the fun. However, we only monitor quality and will never interfere with operations."