Canteen System Assistance Notes

However, it just so happened that the Russians invited him so Liu Helian simply did not take the Mongolia-Far East Territory-Alaska route, but instead modified his plan, turned northwest, and went to Moscow first.

By this time, relations between the Eighth Route Army and the Soviet Union had become quite close compared to historical levels. In addition to sending aid cadres to the border regions to assist with personnel training and industrial development, the Soviets also engaged in cooperation with the Eighth Route Army, such as establishing liaison offices and regularly exchanging information and intelligence.

In order to solve the problem of empty return trips for transport convoys, the border region even put flavored liquor, vitamin candies, and other products on the road.

Things like canned pineapple rings, instant coffee, and warm winter clothes were stuffed in

The truck bed was transported to the Soviet Union and entered the Soviet state-owned commercial system.

While this scale certainly couldn't possibly satisfy the Soviet market, it eventually made its way onto the shelves of Soviet state-owned stores and onto the carts of street vendors, even achieving healthy sales. The Soviet commercial system also formally signed long-term supply contracts with the Eighth Route Army. As for payments, they were simply offset against each other's accounts, a convenient process.

The boring long-distance flight passed, and the eMule-turned-passenger plane landed at the Moscow airport. After taking the passengers to the Soviet Office to report, everyone left and began to work on their reservations, and Liu Helian began to carry out his itinerary in the Soviet Union - but the first thing on the itinerary was not something he could decide.

"Hello comrade, the letter of introduction is fine. Please show me your ID."

Although there was no official position for the Eighth Route Army in the Soviet Foreign Affairs Committee at Kuznetsky Bridge, Liu Helian was still able to get a chair in the Kremlin lounge as an "overseas agent of a friendly party," an "excellent light weapons designer," and an experienced night flight pilot.

After checking the letter of introduction and documents, he followed the instructions and waited in the lounge for an interview with Stalin.

There was still a large amount of tea, sugar, honey cakes and jam, but no wine - Liu Helian was really disrespectful to these calorie bombs that were so sweet that they exploded - the only thing that surprised him was that there were a lot of "circular mints" that he was familiar with on a porcelain plate.

"Comrade Liu He, Comrade Stalin is already waiting for you," the guide said softly, "in the 'Green Conference Room'." "Okay, thank you."

Dalinzi usually meets people in two places: a large conference room and a small one. Because he has a bed in his office, he rarely meets people there. The so-called "green conference room" refers to a small conference room with a long table covered with a green tablecloth and a few chairs.

Here, Liu Helian met Comrade Stalin smoking his pipe again.

Compared to the relaxed atmosphere of his meeting with the Chairman, the atmosphere of Stalin's visit was slightly more serious, though this was likely not the Kremlin master's intention. Next to Stalin during the meeting was a small bowl of salted fish, a small glass of vodka, and a handful of small bananas. Upon seeing Liu Helian knock and enter, Mr. Steel, without much comment, pulled a glass from under the table and poured Liu Helian an extra small glass of vodka.

"Come, dear Comrade Liu He, have a drink to warm yourself up first."

"Yes, thank you, Comrade Stalin."

Taking the cup, Liu Helian downed the pure vodka in one gulp, feeling the spicy sensation like lava entering his mouth, all the way to his stomach. Later, if the vodka was high-quality, the spicy taste would transform into a body-warming sensation, a lingering birch aroma, and an intoxicating dizziness; while inferior vodka would only leave behind a dizzying headache and a lingering burning pain.

Obviously, Dalinzi's wine is of very good quality.

This was Liu Helian's second time meeting Stalin. The last time, this leader, nicknamed "the loving father" in later generations, asked him many questions about the Majiagang Oilfield with a rather curious tone. He also asked him about the technical details of Turtle Boxing with great interest, showing his strong curiosity.

"Please take a seat, Comrade Liu He."

Stalin put down his pipe and asked Liu Helian to sit down. "You look like a very busy man, Comrade Liu He," he said slowly, picking up some documents on the table. "The Civil Aviation Administration said that you will have to fly to the United States next." This trip was no secret to the Soviet Union. Liu Helian nodded and replied, "Yes, I will complete some work according to the organization's arrangements.

"Comrade Liu He is also good at conducting business, and your achievements are recognized throughout the communist world." Liu Helian's partnership with Hammer had made considerable money in Europe and the United States, and the "quick money" generated from the Majiagang Oilfield was truly a dazzling achievement. Stalin praised him generously. "Besides that, you can fly airplanes and design weapons. Oh, my comrade, besides not being able to have children, what else can you not do?"

"Everyone has his own duties. I am only fulfilling my responsibilities. Ha, Comrade Stalin, the Soviet Union has enough oil resources. There is no need for me to mark out any oil fields." "No one will feel that his kopeck is superfluous, Comrade Liukh."

The atmosphere of the meeting gradually became relaxed. As a typical "reception of outstanding talents", the entire meeting basically revolved around "encouraging someone to achieve greater success" and there were not too many confrontations and fights. Next, Comrade Gangtie praised Liu Helian for his significant contribution to the design of the PPLA4O submachine gun, and told him that he would personally nominate the "design of a new submachine gun" as a technical award next year, and enter it into the selection of the "Stalin Prize".

"And what about the other submachine gun? Did you design it, too? Did you name it?"

Mr. Steel had apparently participated in the finalization process for the new weapon and had looked at comparative data on the two submachine guns. "It costs more, but the production time is very short." Comrade Liu He, including many designers including Comrade Tokarev, believed that this was a very creative design. Although there was still a lot of room for improvement, it also sufficiently reflected the ingenuity of the design.

"Would you really like to consider studying in the Soviet Union for a while? The Soviet Union can give you a systematic design course."

Well, Comrade Stalin, this weapon is actually more of everyone's wisdom, a collective creation of Chinese comrades; next, I will probably go to the United States and deal with the French, British, and Canadians.

Liu Helian didn't refuse outright, but instead said, "Obtaining foreign exchange is crucial. Perhaps if I earn an extra cent, I can save a comrade from dying due to lack of medicine and supplies. As for its name, perhaps using the Cyrillic first letter 'k' for 'China' would be a good choice."

Hearing this, Stalin did not respond. He grabbed some salted fish, stuffed it into his mouth along with some frozen onions, and chewed it slowly. "In this case, if you need any help from the Communist International system, you can also ask Comrade Blinski (Ren Peiguo). The Soviet will provide assistance to you and the Chinese comrades to the best of its ability.

"We also look forward to more cooperation between the two sides in various areas. Of course, in the overall context of the war, this cooperation must prioritize the communist cause."

"I understand, Comrade Stalin. But you probably shouldn't ask me about this," Liu Helian feigned innocence. "Perhaps you should contact Mr. Belsky and ask him to pass this proposal on to Vice Chairman Zhou."

"No more annoying bureaucratic chatter here. I really don't like this kind of stupidity, Liu He." Mr. Steel smiled. "There's a lot I can ask you. For example, our tank designer Comrade Kotin really wants to talk to you recently. Because of your little invention, he's been having a really hard time lately... Well, if you have any ideas, you can contact ABTU directly."

"Yes, I will, Comrade Stalin."

Afterwards, Liu Helian, on behalf of the Central Committee, relayed some information on the development of the base areas, handed over some materials, and, based on a script prepared by the Central Committee, offered some insights into the international situation. The talks quickly concluded in this relatively relaxed atmosphere.

After leaving the Kremlin, Liu Helian retrieved a briefcase he had left there from the Kremlin's guards. He crossed the famous Red Square and boarded a Moscow tram.

Next, he needed to go to the Kuznetsky Bridge and divide the contents of the document package into two parts. One copy would be sent to the Soviet Oil Industry Committee via Soviet post, while the other document would be placed in a diplomatic pouch and, according to a previous agreement, sent to a country that had signed a "Non-Aggression and Friendship Treaty" with the Soviet Union.

Well, good luck to them.

Chapter 322: Agent Work (II) "Fleet"

In addition to the copy sent to the Soviet Oil Industry Committee, Liu Helian's other email was naturally intended to be sent to the Germans.

The central government didn't expect to gain anything in exchange from Germany, so Liu Helian didn't receive anything for free with the precise coordinates of his special mining area. In exchange, Germany's Faber Energy Group would exert its influence to release the second set of core air separation components that the Eighth Route Army had previously purchased through an agent. At the same time, Faber would contact its business partner, the renowned Farben Chemical Company, to sell the Eighth Route Army a set of electrochemical production equipment and process designs, allowing them to produce phosgene from their own chlorine byproducts, as well as a large number of insecticides derived from them.

Now that all these items have arrived near the new Soviet-German Line of Actual Control, it's time to send them the second set of materials. At that time, Feiba Energy Group will only need to retrieve the previously received map with a special coordinate system and overlay it with the new materials to obtain relatively accurate coordinates of the North German oil field to be mined. According to later data, there are certain underwater heavy oil reserves along the coast of the Heligoland Bight in North Germany.

Liu Helian believed that the Feba Energy Group, which possessed the German industrial spirit, would be able to use its high-quality engineers in oil-paper bags to break through the shallow sea water depth of less than 30 meters and the oil layer depth of about 2000 meters to extract the precious thick oil as good as Vaseline ointment.

However, he did not know at that time that although this difficult-to-exploit oil field did not have much impact on Germany's defeat as he wished, it did cause a lot of trouble for the British.

After leaving Moscow, Liu He took some companions with him and continued his journey.

If it is a normal flight route, he should go west from Moscow, pass through Europe, and then start a transoceanic flight from Paris or London.

Arriving at his destination—the United States. However, the European battlefield had already begun, and civilian airliners were already struggling to fly. He could only take advantage of the fact that the North African battlefield had not yet broken out and fly south, connecting via Tehran or Istanbul to Cairo, and then taking the North African route to the west coast of the United States. Although this would take a week or two, it was much more convenient than taking a ship.

However, since they had arrived in the Middle East, Liu Helian had no choice but to take his passengers to visit the "Pandaria Canning Co., Ltd."

Mansourai, Yemen, was then a direct colony under the direct control of Britain and a popular holiday destination for British tourists. Now, a large-scale canning factory has been built there, and the fishing harbour, once only able to accommodate small boats, has been transformed into a port with a degree of mechanization.

"Wei! Boss Liu, your business is really big!"

After leaving the Mansourai office and sending several of the assigned comrades to their dormitories to collect their belongings, Liu Helian waited for a convertible car. He took two of his colleagues with him and headed to the Pandaria fishing dock. The Pandaria Company had already negotiated a deal with the colonial governor to rent a portion of the port as a factory unloading dock. The factory and dock would be connected to facilitate the processing of the fish.

As soon as everyone's car drove into the port area, someone sitting in the car sighed like this.

"Now that the trial production has been completed here, the production capacity is steadily increasing. Mr. Yang is now able to produce canned prawns, canned fish in oil and canned fish balls.

Anyway, the Russians accept almost everyone who comes."

Liu Helian briefly introduced the current operation of the factory to Mr. Yang and Mr. Qian.

"To be honest, if the Soviet market wasn't so large, our start wouldn't have been so smooth. From this perspective, Pandaria's rapid development was only possible with the assistance of the communist camp."

Both comrades were elite soldiers on the economic front of the Party organization. They had previous experience in business management and were well versed in the essence of international trade. Qian Guangyou had previously worked in areas like Shanghai and Wan Chai, procuring supplies and raising funds for the organization. Hearing Liu Helian's modesty, he patted him on the shoulder with some force and said,

"That's not true. When Lian An opened the Lianhe Bank in Hong Kong, one of the trade channels was through Haojing. That was the result of your efforts, Comrade Xiao Liu, right?"

He turned to "Mr. Yang," Yang Lian'an, standing on the other side, and confirmed, "So even if we don't count the China Resources system, you also played a role in converting the national currency and foreign exchange received by the Eighth Office into supplies—an honor. Xiao Liu should accept it humbly. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't be able to be the general manager of China Resources in the future!"

——--———-

Now the scale of the overseas front is growing, and the operation of the China Resources system is becoming increasingly complex. Although overseas organizations in China and even some Communist Party organizations in other countries have provided assistance to his group, it is impossible to use Zhou Bin and Cheng Enshu as ten people.

Therefore, during this trip to the United States, Liu Helian had a side mission: to bring two key executives, Yang Lian'an and Qian Guangyou, into the China Resources system and to replace General Manager Zhou Bin. To this end, Liu Helian needed to explain the operations of the group's assets to the two incoming senior executives.

"Large food companies often integrate vertically upstream or downstream of the sales chain to control production or sales channels. I've chosen to integrate upstream, into the raw material production process."

There wasn't much to see, as the cans were seasoned, sterilized, and packaged and labeled. The group soon arrived at the fishing dock. Pointing to a cargo ship unloading, Liu Helian explained, "When I was rescuing people in the UK, I searched for ships in places like Glasgow and Newcastle. Back then, the UK shipbuilding industry hadn't fully recovered from the aftermath of the Great Depression, and some shipyards had 'default orders'—ships left over from previous owners."

He pointed to the harbor, where there were many ships on the horizon. "The bigger achievement... let me think, it should be a whaling mothership and a sardine fishing boat.

"The whaling mothership was enormous, over 10,000 tons. It had a crane for lifting cargo, and the tanks originally used for whale oil could be converted to hold fuel, allowing for resupply to the fishing fleet. The sardine boats had processing equipment and cold storage for the catch. Later, I remember Comrade Zhou Bin also had a transport ship built and shipped to India, converted into a refrigerated cargo ship. Once it joined the fleet, the fishing fleet's overseas operations would be extended..."

"Well, right now, it's summer fishing season in Somali waters. Should they be operating offshore?"

"We just went out to sea two days ago!"

A man walked over and shook hands with Liu Helian and the others with a smile. "Hello, directors and bosses, I'm Chen Baiqing. Our mother ship just finished unloading cargo a few days ago, and now it should be unloading small trawlers and purse seine boats from India, Iran, and Somalia to look for fish! This time, Captain Fan from Denmark is in command, and it's my turn to rest."

Director Liu, when will our company be able to complete the expansion of the port? Can we build a 10,000-ton dock after it is completed? Now the dock at Mansouray cannot accommodate our whaling mother ship. It can only be anchored in the open sea and let small boats come in - when that thing is fully loaded, it weighs 18,000 tons - every winter when the fishing season is over, the boat can only be taken by Engineer Min Yifan to Mumbai, India for repairs.

The four people present shook hands, and Liu Helian also introduced Qian Guangyou and Yang Lian'an, who were about to take office, to Chen Baiqing.

Mr. Qian, Mr. Yang, this is the commander of our fishing fleet, Chen Baiqing, China's first 10,000-ton ship captain, the first Chinese captain to complete a commercial circumnavigation of the globe, and the captain of our fishing tender Pandaria. Even the Danish captain of the sardine boat has to obey his orders.

Liu Helian continued, "Min Yifan is our fleet's senior maintenance engineer, responsible for coordinating our fleet's upkeep and maintenance. Oh! We also have a boatswain, Mr. Mao Liang, chairman of the Sailors' Guild, who may not be at the port today. Commander Chen, you've got me stumped on the dock. Getting a berth in Sumanlai is no problem, but building a 10,000-ton dock is a real challenge."

Mr. Mao's with that refrigerated ship, arranging crews for her!" The ocean-going captain from Jiangsu Province was quite easy to talk to. He said nonchalantly, "Oh! I only mentioned the docking station. If there's a berth available, we have cranes on board and at the dock, so we can do some simple maintenance ourselves."

Chen Baiqing is an experienced captain who worked his way up from engineer to second mate in a Danish shipping company before running into the wall of discrimination against Chinese people.

In history, he resigned in anger and transferred to the Wan Chai Customs Fleet to make a living.

After Japan declared war on Britain, he went to Shancheng to work as an engineer after the fall of Wan Chai. Now, he was connected with the party organization through the fire and water insurance system and the seamen's workers' movement system. With the support of Liu Helian, he passed the 10,000-ton ship license and realized his life goal.

Therefore, he cherished this opportunity to truly command an ocean-going vessel and truly regarded this work as his life's work. In addition to operating the ship and commanding the fleet, he also planned to record his knowledge and experience in a written archive to educate future captains.

As they walked, everyone listened to him introduce the current situation of the fleet.

Director Liu, aside from a few British engineers and Danish navigators, the entire fleet is comprised primarily of Chinese personnel hired by Chief Engineer Mao and I. The Japanese blocked access to the mainland, leaving many sailors unemployed. I have connections for senior officers like the first and second mates, but Chairman Mao Liang is in charge of the common crew.

"Are they being treated well now? Is their work going well?" Qian Guangyou asked. "The working environment at sea is harsh. We can't afford to mistreat the crew."

"Compared to other ships, it's pretty good. Director Liu gives everyone very good salaries and allowances. We have offices in Mansoura, Mumbai, and Karachi, so everyone can go ashore to rest, send letters, and see a doctor. It's pretty good. But there are always some rough seas out there."

Chen Baiqing didn't hide it. He pointed to the lush vegetable patch beside the factory. "For example, after going out to sea, leafy vegetables spoil very quickly, even in cold storage. Sometimes, just by opening the door to get vegetables, hundreds of kilograms can go bad in a few days, leaving everyone with only a few bean sprouts and onions to eat. But Captain Fan from Denmark is used to it. Haha, he could eat a bag of onions as a vegetable for a whole month without getting tired of it."

"Our sailors are basically from the seafarers' gangs of Jiangsu, Fujian, and Zhejiang provinces, and they can handle waves better than the coastal sailors from Wan Chai and Southeast Asia." Chen Baiqing's face twitched as he finished speaking. "They're just the apprentice sailors you, Director Liu, shoved over here, and they're not even as good as the ones who sailed to Southeast Asia. They're certainly hardworking, but some have only been on sailboats, and some even get seasick. Just how bad is that?"

Uh. Liu Helian felt a little embarrassed. These cadets he'd used his connections to get here weren't just any other naval cadets, but naval cadets selected from the New Fourth Army by domestic organizations. They certainly weren't as good as these seasoned sailors, accustomed to the sea. Therefore, he could only smile wryly and explain to them, asking "Commander Chen" to help guide these newcomers.

"I'm not as good-tempered as Chairman Mao. Anyway, I'm very strict. I worked my way up on the foreign cargo ship. If they don't meet the standards, I won't let them work. Director Liu, even if you say so, it won't work." Chen Baiqing crossed his arms and emphasized. But then, he frowned, as if suddenly remembering something, and became serious.

"What's wrong, Commander Chen?" Liu Helian asked.

Now that you mention foreign cargo ships, I remember something." Chen Baiqing stroked his stubble and tapped his palms. "Director Liu, Mr. Qian, Mr. Yang, I recently heard that war has broken out in Europe. The British are looking for large cargo ships in India for military use. Even if they're not used for military purposes, they're installing guns on them, claiming it's to protect against German submarines and raider ships."

"Sometimes when we go out to sea, we do fly the Union Jack. What would we do if the British came and wanted to mount guns on our ships and start a war?"

Chapter 323 Agent Work (3) Overseas Work Results

Chapter 323 Agent Work (3) Overseas Work Results

Flying, flying, a long flight. After finishing his work in Yemen and the Gulf of Aden, Liu Helian's passenger plane finally took an even longer flight. He crossed the long North African coast, where yellow sand and oases met, stopped in Gibraltar, turned around and flew across the vast Atlantic Ocean, finally arriving on the east coast of the United States, just like the British back then.

Soon, he, Qian Guangyou, and Yang Lian'an arrived at China Resources' New York office. Zhou Bin, the current general manager of China Resources and the group's president, would be waiting for them. "Comrade Zhou Bin, hello! Long time no see, truly long time no see."

"Comrade Liu Helian, thank you for your hard work!"

From 1938 to mid-1940, Zhou Bin, a former instructor in the Industrial and Mining Movement, head of a consumer cooperative, Minister of Economy in the Soviet Area, and president of the Soviet National Bank, transitioned to general manager of China Resources, the overseas agency platform for the Eighth Route Army. He was responsible for the actual operation and management of a series of companies. Over these two years, he collaborated with Cheng Enshu, traveling extensively across the United States, Europe, and Asia, even to Southeast Asia, to expand business for the company. He proactively cultivated various business partners and upper-middle-class individuals, connected with overseas Chinese communities, united forces where possible, and gathered a wide range of information, fully utilizing his talents in economics and finance.

If Liu Helian relied on his control over later materials and history to predict the future and make arrangements in advance at key nodes, then Zhou Bin relied more on the organization's network of contacts and intelligence information integration capabilities, combined with his own economic knowledge, to make accurate business decisions. It can be said that he was the first to be credited with putting China Resources' operations on the right track.

The Communist Party was very efficient. After Liu Helian introduced the three people present, everyone quickly held a brief meeting in the conference room to discuss the next work.

The leadership handover of a medium-to-large corporate group is a rather troublesome matter. Even with the instructions of the central government and the presence of director Liu Helian, in addition to the transfer of a large number of documents and files and power decision-making, it will also involve many specific situations that cannot be reflected on paper. It requires the two generations of leaders to communicate with each other without reservation to achieve a seamless connection.

Zhou Bin first gave a briefing to the three people, then pressed a button to summon his secretary to bring a document that was more than a person's height into the conference room, and also brought various office supplies and water and food to facilitate the review of the key information that had been categorized. He sat down aside, ready to answer any relevant questions that arose during the process at any time.

So, what did Zhou Bin do during this period of time while leading China Resources?

Besides the development and operation of several major trading and food companies, the most important issue is the operation of the Majiagang Oilfield. To date, the £20 in proceeds from the transfer of the Cynopac assets at the Majiagang Oilfield have been converted into bearer bonds (sterling call certificates) issued by AP and Shell Oil, which have been pocketed by China Resources Group. This effectively injects the company with liquidity equivalent to that of three Prince George V-class battleships.

While this liquidity isn't equivalent to money and can't be spent arbitrarily all at once, it does represent purchasing power equivalent to the British pound within the entire Commonwealth system, and more importantly, it represents the strength of the agency. Zhou Bin then used the many arrangements and plans left by Liu Helian to carry out a variety of tasks.

For example, they used the "Stinky Toe-Stout Aviation Company" under Ford to make certain modifications to the British aircraft purchased for the Eighth Route Army. At the same time, they took a time machine to replicate the DHC-2 "Beaver" and DHC-3 "Otter" from the Canadian de Havilland Company.

As soon as these two aircraft were launched on the market, they were well received for their convenient short-range takeoff capability, excellent water/airport adaptability and rugged quality. They even participated in the "Light Liaison and Observation Aircraft" bidding organized by the US Army, competing for the "Artillery Observation Aircraft" and "Corps Observation Aircraft" sub-items.

According to Zhou Bin's feedback, the "Beaver" successfully secured a contract with the US Army. The Navy, upon hearing the news, also expressed interest in the "Water Skimmer," suggesting it could replace Grumman's J2F "Duck" aircraft to free up production capacity at the Cat Aircraft Factory. Perhaps these two aircraft would later enter service with the US Army and Navy as observation aircraft and frontline amphibious transport aircraft—naturally, they could also be procured by Liu Helian to fly infiltration flights between bases in the border regions.

But as they say, a tall tree attracts the wind. Even though Cheng Enshu, who was in charge of defensive strategies, was skilled in his tactics, he still attracted some strange things. "Lin Hele? Why did he come to us?"

Although Liu Helian was a director of China Resources, he had recently been busy with domestic industrial development and the financial war before the February Incident. He had a lot of unread reports. However, the name that appeared in the file was a name that he was very familiar with, both in the past and in the present.

"He also contacted Fairchild Semiconductor? Comrade Zhou Bin, Mr. Lin Hele, I remember him being a literary scholar specializing in preserved fruits. What did he come to us for? Was he seeking sponsorship to publish a collection of his works?"

Fairchild Semiconductor was a longtime partner of China Resources. This company, later renowned for its electronics technology, was now a "general store" specializing in specialized optics and precision machinery. They produced a wide range of products, from 1.8-meter high-altitude reconnaissance lenses to Fresnel lenses for lighthouses, from home camera shutters to non-standard gears. The reconnaissance lenses for Eighth Route Army reconnaissance aircraft were ordered from Fairchild. Meanwhile, Lin Hele was the master creator of works like "Moment in Peking" and "The Laughing and the Sorrowful," a linguistic expert who compiled the "Contemporary Chinese-English Dictionary," and a Western-style intellectual who engaged in a heated debate with Mr. Guo and ultimately received his rebuke. These two sides, one literary and the other philosophical, seemed unlikely to intersect.

"Oh! Comrade Xiao Liu, you may not know that Mr. Lin Hele is not only a writer and translator, but also a mechanical inventor!"

At the mention of this, Zhou Bin skillfully pulled out a document and handed it to Liu Helian, introducing it. "He used the royalties from his works to invest and independently developed a Chinese mechanical typewriter called the Mingkuai Typewriter. However, due to a lack of production capacity, he came to the United States to seek investment. In the United States, you know, if it weren't for our membership in the International Business Association, we would be very restricted. Mr. Lin wouldn't be able to get any investment and wouldn't be trusted. Fortunately, Mr. Chen Jiageng, a leader of overseas Chinese, thought this machine was promising and recommended it to us, hoping we would take a look."

Zhou Bin had obviously done a lot of homework. He pointed to the clearly drawn three-view drawing of the parts and the motion trajectory diagram in the document and introduced it to the three people present: "This machine has six rollers, each of which has six sub-axles, driven by mechanical gears. It can store 8,640 Chinese characters. The keyboard buttons are based on Mr. Lin Hele's original fractal search method. Compared with the disc-type typewriter, it is much faster.

"This thing is quite innovative, but it's too complicated. It has a ton of unusual gears and structures inside, requiring customization, and it also requires electric power. It's practically a mechanical calculator! Even in the US at that time, only large companies like IBM could produce it. However, these companies felt it was unprofitable to spend so much money producing a typewriter for a language that wasn't widely used. Ultimately, we had no choice but to approach Fairchild, who were willing to give it a try."

"Now, if we calculate it all, mass production will cost at least $50,000, and each machine will cost at least $400 to manufacture - who can afford that!" Zhou Bin sighed, "Personally, I still hope it can be mass-produced. Although it can't compare to the things we have in the base, after all, those things can't be taken out..."

Liu Helian looked at the dizzyingly complex mini roller axis in the picture and understood Zhou Bin's feelings. Considering China's current international purchasing power, this device, which is almost as complex as a mechanical calculator, is indeed a "loss-compensating" thing from a conventional business perspective.

However, if it was manufactured, Liu Helian knew that the Eighth Route Army would definitely not be required to pay for it. Even if Guo Jian couldn't afford much foreign exchange, the great philanthropist Luo would probably help pay for these insignificant typewriter expenses when he provided supplies to Chiang Kai-shek through the Lend-Lease Act.

"Actually, I don't think there's any need to be so pessimistic. Even if it's a mechanical typewriter, I think the market for Chinese typewriters is still quite large." Liu Helian pondered for a moment.