"What are you looking at that's so captivating? Didn't you say you had a headache and were going to sleep?"
Chen Yang, without even entering the house, squatted by the doorstep and tore open all three letters. Shen Xue came out and saw him still squatting at the entrance instead of going to bed, finding it a bit strange, especially since Chen Yang had been dozing on the donkey cart earlier.
"Letters from Dad and eldest sister."
"And one from Zhang Weiyang. The factory site in Jiangsu Province has been chosen and the plant construction has begun. Director Zhao Weimin over there even said he'd see if we could get a production line."
Reading the descriptions in the letter, Chen Yang was surprised. He hadn't expected Director Zhao Weimin to be so decisive, directly approving land for building the factory.
"I don't understand business, but Weiyang is steady in his work. After your college entrance exams, take some time to go back to Jinling to have a look."
"You can't be a hands-off boss every day, letting Weiyang do everything. That's not quite right."
"Besides, some things require you, as the boss, to make decisions. Although we all trust Weiyang implicitly, people can change. You need to be aware of that." Su Dan Xiaoshuowang
Chen Yang listened to Shen Xue's words, feeling somewhat astonished.
Everyone said a woman becomes foolish for three years after giving birth. How come his seemingly foolish wife was now advising him? And her logic was quite clear and reasonable.
"Don't worry, Baoguo is still by my side. Trust is paramount; if you don't trust someone, don't employ them. But I will go have a look after my exams. You're right, one must invest thought into one's own business."
Chen Yang replied to Shen Xue. He had great trust in Zhang Weiyang. Of course, even if Zhang Weiyang were to make some minor moves, Lei Baoguo was there to keep an eye on things.
However, the production line mentioned in Zhang Weiyang's letter seemed quite difficult to Chen Yang. If he were to manufacture home appliances, it would certainly be necessary, but China lacked machine tool manufacturing technology.
Today's China, while much better than the impoverished state at the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic, was still limited. Forget about cutting-edge technology; even a complete home appliance production line would be hard to build.
Of course, we would catch up quickly. In the next forty years or so, we would rapidly transform from an agricultural nation with an insignificant global economic ranking into the world's largest manufacturing power.
No one would have predicted that in such a short span of decades, our country would become the only nation in the world possessing all industrial categories classified by the United Nations.
With a total of 41 major industrial categories, 207 intermediate industrial categories, and 666 minor industrial categories, we formed an independent and complete modern industrial system.
This was unavoidable, as our predecessors had suffered immensely from having nothing and needing to rely on others for everything.
When our technicians were developing fireworks, they couldn't even find a single computer and had to rely on abacuses. When we wanted to make various precision instruments, many production and research equipment were completely absent, requiring imports through various channels from other countries.
For a very long time since the founding of the nation, our country had to exchange meager agricultural and sideline product exports for foreign exchange to purchase foreign equipment.
Precisely because we had nothing and needed to rely on others, and endured countless resentful glances, this instilled a profound sense of insecurity in everyone.
We needed to have everything, to build everything, which eventually led to the current status as the world's largest manufacturing power.
Of course, all this is in the past. Chen Yang knew that although Zhao Weimin was willing to help, at this time, especially with the reform and opening up just beginning, no one dared to interact with foreigners recklessly.
Even if Zhao Weimin could find foreign collaborators for Chen Yang, he wouldn't have enough funds to purchase a production line.
Interacting with foreigners required foreign exchange.
Let alone Chen Yang's meager assets, even many large state-owned enterprises at present had to lobby their respective superior departments to compete for foreign procurement of equipment, and it was uncertain when they would even get a chance.
Therefore, Chen Yang knew his own situation. Building the factory now was just constructing a basic shell. Producing simple processed goods would be fine. Only when there was sufficient capital could they afford to import production lines.
However, the Shanghai Television Factory had already successfully imported the country's first color television production line from abroad last year. When it would successfully be put into production and produce color TVs remained a question.
In 1980, the state-owned Changhong Machinery Factory, amidst the vigorous military-to-civilian conversion activities, handed over its airborne fire control radar construction tasks and imported a color TV production line from Panasonic, quickly achieving scale.
This was the advantage of old-fashioned machinery factories. They possessed the most skilled workers. Although the production direction changed, the workers' skills were not wasted and they quickly adapted to the new production tasks.
The color TVs produced by Changhong Group would hold a significant place in the Chinese home appliance market for decades to come.
Similar examples included Jinling's Panda brand televisions, Shanghai Television Factory's Jin Xing brand televisions, Beijing's Peony brand televisions, and Shanghai Radio Factory's Feiyue brand, among others.
But unfortunately, during the same period, Japanese brands like Sanyo, Hitachi, and Panasonic accounted for nearly 80% of the entire Chinese television market share, a truly despairing figure.
They easily produced a television set using some inexpensive components and exported it to China, directly exchanging it for a substantial amount of hard-earned savings of the Chinese people.
In those days, a black and white television set cost at least several hundred yuan, often over a thousand. As for imported color TVs, they were generally two to three thousand yuan each.
What was the average income of the Chinese people at that time? An income exceeding thirty yuan a month was likely only for some workers. As for farmers, forget about televisions; they couldn't even afford radios.
For a long time in the future, from large items like home appliances, mobile phones, and cars to everyday necessities such as shampoo, beverages, clothing, and shoes...
Nearly 50% to 60% of the brands that Chinese people were familiar with and constantly used were foreign brands.
They established factories in China by paying a minuscule price, then hired Chinese workers to produce products under their brand names.
Subsequently, utilizing their substantial capital strength, they easily defeated Chinese domestic brands, rapidly capturing market share, and profiting from the pockets of the Chinese people in every aspect.
In later generations, many Chinese people envied the lives of foreigners. They worked no more than 40 hours a week, and from birth to death, their children enjoyed various government subsidies.
From education to healthcare, they received unemployment benefits when jobless. However, some things couldn't be thought about too deeply. Why could they have such affluent lives without working?
Was it simply because their ancestors' wealth was accumulated through persecution, colonization, and plunder? That alone was far from enough.
The primitive capital they accumulated through bloody plunder, along with their brand dominance and technological monopolies, was merely another way for them to output capital and reasonably extract wealth from other countries and peoples.
This was precisely why Chen Yang did not want to engage in real estate and wanted to focus on manufacturing. Practical efforts can strengthen the nation!