A Man of Science and Engineering in Troubled Times Wandering in the Late Qing Dynasty

After Li Yu's cruise ship arrived in the United States, Feng Ru immediately started relocation work. With a special ship, there was no need to worry about the carrying capacity. He even dismantled an already produced aircraft and shipped it together.

At the same time, several scientific celebrities in the United States expressed their hope to take this cruise ship to visit China when telegraphing with Li Yu.

Of course Li Yu agreed.

So Bell, Tesla, and Kodak founder George Eastman formed the "China Expedition Team" and prepared to "ride" Li Yu's ship to visit China.

Li Yu wished they would waste more time. The original purpose of buying this ship was partly for radio testing, but also for transportation convenience.

Li Yu is not short of money now, and knowing the future situation, he is not stingy at all in spending money.

Although the national power of the Republic of China was very weak, the charm of Eastern culture throughout the Republic of China was very attractive in Europe and the United States, and many foreigners wanted to come and see it.

Li Yu can't care about the others, but I really feel that more people from the scientific and cultural circles should be involved. It will be helpful for them to speak out in special times after returning to China in the future.

Bell and Eastman sent telegrams, hoping to visit Shanghai, the legendary first city in the East.

Li Yu had no reason to refuse.

It just so happens that I have recently received a lot of telegrams from Datong University, industrial associations, and celebrities in Shanghai, and I should deal with them.

Taking the Jinpu Railway south is very fast and you can reach Shanghai in one day.

Li Yu first went to Datong University and continued to teach the radio courses taught at Peking University and Tsinghua University several times here.

In my spare time, I came to the Industrial Association and met several businessmen who were preparing to build enterprises, including Tan Kah Kee, the famous patriotic entrepreneur, educator and founder of Xiamen University who had just returned to China.

After meeting Li Yu, Tan Kah Kee said: "I have known about the reputation of academicians for a long time. Last year, Mr. Sun passed by Singapore when he returned to China. I thought I would see you. Unexpectedly, Mr. Sun said that you took the train directly back to China."

Li Yu smiled and said: "I have also admired Mr. Chen's name for a long time."

Tan Kah Kee said: "I didn't expect that the domestic situation would change so quickly. As soon as I boarded the ship, I received the news that Yuan Shikai would become president. Fortunately, after arriving, I heard that Song Jiaoren had another majority in the National Assembly."

A few months later, Yuan Shikai would assassinate Song Jiaoren, triggering the second revolution. Li Yu didn't want to talk about these funeral events, so he asked instead: "What business does Mr. Chen have to do when he comes to Shanghai? I read the news, you are preparing to open a school in Xiamen .”

"Yes, it won't take long for Jimei Primary School to be built first," said Tan Kah Kee.

Jimei School is a bit like Tianjin’s Nankai education system, which includes a whole set of schools. Tan Kah Kee chose to start slowly and steadily, starting from elementary school.

Li Yu's approach coincided with his.

Tan Kah Kee continued: "In addition, I am also planning to build a canning factory in China. Then others said that if I join the Shanghai Industrial Association, I can get a lot of business cooperation, so I came to take a look and found that the president turned out to be the young Li Yu academician."

Li Yu laughed and said: "Minister Zhang Jian forced it on me. In fact, I have no management ability."

"That's wrong!" Tan Kah Kee said, "Many people have told me that Mr. Academician's vision in business is extremely sharp, no worse than in mathematics. Every company that follows your arrangements is prospering."

"It's just luck." Li Yu said modestly.

Tan Kah Kee said: "I want to study the game theory of the rumored academician."

Li Yu said: "This book is indeed worth reading by colleagues in the business community, especially the first half. I wrote it in a very easy-to-understand way. It cannot be said to be a guide, but it may be a little inspiring."

"I will buy a copy," Tan Kah Kee said, and then asked, "I wonder what Chairman Li thinks of the canned industry that I want to invest in?"

Li Yu asked: "What kind of can?"

Tan Kah Kee said: "Canned fruit."

Li Yu knew clearly that canned food would have little sales in China. Even a hundred years later, the best-selling product might only be canned yellow peach.

According to statistics, in the era before Li Yu traveled through time, Americans consumed 90 kilograms of cans per person per year, Europeans also consumed 50 kilograms, and Chinese people only consumed 1 kilogram!

But at the same time, China is the largest exporter of canned goods, accounting for a quarter of the world's output. Producing without consuming is quite shocking.

What is in sharp contrast to canned food is watermelon. As the world's largest watermelon producer, all the watermelons produced in China are eaten by its own people, and almost no watermelons are exported.

Later generations do not eat canned food, which can be understood as a dietary habit. The reason why people did not eat canned food in the Republic of China was very simple and crude - lack of money.

Almost until the 1970s and 1980s, ordinary people were reluctant to eat canned food.

When Li Yunlong married his wife, Zhao Gang, who was in charge of daily life, brought out the captured Japanese cans.

Li Yu sighed in his heart, and then asked: "Does Mr. Chen have other industries?"

Tan Kah Kee is a smart man and immediately recognized the flavor in Li Yu's words: "Canned food not work?"

Li Yu said: "If it is exported, of course there is no problem, and the sales volume will even be very good in the next few years, but I still do not recommend investing too much in canning factories."

Tan Kah Kee raised his eyebrows and said, "Why? Since sales are good, why don't we just go into large-scale production?"

Li Yu said: "It is difficult for cans to open up the domestic market, and foreign markets rely heavily on transportation. Unless there is too much shortage of foreigners, they will not go all the way to buy Chinese cans. Including freight, Chinese cans are definitely more expensive than cans from Southeast Asia. .”

"It makes sense," Tan Kah Kee mused, and then said, "I still have some rubber plantations in Nanyang."

Li Yu immediately said: "Rubber is worth the trouble."

Tan Kah Kee said: "But in the global stock market last year, rubber just suffered a sharp price drop."

Li Yu said: "I am in the automobile industry chain. Please believe me, Mr. Chen. Automobiles are definitely a major trend in the future, and the rubber supporting them is naturally also a major trend. A temporary decline will not be an obstacle."

"So confident?" Tan Kah Kee asked.

Li Yu said: "Mr. Chen can read the British and American newspapers. Now the United States is experiencing a car craze. Ford's Model T is selling like hotcakes. It won't take long for the United States to relax the rubber ban."

Tan Kah Kee, who has been in the business world for many years, immediately understood: "Maybe the previous price drop was manipulation by Europe and the United States, hoping to harvest a wave of rubber plantations at low prices."

Li Yu said: "Fortunately, Mr. Chen did not enter the rubber industry in a big way at that time, but now that the automobile industry has officially entered the fast lane, the sooner he joins the rubber industry, the more money he will make."

Tan Kah Kee said: "The cars are selling well, and my husband has also made a lot of profits."

Li Yu smiled and said, "Yes." Li Yu holds a large number of advanced automobile patents, and major automobile companies have to adopt them. Today, nearly 20% of the profits from the entire automobile industry go to Li Yu's LY company.

He has slowly grown into the hidden tycoon behind the automobile industry.

This feeling is very wonderful. You don't need to show your face, but major manufacturers can't do without you, and the safety factor is also high.

Just like everyone in future generations knows Volkswagen, Toyota, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz; but unless they are car fans or industry insiders, few know about Bosch, Denso, Continental, and Aisin.

This is what Li Yu wants.

Tan Kah Kee understood that Li Yu had a high say in the automobile industry chain, and he was right, so he said: "I will focus on the rubber plantation, but since Mr. Academician said that the canning industry can also make money for several years , If you don’t make money, you won’t make it in vain, after all, I need a lot of money to invest in education.”

Li Yu said: "Education will benefit the country and the people for thousands of generations, but it is too expensive."

Tan Kah Kee said: "Academician Li Da devoted himself to education, which touched me very much, and I have long had the idea of ​​​​doing education."

Tan Kah Kee founded Xiamen University and Jimei School, investing almost all the money he earned from industry into them, and his dedication was impressive.

Li Yu stopped trying to persuade him and praised, "Since we are of the same mind, we will support each other in the future."

Anyway, Li Yu didn't want to leave too much wealth. The money earned from industry was used as much as possible on education investment, relief for disaster victims and support for national industries.

The royalties from the Star Wars series, the dividends from the journal "Science", and the salary allowances given to Li Yu by several academies of sciences are enough for Li Yu to live a very high-quality life.

——In short, it’s all foreigners’ money earned.

While the two were chatting, Tang Shaoyi brought one person to the Industrial Association.

"Brother Shucai!" Tang Shaoyi hugged Li Yu enthusiastically first.

Li Yu asked with concern: "How is Brother Tang doing lately?"

"It's great!" Tang Shaoyi said, "Now I realize that being an apartment house is much more comfortable than being the Prime Minister of the Cabinet!"

Li Yu said with a smile: "Brother Tang is in the market, but his heart must still be focused on the government."

"I really don't want to worry about Beijing's affairs right now." Tang Shaoyi took out a pack of cigarettes from her bag, took out a lighter, lit it, and took a puff.

"I remember Brother Tang used to smoke cigars, why did he switch to cigarettes?" Li Yu asked.

Tang Shaoyi pointed to the cigarette in his hand, "Didn't you say many years ago that cigarettes are a good thing and can eliminate the harm of opium? I have never forgotten this. Recently, I contacted a Chinese businessman in Shanghai to produce our own cigarettes. cigarette."

Tang Shaoyi held the cigarette in his mouth and pulled the man next to him, "This is Mr. Jian Zhaonan from Nanyang Tobacco Company. He is planning to establish a branch in Shanghai and establish a new cigarette factory. Well, the cigarettes I smoke are the cigarettes produced by their company." "

Jian Zhaonan stepped forward and said, "I have admired Academician Li's name for a long time. It is a great honor to meet him today."

Li Yu shook hands with him: "Nice to meet you."

Throughout the Republic of China, the domestic tobacco market has been dominated by British American Tobacco Company. Several national enterprises have almost always struggled to survive in the cracks. Among them, Jian Zhaonan's Nanyang Tobacco Company has done better.

Unfortunately, Jian Zhaonan died too early. Later, the Nanyang Tobacco Company was taken over by Song Ziwen during its trough period.

Jian Zhaonan said: "The British American Tobacco Company has only been in the country for a few years, and its products have been spread all over the country, which is quite similar to the opium dumping in the past. Mr. Tang and I really couldn't sit back and watch, so we thought of Li Zhongtang's own method of producing opium to eliminate the opium of foreigners. .”

"Cigarettes are indeed harmful, but if we can completely drive opium out of the market, it will be considered a success," Li Yu said. "But now tobacco is a formal industry, and British American Tobacco will definitely regard your company as a competitor and want to eliminate it quickly." .”

"I have already felt the pressure," Jian Zhaonan said. "To be honest, I founded Nanyang Tobacco Company 7 years ago. It was precisely because of the squeeze from British American Tobacco that I was eventually forced to suspend production at a loss. It was only three years ago that I re-established my company in Hong Kong. Open for business.”

Tang Shaoyi said with emotion: "I have inspected British American Tobacco Company. Their production lines are very complete, and the most important thing is that they have strong funds."

Li Yu snorted coldly: "Are you rich in funds? You didn't earn our money through dirty means."

Jian Zhaonan said: "But we will definitely not be able to compete with them head-on. We can only seek development in price markets that they don't care about."

Li Yu heard his helplessness, and he was even more helpless.

No matter which industry you develop in China, you will face pressure from foreign businessmen, which is extremely difficult.

But the more this happens, the less Li Yu can let foreigners make money easily.

"Although foreign businessmen are powerful, we have an advantage that they cannot touch," Li Yu said.

Jian Zhaonan asked: "What advantage?"

"No matter what they do, they are still foreign merchants!" Li Yu said. "Now that the Qing Dynasty has died, our entire nation is slowly awakening. As long as the products pass the test, they will play patriotic cards in promotional materials and newspapers, such as 'Chinese people suck With China Tobacco's slogan, a large number of people will definitely pay for it."

This was a last resort during the Republic of China, but the Chinese people have indeed been suppressed for too long. They do not expect domestic products to be better than foreign products. As long as the quality is up to standard, a large number of people will naturally pay for them, just to vent their anger.

Jian Zhaonan said: "We will not relax on quality. I have specially imported American cigarette machines that are no worse than British American Tobacco. As for raw materials, I have learned about some channels where I can buy shredded tobacco from the same origin."

Tang Shaoyi said: "I have estimated that in a few years, we should be able to get 10% or 20% of the market from British American Tobacco."

After hearing this, Jian Zhaonan said: "This is already the best situation."

Li Yu smiled and said: "It's too conservative, it's definitely more than that."

In their view, they are thankful to have captured 20% of the stable domestic market. But they certainly don’t know that one-third of the world’s cigarettes will be produced in China in a hundred years…

Tobacco is a purely commercial product, and there is no technical difficulty. If you can persist in the price war, and you have a business genius who is good at publicity and public relations, you can definitely open up the market.

Moreover, the golden age of national industrial development will soon usher in. World War I and the subsequent May 4th Movement left Europe and the United States with no time to visit, and domestic national enthusiasm continued to rise at the same time.

Cigarettes were completely famous on the battlefield of World War I, and the demand was astonishingly high.

The battlefield of World War I was very cruel. It was almost all trench warfare for four years, which was quite depressing. Soldiers hid in dark and damp trenches, and the best way to relieve stress was to smoke.

The militaries of various countries are purchasing large quantities of cigarettes, and British and American companies are unable to supply Europe's cigarette consumption at full capacity, leaving a huge gap.

Therefore, Jian Zhaonan's Nanyang Tobacco Company will be able to sell almost as much as it can produce at that time. The output is the sales volume!

We must seize the opportunity of this barbaric growth, otherwise we will never have the chance again.