Go back to the past and be a schoolboy

Chapter 106 Watson Electric Manufacturing Factory
If Shanghai is the largest city in the Far East at this time, July is one of the hottest months of the year, and there are so many ways to cool off the heat, from simple seaside summer to parks at your doorstep From enjoying the cool air to bathing and swimming, which are common in summer sanitation, there are different living methods at different price points.

"Zhiyuan, come down quickly, don't hide in the house, take a walk, my brother will show you the latest way to cool off the heat." Downstairs in the apartment, Li Tianfu yelled upstairs.

Cheng Nuo is still studying the next lecture schedule. He heard that Leighton Stuart is a teacher in Shanghai and plans to visit him in advance to see what he is like. The Future Academy of Sciences and Yenching University are also door-to-door neighbors, so it is necessary to find out in advance .

Before I could write a few words with the pencil, I was startled by the yelling outside the building, and the tip of the pen was broken when I pressed it hard. I shook my head and had to close the book, and went to the window to explore:

"Old Li, you, the president of the flour union, are quite leisurely and elegant. You are not in the factory staring at business, but you are here to kill me again?"

Li Tianfu touched his nose with a smile: "Brother Cheng, you are my business. You stare at those iron lumps every day, and you can make me a few more bags of flour. Don't get along well with you. The quality of wheat production will naturally depend on you." If you go up there, the money won’t come in a rush.”

Cheng Nuo waved his hand: "You don't want to put a high hat on me. There is still a long way to go before the success of localization. It is useless to tell me these good words. You have to let Maizi listen. Wait a moment, I will Change your clothes and go down."

Coincidentally, as the dean of the Academy of Sciences, Cheng Nuo came to Shanghai to inspect the experimental wheat field in Shanghai to see how it was going.Although the direct person in charge, Guo Shouchun, is not here, this guy also stayed in person for a while, arranged for his personal disciples to be stationed here, and commanded by remote control, so the overall situation is still very optimistic. The localization of American seeds was very successful, and it was realized in the first year. The income per mu increased by [-] kilograms, which made the members of the local flour union very happy.

Aiwujiwu, they welcomed Cheng Nuo very much, even more than they welcomed Cai Yuanpei. After all, the economic benefits are tangible and tangible, and it is a bit false to talk about anything else.

As the president of the trade union, Li Tianfu has been coming here these days to show his friendship as a landlord, and the enthusiasm Cheng Nuo almost couldn't entertain him.

Putting on a Chinese tunic suit that was custom-made not long ago, Cheng Nuo in front of the mirror looked much more energetic. He looked around to make sure there were no mistakes, then opened the door and walked out slowly.

When we first met Li Tianfu, he gave Li Tianfu a bear hug, and his face was wrinkled with a smile: "We brothers don't need to dress so formally when we come here. If you don't know, you might think we are going to Beijing for a meeting, but after all, the loss is In the south, if you have to add a pigtail braid, it will be neither fish nor fowl."

Restoration of Zhang Xun caused panic throughout the country, but Cheng Nuo made people put up a "pig tail" in advance, and he, the "culprit", hid outside the capital. The problem at home should not be a big problem, he just laughed when he thought of it Laughing: "Let's be more formal, lest you, Old Li, lead me to another place. This small body really can't bear it."

Li Tianfu laughed loudly after hearing this: "What I said, I am a decent person with your sister-in-law. In order to treat you well, I have suffered a lot of blood. I just want you to see a different kind of Shanghai. Don't forget to go back. It’s your old brother Li.”

Cheng Nuo shook his head with a smile, a little helpless: "If my brother refers to the Hongkou swimming pool, then I really can't forget it."

"Haha, don't worry, this time it's a serious place." Li Tianfu patted his head, although he was smiling, he didn't dare to look Cheng Nuo squarely, who made a fool of himself last time.

For ordinary people, the price of Hongkou swimming pool is not cheap at all, and it costs two oceans per person each time.Located on Jiangwan Road, close to Hongkou Park, the environment is quite good. Although the pool is not as blue as in the previous life, it is still crystal clear, and it is a good place to cool off.

It's a pity that the pool is newly opened. Li Tianfu has only heard of the name before, but has never been in it. When he asked the union members about the real situation, he just laughed and said nothing.When the two of them bought the tickets and actually entered, they found that this ghost place was full of female guests with children, a small number of them were couples, and it was the first time that two men came here hand in hand, with more or less spots on their faces Awkward.

But this time Li Tianfu is obviously more reliable. The place where Cheng Nuo came is a famous department store nearby. Although it is not big, there are many good things on display, and the most popular ones are a lot of American foreign goods.

After going around and around, I came to a certain counter with the most crowds, pointed at the dark guy on it, and Li Tianfu introduced: "American 'Qiqi' brand electric fan, Brother Zhiyuan, I will buy one for you this summer, blow it up The wind over the Pacific."

The electric fan is very simple, with one motor, four fan blades and an iron base, it can surround the customers with three floors inside and three floors outside, and all of them stretch their necks to look at this foreign product.It seems that I have never seen this stuff.

Cheng Nuo couldn't help being curious, and asked, "Lao Li, does our domestic product have this electric fan? Why do you think everyone has never seen it before?"

Li Laosan pulled two stools. There are so many people, and now it’s too hot. Why don’t you just buy something when you want to buy something, just sit down and explain: “Hey, if we can make this thing, the electric fan It would not appear in this foreign goods shopping mall, and it would have blown its own wind in Shanghai Bund.”

"Then how much is this dark electric fan?" Cheng Nuo asked again.

"It's not expensive. It's a pure American product. It was originally priced at 250 yuan. Later, it didn't sound good, so I added another piece, 250 yuan." Li Tianfu blurted out: "But this thing is really powerful. It's just that the power consumption is a bit fast. , like drinking water."

"Good guy, it's just such a small thing, the price of a small courtyard house in Beijing." Hearing the price, Cheng Nuo was also taken aback. He didn't expect it to be so expensive. No wonder there were so many people watching at the counter, so he paid for it At least, such an expensive thing, even if it is an ordinary university professor, has to weigh it carefully, the price is ridiculously high.

"It's so big, we can't make it in a daze. It's really huge profits. How much flour do you have to sell to earn as much as a fan?" Although he said with a smile, in fact Li Tianfu was ready to spend money to buy one as a gift. Little friend, whether something is expensive or not depends on who is giving it to you.

Just at this time, the appearance of a middle-aged man attracted Cheng Nuo's attention. His figure was sneaky. When he saw the person who was interested in buying a fan, he rushed forward and muttered until the customer looked impatient. With disappointment on his face, until he met the next customer, he immediately cheered up and repeated the above process with a smile on his face.

According to common sense, it is estimated that the salesperson at a certain counter in the mall came to promote a certain new product. It is normal for customers not to buy it, but one should not be so nervous until the real staff appeared and answered Cheng Nuo's doubts.

"Hurry up and get out, someone got in without looking at you, whoever buys your crap, can it spin, is it comparable to foreign goods, is it that your legs are healed and itchy, and you want us to relax you? The guard grinned grimly, and tapped slowly with a short stick in his hand.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, don't.

"Hey, two hundred and fifty yuan for the ocean, do you have any? If you can take out half of it, I will look down on others. If you don't have it, get out, and be careful, I will blow the whistle and call for someone to beat you up!" The guard said. Pick up a short stick and make a gesture to fight.

"I'm leaving now, I'm leaving now." The middle-aged man saw that the situation was not good, so he hurried away, but he walked in a hurry, his legs were limping, and he was panicked like a bereaved dog. The others thought of the guard's words and roared laugh.

Even the guard, as if he had won a great battle, loosened his belt with a proud face, and spat at the man's back:
"If I can't deal with foreigners, I can't deal with you?!"

Cheng Nuo felt a little strange, and intuitively told him that there was something hidden about this man, and it was by no means as simple as it seemed.Seeing that the figure of the middle-aged man was getting further and further away, and he was about to disappear into the crowd, Cheng Nuo hurriedly bowed his hands to the side and apologized:

"Old Li, I suddenly thought of something, I have to go and deal with it myself, I'm sorry for you here, I will invite you to a special table later."

Although Li Tianfu didn't know exactly what happened, he said politely based on the way of advancing and retreating among friends: "Is there any difficulty? Do you want me to call in some people? Let's talk about the dinner later. It's not a day away." .”

Cheng Nuo smiled and said, "It's nothing serious, I just saw an old classmate I haven't seen for many years, and we went to catch up on the old days."

Li Tianfu breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Okay, see you later."

Cheng Nuo nodded, and walked towards the door. Halfway through, he turned around and told him: "Lao Li, don't buy a fan. I've been in Shanghai for a short time. It's a waste to buy it. Remember, it's just buying me. Don't either."

Seeing this, Li Tianfu hurriedly said haha, his little thoughts were carefully considered, and he joked: "Understood, I will send you a big girl later, who will be responsible for shaking the fan every day."

Cheng Nuo smiled helplessly when he saw this, and the friend at the booth was also helpless, so he waved his hands and rushed out.

Fortunately, it didn't take long to say this, and after Cheng Nuo drove out, he could still see the figure of the middle-aged man, trotting all the way and quickly caught up with him.

The incident in the shopping mall obviously had a great impact on the middle-aged man. Just as Cheng Nuo patted his shoulder from behind, the man trembled suddenly, and his leg that was just fine almost limped again.

"I have already come out of the mall, why are you still relentless? Do you want to be relieved after another slap?" The middle-aged man made a sad face, and said the words out of his mouth habitually, and relaxed after seeing the person coming. Tone, turned vigilant: "Who are you, why are you following me?"

Cheng Nuo didn't care about this attitude, and extended his hand friendly: "Hi, I'm a customer who just entered the mall and I'm very interested in your products."

The middle-aged man was overjoyed when he saw this, but he was also desperate. He didn't doubt this at all, so he grabbed him and said, "There is a saying that 'it is better to have a bole than ten good horses. The products of the factory will never disappoint Mr.

Cheng Nuo asked curiously, "I don't know your surname, sir. What kind of products does your factory make?"

The middle-aged man was a little cautious: "My dear Yang Jichuan, the factory is also making electric fans at present, but unfortunately for some reason, it cannot mass-produce, but I guarantee that as long as the husband is willing to order, what we produce is not inferior to foreign products, and the quality is higher , and the price is cheaper.”

In this way, the two chatted all the way, and they arrived at the Watson Electric Manufacturing Factory on Yokohama Road. It was said to be a factory, but it was actually the size of a family workshop, and the workers inside were not enough for two tables to eat.

When the two came in, four or five master workers were still busy assembling the products, but what was strange was that they were not assembling the electric fans seen in the mall.

In the middle, Yang Jichuan took a peek at Cheng Nuo, and after seeing the confusion in his eyes, he quickly explained: "Sir, there is a misunderstanding here. The factory is not mainly producing electric fans at present, but it does not mean that we do not have the strength to produce them."

Cheng Nuo did not directly question this sentence, but walked to the end of the production line, holding an assembled product in his hand, and said in a skeptical tone: "Director Yang, if I am not mistaken, this should be an electric current. The difference between the limit table and the electric fan is quite big."

Yang Jichuan trotted over and explained: "Sir, as you have seen just now, our factory is not big. In fact, fans were produced at the beginning. Unfortunately, the cost is too high, the funds are not available, and the technology is immature. After many life and death, we found a An investor, their request is to let us produce current limiting meters, the ideal is very good, but we must ensure that we can survive first.”

In fact, Yang Jichuan was not a professional mechanical or electrical professional at the beginning. He did not receive professional education when he was a teenager. He has been studying in the private school of his elder brother. He is very talented in arithmetic. He often uses abacus to solve exercises that his peers cannot do. He is known as "Abacus master".Later, as he got older, he did not continue to study in middle school, but went directly to a foreign cloth shop in Shanghai as an apprentice. He was usually taciturn, taught himself various homework after work, and mastered basic scientific knowledge such as English, physics, and chemistry.

Later, I saw that the electric fans on the market were basically monopolized by American products, so I invented it myself. I and my two friends Ye Youcai and Yuan Zongyao pooled up dozens of dollars and bought all kinds of raw materials. From theory to practice, after repeated failures, finally They actually succeeded in producing two fans, but at this time, the savings of the few people are running out, and the investors who finally found them don't take electric fans seriously.

Considering that electricity theft was very serious at that time, their investors simply asked them to make a current limiter, put dreams aside, and talk about bread and how to survive.But Yang Jichuan was unwilling to be mediocre, and came to nearby shopping malls several times, just to find interested customers and change this bad situation.

After Cheng Nuo learned about the experience, he was a little moved. In a sense, this is the first electric fan manufacturer in China. The potential should not only be used in the power limit meter. Come on, you should have already made production films, why not show them to me, if the quality of the products is up to standard, I will definitely order in large quantities, and it is not impossible to become your new investor."

Yang Jichuan was a little excited when he saw this, and he trembled when he spoke on a hot day: "We have made electric fans, please wait a moment, sir, we will bring them over right away."

After finishing speaking, Yang Jichuan immediately trotted towards the factory area, shouting as he ran: "Xiao Song, old Zhang, quickly bring over the two electric fans we improved last month, we have a big customer coming, hurry up point."

The penetrating power of the sound was so strong that even the roaring machines in the factory area couldn't suppress Director Yang's excitement, and the factory area followed suit, and soon two fans were brought to Cheng Nuo.

Perhaps to show how important he is, the master worker took out two long towels and wiped them again and again, almost wiping off the paint on the electric fan.

"Sir, this is the electric fan funded by our Huasheng Electric Manufacturing Factory. Whether it is smart speed, wind speed, power, utility value or temperature rise, imported products may not be better than our domestic products." Yang Jichuan stroked the fan in his hand, full of pride.

Cheng Nuo was not in a hurry to try the fan, and asked, "Watson Electric Manufacturing Factory, why do you use this? Is there any special meaning?"

Yang Jichuan rubbed his head and said with a laugh: "There is an implication. I won't be afraid of your jokes when I say it. Watson means 'the Chinese nation is self-reliant'. It echoes the self-improvement of our domestic products."

Cheng Nuo nodded and praised: "The moral is very good. I always remind myself that I am a role model for many people in the business world, especially in a place where compradors are in power. It is even more commendable."

Yang Jichuan rubbed his head, and said a little embarrassedly: "We can't control others, we just have to be ourselves, not to mention that the factory is not very proficient in crawling at present, when we learn to walk, we can think about running again."

This is not a lie. Although the two fans placed in front of the table are formed, the overall design is not much different from the foreign products seen in the mall.

AEG fan style designed by Peter Behrens.When Peter Behrens, a well-known member of the German Industry Federation at that time, designed the electric fan for Germany's largest electric factory at that time, the German Electric Appliance Associates (AEG), he mainly started from the functional requirements of the product and assembled it with standard parts to form a large fan that can be used by the machine. The mass-produced products belong to the typical modernist design, and the basic style of the electric fan is determined by this.

Here, it is not an exaggeration to say that the two fans are copied, that is, the paint color is slightly different.

However, in the early stage, there are no restrictions on appearance patents, and it is enough to adjust later, mainly to see if there is any difference in use value.

Here, Cheng Nuo directly ignored this shortcoming. Under the gaze of everyone, he directly connected the power, turned on the switch, and the electric fan started to turn slowly. Although everyone knew the result in advance, they still cheered.

"It's turned on, the electric fan is turned on, look at the wind is much stronger than the cattail fan, it's cool and cool, it makes people like it."

"That's right, look at the wind, the banana fan in his hand may not be as good as our electric fan."

"There must be no electric fan. It can be used when plugged in. My grandson personally ordered the oil on the motor. I have never cared so much about my daughter-in-law. That guy is always struggling."

It's a pity that everyone was not happy for a long time, and then a burnt smell wafted from the fan, and then a puff of black smoke rose quickly, and the fan was malfunctioning and was about to burn.

When Cheng Nuo saw this, he quickly disconnected the power, fearing that the fan would burn up and cause a fire, so it would be a lot of fun.

Yang Jichuan's face was pale, as if grasping at a straw, he hugged the other spare fan, and hurriedly explained: "Mr. Xian, we still have another one. This is guaranteed to be no problem, it will definitely work normally, and the situation just now will not happen again. .”

After finishing speaking, Yang Jichuan inserted the plug into the socket with trembling hands, but after aligning it several times, he still couldn't insert it.

In the end, Cheng Nuo couldn't stand it any longer. With one hand on the wall, he plugged in the socket, turned on the switch, and the spare fan started to spin quickly, but before everyone was happy, the familiar black smoke came out again.

The answer is obvious, the imitation of domestic fans has failed continuously.

Disappointed, hoped, disappointed again.

After repeated blows, Yang Jichuan's heart was completely drained by the black smoke, he knelt down on the ground, lay on the table, opened his mouth slightly, and said nothing.

Seeing this, Cheng Nuo sighed inwardly. The path of the "Chinese version of Edison" is not so easy to walk. Don't be afraid of disappointment, and the disappointment after giving hope is the real despair.

But Cheng Nuo didn't recognize the electric fan at the beginning, but the self-taught man in front of him, patted him on the shoulder, and said softly: "Director Yang, it's okay, we'll just continue later."

Yang Jichuan shook his head, his eyes dull: "No, everything is not like this, the two fans were fine before, but who knows that they lost the chain at the critical moment, maybe as the industrialist said at the beginning, I just Suitable for imitation, not for invention."

Cheng Nuo didn't continue the topic, and asked, "There is something I wanted to ask just now, is our fan too similar to the American Qiqi brand fan? If you don't say it in advance, people might think they are twin brothers."

Yang Jichuan sighed and explained: "In the beginning, in order to imitate better, except for the fan casing, all the parts in it were genuine American products. It is human nature for Mr. to have this idea. American heart."

Cheng Nuo laughed and said, "It's not that we can't do it, it's that they can't do it themselves with American products. The parts are all their own, and we just assemble them. As a result, there are constant problems. It's definitely not something that can be explained by simple acclimatization. , Director Yang, in a factory as big as ours, besides the current limiter, don’t we design and produce our own products?”

The master next to him couldn't help interjecting: "Who said there is no, our Watson Electric Manufacturing Factory has other things besides us?"

"Old Song!" Yang Jichuan, who was awakened by these words, seemed to have regained a lot of strength, stood up again with the help of the table, and said seriously, "Sir, after talking so much, you still don't know your identity?"

Cheng Nuo took out the business card he had prepared and smiled confidently: "Director Yang, let's get to know each other again. My name is Cheng Nuo."

He took the business card, and there were a few lines clearly written on it in thin gold: Editor-in-Chief of "National" and "Youth", President of the Academy of Sciences, Director of the Chinese Sports Association, Director of the China Vocational Education Association, Chairman of the Study Abroad Foundation Professor of Mathematics at Peking University ——Cheng Nuo.

With the business card in his hand, Yang Jichuan read it several times and still felt a little unbelievable, his eyes glowed again.

"Mr. Cheng, our factory is in need of your arrival. Not only do we have current limit meters, but we also have three-phase AC transformers, DC generators, and electroplating DC generators. We often read the mechanical and electrical chapters of "National" magazine!"

(End of this chapter)