Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 1263: Spend Little Money to Do Big Things (Second Update, Please Subscribe)

We want one too!
It’s not just a nice to have, but a must to have!
Only after seeing it with your own eyes can you feel the power of Nanyang. The impact of Nanyang's industrial civilization on Park Jung-woong and others who came from an agricultural country was unprecedented.

After all, at that time, South Korea was the least developed country in the world - its economy was not even as good as that of the newly independent African countries.

Although they had been to the United States and witnessed the industrial power of the Blue Planet, which was the No. 1 country at that time, that was the United States, and they were mentally prepared before going there.

But the situation is different in Nanyang, as Nanyang was founded only 16 years ago!

For Park Jung-woong and his companions, what they saw was like a country full of science fiction. Factories stood on this land. The power of industrial civilization nakedly impacted their cognition and stirred their souls.

We want one too!
And it must be there, and this desire became stronger and stronger during the visit.

In fact, they were not the only ones who suffered the impact. Even Blue Star NO.2 felt the impact. A few years ago, after Khrushchev visited Southeast Asia, he had a "kitchen debate" with Nixon, and then visited the United States and felt the impact of the United States again.

Although he didn't say it, Khrushchev said the same thing there - we must have it too!

Of course, it’s not just Fanta that’s needed… As a byproduct of Khrushchev’s visit to Southeast Asia, Fanta entered the Soviet market a few years ago. With Khrushchev’s endorsement, its sales can naturally be imagined. This carbonated beverage immediately became popular throughout the Soviet Union.

However, many people, including Khrushchev, did not want the Soviets to drink Fanta from Southeast Asia. They wanted the Soviets to live a life similar to that of the people in Southeast Asia.

Just as Park Jung-woong and his companions were stunned by Nanyang's "Industrial Crusoe", another group of people were stunned by Nanyang's wide variety of industrial consumer products.

“What should we bring in?”

Patolichev, the Minister of Foreign Trade, was dazzled by the wide variety of consumer goods after arriving in Southeast Asia.

He came to Nanyang this time with a "consumption voucher". After the Minsk Automobile Manufacturing Plant transferred the maz543 truck technology to Foton Motor Company in Nanyang, the Soviet Union obtained a consumption voucher - it could import technology for civilian consumer products worth 400 million US dollars from Nanyang - this was the contract amount for the transfer of maz543 truck technology.

After receiving the voucher, Patolichev immediately led a group of Soviet experts to Southeast Asia to see what technology could be introduced.

In fact, Foton Motor originally planned to transfer a small car technology to it, but the transfer was vetoed by the Kremlin.

"Soviet people don't need cars yet. Compared to cars, they need consumer goods like refrigerators and televisions more."

The Soviet Union has always had a strong need to import technical equipment and is very eager for Western technology. Although the Soviet military industry and cutting-edge technology are very developed, they are very backward in many fields such as chemistry, automobiles, and electronic equipment, especially in the civilian industry, where there is a serious gap with the West. The Soviet civilian industry cannot even meet the normal needs of the people, and even toothpaste and soap need to be imported.

But after arriving in Nanyang, they discovered something that was very troubling - there were too many types and brands of consumer goods in Nanyang.

There were so many that it made them dizzy and confused.

They are so dazzled by the sight that they really don’t know how to choose these products.

"We had to choose a refrigerator that would be suitable for the Soviet Union and that would be technologically reliable and durable."

So Patolichev and the members of the Soviet trade delegation immediately inspected the refrigerator manufacturers in Southeast Asia. After the inspection, everyone was a little confused because they found that the goods in Southeast Asia were too rich:
"In Nanyang, there are as many as 78 brands of refrigerators alone. Nearly a hundred companies produce a variety of refrigerators. Those refrigerators are of different types, with different functions and prices. If you count the models, there are at least four or five hundred types. How should we choose?"

Faced with hundreds of models of refrigerators, Patolichev was suddenly silent. He couldn't help but complain.
"These Nanyang people are really something. Why do they make so many kinds of refrigerators? Isn't that a waste?"

While complaining, Patolichev also became a little confused. How to choose from so many brands and products?
In fact, the Soviet Union did have refrigerators, the Saratov refrigerator independently developed in 1951. Despite problems such as long thawing time and loud noise, the refrigerator was still extremely popular. After all, it was one of the few refrigerators in the Soviet Union. Last year, its sales exceeded one million units, and it was even exported abroad, mainly to Eastern European countries.

Just when he didn't know how to choose, a businessman came to the hotel where the Soviet trade delegation was staying - the manager of Polar Bear Company. Wang Yumin went directly to the hotel and found the floor where the delegation was. Although he did not speak Russian and it was difficult to find a Russian translator in Nanyang, he still came alone.

"Excuse me, are you from the Soviet trade delegation?"

As soon as he got out of the elevator, Wang Yumin pulled a foreigner and asked. He really found the right person. Although the person did not understand Mandarin, they still made simple gestures and communicated with each other. Soon Wang Yumin arrived at the suite where Patolichev was.

As soon as he saw Patolichev and confirmed that he was the head of the Russian delegation mentioned in the news, he said:
"Mr. Minister, I know the products you are looking for that are suitable for transfer. One of our company's products is very suitable for the Soviet Union. Although it is a single-door refrigerator, it has a freezer and refrigerator compartment..." Wang Yumin appeared extremely confident when introducing his product, and he emphasized this when he took out the instruction manual.

"In 136, the Polar Bear XRT70 refrigerator and its various modified models set a sales record of units in the US market. In the past five years, it has sold more than million units in total."

"It's a product from 1957! Will the technology lag behind?"

Patolichev said.

"The product was put into production in 1957, but after several generations, the technology is still the most advanced. It not only has low energy consumption, but also mature technology and has been tested by the market. We are preparing to upgrade the production line. If you are willing to buy the old production line, we can transfer the technology to you free of charge!"

This was Wang Yumin's purpose. The so-called free transfer of technology was just a bonus. The real purpose was to sell the obsolete production line to the Soviet Union. After learning that the Soviet trade delegation was inspecting Southeast Asia and preparing to introduce refrigerator technology, he became interested. The company's old production line needed to be eliminated. There were two ways to eliminate it. One was to scrap some of the equipment except for some of it being used, especially the production molds. Basically, they all needed to be scrapped. After all, the market no longer needed that product.

Another option is to sell the production line abroad, but which country abroad needs a refrigerator production line?

It can be said that basically no. After all, Western countries basically have their own refrigerator industry, and they will not spend money to buy backward production equipment. As for developing countries... there are not many developed countries that can afford to use refrigerators on a large scale. In this situation, the sudden emergence of the Soviet Union gave Wang Yumin an opportunity.

That's why he took the initiative to come here and ask to meet with Patolichev.

It is very appropriate to exchange old technology and old production lines that have been eliminated by the market for some dollars.

"Our refrigerator technology is at least 15 years ahead of the Soviet Union. Now it just doesn't meet the market's requirements in terms of style. Mr. Minister, in terms of overall technology, it is still extremely advanced."

This is true, at least partly true, and the accompanying Soviet experts also agreed. After all, the refrigerator technology sold on the Soviet market until now is still at the technological level of the late 1940s, which is far from comparable to the technology of Southeast Asia. After all, it is well known that Southeast Asia's technology is far ahead in home appliance technology, even surpassing European and American countries.

"Free transfer!"

Patolichev's eyes lit up and he asked again:
“What is the annual output of your equipment?”

"Nine hundred thousand units. If we adjust the equipment properly, there will be no problem producing one million units a year. If you are willing to purchase, we will ensure that the output is more than one million units!"

Although he had never dealt with the Russians, Wang Yumin knew that the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries attached great importance to production, so he specifically mentioned the annual output of one million.

Sure enough, when they heard about this output, Patolichev and others couldn't remain calm. This was equivalent to creating a Saratov refrigerator factory!

Patolichev asked:
"So what's your offer?"

"$670 million!"

Wang Yumin directly gave a quote and emphasized:
"To build the same factory, you need an investment of at least 2000 million US dollars, plus technology, it will cost about 3000 million US dollars. Now, you only need 670 million US dollars to get such a factory. Mr. Minister, this is definitely a very cost-effective investment."

Without Wang Yumin's reminder, Patolichev knew that this was a very cost-effective investment. Just when he subconsciously wanted to agree, his instinct drove him to raise the price. After thinking about it, he said.

"$500 million!"

"That's impossible. No one bargains like that!"

Wang Yumin said loudly, but what he didn't know was that this was the way the Soviets did business, and 500 million US dollars was already very generous. If it were someone else, they might just cut it in half.

"650 million!"

In this way, Wang Yumin began to bargain with the other party. It took almost several hours for the two sides to reach a consensus. Polar Bear Company transferred its old refrigerator production line and refrigerator technology to them and helped them build a factory.

Afterwards, Patolichev reported the matter to Moscow. Just as he had guessed, faced with a refrigerator factory with an annual output of one million units and technology obtained free of charge, even though it was backward technology, Moscow still chose to agree. After all, lagging behind in the Western world does not mean lagging behind in the Soviet Union. Moreover, spending little money to accomplish great things is something the Soviet Union likes the most!
(End of this chapter)