Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 1318 Making Money Business is Not Shabby (Third Update, Please Subscribe)

On December 12, after seeing Li Yian off at the Moscow airport, Khrushchev did not go directly back to the Kremlin, but went to the Soviet Automobile Research Institute.

At the Automobile Research Institute, Khrushchev saw the car that Li Yian had mentioned.

After standing next to the car and looking around for several times, he asked:
"This is the new Volkswagen, isn't it?"

"Yes, this is a car that the trading company just imported from Southeast Asia a month ago."

"How about this car?"

"how to say?"

Grachev, the institute's director and an automotive engineer himself, said:
"This car is awesome. It's a very simple car, but when put together it's a very good car. The 1.1-liter 59-horsepower four-cylinder engine gives it a top speed of 150 kilometers per hour. It's extremely reliable and, according to our tests, it's suitable for driving on both well-paved roads and relatively muddy roads."

Grachev said:

"We imported the Canadian model, which is mainly sold to Canada and other countries. To adapt to local road conditions - for example, the roads are too muddy and the brakes are easily covered with mud, they use more solid drum brakes instead of the original disc brakes, which is also in line with the road conditions in the Soviet Union. Not only that, the car's heating and circuit systems are also very suitable for the Soviet weather."

When talking about the design of this car, Grachev was filled with emotion. He could not imagine how a car company in Southeast Asia could modify its cars specifically for the environment of a certain region?

This is so capitalist!

In fact, what he didn't know was that this was one of the characteristics of the "Nanyang Production Model", a unique modern production method created by Nanyang. This method emphasizes the goals of "zero inventory", "zero defects" and "zero waste" through the "Kanban" system, "5S" management, lean production and other means.

At the same time, because of "zero inventory", production can be adjusted according to orders, and products suitable for a certain region can be produced in a targeted manner. This is also the reason why Nanyang products have entered the international market and are sought after.

Khrushchev asked:

"You mean to say that this is a very suitable car for the Soviet Union?"

"Yes, even if it needs to be modified, the changes are not much. Moreover, the 1.1-liter engine used in this car has extremely excellent fuel efficiency, which is more than 20% more fuel-efficient than European and American cars of the same displacement!"

Although the Soviet Union did not care about fuel consumption at all, after all, gasoline was very cheap and extremely abundant in the Soviet Union. But as an indicator, this is still a very good indicator. After all, fuel efficiency and durability have always been the characteristics of Nanyang cars.

"Not only that, in terms of overall design, it is also a world-leading family car. It is the world's first car to adopt a front transverse engine, a gearbox and an integrated engine structure, and a McPherson independent front suspension. At present, the front engine front wheel drive chassis design is an advanced technology that even most European car companies have not mastered!"

This is indeed true. The reason why this car is so popular in the market in North America and other countries is because of its excellent performance and low price. The combination of the two is a cost-effectiveness that no one can ignore.

He then emphasized:
"If we introduce the technology of this car, the Soviet Union's car technology will surpass all Western European car companies!"

The subtext is - the car is awesome, and it's the best of the best! If the Soviet Union can import the technology, it will be a great bargain!

In fact, the Soviet Union's car industry was very backward. Although they could learn the design of European and American cars by dismantling them without technical support from foreign manufacturers, and even imitated them, they could come up with plans and produce prototypes, but! The Soviet Union itself did not have the ability to turn it into a qualified product. Therefore, they needed foreign technical help.

Hearing him say this, Khrushchev did not speak, but sat in the car. He felt the space in the car. Although it was not as big as his car, it did not feel cramped at all. Holding the steering wheel, he said to himself:
"Well, it's time to get the Soviets into cars too!"

Finally, Khrushchev made a decision - to introduce automobile technology and production lines from Southeast Asia. Soon his decision was unanimously agreed upon by everyone, not because of reasons such as adjusting the housing distribution method and increasing the fertility rate.

But it is based on another reason - safety.

"…At present, the average monthly wage of workers in the country is 101 rubles. According to statistics from relevant departments, only 40% of workers' income is used for daily expenses, which means that each worker saves more than 700 rubles per year, which matches the average worker's deposit of 2700 rubles. This year alone, the country's new deposits exceeded 100 billion rubles. Due to the shortage of consumer goods, a large amount of funds are deposited in banks every year. The country not only bears huge interest expenses, but also, once a run occurs, it will not only trigger a banking crisis, but also hit the government's credibility!"

Everyone fell silent again at the Central Bank Governor's introduction, and Khrushchev said:

"So, we must produce an industrial product that will make people willingly take out their bank deposits to buy it. This will not only avoid the banking crisis, but also develop industry. So, I think the car is the best choice. Moreover, Americans can drive cars, so why can't we Soviet people drive cars?"

Faced with Khrushchev's proposal, no one would object even if it did not meet actual needs. They almost immediately agreed to the proposal to build a large automobile manufacturing plant. After all, stability is the most important thing. However, faced with the huge expenditure of several hundred million US dollars, everyone was still shocked. Khrushchev then proposed to reduce the cost of importing industrial machinery and equipment by exporting them to Southeast Asia.

The 7.5-ton die-forging hydraulic press that Li Yian had been obsessed with was naturally included in it. Although the export of such cutting-edge machinery and equipment was opposed by the military, they were eventually persuaded.

"It's just a machine. If we don't sell it, they will buy it from the United States anyway. It's just that they will spend more money! By then, even if we want to export it, no one will buy it."

This is a fact - the Soviet Union's technological backwardness is an indisputable fact. Now that people are willing to buy, it is already a good thing, there is no room for refusal.

It has to be said that sometimes even the Soviets themselves did not know that some of their mechanical equipment was extremely advanced. After all, the United States did not have the same equipment until the 21st century. Of course, this is also directly related to demand - this is the biggest drawback of Western countries. If there is no market demand, they will not develop certain products.

When the Soviet Union's top leaders were meeting to discuss this issue, Li Yian was accepting the Nobel Peace Prize in Stockholm. As the only person in the world to have won the Nobel Peace Prize twice, he was naturally proud. In addition to his pride, he also criticized the United Nations system, accusing it of doing nothing in the crisis of major powers.

Even though China has become a permanent member of the UN Security Council, it does not prevent Li Yian from making accusations. This is not called accusation, this is called pointing out problems. Only in this way can we truly promote the reform of the United Nations in the future.

Of course, more often than not, Li Yian called for peace and called on the world to learn lessons from the "Cuban Missile Crisis" and to establish a mechanism to prevent the world from repeating the same mistakes. Such calls naturally earned him warm applause.

He did not stay in Stockholm for a few days. After the award ceremony on the 10th, Li Yian flew back to Chang'an.

On the third day after he returned to Chang'an, he received a telegram from Khrushchev.

"Alright! We have our 7.5-ton die forging hydraulic press!"

When Li Yian said this, he was excited. After all, this die-forging hydraulic press is extremely important to both the aviation industry and the national defense industry. Of course, such a giant press is also needed in the production of turbine rotors.

"This is our biggest gain from our trip to the Soviet Union!"

He raised the telegram in his hand and said:
"It's not just a contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars, but this die-forging hydraulic press will bring about earth-shaking changes to Nanyang's manufacturing industry!"

Be it large aircraft, large titanium alloy parts, or million-kilowatt steam turbine rotors... everything is not a problem, especially titanium alloy parts. Why could the Soviets use titanium alloys to manufacture submarines?
It is because they have giant die-forging hydraulic presses. Two 7.5-ton die-forging hydraulic presses made in the Soviet Union are installed in the Kuibyshev Aluminum Plant and the Verkhovna Salda Titanium Plant respectively. The former is mainly used to manufacture large forgings required for aerospace such as aircraft and rockets, while the latter mainly manufactures titanium alloy forgings, including large forgings required for their all-titanium submarines.

While the Soviet Union was using titanium alloy to build submarines, the United States' SR71 reconnaissance aircraft, which was also made of titanium alloy, was even leaking oil!

"With it, we can make many machines that we couldn't make in the past!"

Obviously, Zhang Zheyuan was unable to realize the importance of this giant machine. Compared with a machine, in the eyes of most people, what is more important is the order from an automobile manufacturer - a huge order worth at least 500 to 600 million US dollars!
The automobile technology can be given to the Soviet Union, but the production equipment will definitely cost money. In fact, even the most advanced automobile technology will basically be outdated by the time the factory is built. After all, automobile companies in Southeast Asia are launching new models every few years.

"Sir, since the Soviet Union will send its Minister of Automobile Industry and his team to Nanyang next month to discuss the introduction of automobile manufacturing plants and cars, shouldn't we make advance arrangements with the companies? Volkswagen can provide automobile technology, but the production equipment will not only involve hundreds of companies in Nanyang, but some equipment will also need to be imported from Germany, which also involves the Batumi Agreement. I think we should make plans in advance..."

Then, Zhang Zheyuan emphasized:
"After all, only by finalizing the contract can we get this very important press back."

Zhang Zheyuan's reminder made Li Yian nod in agreement and said:
"You're right. This is indeed a problem. A considerable portion of the equipment in our automobile production line is imported from Germany or even the United States. If we want to sell it to the Soviets, I'm afraid it will take some effort..."

After a brief pause, Li Yian said:
"Well, let the company figure it out. We just need to provide them with logistical services. This is just a business behavior."

Of course, the country supports it.

If Italy could sell its automobile production line, which included equipment from the United States, Germany and other countries, to the Soviets for $5.5 million, why couldn’t Southeast Asia do the same?

It’s business, it’s about making money!
What's the big deal!
Moreover, even the Americans would certainly come to Nanyang to borrow large presses in the future. When they were building large aircraft, they went to France and asked France to use the 6.5-ton die-forging hydraulic press made in the Soviet Union to manufacture many parts.

This thing is definitely a powerful weapon of a great country!

"So, economic cooperation! It is not limited to Southeast Asia and Western countries. Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe can also have economic exchanges together. Moreover, we can also serve as a bridge between the East and the West. After all... this world needs communication, and it needs a bridge of communication!"

After all, it was almost 1963!
Next year, it will be just as lively!
(End of this chapter)