The Immortal Warrior: From Reverse Engineering to Forging Swords for the Country

Jobs sighed and thought to himself, it seems that it is impossible for me to take shortcuts.

I need to make up my mind now to build a completely independent industry chain in the United States...

However, this involves huge risks.

If Apple wants to build a huge industrial chain, it will probably need to invest huge amounts of money.

But now, Apple’s financial situation is really not very good.

If you invest a huge amount in the early stage but there is no market feedback in the end, you will be in tears.

Jobs naturally knew that today, the industrial hollowing out in the United States was very serious.

It is extremely difficult to develop an industrial chain in the United States.

Nowadays, most physical enterprises in the United States have transferred or outsourced their production to third world countries.

The East Asia region, in particular, is a key area for Aramco's industrial transfer.

Many of the giants in the United States are shell companies.

They only retained the design, R&D and marketing departments, and outsourced all production.

This will maintain a light asset state and ensure maximum benefits.

Generally speaking, countries that rely on finance tend to end up like this.

After all, financial capitalists are greedy and they don't care about the small amount of money made by the real economy at all.

What they are good at is stock market manipulation and currency and futures speculation.

After decades of operation, they now basically control all of Aramco's physical enterprises.

Financial tycoons control the real economy, so they can only use their usual methods to raise stock prices and increase their own profits.

This is also why once Ame's physical giants are controlled by financial tycoons, they often lose sight of the big picture and no longer care about production, but only care about wealth in the stock market.

Apple is now in such an embarrassing situation.

In name, Apple is still led by its founders including Steve Jobs.

But in fact, most of its shares have been occupied by the Squid Zaibatsu.

These financial giants now influence all major policies of Apple.

Jobs thought about it and felt that the future would be difficult.

"Mr. Zhao, I would like to ask, how much share of your factory do you own?" Jobs asked Zhao Jinduo.

Zhao Jinduo smiled and said, "I personally own about 60% of the shares."

Jobs nodded and said, "In this case, you are actually the real boss of this factory."

"If I invite you to invest in some countries in Southeast Asia and build a factory to supply our apples, would you agree?"

Jobs began poaching employees.

Zhao Jinduo frowned. This white man was really direct.

"Mr. Jobs, what you said is a bit too much."

"How could I possibly agree to such a condition?"

Jobs said: "We at Apple can invest $10 million in you. In the future, you can become Apple's main supplier."

Zhao Jinduo's expression became even colder: "I'm not interested in this."

"Besides, I will inform our big boss about what you said today."

Jobs was a little panicked.

He originally thought that as long as he offered some benefits, he could deal with the Chinese man in front of him.

Unexpectedly, people were very disgusted.

In Jobs' eyes, he felt that 10 million dollars was a huge sum of money for the Chinese.

But what he didn't know was that Zhao Jinduo invested tens of millions of RMB in a factory producing touch glass.

Today, the US dollar is declining.

Four or five years ago, one US dollar could be exchanged for six or seven RMB.

Now, almost one US dollar is equivalent to just over two RMB.

The rise of the East and the decline of the West are so obvious.

Only a fool would follow Apple.

"Don't do that. I just want to work with you and help you make more money. I have no ill intentions..." Jobs said.

Zhao Jinduo said: "Actually, if you really want to cooperate, my advice to you is: why not go directly to our boss to talk."

Jobs smiled bitterly: "But they don't seem to want to cooperate with us."

Zhao Jinduo said: "That's because you were too strong before. You are clearly in a weak position, but you always dream of leading the cooperation. That is definitely impossible!"

"Mr. Jobs, we in China have a saying: He who knows the times is a hero!"

"We also have an old saying: When you live under someone's roof, you have to bow your head!"

"The era when you, Amei, dominated the order is basically over."

"Please stop acting like a hegemon."

"It's better to lower your posture."

Jobs sighed. He felt that what Zhao Jinduo said made sense.

When he came to China this time, he finally realized that he had been too paranoid in the past! In fact, China was already strong enough, and even no worse than Amei!
"But, but, is Mr. Zhang really willing to cooperate with Apple?"

Zhao Jinduo smiled faintly and said, "Whether our boss is willing to cooperate with you, he naturally has his own considerations."

"But you have to consider your own situation, right?"

"I'm afraid your future life will only become more difficult."

"If you fail to cooperate with Huaxing, what may be waiting for you is the demise of Apple."

"So, why not give it a try?"

Aramco is now in a state of collapse in many high-tech fields.

Apple has always been a computer technology company.

But their computers have now been squeezed out by IBM to the point where they have almost no market left.

Apple computers have always been known for their high performance and high prices.

However, since IBM chose to cooperate with Huaxing, IBM has crushed the entire domestic market of Ame.

Apple computer sales plummeted.

This is also the main reason why Apple is facing a survival crisis now.

Jobs gritted his teeth, nodded and said, "I will go talk to Mr. Zhang Zhipeng."

"I hope he will grant my request."

After going around in circles, Jobs finally went to visit Zhang Zhipeng again.

When he met Zhang Zhipeng again this time, Jobs had become much more honest.

The first time he met Zhang Zhipeng, he was quite arrogant and domineering.

But this time, he was already very humble and submissive.

This is the cruel reality that taught Jobs how to be a human being.

"Hello, Mr. Zhang, it's nice to see you again." In order to please Zhang Zhipeng, Jobs specially learned a few Chinese sentences.

Of course, he only knows a few words.

Zhang Zhipeng put his hands behind his back, smiled and said, "I thought Mr. Jobs had left our country."

"I didn't expect you to still be here."

Zhang Zhipeng found it very interesting.

Jobs, who had always been arrogant, is now so docile.

This also reminded Zhang Zhipeng of a saying: xx is unreasonable, but once it starts to be reasonable, it is forced into a corner.

Jobs smiled and said, "Mr. Zhang, I came to see you this time because I sincerely hope to cooperate with you."

Zhang Zhipeng asked slowly, "How do you want to cooperate?"

Jobs said: "We hope to work with you to build the iPhone, and then we will sell it in the Aramco market."

Zhang Zhipeng asked: "Then, I would like to ask, what benefits does this bring to us?"

Jobs said: "We can split the revenue. Your company's mobile phone products cannot enter the Aramco market now, but we are Aramco's brand, so we can."

"If you are willing to cooperate with us, then I firmly believe that we can win the market together."

Zhang Zhipeng said: "That is to say: we will produce for you, and then you will be responsible for the sales, right?"

Jobs nodded and said, "Yes."

"We hope to use your processor chips, baseband chips, etc."

Zhang Zhipeng smiled and said, "So, all the hardware will be ours?"

Jobs said, “Yes, it is.”

Zhang Zhipeng said: "But, do you know? Our processors and other chips are all built based on our Hongmeng system..."

"Your iOS is simply not suitable and cannot be compatible."

"Have you ever thought about this?"

Jobs was stunned.

He really hadn't thought about it carefully.

"Oh, can I, um..."

Zhang Zhipeng shook his head and said, "No."

Jobs was choked. He didn't even finish his words when the other party rejected him directly. Jobs said, "Then, can we modify our iOS system to adapt to your hardware?"

Zhang Zhipeng glanced at Jobs and said, "Why are you doing this?"

Jobs stuttered a little and said, "This is because we have always been known for using our own operating system... This is a feature of our company."

Zhang Zhipeng said: "Is this also the main reason why you are having such a hard time now?"

“When running a business, you must not be too stubborn.”

"You still have to learn to adapt, right?"

"If you want to survive, you must learn to compromise."

Jobs sighed and said, "Can we use your operating system, but the external appearance of the system is still iOS?"

Zhang Zhipeng smiled and thought that Jobs was just trying to save face!
He said, "Sure."

"But don't expect us to do OEM for you just by paying a small amount of money."

"I want you to pay us 50% of the wholesale price of the iPhone in your own market in the future!"

In fact, Zhang Zhipeng's condition is already quite favorable.

If it were Ami's businessmen, they would try to gain maximum benefits by draining the pond to catch fish.

Think about the high tax that Gaotong collected from Chinese companies in its previous life. Gaotong only provided a processor chip, and most of the profits of each mobile phone were taken away by it.

The Chinese manufacturers that cooperate with it can only get a little benefit at best.

Jobs' eyes widened, and he shook his head and said, "Sir, you should know that our profit margin is only more than 30% at most."

"You're just taking all the profits away."

"Not only are we not making any money, we're actually losing money."

"Isn't this great?"

Zhang Zhipeng laughed and said, "You don't need to worry about anything. We invest the materials, manufacture the finished products, and then deliver the finished smartphones to you. We only charge half of your selling price. How dare you think that we take all the profits?"

"Mr. Jobs, this is a bit unkind of you, haha!"

Jobs was stunned for a moment, and then he understood what Zhang Zhipeng meant.

What Zhang Zhipeng meant was that the mobile phone would be completely manufactured by Huaxing Group, and Apple would not have to worry about any initial investment at all.

After the mobile phones are produced, they are delivered to Apple, and Apple pays Huaxing Company 50% of the sales price for each unit.

This is indeed very kind.

Apple saves on all costs.

There is no need for even more research and development.

But, is it possible not to have our own research and development?

Jobs thought not.

Even if we cooperate with Huaxing now, it is just a stopgap measure.

"So that's how it is. If that's the case, then we can accept it."

Zhang Zhipeng smiled and said, "That's right! When we Chinese do business, we always focus on win-win situations!"

"We make money ourselves, and we must also let our partners make money."

"Yeah! So it's settled?"

Jobs felt like he was in a dream.

Did the deal go so smoothly?
This was a little unexpected for him.

Jobs quickly asked, stammering, "So, can we sign the contract now?"

Zhang Zhipeng nodded and said, "Okay!"

Jobs then asked: "If we sign a contract now, when can we expect to get the first batch of iPhone products?"

Zhang Zhipeng said: "In two months, we can deliver the first batch of iPhones."

"When the time comes, we will exchange money for goods."

"You just pay the price you reserved. If you raise the price in the future, you have to compensate us. But if you lower the price, it has nothing to do with us."

How can we get the first batch of products so quickly?
This speed is not satisfactory.

“So, how many products can we order at one time?”

Zhang Zhipeng said calmly: "The minimum order is at least one million units."

Jobs asked again: "So, I want to know, when will your own full-touch smartphone be available for sale?"

"Our smartphones will probably be available at the end of this year or early next year," Zhang said.

"Then you can see how enthusiastically smartphones will be welcomed in our market."

Just like that, Jobs and Zhang Zhipeng signed an OEM agreement for the iPhone to be manufactured by Huaxing Group.

The agreement is signed for 5 years.

According to the personal plan set by Jobs, he was prepared to work hard for the next five years and seize the time to thoroughly study Huaxing's products so that his own self-developed smartphone technology could catch up with or even surpass Huaxing Group.

By that time, Apple will naturally continue to go its own way!

Our current cooperation with Huaxing is just a temporary and helpless choice.

Zhang Zhipeng also knew what Jobs was thinking.

But he didn't care at all.

Because Zhang Zhipeng knew what kind of people those chaebols in Amei were.

When those guys find that they can make money without doing anything, they will definitely not want to endure hardships and make huge investments to pursue technological advancement.

……

Time flies, and in a blink of an eye it was the end of December 2000.

On this day, Zhang Zhipeng received a call from Guo Zaijie, director of the Science and Technology Commission.

Guo Zaijie said on the phone: "Comrade Zhipeng, our aerospace department is now studying the first manned space flight, and now everything is almost ready."

"They want you to go over and give them some guidance. Is that okay with you?"

Zhang Zhipeng naturally agreed readily.

China's aerospace industry has now conducted two spacecraft test flights, both of which were great successes.

In particular, the successful launch and return of the second Shenzhou spacecraft greatly excited the people of the whole country.

The success of Shenzhou 2 occurred in early 2000.

Shenzhou 2 was already preparing for manned space flight.

So far, everything is fine.

After the aerospace technology company decided to launch two more unmanned spacecraft, it planned to start its first manned space flight.

Zhang Zhipeng was very pleased with this.

Manned space flight is a major step forward in the space industry.

Although NASA and Amy achieved manned space flight decades ago and set many records.

However, in the past ten years or so since the end of the confrontation between the two superpowers, there have actually been no super technological breakthroughs in manned space flight.

To date, Amei has been constantly throwing out various gimmicks regarding space exploration.

But they really haven't made any eye-catching progress in this regard.

Zhang Zhipeng thought that it was time to start preparing for the great project of manned lunar landing.

In previous lives, this task could not be accomplished until 2030.

When Zhang Zhipeng traveled back to the 1990s, he was still a nobody.

In this life, Zhang Zhipeng feels that he should realize this great project ahead of schedule.

Zhang Zhipeng flew to Beijing immediately.

When he got off the plane, he saw Guo Zaijie and Chen Kainan, the head of the Aerospace Technology Company.

"Comrade Zaijie, Comrade Kainan, long time no see!" Zhang Zhipeng greeted the two.

Guo Zaijie shook hands with him and said with a smile: "It's mainly because you are too busy!"

"No time to see old friends like us, haha!"

Chen Kainan said: "Comrade Zhipeng has done two major things recently."

"One is the launch of a fully touch-screen smartphone. Such a phone is very desirable!"

"Another thing is that China has taken the lead in 3G standards, which is very important to our country."

Zhang Zhipeng smiled and said: "Mobile Internet is likely to be an important direction for the development of the new economy in the future! Whoever dominates mobile communications will have a better future."

"We were lucky to have started early, so we were able to dominate the beginning of the mobile communications era."

"But now we can't relax at all."

"If we don't keep working hard, we risk being caught up or even left behind."

Guo Zaijie nodded and said, "What I admire most is your sense of crisis."

The three of them got in a car so they could discuss some issues in the car.

Chen Kainan introduced to Zhang Zhipeng the current status of China's aerospace industry.

In the past two or three years, China's aerospace engineering industry has developed quite rapidly.

High-thrust rockets are developing rapidly and have formed a series.

Today, China's rocket technology is world-class.

At the same time, a mature manned spacecraft has been developed...

PS: Here is today's update. Thanks to everyone who has been supporting me. (End of this chapter)