Chapter 172 The Wind Rises
Thursday, February 14th is Valentine's Day in the West, and also the Little New Year's Eve of the 1980 Spring Festival (not the Little New Year's Eve in the north, the day before New Year's Eve in the south is called Little New Year's Eve).
This day is a very memorable day , because at eight o'clock that night, the TV station suddenly broadcast an imported TV series without any warning. It was a science fiction TV series from the other side of the ocean called "The Man from Atlantis".
This TV series was released quietly before it was broadcast, and because the TV penetration rate was not high at that time, not many people knew about it when it was first broadcast, so it did not cause much sensation. However, no one expected that with the broadcast of this TV series, it would have such a huge impact on the entire society in just one month.
That night, Song Yuanchao saw the premiere of this TV series on a TV in a household in the alley.
Not many people bought televisions in that era. For example, in the alley where Song Yuanchao's family lived, only three households had televisions. Moreover, every evening when the TV programs were broadcast, they would move the TVs out of the houses and connect the power lines. People of all ages in the alley would bring their own small stools and sit outside to watch the TV programs with relish. This kind of scene is simply unimaginable for young people in the 21st century.
When the TV series started to be broadcast, everyone was staring at the plot on the small TV screen and feeling the cultural impact brought by the show, and Song Yuanchao suddenly laughed.
This drama was actually introduced last year, but it was only officially broadcast now after going through the preparation work after translation.
In his previous life, Song Yuanchao could not remember the exact broadcast time, but he was sure it was around the Spring Festival. But today he actually saw the broadcast of this drama, which made Song Yuanchao feel very emotional.
Mike Harris, Dr. Mary, the highly technological "Tanghulu" submarine, and Mike's dolphin-like swimming style...all of these left a deep impression on people as soon as they appeared.
What's more interesting is not only these, but also the costumes and clothes of the characters in the play have a great impact on people of this era. When Mike appeared on the screen wearing a shirt, bell-bottom pants, and big toad sunglasses, it made people feel that he was extremely handsome.
Early the next morning, before Song Yuanchao got up, there were loud knocks on his door. When he opened the door, he saw that it was Li Daqi. This guy came over at dawn.
"Yuanchao, how did you know?" As soon as he saw Song Yuanchao, Li Daqi asked anxiously, his face full of joy.
"Know what?" Song Yuanchao, who had just woken up and was not yet fully awake, asked subconsciously.
"Of course it was the TV show last night, The Man from the Bottom of the Atlantic. Didn't you watch it?"
"Oh, you're talking about this." Song Yuanchao immediately smiled, called Li Daqi in, took a newspaper from the table and threw it to him: "Look, isn't it written here?"
Li Daqi took the newspaper and took a look. It was a "Weekly Radio and Television Newspaper". Li Daqi flipped through it and found the list of yesterday's TV programs, which clearly stated the content of the programs.
This was an explanation, but Li Daqi was still confused. Although there was content on it, you have to know that this weekly radio and television newspaper was only published a week in advance, and no one knew the specific plot of the film that premiered yesterday before it was officially broadcast. However, Song Yuanchao had started preparations , and decisively decided to switch the factory's production products.
Thinking about the things that Song Yuanchao asked Qin Zhengguo to bring back from Yangcheng, it seems that Song Yuanchao knew these inside stories a long time ago. How could this be possible? It was incredible.
Faced with these questions, Song Yuanchao simply told Li Daqi that he had watched the internal film when he was in Yanjing, so he was familiar with the content and plot of the TV series, and he had also heard about the approximate time when the film would be broadcast.
This reason made sense. Li Daqi was very happy, but at the same time he blamed him for not saying it earlier.
"There's no need to tell you this earlier. You'll know it after it's aired anyway. If you tell me too early, I'll have to explain it over and over again. Wouldn't everything be clear if you just watch the show firsthand?" Song Yuanchao replied with a smile.
Li Daqi thought about it and laughed, nodding his head immediately, "That's true. By the way, did you know that many young people in our alley were staring at this drama yesterday? Many people also asked where they could buy these clothes and pants, including the microphone mirror. Aiding Korea! You kid kept it a secret from us. If we had known this, the factory would not have given us a holiday. No! I have to notify everyone earlier. After the third day of the Chinese New Year, everyone will go to work. The factory will resume the three-shift system and rush to deliver the goods!"
As he spoke, Li Daqi rubbed his hands excitedly. He had a keen sense of smell. Although the real influence of this TV series still needed some time to ferment, he had already seen business opportunities in the first broadcast. Li Daqi knew very well what such business opportunities meant.
"Why are you in such a hurry? Today is New Year's Eve. No matter how anxious you are, you have to make sure everyone has a good New Year. It won't be too late to get busy after this year." Song Yuanchao couldn't help laughing when he saw his impatient look.
"By the way, where is Zhengguo?" It was only then that Li Daqi realized that Qin Zhengguo was not at home. He looked around and asked.
"He talked to me for a long time last night and went out to make a phone call early in the morning. This guy is as impatient as you and can't stay still." Song Yuanchao threw a cigarette to Li Daqi and shook his head with a smile.
When this TV series was broadcast last night, Qin Zhengguo and Ying Caixia, who were with Song Yuanchao, naturally saw it with their own eyes. Their astonishment at that time was no different from Li Daqi's current one. When they returned home, they also asked what was going on.
Song Yuanchao, who had been prepared, gave the same reason he had just explained to Li Daqi. Qin Zhengguo could certainly notice what Li Daqi could sense, so he discussed with Song Yuanchao until very late last night. This was also the reason why Song Yuanchao went to bed late and got up late.
So, Qin Zhengguo was so excited that he couldn't help but ran out to make a phone call early in the morning. As today was New Year's Eve, the telephone room at the entrance of the alley was closed, so Qin Zhengguo could only go to the nearest telephone office to make the call.
Li Daqi lit up a cigarette, took a puff and said, "I thought about it all night last night and felt that our factory's output is still too low. The business will definitely be good after the TV series is broadcast, but you know the situation of our factory. Even if we work overtime for 24 hours, the daily output is limited. Yuan Chao, you have a lot of ideas. Can you see if there is any way to solve this problem?"
"What do you think?" Song Yuanchao did not directly answer Li Daqi's question, but asked back.
Li Daqi said, "I agree with your previous arrangement for Zhengguo to get the goods from Hong Kong. But we also need to find a way to increase our production here. I think this is the key."
Seeing Song Yuanchao nodding in agreement, Li Daqi continued, "I plan to apply to the school to expand the scale and output of the factory. What do you think?"
"This is a good idea, but have you considered the issues of funding, equipment and venue?" Song Yuanchao asked in return.
"That's the problem." Li Daqi had already thought about all this and said immediately, "It's not a big deal in terms of funding. I made some money from the fake collar factory some time ago. I'll buy some equipment after the holidays. It will only take about ten days for the equipment to arrive. This time I plan to double the production scale, but if I do that, the factory won't be able to accommodate it. Our factory is so small, where is the extra space to build another workshop?"
The school-run factory is just a small factory. The entire school-run factory is a two-story building. The first floor is connected from east to west. The raw materials and goods are piled on the west side as a warehouse, and the rest of the space is where the workshops are located. The second floor is the office, conference room, utility room, etc.
When Song Yuanchao first joined the factory, there were 35 people in the entire factory. Later, after Song Yuanchao and Li Daqi went there, there were 37 people. After the original workshop director retired, Song Yuanchao took over. Until Song Yuanchao was admitted to university and left, the factory resumed its staffing level of 35.
This number of people remained until October last year. As there was too much work for fake collars, Li Daqi, with the support of Director Ma, made major adjustments to the workshop. Not only did he purchase a batch of equipment, but he also recruited some more people. So now the entire factory has a total of 48 people including management and ordinary employees. The utilization rate of the workshop has also reached its limit, and it has become difficult to continue expanding on the original scale of the factory.
According to Li Daqi's judgment, the next opportunity is a great opportunity, which may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the factory. Li Daqi does not want to miss this opportunity, so he must expand the scale of production, and the key to expanding the scale of production is nothing more than adding equipment and personnel to set up a new workshop.
However, due to limited conditions, the factory no longer has the possibility of hardware expansion, which makes Li Daqi distressed. It is like a person seeing a table of delicious food, but can't eat it because of stomach problems. This kind of distress is very entangled.
"Do you have a solution?" Song Yuanchao asked.
Li Daqi smoked a cigarette and said, "I plan to write an application report and ask the school to apply to the bureau to see if they can grant us a piece of land to build a factory. If they can, this problem can be solved. Yuan Chao, you have a good relationship with the principal, so the school must come forward on this matter. Otherwise, can you help find the principal?"
This is also a way to solve the problem, but Song Yuanchao thought about it and shook his head: "This is not appropriate. The Education Bureau is not the Industrial Bureau or the Commercial Bureau. Where is the extra land? Even if there is, it belongs to other schools. You can't allocate other schools' land to right? If so, who will own the new factory or new workshop? Can you control it?"
"Then what should we do? Oh, right? How about we give the order and the fake collars to other factories? Let them help us produce them?" Li Daqi scratched his head and suddenly thought of another way.
"Haha..." Song Yuanchao laughed and asked, "These products are different from fake collars. They are not fools. If they know they can make money, why don't they do it themselves? Can't they help you do it? Besides, we spent a lot of time to finalize the sample. Are you going to give it to others directly? Can you guarantee that others will not copy it themselves?"
"There is no way to counterfeit such things. There will be counterfeits in the future. As long as the product appears on the market, it cannot be concealed. The key is to create a time difference. You can conceal it as long as you can. But if you do this, you are handing the initiative to others."
