Rebirth 86: I use games to kick open the door to the world

There is a unit dedicated to managing foreign exchange in the capital.

It was founded in the late 1970s, just when it was preparing to open up.

They will strictly manage domestic foreign exchange capital flows.

Especially at this moment, foreign exchange is still a very important resource.

With this, more important resources needed domestically can be purchased overseas.

Technology, equipment, and industrial systems.

However, the sources of foreign exchange at this time were too few.

In the early days, foreign exchange was obtained through basic agricultural products or commodities such as porcelain and silk. This probably occurred from the 1950s to the 1970s, also known as the 50-67 stage of foreign exchange generation.

This is something Zuo Zhen can investigate in this world.

In his previous life, he had heard from his family elders that foreign exchange coupons were also a hard currency during this period and could be used to buy many scarce supplies.

Now, in the monthly statistical report of this foreign exchange management unit, a piece of foreign exchange source data is particularly eye-catching.

Other foreign exchange acquisition channels are very conventional.

Agricultural and sideline products, jewelry, porcelain, jade, and mineral resources.

These are the most basic resources that can be produced domestically at present.

Then a piece of foreign exchange income related to computer industry software suddenly popped up among these entries.

This data on foreign exchange income comes from various countries around the world, mainly the United States and Japan, and then Europe, Australia and other places. Finally, it is aggregated into Japanese accounts and converted into Japanese yen before returning to the country.

Ten million yen.

It's almost equivalent to about one hundred thousand dollars.

This can be said to be the first time in the country.

This is the first time I saw someone making money back home through computer-related software.

"You said... it's called a video game? Does this game mean something to play with?"

"Yes, we have carefully investigated video games. In fact, there is a very mature market overseas, and it seems to be quite popular."

"Hey~ A toy can make so much money, how is it possible?"

"It's probably equivalent to paying to go to the cinema to watch a movie, you also have to pay to play this game."

"Do we have this thing now? Get one for us. I want to see what it looks like."

"I'm afraid it's difficult to find that director in our country now."

"Then let's try to get one to take a look first. You can't see nothing at all."

"Okay, I'll go think of a solution."

A few days later, the staff of the foreign exchange management unit got off the train in a dusty state, and then rushed towards the unit without stopping, with a large suitcase in their hands.

Without stopping, he went all the way to the director's office and reported to them what he had obtained. Then several middle-aged leaders immediately convened a group of people for a small closed-door meeting.

"Director, this is the video game you want to see. It was just bought from Hong Kong Island."

The clerk took out a machine from his suitcase as he spoke.

Several middle-aged people stretched their necks and looked at the machine, their eyes full of curiosity.

"This is called a game console, and its name is NGS."

"English?"

"Yes, it is an entertainment product produced in Japan. It can be connected to a TV, and then you can play games by buying a cassette. And I just learned something. The average price of a cassette is about two hundred yuan."

"Two hundred yuan? Why is this thing so expensive? How many people will buy it?"

"This is not mainly aimed at China today, but at the more developed Europe and America. For them, the price is only thirty to fifty dollars."

Several middle-aged people shook their heads: "I really can't understand that these foreigners can spend so much money on entertainment."

"Humph, I'm still too full."

"No, cultural communication also has its value and cannot be killed with a stick."

"Okay, let's not argue about the price. Xiao Zhang, let me ask you, are the games we make in China included in this?"

"Yes, but now there is only one game made by him. In fact, on the way back, I learned that the person who made this game studied at Qingshan University in Sichuan Province, and he already has a small circle there. Video games are starting to become popular.”

"Huh? College students? College students going overseas to make money?"

"Yes." The employee named Xiao Zhang sighed, "It's hard to imagine, director, that this is something done by a college student."

"I remember that a comrade here in the capital also opened a computer company, and he also sold software, but he didn't sell it to foreigners?"

The employee named Xiao Zhang immediately responded: "He makes Hanka. I understand this thing. Most of the computers in our unit are now equipped with Hanka, which is from their home. This thing is obviously not used by foreigners. After all, they don’t need to learn Chinese.”

A middle-aged leader said unhappily: "Sooner or later, we have to let them learn Chinese."

The young employee took advantage of this time to get a TV, then skillfully connected the game console to the TV, and put the only cassette he bought into the NGS game console.

Accompanied by a gradually rising eight-bit rhythm tone, the familiar Contra picture appeared on the TV after the last explosion.

"Contra...what kind of strange name is this?"

The young staff member immediately explained: "This is a word that is easier for foreigners to understand. The transliteration used to mean words like fighter or tough guy, but this is not important. Directors, please continue reading."

The young staff member held the controller in his hand and expertly entered the game's opening screen.

Fast-paced music sounded, and a pixel figure appeared on the far left side of the screen.

The young staff member obviously already knew the game quite well. He had actually played the game countless times before he came.

To be honest, this game is really addictive.

It was also the first time that he discovered that there was such a fun thing.

However, several middle-aged leaders did not have such an obvious reaction after seeing it.

It is obviously difficult for them to be interested in this kind of game anymore due to their age.

However, the interactive scenes and the movement of the characters made it feel very fresh to a few middle-aged people.

"Is this thing controllable? Isn't it just like the computers in our unit?"

"Yes, just like the computers in our work unit. In fact, the computers in our work unit also have games, but those games are quite elementary, such as Arkanoid and Pac-Man."

"Just this thing, sold for 10 million yen?"

A few middle-aged people still felt a little weird.

At this time, the young staff pursed his lips: "Director, in fact, this game sold more than 10 million yen. This value is probably more than we imagined."