Rebirth in America

Hughes didn't wait too long. After Alex came back to his senses, he said: "What kind of cooperation are you planning to do? I have to make a statement first. If you want to cooperate with me, your opinion must be the final decision." Decide!"

Alex's words had a purpose. If it were another person, maybe he wouldn't have to emphasize it so much. However, the collaborator he faced was Howard Hughes, a man who pursued perfection. If Hughes were to go through the same process as he did with "Hell's Angels," not even the United States and the Soviet Union would be able to afford it. This is a fire bed, whoever jumps off will be unlucky.

After Hughes heard this, he smiled: "I know what you are worried about, but I can tell you that I have understood one thing a long time ago. That is, I am not a very good executor. There is too much emphasis on perfection, and after all, the world is composed of various imperfections. I have now retreated behind the scenes and only do general planning, regardless of specific execution."

"Then how to cooperate? I don't see the reason why you need me. Money? No, you don't need my money. Technology? I am not the kind of material that makes technology. Creativity? You may need this, but you can't achieve it. Ideas are never good ideas. What you actually need is an executor, but I don’t have that much time to manage an aerospace company. I don’t even bother to manage my own company, let alone a cooperative company.”

Hughes shook his head and said: "What do you think is the most important in every groundbreaking historical event in human history? Money, courage, technology or other factors? Think about it, when it comes to the first What do you usually think of when you hear this term?”

"The most important thing? I think what you said is very important. If one of the links is missing, it will definitely not succeed."

"No, no, no, let's put it this way, we have all eaten tomatoes. But, you have to know, no one dared to eat this kind of food back then. Why didn't they dare to eat it? No courage? No conditions? No! It's because There is no role model! Man is a creature that worships idols. You have to know that when I figured out this truth, I could no longer become people’s idols.”

Alex kind of figured it out. Hughes wanted to find someone to stand on the stage for him, do what he wanted to do, and use this method to guide the thinking, thoughts and behaviors of ordinary people. In other words, he needs a "substitute" who can stand in front of the stage instead of Hughes, accept the worship of the world, and become an idol in people's minds.

"No!" Alex just thought for a moment and replied immediately.

Hughes' eyes showed surprise. He didn't expect that he would refuse such a good thing. Money, honor, fame and women, these things can be easily obtained as long as Alex agrees.

"Why? Why did you refuse?"

Alex's thinking became clearer and clearer, and he said: "What you give me, I can obtain on my own. However, once I accept your conditions, I will be restricted by you. If this is the case, Didn’t I suffer a big loss? More importantly, I also like to be free and unfettered."

Hughes laughed after hearing this: "Yes, yes! You are indeed the same as me. Well, congratulations, you passed my test, then we will be partners in the future."

test? Does this count as passing?

Alex felt a little confused, but he also knew that Hughes was a weirdo and could not be judged by common sense.

Next, they continued to discuss the details of cooperation. In particular, the composition of the company's shares is a crucial matter. Hughes wanted to hold 60% of the shares, but Alex could only hold 40%, and he had to invest $100 million at once. This made him very unhappy. Spending so much money might not yield results. This is not for ordinary people to play!

"I think the company doesn't need to invest at the beginning, just a few million dollars. As for the investment, it can be gradually increased later." Alex analyzed it calmly to Hughes, and he explained the stages of the company's development to Hughes. .

Soon, Hughes was convinced by him. He nodded and said, "Okay, let's invest $5 million first."

Immediately afterwards, Alex said: "As for the shares, I think I must hold 60%!"

After hearing this, Hughes raised his eyebrows and asked, "Why!"

"You said, you only care about the general direction of the company's development, and I will make the final decision! That means that I must be the main one. If I don't hold the majority of the shares, how can I be accurate? "

Hughes sneered and said, "In that case, you might as well hold 100% of the shares. Why do you need to cooperate with me?"

Alex was not moved at all. He still insisted: "Obviously, I have what you need, and you have what I need. Then there are conditions for cooperation. As for who is in charge, I think we have already agreed before. The discussion was very clear.”

Hughes is a strong-willed person, and he is also a good businessman. He is able to put aside differences and seek common ground in many business negotiations. He believes that negotiation is about compromise and a solution that is satisfactory to both parties must be found.

"I have connections, money and technology, so I should have 55% of the shares, and you 45%!"

"No, I should own 55%. You are already old. You can just build airplanes. You should let young people like me do things like developing the universe. If you have 45%, you can enjoy your retirement here. , don’t bother like that anymore!”

"Interesting, they say I'm old? Well, I only want 51% and I'll give you 49% of the shares. That should be enough! Young people, don't be too greedy, or you will fall down!"

After some haggling, the two finally decided unanimously to divide the shares equally.

However, the prerequisite is that once the company needs to continue investing, if one party does not have enough of its own, it must give up the corresponding shares. This is obviously more beneficial to Hughes. His family has a big business and is not afraid of spending money.

Not only was Hughes the first billionaire, but his ability to make money in emerging fields was no worse than Alex's. Take electronics companies as an example, they both have one. The Carpenters' electronics company opened in 1950, a year later than Hughes.

In 1951, Howard Hughes's Electronic Industries Company had profits of US$67 million, which increased to US$200 million in less than two years. This is much better than the Carpenter Electronics Company managed by Bart. It has radios, computers, etc. The golden fingers opened by Alex, Carpenter Electronics Company has just reached 100 million US dollars.

Of course, many of Hughes' company's orders come from the government military industry, and they are all huge and profitable orders. However, Carpenter's computers can be considered government procurement, and the profits are huge, but not as much as others.

Alex thought about it and finally came to the conclusion that Howard Hughes knew how to judge and employ people very well. Hughes' company is managed by his subordinates, and he has never personally managed it. At most, it will appear when making major decisions.

This ability to see and employ people makes Alex a little envious. He believes that only in this way can he truly support a huge business empire. In the future, if the Carpenter family wants to develop into a behemoth like the Rockefeller family, they must learn this skill.

After deciding on the shares, the two discussed the company's first step in development. The two unanimously decided to develop rocket technology first. Hughes had also learned about the German V-2 missile, and he was very fascinated by the world's first ballistic missile.

"If my company's aircraft can be equipped with this kind of thing, it will definitely be the fastest aircraft in the world. It can even fly to the moon!"

Hughes' intuition was surprisingly accurate, and rocket technology after World War II was indeed developed on this basis. The reason why NASA was able to send people to the moon was because of rockets.

"Then there's one last question left, Mr. Hughes." Alex said.

Hughes looked at Alex and asked in confusion: "What's the problem?"

"That's the name of the company! What do you think it should be?"

At this time, Hughes realized that the name of their company had not yet been decided. In the past, when he established a company, he never had to worry about the name. He could just add the word "Hughes" as a prefix. Now that it is a joint venture, it would be inappropriate to do so.

"What name do you want?" Hughes asked without answering.

Alex thought for a while, and suddenly he had a bad taste in his heart: "How about calling it Pany?"

"What's the abbreviation? Well, it looks pretty good." Hughes was very satisfied with the name and quickly agreed.

After having a name, Alex asked Hughes for some management talents. He now had few people available. We can only use the people from Hughes temporarily, and then throw them in when we have enough people in the future.

Alex stretched out his right hand and said: "So I wish us a happy cooperation?"

Hughes stared at his hand for a while and finally said, "Sorry, I don't really like human contact, let alone shaking hands!"

Seeing that his little trick didn't work, Alex was a little disappointed and laughed: "It's nothing, I can understand."

Led by Hughes' bodyguards, Alex quickly returned to modern society. When he faced Hughes, he wanted to find opportunities to touch him several times. Unfortunately, Hughes always kept a certain distance from him. It seems that Hughes really won't let others touch him, so Alex's plan to copy the Hughes doll will be shelved indefinitely.

Interstellar Technology Company was established quietly. With Hughes' people in charge, Alex didn't have to worry too much. However, he still gives the company's research direction. You can’t make a mistake with this. Once you go in the wrong direction, you will have to take many detours.

Alex also knew that if he wanted to quickly build a rocket that could reach the sky, he would need the right people. He thought for a while, before 1950, that scientist was the most outstanding in rocket research. Before this era, few people studied rockets. As for the rocket experts captured and returned by Germany, don't worry about it. Those people belong to the country and cannot be used by them.

He thought for a long time and suddenly remembered Goddard, known as the "Father of American Rockets." He was the earliest rocket scientist in the United States. Influenced by Verne's novels, he determined to go to Mars at a very young age. When he grew up, he specialized in rockets and personally built the world's first liquid combustion rocket engine using gasoline and liquid hydrogen as fuel. This was still in 1923, not long after the airplane was invented.

"Go, help me find Robert Goddard, I need him!" Alex said to his men.

Since the establishment of Interstellar Technology Company, it has been an empty shell. In order to get the company on track quickly, he had to get a rocket scientist to do the work.

Soon, Goddard's news came back. This guy is a celebrity in the American aviation community. His research once attracted the attention of aviator Lindbergh, who was the first hero to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. Unfortunately, Goddard suffered from cancer and passed away in August 1945.

"What's dead?" Alex asked in disbelief. In this way, his plan was completely disrupted.

"However, his wife said that if we are interested in his research, we can sell us all the research materials he left behind."

"How much?"

"100,000!"

Alex thought for a moment and said, "Give it to her! We need this information!"

Unexpectedly, the information left by Goddard is indeed very precious. From these materials, we know that his research is still much ahead of this era. It can even be said that it is even more advanced than the current rocket technology of the Soviet Union. As early as 1929, Goddard began designing a multi-stage rocket.

"No wonder this guy only released the information more than ten years after his death. UU Reading www.uukaｎｈｈｎ can make the American aerospace industry call him the 'Father of American Rockets'. It seems that American rocket technology is indeed derived from these information. I got a lot of help." Alex is not an expert, but he knows what is the right direction. In this era, everyone is crossing the river by feeling the stones without knowing what is under the river.

Before humans went to heaven, scientists thought that humans would explode once they left the Earth's sphere. There was a lot of noise in the early days of various absurd theories, and many scientists were opposed to sending people to heaven. It wasn't until the Soviets successfully sent Gagarin up that the Americans suddenly realized it and rushed to catch up.

Goddard successfully launched the world's first liquid rocket, but it never attracted the attention of the government. Without the support of government forces, coupled with his confidentiality of his research, the rocket technology of the United States not only lagged behind Germany, but also fell far behind the post-war Soviet Union.

It was not until 1961, after Soviet astronaut Gagarin ascended to space, that Goddard's widow released all of Goddard's 30 years of research on liquid rockets. People are beginning to realize his great achievements, and the government is paying attention to the information he left behind.

Regarding Goddard's research, Nazi rocket expert von Braun once commented: "Dr. Goddard is unrivaled in the history of rocket development. He took the lead in the design, construction and launch of liquid rockets. Everyone’s signature, it was liquid rockets that paved the way to explore space.”

Nowadays, Alex is not short of money or information, but what he lacks most is people. Without talents, nothing can be done. He can't do this himself. Even if he has the ability to take charge of rocket research and development, he doesn't have that much energy to do it.