Reborn in 1977

Zhou Zhengdong sat on the sofa, slurped down a bowl of noodles, put down his chopsticks, took out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth, and smiled contentedly, "That's satisfying."

Chen Fan pushed the tea he had prepared in advance in front of him and asked curiously, "Wasn't there an airplane meal? Didn't you eat it?"

Zhou Zhengdong picked up the teacup, opened the lid and blew on it twice, "I was looking at the information on the plane all the time, I didn't have time to eat anything."

Zhou Yali sat opposite him, holding the little monkey in her arms, not giving him any face at all, grinning with laughter.

Zhou Zhengdong's old face darkened, feeling that this daughter was no longer wanted.

Chen Fan suppressed a smile and quickly changed the subject, "How are things going?"

Zhou Zhengdong glared at his daughter first, "Why don't you clean up the dishes? You don't act like a girl at all."

Zhou Yali pouted, holding two little monkeys in one hand, and taking the dishes to the kitchen with the other.

Letting out a breath, Zhou Zhengdong felt much more comfortable, picked up the teacup and took another sip of tea before saying, "I stayed there for a few days, found a lot of people, and also arranged for people from the company to collect a lot of information."

Speaking of this, he suddenly changed the subject and complained to Chen Fan, "These frequent communications these days have further strengthened my idea of entering the communications field. It's really too bad.

When I make a call to the United States, it's fast if it connects in half a day. Sometimes a telegram is faster than a phone call. Did you know that Shanghai opened direct telegraph and telephone lines to the United States in the 1930s, but it was later closed. It wasn't until 1971, in preparation for communication with Nixon's visit, that direct wireless telegraph, telephone, and fax circuits were reopened between China and the United States.

Then in 1973, two satellite earth stations were built in Beijing and Shanghai and put into communication use. In 1974, construction began on the submarine cable between China and Japan, and it was completed and delivered in 1976. In this way, Japan served as a transit station, speeding up communication with the United States.

As of this year, there are a total of 2.14 million telephone users and a total of 4.18 million telephone sets in the country, but most of them are company telephones, and there are very few private telephones. In addition, manual switchboards are still commonly used, and there are not many crossbar automatic exchanges, let alone more advanced program-controlled digital exchanges…"

Chen Fan leaned back on the sofa, lit a cigarette, and listened to his complaints calmly.

After finally waiting for him to finish, he flicked the ash and said with a chuckle, "Backward equipment means there is a need for technological upgrades and iterations. A small number of installed units means the market prospects are broad.

From ancient times to the present, doing business has always been about buying low and selling high, focusing on information asymmetry, transporting goods from one place to another, and earning price difference profits.

Therefore, if you want to develop the economy, communication and transportation are two prerequisites that must be solved. Doesn't this just show that you didn't choose the wrong entry point?"

Hearing this, Zhou Zhengdong couldn't help but nod, "Yes, that's the logic."

He turned to look at Chen Fan and couldn't help but grin, "Your mind is too suitable for starting a business. Some people see that a place is backward and think there is no market, but you think it has great potential. You are indeed good material for doing business."

Then he turned to look at his daughter who was walking over holding the little monkey, "Learn more from your younger brother, and don't be so unreliable all day long."

Zhou Yali was dumbfounded. I just went to the kitchen to wash a bowl, why are you talking about me again?

Zhou Zhengdong lit a cigarette and told Chen Fan what he had done in the past few days.

In general, he first talked with the leaders of the postal and telecommunications system and reached a cooperation intention.

The higher-ups were very happy with Zhou Zhengdong's proposal.

Putting aside everything else, whether it is developing the economy or anything else, being able to improve communication capabilities is naturally beneficial without any harm.

In the past, there was no way. Now that someone has come up with a good plan and sent it to them, what reason do they have to disagree?

In the absence of corresponding funds and technology, foreign capital can first pay for it, allowing some local areas in China to use more advanced equipment in advance, improve China's international communication capabilities, and at the same time establish a typical example of a foreign-invested enterprise that is open to the outside world, and obtain foreign advanced technology and increase the accumulation of related technologies and talents.

It's a win-win situation. If you think about it for even one more day, you are disrespecting yourself.

After receiving the cooperation intention, Zhou Zhengdong also had the information collected by the American company transmitted via international telegram.

There wasn't much information, but it was all valuable.

Zhou Zhengdong held a cigarette between his fingers, forgetting to smoke, and said to Chen Fan, "Fujitsu and NEC of Japan, BTM Company of Belgium, Lucent of the United States, Siemens of Germany, Ericsson of Sweden, Nortel of Canada, and Alcatel of France, these are the most outstanding communication equipment companies in the world today.

After comparing various factors, including technology, price, and after-sales maintenance, I plan to choose Fujitsu, Lucent, and Alcatel as potential agents."

Throwing away the cigarette butt that was almost burning his fingers, he explained, "Fujitsu has the highest cost performance, Lucent is located in the United States, making negotiations the most convenient, and Alcatel is in between the two. In addition, among Western countries, France's attitude towards China is relatively friendly, and it was the first Western power to establish ambassadorial relations with China. The headquarters of the Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls (COCOM) is also in Paris, which makes operations more convenient under various factors."

Chen Fan frowned slightly, thought for a while, and asked, "Do you want to choose one of them, or do you want to fight for all three?"

Zhou Zhengdong leaned back and said with a smile, "Strive for three, secure one. If possible, I want to win the agency rights for all three companies. Although multiple agencies will cause inconsistent technical standards, it can also avoid over-reliance on a single company as much as possible."

Chen Fan nodded slightly and asked again, "What about the price? Which one has a greater advantage?"

Zhou Zhengdong thought for a while and said, "I also arranged for people to investigate this. The current price of a single port of a 10,000-line program-controlled exchange is between 300 and 500 US dollars, of which Fujitsu's price is the lowest and Alcatel's price is the highest. In addition, the additional terms are also different."

He suddenly let out a long breath and sighed, "Equipment procurement, permit application, after-sales training, one thing after another, all have to be negotiated."

Chen Fan calculated with his fingers and couldn't help but be a little dazed, "A 10,000-line program-controlled exchange costs at least 3 million US dollars? Is it that expensive?"

Zhou Yali, who was sitting on the side concentrating on stroking the monkey, also opened her mouth wide, "So my younger brother's novels are selling so well, but the money he's currently earning is only enough to buy the cheapest 10,000-line program-controlled exchange?!"

Zhou Zhengdong came back to his senses and said angrily, "Otherwise, why would I say that the most expensive thing in the world is technology. Program-controlled digital exchange technology is in the hands of those few countries, and they have formed an alliance to block high-tech technology and related equipment against hostile camps."

You don't have this technology. Not only would you have to spend a fortune to buy it, but you'd also have to beg people to sell it to you. The Zhou family's accumulation of decades is only enough to buy twenty or thirty switches. This thing really isn't something ordinary people can handle…”

Speaking of this, he couldn't help but shake his head and sigh. Then, he looked at his daughter, “If the technology company you're managing can successfully research that network router, it will be considered mastering an advanced technology and having the qualifications to deal with tech giants.”

After a pause, a hint of worry appeared on his face, but the next second, his expression returned to normal, suppressing the worry in his heart.

He had also heard Dr. Douglas Engelbart mention the application prospects of this multi-protocol router, especially with the Apple II computer selling well globally and personal computers beginning to enter ordinary households. If all the computers in the world could be connected into a network, then the value of this network router technology would be no less than that of a program-controlled switch.

Even according to his nephew Chen Fan's prediction, if Gordon Moore's prediction comes true—that the number of transistors and resistors integrated on a semiconductor chip doubles every 24 months—then in the foreseeable future, the functions of personal computers will become increasingly powerful and their prices will gradually decrease, eventually reaching a level that ordinary families can afford, thus entering thousands of households.

By that time, the technological content of multi-protocol routers might even surpass that of program-controlled switches.

The Zhou family, holding this technology, wouldn't even need to think about it to know that they definitely couldn't hold onto it.

However, that day is still far away. Let's wait for Dr. Engelbart to research this technology first.

Perhaps the development of things will not completely follow the imagination of his nephew and Dr. Engelbart.

Thinking of this, he gently rubbed his face, temporarily putting this problem aside, and continued to consider the matter of distributing switches.

Chen Fan dropped his cigarette butt, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and asked, “Switches are so expensive, does the Zhou family have enough working capital to cover the equipment costs?”

Zhou Zhengdong came back to his senses, turned to look at Chen Fan, and grinned, “With banks around, who still uses their own money to do business? As long as the rate of return is greater than the bank loan interest rate, it's certainly more cost-effective to borrow from the bank.”

At this time, Zhou Yali raised her head and said confidently, “Our Zhou family has partnered with several other Chinese families to establish a bank. We don't even need to look for other banks; we can solve the loan problem internally. Although this bank's capital is not particularly large, far less than those large banks, with the Zhou family's shares and assets, easily borrowing tens of millions of dollars is not a problem.”

Zhou Zhengdong crossed his legs and continued her words, “Not to mention that Yali's publishing company is making money hand over fist. As long as we hold the copyright to your novel, many banks will be willing to lend us money, so there's absolutely no problem with equipment funds.”

As soon as he finished speaking, his brow furrowed slightly, and then he changed the subject, “However, the specific partners haven't been finalized yet.”

Chen Fan looked at him in confusion, “Partners? Are you talking about the domestic postal and telecommunications units? Isn't that determined by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications?”

Zhou Zhengdong shook his head and said, “The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications only provides policies; it won't designate partners. We still need to negotiate the specifics ourselves. Currently, the Beijing Postal and Telecommunications Bureau has expressed its willingness at the first opportunity, and Beijing, as the capital, is also the city with the greatest demand for international communication in the country. Besides that,”

After a pause, he turned to look at Chen Fan, “I want to set the second partner city in Shanghai. What do you think?”

Chen Fan nodded without thinking, “Sure, that's fine.”

He smiled and said, “After you negotiate the distribution, I can introduce you to the Deputy Chief Engineer of the Municipal Long-Distance Telephone Bureau. You can negotiate directly.”

Zhou Zhengdong was a little surprised, “You know such a technical manager?”

Chen Fan smiled, “He's a member of the Municipal Writers Association. I've met him a few times at the Shanghai Writers Association's activities.”

Zhou Zhengdong clicked his tongue and couldn't help but grin, “I suddenly realized that your identity as a writer is similar to my identity as a lawyer. You can really get connected with anyone.”

Chen Fan shrugged, “Actually, I was also in the health system at first. It was because I joined the Writers Association that I later transferred my work relationship as well.”

Hearing this, Zhou Zhengdong couldn't help but laugh even more happily, “Your transfer was even better; otherwise, you wouldn't have had the opportunity to be promoted.”

Chen Fan pursed his lips and smiled, but didn't say anything.

With his contributions, if he had continued to stay in the health system, his status might not have been lower than it is now.

As the first aid manual spreads wider and wider and first aid becomes more and more popular, his contribution value becomes higher and higher. Even if he does nothing afterward and just acts as a mascot, he would be qualified to enter the ministry and get the title of Deputy Director-General.

Perhaps he would even take advantage of the spring breeze of reform and opening up… well, perhaps he wouldn't even need to borrow this wind to be sent to other countries for health exchange activities.

You should know that even in those years, as our relations with Japan and the United States normalized, cooperation and exchanges with Western countries in the field of health began and developed. In addition, there were original exchanges with Eastern European and Asian, African, and Latin American countries, and there were simply too many opportunities to go abroad.

It's just that, just like the words he said to Old Ba, he doesn't need or is interested in such opportunities, so there's no need to worry about gains and losses.

In comparison, he still prefers his current unit. No one cares about him running around the country, and such free days are really great!

Zhou Zhengdong took a sip of tea, turned to look at his daughter, “Tomorrow I'm going to Japan to discuss cooperation with Fujitsu. The company's negotiation team will also arrive in Japan tomorrow. Dr. Engelbart has helped recommend an expert in the field of communications, who will also come together tomorrow. Prepare yourself and come with me.”

Zhou Yali was immediately struck by lightning, staring blankly at her father, her eyes full of disbelief, “I'm going too?”

Zhou Zhengdong looked at her, “Didn't you say it yourself, choose you as a partner, to grow bigger and stronger, and create greater glories. If you don't even go, how can you grow bigger and stronger?”

Zhou Yali's eyes wandered, “But, but, it's useless for me to go. I don't understand technology, I don't understand the market, and I don't understand negotiation…”

Before she could finish speaking, Zhou Zhengdong waved his hand, “It's precisely because you don't understand that you need to learn. I don't expect you to know much about technology, but at least you need to know some industry common sense. Otherwise, how can I rest assured to hand over after-sales maintenance to you?”

Zhou Yali rolled her eyes and lay on the sofa, “Let me die.”