Reborn Industrial Tycoon

On the dock, a gantry crane lifted a car off the freighter.

Looking at the carriage that had just been unloaded, Li Weidong had a thick smile on his face.

"As I expected, these are fully enclosed high-speed carriages! The Thais are ignorant and gave me an advantage. This time I found a treasure."

The second-hand trains that Japan gave to Thailand are 183 series diesel-powered train sets. This series of train sets is widely used in Japan and can be regarded as the main model of Japanese diesel-powered train sets.

This series of vehicle groups was used in Japan for decades, and it was not completely phased out until 2016.

The performance of the 183 series is still very good and can be used as an express train.

Japanese express trains can be regarded as Chinese T-prefixed express trains, and their speed is second only to D-prefixed EMUs.

Before the birth of the Shinkansen, limited express trains were also the fastest trains in Japan. At that time, the speed of Japan's limited express trains could already reach the top speed of China's fourth major railway speed increase.

Although the 183 series is an outdated product from Japan decades ago, it is still a good and advanced product for Southeast Asian countries.

As for China, if it were more than ten years ago, it would have regarded the 183 series trains as treasures. In the 21st century, they are no longer rare.

In the early 1990s, there were still many coal-fired steam trains on China's railways. At this time, the 183 series diesel-powered locomotives were quite useful to China.

Then China began to phase out steam locomotives on a large scale, replacing them with diesel-powered locomotives, and began to increase train speeds. Basically, by the time of the third train speed increase in 2000, Japan's Type 183 trains were no longer attractive to China.

.

However, the fully enclosed carriages used by Japanese express trains still have a lot to learn from China.

At that time, China could not manufacture high-speed train carriages. The most advanced 25T carriage in the country was manufactured under license from Bombardier of Canada. The prototype of this carriage was the Belgian L11 high-speed train.

In terms of train technology, Bombardier is not even considered the first echelon of high-speed trains.

In terms of future generations of high-speed rail technology, China's Fuxing is clearly the best in the world, surpassing the Japanese and European standards, followed by Japan's Shinkansen, and then the European standards, including France's Alstom and Germany's Siemens

etc.

As for Bombardier, it sold its train business to France's Alstom for $7 billion.

In other words, the most advanced 25T carriages in China at that time could only be regarded as second-tier international products.

At that time, Japan's railway technology was the best in the world and was much more advanced than Bombardier. Not only the performance of the train set, but also the comfort and stability of the carriages, especially the design of many details, really far surpassed Bombardier.

When it comes to detail, no country in the world can compare with Japan.

So when he was in Thailand, Li Weidong learned that the trains Japan gave to Thailand were 183 series trains, which were replaced by the 700 series Shinkansen trains. He immediately realized that these might be a batch of eliminated express trains.

At that time, Li Weidong decided to get the carriage.

The locomotives of Japanese express trains are not rare in China. In a few years, China will enter the high-speed rail era. By then, who will care about Japan’s outdated diesel-powered locomotives!

But the carriages of express trains are what Li Weidong likes. Especially the carriages of fully enclosed trains, which have many detailed designs, are indeed top-notch in the world and are not available in China.

…

Chen Yonghua looked at the carriages in front of him, looking at a loss.

Seeing Li Weidong coming over, Chen Yonghua immediately went up to him and asked, "Boss, what are you doing with these train carriages? Do we, Fukang Engineering, still need to build train carriages?"

"I would like to do it, but do we have the ability? This is a train carriage. Thirty years of technological accumulation cannot make it possible." After Li Weidong finished speaking, he pointed to one of the carriages and asked, "Mr. Chen, Can you take it apart?"

"I can't build it, so why can't I dismantle it!" Chen Yonghua paused, then said, "I'm not bragging, but I can dismantle any machine, even an aircraft carrier!"

Li Weidong continued: "Let's dismantle a carriage first. I want to figure out the layout of the ventilation system inside."

"Ventilation system?" Chen Yonghua was stunned and asked subconsciously: "Are we going to do related research and development?"

Li Weidong nodded: "I hope we can master the ventilation system of the carriage, but there is no need to rush. We will be able to fully understand this technology within the next three years."

"If it's just a ventilation system, it won't last that long." Chen Yonghua then asked: "But if we master this technology, what's the use of it?"

Li Weidong did not answer directly, but asked: "Mr. Chen, have you ever taken a train?"

Chen Yonghua nodded, and Li Weidong then asked: "Have you ever met anyone eating instant noodles on the train?"

"I've seen people eating sandwiches in the subway." Chen Yonghua smiled slightly and continued; "But I often make instant noodles when I work overtime, and the whole laboratory smells of instant noodles, so I can imagine that in the subway What does instant noodles taste like?"

Li Weidong continued: "Even if you want to reduce the smell of instant noodles when taking the train, you still need to get a powerful ventilation system in the carriage!"

…

There are many detailed designs in Japanese carriages that are not available in other countries. Among them, the one that Li Weidong values ​​most is the carriage ventilation system.

When it comes to building trains, Li Weidong really doesn't have the technology. Even if he is manufacturing carriages alone, he can't do it with the companies in his hands.

A train may seem like an idiot, but it is not easy to make. To successfully build a train, you need at least the support of a complete set of heavy industry systems. And advanced trains must have a complete set of industries behind them. supply chain.

Therefore, companies around the world that can build trains are all in countries with relatively developed heavy industries. Without sufficient heavy industry support, they can only import parts from other countries and assemble a train.

None of the companies that manufacture trains in China are products of the national system, but even so, they still need to import advanced technology and parts from foreign countries.

For example, when the Qinghai-Tibet Railway was first opened to traffic, the engines used by the trains entering Tibet were produced by General Motors in the United States.

But if it's just a cabin ventilation system, it's within Li Weidong's capabilities.

The ventilation system in domestic carriages is terrible. In the old green cars, ventilation relied entirely on opening windows. The few vents on the roof were just air outlets at most, and had little effect on the air circulation in the carriage.

During the Spring Festival travel season, being squeezed into the carriage of the green train is really full of mixed feelings. Some people eat instant noodles with the smell of smelly feet, and some people pick their feet with the smell of instant noodles. These are all daily operations. Sitting for several hours on the green train

The car and the rhinitis that had been there for many years were cured.

Although the carriage was upgraded later, the effect was still not much better. At the very least, if you soaked in a box of instant noodles, you could smell it throughout the carriage.

Even in the early years of the high-speed rail era, the ventilation system of domestic trains was not much better. The ventilation system of the old high-speed rail carriages only works when it is running. Once the train stops, the people in the carriage will

Fainting due to lack of oxygen has been reported in the news.

In recent years, with the upgrade of China's high-speed rail technology, the problems of the ventilation system have been improved, and the comfort inside the carriage has also improved a lot. The new domestic ventilation technology can complete the ventilation in the carriage in five minutes, even if you are eating.

After eating instant noodles, the smell will basically dissipate after ten minutes.

In an era before the rise of high-speed rail in China, Japan's carriage ventilation system was ahead of the world.

Europeans and Americans are basically indifferent to the smell inside the train. Americans are accustomed to all kinds of feces and urine in the New York subway.

Japanese people like to pay attention to details. Even the hissing of urinating has to be covered up with music. With the personality of Japanese people, of course they cannot tolerate the smell in the carriage, so when the Japanese carriages are designed, they have made a very

Advanced ventilation system. This was unique in the world at that time.

The set of second-hand carriages Li Weidong bought is a closed carriage in itself, and the carriage ventilation system has been specially designed. It can be used directly on high-speed trains in the future.

…

The front of the office building was decorated with lights and streamers, surrounded by a group of people eating melons. The banner behind it read "Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the Establishment of Dongshan Real Estate" in large characters.

Since they planned to enter the real estate industry, they naturally had to set up a company, so Li Weidong and Zhao Jinshan each spent ordinary money to establish Dongshan Real Estate.

In addition, Li Weidong also integrated the team that previously developed the wholesale mall in Qinghe into Dongshan Real Estate.

The leader of this team is named Ma Bin, Ma Zhongyi’s second son. He has been with Ma Zhongyi for many years and has some experience in real estate development.

Now Ma Zhongyi is in a state of retirement. After all, he is old and has "three highs", so he can no longer work as hard as he did when he was young.

Fortunately, Ma Zhongyi's three sons are all very ambitious. They followed Ma Zhongyi in the business field and learned some business skills. Among them, Ma Bin is the most outstanding.

Ma Bin was not outstanding in studies when he was a child, but he had great leadership skills and was the child king of the village. When he grew up, Ma Bin was also good at interpersonal relationships, and he had a group of friends who were brothers and sisters wherever he went.

It is for this reason that Li Weidong put Ma Bin in charge of real estate development.

At this time, Ma Bin was also at the scene, busy with the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Seeing Li Weidong approaching, Ma Bin immediately greeted him and said, "Uncle Li, the ribbon-cutting ceremony will be ready soon."

Li Weidong nodded and said, "Ma Bin, you have to adapt to a strange environment as soon as possible. You also need to have a good relationship with the person from Zhao Jinshan.

Zhao Jinshan’s nephew came back from studying abroad, and he’s probably the kind of person who drinks too much foreign ink. Please be accommodating and give him a little more patience. If you really can’t let him stumble a few times, then he’s mature.”

Ma Bin nodded: "Uncle Li, don't worry, I understand everything!"

Li Weidong sent Ma Bin to take charge of Dongshan Real Estate, and Zhao Jinshan naturally had to send someone, so Zhao Jinshan sent his wife's nephew.

This nephew went to the United States after graduating from high school and has just received a master's degree.

Given Zhao Jinshan's family background, his wife is naturally not a commoner, and her nephew certainly has money to study abroad.

Ma Bin didn't even go to college. He just got a diploma from high school and started doing business with Ma Zhongyi. He belongs to the low-educated practical school.

Zhao Jinshan's nephew graduated with a master's degree from a prestigious foreign university, but he has not been specifically responsible for actual business and belongs to the highly educated theoretical school.

When the low-educated practical school and the high-educated theoretical school meet together, some friction will inevitably occur. Therefore, Li Weidong gave Ma Bin a vaccination in advance.

At this time, Zhao Jinshan also walked over from a distance.

"Brother Li, the price of coal has risen again recently. To be honest, I am a little flustered by this price increase!" Zhao Jinshan said.

"If you say you're losing money in business, you'd be nervous, but now that we're making money, why are you nervous?" Li Weidong asked.

"I don't know. I always feel that the money comes in too quickly, too easily, and a little unreliable." Zhao Jinshan said.

"Energy prices have always been cyclical. Coal prices have risen sharply now, and they may fall back in a year or so." Li Weidong comforted him.

In Li Weidong's memory, the real surge in this price cycle began in the second half of 2007 and reached its peak in the second half of 2008. In just one year, coal prices more than tripled.

Then the subprime mortgage crisis broke out in the United States. Affected by the international situation, coal prices fell back to the price in the second half of 2007 within three months. It was a roller coaster ride.

At the same time, the country also began to import coal on a large scale to stabilize domestic coal prices. So in 2009, China, the world's largest coal producer, became a net importer of coal.

There was another rising period after that, until 2011, when the coal industry revenue reached a peak of 3.25 trillion yuan, accounting for 6.5% of GDP in the same period.

Then the price of media began to fall back, until it bottomed out in 2015, and then there was a rebound cycle. It began to stabilize in 2017, and the overall income of the entire coal industry basically remained at about 3% of GDP.

It is precisely because of the cyclical factors of coal prices that coal bosses are actually not afraid of short-term losses. When coal prices are low, they will just bite the bullet and get through it.

However, with the increase in coal imports, it will be difficult for domestic coal bosses to become rich overnight.

Li Weidong was introducing the cyclical nature of coal prices to Zhao Jinshan when Ma Bin hurried over.

"Mr. Zhao, Director Li, I just received a call. The leaders who were originally going to attend our ribbon-cutting ceremony may not be able to come," Ma Bin said.

"What happened? Is there something wrong with any of the mines?" Zhao Jinshan asked subconsciously.

"It's not a mine problem." Ma Bin continued: "It is said that because of the heavy fog, the leader's car was blocked on the highway and could not get off the highway for a while."

"It's foggy!" Zhao Jinshan nodded and continued: "Recently, the fog has been quite heavy. I often get up early in the morning, and the visibility is only two to three hundred meters. When you look at the sky, it still feels like fog.

It’s so hazy!”

Li Weidong looked into the distance, then shook his head and sighed: "This is not fog, this is haze!"