Chapter 55: The Enemy Can Go, and So Can We

"Brother Li, what is New York like?!"

"Is America really like what the media portrays—paved with gold everywhere, where you can make over ten thousand a month just by washing dishes?!"

"Brother Li, are American babes really as wild and hot as the movies make them out to be?"

Zhang Ao, Fan Xugang, and several others crowded around Li Dongling, chattering away with questions. Unlike the media, which focused on the lawsuit between Dongling Hi-Tech and Microsoft, these people were far more interested in Li Dongling's experiences in America, and whether American women were as fiery and uninhibited as they appeared in the films.

In recent years, foreign media, news, music, film, and television dramas had continuously poured into the domestic market. Looking at those media reports, domestic audiences felt much like Europeans did centuries ago upon reading Marco Polo's travels—the East had been depicted as a place overflowing with gold, ivory, and porcelain, as if one could simply bend down and pick up a fortune upon arrival.

Now, America and Europe had been similarly mythified by certain media outlets into lands straight out of Marco Polo's journals: places paved with gold, where washing dishes could earn you a fortune to buy a mansion, and where you could win the affections of women on par with Hollywood stars. This stimulated the nerves of countless people, turning America into their idealized paradise.

"If you love someone, send him to New York, because it is heaven. If you hate someone, send him to New York, because it is hell. It might not necessarily be the hell of the poor, but it is certainly the paradise of the rich!"

Li Dongling took a sip of his drink and said to the intensely curious crowd, "Movies and reality are different. America is a Puritan country, and ordinary American families might be completely different from what you see in Hollywood films... I heard that Beijing Television will be broadcasting a drama series called 'A Beijinger in New York' this year. If you're interested, you should check it out!"

Hearing Li Dongling's words, the curiosity about America held by Zhang Ao, Gao Peng, Fan Xugang, and the others quickly evaporated. There was no stack of US dollars waiting to be picked up just by lowering one's head, nor any smoking-hot babes rushing over at the wave of a hand. They wanted to go to paradise to enjoy themselves, not to become coolies washing dishes, scrubbing feet, or acting as human punching bags...

"Has the component factory in Shangguan Town stopped production?!" Li Dongling asked Zhang Ao.

When Li Dongling brought this up, Zhang Ao was full of grievances. "Brother Li, while you were busy with the lawsuit in America, the satellite dish market completely collapsed. Nowadays, the market price for a single satellite dish is under two hundred yuan, yielding almost zero profit, and people are still cutting prices against each other. Especially those companies down south—they've driven the price of satellite dishes to below one hundred and eighty yuan. The dishes produced by the component factory simply cannot be sold anymore, and what's more..."

Zhang Ao looked at Li Dongling and said, "I heard that the authorities are about to issue regulations banning individuals from installing terrestrial satellite receivers!"

Hearing this, Li Dongling was not surprised in the least. Satellite dishes were directly cutting into the business of cable television; a ban was only a matter of time.

This prohibition might still fail to halt the spread of satellite dishes. Where there is demand, there is a market—much like Prohibition in America back in the day, as long as demand existed, a gray market would inevitably emerge to provide a steady stream of products.

The crux of the matter was not whether the satellite dish ban would deter television users from purchasing them, but rather that a sword was now hanging over the heads of the companies manufacturing them. Minor operations were one thing, but if they continued manufacturing on a grand scale as the component factory used to, or even boasting about going public, they could forget about it.

One never knew when that sword might fall, confiscating all the money earned from satellite dishes over the years through fines, and a prison sentence was not entirely out of the question.

"Satellite dishes no longer have a market domestically!"

Li Dongling sighed. This didn't mean satellite dishes couldn't be sold at all, but rather that the exorbitant profits of the past were gone. Selling a single satellite dish used to net a hundred yuan or more; nowadays, making ten yuan on a single unit was considered decent, and one had to run the risk of heavy fines.

However, this did not mean the satellite dish market was truly dead. Southeast Asia, Africa, South America, and even the Middle East and Europe all still had markets for satellite dishes; they simply required patient cultivation to continue earning a substantial amount of foreign exchange.

Take, for instance, a certain brand known as the "King of African Phones"—unable to survive the fierce domestic competition, it ventured to Africa to pioneer a new track, achieving over ten billion in revenue within three years.

Since the Shangguan Town component factory was no longer producing satellite dishes, according to the agreement signed back then, Li Dongling could reclaim the "Guanxing" (Stargazing) brand. Currently, Guanxing satellite dishes could be said to be ubiquitous across the country.

Other counterfeit and copycat satellite dish manufacturers couldn't even be bothered to invent new names; they simply copied Guanxing outright. From the rooftops of major cities like Beijing to forestry patrol teams deep in remote mountains, its presence could be found, yet the proportion of genuine Guanxing satellite dishes produced by the component factory among them was less than one in a thousand!

Any thoughts of collecting Guanxing brand authorization fees or patent royalties were out of the question, but since this was the very first brand Li Dongling had established, he was determined to take it back.

"Now that the component factory has suspended production, I want you to come to Dongling Hi-Tech and serve as its sales manager!"

Li Dongling looked at Zhang Ao. The managerial structure of Dongling Hi-Tech would have clearly defined responsibilities moving forward: Hu Zixian would handle finance, Chen Tao would manage technology, and Li Dongshan and Gao Peng would oversee logistics and procurement.

As for Yao Luoying, she would handle human resources while assisting Li Dongling with Dongling Hi-Tech's daily operations. Li Dongling wanted Zhang Ao to take on the role of sales manager.

Zhang Ao's performance in selling satellite dishes was plain for all to see. In the future, whether selling electronic products, home appliances, furniture, or even health supplements, sales channels and direct-to-consumer promotion teams would be essential. The phrase "he who wins the sales channels wins the world" was no empty saying.

"Thank you, Brother Li! Consider it done, I've got this!"

Zhang Ao patted his chest and accepted the role immediately. He knew very well that given Dongling Hi-Tech's current reputation, joining the company—whether in terms of salary or career prospects—was vastly superior to remaining at the component factory or entering other Pingyang work units.

Having experienced the frantic pace of the Shangguan Town component factory, if Zhang Ao were sent back to while away his days in some other unit for a few hundred yuan a month, he simply wouldn't be able to stay.

Clinking glasses with Zhang Ao, Li Dongling said, "The sales department needs to establish a network of sales and ground-promotion teams across major domestic cities, and even county seats. In the future, we may even need to break into overseas markets!"

Zhang Ao let out a sharp intake of breath. Building such a team and expanding overseas required a substantial financial investment and the recruitment of massive manpower. Feeding and maintaining a full team was worlds apart from employing just a single person.

Of course, Li Dongling knew that building such a sales team would cost a pretty penny, but digital cordless phones had to be promoted. Future product developments by Dongling Hi-Tech would require promotion as well; no amount of advertising could compare to the direct impact of building one's own dedicated sales force!

After finishing the barbecue and playing a couple of games of billiards, Li Dongling did not linger, returning directly to his courtyard residence.

After washing up, Li Dongling entered his study. He was scheduled to meet Luo Junwu tomorrow, and he was still somewhat hesitant about whether or not to swallow up the Xicheng No. 1 Wireless Factory.

Thinking it over from every angle, Li Dongling still felt that acquiring Xicheng No. 1 Wireless Factory carried far too many risks—not just concerning acquisition costs and debts, but also the potential fallout from public opinion. If he really took over Xicheng No. 1 Wireless Factory and managed to revive it, there was no telling how many people would crawl out of the woodwork to throw dirt and accuse him of encroaching upon state-owned assets.

However, the skilled technicians of Xicheng No. 1 Wireless Factory, along with the "Flying Wild Goose" brand and the radio production lines, still held considerable value.

To resolve the troubles worrying the Pingyang municipal government and Luo Junwu, acquiring Xicheng No. 1 Wireless Factory wasn't the only option!

If Dongling Hi-Tech could establish a manufacturing plant, poach the actual technical personnel from Xicheng No. 1 Wireless Factory, purchase the "Flying Wild Goose" brand, and acquire the radio production lines, it would simultaneously solve a portion of Xicheng No. 1 Wireless Factory's debt problems, allow the workers who actually labored to keep their jobs and wages, and defuse the entire headache.

The "Flying Wild Goose" brand combined with the radio production lines could be pivoted toward mini-radios and car radios—a golden goose that would keep laying eggs for the next ten to twenty years!

The prerequisite was that these workers would no longer be employees of a state-owned factory; from then on, they would be managed entirely by Dongling Hi-Tech, leaving Dongling Hi-Tech with no entanglements whatsoever with Xicheng No. 1 Wireless Factory.

The newly established production plant could then manufacture computer mice, digital cordless phones, and other items for Dongling Hi-Tech.

However, Li Dongling figured that trying to sustain a sudden influx of one to two thousand workers solely on a computer mouse project would likely fall far short of the mark. A project capable of generating rapid profits was needed to keep the production plant afloat prior to the official launch of the digital cordless phones.

Among the currently profitable electronic technology industries, televisions were completely out of the question. That left only a few options like VCD players, and surely he wasn't going to start peddling health supplements to harvest leeks from consumers?!

Even if he wanted to harvest leeks, doing so required massive capital investment and heavy advertising on television stations. Li Dongling could not afford to take such a massive risk unless he was willing to stare down the barrel of cash flow depletion, dumping all his money into advertising and ground promotion—and even then, it would take at least half a year to see any results.

A moment's thought confirmed the impossibility of that path. Dongling Hi-Tech was Li Dongling's foundation, and projects like digital cordless phones also required capital.

After pondering for a long while and feeling a dull headache coming on, just as he was preparing to decline Luo Junwu's proposal and reject the acquisition of Xicheng No. 1 Wireless Factory the next day, a sudden thought flashed through his mind.

If he wanted a product with low technical thresholds, high profit margins, and the ability to sweep the market rapidly—just like the satellite dish had done—Li Dongling suddenly remembered a product that had originated in Japan in his past life and conquered dozens of countries within a single year: the electronic pet machine, also known as a pocket electronic pet or virtual pet egg. In Japan, its name was "Tamagotchi"!

Standing up, Li Dongling paced back and forth in his study several times. He felt that this product was arriving at precisely the right moment for the newly established production plant. Poaching the technical personnel from Xicheng No. 1 Wireless Factory, combining them with a portion of the existing production lines, and churning out an electronic pet machine would be a walk in the park.

If the sales of this product met expectations, it wouldn't just solve all the troubles of the new production plant; it could even generate a massive cash flow for Dongling Hi-Tech!

The target audience for this product would undoubtedly be centered in markets like Japan, South Korea, Europe, and America. After all, consumers in those regions enjoyed higher incomes and greater purchasing power, making the expenditure of a dozen or so dollars on an electronic pet machine completely affordable.

To reiterate: harvesting foreign leeks was far more cost-effective. Why should Japanese products be allowed to come domestically to harvest leeks, while domestic products couldn't harvest Japanese leeks? If the invaders could come, so could he!

With that thought, Li Dongling sat back down and fetched some drafting paper. At this time, there were not yet many sophisticated industrial design softwares available for assistance; drafting still relied entirely on the human manual plotting machine.

Modern electronic pet machines didn't require overly complex functions. Having yet to experience the baptism of smartphones, global electronic consumers had not yet been exposed to refined delicacies; simply having something fun to play with was enough—who was going to look a gift horse in the mouth!