Chapter 23: Future industrial cluster worth several hundred billion

When the videotape production plant was mentioned, Li Xin hurried back to the company; during this period he was only thinking about these petty sums, he even forgot about a whole gold mountain!

Friends born in the 2000s might not know, but those born in the 80s and 90s definitely know what VCD and DVD are.

At the peak, annual exports exceeded ten million units, and that's not even counting domestic sales.

Because domestic sales data is unreliable, there's a well‑known saying: give me one original unit, and I'll return you an industry! So no one knows exactly how many were sold domestically; the statistics can't be worked out!.

In my previous life, while working as a custodian and chatting with sales manager Old Zhou, he said something I still remember:

"Now sales aren't easy; back in the 90s at Wan Yan, people used to beg him to ship goods, unlike now! Even selling something requires begging grandparents."

The most important sentence in that talk is, (image decompression) technology — it's this technology that brought success to Wan Yan company.

An inconspicuous MPEG (image decompression) technology from US C‑CUBE company. (When the author wrote the outline, he marked the data, knowing it was a technology demonstrated in 1993; if the US, like my China, has a habit of hiding things, it would be reasonable for it to come out earlier.)

This inconspicuous, dust‑gathering technology in the warehouse directly created an industrial cluster worth several hundred billion — namely VCD and DVD.

Nowadays, tape‑based projectors cost several thousand each.

Li Xin sat on the chair, his emotions surging, restraining his excited heart and trembling hand, and exclaimed:

"I, Little Li, am going to get rich!"

Not only can he make money, he can also find a powerful backer, following this line of thought.

Could he set up an electronics lab? Then a VCD factory? Could he also do arcade machines? Finally, set up a small logistics company.

Even if the VCD factory is eventually eliminated by the times, the site can still be used as an electronics contract manufacturer.

As for Fu Xikang? Let him go to Third Brother's place!

That place is good; it can also help him cure his constipation.

All these added together make a small electronic industrial park!

Although Gangdao's electronics industry was booming in the 1980s and could produce any electronic product, that wasn't his.

According to the wage standards of the hometown, Li Xin looked around and saw not a single person capable of fighting!

Stop them all!

These are labor‑intensive industrial clusters; if he can provide jobs for several thousand, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of people, his hometown will definitely give him the utmost support and preferential treatment.

Never mind the second‑generation, third‑generation talk; he isn't a rootless small Hong Kong merchant — behind him, the grassroots have the Prosperity society, a group of over a hundred thousand people, as backing.

At the top level, there's Huang Bingyao, a pro‑China representative of the police force; shouldn't the hometown's United Front department consider his feelings and opinions?

Even if it's the Prosperity society, shouldn't the hometown also consider its United Front value?

If they really drive him away, should this place still be opened?

At this point in time, using foreign exchange to invest in the homeland, what spirit does Li Xin have?

This can't be described merely as a patriotic Hong Kong merchant!

This is someone with a little red heart, a Chinese person!

As for where the foreign exchange comes from?

He has a huge amount in his space.

Since the hometown can launder money, why launder it in Gangdao?

He also wants to, but the key is that in this era the hometown's currency is no good once you leave the border — nobody wants it elsewhere!

Even trying to buy a bowl of fish balls in Gangdao with Chinese currency won't work.

Also don't worry that the hometown won't want it; right now, as long as it's foreign currency, the hometown doesn't care where your money comes from — it only asks, "Do you have more? Come bring some!"

At present, the hometown's policies toward Hong Kong merchants—or rather, Chinese merchants—are unprecedentedly favorable.

Here's a joke: a Gangdao truck driver bought two villas in Shen Cheng.

He kept two mistresses; besides giving them living expenses and overhead, over twenty years later this loser sold the villas, and after tallying up, he still ended up making over ten million!

It's impossible like in the movie with Jimi, letting Da Quan Bao ask that line: "Lao Xu is the new Leader, who are you?"

"Prosperity," it has patriotic capital.

Nowadays Prosperity absolutely has high United Front value, at least much stronger than Harmony United Victory and Victory Union, those foreign devils' lackeys!

These goods, especially Victory Union, are the black gloves of the police foreign devils; guess where the contraband seized each year by the narcotics squad ends up?.

This matter, many people in the Gangdao underworld know.

As for destruction and warehouse fires?

Don't make trouble!

Everyone's smart; don't try to fool the gullible!

From his space, he took out a notebook; the notebook recorded lots of scattered information that others might not necessarily be able to understand.

Qiuti finished reading and asked, "What is all this?! The beginning and end don't match. Just now it was about going up the mountain, and then it's about falling into the sea?"

Quickly jot down the ideas that come to mind; these are guarantees for future wealth and success.

After writing, he tossed it into his space; done.

He picked up the phone and called Huang Dawen; after the call connected, he immediately said:

"Uncle Wen, have your firm send over a lawyer versed in international patent law; I'll give your firm a big job."

"Hmm,"

"Hmm,"

"Yes, that's right, an international patent law specialist,"

"Good, just like that; I'll wait for them at the company."

He hung up the phone and let out a long sigh.

He immediately picked up the phone again and called Han Bin: "Brother Bin, it's me, A Xin."

"Nothing major, I just want to invite you to travel to the US,"

"Don't believe me? Really, have you lead a team to the US C‑CUBE company to acquire that inconspicuous small technology, MPEG (image decompression) technology."

Okay, I'll wait for you at the company.

Why look for Binnihu Hanbin? Nobody would think Hanbin is just a little mule, right?

Let's see, what's called a big crocodile in arms smuggling!

If it weren't for the two leader positions of his older brother Slit Eye and younger brother Dinosaur, Hanbin wouldn't have defected!

In United Map he was also a hall master of District One, and still the most capable hall master—even Silly Tai wouldn't give him face.

It's about listening to the tune but not the proclamation, hanging under He Tu's name but not caring about He Tu's affairs. (As for Hanbin's defection, I could only come up with a somewhat logical reason myself.)

For Hanbin, this small matter is easily settled thanks to his overseas connections. This is the benefit of being nominally affiliated with the association.

At the company where the lawyer arrived first, when Hanbin came, Li Xin had already finished giving instructions, and had him wait in the reception room.

Seeing Hanbin go upstairs, Li Xin hurried out of the office, warmly shaking his hand and saying:

"Brother Bin, welcome, welcome, thanks for your hard work, thanks for your hard work."

Li Xin's enthusiasm left Hanbin stunned, and he teased:

"A Xin, is it really this realistic? Last time at the meeting I pulled you, and you didn't give me face; this change is too fast, I'm a bit unaccustomed."

How thick-skinned Li Xin is! His expression didn't change at all; he pulled Hanbin into the office, personally brewed a cup of tea and placed it before him.

He plopped down on the sofa beside Hanbin before speaking:

"That day weren't you angry?! If I could let that loser Fatty Lao Li give me a look, I, A Xin, would still be nothing!"

This time I'm looking for you—not just for this small matter, but there's a big business I want to partner with you, Brother Bin; are you interested?

After saying that, he waited for Hanbin's reply.

Hanbin asked curiously:

"Big business? How big a business?"

"Does the video tape smuggling business across all of Southeast Asia count as a big business?" Li Xin said.

Hanbin glanced at him and asked, "Do you have a tape-filling factory? Do you have a master tape?"

"I'll have them right away."