Chapter 10

"Satellite dish?!"

Zhang Xiaocheng looked at Li Dongling's expression and felt that he wasn't joking. Coupled with Li Dongling's name of graduating from Hanxi Jiaotong University, it was still very loud. This academic qualification, some people didn't take it seriously, but in society, most people were quite recognized and respected.

"TV satellite receiver, like the current TV antenna, is to provide signals for the TV, but it receives satellite channels!"

Listening to Li Dongling's words, Zhang Xiaocheng couldn't help but look up. Even though he was a rough guy, after retiring from the army, he was assigned here to serve as the factory manager. But hearing such high-end things as satellites, he still couldn't help but show respect and pricked up his ears to listen to Li Dongling's words.

"Now, if you don't install cable TV and only use ordinary TV antennas, you can only receive two or three TV stations like CCTV, provincial stations, city stations, etc. In towns and villages, you can receive even fewer TV stations, and on the mountains, you can't even receive signals!"

"But using a satellite dish, you can directly watch satellite channels, and you can watch over 15 satellite TV channels including CCTV-1, CCTV-2, Dianqian Satellite TV, etc. In the future, there will be more provincial and municipal TV stations on satellite channels. One satellite dish can receive over 50 TV channels or even more!

Most importantly, the satellite dish only needs a one-time installation fee and equipment fee, and you don't need to pay fees for future use!"

"The number of color TV users in the country already exceeds 80 million, and the number of TV users in Pingyang is also close to 850,000. How many of these users use cable TV? If we launch a satellite dish, how many people are willing to buy..."

Li Dongling didn't speak after saying this. Zhang Xiaocheng's throat couldn't help but move. As long as you have installed the cable TV provided by the TV station, you understand what Li Dongling means.

Those who use the cable TV provided by the TV station to watch TV need to pay over 200 or 300 yuan every year. As long as they want to use it, they have to pay. If they don't pay, there will be no signal!

But if this satellite dish is really as Li Dongling said, and only needs to pay once to watch so many channels, Zhang Xiaocheng can imagine that the satellite dish is almost going to beat the TV station's cable TV.

This is eating from the TV station's rice bowl. Zhang Xiaocheng soon figured this out.

Li Dongling didn't urge Zhang Xiaocheng. This satellite dish is what he can think of as the most suitable thing for the Shangguan Town component factory to do—low difficulty, quick results, high returns!

And for Li Dongling, as long as he can bring the Shangguan Town component factory back to life, it proves his ability. After resigning from the Wireless Factory No. 1, no matter what he does, there will definitely be people willing to support him, and he will also be able to raise funds!

This is an era of grass-roots heroes, just like Boss Mou and Giant Boss Shi. As long as you have proven yourself, even if you go bankrupt, there will be people willing to follow you. Even if you take out a blank piece of paper, countless people are willing to invest, and even for projects like bombing the Himalayas, countless people are cheering for it, and even paying money!

The satellite dish project also belongs to the edge project. If Li Dongling does it personally, if someone finds fault, he might be unlucky. But if a state-owned factory does it, even if someone finds fault, it is estimated that most of them will just fight a verbal lawsuit.

Although the satellite dish has been explicitly banned several times in the future, it has always existed on a large scale in villages and towns in the country. Even after 30 or 40 years, its retention in the country is an astonishing number. The reason is that it is cheap and easy to use. Even after being eliminated in the country, it is sold to Southeast Asia, Africa, South America, etc., and is well received.

Relying on this project, not to mention how long to earn money, in the short term, it is enough for the Shangguan Town component factory to earn a lot of money, but it definitely won't last too long. After all, there is no technical threshold, and now it is not about brands or patents. After a while, all kinds of fake brands will be everywhere.

"Dongling, right? Can you really make this satellite dish?!"

Zhang Xiaocheng looked at Li Dongling's expression. He finally made up his mind. Whatever edge or not, whatever fighting for the rice bowl or not, he couldn't care about it anymore. People were almost starving to death. He would rather go to prison and hide from those who wanted debt than be afraid of offending people!

"Yes!"

"Half a month, mainly because buying materials takes time!"

Li Dongling gave Zhang Xiaocheng a firm answer. Actually, if there were materials and accessories, Li Dongling could hand-assemble a set of satellite dishes in a few days.

"However, Factory Manager Zhang, I also have a request!"

"The technology and brand of the satellite dish belong to me. I can authorize the Shangguan Town component factory to use it.

But, if the sales can exceed 3,000 units, for the subsequent sales, I want 35% of the revenue as brand and technology authorization fees!"

Li Dongling said to Zhang Xiaocheng. This kind of asking for revenue sharing, or even equity, is very common in private companies, but it is not so easy in state-owned factories.

If the Shangguan Town component factory were still making money now, Li Dongling wouldn't have made such a condition. But seeing that it was about to collapse, if he saved it, would it be excessive to make some conditions?!

Now domestic companies, whether state-owned or private, are crossing the river by feeling the stones, and all kinds of demons are dancing. There are plenty of cases of packaging state-owned factories that are operating well for private management. Li Dongling just asked for project commission, which is really not excessive. Of course, this still requires Zhang Xiaocheng to bear the risk.

Zhang Xiaocheng's eyes stared at Li Dongling. Having been on the battlefield, he could make people feel murderous at this time. If he were a liar, he would have started to feel guilty and couldn't hold on, but Li Dongling had no fear of him at all.

Although Zhang Xiaocheng didn't know how many satellite dishes could be sold, and didn't know if 3,000 units could be sold, Zhang Xiaocheng was still very cautious and didn't dare to agree to too much.

"10%!"

"25%!"

"20%." After several rounds of bargaining, Li Dongling also took a step back. The profit margin of the satellite dish, in the early stage, might exceed 40% or even 50%, but in the later stage, when competition becomes fierce, the profit will also become meager.

"Deal!"

Zhang Xiaocheng stretched out his big hand and shook Li Dongling's. He was from the military, acted decisively, and once he made a decision, he didn't hesitate. Just like before the battle, he was most afraid of hesitant people. The first to die on the battlefield were these people. Bullets didn't go with them. Seeing that there was no way out, Zhang Xiaocheng could only fight to the death.

After reaching an agreement with Zhang Xiaocheng, Li Dongling prepared to formulate an agreement. He didn't sign the agreement directly with Zhang Xiaocheng, but prepared to build a company, even if it was a shell company, and use the name of this company to sign an agreement with Zhang Xiaocheng.

This was to prevent any accidents. His current identity was still an employee of Xicheng Wireless Factory No. 1. If he didn't take evasive measures and was caught by the pigtail, he didn't know how much trouble there would be. In this era, I don't know how many grass-roots heroes fell on such inconspicuous details. In the end, all the money earned was confiscated, which was cheaper for others, and he himself was imprisoned.

"What raw materials are needed? I'll send someone to buy them now. As for money," Zhang Xiaocheng gritted his teeth, "I'll risk it all. I don't want this old face anymore. I'll go to the town to borrow another sum. The mayor of Shangguan Town is my old comrade-in-arms. When I went to fight in Vietnam back then, I saved his life. Now it's his turn to pay the debt!"

Li Dongling listed a list and handed it to Zhang Xiaocheng, then started making design drawings.

Zhou Wenyang, who had nothing to do, came over and saw the design drawings Li Dongling made, which made his eyes light up. Li Dongling hadn't worked at the Provincial Machinery Design Bureau for so many years in vain. Zhou Wenyang knew Li Dongling's foundation as soon as he saw these design drawings.

Thinking back to the personal mini-radio project Li Dongling proposed at the Technical Department meeting that day, his heart couldn't help but move. If he had really followed Li Dongling's proposal, I don't know what the Wireless Factory No. 1 would be like now!

Originally, the satellite dish wasn't something too difficult technically, and coupled with the drawings Li Dongling made, anyone with a little technical knowledge could basically see it at a glance, not to mention the "hardworking veteran" Zhou Wenyang.

"Receiving antenna, high-frequency head, feeder, satellite receiver, motherboard, main control chip, storage chip..."

Looking down, Zhou Wenyang found that the most valuable thing was probably the motherboard plus those two chips.

Looking at the drawings and then at Li Dongling, Zhou Wenyang felt that if he had materials in his hand, he could hand-assemble a satellite dish according to the drawings, and couldn't help but ask Li Dongling, "Will this work?!"

Li Dongling glanced at him. Those popular electronic products, besides computers and mobile phones, honestly, the difficulty wasn't great. Anyway, they were all bought parts assembled. It was more about creativity, "Wait until it's made, and you'll know!"

Li Dongling handed several drawings to Zhou Wenyang, asking him to first make the pot surface of the receiving antenna, the high-frequency head, and some parts.

"Just 150,000!"

Zhang Xiaocheng, who returned from Shangguan Town, put all 150,000 yuan on the table in front of Li Dongling. He really broke his mouth this time.

"If this money is spent and the component factory hasn't been saved, I, Zhang, will only jump off the building to explain to those creditors!"

Li Dongling looked at the pile of money on the table. In this era, it was a huge sum of money. Li Dongling calculated that with the current cost, all kinds of materials plus production costs, R&D, purchasing materials, production, and then sales, producing the first batch of satellite dishes was no problem.

For the next few days, Zhang Xiaocheng basically stood at the factory gate, looking forward to whether the purchased motherboards, chips, and equipment had been delivered, or he would shake in front of Li Dongling.

Li Dongling wasn't so anxious. After finishing his work in the morning, he went to the river by Shangguan Town in the afternoon to fish. This was one of the few hobbies of Li Dongling after arriving in the provincial capital in his previous life, but he didn't have handy tools now, so he could only use a homemade fishing rod. He didn't have much stuff to nest, so Li Dongling decided that he must open a fishing rod factory in the future to solve the suffering of fishing enthusiasts all over the world.

For fishing enthusiasts, if you can't catch fish, there are only two reasons: one is that the fishing rod is not good, and the other is that the bait put by the nesting immortal is too little, and the fish haven't been attracted. Anyway, it can't be a technical problem, absolutely impossible!

After fishing for two or three days, the fish Li Dongling caught were only a few small fish. Li Dongling didn't care. Li Dongling believed that big fish would take the bait sooner or later, although he saw big fish swimming under the fishing rod several times...

"Dongling, the materials have arrived!"

Seeing another big fish swimming under the fishing rod, Li Dongling let out a sigh. It wasn't his fault, it wasn't his technical problem, it was that the fish were scared by Zhang Xiaocheng's loud voice.

"The chips, motherboards, and tools and materials you wanted have all been delivered!" Zhang Xiaocheng shouted to Li Dongling from afar.