Chapter 11: Chapter Eleven: Observing the Stars

In a corner of the workshop, Li Dongling worked diligently at the control panel, while Zhang Xiaocheng stood directly behind him, eyes locked on every movement, not daring to blink—even more nervous than Li Dongling himself.

Zhou Wenyang and the workers still guarding the device factory—Zhang Ao had somehow heard the news and rushed over to join the crowd.

Li Dongling’s pace was slow; he frequently paused to test with diagnostic instruments. Zhang Ao grew bored, yawned, and pulled out a cigarette to light it—then looked up and met Zhang Xiaocheng’s glare, as if ready to swallow him whole, and hastily stuffed the cigarette back.

This process took Li Dongling nearly two hours, wasting considerable materials, because the components of this era differed significantly from those he was familiar with; testing their performance and stability consumed much time.

“Done!”

“Let’s test it!”

After the final inspection, a crude receiver—essentially a set-top box—appeared on the control panel, lacking a casing, visibly shabby, with exposed wiring.

Hearing this, Zhang Xiaocheng, who had stood there the entire time, felt as if hearing celestial music; without waiting for anyone else, he carried out the television from his office—weighing dozens of pounds—by himself.

Zhang Xiaocheng, Zhou Wenyang, Zhang Ao, and the others all stared wide-eyed as Li Dongling worked.

After connecting all the wires, Li Dongling began adjusting the satellite dish’s position—another half-hour passed. Zhang Xiaocheng was even more tense than Li Dongling, fists clenched, sweat beading on his forehead.

“There it is!”

Zhang Ao shouted first, drawing everyone’s attention—the television screen suddenly displayed an image. Everyone felt a surge of excitement.

“It’s Yunnan-Guizhou TV, showing Hai Ma Dance Hall—I watched it at home yesterday; they’re already on episode 25, while the city station’s only up to episode ten!”

Zhang Ao, watching the channel appear on screen, spoke aloud; Zhou Wenyang and the others also turned to the television.

The satellite dish’s signal was remarkably stable—no flickering snow, no sudden loss of signal—and the picture quality was crystal clear.

Seeing that this satellite dish truly worked, Zhang Ao, Zhou Wenyang, and the factory workers all felt astonishment—this single dish actually received satellite TV!

Zhang Xiaocheng exhaled deeply and immediately asked Li Dongling, “How many channels can it pick up?”

Li Dongling began switching channels with the receiver’s remote—CCTV-4, West Region TV, Bashu TV, Hong Kong Phoenix TV—all appeared on screen.

Only when he reached the sixteenth channel did the screen go blank—but even so, Zhang Ao, Zhou Wenyang, and the others were stunned; Zhang Xiaocheng clenched his fist tightly.

“The channels aren’t fixed yet. Currently, these are the satellite channels we can detect, but I’ve heard Qilu TV and Qiantang TV will launch next year—by then, we could receive over twenty-two channels!” Li Dongling said.

“Enough!”

“More than enough!”

Zhang Xiaocheng rubbed his hands together, unable to suppress the joy on his face—this satellite dish’s capability far exceeded his expectations.

“What should we call this satellite dish?” Zhang Xiaocheng asked Li Dongling.

Earlier, he and Li Dongling had agreed: the technology and brand of the satellite dish belonged to Li Dongling. He didn’t care about such things—not just him, but in China now, whether state-owned or private, no one cared about patents, technology, or brands, because counterfeits were everywhere, everyone copied each other; once a product became popular, dozens of knockoffs would appear within weeks—no one laughed at the other, everyone was the same.

“Let’s call it… Guanxing.”

Li Dongling looked at the satellite dish he had assembled with his own hands—regardless of whether knockoffs followed, he would definitely register the “Guanxing” brand.

Zhang Xiaocheng pulled Li Dongling into his office; his attitude toward Li Dongling had changed completely.

“No wonder you’re a college graduate—indeed, education matters. I consulted many people before, but none could think of a way to save the factory. I tried launching other products, but none sold—they only made the factory’s debts worse!”

Zhang Xiaocheng brewed a cup of tea for Li Dongling—the kind he rarely drank, reserved for old comrades who visited him.

“How much does it cost to produce one of these satellite dishes? When can we start production?!” Zhang Xiaocheng fired off a barrage of questions—his urgency was palpable.

“The motherboard, chips, and memory are expensive—accounting for over half the cost. Currently, production cost per unit exceeds 150 yuan; if we scale up, we can reduce it to 100 yuan—or even lower!”

“Now, we just need to design the casing and packaging, train the production and sales staff, and we can begin manufacturing!”

Li Dongling said—building the satellite dish was essentially buying parts and assembling them; the difficulty was low, learnable in a few days. To sell them, sales staff would need to know how to adjust the satellite dish too.

Hearing this, Zhang Xiaocheng could no longer sit still. “I’ll get the workers back to work right now!”

Li Dongling stopped the eager Zhang Xiaocheng. “You plan to just start production and sell these satellite dishes directly?!”

“What else should I do?!” Zhang Xiaocheng looked at Li Dongling, puzzled by his tone.

“What if officials from Pingyang TV, or Hanzhong Province TV, or even Beijing Radio and Television Bureau come down and, with the police, investigate your satellite dish? What will you do?!”

“What can I do?!”

Zhang Xiaocheng’s stubbornness flared again. “I’ve got nothing but this life—if they take it, let them take it!”

Li Dongling’s head throbbed—he asked not only for Zhang Xiaocheng’s sake, but also for the future users who would buy Guanxing satellite dishes.

Li Dongling certainly wanted to earn his first fortune through the satellite dish, but he didn’t want those who bought it to suffer—using it briefly, then having it seized, fined, punished. He wanted them to use it without fear, openly and confidently—not trembling while watching TV!

“Factory Director Zhang…”

“No need for formality—call me Lao Zhang,” Zhang Xiaocheng told Li Dongling. Though a rough man, he knew he must befriend those with real talent.

“Brother Zhang, the Guanxing satellite receiver is a legitimate project, not something illicit. As long as no law declares satellite dishes illegal, we must follow proper procedures—even advertise them!”

Zhang Xiaocheng, hearing this, nearly reached out to feel Li Dongling’s forehead—had he worked too hard these days? Had his brain overheated?

Zhang Xiaocheng thought Li Dongling was joking. “If you really mean that, you might as well suggest we partner with Pingyang TV…”

“Why not?”

Li Dongling stared intently at Zhang Xiaocheng—the smile on Zhang’s face froze instantly.

“Do you know what you’re saying? Pingyang TV would never partner with us on a satellite dish project—unless they’ve gone mad!”

“What if they did?”

“You haven’t even met Pingyang TV—how do you know they won’t partner with us?”

Zhang Xiaocheng felt his mind was failing—his reaction was like a weasel becoming cousins with a chicken, or a cat marrying a rat.

“You really mean partnering with Pingyang TV?” Zhang Xiaocheng asked, his expression serious.

Li Dongling nodded. “We might need to give up some of the satellite dish’s profits to Pingyang TV—but if we succeed, it will greatly benefit the project. The returns could even be greater, and we could replicate this model to sell Guanxing dishes to more regions—even beyond the province!”