Chapter 45

"...to demonstrate its commitment to science, the Governor’s Office extended to Professor Lin Ran an unprecedented level of hospitality..."

Xu Aizhou waited at home for Lin Ran’s arrival; for the past several days, every newspaper in Xiangjiang had been discussing this mathematician.

Xu Aizhou had no idea why, among all the local wealthy merchants at the Governor’s banquet, the man had chosen only to visit his home.

A marital alliance was impossible—he had no female descendants of marriageable age.

A charitable appeal was even less likely—the Xiangjiang media had thoroughly investigated Lin Ran’s special stipend from the Rockefeller Foundation.

American media reports on his Rockefeller stipend had been reprinted everywhere.

Professor Lin had no need for such money.

Cooperation? But his main business was docks and real estate, and in real estate, Xiangjiang had merchants who did better than he did.

He simply could not fathom it—he had tried his best to guess, yet still could not discern the purpose.

But he soon understood.

After brief pleasantries, Lin Ran, seated across from him on the sofa, handed over a stack of pre-prepared documents.

Report on Maritime Transport Costs Lower Than Land Transport Costs

Merely seeing the title made Xu Aizhou sit up straight.

As a veteran maritime tycoon who had been in shipping since the 1920s, he had begun reclaiming land from the sea in the 1920s, leveraging France’s neutral status to purchase large numbers of cargo ships and build a shipping network across Southeast Asia.

How could the man possibly not understand the significance of maritime costs falling below land transport costs?

Put simply, with plastic and garment factories now everywhere in Xiangjiang, if maritime costs dropped below land costs, Xiangjiang’s production capacity could double without fear of lacking markets.

“Mr. Xu, please take your time reading. We have plenty of time—we can talk slowly,” Lin Ran said.

Xu Aizhou sat on the sofa and carefully reviewed the report Lin Ran had meticulously prepared.

The container was not a new concept.

As early as 1780, England’s inland canal system began using standardized wooden coal bins to transport coal directly from mines to factories in Manchester.

This was the earliest application of containers.

Just four years ago, the Ideal X oil tanker carried 58 thirty-three-foot containers from Newark to Houston, reducing loading and unloading costs from $5.83 per ton to just $0.16 per ton.

But this was still insufficient, as American trucking costs stood at $0.045 per ton.

Only by 1966, on the North Atlantic route, after implementing standardized interfaces, 54-ton gantry cranes, hull structure breakthroughs, container data structuring, and refrigerated container innovations, did overall costs fall below trucking costs.

Drawing on data from IMO technical archive TS-1968/23, Krupp’s 1973 technical white paper, and Maersk’s 1956–1975 operational database, Lin Ran’s report painted for Xu Aizhou a promising future.

Maritime costs could be reduced to one-third of land transport costs.

Xu Aizhou grew more excited as he read, more excited still; he closed the report, took a deep breath, and said, “Professor Lin, I won’t pretend before you—I’m old, and I can’t take too much stimulation.”

Lin Ran nodded in understanding: “I fully understand. If we modernize Xiangjiang’s docks according to my plan, maritime costs can match land transport costs. If we further upgrade destination ports, costs can drop to one-third of land transport costs. Please keep reading—we’ll talk after you finish.”

About half an hour later, Xu Aizhou composed himself: “Professor Lin, I must admit you’ve delivered a tremendous gift.

Even if you refuse to cooperate with the Xu family, this information alone is enough to make us immensely wealthy.”

For a businessman like Xu Aizhou, who was half already in the grave, after seeing this report, he could simply buy port shares blindly and wait for appreciation and dividends.

Traditional Chinese merchants always preferred collecting rent over active business—Xiangjiang merchants especially so.

Even without Lin Ran, he could have deduced from the gradual decline in maritime costs that shipping held potential—but without Lin Ran, he could not determine how far costs could fall, or whether they could truly replace traditional land transport.

With Lin Ran’s report, all answers were now clear.

“To express my gratitude, I’ve taken the liberty of gifting you one floor of the commercial-residential building under construction at 23–27 Yongji Street, Central—Professor Lin, please accept it.”

Merely hearing “Central” told you its value was immense—let alone an entire floor.

Lin Ran inwardly had to admire these Chinese merchants who had risen in the first half of the twentieth century—how elegantly they spoke, how skillfully they acted; “elegant” was the perfect word.

Lin Ran did not refuse—a single floor meant nothing compared to the information he had given.

“I hold three patents: the honeycomb deck system, the conical guide post positioning device, and container data structuring—all have been globally registered with the New York Patent Office.

Currently, Europe, America, and Russia are vying for control over container standardization.

According to information I obtained in America, the ISO Container Technical Committee is already being organized and is expected to be established next year.

I hope Xiangjiang can secure a leading role in setting these standards and dominate future maritime regulations.

What we can do is build two modern docks ahead of time, use my proposed solutions to assemble a modern container fleet, and demonstrate to the world before standards are finalized that Xiangjiang already possesses a complete container standardization system.

Let this system become the international standard.”

Only now, with insufficient information flow, does the honeycomb deck system enable cargo ships to enhance longitudinal strength, break through width limitations, and overcome previous cargo capacity constraints.

Mitsubishi in Japan has nearly completed its development and will register its patent next year.

Right now, we won’t even be able to register a patent—we might have to pay China for it.

Lin Ran continued:

“I have the technology and the plan; Xiangjiang has docks, shipping merchants, and demand—we can work closely together on this.

Let future global maritime transport obey Xiangjiang’s standards.

Others may find ways to bypass other technologies, but they will never be able to bypass the patent on container data structuring.

No mathematician can develop a superior data structuring scheme within five years.”

Xu Aizhou was clearly swayed—he knew perfectly well what it meant to control the standard.

Whether he became the King of Xiangjiang Shipping or the King of the World’s Shipping depended on this move.

“Professor Lin, whatever you need, the Xu Group will spare no effort.”

“No, no, no—the Xu family alone cannot accomplish this. We need the combined strength of Xiangjiang’s entire shipping industry.

I still need to meet Dong Haoyun.

First, let’s lock this down—build a demonstration route, then bring in two major international investors.

I can help connect with Morgan and Rockefeller; with their involvement, we can even bring in a European firm if needed.

With multiple endorsements, this standard will surely become the global standard.”

With multiple parties endorsing it, this standard will surely become a global standard.