[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-technology-invades-the-modern-world":3,"chapter-technology-invades-the-modern-world-technology-invades-the-modern-world-chapter-46":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Technology Invades the Modern World",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2269530,4430,"Chapter 46: An Irresistible Bait","technology-invades-the-modern-world-chapter-46",46,"\u003Cp>Xu Aizhou was still reflecting on Lin Ran’s speech today; after reading the report, he believed it at a glance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The data inside was so detailed that many figures were ones even a veteran shipping tycoon like him could never obtain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could never get the transportation cost data for American international trucking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet every real figure he knew matched almost exactly with Lin Ran’s report, with differences no greater than a few digits after the third decimal place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The conical guide post positioning device design shown by the other party—Xu Aizhou, a seasoned tycoon, recognized at a glance how powerful this device was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The problem of cargo damage caused by loading and unloading collisions, and the resulting depreciation, had been solved at its root.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once a global standard was adopted, the conical guide post positioning device would become mandatory on every cargo ship and every dock—what a massive industry that would be.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the benefit of standards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Lin Ran left, Xu Aizhou picked up the report again and checked the registration names and dates of the three patents inside—all registered to Randolph Lin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was Lin Ran’s English name.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had suspected that a Jewish family was behind it, given that Lin Ran had mentioned Rockefeller and Morgan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had heard rumors that the other party was closely tied to the Morgan family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then he reconsidered and thought it unlikely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter how much they used front men, when had global standards ever let a Chinese person speak up?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially a merchant from Xiangjiang, this remote edge of the empire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though Xu Aizhou was hailed as the Chinese Shipping King, he was barely a figure in the global shipping industry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it were Rockefeller or Morgan collaborating with Jews, would Chinese shipping merchants dare not follow the international standards they set?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After another look at the patent holders, this old shipping king ruled out the idea that the other party was acting on behalf of Rockefeller or Morgan—this was clearly his own initiative.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old shipping king sighed inwardly: “Seeing these young men today, truly remarkable—indeed, the new waves of the Yangtze push forward the old!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today’s youth have far greater vision than I did. At his age, I was still selling peanut oil.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Professor Lin is truly a mathematical genius born once in a hundred years.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He shuffled slowly to the phone, and when it connected, he bellowed with full voice: “Shixun! Get over here right now!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He hung up, thinking of the extraordinary man he had just met, then of his son, who only gambled on horses and chased women, and his anger flared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Shixun loved horse racing so much he became the largest horse owner in all of Xiangjiang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, Dong Haoyun, upon hearing the news, responded enthusiastically, vowing to cooperate fully with Xu Aizhou to make this happen:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Professor Lin, even if this project doesn’t make money, I will spare no effort to see it through—it’s a matter of restoring Chinese dignity, a chance to make our Chinese name known in global shipping.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I will work closely with Old Man Xu to build the modern shipping line you described.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the Luk Yu Tea House in Xiangjiang, Lin Ran, Xu Aizhou with his eldest son Xu Shixun, and Dong Haoyun with his own son held a three-way meeting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Lianxiang Restaurant Chen Jingrun and Zhang Kezhang visited was a common tea house for ordinary people, where shrimp dumplings and siu mai cost only 0.3 Hong Kong dollars per basket; but the Luk Yu Tea House, where Xu Aizhou hosted, featured abalone stewed in a clay pot—each serving cost 12 Hong Kong dollars.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You had to book it half a month in advance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This meal alone cost as much as half a year’s salary for an average Xiangjiang resident.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mr. Xu, Mr. Dong, here are the one-year technical licenses for the honeycomb deck system, the conical guide post positioning device, and the container data structuring technology.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You may collaborate with each other, partner with other shipping companies, or go solo—I don’t care how you build your modern shipping line.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What I care about is that after one year, when the International Container Association is established, I want them to visit Xiangjiang and have something to see—something that makes them instantly recognize the superiority of our solution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since you both have proven experience, you will naturally become the contractors for all major shipping companies and port upgrades after the standard is set.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether or not I give you equity in the technical standard, you will still profit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, if you perform well, you can compete for a seat in the final standards alliance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the equity in the company behind this standard—I myself hold only patent shares; my influence is limited.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So whether you can truly shake the global shipping market depends entirely on your efforts over the next year.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Ran handed one signed patent license to Xu Aizhou and one to Dong Haoyun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He used patents and container standardization as the seal, and global port and ship upgrades as the bait.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Any shipping giant who carefully studied Lin Ran’s patents would be unable to resist taking the hook.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was an open, undeniable strategy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The meal ended in perfect harmony; Xu Aizhou’s eldest son Xu Shixun presented Lin Ran with the deed to the property at 23–27 Wing Cheong Street, Central:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Professor Lin, a small token from the Xu family—please accept it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Ran took it and was slightly surprised—it wasn’t just one floor, but the entire building.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The property at 23–27 was a fourteen-story commercial-residential building; floors 2 through 5 had already been leased to Zhou Xing Properties for 1 million Hong Kong dollars per year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just the rent from floors 2 to 5 exceeded his annual salary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such a lavish gift truly stunned Lin Ran—he realized that though he possessed abilities others lacked and extraordinary observational skills, his understanding of human nature was still inadequate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Aizhou had told him he was giving one floor, but actually gave the whole building—this felt far better than promising the whole building and then delivering it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Ran reflected inwardly: I’ve learned again—no wonder this man survived the war and still sits calmly atop his throne afterward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, Dong Haoyun presented five percent of Dong’s Shipping Group shares.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both sides wanted desperately to pull Lin Ran onto their side—shipping kings knew exactly how to lure people aboard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The meal ended in perfect harmony.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That night, back in his single dormitory at Xiangjiang University, Lin Ran pulled out a blackboard and meticulously reviewed:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“According to my calculations, after retrofitting, shipping costs from the Far East to Europe and America will be roughly 60% cheaper than rail transport.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>America’s deindustrialization will begin twenty years early, and General Motors will outsource over 80% of its parts by the 1960s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The new route connecting Yokohama–Busan–Xiangjiang will form a Pacific assembly line.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>European companies will begin direct voyages to Asia, and deepwater berths at the Strait of Malacca will be built ahead of schedule.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiangjiang is highly likely to absorb massive manufacturing, replacing the role originally intended for 4V.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shipping in Xiangjiang during the 60s and 70s will be far safer—considering risk alone, the electronics industry can only shift to Xiangjiang.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1215,"2026-06-19T21:37:46.551Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","8588d149c86d32616e2393ca7c484861042d943b0b3abf383809ca91a64d9eeb","technology-invades-the-modern-world-chapter-47","technology-invades-the-modern-world-chapter-45",162,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Ftechnology-invades-the-modern-world-cover.jpg"]