"Mr. Chen, a television production line, even for black and white televisions, is not something that can be bought with just a little money."
"You are directly providing us with money, solely for us to produce televisions for you to sell?"
Hou Yong looked at Chen Yang, incredulous.
Although Chen Yang was young, his maturity, composure, and self-possession showed he wasn't a fool. Hou Yong didn't believe Chen Yang would be foolish enough to give the Third Radio Factory so much money for nothing; he felt Chen Yang must have a motive.
Furthermore, it wasn't as simple as acquiring a production line. The Shanghai Third Radio Factory wouldn't immediately gain production capacity. Learning the technology and then manufacturing it was a complex process.
Televisions were unlike radios; they had more intricate integrated circuit boards, picture tubes, screens, antennas, power cords, and various buttons. They were far more complicated than radios.
Even Sheng Changqing probably wouldn't dare guarantee to Chen Yang that they could quickly utilize this production line and achieve production capacity.
"Director Hou, please don't rush, I haven't finished speaking. I will provide the funds, and after the Third Radio Factory obtains the production line, all the televisions produced will be sold to my store. This is the first point." Su Dan Fiction Network
Hearing Chen Yang's words, Hou Yong and Sheng Changqing couldn't help but hold their breath. They were more nervous than anyone.
They feared Chen Yang would make exorbitant demands that they couldn't possibly agree to.
However, Chen Yang was their only lifeline. Aside from Chen Yang's financial support, they truly didn't know where else to get the money.
But if Chen Yang's demands were too excessive, they wouldn't be able to cross their bottom line to agree.
"This money is not a gratuitous donation to the Third Radio Factory; it is to be repaid. A portion of the payment for the televisions supplied by the radio factory will be deducted each time to settle the debt. When the debt is fully repaid, the production line will completely belong to the Third Radio Factory. Until then, I have the right to dispose of this production line."
Upon hearing Chen Yang's request, both Hou Yong and Sheng Changqing breathed a sigh of relief. This demand was not unreasonable.
The money was, after all, provided by Chen Yang. If the money hadn't been fully repaid, the production line would still belong to Chen Yang, and they had no objections to that.
"My last request is this: I know that importing a production line definitely requires the lead of the Ministry of Trade and Economic Affairs or the Ministry of Industry. I was hoping, if possible, that I would provide the funds, and you would help me import an additional production line."
"This production line, I want for myself!"
In fact, having the Shanghai Third Radio Factory act as a contract manufacturer for his store was only a secondary objective for Chen Yang. His ultimate goal was to use the Shanghai Third Radio Factory to procure a black and white television production line for his factory in Jinling!
Others' facilities were ultimately inferior to his own. Even if he paid for the production line and allowed the Shanghai Third Radio Factory to become his contract manufacturer, Chen Yang still wanted his own factory to produce his own products.
"This, Mr. Chen, do you have that much money?"
"It's not that I doubt your capabilities, but even importing an old, discarded black and white television production line from another country requires hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of US dollars."
"One is already so expensive, what about two?"
Hou Yong looked at Chen Yang. If this young man hadn't given him so many pleasant surprises, he would have thought the kid’s brain had malfunctioned.
This wasn't like buying cabbage at a market; this was a production line worth hundreds of thousands of US dollars, and he wanted two instead of one!
One must remember that foreign exchange was scarce during this era. Although the exchange rate of USD to RMB was currently 1:1.5, the black market exchange rate was likely closer to two RMB for one USD.
The nation's foreign exchange reserves were not abundant, and various heavy industry sectors needed to import advanced technologies.
Generally, heavy industry departments or large central state-owned enterprises would receive more resources. Therefore, smaller factories like the Shanghai Third Radio Factory couldn't even get on the radar of the Ministry of Trade and Economic Affairs.
Moreover, they weren't importing any high-end technology, just old television production lines that others had discarded. The Ministry of Trade and Economic Affairs always adhered to the principle of using resources where they were most needed, so the Third Radio Factory was not even on their consideration list.
Otherwise, Hou Yong and Sheng Changqing wouldn't have been pushed to the brink of considering a joint venture for a production line worth a mere hundred thousand US dollars.
"Director Hou, don't worry about the money. I will have it ready, and in US dollars. As long as you can get the Ministry of Trade and Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Industry to facilitate contact with foreign manufacturers for supply, that's all we need."
Chen Yang grinned. A production line worth hundreds of thousands was a significant amount at this time, but considering the profits it could generate, it was negligible.
This wasn't just a production line; in Chen Yang's eyes, it was a veritable printing press.
In the 1980s, a black and white television cost hundreds, even thousands, of yuan. If they could mass-produce televisions, it would be an incredibly lucrative business.
Moreover, it was a definitive seller's market; they wouldn't have to worry about sales at all. People would queue up to buy televisions for many years to come.
Many people would fight tooth and nail for a television ration ticket.
Don't assume people were too poor to afford televisions back then.
In fact, in the early 1980s, China's television ownership quickly surpassed ten million. In urban areas, about a dozen out of every hundred households owned a television.
Of course, this number was much lower in rural areas; perhaps not even one household in an entire village could afford a television.
But this was due to low production capacity at the time. How many factories in the country could produce televisions? Even operating at full capacity, how many units could be produced in a month?
It was a definite case of supply falling short of demand, and even foreign television manufacturers wanted a piece of the pie.
This situation of not having to worry about sales would continue well into the 1990s. By then, they could transition from black and white televisions to new color televisions, and sales would open up again.
The first batch of people who could afford black and white televisions would, after more than ten years, be able to afford the more expensive color televisions.
And those who were initially dissatisfied with black and white televisions could finally bite the bullet and buy color sets.
"Mr. Chen, if you can truly produce the money, I will handle the matter of these two production lines."
"In a few days, I will apply to go to Beijing. I have old connections at the Ministry of Trade and Economic Affairs. Although he won't approve money for production lines for personal gain, if we are paying ourselves and he helps us find suppliers, it would be hard for him to refuse."
Hou Yong's eyes turned red with excitement. Hearing his words, Chen Yang was even more thrilled. He had been looking for a way to acquire television production lines without success, and now, someone was offering it to him on a silver platter!