Compressing Costs

Chen Feng quickly called Professor Li. It was best to get in touch as soon as possible. Once the blockade dragged on, finding replacement suppliers would become nearly impossible.

A deep, resonant voice came through the phone.

"Who is this?"

"Hello, is this Professor Li? I'm Chen Feng, the Chief Technology Officer of Corona Technology Company."

"Chen Feng? You're that young man from Corona Technology Company, right? I heard Professor Zhang mention you."

"Yes, yes, that's me."

"I even visited your Rising Star Program with Professor Zhang. He couldn't stop praising it. I saw those impoverished children too. Once they put on your Virtual Reality Helmets, they could attend classes alongside city kids. The Virtual Classroom truly is something epoch-making, with extraordinary significance..."

The person on the other end praised Chen Feng at length, making him feel a little embarrassed.

"Not at all. It's simply what we should do."

"It's rare to have such awareness. By the way, Professor Zhang must have recommended that you call me, right? What do you need?"

"It's like this, Professor Li. Recently, we've had a certain degree of conflict with Gaofeng Group. In other words, they've cut off some of our suppliers, and we have no way to develop the Human Prosthetic Limb."

The other end fell silent for a moment before Professor Li continued.

"I've seen your Human Prosthetic Limb. It really is quite good. We've also been researching Human Prosthetic Limbs recently, but we simply can't understand why your costs are so low. If it costs less than one hundred thousand yuan, are you planning to use Human Prosthetic Technology from the last century?"

"Professor Li, you can rest assured about that. The Human Prosthetic Technology we intend to manufacture is highly refined, even more advanced than any product currently on the market. Although we've reduced the cost to some extent, you don't need to worry about us cutting corners on materials. We use plenty of quality materials."

After hearing that, Professor Li found it even harder to understand.

"This is mainly thanks to the key technologies we accumulated through the Virtual Reality Helmet, which have greatly improved this miniature sensor chip."

"I see. But I still don't quite understand. If you had a physical product for us to examine, we'd know right away. Still, we believe you. After all, not just any company could launch and carry out the Rising Star Program."

"No problem. Once we've developed it, we'll definitely provide you with a Human Prosthetic Limb for research."

Even if he handed them the Human Prosthetic Limb and Professor Li dissected it, they would never be able to replicate it. Chen Feng was confident of that, because it required artificial intelligence.

"Good. Then we'll shamelessly accept one when the time comes. As for your material problem, helping you solve it directly would be unfair to Gaofeng Group. However, there is one way: engage in deeper cooperation with us."

"What kind of deeper cooperation?"

Hearing that there was hope, Chen Feng became very happy.

"It's like this. Do you know the current state of Human Prosthetic Limbs in China?"

"Not really, though we've been compiling statistics as well. I heard the situation isn't very optimistic."

"Statistical surveys show that 75% of amputees in China live in rural areas, which means they don't have much financial means. More than 70% of them have only a middle school or elementary school education. Some lost limbs because they couldn't afford medical treatment, while others suffered amputations from workplace injuries and accidents. They can't even afford ordinary prosthetics, because even the most basic ones cost tens of thousands of yuan. As a result, most people make their own prosthetics."

After hearing Professor Li's words, Chen Feng immediately felt the weight of the task ahead, so he continued listening.

"If you can produce a Human Prosthetic Limb with extremely high cost performance and cooperate with us, it would be a tremendous blessing for disabled people across China. As for your one-hundred-thousand-yuan Human Prosthetic Limb, it's nothing more than a fantasy for that 70% of disabled people. Perhaps your target customers are the other 30%?"

Professor Li's words undoubtedly gave Chen Feng a wake-up call. He had produced a Human Prosthetic Limb that could be used by some people, but the number was too small—only around 30%.

That meant the remaining 70% still could not afford one. As Professor Li had said, creating a Human Prosthetic Limb with extremely high cost performance was not actually very difficult for Chen Feng.

He could likewise use a 3D Printer for assembly. An assembled structure might feel a little awkward when walking, but because it used a 3D Printer, the cost could be greatly reduced. He could even bring the cost down to a few thousand yuan; cutting it to three thousand yuan would not be a problem.

The miniature processing chip could be replicated through artificial intelligence, then modified with a certain amount of technical processing to bring the cost of each chip close to fifteen hundred yuan. This would still be a highly intelligent modulation chip.

"So, young man? Do you have that capability? I am indeed asking a bit much. If you can't do it, we can still help you by providing some suppliers, but that's all we can do. If you can cooperate with us, we can apply to the local authorities. By then, forget suppliers—we might even be able to secure mining areas directly for you."

After Professor Li fell silent, Chen Feng carefully considered it and felt it was feasible. He replied.

"I'll need to consult our technical staff. If we can keep the cost below four thousand yuan, then we can cooperate with you, and the results definitely won't be poor. The Human Prosthetic Limb we design will definitely be quite good."

"Good. In that case, go back and ask them first, then contact me again."

After hanging up, Chen Feng had artificial intelligence begin the calculations. It would take less than a day to calculate the cost of the new Human Prosthetic Limb, and then he could reply to Professor Li. This was another opportunity for him, and he had to seize it.