Technology VS Capital, On the Verge of Breaking Out!

"Welcome everyone to Kunlun Laboratory," Gao Yuan said with a smile, greeting Bai Hongyuan and the others. "I've heard so much about you all from Dr. Xu Qingzhou. It's truly an honor to meet you here."

Xiao Hui, who was older, replied, "Boss Gao, please don't be so polite. Dr. Xu and I have been colleagues and good friends for many years. Besides, the emergence of your company's X series fiber has greatly boosted the morale of us who work in basic materials. Helping you is only right."

Tan Qinggu added, "Who doesn't know Boss Gao's name now? Being able to come here and witness the birth of X Fiber firsthand is a learning opportunity for us, and we might even be witnessing history."

The arrival of these high-caliber talents made Kunlun Laboratory much livelier.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Gao Yuan excused himself to find Cao Feiyu and discuss the treatment of these external experts.

Even though they were here to help temporarily, they couldn't be treated poorly. Accommodation, food, transportation, and bonuses all needed to be arranged properly.

In addition, it had been a full week since the X2 Fiber was launched, and Gao Yuan needed to check the company's financial status.

The factory grounds were quite large. Besides the laboratory, Cao Feiyu had also arranged for beds and furniture, set up a canteen and a break room for everyone to eat and rest, and purchased a Buick GL8 and a Toyota Coaster exclusively for researchers to travel to and from the city center.

However, as time went on, the disadvantages of the industrial zone gradually became apparent.

Placing a research team in such a remote location was really inconvenient. Kunlun Company already had little appeal to high-level researchers, and when they heard they had to work in a distant industrial zone during recruitment, they all backed out.

Although Cao Feiyu had established a finance department, a business department, a human resources department, and an administrative department according to Gao Yuan's instructions during this period, finding truly high-level talent was not easy.

"Thinking back, your judgment back then was correct," Cao Feiyu said with a wry smile. "Big cities offer not only convenience and prosperity but also a talent-attracting effect. It's really difficult to recruit people in small and medium-sized cities, let alone in this remote suburb where there isn't even a cinema nearby."

"As for Dr. Xu Qingzhou's group, they were assigned to work in our area by the national team. They might be transferred to other research institutes in a few years, so they can't be considered local talent."

"Let's work hard to make money. Later, we can buy property in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen and set up a group headquarters or something."

Gao Yuan frowned and smacked his lips. "Renting office buildings is more realistic. Even though our business is doing well now, buying property in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen is something we can't even dream of. Damn housing prices will eventually force all of us in the real economy to death."

"Right, we've started releasing X2 Fiber. How were the finances last week?"

Cao Feiyu took out the organized report and placed it on the table. "Last week's shipment volume was 1,200 tons. Due to the season, the sales of X1 Fiber dropped to 350 tons, leaving 850 tons of X2 Fiber. The average gross profit per ton is around 23,000 yuan."

Gao Yuan looked at last week's financial report and fell silent.

The report clearly stated that the total output of the contract manufacturer, Chaoda, last week was also 1,200 tons. After selling everything, the inventory was zero. This was a typical case of supply falling short of demand.

However, this was only the first week of official X2 Fiber shipments. It was believed that as the contract manufacturer's operations became more streamlined, production capacity would gradually increase. But with the scale of the Chaoda factory, the maximum capacity was probably only around 2,000 to 2,000-plus tons per week.

"You carry on with your work. I have an appointment with Li Guangda from Nanhua to discuss contract manufacturing," Gao Yuan told Cao Feiyu.

As he made to leave, Cao Feiyu stopped him. "Nanhua is a large state-owned enterprise. If the deal goes through, our production capacity will increase significantly. Should we prepare a price reduction plan in advance?"

Gao Yuan blinked and said meaningfully, "Good things are never cheap. I thought about it all night yesterday and decided we still shouldn't lower the price."

Cao Feiyu was slightly taken aback. "But the Japanese products have already dropped to less than 7,000 yuan per ton! Our X1 and X2 Fiber yarns are priced as high as 30,000 yuan per ton, and the X2 Fiber fluff is even 60,000 yuan per ton!"

Cao Feiyu's concerns were understandable. Such a huge price difference was enough to make a considerable portion of customers switch to competitors.

The reality was indeed so. After the Japanese products began to dump at significantly lower prices, the constant calls for urgent shipments, which had been non-stop from morning to night, suddenly decreased.

The reason was simple: since customers had already obtained the cheap Japanese products, their demand for X2 Fiber fluff naturally became less urgent.

"Most of our customers have stated that they will use Japanese products as their main sales items and then use our X2 Fiber to create higher-priced series. You should know what high-end series means."

Cao Feiyu said very seriously, "High-end means low sales. Although European, American, Japanese, and Korean manufacturers sacrificed profits, they maintained their market share. This winter, they will maintain their share and avoid a complete defeat. Next winter, after they accumulate enough strength, they can launch a desperate counterattack against us!"

"We must not let our guard down against these giants who have dominated the chemical fiber industry for a hundred years! We must cut the weeds and remove the roots, as you always say."

Gao Yuan nodded slightly and said, "Of course, I know what you're saying. But I also know that in this world, price isn't everything. Otherwise, Xiaomi would have already defeated Apple, and Luo should have inherited Steve Jobs' legacy."

"Could there be such a possibility?"

"Because of our existence, even if the Japanese products are sold at cost, they will be difficult to sell?"

"And our products, due to their high technological content, will still be unstoppable even with huge profits?"

"If you calculate carefully, the cost increase per piece of clothing compared to using Japanese products is only a few dozen yuan. It might be slightly more for bedding, but this may not become an obstacle for consumers' purchases."

After hearing this, Cao Feiyu was stunned.

From a rational perspective, the possibility Gao Yuan mentioned certainly existed. However, upon hearing the news of the Japanese product price drop, Cao Feiyu instinctively thought of following suit with a price reduction strategy.

"Either the East Wind prevails over the West Wind, or the West Wind prevails over the East Wind."

"Technology versus capital, which is the most powerful force in this world? I want to know the answer to this question too."

"By the way, please contact the customers who are still willing to cooperate deeply with us. I want to treat them to a meal."

Gao Yuan muttered, dropped these words, and walked straight out of the finance office.

Still driving the same Honda Accord he had for over a decade, Gao Yuan rushed to the largest local company, Southern Chemical Fiber Group.

Back then, the main reason Gao Yuan's father cooperated more with Chaoda Chemical Fiber and less with Southern Chemical Fiber was simply that state-owned enterprises were more bureaucratic and less flexible than private enterprises.

But in terms of scale, Nanhua was at least equivalent to three Chaodas, and its equipment was also brand new.

However, Gao Yuan was unaware that although he was not a key focus at the moment, he had been noted within the red brick walls of the Imperial Capital.

Before returning to the Imperial Capital, Wu Dongming had asked someone to contact Li Guangda of Nanhua. Thus, Gao Yuan was pleasantly surprised to find that his cooperation talks with the state-owned giant were going very smoothly.

The entire latter half of September was spent by Gao Yuan in a frenzy of activity.

On one hand, he was overseeing Nanhua Group's production capacity expansion, and on the other, he was working closely with his partners to prepare for the autumn and winter offensive.

Gao Yuan had no intention of lowering prices. His own cost was 6,300 yuan, so lowering the price would be suicidal. But he couldn't back down from this fight.

Thus, a confrontation between Technology VS Capital.

It was on the verge of breaking out!

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