"Welcome to Kunlun Laboratory." Gao Yuan smiled as he stepped forward to greet Bai Hongyuan and the others. "I'd long heard Dr. Xu Qingzhou speak of your reputations. It's truly an honor to meet you all here today."
The older Xiao Hui said, "Boss Gao, please don't be so polite. We've been colleagues and friends with Xu Qingzhou for many years. Besides, your company's X series fiber has burst onto the scene and greatly boosted the morale of those of us working in basic materials. It's only right that we lend a hand."
Tan Qinggu said, "Who doesn't know Boss Gao's name these days? Being able to come here and witness the birth of X Fiber firsthand is a learning opportunity for us as well. We might even get to witness history."
The arrival of these top talents immediately made Kunlun Laboratory much livelier.
After a round of pleasantries, Gao Yuan excused himself and went to find Cao Feiyu to settle the compensation arrangements for these outside helpers.
Although they had only come to help temporarily, they could not be treated poorly. Food, clothing, housing, transportation, bonuses—everything had to be properly arranged.
Besides, it had been exactly one week since X2 Fiber went on sale, and Gao Yuan needed to review the company's financial situation.
The factory grounds were actually quite spacious. Aside from the laboratory, Cao Feiyu had people purchase beds and furniture, set up a cafeteria and a break room for everyone to eat and rest, and bought a Buick GL8 and a Toyota Coaster exclusively for researchers traveling to and from downtown.
However, as time passed, the disadvantages of being located in an industrial park gradually began to show.
Placing a research team in such a remote place was simply too inconvenient. Kunlun Company already had little appeal to high-level researchers, and whenever candidates heard they would have to work in a faraway industrial district, they backed out one after another.
Although Cao Feiyu had established the finance department, business department, human resources department, and administration department according to Gao Yuan's requirements, truly high-level talent was still difficult to find.
"Thinking about it now, your judgment back then was right after all." Cao Feiyu gave a helpless smile. "Big cities offer more than convenience and prosperity—they also draw in talent like a vortex. Recruiting in a small or medium-sized city is just too hard, especially when we're stuck in this godforsaken suburb. There isn't even a movie theater nearby."
"As for Xu Qingzhou's group, they were assigned here by the state research system. In a few years, they might be transferred to another research institute, so they can't really be considered local talent."
"Let's work hard and make money. Later, we can buy buildings in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, and set up a group headquarters or something."
Gao Yuan frowned and smacked his lips twice. "Renting office space is more realistic. Our profits may be decent right now, but buying buildings in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen is still beyond imagination. Those damned housing prices will sooner or later drive all of us in manufacturing straight to our deaths."
"By the way, X2 Fiber has started shipping. How were last week's finances?"
Cao Feiyu took out the prepared report and placed it on the desk. "Last week's shipment volume was 1,200 tons. Because of the season, X1 Fiber sales dropped to 350 tons. The remaining 850 tons were X2 Fiber, with an average gross profit of around 23,000 yuan per ton."
Gao Yuan looked at last week's financial report and fell silent.
The report clearly stated that Chaoda, the contract manufacturer, had also produced 1,200 tons last week. Everything had sold out, leaving zero inventory. This was a typical case of demand exceeding supply.
However, this was only the first week of official X2 Fiber shipments. As the contract manufacturer became more coordinated, production capacity would gradually rise. But given the size of Chaoda's plant, its maximum capacity would probably only be a little over 2,000 tons per week.
"Go on with your work. I have an appointment with Li Guangda from Nanhua to discuss contract manufacturing." Gao Yuan spoke to Cao Feiyu.
He made as if to leave, but Cao Feiyu stopped him. "Nanhua is a major state-owned factory. If we can reach an agreement, our production capacity will surge dramatically. Shouldn't we prepare a price-cutting plan first?"
Gao Yuan blinked and said meaningfully, "Good things are never cheap. I thought about it all night and decided that we still can't lower our prices."
Cao Feiyu froze slightly. "But Japanese products have already dropped below 7,000 yuan per ton! Our X1 and X2 Fiber filament are priced as high as 30,000 yuan per ton, while X2 Fiber fluff has reached 60,000 yuan per ton!"
Cao Feiyu's concern was understandable. Such a vast price gap was enough to drive a considerable number of customers into the arms of their competitors.
And that was indeed what had happened. After Japanese products took the lead in drastically cutting prices and dumping goods, the rush-order calls that had once continued from morning to night suddenly became far fewer.
The reason was simple. Since customers had already obtained cheap Japanese goods, their need for X2 Fiber fluff naturally became less urgent.
"Most of our customers are now saying they'll use Japanese goods as their main product line, then use our X2 Fiber to create higher-priced series. You know what premium series mean."
Cao Feiyu said with unusual seriousness, "Premium means low sales volume. While manufacturers from Japan, Korea, Europe, and America have sacrificed profits, they've protected their market share. This winter, they can preserve their share and avoid a total defeat. Next winter, once they've accumulated enough strength, they can launch a desperate counterattack against us!"
"When facing those giants that have ruled the chemical fiber industry for over a century, we absolutely cannot let our guard down! You were the one who said that when cutting weeds, you have to pull out the roots."
Gao Yuan nodded slightly. "Of course I know all that. But I also know that in this world, price is not everything. Otherwise, Xiaomi would have driven Apple out of business long ago, and Lao Luo should have inherited Steve Jobs's mantle by now."
"Could there be another possibility?"
"Because we exist, even if Japanese goods fall to cost price, they'll still be difficult to sell?"
"And because our products contain enough technological value, even with enormous profits, they can still advance with unstoppable momentum?"
"If you calculate it carefully, compared to using Japanese goods, using X series fiber adds only a few dozen yuan to the cost of each garment. Bedding may cost a little more, but that might not necessarily become an obstacle to consumers buying it."
After hearing this, Cao Feiyu was stunned on the spot.
From a rational standpoint, the possibility Gao Yuan described certainly existed. It was only that, after hearing the news of Japanese products cutting prices, Cao Feiyu's instinctive reaction had been to follow suit.
"Either the East Wind overwhelms the West Wind, or the West Wind overwhelms the East Wind."
"Between technology and capital, which is the most powerful force in this world? I want to know the answer too."
"Oh, right. Help me contact the clients who are still willing to cooperate with us closely. I'd like to treat them to dinner."
Gao Yuan muttered to himself, tossed out those words, and walked straight out of the finance office.
Still driving that Honda Accord he had owned for more than a decade, Gao Yuan headed without pause to the largest Southern Chemical Fiber Group in the area.
Back then, the main reason Gao Yuan's father had cooperated more with Chaoda Chemical Fiber and less with Southern Chemical Fiber was simply that state-owned enterprises handled matters more cumbersomely and lacked the flexibility of private companies.
But in terms of scale, Nanhua was at least equivalent to three Chaodas, and its equipment was brand-new.
What Gao Yuan did not know was that although he was not yet someone receiving special attention, his name had already been noted within those red-brick walls of the Imperial Capital.
Before Wu Dongming returned to the Imperial Capital, he had asked someone to pass word around to Li Guangda at Nanhua. As a result, Gao Yuan was pleasantly surprised to find that discussions with the state-owned giant went remarkably smoothly.
For the rest of late September, Gao Yuan was busier than ever.
On one hand, he kept an eye on Nanhua Group's production ramp-up. On the other, he worked intensely with his partners to prepare an autumn and winter offensive.
Gao Yuan had no intention of cutting prices. His own cost was already 6,300 yuan, and lowering prices would amount to suicidal losses. But neither could he afford to back down from this fight.
Thus, a clash between Technology VS Capital—
Was on the verge of breaking out!
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