Chapter 68 - Chapter 68: 2.2 Million Per Set
Chapter 68: 2.2 Million Per Set
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Senior Brother, Brother Liu, I don’t think I’m selling cheap, am 1?
“The American spring-loaded knife is only selling for $6000 USD each,” Tang Rui said in exasperation.
Although his product’s performance is definitely better than an American spring-loaded knife, the cost is much cheaper.
The selling price is four times that of the spring-loaded knife; it can’t be considered cheap.
“Too small, your perspective is too narrow.
“Let’s have a drink and let Brother Liu explain it to you.
“Don’t underestimate Brother Liu; even though he’s not tech-savvy, he graduated from the International Relations School, understand?”
Wang Yuan patted Tang Rui’s shoulder and sighed.
An international relations graduate?
Now that was definitely impressive.
Tang Rui picked up a glass of alcohol and drank it directly.
“Brother Liu, teach your junior here.”
Liu Yu glanced at Wang Yuan and turned to Tang Rui.
“No need, he’s just joking, and you’re taking it seriously.
“But since Lao Wang has spoken, let me explain briefly.
“Although I don’t understand the technology, I do understand international relations.
“What was on sale? Weapons.
“When selling this kind of thing, it’s not the performance that matters most; it’s whether the other party has it or not, and whether they’ll buy it from you.
“You mentioned the American spring-loaded knife just now. Let’s not even discuss how your product compares in performance to the spring-loaded knife.
“It begs one question though: Did America sell spring-loaded knives to the middle east?”
Huh?
Did America sell them?
Tang Rui thought for a moment, as if he hadn’t heard of it.
Although America had sold many weapons and equipment to the middle east, it seemed they had never sold them spring-loaded knives.
“Seems like they didn’t.” Tang Rui hesitated.
“No need to doubt, they didn’t indeed.”
Why wasn’t it sold? Because these things are hard to intercept.
America could sell missiles and fighter jets, yet they wouldn’t sell these things.
Missiles could be intercepted, fighter jets too, and to utilize the full potential of these weapons, elite soldiers were required.
If these things were sold to the Middle Easterners, who do you think they would use them against?”
Who would they use them against?
It was obvious.
“So, does Brother Liu mean I can raise the price again?”
“No, you can’t raise the price. While the middle east have money, they’re not foolish.”
“Then how should I go about it?”
Tang Rui was a bit confused.
“They wouldn’t let me raise the price, yet they said I’m selling cheap.
“Just now, you said your launcher can fire 36 cruise missiles at once, all controlled by a single intelligent system.
“How much would you sell this launching system for?
“How much for this intelligent system?” Liu Yu asked.
Ah!
Tang Rui took a deep breath.
He understood.
Sell the launcher, and sell the system separately and the price would naturally go up.
But there was a problem.
The system is installed within the drone. Did they need a separate locking program?
And the launcher, which would be made of aluminum alloy, couldn’t be too expensive.
Tang Rui raised these two concerns.
“Junior, how should 1 praise your perspective?
“The launcher is made of aluminum alloy welding. Can it be mounted and welded on a vehicle?
“Also, regarding the flight control system; you said it can be operated with a cellphone.”
“Impossible, a cellphone can’t handle it; you’ll need professional control equipment.
“Install this equipment into the vehicle and sell them together,” Wang Yuan gestured as he explained.
After hearing Wang Yuan’s words, Tang Rui was thoroughly convinced. This is the scale of a state-owned enterprise.
Impressive, truly impressive!
But then… Liu Yu spoke up again.
“Old Wang’s right, but it’s missing one thing: a complete system consists of a launching vehicle, a set of systems, and 36 drones. This is a confidential package.
The drones won’t be sold separately; once launched, the system on the entire vehicle locks, rendering it incompatible with other drones.
If they want to buy the drones, they have to buy the whole system.”
My goodness. This was even more intense.
“So how much should this complete system be sold for?” Tang Rui asked anxiously.
“For the vehicle, let’s use the small radar car. If we exclude the radar equipment, 1 remember the procurement price was $82,000.
“The co-pilot’s control system should be included, using that simulation equipment, around $10,000.
“The modification of the launcher and vehicle won’t cost much, $20,000 should cover it.
“With these calculations, let’s sell it for $2.2 million.”
After finishing their meal, Tang Rui was dazed by all the information. He never thought he’d come to sell drones and end up selling vehicles.
Back at the guesthouse, Tang Rui fell asleep immediately after a quick shower.
The next day, Tang Rui went to the CETC.
Wang Yuan had already sorted everything out for him.
Three vehicles without radar equipment, three sets of simulator equipment, along with a bunch of accessories and materials.
These three vehicles were directly taken from the CETC’s warehouse, originally intended for radar installation.
But it didn’t matter.
Tang Rui paid, and CETC placed orders with the manufacturers.
Since the radar vehicles wouldn’t be delivered immediately, it didn’t affect anything.
If not for Brother Wang’s connections, he really wouldn’t be able to manage this. Waiting for the manufacturers to deliver would extend past the exhibition’s end.
“Bro, 1 won’t thank you for this. I’ll give you a surprise after this exhibition,” Tang Rui said to Wang Yuan when he arrived at the small workshop.
“Surprise or no surprise… aren’t you busy enough?”
We’re entering the exhibition hall on Tuesday, there will be internal audits. Do you need me to call in some people to help?”
Wang Yuan waved his hand dismissively.
“No need, this won’t take more than two days. If that’s the case, I might as well go home and plant sweet potatoes,” Tang Rui gloated.
“Alright then, you do your thing, I’m heading to work too. Call me if you need anything.”
After Wang Yuan left, Tang Rui closed the workshop’s door and walked around.
Although it was a small workshop, it was well-equipped.
Tang Rui took a look around and didn’t see any cameras. That made things easier.
He took out his computer and connected it to the devices.
“Celia, control the robotic arm, follow my commands.”
“Understood.”
The workshop had robotic arms, welding robots, automatic spray guns, and ovens.
These tools saved him a lot of effort. Tang Rui picked up some components.
After measuring the parameters, he began installing them onto the vehicle.
The vehicle before him had nothing behind the driver’s and co-driver’s seats.
All it was, was a bare chassis.
Originally, a radar device was to be installed on this chassis, turning it into a radar vehicle.
But Tang Rui didn’t need that. He only needed a platform at the back to mount the launcher.
Of course, that was easier said than done.
If it looked ugly, the middle east wouldn’t buy it even if it was priced at $2.2 million. It had to be visually appealing.
For equipment worth $2.2 million, you couldn’t just consider it a good bargain. At the very least, it shouldn’t be unsightly.
So, Tang Rui decided to add a 360-degree rotating, diamond-shaped rear compartment with a radar scattering cross-section on the frame.
He also planned to modify the front doors of the driver’s compartment to make them more aesthetically pleasing.
Quality couldn’t be improved further, but appearance could be enhanced.
This way, when the middle east spent their money, they’d feel better about it.
Customer experience mattered.
“Celia, start welding at the marked positions.”
“Celia, pass me that bearing.”
“Celia…”
Tang Rui kept giving orders, instructing Celia to do this and that.
His main role was in designing and overseeing Celia’s work. This way, he wouldn’t tire himself out.
Besides, he only needed to modify one vehicle. Once he modified one, Celia could handle the other two.
Celia worked quickly. There wasn’t much to do.
If not for the goal of improving appearance, he could have finished modifying all the vehicles in three to four hours..