Chapter 86: The Great Depression (5)

Ford rarely uses his office, but today, he officially invited Huang Xuan to the office. The time was 2 hours later, Huang Xuan himself proposed.

While Ford was touring other workshops, Huang Xuan used the remaining 30 cents to buy more than 20 drawings and two pencils, and found a roof to spread them out, while Lorraine complained and turned them into complete plans. I saw carbon droplets flying in the air, as if they had been discussed, and they lined up on the drawings to reproduce their contents according to the information found by Lorraine.

Because the adsorption of carbon is very strong, as long as the landing point of each toner is controlled, and it is arranged on the drawing according to the requirements of the data, a complete design drawing is completed, and the principle is very similar to laser printing, and more energy consumption is due to different planes.

For Lorraine, this kind of work consumes less than directly "" Huang Xuan's body, and the weight alone varies greatly, not to mention the efficiency.

Of course, more than 10 drawings are not even enough to show the engine construction, let alone production, but if it is used for negotiation, it is enough.

Huang Xuan quickly rolled it up, raised his head, and walked towards Ford's office.

At this time, not only Edsel, but also several executives in the company gathered here. Later in the course of Ford Sr., they spent a lot of money buying up Ford's shares, thus turning Ford into a complete family business, so when it came time for Edcel to make a decision, all he had to do was ask his dad – and he had to ask him for advice.

Walking into this 200-square-meter office, Huang Xuan did not speak, but spread the drawings in his hand on the round table in the middle, these are just some drawings that describe "sex", which are far from the drawings that can really be used for production.

There were a total of 7 people present, and after Huang Xuan sat down, everyone gathered in a circle and began to look at the drawings on the table, and everyone was very serious.

"Very nice design." Kent, Ford's director of development, stretched out his hand and said to Edsel: "But we already have a similar design, and we don't have to spend any more money on it." ”

Huang Xuan pouted, the same design? It would take Ford at least a year and a half to design the same design, and he leaned comfortably on the couch, drinking coffee and being silent.

Edsel was also silent, and he knew better than anyone else the state of his factory. Instead, others spoke up to discuss. However, everyone knows that the real decision-maker is Ford Sr., and Henry has never delegated enough power to his son when it comes to the direction of the company's policies.

"Did you design it?" Edsel asked, half-curious.

"Of course." Huang Xuan looked at him with unpretentious eyes.

At the beginning of the 20th century, it was quite common for a person to design an industrial product, and Honda and Ford were born in this way, just like in the second half of the 20th century, a programmer completed a piece of software.

Edsel expressed his appreciation with his eyes, and it was said that two people with similar thoughts called each other bosom friends, and the collision of the same thoughts, in different planes, might be called the same name.

V8 is perhaps the last legacy of Edsel's life.

Huang Xuan regretted this, but this wise and wealthy gentleman had died in an accident, and in the words of His Excellency the Warden, such a death was almost impossible to change, because the energy of the plane's buffer had too many ways to correct such deviations. If the energy fluctuates too much, it is possible for thunder to fall from the sky.

Several people sitting opposite Huang Xuan discussed in a whisper, and Stephen, Ford's sales director, asked Huang Xuan intimately: "Have you registered a patent?" Don't let anyone take away from you with such a perfect design. ”

Huang Xuan smiled indifferently and said, "As long as you are willing to pay, you can take this design and register it however you want." ”

This surprised everyone, and Kent winked at Ford. For these gentlemen, who have become accustomed to patenting every little thing, Huang Xuan's method of doing things is too tempting and "sexual" - perhaps it doesn't cost much at all, which is the idea of almost everyone except Huang Xuan.

In this regard, Huang Xuan also took it into account. But what can be done, not to mention his own identity, just with the speed of approval by the US Patent Office, it is enough to make him go back and forth between the two planes more than ten times, and besides, he doesn't actually expect to get much money from Ford. This is 1931, and in modern society, there are so many ways to make money, and there are many ways to make money faster than selling patents.

Edsel was silent for a while, and said, "Mr. Xuan, maybe we need to discuss it......

"Mr. Ford." Huang Xuan drank all the coffee in the cup, stood up and said, "Of course you can discuss it, but I can only wait for you for one day, and tomorrow night, I will go to New York." ”

"It's impossible to do it in one day." The sales director was surprised: "We need to validate, we also need to consider the same kind of design, before we see your complete design data, we don't know how much modification we need to make to the production line, and similarly, we can't accurately judge the specific "sex" of your design, you know, this is a person's design, there is still a lot of work to be done......

"Okay." Huang Xuan was a little impatient, and said: "Tonight, I will stay at the nearby Elis Hotel, until noon tomorrow, if you really want this drawing, just before noon tomorrow, bring cash to trade with me, when the time comes, you will naturally see the details, all the content you want, if you are not interested, I will go to another company, you can bring bodyguards, whatever you want, but I want to see cash, understand?" ”

Edcel was a little dissatisfied, saying: "We can't make such a simple decision on the design and production of a model......

"That's your problem." The English that I had learned for many days finally came in handy, Huang Xuan bit his tongue and said: "If you want it, bring money, I want 100,000 US dollars, it's unimaginably less, isn't it?" ”

In 1931, 100,000 US dollars, in terms of purchasing power, was about 1 million US dollars today, and the current US President Hoover, whose annual presidential salary is 75,000 yuan, will not be until 18 years later, that is, at the end of World War II, Truman can get 100,000 US dollars. For the average American, a monthly salary of $200 is already a rare high salary, which usually requires a family of 10 to spend. As for the middle class, the favorite term of the Chinese in this new century, it is only an embryonic class, and in some authoritative terms, it was the advent of the Ford Model T that gave birth to the middle class, and if this is believed, then one of the hallmarks of the middle class, a Model T, or a similar sedan, now costs only $260.

However, on the other hand, $100,000 is also a lot of money. Aside from the fact that it is equivalent to a year's toil of hundreds of workers, one need only think of the American economy during the Great Depression to understand how huge a $100,000 was in an era when a sheep was worth only $1.

Of course, the huge amount of money is relative to the poor, Ford's average annual profit is $30 million, and its loss of halting the entire production line for half a year in the process of developing the Model A car is far more than $15 million. As for their own direct funding for the development of V8, it is far more than $3 million.

Therefore, $100,000 is still a very tempting figure for Edsel.

When Huang Xuan turned his head and left the office, the room suddenly exploded, and Stephen, the sales director who had been with him for 10 years, was in favor of buying Huang Xuan's design, as long as it could meet 80% of the design requirements, it could be spent.

Kent immediately retorted: "How can we tell from the drawings whether it will meet 80% of the design requirements?" ”

Stephen was immediately speechless. In the final analysis, his major is still not car manufacturing, and Bronn next to him also objected: "Without an appointment, it is a hassle to withdraw 100,000 cash." Moreover, gentlemen who believe in cash transactions, always have too many quirks. The quirk here is of course derogatory, and he actually wanted to say the word "robber", but in the end he still didn't say it.

Of course, in 1931, Americans' trust in banks had reached a freezing point, and two years later, in 1933, a massive bank run would bankrupt countless Wall Street dignitaries. However, this feelings of distrust of banks have not yet spread to gentlemen with huge assets, because they need banks more than ordinary people. On the other hand, the argument of asking for cash payments is also considered to be a concern for the poor.

Edsel listened quietly, he was going to consult with old Ford in the evening, but before that, he needed to know as much as he could about both sides.

However, mentally speaking, Edsel is more inclined to buy a set of blueprints, even during the Great Depression, the sales of the Model A are still good, but the advantages brought by technology will soon be lost, and the Oriental design, which happens to be in line with Ford's production, should not even need too many modifications, it should be able to organize production. If there is no problem with the design itself, $100,000 is almost equivalent to giving it away.

The discussion became quieter, Edsel put down the coffee in his hand, and said with a serious expression: "Bron, find a way to withdraw 100,000 cash, notify the bank now, and be sure to get it before 9 o'clock tomorrow." ”

"Okay."

"Mr. Brown?"

"Yes." Brown was a rugged Westerner, with rough skin and bright eyes.

Edsel changed his posture, stroked the brim of his hat with his hand and said, "Inform your people, be ready at any time." ”

After Brown nodded in agreement, he named Kent and said, "Find a few professional designers, bring the materials, maybe we can see this gentleman's knowledge on the spot." ”

"Okay."

Edsel gave two more orders, and finally relaxed, leaned back in his chair, and said, "I'll think about it and let you know the results tomorrow morning." ”

Everyone present knew that Edsel's so-called consultation was to ask his wife and father for instructions, but everyone had long been accustomed to it, and only Brown expressed his suspicions again: "Mr. Ford, maybe they stole those drawings?" We could get a lawsuit because of this. ”

"Who cares about him? We paid for it. Stephen scoffed.