In fact, Chen Zhiwen has considered the production of snacks or food for a long time, but it doesn't matter if this matter is a little earlier or later, because the first-mover advantage is basically gone, but in the early stage, it is urgent to rely on Costco and Wal-Mart, which already have a certain market share, as long as these two supermarkets develop well, especially Costco, they can bring a very stable market to their own business.

From 0-1 is the most difficult, what industry is like this, this first step out of the most energy-consuming, just want to make the first customer recognized, especially big brand customers, it is as difficult as climbing to the sky, unless it is a special product like the arcade machine with the United States.

The existence of Costco perfectly solves this problem, and in terms of civilian goods, any commodity can have the first customer.

However, like very Coke, it is very difficult for the food business to develop into an international scale giant, Chen Zhiwen basically does not have expectations, and now he is ready to do this, just because Costco needs, as long as it can reduce Costco's operating costs, it is worth investing, this kind of business, Chen Zhiwen basically will not ask, because if there is no problem, there will be no loss.

After the domestic reopening, this kind of business can also be moved to China, using the lower labor cost in China to develop more overseas markets, success is naturally good, if it doesn't work, then wait for the domestic market to open up further, in the pursuit of the domestic market, according to common sense inference, this should not be difficult, especially Chen Zhiwen also knows what kind of mainstream food will be popular in the future.

These are relatively far things, now only need to take the first step, let the assistant write down this matter, Chen Zhiwen rushed to the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City.

There are many female college students studying in New York City, and they all look up to Chen Zhiwen, but Chen Zhiwen is very busy during the day, so he has time to discuss the meaning of life with them at night.

After a night's rest, Chen Zhiwen had a hearty breakfast at the buffet downstairs, and then came to the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, where there are many treasures.

"Eric, this is Van Gogh's real "Starry Night", that is Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon", and Monet's "Water Lilies", these are the most precious paintings in the world, and each one is a national treasure." Henry Morgan, who was next to him, introduced with a smile.

"It looks pretty good, but I'm a layman, and I really appreciate the beauty in it." Chen Zhiwen shrugged his shoulders and said with a smile, these paintings, he looks pretty good, and he thinks they are quite beautiful, but he can't figure out what the difference is between these and those paintings painted by talented people in the stalls outside?

"Actually, I don't understand, but this kind of artwork, in addition to its historical significance, the most popular thing is that their number is stable, and it is impossible to increase it, which can be a good benchmark for monetary value." Henry Morgan said with a smile.

"It's the same as gold, huh?" Chen Zhiwen smiled and said. Gold itself, although it also has industrial value, but the real reason for its value is its stable quantity and non-deterioration characteristics, from ancient times to the present, gold as a currency, is this reason, until 1971 when the United States abolished the Bretton Woods gold standard, but whether it is today or in the future, gold is still a currency, all countries recognize, but rarely use it directly.

Another diamond is a proper IQ tax, and its production capacity can actually reach the price of natural diamonds, but De Beers, which monopolizes diamonds, can control global sales, resulting in a shortage of supply, and also link diamonds to marriage to earn sky-high profits.

"Almost." Henry Morgan nodded and said: "It's just a collection, Eric, if you like something, you can also buy it, anyway, these things are very rare collections, and the price will get higher and higher in the future." ”

"Can you sell things from museums?" Chen Zhiwen asked.

"yes, basically." Henry Morgan added: "In fact, many of the antiques in the museum are not from the museum, but have been borrowed by some people. In fact, isn't it just for interested buyers to take a fancy to?

Moreover, the museum itself is also in business, as long as the price can be paid, it can be negotiated, not at the level of these national treasures. ”

"That's not bad, let's go look elsewhere, if there's a suitable one, we can buy some." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said, there are also many works of art or antiques worth tens of thousands of dollars here, and there are many varieties, if you really fancy something, it doesn't matter if you buy it.

"Eric, you don't think of me as a friend anymore, what do you like, I bought it for you." Henry Morgan said with a smile.

"It seems that the results of "Space Invaders" are even better than I imagined, Henry, you have become so generous." Chen Zhiwen smiled and said.

Since last month, Henry Morgan brought 1,000 samples of the new game "Space Invaders" to the United States, and then Chen Zhiwen also got news from Henry Morgan, and the feedback on the new game is very good, but it is not clear what the specific method is.

"The preliminary data analysis of "Space Invaders" is even more popular than "Magic Cube", many young people in the bar rushed to play, and some almost got into a fight, and the bar owners had to increase the price, which is great news, we have succeeded again." Henry Morgan chuckled and said that if it weren't for the people around, he would have laughed happily.

"That's good, Hong Kong has already started 24-hour production of the arcade machine for "Space Invaders", and a large batch is expected to arrive in the United States next month." Chen Zhiwen said casually, after the success of the first two arcades, now everyone is doing their jobs very easily, and Hong Kong only needs to produce and ship.

"Understood, my side will absolutely cooperate." Henry Morgan nodded, and said: "In addition, Eric, you asked me to find a most advanced wafer production line, I consulted a lawyer I know and a friend who knows a White House official, and they said that this kind of production line with the most advanced process is prohibited from being exported in the entire United States, not to mention Hong Kong, even Japan and Europe.

Unless you come to the U.S. to invest, build a factory in the U.S., and all employees use Americans, and you're only an investor, then there's room for negotiation. ”

"Forget it, what's the difference between this and my direct purchase of chips from the United States?" Chen Zhiwen shook his head and said.

"However, if the next-level chip production line, if you want, I can get it, the 3-inch wafer production line, which was the highest process in the United States two years ago." Henry Morgan continued.

"3 inches? That's fine, you help me through the relationship, and then give me a final offer, if it's appropriate, we'll buy it. Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.

In this era, there is really no other country except the United States that can buy equipment for chip production lines, that is, Japan, the future semiconductor powerhouse, also started last year, led by the Japanese government, with the participation of several major electronics giants, to overcome semiconductor-related technologies together, from equipment production to chip production, everything is developed.

Today's semiconductor technology, the technology generation gap is not very large, the whole of Japan spent four years, to 1980 basically opened up the industrial chain, so began the early 80s to hang the wonderful scene of American semiconductors.

But now, even Japan has to introduce American production lines, and Chen Zhiwen has no choice.

Henry Morgan said with a smile: "Actually, I also asked relevant professionals, you are building a chip production base overseas, in fact, it may be better to start with low technology, anyway, you are ready to make chips for home appliances." ”

"That's just self-comforting." Chen Zhiwen shrugged and said, the most advanced is naturally the most advanced, as for the talent, directly from the United States or Japan or even Wanwan to dig on the line, this is a strategic level of technology investment, money is not a problem at all, besides, the current chip technology is much worse than later generations, in the early 90s, Samsung in order to develop chip technology to dig thousands of Japanese engineers, now may be dozens of enough.

"Texas Instruments has a 3-inch chip production line that has only been in production for half a year and is ready to sell, I can take it, and I also persuaded them to send a certain number of engineers to Hong Kong to guide you hand-in-hand, and the Ministry of Commerce is also Texas Instruments and I to solve it together, this is not the most advanced equipment, the problem should not be big, the cost, about three or four million US dollars, package installation, but Hong Kong also has to build infrastructure according to the requirements of Texas Instruments." Henry Morgan said.

"No problem." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said, this price may not be cheap, but considering that it is an export plus lobbying the U.S. Department of Commerce to release it, it is always necessary to give a little more, as long as this chip production line is in hand, then not only can he OEM for those low-end electronics industries in Hong Kong, but also cultivate relevant talents in Hong Kong. Even if you can't buy the highest-end chip production equipment in the future due to various reasons, at least as long as there is a medium-level chip production line, then you can produce all kinds of home appliances and equipment yourself.

And before the birth of TSMC, which is mainly foundry, in addition to general-purpose memory chips, each home appliance subsidiary is self-built chip factories to produce its own products, and Midea's home appliances cannot wait until the end of the 80s to find TSMC foundry, so many opportunities will be missed.

"Okay, then I'll go to Texas Instruments in two days to discuss this matter." Henry Morgan said with a smile.

"Thank you." Chen Zhiwen said that this kind of thing is most suitable to be operated by people who have some connections in the United States, and if you send someone to operate, not to mention spending more money, it is not certain whether you can succeed, even if you succeed, it may take a long time, which is unacceptable in today's rapid development of the semiconductor industry.

"No thanks, we are also long-term partners and good friends, and helping partners and good friends is what I should do." Henry Morgan said with a smile.

Now the success of "Space Invaders" has made him sure that following Chen Zhiwen, there will be great development, and the entire arcade industry is basically monopolized by Midea companies, and there are many other players, and even giants such as HP and Texas Instruments have branches to try to develop arcade games, but without exception they are directly rejected by the market, and no one wants to break bones.

For Henry Morgan, only by tying to the warship of the United States can the greatest benefits be obtained, but this "channel" that has been built is actually not of great value, and the United States can be abandoned at any time, and replaced by another one, at this time, it is necessary to show its own value, as long as he is valuable, then Chen Zhiwen will definitely cooperate with him all the time.

And this value can only be in other aspects, for example, when Chen Zhiwen wanted his household appliances to enter other large supermarkets, Henry Morgan used his family relationship to find the vice president of purchasing at Celtic Supermarket and opened a small door for Midea's electric fan, and when Chen Zhiwen wanted to acquire a high-tech production line with certain restrictions in the United States, he also used his relationship to find a suitable seller, and would work with the seller to find a way to persuade the Ministry of Commerce.

Try to let Chen Zhiwen get what he wants directly, so that he can have the greatest value, which is also the basis of business cooperation, if there is no value, then it is not worthy of cooperating with the strong.

"Okay, by the way, if you want to go to Deyi, I will call a few people to come over, and they need to verify the 3-inch production line you said." Chen Zhiwen said again.

Chen Zhiwen doesn't understand things like chip production lines, and he doesn't know a state-of-the-art lithography machine in front of him.

Last month, Midea's team in the United States recruited several engineers who had some understanding of chip equipment and processes, and it was up to these people to verify them.

"No problem, I'll ask Deyi later, see when I'm free in the next few days, and we'll go together when the time comes." Henry Morgan nodded and said.

On the fourth day, Henry Morgan took Chen Zhiwen and his party to Texas Instruments, a chip factory in Chicago.

"Wads, how's this line?" Chen Zhiwen said to the person who came with him in a white dustproof suit and could only see two eyes, if it weren't for the names on the clothes and the different voices of everyone, otherwise it would be really difficult to distinguish who is who.

After coming to the Texas Instruments factory, after a little greeting with the factory executives, everyone began to visit the factory, at the moment, they were in the chip production workshop, and everyone was wearing dustproof clothing.

"I don't know much about the manufacturing process of chips, but I can see that this is also very professional, and I will just take out some chips to test the performance later." Woxz in a white dust suit said.

"Okay, let's go." Chen Zhiwen looked around, he didn't understand the equipment here, his subordinates had a good communication with Deyi's engineers for a while, and it seemed to feel good, but how it was, it still depended on Wads.

Although he does have some talents under his command, but the professionalism makes Chen Zhiwen a little uneasy, so he gave a phone call to Wads and pulled him over, it just so happens that Apple's Apple 2 computer is very successful, and in a short period of time, Woz's research and development task will not be very heavy, this is another rare opportunity to visit the chip factory, Woz is naturally happy to come.

Everyone walked to the end of the chip production line, which was a flowing belt with a large number of chips, which were picked up one by one by the gloved employees and placed in a fixed plastic box.

In the 70s, induction technology, motor technology and PLC control technology were not developed enough, and the end of the chip could not be automatically collected, so it could only rely on manual labor.

Woz's men brought a large number of equipment, as well as an Apple 2 computer, and after a while, several people filled the table with various electronic control boxes and cables, and then took the chip and put it on a circuit board.

Everyone is looking at the screen, although the Apple 2 computer has become a sensation in the United States, it is still only controlled in the form of code, there is no operation interface in later generations, Chen Zhiwen only sees Wox constantly entering all kinds of codes, and he doesn't know any of them, but a few engineers around him are looking at the interface intently, and occasionally communicate with Woz.

After a long while, Wads stood up and said to Chen Zhiwen: "It's not bad, but these quantities are still too small, if I can take out some of them, I can do batch testing." ”

"No problem, there are a thousand chips in this box, you can take them out for testing, but pay attention to electrostatic protection, your test also needs to be in a dust-free workshop, otherwise static electricity will break through the lines in the chip." Ted, vice president of Texas Instruments' chip business, said.

"Okay, then I'll take this box with me." Woz also said unceremoniously.

"I'll pay another sum of money for these chips separately." Chen Zhiwen said again.

Ted smiled and said: "It's okay, this kind of ordinary chip, a piece is only a few dollars, our business is more important, you confirm the quality early, we can enter the next step." ”

Compared with the multi-million dollar transaction, this chip is just a drop in the bucket, and a few dollars a piece is the terminal price, and the actual production cost will only be lower.

"Okay, then let's get out." Chen Zhiwen said: "Can my subordinates continue to stay here? ”

"No problem, just follow the safety rules of the workshop." Ted nodded in agreement.

Several people walked out according to the process, and when they got outside, they took off the dust-free clothes, and the moment they took it off, Chen Zhiwen felt that his breathing was a lot easier.

"Eric, you're not used to this kind of clothes, in fact, it's the same when you get used to it." Ted seemed to see Chen Zhiwen's thoughts, and said with a smile.

"Then I'll never get used to it." Chen Zhiwen shook his head and said with a smile, as the boss of the company, he basically didn't go to the factory, after all, it wasn't when he first started his business, there were so many factories, what was he going to do? At most, take a few days a year to take a walk.

"That's right." Ted nodded, understanding what Chen Zhiwen meant.

Later, several people went to the conference room of an office building in front of the factory.

"Eric, although I'm the vice president of the semiconductor business of Deyi, I don't really understand the technical side of things, so how about the engineers talking about the technology and we talking about the price?" Ted said with a smile.

"Yes, as far as I know, the 3-inch wafer production line, the new equipment is about 3 million US dollars, considering the terminal installation, personnel training, restrictions of the Ministry of Commerce and other reasons, I can bid 3.5 million US dollars, how about it?" Chen Zhiwen said.

"This price is too low, everything else is easy to say, but if you want to persuade the Ministry of Commerce to sell, we Deyi also have to use a lot of connections, which is definitely not a matter of money." Ted said.

"Any problem is a matter of money, and this is not a device that is strictly prohibited by the U.S. Department of Commerce at the moment, but it needs to be reported and licensed, and there is a lot of room for operation." Chen Zhiwen said again.

"It is a lot of space, but it also requires a lot of costs, our quotation is 4.2 million US dollars, we can guarantee that the equipment will be shipped to Hong Kong, and guarantee the installation and production guidance for the next six months, how?" Ted said.

"Well, let's wait until my people have judged the capabilities of this production line, and then we'll discuss it, how about it?" Chen Zhiwen smiled and said, at this time, the other party is holding on to the exit issue, which is a dead loop, and there is no point in arguing.

"Okay." Ted nodded, he also knew that a multi-million dollar deal could not be negotiated in a few days.

After a good meal and a good drink, after Chen Zhiwen and the others left Deyi's factory area, Chen Zhiwen asked Henry Morgan, who was sitting opposite the Lincoln stretch car: "Henry, in addition to Texas Instruments, which other companies are preparing to sell their second-hand production lines?" ”

If he can buy a new one, Chen Zhiwen is naturally willing to buy a new one, but as far as he knows, many equipment suppliers on the chip production line are also absolutely monopolized in the United States, and the export of different equipment, even if it is not the latest, may also require permission from the Ministry of Commerce.

"Many chip manufacturers are replacing the new generation of production lines, and there are still some second-hand ones, but Deyi's equipment is relatively high-level, and I knew that I couldn't buy the highest process chip production line, so I was more optimistic about Deyi's set." Henry Morgan asked, "Eric, do you want to see any other equipment?" ”

"See, right? Maybe it's not as good as Deyi's set, but it doesn't mean it's useless, besides, when did I say that I would only buy one? Chen Zhiwen shrugged and said, just so many electronic foundries in Hong Kong, as long as the localization of chips and integrated circuits is really realized, that production line may not be enough, and the reduction of costs also means that Hong Kong foundries can get more orders, and Midea's chip factories will also have better business and achieve a virtuous circle.

Again, you can also use other production lines to reduce the price of Deyi.

"Okay, according to my arrangement." Henry Morgan agreed.

In the next week, Chen Zhiwen did not participate in the visit to the factory, the chip production line, it is enough to see it once, no matter how much it is meaningless, but it is a poor female college student in the United States, everyone is different, blonde, black, yellow, red, looks more valuable.

Within a week, Henry Morgan took Watts and others to visit several chip factories one after another, and at the same time deliberately released rumors to indirectly inform people in the industry.

You know, many chip factories are also thinking about how to deal with old equipment, which is a sleepy pillow.

Ted of Texas Instruments naturally knew about it, so he also came to New York in person, sat with Chen Zhiwen and Henry Morgan and talked for a long time, and finally sold the production line they watched before to Midea for $3.8 million.

(End of chapter)