Return to Singapore 1995

Li Xiaofan asked with great interest: "Zhenming, why did your father let you study the edger?"

"My dad saw a report somewhere that day, saying that the myopia rate among Chinese students ranks second in the world, second only to Singapore. But in the face of such a severe vision situation in the country, in addition to the lack of professional opticians, , my country’s current eyewear equipment manufacturing industry is divided by foreign powers, and there are few Chinese domestic equipment to compete with it, so he asked me to study it carefully!”

"How do they grind the lenses in your dad's shop now?" Li Xiaofan continued to ask.

"At present, it seems that manual edging and manual operations are still the main ones. In the past, cutting rods, slicing boxes and other tools were mainly used to cut out the basic shape of the lens, and then manually grind the final shape of the lens on the grinding wheel. Like this The grinding method requires professional skills and a lot of time. Practitioners generally need to spend several years to learn and master these skills. Just like my father, he has been working in this industry for more than 20 years!”

Pan Zhenming continued: "Later, since the emergence of ceramic and diamond grinding wheels, lens processing has undergone tremendous changes. Later, as the optical industry's requirements for lens edge grinding quality and lens processing speed increased, the process of processing according to the shape of the template appeared. Automatic lens cutting and edge grinding machine. This makes lens grinding easier and more convenient, and also improves the accuracy of lens grinding. The template must be continuously corrected by hand using files and other tools to ensure accuracy. The advantages of grinding the lenses with professional instruments are simple operation and low cost. The disadvantage is that it requires higher skills of the processor. In fact, in recent years, With the development of science and technology, foreign lens edging has achieved mechanical automation, productivity has been significantly improved, and manual edging has gradually been replaced by automatic edging..."

Having heard about it since childhood, Pan Zhenming knows this industry well and talks endlessly about this topic.

“Is there no domestic manufacturer that can produce automatic edge grinding machines?”

"Not yet. There is currently nothing in China. Only a few first-line optical shops in big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai have imported automatic edge grinding machines from abroad, but it is said that the price is ridiculously high. Recently, my dad's company I also plan to buy an automatic edge grinding machine from Japan's Takubo brand. I did some research and found that currently there are only Japanese Takubo, Topcon, and Nidec, as well as France's Biorio and Essilor. Several big The company can produce this kind of automatic edge grinding machine, but we don’t have it in our country. When my dad saw the information that day, his patriotism was aroused, and he must let me study the automatic edge grinding machine for him. I said how could I, a junior high school student, handle this! Later, he simply approached our factory director and said that he would point out a bright road for our factory’s future industrial development and suggested that our factory develop automatic edge grinding machine technology!”

"Well, your father's idea is quite good!"

"Haha, after dad left, the factory director immediately changed hands and left this topic to me. Our factory is now focusing on developing automation equipment related to auto parts, and the focus of our department is on developing automation equipment for automobile rearview mirrors. Mechanical, currently We are developing equipment such as automatic thread rolling machines for mirror rods, batch sewing machines, automatic flattening machines, and automatic special-shaped glass painting machines. Now the development prospects of the auto parts related equipment business are very good. Is our factory director interested in studying the automatic glasses that my dad mentioned? This edger thing!”

After Li Xiaofan and Pan Zhenming learned some information, two classmates, Zhou Honghui and Yuan Binliang, also chatted about the game console products of their Pegasus Game Machine Company.

Zhou Honghui and Yuan Binliang introduced that their company is mainly engaged in the research and development and production of Japanese Nintendo compatible FC machines.

"What is an FC machine?" everyone asked curiously.

Zhou Honghui introduced: "FC games refer to red and white console games. FC is the abbreviation of Family Computer, which means red and white console. It is the first generation game console released by Nintendo."

The predecessor of Nintendo was established on September 23, 1889. Originally founded by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it mainly produced playing cards. In 1963, it was renamed Nintendo Co., Ltd., and its business also tended to electronic products. "Super Mario Bros.", known as the foundation of TV games, was released in September 1985. It was a game tailor-made by Nintendo for the FC console. The development cycle was about one year, which was very rare at the time. This game It is praised as the original model of global video games, establishing the production concepts of characters, game purpose, process distribution, operability, hidden elements, BOSS, miscellaneous soldiers, etc. that have been used ever since.

Zhou Honghui said: "Now the core components of our company's products rely on imports. The main eight-bit integrated module is called a binding IC. It integrates the CPU and PPU into an IC, like a black bean. This is the main imported core component. . Our company’s workshop is currently mainly responsible for assembly, and then setting up sales points across the country. The game console business is now very good, but the quality of our products is not very stable, so the company also has a large amount of after-sales service business, and the amount of after-sales repairs is very large. big……"

Yuan Binliang, who is in charge of sales, introduced: "Our company recently launched a column called TV Game Paradise in "Home Appliances", which mainly focuses on strategies. There is also a column called "Nintendo Game Secrets Collection" in this magazine, which introduces secrets such as 30 people in "Contra", 99 fighters in "Salamander" and the first level and second level selection in "Super Mario". Many people read this magazine. We have a short mail order news at the end of the column. The mail order business of game consoles is very good now, but as Ah Hui said just now, our company's manufacturing and assembly level is not very good, and there is a big gap with Nintendo of Japan. The return rate of the machine is very high...!"

When listening to Zhou Honghui and Yuan Binliang talking about FC game consoles, Li Xiaofan's mind was already full of imagination. He thought of the story of Chen Tianqiao's Shanda Network becoming rich six years later after being the agent of the Korean Actoz company's online game "Legend"...

Because everyone had to go to work in the afternoon, everyone dispersed around one o'clock.

After dinner, Li Xiaofan and Zhu Junda walked to the Guotuo Company across the street.

Li Xiaofan handed Zhu Junda a cigarette: "Ada, I have deposited 1.5 million RMB in cash into your futures account this morning!"

"How much, 1.5 million? Did I hear it right?" Zhu Junda was shocked after taking the cigarette.

"Yes, 1.5 million RMB! Check the account immediately after you go back to see if the funds are there or not..."

"Oh my God, where did you get so much money? Afan, you didn't borrow usury in Singapore, did you?"

"Don't worry, this money is very safe, it's not usury! In the afternoon, you will help me buy some 327 treasury bonds, remember to open a long order!"

"Okay, but, Afan, let me be honest, I won't be responsible for the loss!"

"It's okay, Ada, you can rest assured, if you lose, I don't need you to be responsible for a penny!"