The Great Depression (Part Five)
Ford hardly used his own office, but today, he formally invited Huang Xuan into it. They were to meet two hours later. Huang Xuan himself suggested it.
While Ford was patrolling the workshop, Huang Xuan made use of the remaining 30 cents he had to buy 20 sheets of drawing paper and 2 pencils. He sat under an eave and spread them out. Rolin, while complaining, turned these blank pieces of paper into completed diagrams. The carbon powder seemed to be dancing in the air as they lined up in seemingly agreed upon positions, before landing on the paper according to Rolin's findings.
Carbon was easily absorbed. Rolin only had to ensure each particle landed in the right position on the paper. The diagrams were completed very quickly, akin to photocopying. However, this still consumed a significant amount of energy because it was a different plane.
Rolin concluded that this method consumed far less energy than if he were to control Huang Xuan's body. The difference in mass alone was extreme, not to mention the efficiency.
As expected, the complex design of the engine could not be captured in just ten diagrams. They definitely wouldn't suffice if they were meant to aid in manufacturing the engines.
However, they were only to be used for negotiation.
Huang Xuan rolled up the diagrams and lifted his head. He made his way to Ford's office.
Besides Edsel, many other high-ranking executives had gathered in the office. After old Ford had stepped down, they had spent loads of money to acquire shares in the company. Ford became a family business through and through. Despite this, Edsel only needed to consult his father when he made major decisions. In fact, he had to consult his father.
The office was 200 square meters huge. As he walked in, Huang Xuan kept silent. He laid out the diagrams which he had held in his hand onto the round table in the center of the office. The diagrams were mere outlines and were lacking in detail compared to the diagrams used in manufacturing.
There were seven people present in total. After Huang Xuan sat down, everyone else surrounded the round table. With grave expressions, they flipped through each diagram.
"This design is pretty good," Kent, the creative director of Ford, said as he spread his arms. To Edsel, he said, "But we already have similar designs. We don't have to spend money on these."
Huang Xuan pursed his lips. Similar designs? Ford still had to spend a year and a half on those "similar designs". He laid back comfortably on the sofa and sipped on his coffee. Still, he didn't say a word.
Edsel too remained silent. He knew the circumstances of his factory better than anyone else. On the other hand, the rest of the people in the room broke into a discussion. Yet, everyone knew full well that old Ford was the real decision maker. When it came to the direction in which Ford was headed, Henry Ford remained in control. He had not passed down sufficient authority to his son in that respect.
"Is this your design?' Edsel asked, mildly curious.
"Of course," Huang Xuan answered. His gaze did not falter.
It was common for people to design industrial products in the 20th century. This was how Honda and Ford started out. It was very similar to how a programmer completed a software in the second half of the 20th century.
Edsel gave him a look of appreciation. As the saying went, great minds think alike. This held true even though the great minds belonged to different planes.
The V8 was probably going to be the last piece of inheritance that Edsel received in his lifetime.
Huang Xuan felt a surge of pity. However, this remarkable and wealthy young man was to perish in an accident. According to the guardian, this kind of fate was impossible to change because the buffer zone had ways to adjust itself to any alterations. If avoiding the accident caused too much of a change in the buffer zone' energy, he could well be struck by lighting.
The people sitting across from Huang Xuan began to discuss in hushed tones. On the other hand, Ford's sales manager, Steven, attempted to cozy up to him. He asked, "Have you applied for a patent yet? Such a perfect design could very well be stolen."
Huang Xuan smiled. Nonchalantly, he replied, "As long as you are willing to pay, you can keep the designs. Then, whatever you want to apply for is up to you."
This surprised him. Kent glanced at Ford and frowned, trying to signal to him with his eyes. These men were used to applying for patents for everything that they did. Huang Xuan's way of doing things confused them. Perhaps they didn't even have to spend money. Apart from Huang Xuan, everyone else was thinking this.
He had thought about this before, but he didn't know what else he could do. Besides his own identity being a problem, the speed that the United States Patent and Trademark Office worked was an issue as well. The wait for a patent would give him time to travel back and forth between two planes umpteen times. Moreover, he hadn't expected to gain much money from Ford. This was 1931, a modern society. There were far too many ways to earn money — ways that were more effective and faster than selling patents.
Edsel said nothing for a moment. Then, "Mr. Xuan, maybe we need to discuss..."
"Mr. Ford," Huang Xuan said as he rose to his feet. He had finished his cup of coffee. "Of course you can discuss. But I'll only give you a day. Tomorrow night, I'm flying to New York."
"It's impossible to finish in one day," the sales manager exclaimed. "We have to verify and compare similar designs. Before we looked at your completed diagrams, we didn't know we had to make so many adjustments to our manufacturing line. We also have to assess how practical your design is. You know that, after all, this is one man's design. A lot more work must be done..."
"That's enough." Huang Xuan was getting slightly impatient. He continued, "Tonight, I'll stay in Elis Hotel, which is nearby. I'll be there until noon tomorrow. If you really want these designs, deliver the cash to me by then. After that, you can do whatever work you need to do. If you're not interested, I can bring the diagrams to other companies. You can bring bodyguards — as many as you want. All I want is to see the cash. Understand?"
Edsel was unsatisfied. He replied, "We can't decide on the design and manufacture of a car that easily..."
"That's your problem." All the time and effort spent on learning English finally paid off. Huang Xuan bit his tongue as he said, "If you want it, bring the cash. I want USD$100,000. That's unbelievably cheap, isn't it?"
USD$100,000 in 1931 was equivalent to about USD$1,000,000 today. The current American President, Hoover, earned USD$75,000 a year. Only 18 years later, after the second world war, would Truman earn USD$100,000. To ordinary Americans, a monthly salary of USD$200 was already considered to be high. That was the amount one earned to support a family of ten. As for the middle-class... There was a name for it that the Chinese used — it was a "budding" class. It could be said that Ford's T-type car had pushed them out of the budding stage. If this was true, then one of the hallmarks of the budding stage, the T-type car, would only cost USD$260.
However, when approached from another point of view, USD$100,000 was still a huge sum. It was more than what hundreds of people earned in a year combined. Given the state of the US's economy during the Great Depression, where a goat only cost USD$1, it was hardly surprising that USD$100,000 was considered an immense amount.
Of course, such sums were always considered immense when looked at from a poor man's perspective. Ford earned an annual profit of about USD$30 million. When it paused production of the A-type car for half a year during the Great Depression, it incurred losses of more than USD$15 million. The costs of researching and developing the V8 added up to far more than USD$3 million.
USD$100,000 sounded tempting to Edsel Ford.
When Huang Xuan stepped out of the office, they immediately broke into a discussion. Steven, who had ten years of experience in sales, was supportive of buying Huang Xuan's designs. As long as it satisfied more than 80% of the design requirements, he thought it was worth it.
Kentley rebutted, "How can we tell, from the diagrams, that the design satisfies 80% of the requirements?"
Steven could not give him an answer. After all, his expertise did not lie in producing cars. Bloom, who was seated next to him, added, "It will be difficult for us to fork out USD$100,000 without prior arrangements being made. Moreover, people who insist on cash payment are always a little suspicious," by this, he meant to imply that Huang Xuan was likely a thief.
By 1931, the Americans' trust in the banks had fallen to zero. In another two years, in 1933, large banks would have caused the dignitaries of Wall Street to go bankrupt. However, wealthy businessmen did not share the same distrust of those banks. Instead, they needed banks more than ordinary people. On the other hand, only poor people were concerned with being paid in cash.
Edsel listened to them in silence. He was planning to consult old Ford that evening. Before that, however, he needed to understand both sides of the argument.
From the bottom of his heart, Edsel knew that he wanted to buy the designs. Despite the fact that they were in the midst of the Great Depression, the A-type cars were still selling well. However, the advantage that technology brought was fading away. The Asian's design matched Ford's manufacturing capabilities, and there weren't many adaptations that had to be made. They would likely be able to begin production immediately. If there was nothing wrong with the design itself, USD$100,000 was nothing.
The discussion died down as Edsel put down the cup of coffee in his hand. He had a stern expression as he said, "Bloom, think of a way to withdraw USD$100,000 in cash. Inform the bank that we need it by 9 am tomorrow."
"Alright."
"Mr. Brown?"
"Yes." Brown was a rugged west-side man. His skin was rough, and his eyes were full of soul.
Edsel moved to adjust his cap. "Inform your men to be on standby."
Brown nodded in response. Edsel turned to Kent and said, "Look for a few professional designers. Perhaps we can assess this young man's skill on the spot."
"OK."
After giving two more orders, Edsel finally relaxed. He leaned back in his seat and said, "I'll consider this once more. Tomorrow morning, I'll inform you all of my conclusion."
Everybody present knew that the so-called "discussion" was really a consultation with Edsel's wife and father. They were used to this. Only Brown expressed suspicion, "Mr. Ford, maybe they stole these diagrams. We might then find ourselves in a lawsuit."
"Who cares? We bought it with money," Steven replied.