Chapter 191: Chapter 194: Incredibly Generous Profits

In the hotel.

Lu Li, who just woke up early in the morning, was checking if he had developed any new superpowers again.

Ever since Little Golden Man inadvertently “upgraded” once before, he could generally sense any changes in his body.

What disappointed Lu Li a bit was that it seemed he didn’t passively develop any superpowers last night.

He even had a feeling that his physical body had reached an extreme limit.

Although Little Golden Man was still trying hard to grow stronger, there was not the slightest sign of his physical body getting stronger.

Not developing new superpowers is one thing, but the body still hasn’t gotten stronger?

This is very incredible for Lu Li, who is evolving every day.

“Could there be a problem with the evolution?”

Lu Li half-lay on the headboard, thoughtfully pondering for a moment, “There shouldn’t be any problem. I haven’t actively evolved recently.”

He had analyzed it before, if he actively evolved superpowers, it might affect the balance.

Because of this, Lu Li has not actively evolved superpowers recently in order to maintain balance.

He couldn’t quite figure out what was going on and decided to consult a biology expert when he went back to see if he could find the reason.

Just as he was deeply focused on pondering over himself.

The doorbell suddenly rang “ding-dong ding-dong.”

Lu Li was too lazy to get up and used his spiritual power to open the door.

He said to the outside, “The door’s not closed, come in.”

“Haha, Mr. Lu, you really trust the security in Chang Chun, sleeping with the door unlocked at night?”

President Liu’s voice came from outside.

Then, several footsteps sounded.

Lu Li turned his head to look.

He saw President Liu, Vice President Hu, and Wang Jun walking in from outside.

He pointed to the sofa not far away, “President Liu, President Hu, Engineer Wang, please have a seat.”

President Liu rubbed his hands a bit sheepishly and said, “Are we disturbing your rest? If you’re sleepy, you can go back to sleep, we can come back later.”

Lu Li thought to himself that after ringing the doorbell, it was obvious they were just being polite.

He put on a fake smile and said, “I’ve been up for a while, just habitually staying in bed a bit.”

President Liu, Vice President Hu, and Wang Jun then sat down and chatted for a while.

A moment later, President Liu blinked and said, “Mr. Lu, the sample of the new type of steel you developed yesterday has just been delivered to our unit, and the test results are out. Do you want to hear the data?”

Lu Li had long used consciousness projection and could roughly know what effect the new type of steel could achieve.

So whether he knew the data or not did not matter.

However, he still pretended to be concerned and said, “Please, go ahead.”

President Liu recited the data once.

Even though Vice President Hu was already aware, upon hearing the data again, his eyes still shimmered.

Wang Jun looked very excited.

At the same time, he also showed signs of worry.

It was evident that he feared Lu Li might go to other engineers later.

Lu Li pretended to be surprised and said, “The test data is this good?”

“Isn’t it? It’s astonishing.” President Liu guided the conversation to the topic, saying, “I just discussed with Engineer Wang and Engineer Xu. If… um, I mean, if this new type of steel can be used in car manufacturing, it will certainly have a great impact, even allowing car companies using this steel to stand out among competitors.”

Lu Li could roughly guess what the other party wanted to say, so he said nothing, half-lying to listen to them.

President Liu continued, “So I was thinking, can FAW cooperate with you, Mr. Lu, perhaps by authorizing us to use this new type of steel in cars.”

Mentioning this matter made both President Liu and Vice President Hu a bit nervous, fearing Lu Li would reject the request.

How could someone just authorize a newly researched super steel so easily?

Therefore, before coming, President Liu and Vice President Hu had already discussed how to persuade Lu Li.

For example, by promising a series of favorable conditions.

For instance, by offering some superb benefits.

After all, as long as they could obtain authorization, they could agree to any reasonable request.

What surprised President Liu and Vice President Hu was.

Lu Li agreed without hesitation, saying, “Sure, no problem.”

President Liu was stunned, “You agreed just like that?”

Vice President Hu was also a bit puzzled, thinking why not listen to the specific conditions?

Lu Li naturally nodded and said, “Yeah, I agreed. President Liu, what’s the matter?”

President Liu stammered, “Don’t you want to discuss the authorization fee with us?”

Lu Li thought for a moment and straightforwardly said, “To be honest, this new type of steel I just developed hasn’t applied for a patent yet. If you seize the opportunity and register before me, there’s nothing I can do about it. However, whether I apply for a patent or not, I know one thing, and that is FAW Group, as a domestic car manufacturing company, represents national honor, so as a Huaxia person, I definitely want to support it more. That’s why I agreed to give you authorization right away regarding this new type of steel. As for the authorization fee, just offer what you see fit. I haven’t thought about making money from this new steel.”

These words are partially true, partially false.

The true part is, Lu Li indeed has a strong sense of national pride and is willing to share this new type of steel with FAW, hoping they can make domestic cars even more glorious.

The false part is, he hasn’t even officially established a company to develop engines, so where does he have the energy to mess with new steel?

Instead, it’s better to make a favor and authorize FAW.

When he develops his engine in the future, he could then promote it.

Presumably, the other party would place some orders due to the goodwill from today.

The annual sales of FAW are extremely terrifying.

In 2023, the total vehicle sales reached an astonishing 3.367 million units.

Imagine, if he could take a portion of the orders, how much money could he earn?

Of course, FAW has its engine development company, which is jointly owned with Volkswagen Germany, called “Volkswagen FAW Engine.”

Even though the engine development company is slightly majority-owned by Volkswagen.

They will undoubtedly first consider the company they partly own.

It’s impossible for them to use exclusively his engines.

No matter what, even if we can secure orders for a hundred thousand units a year, that’s still a significant profit.

The profit margin for engine manufacturers is generally between ten to twenty percent.

And the cost of the engine accounts for about twenty-five percent of the total cost of a car.

Well, excluding luxury cars.

The main profit for those is the brand premium.

Let’s assume a car sells for a hundred thousand yuan.

The engine cost would be twenty-five thousand yuan.

If the manufacturer’s profit is ten percent, that’s two thousand five hundred yuan.

For a hundred thousand units, that’s over two billion yuan.

Over two billion doesn’t sound like much.

But don’t forget, this type of cooperative market is long-term.

And if the cooperation goes well, there’s a chance the order quantity could increase.

You could say, if you can secure FAW’s engine orders, the profit is at least in the tens of billions.

Naturally, Lu Li is willing to offer authorization for the new steel to secure potential future collaborations.

Besides, no matter how shameless the other party is, it’s impossible they wouldn’t offer any authorization fee, right?

There’s quite a bit of profit in this as well.

President Liu was moved by Lu Li’s words and couldn’t help but comment, “Mr. Lu, your patriotic sentiments are truly admirable.”

Vice President Hu chimed in, “Indeed, while some entrepreneurs are focused on transferring their earnings abroad, Mr. Lu is thinking about giving back to the motherland. That’s truly noble.”

Wang Jun isn’t very talkative, so he just nodded in agreement.

Lu Li modestly said a few words.

President Liu shifted the topic, “Since this is a collaboration, it’s impossible for us not to offer any authorization fee. How about we sign a contract with six percent of the market rate for technology usage fees. Would that work for you?”

Lu Li replied without hesitation, “Okay, I’ll go register the patent later.”

President Liu glanced at Vice President Hu, then at Wang Jun, before finally returning his gaze to Lu Li.

He said seriously, “Mr. Lu, can I make an unreasonable request?”

Lu Li said, “Please, go ahead, President Liu.”

President Liu said, “I hope you won’t apply for authorization for this new steel.”

Lu Li was puzzled and asked, “Why not apply for authorization?”

President Liu explained, “Applying for a patent requires public disclosure of the technology. The new steel you’ve developed is extremely valuable. Its cost is similar to manufacturing ordinary steel, but its strength can reach aerospace levels. I fear that if you patent and disclose the technology, foreign companies might learn it.”

Lu Li sensed there was more to what he was saying, and asked proactively, “What do you mean by that?”

President Liu nodded slightly and said, “I hope, Mr. Lu, you could donate this new steel to the country. Of course, if you agree, we will not skimp on the authorization fee. Additionally, I will do my best to secure some benefits for you regarding the donation of technology, which is definitely better than applying for a patent. Can you agree to it?”

Hearing this, Lu Li did not immediately answer.

It’s not that he doubted President Liu’s sincerity.

In fact, Lu Li believed every word President Liu said.

If he donated the new steel technology to the country.

The intangible benefits he could gain in the future.

Would definitely be much stronger than just patent earnings.

The preferential policy resources.

Are incomparable to patent fees.

Lu Li paused because he was contemplating something.

With such great abilities, he can create things that everyone desires with ease.

Should he utilize his consciousness projection more in this direction?

After brief consideration, this idea was dismissed.

The reason Lu Li wants to create an engine development company.

Is partly to ensure future passive income without money worries.

And also because he saw a hope in developing the E. coli engine and doesn’t want the technology to go to waste.

President Liu and Vice President Hu were quite anxious seeing Lu Li remain silent for a long time, worried he might not agree.

Indeed, such a request is quite excessive, anyone would hesitate.

President Liu thought for a moment, then tentatively said, “Mr. Lu, as long as you agree to my request, feel free to put forward any condition you have.”

Lu Li snapped out of it, smiling, “Actually, President Liu, I do have something I need your help with.”

President Liu quickly responded, “Please tell me.”

Lu Li looked towards Wang Jun.

Yes, his condition is for FAW to release Wang Jun to work for him.

Of course, such a matter must respect Wang Jun’s personal willingness.

Therefore, Lu Li didn’t bring it up immediately.

He planned to ask Wang Jun if he’s willing to work for him before making the request.

In fact, regardless of Wang Jun’s decision.

Lu Li knows that he has already gained a lot today.

Because FAW is willing to pay six percent patent fees for the new steel.

This is undoubtedly a substantial profit.

Won’t dare to say how much profit it will bring each year.

But making several billion should not be a problem.

Considering the potential orders for engines from FAW.

He can easily earn tens of billions in profit annually in the future.

Naturally, whether Wang Jun agrees to work for him or not, Lu Li feels he’s gained a substantial harvest.

Of course, he still hopes Wang Jun could work for him. After all, it’s easy to find thousands of soldiers but hard to find one great general.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep