Chapter 59: Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

Although Liu Weidong was happy in his heart, his face remained calm.

"Actually, there is nothing particularly joyful about this. If I weren't in such a hurry to buy a house, I wouldn't have rushed to sell the patent. If I had applied for the patent myself through the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the transfer fee could have been astronomical, and I could have chosen to transfer only the technology while collecting separate patent royalties."

What Liu Weidong mentioned was not yet feasible at the present time—the state would only begin protecting intellectual property after 1979, and the patent law would not be promulgated until 1984—but everything he said was the absolute truth.

Song Yi sighed with deep emotion, "Weidong, the contributions you have made to our factory, the Machinery Bureau, and the Metallurgy Bureau are clear to the city leaders. Take this polymer separator, for instance; the ten thousand yuan patent fee you are charging is indeed very low."

Liu Weidong gave a soft hum of agreement, "It is fine for the oil refinery to use it themselves, but if they are going to manufacture the machines for sale, I will have to discuss the patent royalties further with Director Li. The same goes for the steering gear and metallurgical technology. It is not about the amount of money, but about establishing the protection of intellectual property rights."

The machine required continuous test runs, and Liu Weidong stayed at the machinery factory until past seven in the evening before heading home. Since the steering gear had already been registered with the provincial department, the conditions he would demand would naturally be higher than those for the oil refinery—at the very least, he would ask for two sets of residential apartments.

The next morning when Liu Weidong arrived at the machinery factory, he saw that the separator, which had been running for more than a dozen hours, was still operating normally, with all performance indicators remaining completely stable.

"Weidong, the technological innovation is a success! The machine operation tests have reached international standards for similar products. Director Li said they also want to apply for intellectual property protection, and I'm afraid they still need to discuss the specific details with you." Song Yi’s eyes were bloodshot, likely from staying up the entire night.

Liu Weidong was slightly taken aback. "Is your factory going to jointly produce the separator with the machinery factory and push it to the market?"

Song Yi and Director Lü exchanged glances and both laughed. "Weidong, does a machine like this even need to be pushed to the market? Once the machine obtains a patent, the production quotas assigned by the ministry and the province couldn't possibly be fulfilled even if we worked overtime. Director Yu just called me to say that the city is going to establish a machinery group, merging several enterprises with well-established equipment within the city, primarily to manufacture steering gears and separators."

"That is wonderful news, Director Lü. This way, all the machinery factories in Binjiang will have plenty of work, but I wonder what policy the bureau has in store for me?"

"Director Yu said to come straight to the bureau the moment you get to work. They should be discussing the details of the patent transfer with you. How could our enterprise take advantage of an individual? The conditions will certainly satisfy you."

Liu Weidong offered a few modest remarks before riding his bicycle toward the municipal government building.

The transfer fee for the steering gear technology was indeed substantial: the city approved fifty thousand yuan, and the bureau added a reward of five thousand yuan. However, Liu Weidong put forward a peculiar condition—he wanted two newly built family apartments owned by the Machinery Bureau in Dongdatan.

Yu Miao frowned and pondered for a long time before nodding. "When the bureau built those family apartments, we had to take various relationships and connections into account, and the bureau did indeed reserve a few units. If we give them to you, someone else won't get theirs. Oh well, who has made contributions as massive as yours? However, since you are not an employee of the bureau, you will need to settle the housing valuation with the bureau's finance department."

Liu Weidong quickly grasped Yu Miao's hand, pouring out expressions of resolve and gratitude, before following him to the finance department.

Liu Weidong requested two third-floor units, both with two bedrooms. Valued according to Binjiang's current real estate prices, they came out to twelve thousand yuan. Once the paperwork was completed, the finance department handed Liu Weidong thirty-eight thousand yuan in cash.

The patent transfer fee was fifty thousand yuan, and Liu Weidong would also receive a royalty of five-thousandths of a percent for every steering gear sold. Although this commission rate seemed low, it would still add up to a considerable sum over the course of a year.

"Weidong, why don't you move into the city? You wouldn't need to do anything else; just focus full-time on research, and you'd make more patent money than your hands could possibly hold." Yu Miao looked at Liu Weidong with a hint of envy.

Liu Weidong gave a wry smile. "Director Yu, research also hits bottlenecks, and I'm no genius. I might as well keep my feet on the ground and farm. I'm just a peasant inventor. Besides, who says agriculture isn't profitable? You'll see once the policies improve. The black earth is a treasure trove, and its production never stops."

The Binjiang Machinery Bureau had indeed enjoyed a brilliant period, but by the nineties, the heavy burden and decline of the old state-owned enterprises became glaringly obvious. The wave of layoffs hit the machinery group first because their flagship products had been transferred to the provincial level.

Therefore, Liu Weidong's assertion that the black earth was a treasure trove was undeniably visionary—who else could it be, given that he was a rebirth traveler?

Make a fortune by selling patents? Liu Weidong hadn't even deigned to look twice at that paltry sum of money. His mind was filled with every single economic wave that would follow the reform and opening-up. He didn't even need to be aggressive; as long as he steadily caught the tailwinds, he would rake in enough wealth to overflow his ditches and trenches.

His current urgency in buying patents was precisely to crush Chen Hao. How dare that asshole try to seduce his wife? Back in the old days, such a thing would have been settled with bayonets flashing red. And he wanted to reap the dividends of urban redevelopment? He could go eat shit.

The housing deed naturally bore Lou Yanru's name. Liu Weidong could not leave the Second Production Team just yet; his identity as a farmer would prove immensely useful later on.

There was no news yet from the Metallurgy Bureau. If the steel mill's project passed verification, he wouldn't want money at all—he would demand entirely in real estate. He wanted to secure a commercial storefront on East Street for Lou Yanru.

By then, his wife would undoubtedly be a certified wealthy woman in Binjiang.

When Liu Weidong came home with the housing deeds, Lou Yanru was completely stunned.

"When did you buy two more apartments? Did you finish selling the patent?"

Liu Weidong directly handed the transfer agreement over to Lou Yanru.

Lou Yanru's hands trembled as she held it. Two brand-new apartments in her own name, plus thirty-eight thousand yuan in cash—did this happiness arrive too abruptly?

"There's still no word on the Metallurgy Bureau's project yet. I'm planning to ask them for apartments south of the river. Would you prefer to live in an apartment building, or continue living in this single-story brick house?"

It took Lou Yanru quite a while to collect her thoughts. "I can live anywhere. I'll listen to you."

Liu Weidong looked at the furniture in the room and said, "We can't leave this furniture behind when we move up to the building either. These are centuries-old antiques. They look dilapidated now, but in the future, they will all be treasures."

Lou Yanru looked at him in total confusion. "Then you didn't need to ask for so many apartments anyway! Even if we brought Dad over, we couldn't possibly live in this many."

Liu Weidong scolded her exasperatedly, "Wife, you don't understand. That pest Chen Hao is a complete idiot. He went all over East Market asking who was selling single-story houses, and now all the residents in this neighborhood think demolition and relocation are coming. Those who wanted to sell refuse to sell anymore. The only way to get a single-story house around here now is through property exchange, and the price is more than double what we paid for this place."

Lou Yanru grimaced. "Then why are you still exchanging? You'd be better off selling the apartments. A two-bedroom heated apartment could easily sell for over ten thousand yuan a set, and we'd still make a profit! You're trading an apartment for a single-story house just to spite Chen Hao?"

Liu Weidong laughed. "Your vision is too short-term, wife! Would I throw away my own money just to throw a tantrum? Do you know how much a storefront in East Market will cost per square meter in five years? Starting prices will be over a thousand. Seven years from now, a single eighty-square-meter two-story storefront could sell for one hundred and fifty thousand, and by the year 2000, it will be speculated past a million. When we cash out then, calculate how many times our money will multiply!"

Lou Yanru used her fingers to count, but she ended up completely bewildered.

"How can you talk as if you've seen it with your own eyes? Are you certain everything you're saying will become reality?"

Liu Weidong nodded. "I am one hundred percent certain. You should study a bit more economics. The first wave of dividends after our country's economy opens up will be real estate. Whether it's socialism or capitalism, nobody escapes this ironclad law. There will be plenty of ways to make money in the future, and even if I explained, you wouldn't understand. I promised I'd take you flying with me, and at the very least, we're going to become the wealthiest people in Binjiang. Just wait to become a wealthy lady."