Chapter 206 Price Butcher and International Trade with Chinese Characteristics

"How much?"

He asked the question that all the small and medium-sized business owners in the audience were most concerned about.

Lin Xi walked to the edge of the booth and picked up a piece of chalk.

On the blackboard behind him, he "swish-swish" wrote a string of numbers.

"FOB, 22,000 USD."

No prefixes, no fine print notes about starting prices.

"This is the price of the 'Tianshu'."

Lin Xi clapped the chalk dust off his hands and said in a flat tone,

"Includes a full set of tool holders, cooling system, and the adapter interface for this diesel generator."

"Whoosh—!"

The crowd instantly exploded.

This was no longer a surprise; it was a shock.

You should know, just a moment ago...

The QT-10 released by Mazak was quoted starting at 80,000 USD, up to 150,000 USD.

That was already a so-called conscientious price.

30% to 40% lower than existing market prices.

Yet Red Star Technology directly slashed it to the ankles—a quarter of the price!

The live stream comments were scrolling crazily:

[Holy crap! This price is too brutal! It's straight-up flipping the table on the competitors!]

[This is the terrifying part of Made in China. As long as they can make it, they'll drive the price down to the floor tiles!]

[When it comes to price wars, everyone else here is trash.]

"This isn't selling machine tools..."

On the periphery of the crowd, a machine factory owner from Lyon, France, murmured to himself, forgetting to even puff on the cigar in his hand,

"This is practically giving away iron for free!"

"Madman! This is dumping! Absolute dumping!"

On the high platform, Yamamoto Ichiro could no longer maintain his aristocratic elegance.

He gripped the railing tightly with both hands, his knuckles turning white.

With a face turned ashen, he roared at the Red Star booth:

"At this price, it doesn't even cover the cost!"

"You are destroying the market rules!"

Lin Xi looked up and, through the surging crowd, gave Yamamoto an "it's okay" look.

"Rules?"

Lin Xi turned around, his eyes clear and bright,

"Mr. Yamamoto, in this world..."

"Letting those who cannot afford machine tools own them—that is the greatest rule."

He ignored Yamamoto's roar and turned to continue writing on the blackboard.

The 'machine model' version, equipped with batch processing design, suitable for small processing plants and mass production of motorcycle parts.

"42,000 USD."

The top-tier 'Yuheng' version, equipped with higher precision bearings and a hand-scraped base, suitable for small European workshops and technical school teaching.

"78,000 USD."

After finishing these three numbers, Lin Xi turned around.

He revealed a row of pearly white teeth, smiling like a boy next door.

"Additionally, for all customers who purchase the 'Yuheng' version."

"Red Star Technology promises to provide a factory engineer on-site inspection once a year to upgrade system control parameters for free."

The eyes of the European merchants on-site lit up.

In this era, equipment maintenance was the biggest pain point.

When engineers from German and Japanese manufacturers visited, they charged by the hour, even the water glass was counted on the bill.

Red Star was actually doing it for free?

This was practically God-like mercy!

Only the viewers in the live stream, through the God's perspective of later generations...

Saw through the sinister intentions under Lin Xi's harmless-looking smile.

[What the hell is a free upgrade! This is to get the data, right?!]

[This is called selling someone out and having them help you count the money.]

[Black-hearted Lin: Not only do I want to earn your money, I also want to freeload your processing data to build up my database.]

[Upstairs, this is called crowdfunding industrial wisdom, how can you call it freeloading? (Dog head)]

[Taking all the processing experience of old masters around the world and manually transporting it back to the country to feed the database through this annual check-up... President Lin's abacus beads are hitting me in the face!]

However, no one at the scene knew what big data was.

They only felt that this group of Chinese people was too honest and too responsible!

Simply the conscience of the industry!

"But..."

Someone in the crowd asked hesitantly,

"The machines are cheap, but what about the tools and cutting fluid?"

"Are your interface standards special?"

This was a common tactic used by many large factories.

Sell the machine at a loss and harvest profits for a lifetime through specialized tools and consumables.

"Good question!" Lin Xi snapped his fingers.

"The entire Red Star line of machine tools has interfaces compatible with international standards."

"If you want to use Germanic tools or Japanese tools, feel free!"

Lin Xi said loudly, "But—"

He changed the subject:

"We, Red Star Technology, also provide a full set of consumables."

"Performance is benchmarked against international top-tier brands, but the price is 30% cheaper."

"If you sign a three-year consumable supply contract while purchasing a Red Star machine tool..."

Lin Xi held up three fingers, his smile deepening:

"Consumables will be another 30% off."

"When calculated, it's only half the price of international big brands."

Boom!

Now, even those small European factory owners who were originally just watching for fun couldn't sit still.

Half the price!

In the economic depression of the 1980s, this was pure profit!

"I don't have US dollars!"

The Nigerian merchant was sweating profusely with anxiety,

"Our country has foreign exchange controls; I can't pay that many US dollars!"

This was a common problem for Third World countries.

They wanted industrialization, but they didn't have foreign exchange in their hands.

Deputy Division Chief Wang and Zhao Gang looked at each other, a sharp glint flashing in their eyes.

It was finally time for the "National Team" to step onto the stage.

"Who said it has to be US dollars?"

From the crowd, Zhao Gang walked out.

He was wearing a sharp suit with a Huarun Group badge pinned to his chest, a professional smile on his face.

"I am the representative of Huarun Group."

Zhao Gang's voice was steady and powerful,

"We accept all valuable hard currencies."

He pointed to the Nigerian man:

"You can pay with rubber, coffee beans, or high-grade copper ore."

Then he pointed to a nearby farmer:

"You can pay with beef, wheat, or even cotton."

"As long as the goods leave the shore, we are responsible for valuation, transportation, and liquidation."

Zhao Gang patted Lin Xi's shoulder,

"And Manager Lin will only be responsible for shipping the goods to you."

"Boom—!"

If the price war just now was a bomb...

Then this move of bartering was a nuclear explosion.

For those countries locked down by the US dollar hegemony, this was the only way to survive!

The live stream interactive comments scrolled:

[Awesome! This is international trade with Chinese characteristics, specifically designed to treat all kinds of poverty!]

[A modern version of 'cans for planes'!]

[This is the benefit of having a big backer. What ordinary private enterprise would dare to play the barter game?]

[For Third World countries, this is practically a life-saving straw, a trump card level move!]

[Look at that Nigerian brother, he's almost in tears. I bet the coffee beans in his warehouse are about to go moldy.]

"I want ten units!"

The Nigerian man jumped up suddenly, spitting with excitement,

"I have coffee beans! The best Robusta coffee beans! Right at the port!"

"I want five units! Exchange them for beef!"

The scene instantly went out of control.

The crowd that was still waiting and watching surged toward the simple booth like a tide.

Zhao Gang and Deputy Division Chief Wang were instantly submerged by countless hands waving business cards and orders.