Chapter 101: Money Is The Least Valuable Resource
## Corrected Full English Text (Numbered Lines – NO CHINESE CHARACTERS):
“Robert, this is Van Lung, Mr. Long.
My Chinese compatriot, also the boss of this restaurant, he insisted on coming to visit us.”
After returning to the room, Lin Ran introduced.
McNamara stood up and shook hands with Long Sifan, saying: “Mr. Long, hello.”
Long Sifan smiled and shook hands with McNamara, thinking, is this Professor Lin’s influence in Washington?
If it were him, he’d be lucky not to get scolded out.
McNamara is a Shudra in front of Lin Ran; this is the hierarchy in the field of mathematics, and Long Sifan cannot be included in this standard of measurement.
Currently, since the China side has not tried to connect with America, Yanjing Palace also does not have the status it will have in later generations.
To McNamara, Long Sifan is just an insignificant little character; if not for Lin Ran’s face, he wouldn’t shake hands with him at all.
This is indeed Lin Ran’s influence, but not based on power, but on the brain.
“I’m very happy to meet you two today. I’ll cover your consumption today, and I’ll serve you two a famous dish from Yunnan that can only be eaten here.
Xuanwei ham stew, please enjoy your meal.”
Long Sifan just came in to say hello and left.
Throughout the meal until the end, McNamara kept asking nonstop about operations research-related content.
What Lin Ran gave were some relatively introductory applications of mathematical knowledge, just somewhat rare at the time.
These things have only entertainment value at present, no practical value.
Because McNamara’s questions are based on the lack of computing power in the 1940s.
Meanwhile, IBM has pushed computers to the 7090, entering the transistor era.
The performance of the IBM 7090 is about 230,000 additions per second, not from the same generation as the 3 per second in the 1940s.
Lin Ran’s algorithm would only be useful going back to 1940.
Even if McNamara could shuttle back and forth between 1960 and 1940 like him and had a way, he would use this set of algorithms to entertain the Japanese.
Lin Ran would be more than happy.
The next morning, Lin Ran was at the Willard InterContinental Hotel, only 200 meters from the White House, drinking coffee while waiting for someone.
“I say, Randolph, why are you still staying in a hotel? Here, this is a townhouse I have in Georgetown; stay there as you like. When you retire from NASA, we can change the ownership.”
John Morgan, arriving on time, handed over a string of keys.
The Georgetown area is a historic community, less than 3 miles from the White House, a car ride of less than 10 minutes.
Therefore, the townhouses here are favored by Washington’s bureaucrats, with monthly rent up to five hundred US Dollars.
But such a house is really nothing to John Morgan.
Just the recent order quantity from NASA to General Aerospace exceeds fifty million US Dollars.
Originally in history, NASA’s lunar module went to Langley Research Center.
They solicited bids from fourteen companies.
Round after round of competition, from 14 to 3, then finally competing with the internal design of Langley Research Center.
In the end, these four proposals competed.
Now with Lin Ran here, General Aerospace won the bid.
And Langley Research Center, starting with the lunar module, developed into the much larger Johnson Space Center, but the pace toward manned spacecraft was not so smooth.
It might even be directly canceled.
If the lunar module is just an appetizer.
After Lin Ran’s moon landing plan succeeded, Glenn Martin Company compromised and accepted General Aerospace’s takeover plan.
They almost fully accepted the conditions put forward by John Morgan; General Aerospace completed a snake swallowing an elephant in the field of aerospace.
At least technically, it was a snake swallowing an elephant.
From only being able to do electronic systems, airplane engines, turbochargers in the past, to being able to do rocket engines, larger military airplane engines.
This is a benefit that cannot be measured with money.
And the upcoming bidding for the first, second, and third stage rocket engines of the Saturn V rocket all rely on this shadow director of NASA in front of him.
If in the past the media calling him shadow director was somewhat exaggerated, now it is well-deserved.
So what John Morgan gave is really nothing.
After taking it, Lin Ran said: “Good, nothing inside, right?”
He was also reminding John Morgan.
John Morgan was stunned and then laughed: “How could that be? We are brothers.
Although the Morgan family education does not have proverbs related to brotherly loyalty, it does have moral principles.
Remember, the eye of heaven is always watching you; for every behavior, word, and action, you will ultimately be responsible.
This is a precept left by our ancestors; how could I do such a thing.”
Lin Ran nodded: “That’s good, but even if there is, it’s fine; I have a plane back to Redstone Arsenal in half an hour.
Even if there is, you still have time to retrieve it.”
Lin Ran and John Morgan are indeed colluding in politics and business, but this is completely normal in the White House.
Ford Group’s CEO becoming a minister in the White House is much more blatant than Lin Ran and John Morgan’s cooperation.
Lin Ran didn’t give the other a chance to respond and continued: “Have you seen the report sent over by Hong Kong Shipping?”
John Morgan said: “Of course I’ve seen it.
It’s too important.
If in the future the world adopts this system, the companies we control can significantly reduce operating costs in global trade and substantially increase profit margins.
From container manufacturing to port facility upgrades to ship modifications and related industries, all are opportunities.
By setting standards, we can ensure our companies and partners prioritize using related technologies and equipment, even squeezing out competitors, thereby consolidating market share.
The standardized system can make global supply chains more efficient and controllable.
It can also integrate upstream and downstream industries through this, forming a tight supply chain network, further enhancing market control.
Even from the perspective of global discourse power and geopolitical advantages, by influencing the direction and patterns of trade flows, we can to some extent shape the geopolitical landscape.
Randolph, rest assured, whether Morgan or Rockefeller, internally this matter is placed at the highest priority.
Although I don’t have time to personally handle this, sigh, if you had brought it out to tell me earlier, this is a much better industry than General Aerospace.
Forget it, saying this now is useless.
In short, David Rockefeller and Francis Morgan will personally push it to become the global standard.
On this point, rest assured; in the process of promoting the global standard, Morgan and Rockefeller will fully respect your interests.
We will establish a company similar to the Federal Reserve to specifically promote it as the international shipping standard.
In this new company, we’ll give you 4.5 percentage points of shares; you invest with technology, Hong Kong Shipping 0.5 percentage points, investing with experience.
Randolph, what do you think?
Additionally, a seat on the board of the newly established International Shipping Standards Committee and the company’s board of directors will be reserved for you.”
John Morgan spoke very straightforwardly, without hiding the huge interests in shipping standards at all.
Because everyone is smart; Lin Ran didn’t choose to tell him right away but went to Hong Kong himself to experiment with Chinese shipowners before bringing it out, which already proves Lin Ran knows the value of this very well.
After hearing this, Lin Ran said: “I have no objection; can you leave a seat on the standards committee for the Chinese shipowners in Hong Kong?”
This was also the promise Lin Ran made to Xu Aizhou.
John Morgan shook his head: “That’s not for me to decide.
And even if I help you raise it, it probably won’t pass.
Whether the committee or the subsequent standards promotion company, it’s not just Morgan and Rockefeller involved; we need to communicate with other capital.
Randolph, one seat is already a lot.
If it weren’t for you, not even one seat would be given to Chinese people.
We are friends; I don’t want to hide anything; the world is like this.
You have already strived a lot of discourse power for Chinese people.
Even more bluntly, if it weren’t for you, if another Chinese person came, even if he held the patents and such.
Morgan and Rockefeller have plenty of ways not to comply with patent law, dragging the entire lawsuit in New York Superior Court for years or even decades.
By the time he gets compensation and settlement, even if it’s a few billion US Dollars in compensation, so what?
How does it compare to 4.5% shares in the shipping standards promotion organization? And it’s been dragged on for so many years.
Randolph, you have the world’s top brain, not low philosophical attainment; you should understand what it means that among resources, money is the least valuable, right.
One seat is already a lot.
Additionally, this is actually for your consideration; you definitely don’t have time to attend meetings personally; NASA and the White House have a pile of things waiting for you; you can fully delegate Chinese shipowners as your representatives.”
John Morgan earnestly advised.
What he said was indeed correct.
Lin Ran and the Chinese shipowners in Hong Kong together have a total of five percentage points of shares, which is already the result of his striving for it.
If it were other Chinese people, they would have been taken over by trickery and force, leaving nothing.
After hearing this, Lin Ran fell silent, knowing John Morgan was right.
Before China’s rise, the living space faced by Chinese people was like this.
He could move in the core areas of Washington, overlook New York from the New York Empire Building, give speeches at universities calling wind and rain, like a mathematical emperor, chat freely in television station interviews, but that didn’t prevent most Chinese people’s living conditions from being cheap apartments in Flushing.
Not only in New York, not only in America, but most Chinese people around the world have precarious living space.
After thinking for a moment, Lin Ran said: “Good, I have no objection.
I have only one last condition.
That is, regarding the priority of port modifications in the Asia-Pacific region, I need absolute discourse power.
Only this, nothing else sought.”
Before John Morgan could speak, he continued: “I believe that with this shipping report, in America, it’s not just Morgan and Rockefeller as buyers.
Whether American Shipping or International Commercial Shipping Company, I believe they would all be interested.”
