Chapter 68: Cheap New Technology

Although money cannot solve everything, in this world, having money can resolve the vast majority of problems.

The good news arrived swiftly. Just two days later, Alan John Cobham sold his Flight Refuelling Limited (FRL) and the aerial refueling technology he had spent over a decade researching to the Zhenhua Company for twenty-five thousand pounds.

After the contract was signed, Cobham entered Li Yi'an's office. Keeley walked into the room carrying a tray with porcelain cups, a matching coffee pot, a milk jug, a sugar bowl, and a plate of biscuits. After pouring the coffee and leaving, Li Yi'an made a gesture toward the cup.

"Alan, as we agreed, the company will pay you this sum at an appropriate time after the war. In the meantime, as the manager of FRL, you will receive a monthly salary of one hundred and fifty pounds."

Why wait until after the war, and specifically an appropriate time? It was to evade taxes—no Englishman was willing to pay a ninety-nine point six percent personal income tax.

This was no longer taxation; it was highway robbery!

It was akin to a robber who, after pillaging you, mercifully leaves behind enough money for your bus fare.

Naturally, such a grotesque tax rate applied only during wartime. That was why Cobham requested payment after the war when selling his company.

"Thank you, sir."

Cobham took a sip of coffee, added several spoonfuls of sugar to his cup, took another sip, and nodded with satisfaction.

This was the exact taste.

God as his witness, it had been a very long time since he last tasted coffee this sweet.

Afterward, he ate a biscuit.

Cobham's demeanor prompted a silent sigh deep within Li Yi'an's heart, reflecting on how the war had altered people's lives.

A packet of sugar could open the door to a woman's boudoir, and a pair of silk stockings could turn a noble young lady into a streetwalker. Even a renowned aviator of considerable means had cast aside his former dignity just to drink a cup of coffee.

A life of material scarcity had brought far too many changes to people's existence.

"Alan, I hope you can go to the United States to conduct further research into aerial refueling technology."

Compared to Britain, America was currently much better suited for conducting flight tests. After all, in Britain... one might run into German aircraft simply while taking off on a routine flight.

"Go to America!"

Cobham, who had been eating a biscuit, lit up at the prospect, but then added, "However, getting to the United States right now probably won't be easy, will it?"

"I will handle that issue," Li Yi'an said with a smile.

Unlike in the past, as a Pentagon contractor now, he could directly board military transport planes to travel back and forth between New York and London. If necessary, he could also secure special visas to take a few people to the United States.

"Can my family go with me?"

Cobham had long since grown weary of the extreme material scarcity in Britain. If he could take his family to America, that would be the best possible outcome.

"Not right now. Let's wait until after the war..."

Li Yi'an looked at him and said this. When he bought Cobham's company, he had no idea that a seemingly casual decision of his would directly result in Cobham's company—the absolute king of the probe-and-drogue aerial refueling field—leaving Britain and transforming into a North Borneo enterprise.

Of course, he could not have anticipated what kind of changes the premature development of aerial refueling technology would bring to the world, but one thing was certain: it was bound to change many things.

In fact, during wartime, numerous technologies could be acquired at an extraordinarily low cost, sometimes at prices so cheap as to be outrageous. After all, during wartime, many companies—especially those whose products could not be directly applied to the war effort—found their goods and technologies worthless. Yet hidden within these very technologies often lay a treasure trove.

"Sir, this new type of loom uses high-speed airflow generated by the release of compressed air to guide the weft yarn across the shed to complete weft insertion. Its working efficiency is much higher..."

At the Zhenhua Company's representative office in London, Svaty looked at the Chinese man before him, explaining his invention. Although he was a textile machinery engineer, after fleeing to Britain as a refugee, his life had become utterly destitute, and he struggled against starvation every single day.

In order to make a living, he had even publicly published his invention—the air-jet loom—in a magazine. However, because of the war, no one showed any interest in weaving looms. Of course, the most crucial reason was that his invention was not yet complete and existed only as a conceptual framework.

Precisely for this reason, upon receiving the letter from the Zhenhua Company, he had rushed to London immediately, attempting to pitch his invention.

"Of course, Mr. Svaty, I believe your invention can revolutionize the weaving industry, and that is why I am willing to buy it. However, what I need is not just the invention, but you as well. After all, for now, it is not yet finished, is it?"

Li Yi'an looked at the fellow before him with a smile.

As the inventor of the air-jet loom who fled to Britain during World War II, Svaty had countless times pitched his invention to others, yet it had never been adopted by British enterprises. After all, whether during the war or afterward, the British and the Europeans had no intention of updating their textile machinery. When he returned to Czechoslovakia, his invention was finally adopted purely for political reasons—to showcase the achievements of the new regime. However, over the following decades, air-jet looms produced in Czechoslovakia remained the most sought-after industrial products in Eastern Europe, and enterprises in countries like Germany and Japan repeatedly imported air-jet loom technology from Czechoslovakia.

This technology might not look like much at first glance, but for the textile industry, it was revolutionary. From the nineteen-sixties and seventies onward, it replaced the rapier loom to become the mainstream weaving machine. For both the textile industry and the textile machinery industry, it represented the future direction of development.

Since it was the future direction of development, it naturally had to be purchased. Not only must the technology be bought, but Svaty must also be bought out entirely. After all, the leading edge of Czechoslovakia's air-jet loom technology was fundamentally linked to him.

"Fifty pounds," Li Yi_an said, looking at Svaty.

"From now on, the company will provide you with a monthly salary of fifty pounds, so that you can devote yourself to technological research with peace of mind. In addition, I will pay one thousand pounds to purchase the patents you hold for the air-jet loom."

Sometimes, many things were simply that cheap. Whether anyone else was buying at the bottom, Li Yi'an did not know, but right now... for a mere one thousand pounds—the equivalent of a few hundred pounds of coffee—he had traded for a brand-new technology worth hundreds of millions of dollars!

Even though it was so cheap, the other party remained endlessly grateful...