Chapter 74: Underground Black Market

  This world has light and darkness!

  Perhaps since the emergence of civilized society, underground black markets have appeared like a shadow, and it can even be said that the underground world is a projection of the bright world.

  After lurking in the chemical market for several months, Duan Lei also gradually came into contact with the underground black market hidden behind the chemical market and learned about some of its situation.

  Generally, commonly used laboratory equipment and reagents can be purchased from stores in the market. Even if the requirements are a bit high, it is possible to obtain what you need by ordering directly from manufacturers. However, there are some things that cannot be bought even with money through normal channels.

  For example, the large high-speed freezing centrifuge needed by Duan Yue is not easy to buy on the market, and it can only be obtained through underground black markets.

  Due to China's late start in industrialization, a lot of funds and resources were invested in more important areas, resulting in a significant gap with foreign countries in fields such as experimental equipment and medical instruments. Logically speaking, after more than 30 years of reform and opening up, our country has also made remarkable achievements in these fields, but in some key equipment, we still cannot compare with the world's advanced level. Take the high-speed freezing centrifuge needed by Duan Lei, for example, which requires a technical specification that can reach a speed of 30000rmp and at the same time achieve a low temperature of minus 30 degrees Celsius, this is already one of the most advanced centrifuges in the world.

  Our domestically produced centrifuges are still far from meeting such standards. Even if some products can barely meet the requirements, they have been excluded by Duan Lian due to unstable performance.

  However, it is extremely difficult, almost impossible, to import such advanced equipment through regular channels.

  In 1948, the Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls (CoCom) was established by the United States and 15 other capitalist countries. This international organization, notorious for its Cold War overtones, imposed an embargo on socialist states and restricted trade with them. Through this organization, imperialist nations severely limited our country's economic development and technological imports. Even after CoCom dissolved in 1994, the embargo on our country was not completely lifted.

  Unfortunately, the high-speed freezing centrifuge and color spectrometer needed by Duan Yue's trial base are both instruments on the Ba Tong embargo list. With Duan Yue's current strength, it is impossible to import them through regular channels. So, Duan Yue had no choice but to turn his attention to the smuggling black market, hoping to get what he wanted.

  Although there is a BAT organization on the surface, people in the European and American underground world can't take care of so much. For their own interests, they often obtain some advanced instruments from various channels and sell them to customers who need them through smuggling channels. At this time, ideology has long been defeated by money.

  More than 30 years of reform and opening up, as the city with the most frequent contact with foreign countries, Haicheng is not only known as the Chinese city with the highest degree of openness. The underground world of Haicheng has also been connected with international forces. At first, the direction of operation of the underground forces was mostly smuggling goods such as cars, refined oil, and even drugs. However, as the country's crackdown intensified, they found that their living space was getting smaller and smaller.

  However, what this world lacks the least is intelligent people.

  In the underground world, there are also some highly educated backbones. They found that with the increase of our country's economic strength, various research institutes, scientific research institutions, and university laboratories have emerged like mushrooms after a spring rain, and the demand for advanced experimental instruments is becoming increasingly strong. As a result, in recent years, the organizations in the underground world of Haicheng have begun to focus on advanced equipment that has been embargoed by the Western world, and they have also gained new vitality.

  Numerical control machine tools, mass spectrometers, centrifuges, constant temperature devices, high-purity chemical reagents... These things that are rarely seen in ordinary people's lives play an abnormally important role in scientific research and industrial production. As long as they can be brought in, there is no need to worry about sales channels.

  Duan Yue had been in the chemical market for a while and knew that there were some brokers who specialized in introducing underground world, their sense of smell was the most sensitive.

  …………

  "Boss, do you need any special equipment?" After watching Duan Cui hand over the list to the shop owner who was surrounding him, after the crowd dispersed, a small middle-aged man who had been waiting for a long time walked up.

  "This is the list. If we can find the best equipment, you will definitely benefit from it!" Duan Lei took a look and knew that the other party was an intermediary, so he didn't suspect anything else and directly handed over the list to the other party.

  "Boss is really generous! I need to contact someone about all this stuff before I can answer you!" The little guy looked at Duan Lei's list and was shocked, saying excitedly.

  In the chemical market, there are some brokers who, although not researchers themselves, have a thorough understanding of various equipment and reagents in the market, including their types, varieties, and prices. After all, they make a living by introducing clients to suppliers and earning commissions. If Duan Lei were to purchase everything on this list, the total value would be close to one million, and the commission that the broker would receive from the supplier would not be a small amount.

  "Go ahead, I'll wait here, hope you hurry up!" Duan Lei also knew some of the unwritten rules of the underground black market, and said with a smile as he waved his hand.

  The little rascal saw Duan Lei being so straightforward and naturally understood that the other party was not a novice who didn't understand anything, so he quickly took out his mobile phone and went to the leeward side of the house to make a call.

  Duan Lei spent less than an hour to basically settle the equipment procurement, paid the deposit, and after the equipment arrives at the experimental base, pay the balance, and then install and debug. This young boss is indeed meticulous in his thinking, doing things in an orderly manner, making Jin Xin somewhat admire him.

  "Lao Jin, this time I still have the time to bring you here to take a look. From now on, when the company purchases equipment and reagents, you will be in charge!" Seeing that things were basically settled, Duan Lei began to brief Jin Xin.

  For Duan Yue, letting Jin Xin get familiar with the situation and enter the role can free himself from these tedious daily chores and focus his energy on the laboratory and pilot base. Although Jin Xin's educational background is not high, he has a lively brain and is reliable, so Duan naturally wants to cultivate him into a capable assistant.

  "Got it, boss!" Jin Xin nodded. Faced with Duan Lei's trust, Jin Xin was excited but also a little nervous. However, he tried to calm himself down and think about how to beautifully complete the task assigned by Duan Lei and grow up as soon as possible!