Chapter 208
April 1st.
The old man History did not play a joke on Su Yuanshan. On April Fool's Day, the Coordinating Committee based in the romantic capital officially announced its dissolution.
For ordinary people, this news meant nothing; it wasn't even broadcast on the news.
But for a very few companies, something changed: in the import of certain equipment—especially components—negotiations suddenly became much smoother.
After all, there's a fundamental difference between "nominally dead" and "officially dissolved." At the very least, counterparties could no longer use "regulations" as an excuse to price gouge or play coy.
Thus, Su Yuanshan altered his plans, deciding to head to Shanghai on the 7th, leaving affairs in the Special Zone to Chen Jing.
After all, the graphics cards were with Meijie, and as the "Little Miss" of Meijie, Chen Jing could get things done there more effectively than he could. Moreover, she would be staying longer in the Special Zone to personally oversee the expansion of the mobile phone and VCD production lines, and also push forward the merger of the industrial parks.
In short, she was there to apply pressure on the Special Zone leadership.
...
Fu Zhenhua drove the two of them to the airport, while another car behind carried Zhou Xiaohui and An Siying.
Previously, due to communication difficulties, Zhou Xiaohui and An Siying rarely traveled with Su Yuanshan and Chen Jing, usually staying at Yuanxin to help handle administrative affairs.
Now, with mobile networks fully rolled out, the initial twenty-four cities were like seeds scattered across the land. Thanks to the hard work of mobile company staff and Yuanxin engineers, they had rapidly sprouted into young trees. The mobile company had now officially committed to a plan: within the next year, ensure that every urban resident nationwide could use a mobile phone!
Their confidence came entirely from Yuanxin's strong support—and a bit of necessity.
—Television ads had spread news of mobile phones across the entire country, leading to an unprecedented outcome: people everywhere eagerly awaited the opening of new base stations.
Meanwhile, the bulky and inconvenient old brick phones had instantly fallen out of favor.
It was then that the mobile company remembered what Su Yuanshan had said: as long as they built base stations fast enough, the brick phone problem would solve itself. This realization drove them to grit their teeth and go all-in: lay out the network first, and then fill in the gaps over time until even the most remote corners had coverage.
Of course, it would be a long process—nothing that could be accomplished overnight.
"Right now, mobile owes us a lot. If it weren't for Yuanxin's financial strength, any other company would have been dragged under already," Chen Jing said as she sat beside Su Yuanshan in the backseat, flipping through the latest financial report with a slight frown. "They didn't pay a cent last month, yet took fifteen billion yuan worth of equipment."
"Yeah, but Mobile is also aggressively expanding," Su Yuanshan said, narrowing his eyes and chuckling, recalling a conversation he'd had with Min Guangliang last month. "The Posts and Telecommunications Bureau finally realized the benefits of setting up a company. Now, as an enterprise, they can unhesitatingly tie suppliers like us tightly to their chariots for growth—if they were still a pure government office, no way they'd dare act so boldly."
"But we still need to get our money," he added. "Think of it like putting cash in a bank—let it sit there, and we'll collect both principal and interest every six months."
"Luckily, the profit margins are high enough," Chen Jing said with a smile. "Compared to making communications equipment, selling motherboards now seems like a kid's game."
"Heh, it's mainly because we control a lot of the core technologies ourselves," Su Yuanshan said, pausing briefly. "If you don't count R&D costs, just the pure hardware costs alone, yeah—it's basically a goldmine."
"Oh, by the way," he added, "if you have time, try negotiating to open another market. If you succeed, I'll reward you—"
Chen Jing, seeing him pause and struggling to come up with a reward, smiled: "Reward me with what?"
Su Yuanshan looked at her flawless face, smiled, and shook his head. "Honestly, I don't even know what to reward you with. You already have equity, and you're not short on cash—you're not, right?"
"Who isn't short on cash?" Chen Jing teased.
"You really short on money?"
"...No," Chen Jing said, a bit exasperated at his lack of understanding about jokes. "But the point is—you said reward."
"I can't think of anything right now. If you insist, I'll just say I'll reward you with one million yuan..."
"...!"
"Seriously," Su Yuanshan said seriously. "Whoever secures an overseas base station market for us will get a one-million-yuan reward. No kidding!"
Chen Jing sighed lightly.
She knew Su Yuanshan was desperate to expand Yuanxin's overseas market—of course, that was a natural ambition for any growing giant. But Su Yuanshan seemed even more urgent.
Especially in communications—or more precisely, communications infrastructure.
Back when Zhongxin had broken into Thailand and Malaysia with their pagers and base stations, although they only captured about a third of the market share, Wang Chaoxin still awarded bonuses to his people. Yet Su Yuanshan had insisted on pushing him to give even more—and if they couldn't afford it, Yuanxin would cover the difference...
Only someone like Su Yuanshan could pull off such "reckless" gestures.
"Why not set up a Global Division?" Chen Jing suggested.
"We will," Su Yuanshan said, "but not yet. Right now, we still need to 'sneak into the village quietly.' Setting up a Global Division now would make our strategic intentions too obvious. We'll wait—at least until our European R&D center is fully established."
"Alright," Chen Jing nodded, smiling sweetly. "Then I'll work hard to earn that million."
"Go for it!"
...
Their flights departed back-to-back. By the time Su Yuanshan landed in Shanghai, it was just past 2 PM.
He didn't bother troubling Zhang Rujin. Instead, he had asked Li Mingliu to send a car. To his surprise, Li Mingliu personally showed up, driving his old Santana to pick him up outside the airport.
"If I knew you were bringing Xiaohui, I wouldn't have come myself," Li Mingliu said as he merged into the traffic, glancing sideways at Su Yuanshan in the passenger seat.
"Why would Xiaohui coming mean you shouldn't come?" Zhou Xiaohui asked curiously from the back seat.
"Because it'd be awkward for President Shan to wait alone."
"Don't listen to his nonsense," Su Yuanshan said lazily, arms crossed. "I left you here to keep an eye on the industrial park development in Shanghai. And what did you do? Half a year, and you've only visited once?"
Li Mingliu just shrugged. "Busy as hell, man. Who's got time to babysit? Besides, I'm with you today, aren't I?"
Su Yuanshan: "..."
"But honestly, with Dr. Zhang stationed there, they don't need me. The old man's enthusiasm is something else—he's treating the place like home," Li Mingliu added, laughing. "I heard he's recruited a bunch of top talents, even a few foreigners... Tsk tsk, truly a factory-building expert."
"Yeah," Su Yuanshan said, lounging back in his seat, a smile creeping onto his lips.
Thanks to Old Zhang's dedication, after just six months, the photomask plant was already taking shape.
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