Chapter 581: Smart Cars, the Ultimate Form
Yuanshan Office.
Even though the chair was right behind him, Yue Hongyi remained standing nervously behind Su Yuanshan, staring fixedly at Su Yuanshan's monitor.
This was the task Su Yuanshan had given him—or rather, a kind of "entry exam."
—Five months ago, Su Yuanshan had instructed him to begin from the instruction set and design a processor entirely on his own within three months. During this time, he was allowed to consult anyone at Yuanxin.
Two months later, Yue Hongyi submitted his plan and requested a time extension. At the time, Su Yuanshan didn't even look at the proposal and agreed immediately.
This made Yue Hongyi breathe a sigh of relief, though he also felt a bit uneasy—what did it mean that Professor Su didn't even bother looking at it?
But immersed in the design process, he had no time to ponder his mentor's thinking and instead focused all his energy on the CPU design.
Today was the day he turned in his answer.
...
Su Yuanshan carefully reviewed Yue Hongyi's design. It was evident that the young man had ambition—after just five months, not only had he designed a simple 16-bit RISC processor from scratch, but he had also produced a fairly complete research paper.
"Not bad," Su Yuanshan looked up and nodded at Yue Hongyi with a smile. "If my standards were lower, you could probably graduate with this paper after a few edits."
Yue Hongyi clearly let out a breath of relief but didn't know how to respond—he wasn't good with words to begin with, so he just smiled sheepishly.
"It's obvious you have your own understanding of chip design," Su Yuanshan said with a smile. "Can you tell me what your future plans are? Do you want to enter industry? Or pursue further study and specialize in a particular field?"
Yue Hongyi thought for a moment and said, "I haven't really thought that far ahead yet. If I had to name a wish, it would be to become an architecture designer."
"Hmm." Su Yuanshan nodded after a few seconds of thought. "Then take a few days to rest, and I'll assign you a new task."
Yue Hongyi nodded silently, then hesitated before asking, "Professor, is it still processor design?"
"No, it's to familiarize yourself with my projects and help me describe logical functions using hardware language. Of course, if you can come up with a better solution, I might use yours."
Yue Hongyi suppressed his excitement and asked, "Is this to join your work?"
"Yes." Su Yuanshan nodded with a smile—he liked these kinds of young people who dared to dream big, or rather, dared to challenge.
Just then, Zhou Xiaohui pushed the door open.
...
"Mr. Li, I'm Su Yuanshan."
Su Yuanshan stood up from his seat and shook hands with Li Junyou and Sun Xiaochuan, then led them to the reception area.
It was clear these two were somewhat reserved—they had likely spent the past two days gathering information about Yuanxin's internal power structure.
"President Su, we're grateful that Yuanxin sees value in us. Our board has unanimously agreed… we're willing to accept Yuanxin's acquisition terms," said Li Junyou as he took out the acquisition offer Zhou Xiaohui had given him, making his stance clear.
Su Yuanshan and Zhou Xiaohui exchanged glances and smiled.
"However, President Su, we do have conditions," Li Junyou steadied himself, trying not to be overshadowed by Su Yuanshan's presence.
"Go ahead," Su Yuanshan said.
"We hope to maintain Tianju's technical independence. After all, we're a car company with eight years of history. Over those years, we've accumulated a lot of experience and obtained more than a dozen national patents—I believe that's precisely why Yuanxin chose to partner with us."
He paused before continuing, "Of course, since this is a full acquisition, we will accept Yuanxin's supervision and leadership. That goes without saying."
Su Yuanshan cleared his throat—this guy had gained a bit of his respect.
What Li Junyou was really saying was that although Yuanxin was wealthy and a tech powerhouse, when it came to building cars, it was clearly an outsider.
So let the professionals lead.
"In addition, we feel… the 30 million acquisition price is a bit low."
Su Yuanshan nodded with a smile. "Anything else?"
Li Junyou exchanged a glance with Sun Xiaochuan and shook his head.
"Then I'll say a few things, starting with the acquisition price." Su Yuanshan picked up his teacup, blew off the foam, and took a sip before continuing with a smile: "First, I want to ask, Mr. Li, Engineer Sun—are you trying to build cars, or make money?"
Li Junyou was taken aback but then smiled, "Of course we want to build cars. Just look—this whole provincial capital has only one car factory: ours. If we don't build cars, who will?"
Su Yuanshan shook his head. "Car factories aren't slaughterhouses—every city doesn't need one. The U.S. is huge—how many car companies can you name?"
This left Li Junyou speechless.
Indeed, the bigger and more formal a company, the more competitive it is in the market.
Ten years ago, workshops like Tianju could survive with cheap, copied cars. But now, as the market becomes more regulated, and users become more selective about brands and configurations, a low-cost, bare-bones approach simply doesn't cut it anymore.
Eventually, just like in developed countries, a few giants will dominate the domestic car market.
"If your dream is to build cars, then this 30 million is already enough. It can reimburse the investors around Hongpailou and let you embark on a new journey with peace of mind."
"Second, Yuanxin's follow-up investment in Tianju won't just be 30 million, or even 300 million or 3 billion—to be frank, Mr. Li, a modestly sized wafer fab built by Yuanxin typically starts at $1 billion."
Li Junyou was momentarily speechless, but after a pause, he smiled wryly, "Yes, they say wafer fabs are like money-printing machines. Naturally, the investment can't compare to the automotive industry."
"But the two industries are connected," Su Yuanshan said with a meaningful smile. "Mr. Li, you don't really think Yuanxin is acquiring Tianju just to improve production lines and expand capacity, do you?"
At this, Sun Xiaochuan couldn't help but ask, "Then… what is Yuanxin's purpose?"
"Smart cars—or more accurately, vehicle intelligence. Based on current technology, that's the foreseeable and achievable ultimate form."
"So regarding what Mr. Li just said about not interfering in technical affairs…" Su Yuanshan chuckled, "Then Yuanxin should just stick to building fabs and selling phones. Why should we get involved in cars?"
Li Junyou and Sun Xiaochuan exchanged glances, both of them visibly shocked.
But in Sun Xiaochuan's eyes, there was also a spark of excitement.
Su Yuanshan noticed this spark.
—This chief engineer, it was said, was actually quite capable. But he had been held back, which led to the creation of that awkward-looking prototype parked downstairs.
Sun Xiaochuan took a deep breath. "President Su, can you explain more about smart cars?"
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Chapter 582: President Su Is Right
"Yuanxin will use Tianju as a pilot company to ultimately build a full-vehicle electronic control system centered on interface interaction features like navigation and media playback, as well as sensor-based perception, electronic controllers, drive systems, and control software."
"To put it plainly, the cars we build will be equipped with a full suite of automated electronic systems—not the kind of tin-and-glass boxes on four wheels that just happen to move."
After Su Yuanshan finished, he smiled. "Mr. Li, do you still think Yuanxin shouldn't interfere in the technology and direction of car manufacturing?"
Li Junyou was once again taken aback, murmuring without knowing how to respond.
Seeing this, Su Yuanshan decided to be more direct: "Let's put it this way. If I didn't mind the trouble, I could throw money at importing a production line from Japan, and recruit people nationwide. Mr. Li, do you think that's feasible?"
"But even so, President Su might not be granted the production qualifications," Li Junyou remained somewhat unwilling to yield. "These days, the government's requirements are very strict. Even local authorities have to go about things discreetly. We're an established enterprise with a track record—surely that still counts for something."
"Secretary Zhou should've mentioned that for Yuanxin, obtaining qualifications has never been a problem."
Su Yuanshan's smile faded, and he spoke calmly: "Don't forget, the Premier visited our company. Before leaving, he told me personally—if you need anything, just ask."
"Also, the state's tightening regulations around the auto industry target small-scale, workshop-style factories focused on copying and quick profits—not enterprises with billions in capital investment."
"As I've said, Yuanxin's investment won't stop at 300 million or 3 billion."
"The reason we're acquiring Tianju is because you already have a mature team and foundation. Yuanxin doesn't have time to build up from scratch to enter this market."
Su Yuanshan looked at the two of them. "Mr. Li, if you can decide now, we can begin drafting the agreement. If not, I'll give you three more days."
With that, Su Yuanshan glanced at his watch, stood up, nodded politely, and excused himself.
...
As they watched Zhou Xiaohui return to the administrative building, Li Junyou looked around, suddenly feeling very small within Yuanxin.
—Even if he was somewhat of a fallen phoenix now, Li Junyou had once been a somewhat known figure in this city.
But here at Yuanxin, after witnessing Su Yuanshan's dominance firsthand, he finally understood: the things he once took pride in… meant absolutely nothing in someone else's world.
Yes, Yuanxin was far too powerful.
While gathering intel, a well-informed friend had told him: "If Yuanxin has their eye on you, you're beyond lucky." Then, they described Yuanxin's current situation and standing.
Domestically, they were known as a mini-Academy of Sciences-level research company. Internationally, they were strong enough to compete with global tech giants.
Thirty million? That was less than half a day's revenue for Yuanxin.
"President Li," said Sun Xiaochuan, who had been silent until now.
"Go ahead, Engineer Sun."
"I've been thinking about something President Su said—he asked if you wanted to build cars."
"Of course! If I didn't, why would I have approached you in the first place?" Li Junyou glared at him. "Building cars has been my dream."
"Then let's go back up." Sun Xiaochuan stared at him, lowering his voice: "This opportunity might not come around again."
Li Junyou immediately understood what he meant. He looked at the administrative building door with a complicated expression, opened his mouth, and said nothing.
Sun Xiaochuan also looked toward the building and muttered to himself, "I've been thinking since we came downstairs—President Su was right."
"If we keep struggling like this, we're headed straight for a dead end. But with Yuanxin on board, we can push forward with technical reform without hesitation. Only then are we worthy of the 'Automobile Research Institute' sign at our door."
Li Junyou was shaken. After a few moments of silence, he stomped his foot hard.
"Let's go!"
With that, he turned around and headed back toward the administrative building.
The agreement with Tianju was signed smoothly. To maintain morale, Yuanxin didn't push things too far. After several rounds of discussion, they agreed to grant Li Junyou and others founding shares.
What Li Junyou had most worried about—a full shake-up and replacement of leadership—never came to pass. When he and Sun Xiaochuan returned, Su Yuanshan had a much softer attitude. He promised that aside from incorporating Yuanxin's HR and financial management systems, he wouldn't drastically alter Tianju's current leadership.
In Su Yuanshan's eyes, the fact that Tianju's leadership could still retain nearly 200 engineers while being dirt poor was proof that they had some genuine skill.
But when it came to R&D… Yuanxin took full control.
The Automobile Research Institute was upgraded to the Automobile Research Academy, becoming Yuanxin's sixth major R&D center after the YX architecture, X86 architecture, communications, flash memory, and internet divisions.
The new research institute underwent sweeping reform. Besides retaining the original structures related to automobile architecture, new centers were established for electronic control, in-car intelligence, and electric motor research.
Su Yuanshan had always been someone willing to invest in research and someone capable of enduring long periods of development.
Now that lithium battery technology was gradually maturing, it was time to put electric vehicles on the agenda.
Of course, Su Yuanshan wouldn't recklessly bet everything on electric vehicles—after all, even in the West, full acceptance of EVs in the year 2000 was unlikely. Let alone in a country where blackouts were still frequent.
At the same time, Yuanxin needed to use gasoline vehicles as a platform to achieve a series of technological breakthroughs.
Besides, the fuel vehicle market in China still had enormous potential—at this point, it didn't even qualify as a drop in the bucket compared to future projections.
As for the head of the new Automobile Research Academy, after much consideration, Su Yuanshan ultimately chose Tianju's former chief engineer, Sun Xiaochuan.
After all, this was a car company. It wouldn't have made sense to assign an integrated circuit engineer to oversee automotive R&D. Moreover, Sun Xiaochuan was well-trained and clearly capable—more importantly, he understood and agreed with Su Yuanshan's vision for the future of smart vehicles.
...
In December, with the first cold wave of the season, the WA Agreement officially took effect.
Perhaps to blow away the winter chill, both Yuanxin's operating system team and Sony delivered good news.
On the operating system side, the YOS system was officially announced as fully adapted.
From Sony, a new CMOS image sensor technology was announced.
Compared to CCD sensors, which were currently dominant in digital cameras and other fields, CMOS sensors had the advantages of lower power consumption and simpler structure.
But the drawbacks were also obvious.
According to Sony, the cost was still a bit high. And due to the technology being immature, image quality was far inferior to CCD.
Su Yuanshan accepted the inferior image quality—after all, CCD had been around for years. How could a newly developed sensor compete immediately?
But the high cost—that contradicted Su Yuanshan's understanding.
Wasn't this stuff supposed to be cheap?
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Chapter 583: YOS Must Reign Supreme
"Matsuda-kun, when you head back, pass a message to Kudō-kun for me. Just tell him your wafer fab can't handle it—let him outsource to Deyuan."
At the entrance of the 11th floor, where Yuanxin's YOS team was based, Su Yuanshan joked with a Japanese engineer whose badge read "Ichiro Matsuda."
—Since forming a strategic partnership, Yuanxin and Sony had engaged in active staff exchanges, with personnel assigned to each other's departments for mutual learning.
These exchanges were generally focused on areas each side lacked strength in or sought collaboration. For example, Japan sent system and chip design engineers, while Yuanxin sent personnel from its design center.
Ichiro Matsuda shrugged—that was something he'd picked up from watching his Chinese colleagues. "President Su, I'm not in any position to speak to the general manager."
"Tsk, sounds like your boss is out of touch with the people." Su Yuanshan laughed and headed for the 11th floor conference room.
The operating system team had, for the past few years, been one of the least noticeable departments in Yuanxin, with a rather wandering existence.
Its origins could be traced back to the Jiangdu Building days, when it was created to solve pagers' Chinese message support systems. Later, the same team developed GSM-based SMS systems. After that, Su Yuanshan decided to give infant Linux a helping hand by forming a Linux distribution team… which eventually evolved into the current system development department.
Over time, the system team had been shuffled under the Communications Division, later spun off as an independent unit, then reassigned to the mobile division, and finally returned to the Communications Division after another restructuring...
Luckily, the team leader, Chen Gang, was an ambitious man who kept shouting about "beating Microsoft" and focused purely on code. Otherwise, someone else might've quit long ago.
Despite this, as one of Yuanxin's veterans, Chen Gang and his team were always well-compensated. He himself had steadily climbed to the P12 level—just one step away from P13.
...
The operating system team's conference room, though modest, was fully equipped according to Level 2 team standards: TVs, audio systems, projectors—everything was there.
As Su Yuanshan entered the room, everyone stood and applauded.
Among the attendees were core members of the OS team, engineers from the mobile division, and representatives from Sony.
"Everyone sit, I'm just here to observe." Su Yuanshan waved and smiled as he took a seat at the far end.
Chen Gang had clearly dressed up for the occasion—he was visibly excited. After all, this had been the most attention the long-neglected OS team had received in years. Besides regular check-ins from executives, even President Su and Chief Xi occasionally dropped by.
Lately, Su Yuanshan had even started personally urging progress.
"Ahem… President Su, everyone. I'll skip the pleasantries and go straight to the demo."
Chen Gang opened his laptop and projected the display using a newly released DLP projector.
"To make things easier for demonstration and promotion, we developed a Linux-based emulator. If needed, we can also create a Windows version later. Alright, please watch."
Chen Gang moved the mouse to open the emulator, then loaded the system. Soon, a rough-looking phone interface appeared on the screen.
"Our YOS system currently supports the full range of YX architecture microprocessors. Of course, we can also compile it for other architectures."
"The YOS system has four main layers: the kernel layer, the system layer, the application framework layer, and the application layer."
"I'll start from the bottom—our team originated as a Linux distribution team, but later we realized Linux's mandatory open-source nature wasn't suitable for a commercial OS. So, we adopted a UNIX-like style, adhering to POSIX standards. In a sense, YOS is a sibling to Linux…"
Su Yuanshan quickly interrupted, "Old Chen, enough with the nostalgia—get to the point."
Chen Gang, caught mid-sentiment, sulked for a moment but ultimately decided not to argue. "President Su, you were the one who told us to abandon Linux as the kernel."
"I had the foresight," Su Yuanshan chuckled. "Come on, get to the application layer."
"Uh… alright."
Chen Gang briefly skimmed over the lower architecture, gave a quick explanation of the system core, then moved on to the top-level design.
"Let's put it this way—YOS took so long to complete mostly because we've been optimizing the application framework. Don't be fooled by its simplicity—YOS is a platform-level OS. As long as developers follow our guidelines, they can build any kind of application on it."
At that moment, an engineer from the mobile team raised his hand, "Mr. Chen, how large can applications be?"
"However large your heart desires," Chen Gang grinned. "I know what the mobile team wants—email, notes, document readers, even an internet browser—right?"
The engineer chuckled sheepishly.
"Don't worry, it's all there." Chen Gang smiled confidently. "Think of it this way—YOS stands shoulder to shoulder with Windows, Linux, and macOS. The difference is, while those systems focus on PCs, our YOS targets low-power handheld mobile devices."
Su Yuanshan nodded slightly—but he hadn't come to hear Chen Gang brag. He'd likely prepared this pitch for an upcoming developer conference—not for internal presentation.
So Su Yuanshan interjected again: "Didn't you say you had an emulator? Show me. And what's the timeline for real device adaptation?"
"We should be done with device testing by the end of the month. The demo is simple—watch this."
As Chen Gang clicked on the virtual phone's button, the system entered a control interface.
It displayed Phonebook, Games, Email, Documents, Internet, and even a Reader app...
"These are our native apps," Chen Gang said as he continued to operate the emulator, showcasing each feature.
Su Yuanshan nodded silently. As someone who had followed this project closely, he knew YOS already showed early signs of becoming what Android or iOS would later become. But an OS's real value lay in building its ecosystem, not its built-in features.
So Su Yuanshan asked, "You mentioned a developer guide. Is it ready? And how about the application framework and tools—what can you offer?"
"Providing an OS is hard. But offering a great development environment—that's even harder."
"User experience—we'll leave that to the developers for now. But tools for developers—you must have thought this through, right?"
Su Yuanshan glanced at Ichiro Matsuda, who nodded rapidly like a pecking chicken—he was Sony's lead PDA software developer.
Chen Gang smiled confidently again.
"President Su, don't underestimate us. Starting today, we'll set up a dedicated framework and tools team to fully support developers."
"Good!" Su Yuanshan stood up without hesitation.
He looked at the programmers watching him and suddenly smiled.
"From today onward, the operating system team is upgraded to a first-level independent lab."
The room fell silent for a moment—then erupted in joyous cheers.
Thunderous applause echoed throughout the building.
For a second, Chen Gang felt dizzy. But when he saw Su Yuanshan's long-lost smile, he let out a deep breath, and a slow grin spread across his face.
—As one of the original team members from the Jiangdu Building era, Chen Gang had to admit: Yuanxin treated its veteran employees well, especially those still on the front lines.
But he wasn't just in it for the salary. If that were the case, he could've coasted on his status as a founding member and P12 engineer and retired early.
He had ambition.
Beating Microsoft—that had been his slogan. People teased him for it, and he knew it was unlikely.
But everyone needs a dream.
Even if Windows couldn't be beaten on desktops, it didn't mean it couldn't be challenged elsewhere.
Thanks to Su Yuanshan's vision of the digital age, mobile internet, and handheld smart devices, Chen Gang had found his new direction.
So when Su Yuanshan asked if he had considered the ecosystem, Chen Gang had answered with total confidence.
The ecosystem was central to Yuanxin's strategy. Everyone knew that.
How could he not?
And now, with Su Yuanshan personally declaring that the OS team would become an independent first-level lab…
That meant the operating system team was no longer a "guest" department—it now stood on equal footing with the company's top R&D labs, with access to greater resources and influence.
More importantly, it meant President Su acknowledged them.
"Thank you, President Su."
Chen Gang took a deep breath and motioned for his colleagues to calm down. Then, he met Su Yuanshan's gaze.
"President Su, I won't say much more. But in the field of mobile operating systems, we…"
"Will reign supreme."
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Chapter 584: The Stumbling Block on the Road to the Throne
Since the operating system team aimed to reign supreme in the mobile digital sector, Su Yuanshan could not allow the slightest deviation in their future planning.
He had charted a royal path for YOS.
After reviewing the development agenda, he directly intervened in Chen Gang's planning, crafting an entire set of development goals and roadmaps, and instructed Chen Gang to prepare for a press conference within a month.
The venue? Naturally, it would be the CES (Consumer Electronics Show) held in early January in Las Vegas.
Following the conference, Yuanxin would form a YOS alliance centered around PDAs. Once Yuanxin launched its phones fully adapted to YOS, this alliance would continue to expand and ultimately embrace the coming era of mobile internet...
...
One day later, Ken Kutaragi made his fourth trip to mainland China this year.
This time, he came to inaugurate the establishment of Sony (Mainland) Co., Ltd. After much deliberation, Sony still chose to locate the company in the capital, just as it had done historically.
In addition, he brought the PDA team and set up Sony's first entirely independent overseas department in the Special Economic Zone—right next to Yuanxin's industrial park.
This move was, frankly, quite bold.
Of course, he also brought Su Yuanshan the first batch of CMOS sensors.
To be fair, CMOS sensors were still poor in quality when used in cameras. They could be used in phones, but color screens were not yet common. And even if color screens could be integrated, the cost was prohibitive for the average consumer.
Add to that the astronomical cost due to low yield rates—even excluding the costs of software development—the price alone made it an impossible sell.
And a sky-high price tag was not the future of consumer electronics.
"Why not let Deyuan handle the manufacturing?"
Seated in his warm office, Su Yuanshan stared at Ken Kutaragi, visibly confused.
"Heh heh..." Kutaragi didn't mind the awkwardness, chuckled twice, and said, "Su-san, if you can guarantee orders in the millions, I'll let Deyuan take it."
"..." Su Yuanshan thought to himself, You little...
But from Kutaragi's perspective, even if he trusted Su Yuanshan's judgment and had faith in CMOS's future, the current reality was that CMOS lagged behind CCD.
If the technology wasn't mature yet, and there were no new products ready to integrate CMOS, and if cost advantages weren't clear, handing production over to a fab was risky... Who would take the fall for unsold inventory?
Kutaragi had other considerations as well.
The wafer fab established by Sony, Deyuan, and Yuanxin had received strong support from Shanghai's government—land acquisition had been completed early, and all policies were green-lit.
It was clear that the fab, registered under the English name "SYD," would be built and begin production within a year and a half.
Once operational, SYD wouldn't just produce flash memory but could also use more advanced processes to manufacture CMOS sensors.
From Sony's standpoint, it made sense to keep the benefits within the family.
Su Yuanshan saw through Kutaragi's thoughts completely, but there was no good counter at hand—Yuanxin had made too many big moves recently. Although Zhu Yuanxin had set up a webcam development team, progress was sluggish.
After all, they didn't even have a dedicated CMOS video compression chip. Yuanxin would have to develop it from scratch.
"How about this," Su Yuanshan pondered aloud. "Let's jointly establish a video processing technical group to try and speed things up a bit—I won't lie to you, we have more ideas beyond just integrating cameras into phones."
"Internet webcams?" Kutaragi asked with a smile.
"...Kutaragi-san, that's over the line... You spying on us?"
"NONO... not at all." Kutaragi burst into laughter. "It's just that your design center's exchange employees have very clear intentions."
"Seems we still need to improve our confidentiality practices," Su Yuanshan said in mock disappointment.
Kutaragi grinned. "Su-san, you know even if we figure out you're developing webcams, we're not getting into that business—for the same reason you're not getting into PDAs."
Su Yuanshan thought, Obviously...
The cost of webcams came down to a few components—lens, sensor, chip—with the sensor taking up the lion's share. Sony, sitting at the top of the food chain, claimed the largest slice of profits. Competing downstream would be... tasteless.
Similarly, Yuanxin didn't do PDAs either. Its chips, YOS operating system, and flash memory already positioned it at the top of the industry chain. Not to mention, YOS was the foundation for a larger ecosystem strategy.
As for why Su Yuanshan supported Zhu Yuanxin's webcam project—it gave Yuanxin the ability to self-produce camera chips.
More importantly, it provided a legitimate reason to get involved in Sony's sensor and lens tuning efforts.
Just like Sony had no expectation of touching Yuanxin's core chip tech, Su Yuanshan didn't expect to touch the core sensor tech. But if he could gain a foothold in the tuning stage, Yuanxin could dominate future smartphone camera image quality.
And Sony hadn't yet realized just how massive the future CMOS market would be.
Smartphones aside, the sheer size of China's security and surveillance network alone meant an enormous camera market. Compared to that, internet video chat cams were child's play.
"Then let's stop beating around the bush," Su Yuanshan proposed. "Let's establish a joint tuning team. Start with something small—launch a webcam first, then gradually expand into cameras and phones. Deal?"
Kutaragi didn't hesitate and nodded. "Deal."
Su Yuanshan lifted his teacup with a smile.
"Cheers."
The next day, Ding Lei quietly arrived in the provincial capital after several months away.
"Well, well, let's do a little interview. As the founder of the first mainland Chinese internet company to go public on NASDAQ, President Ding, how are you feeling right now?"
Inside Su Yuanshan's office, he teased the now noticeably rounder-faced Ding Lei.
—Earlier that month, news from Silicon Valley confirmed that Newbook.com had completed its IPO and was set to list on the 24th—Christmas Eve, no less.
To be given such a symbolic day for listing showed NASDAQ's high regard for Chinese internet firms.
"President Su, don't joke..." Ding Lei waved his hands and looked visibly nervous. "I'm under a lot of pressure—tremendous pressure."
"What pressure? From what I heard, your IPO went great." Su Yuanshan was genuinely puzzled.
As the first internet business spun off from Yuanxin, Su Yuanshan paid close attention to Newbook.com. He'd received news of the IPO the moment it was confirmed.
Newbook.com planned to issue 50 million shares at $5 each—and it was oversubscribed threefold. While not quite the 10-20x seen in later years, it was still an impressive start.
So what was there to worry about?
"I'm worried about the price dropping." Ding Lei was always honest with Su Yuanshan. "Xiaoshan, Yuanxin is still the biggest shareholder—you have to back me up."
"Be specific," Su Yuanshan said, turning serious.
"Even though we left Yuanxin, we've always kept an eye on what's happening. We know the next two years are critical for Yuanxin..." Ding Lei said softly. "The thing is, we can only help by cheering from the sidelines—we can't do much else, especially when it comes to money."
"Brother Ding, no need to be so formal. As long as the heart is there, that's enough."
"Mm... but..." Ding Lei hesitated for a while, struggling to get the words out.
Seeing his awkwardness, Su Yuanshan frowned and asked, "You're worried that once the lock-up period ends, Yuanxin will dump its shares?"
In U.S. markets, there's no legal requirement to lock up shares post-IPO. But for investor protection, lock-up agreements are usually signed with original shareholders—typically for six months.
And six months later, Yuanxin would likely be short on cash.
Ding Lei pursed his lips and whispered, "Right now, we're in a fierce battle in the portal market. Yahoo, AOL, and Microsoft's MSN are all fighting us in different sectors..."
Su Yuanshan smiled, cut him off, and said firmly, "Don't worry. I'll personally extend the lock-up for another six months. And after the listing—I guarantee the price won't drop."
Ding Lei looked up sharply. "Really?"
"Have I ever lied?" Su Yuanshan chuckled.
Ding Lei hesitated, then nodded. Still, he asked nervously, "No drop... you mean stock price or...?"
"If it drops, Xinghai Fund will buy however much it takes. Don't worry." Su Yuanshan said crisply. "This is the first mainland company to list on NASDAQ—it sets the tone for all that follow."
"Yes, yes, I've been thinking that too." Ding Lei nodded, visibly relieved.
Su Yuanshan smiled. "Also, develop surrounding businesses. For example, MP3. You can lease rights from the SYMusic copyright center and offer online streaming, maybe even paid downloads."
"In short—same as I said before—the internet is a creativity game. Anything you can imagine, you can do."
Seeing Su Yuanshan still offering him strategic advice, Ding Lei couldn't hold back. After a long pause, he sighed. "Xiaoshan, once I get the site running smoothly, I'll hand it off and come back to Yuanxin to retire—even if I'm just sweeping the floors. You'd still welcome me, right?"
"Brother, you flatter me." Su Yuanshan smiled and shook his head.
He didn't know if Ding Lei meant it or was just being sentimental. But the sentiment... was good.
They inevitably touched on Pony's EM project—capital markets still weren't keen on purely free chat apps like EM. Portals were more attractive.
As a result, after two rounds of financing, EM's investors recommended they delay their IPO and wait for better timing.
To that, Su Yuanshan could only say... Wall Street still had a lot to learn.
Not that he minded.
Because, eventually, those two would return to Yuanxin.
Just then, Zhou Xiaohui entered the room: "President Su, we've received an email from Apple. Mr. Jobs is planning to visit soon. How should we arrange it?"
Su Yuanshan blinked, thought for a moment, then said, "Reply and say the day after tomorrow. I'll meet him in the Special Economic Zone, at the Hongyuan Industrial Park."
He sighed.
"The stumbling block on the road to the throne... has arrived."
...
Hongyuan Technology Co., Ltd.—the rebranded Yuanxin Industrial Park.
After Su Yuanshan's keynote in Silicon Valley, he'd had a private negotiation with Jobs. What they discussed remained unknown.
In truth, Jobs tried to persuade Su Yuanshan to abandon YOS and join Apple's team. In return, he offered full authorization agreements.
Anyone else would have jumped for joy. Jobs was notoriously stingy and stubborn—he never granted licenses. Even copying his ideas earned a rebuke (ask Bill Gates).
But Su Yuanshan turned him down on the spot.
Jobs couldn't understand. He asked: Why?
And in private, Su Yuanshan didn't bother with vague talk about "diversity" or the "greater good." He simply told Jobs: they had fundamentally different ideas about operating systems.
They argued.
Neither convinced the other.
In the end, things didn't end badly, but there was a clear sense that the two simply weren't on the same wavelength...
Still, they were both pros. They knew if one deal didn't work out, it shouldn't affect other collaborations. But before leaving, Jobs had left Su Yuanshan with a warning—one that sounded an awful lot like: We'll see.
Two days later, Jobs arrived on schedule via Tokyo.
Outside the airport, Su Yuanshan discreetly welcomed him into a business car.
"Jobs, your new product this time—is it a PDA or an MP3 player?"
Su Yuanshan reclined comfortably in his seat, facing Jobs.
He knew Apple was always secretive with product development. But that only made him want to probe.
Jobs, knowing this young man was cunning, calmly replied, "Take a guess."
Su Yuanshan smiled.
"My guess is MP3."
As soon as he said it, he noticed Jobs' eyelid twitch. The man gave him a deep look.
Su Yuanshan chuckled. "Relax. The foundry is professional. Not a single bit of your information leaked—not even materials."
"I believe that. What I want to know is—how did you guess?"
Jobs knew Su Yuanshan had no reason to lie.
"Because we think alike," Su Yuanshan laughed, wearing an expression that said you and I are cut from the same cloth.
With YOS's rise and the launch of digital products, Apple and Yuanxin were destined to compete head-to-head.
Even if competition led to conflict—even outright rivalry—Su Yuanshan still hoped to maintain a personal friendship with Jobs.
The WA Agreement had brought more than just restrictions—it shifted the global winds.
And Su Yuanshan needed more allies.
The more, the better.
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Chapter 585: The Three Securities of Lithium Batteries
This time, Jobs had come to visit the foundry.
Compared to the original timeline, Jobs had returned to Apple a year earlier, which meant he was under greater financial pressure and had even more urgent need to cut costs and seek breakthroughs.
And as a leader in product design, Apple entering the MP3 player market at this moment was nothing if not expected.
After all, Yuanxin had already launched the concept and even paved the distribution path for MP3s.
It wasn't hard to guess.
...
At the Hongyuan Foundry, Su Yuanshan and Jiang Qingchuan personally accompanied Jobs on a tour of the production line. Su Yuanshan even "generously" let him tour the assembly line for the Yuanxin Vidoo5M.
When Jobs saw the young and skilled workers methodically performing each step, he remained silent for a long time. Once they exited the workshop, he asked Su Yuanshan how much these young workers earned.
"If there's plenty of overtime, the average monthly salary can reach $600," Jiang Qingchuan answered on behalf of Su Yuanshan. "Generally, it ranges from four to six hundred dollars."
Jobs discreetly inhaled, then asked, "What about the average salary in the mainland?"
"That depends on the region…" Su Yuanshan replied with a smile. "Overall, we're still a developing country."
Hearing that, Jobs smiled. "Then how did Yuanxin's Vidoo5M manage such impressive sales in the mainland?"
"Because of the massive population, Mr. Jobs. Don't forget, we're talking about a country of 1.2 billion people, with GDP growing at over 8% per year…"
Jobs nodded in acknowledgment. After a moment, he asked again, "But how long can that growth rate be sustained?"
Su Yuanshan pursed his lips and looked past the factory toward the high-rises sprouting up all over the Special Economic Zone. After a few seconds of silence, he smiled and said, "Ten years, at least."
"Hm... even that would be quite an achievement," Jobs nodded, then turned to Jiang Qingchuan after a short pause. "Mr. Jiang, can we find somewhere private to discuss contract manufacturing for other products?"
That request—of course—was perfectly welcome.
Jiang Qingchuan nodded with a smile.
Since the two sides were now discussing cooperation, there was no need for Su Yuanshan to stay. After they scheduled a follow-up meeting for the next afternoon, Su Yuanshan turned and headed to the adjacent SuoCore Lithium.
SuoCore, with its commercialized lithium battery solutions and technology, had not only won the National Scientific Achievement Award last year, but also swept honors from the central government to the provincial and local levels.
Best Sino-Foreign Joint Venture, Advanced Private Enterprise, Innovation Demonstration Park—so many awards they covered an entire wall.
There were also plenty of photos with visiting officials, giving off the strong flavor of a state-owned enterprise.
But the reputation wasn't undeserved—next to Yuanxin itself, this was the most foreign-staffed site in the country. Specifically, it housed Sony's lithium battery team.
"Mr. Takeuchi, are you settling in well here?"
In the lobby, Su Yuanshan shook hands with Wang Chuanfu before turning to greet Takeuchi Heiji, the head of Sony's lithium battery team in the Special Economic Zone.
Takeuchi Heiji was the right-hand man of Nishi Mio, the inventor of Sony's lithium battery. He had not only witnessed the birth of the commercial lithium cell but had also contributed to the standardization of Sony lithium batteries.
Sending him to lead this team showed just how seriously Sony took SuoCore.
Of course, SuoCore focused on polymer lithium batteries, while Sony's domestic lab was focused on 18650 lithium batteries. To avoid limping forward, Su Yuanshan had also assigned Li Xiao's team to participate in joint research at Sony's site.
"Everything is very good. I'm used to it here." Takeuchi's Mandarin had a strong Cantonese accent—slow, but clear enough to understand.
Su Yuanshan smiled, then shook hands with Cheng Peng—this former long-haired artistic youth from Weiming Lake had long since shaved his head, becoming a sharp, clean-cut figure.
"President Su."
"Hehe, Brother Cheng, thanks for your hard work."
"Hey, I'm okay. Not as good as Li Xiao—speaking of which, when are you calling her back? She keeps complaining to me every day."
"Ahem... give it a little more time." Su Yuanshan dreaded the idea of Li Xiao quitting—not because she was irreplaceable in her current post, but because he didn't know where to place her once she returned.
Her "childhood friend who's seen me naked" status aside, her role as co-founder of Yuanxin's lithium battery program meant she couldn't be casually parked anywhere.
"Come on, let's sit in the meeting room for a bit."
Since Su Yuanshan had just dropped by on short notice, no one was preparing a formal report. Instead, they treated it as a casual visit and gave a quick rundown of the current situation at the plant.
Thanks to hooking into the foundry's vertically integrated procurement system—and Yuanxin's relentless promotional push (yes, their slogan for the Vidoo5 phone series was now "Charge for half an hour, standby all day")—sales had surged.
To be fair, in the era of feature phones, especially ones with just call functions and no games—not even Snake—battery life wasn't all that meaningful...
But Yuanxin had decided to go all-in.
What's more, compared to mainstream nickel-cadmium and nickel-metal hydride batteries, lithium batteries had a killer advantage: no memory effect. They could be charged and unplugged at any time, with no need to drain them first.
As a result, SuoCore's performance had skyrocketed in the past six months, and foreign battery companies had also begun pouring resources into polymer lithium research.
"So, what's your next move?" Su Yuanshan asked out of habit. He trusted Wang Chuanfu—his taste in aesthetics might be questionable, but his technical instincts and market foresight were beyond reproach.
"Continue deepening our work on safety technology. Also... that slogan from VP Duan—'Charge for half an hour, standby all day'—got me thinking. I believe we can do more on charging speed," Wang said, glancing at the two R&D heads beside him. "From a lithium battery perspective, increasing energy density obviously improves capacity—that's without question. And we're far from the limit."
"But like chip processes, eventually you hit a ceiling. If we don't achieve a breakthrough in materials, the only way to increase energy delivery in a given timeframe is by improving charging speed."
Takeuchi and Cheng Peng both nodded, clearly in agreement.
Su Yuanshan agreed too. In his memory, fast charging had been pioneered by phone manufacturers.
Of course, regardless of who started it, no one was doing it yet—Duan Yongping's slogan merely highlighted the idea of "half an hour" to emphasize lithium batteries' charge-anytime advantage.
And hey, what are electric cars based on if not this exact principle?
"That's a good direction. If you can develop it, it could be licensed as a solution and improve our competitive edge. But do you have a technical path?"
Cheng Peng grinned. "Nothing special—just boost voltage within safe limits. Then draft a spec around it."
"That's fine, but remember: with lithium batteries, the most important thing is safety, safety, and safety."
Su Yuanshan repeated "safety" three times, very seriously. "If even one fire or explosion incident occurs, the backlash would be immeasurable. Don't forget—we're the industry leader in lithium batteries, the pioneers in this market."
"Our competitors are cost and public perception. But our enemies... are outdated technologies like nickel-metal hydride and nickel-cadmium. If there's even one lithium battery incident, they'll seize the opportunity to attack us relentlessly."
Seeing Su Yuanshan use such an unusually serious tone, Takeuchi took note silently. But Wang Chuanfu and Cheng Peng both straightened up—they understood just how seriously Su Yuanshan viewed this matter.
"Don't worry, President Su," Wang Chuanfu said firmly. "No one can guarantee perfection, but if anything happens, we'll respond immediately. I'll form a special task force to prevent incidents—or better yet, I'll lead it myself."
"Good." Su Yuanshan let out a breath. "Right now we're in the concept promotion phase. Having you in charge helps underscore the importance of safety."
...
After chatting a while longer, Su Yuanshan stayed for lunch at SuoCore. He didn't return to Yuanxin's Internet Center until the following morning.
He had spent nearly a year there before the foundry and SuoCore operations stabilized and he moved back to the provincial capital.
Even after six months, his office still looked exactly the same.
But since he was only in town to accompany Jobs, Su Yuanshan didn't bother turning on his computer to pretend he was working. Instead, he strolled around the Internet Center, casually checking in on everyone's progress.
Eventually, he wandered into Zhang Xiaolong's office, intending to chat a bit and freeload another meal before his afternoon meeting with Jobs.
While they were discussing Ding Lei's IPO, Zhang Xiaolong answered a call and gave Su Yuanshan a strange look.
"What's with the face?" Su Yuanshan asked, puzzled.
Zhang Xiaolong covered the receiver. "Old Qiu doesn't have your number?"
"Old Qiu? Which old Qiu?"
"Ahem... Qiu Aihua from Chengdian Gaoke. He's asking if you're free for lunch."
"Oh! Yes, yes, yes!" Su Yuanshan smacked his forehead and burst out laughing.
Qiu Aihua used to be one of the owners of the computer mall in the Special Zone, and was a classmate of Ma Yun. He'd accompanied Ma to pitch an enterprise directory system to Su Yuanshan—initially just a "let's all meet since we're in the same business" thing. Ma Yun left disappointed, but Qiu Aihua caught Su's eye, and Su ended up recommending him to Chengdian Gaoke.
Now, with the support of Principal Zhou, Qiu Aihua had secured a solid position on the board at Chengdian Gaoke and had begun implementing sweeping reforms and expansion.
Su Yuanshan wasn't clear on Chengdian's current situation, but he knew that He Wei had been in touch with them lately—maybe even helping out...
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