The train driver in the courtyard

In the computer field, there is a particular bad habit of worshipping performance above all else.

This is true even in this primitive age when computers have just appeared.

A 5 percent performance increase will result in a 10 percent price increase.

A 10 percent performance increase will result in a 30 percent price increase.

In later generations, there was a guy who liked to wear leather jackets. The reason why he could repeatedly cut off piece of fat from those stinky gamers with his superb knife skills was because of the high performance of his graphics card.

Especially its improved model equipped with 690 tactical core graphics card, which can destroy an aircraft carrier battle group with one shot.

The situation of Hextech's magnetic core memory is similar.

Although it is impossible to destroy an aircraft carrier battle group, it is still easy to take down a few destroyers.

In the following few days, Li Aiguo received four or five confidential calls from Gangcheng during his driving.

In addition to IBM, five other computer companies including Raytheon, Honeywell, and Remington Rand, as well as some foreign laboratories, are interested in purchasing the improved magnetic core storage patent.

All of Hex's external quotations were US$4 million.

These days, the U.S. dollar is pegged to gold, and four million U.S. dollars can be exchanged for about 11 ounces of gold. Even those wealthy consortiums have to hesitate.

Hextech Technology adheres to the concept that "good things are not cheap, and cheap things are not good" and it has set its sights on the price, and the two sides have reached a stalemate.

Yang Jizong was in charge of the negotiations in the port city, while Li Aiguo cherished the rare driving time and drove the train between Beijing and Tianjin.

Qianmen Locomotive Depot took first place in the overall evaluation of the four major projects.

To celebrate this achievement, the canteen specially improved the food.

Li Aiguo, who was resting at home at noon, was also invited over.

Braised pork, stir-fried shredded pork, stir-fried cabbage, and stir-fried potatoes. Each worker received four dishes and two bottles of home-made beer in an iron kidney lunch box.

Eating meat these days is considered a banquet, and the atmosphere was very lively.

After eating and drinking, and chatting with Zhou Ke and Director Zhang for a while, Li Aiguo prepared to ride his bike home to continue studying.

At this time, a notification came from Duan.

"Driver Li, confidential call. It's from the Academy of Sciences."

Zhou Ke and Director Zhang were no longer surprised by Li Aiguo receiving confidential calls.

"Go quickly. It must be urgent for someone to make a confidential call. Let's talk next time."

"See you later."

Li Aiguo rode his bicycle to the small dark room.

Even though they had just met two days ago, the old man pretended not to know him and stretched out his hand to him with a stern face.

"Certificate!"

Li Aiguo: "."

He decided not to listen to this guy's stories anymore.

The telephone is on the table. Pick it up.

The voice of Vice President Zhang of the Academy of Sciences came from inside.

"Hello, is this Comrade Patriot? We have an important guest here, and I hope you can meet him."

Li Aiguo said a lot of "um, um, ah, ah, OK, OK, right away" on the phone. After hanging up the phone, he sat in a chair with his brows twisted like a knot.

If it's just a notification to the Academy of Sciences, they can just call the maintenance depot directly. Is it necessary to use the confidential line?
Unless the identity of the person coming is extraordinary!
Could it be that a heavyweight foreign computer company has sent people to the mainland?
It’s just that the patent for magnetic core storage is in the hands of Hextech.

Why don't foreign computer companies contact Hextech, but instead contact the Academy of Sciences?
Li Aiguo felt as if he had spent a lot of effort to build a solid castle, and when making the steel gate, he used tank armor that was 20 mm thick.

The feeling of thinking that everything is safe, but someone easily gets in through the window.

This feeling is really a daily Tesco.

Li Aiguo clenched his fists suddenly and rushed out of the small dark room.

The old man's voice came from behind: "What's the matter? We don't want to chat today?"

"Sir, who are you?"

Li Aiguo threw down a sentence.

With his long legs, he pedaled hard and the bicycle shot out like an arrow, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

"This kid is a good person, but he is too stingy!"

The old man took out his pipe, leaned against the corner and started puffing.

Li Aiguo did not go directly to the Academy of Sciences, but turned into the studio and made a call using the studio's phone.

"It's probably someone from abroad. He didn't contact Hextech directly, but found the Academy of Sciences. He must have some hidden agenda."

"Yes, yes, I think you will have to take charge of this matter."

After hanging up the phone, Li Aiguo straightened his collar and strode out of the studio.

After a while.

He appeared in the meeting room of the Academy of Sciences.

Vice President Zhang walked in with a young man.

This young man was about eighteen or nineteen years old. Although he was wearing a Zhongshan suit, he looked very different from other Chinese people.

Li Aiguo stood up, and Vice President Zhang introduced the two to each other: "Comrade Aiguo, this is Dr. Wang An's youngest son, Mr. Wang Hong."

"This is Comrade Li Aiguo, the consultant of the Institute of Computing Technology of our Academy of Sciences."

Wang Hong: Good man, no wonder the Academy of Sciences is so cautious.

Li Aiguo's eyes widened.

Vice President Zhang was no less shocked than Li Aiguo.

Although the Institute of Computing Technology praised the magnetic core memory and the erotic language to the skies.

However, the Institute of Computing Technology is a small research institute in the Academy of Sciences.

All the leaders in the Academy of Sciences, including Vice President Zhang, did not pay much attention to it.

So much so that Li Aiguo's nomination for the second-class science award still required intense discussion.

After receiving a call from his superior a while ago, Vice President Zhang originally thought that Dr. Wang An was just asking about the situation, so he didn't take it too seriously.

Who would have thought that just yesterday Dr. Wang An suddenly sent his youngest son Wang Hong to the mainland through secret channels, and contacted comrades in the foreign affairs department, requesting to meet with Li Aiguo.

Vice President Zhang was stunned.

Are magnetic core memory and ㄅㄛ language so important?

"You are the programmer who wrote the ㄅㄛ language. You are so strong!" Wang Hong walked up, shook hands with Li Aiguo, and looked Li Aiguo up and down.

He felt that Li Aiguo looked more like a boxer than a computer programmer.

Li Aiguo said: "My main job is to drive a train, and being a programmer is just a part-time job."

Wang Hong: “.”

Li Aiguo: "No kidding, I do drive a train."

Wang Hong turned his head to look at Vice President Zhang. Seeing Vice President Zhang nodded, he was a little confused for a moment.

At the beginning, Dr. Wang An contacted his comrades in the mainland to inquire about Li Aiguo's situation, but the information they revealed was very limited.

It just means that Li Aiguo is a consultant of the Institute of Computing Technology.

Wang Hong has made sufficient preparations to complete the patent acquisition task.

On the American side, I contacted some people who came from the mainland and got to know the temperament of this kind of consultant.

He is a dull person.

Be principled.

Advocate collectivism.

Positive and progressive thinking.

He knew that when negotiating with such people, it would be best for a superior leader to come forward and then find a way to get the other party to consider the overall situation.

This is the only way to gain the greatest benefit.

Wang Hong finally met Li Aiguo.

The first feeling is youth.

The second feeling is calm and confident.

The third feeling... this person seems to be a rough person.

He felt that all the preparation he had done was in vain.

No matter what, he is a mainlander after all, so he should still negotiate according to the established strategy, Wang Hong thought.

We introduced ourselves to each other and got straight to the point.

His intuition told him that he had to use words to suppress the other party first, otherwise the negotiation might be difficult.

Wang Hong began to say what he had prepared along the way.

"Patriotic comrades, although we at Wang Laboratories are located abroad, we have never forgotten where our hometown is."

"Magnetic core memory is indeed the most advanced in the world, but China does not have the conditions for large-scale production."

"As for Hextech, although it is located in Hong Kong, it has no production capacity and does not have the ability to sell memory to Europe and America."

"Let me give you an analogy. You are now holding an old hen that lays golden eggs.

But this old hen has a limited lifespan. If we don’t find a way to make it lay more golden eggs, it will only be used to make chicken soup.”

Li Aiguo kept listening to Wang Hong with a smile, and nodded in agreement from time to time.

After Wang Hong finished speaking, Li Aiguo put down the enamel pot and asked, "How much is Wang An Computer prepared to pay for the magnetic core storage technology?"

Without beating around the bush, the first thing he asked was the price. Wang Hong was a little unsure.

According to the information his father gave him, people from the mainland have always been shy about talking about money. What's wrong with this guy?
In addition, although the other party nodded from time to time, Wang Hong could sense that the other party was not convinced by what he said. He nodded only to give face to himself, or to the vice president of the Academy of Sciences.

Wang Hong said: "At present, our Wang An Computer is in the expansion stage, and the cash flow is relatively tight."

Li Aiguo nodded and asked, "How much?"

Wang Hong hesitated for a moment and said, "One million dollars."

Li Aiguo did not respond, but picked up the enamel mug and drank the tea.

Is this too little? You should know that Wang An Computer only earned $500,000 when it sold the patent to IBM.

Wang Hong turned his head and looked at Vice President Zhang, looking for help.

Vice President Zhang's head was covered with lumps at this time, and he felt that he should not be here.

However, when the dean heard that the people from overseas had returned, he specially asked Vice Dean Zhang to accompany Wang Hong.

He also reminded Vice President Zhang to pay attention to unity, pay attention to influence, and not hurt the feelings of overseas friends.

However, if he were to lower the price, it would be suspected of forcing the sale.

If you don't show up, you might make mistakes.

After hesitating for a long time, Vice President Zhang opened his mouth and said: "Patriotic comrades, Wang Laboratories is the largest computer company founded by Chinese in the United States. We are all family." Suddenly.

The door of the conference room was pushed open from the outside.

Vice President Zhang turned his head and saw Liu Guozhang from the Railway Technology Research Institute walking in with two comrades in gray Zhongshan suits.

Vice President Zhang had met Liu Guozhang before during a conference. Although he was not sure about the other party's purpose, he still stood up and greeted him warmly.

"Director Liu, you came without informing our Academy of Sciences. If President Guo knew, he would definitely come to greet you in person."

The Academy of Sciences is one level higher than the Railway Technical Institute in terms of specifications, but the railway is an independent little kingdom and the two cannot be directly compared.

"You're welcome. We're here for technology transfer."

Liu Guozhang pointed to the two comrades behind him and introduced them: "These two are the comrades in charge of overseas assets in the Ministry of Railways."

The overseas assets of the Ministry of Railways? Vice President Zhang was stunned at first, but then he remembered.

Hextech's shares were divided into three parts.

One is from the Yang family, one is from Li Aiguo, and the other is from the Ministry of Railways.

Now that Li Aiguo is transferring the magnetic core memory technology, it concerns the interests of Hextech, so it is only natural for the Ministry of Railways to step in.

It's just that the timing of their appearance was too coincidental. It seems that Li Aiguo had already anticipated that Wang Hong would ask him to be a lobbyist. Vice President Zhang felt like he had become a bad guy.

He smiled awkwardly: "As you should, you are the leaders of Hextech, so you should participate in the negotiations."

"Our Academy of Sciences is only responsible for matchmaking and will not intervene."

"Please sit down, please sit down."

Vice President Zhang also knew that these people were not here to participate in the negotiations so much as to serve as Li Aiguo's backers.

The Ministry of Railways is the direct supervisor of Hextech Technology, a real collective and the biological father.

The Academy of Sciences came halfway through, and can barely be considered as one-third of the godfather.

Now that his biological father is here, it won't work if you, as his one-third godfather, try to lower the price by talking about the overall situation and the collective.

So, after Vice President Zhang sat down again, he simply picked up the enamel mug and drank tea one sip after another, never putting it down again.

When Wang Hong saw several people coming in, he didn't figure out their identities at first.

Seeing that Vice President Zhang had changed from his previous hesitant but helpful attitude to a cold attitude, he finally understood what was going on.

The routine that I had painstakingly designed was easily cracked by the train driver on the opposite side.

Wang Hong knew that playing the emotional card was no longer effective.

He said frankly: "Patriotic comrades, we at Wang An Computer are indeed short of cash and can only pay a maximum of $1.5 million in patent fees.

I believe that with this one million and five hundred thousand dollars, Hextech will definitely have better room for development.

We have made this deal, and there will definitely be opportunities for cooperation again in the future."

An opportunity to cooperate again. Wang Hong spoke in a very proud tone.

But they have the qualifications. After all, Wang Laboratories is now considered a well-known computer company in the United States.

This condition is what any newly established company would love to have.

However, Wang Hong still missed one thing.

Liu Guozhang took over Wang Hong's words: "Mr. Wang should know that Hextech is a company under our Ministry of Railways. We have 15 divisions and 510,000 people in the railway department."

As soon as these words were spoken, Wang Hong's expression changed.

Just now, he used the usual tactics of using his power to pressure others and bullying the weak in the negotiation, which was a bit like an elephant bullying an ant.

But compared with the railways, Wang Laboratories is the real ant.

Wang Hong was silent for a moment, then changed the topic and said, "Comrade Aiguo, I think you are a person with ideas. You will definitely continue to study in the computer field in the future. We at Wang An Computer can provide support for your research."

Hearing this, Liu Guozhang was so angry that his nose was crooked and he pointed at Li Aiguo.

"If he had ideas, he wouldn't have quit his job as the technical director of the technical institute to drive a large train."

The technical director is a leader, and the train driver is a worker who chooses to be a worker, not a leader. Wang Hong was even more confused at this time.

He had seen technicians who liked to work on technology but didn't like to be leaders. There were several technicians in Wang Laboratories who were immersed in the laboratory all day long.

However, this was the first time he had seen someone who liked to be a worker.

Is there something wrong with this guy's brain?
As soon as this thought came up, Wang Hong suppressed it himself.

Are you kidding me? A person with a mental problem can design a sophisticated magnetic core memory?
At this time, Wang Hong also figured out Liu Guozhang's meaning.

This person doesn't like being a leader, nor does he have the ambition to go overseas to expand Hextech. He just wants to be a worker. Isn't this person invincible? This is not!

Even if Li Aiguo's brain was completely burned out, and he held on to the patent and refused to sell it, it would not cause him any losses.

The benefits you offered are enough to make thousands of people bow down, but Li Aiguo doesn't care at all.

But Wang Hong knew clearly that Wang Laboratories really could not come up with 1.5 million US dollars at the moment, otherwise they would not have gone through so much trouble.

He sighed, put his hands on the table, stared at Li Aiguo and asked, "Comrade Aiguo, I'll still call you Driver Li. What exactly does Wang An Computer have to pay to take away the magnetic core storage patent?"

Li Aiguo leaned forward slightly and said, "Cash + original shares."

Wang Hong's face changed and he asked, "How much is it exactly?"

Li Aiguo listened, sat up straight and said, "The price of the magnetic core memory patent is three million US dollars, fifty US dollars in cash will be paid to Hextech, and the remaining two and a half million US dollars will be converted into your original shares of Wang An Computer."

Wang Hong heard this and quickly shook his head: "The price you are asking for is simply...too insincere."

Li Aiguo said: "Our asking price is not high, it's just that your previous offer was too low."

Wang Hong leaned back and said, "At this price, there is absolutely no need for me to stay in the mainland. Your asking price is too outrageous."

Li Aiguo said: "You should know that the price we offer to other companies is US$4 million. This figure is calculated based on the market."

Wang Hong said: "No one would be willing to pay this price."

Li Aiguo said: "As far as I know, Wang An Computer has been preparing to go public on the North American trading market, but it lacks sufficient profit points and scale, as well as the help of Wall Street.

Are you confident that the new profit point this year will not only attract shareholders and improve your value, but also bring benefits to Wang Laboratories' future strategy?"

Hearing this, Wang Hong's face turned pale and he clenched his fists.

He didn't expect that this small worker from the mainland actually knew the secrets thousands of miles away.

Since its establishment, Wang Laboratories has been obstructed by capital and has encountered many difficulties in raising funds.

No matter what era, high technology means burning money.

Without sufficient funds, the company could only barely survive, which was the real reason why Wang An sold his patent to his competitor.

Listing on the stock exchange and using stocks to raise funds became Wang Laboratories' lifeline.

The reason why Wang An was so interested in improving magnetic core storage technology, in addition to his mainland complex, was that magnetic core storage was a world-class technology that could attract the attention of investors and exchanges.

Wang Hong thought he had done enough preparation, but it turned out that it seemed that the other party had done enough preparation.

His every move was anticipated by others.

Wang Hong sighed and said, "Three million dollars is indeed not a high price, but you may not know my father. He will not accept others to buy the original shares, especially the original shares of two and a half million dollars, which is enough to shake his dominance in the company."

Li Aiguo knew that Wang An had always been overbearing. A leader with this style could quickly lead a company to rise, but could also quickly destroy a company.

Wang Laboratories went from being a giant to suddenly going bankrupt in just a few years, which was inseparable from Wang An's domineering style.

The reason why he insisted on asking for the original shares was that he wanted to have a way to remind Wang An when he was confused.

At the same time, after Wang Laboratories went public, its stock price soared seven or eight times in a few years, and its market value once reached over 100 million US dollars.

We can also make tens of millions of dollars by the way.

Liu Guozhang and Vice President Zhang were not aware of these things. Although they had different positions, they both felt that Li Aiguo's persistence was a bit excessive.

Three million US dollars is almost one-fifth of the transaction volume of the Canton Fair. The Canton Fair is held with the efforts of the whole country. Are you still not satisfied?

As for the original stocks, in their opinion, they are not as real as foreign exchange.

The attitudes of the two changed. The key point was that Li Aiguo could not remind them at this time, let alone tell them the real purpose of taking the original stocks.

Wang Hong was a perceptive person and realized this immediately, and the two sides became entangled.

The negotiations continued until the evening. Watching Liu Guozhang and Wang Hong going back and forth, Li Aiguo suddenly felt very annoyed.

During the conversation, Li Aiguo interrupted and said, "Please contact Dr. Wang. I have something to say to him."

Wang Hong was very surprised, and Liu Guozhang was even more surprised. You know, Li Aiguo was particularly cautious and rarely had direct contact with those overseas.

After staring at Li Aiguo for a long time, Wang Hong was sure that Li Aiguo was not joking. He contacted his superiors through Vice President Zhang. After getting approval, he entered the small dark room of the Academy of Sciences and called Dr. Wang who was far away in North America.

"Yes, Driver Li requested to speak to you personally."

"understood."

After Wang Hong handed the phone to Li Aiguo, he turned around and walked out of the small dark room, leaned outside, lit up a Marlboro and started smoking.

Ten minutes later, Li Aiguo came out of the small dark room, looked at him and said, "Dr. Wang, please answer the phone."

Wang Hong put out his cigarette, straightened his collar, and smoothed his hair before entering the small dark room.

Liu Guozhang watched the two people coming in and out like a revolving lantern, with a look of curiosity on his face.

At this time, the president of the Academy of Sciences also arrived, invited Liu Guozhang to the side, and patiently persuaded him: "Director Liu, Mr. Wang Hong came back on behalf of Dr. Wang. We should be generous. The price they offered is three million US dollars, which is very reasonable. As the leader of the unit, you should persuade Comrade Li Aiguo."

Liu Guozhang had heard of this dean before, and when he heard this, he spread his hands helplessly: "I am a leader, but patriots are workers, not cadres. The workers are the masters, and we have to listen to them."

The dean was almost amused by Liu Guozhang's words, but after thinking about it carefully, he really had no way to refute it.

A few minutes later, Wang Hong came back with a complicated expression. He looked at the dean, then at Liu Guozhang, and finally said to Li Aiguo: "The boss agreed to your plan. After we finalize it, I will go to Gangcheng to sign an agreement with Hextech."

As soon as these words were spoken, the dean's face darkened, while Liu Guozhang folded his arms and laughed at him.

Li Aiguo extended his hand to Wang Hong: "Happy cooperation."

Wang Hong held Li Aiguo's hand and said, "I'm really curious about what you told the boss."

Li Aiguo looked at Wang Hong with a smile that was very proud, but he just didn't respond.

"Brother Wang Hong, get up early tomorrow morning and I'll take you to eat some Beijing snacks."

Seeing this, Wang Hong shook hands with Li Aiguo and said, "See you tomorrow!"

Coming out of the Academy of Sciences and sitting in the GAZ jeep, Liu Guozhang could no longer hold back and turned to look at Li Aiguo who was sitting in the back seat: "What did you say to his boss?"

Li Aiguo said mysteriously, "I taught Dr. Wang how to work with computers, and he thought I was a talent, so he sold me the original shares."

Liu Guozhang looked unconvinced.

Li Aiguo is good at driving a train.

It’s okay for doing scientific research.

Doing business? Why don’t you go to heaven!

"Just drop me off at the fork in the road. I'll just ride my bike back."

When the jeep was within a street distance of Nantongluo Lane, Li Aiguo got out of the car and took out the bicycle from the trunk.

I rode my bike slowly along the golden street towards home.

(End of this chapter)