Return to 88: Starting from Marrying My Sister-in-law

The dull thud of the wheels hitting the ground penetrated the cabin walls, shaking Lu Yang awake from his light sleep.

Outside the porthole, the twilight of the port city at dusk painted the sky like ink splashed on the ground, and the navigation lights at the runway boundary blurred into spots of blood red in the drizzle.

Xu Siqi leaned forward anxiously from her seat next to Lu Yang, the glowing screen of her satellite phone piercing the darkness and illuminating the turmoil in her eyes. She brought her face close to Lu Yang's and said, "Boss, there's news from Xingcheng. Li Zekai tore up the contract!"

On the other end of the call was an undercover agent lurking in Wan Yan's headquarters. His voice, crackling with static, was kept to a minimum: "President Jiang had his pen pressed against the paper, but after signing the first word, Li Ka-shing made a phone call and Li Zekai tore the contract to shreds on the spot!"

The ear-piercing sound of porcelain shattering in the background was clearly audible, obviously Jiang Wanli's rage as he was arguing fiercely with Li Zekai, denouncing the latter for his dishonesty. His two-hundred-million-dollar daydream had been reduced to dust in an instant.

Lu Yang tapped lightly on the porthole with his knuckles, a cold smile curving his lips in the reflection of the glass: "The old fox Li's eyes and ears are quick. He's already caught wind of the upheaval in North America and immediately leaked the news to all the media that the 20% equity swap agreement for Sun Yansheng has been finalized and the ownership of Wan Yan Electronics has been settled. I want Jiang Wanli to see as soon as he opens his eyes that his 31% stake has become a worthless mess with no one willing to take it over!"

Xu Siqi quickly jotted down the instructions, whispering a reminder: "But what if President Jiang becomes desperate?"

"Jump?" Lu Yang sneered as he stood up. "There's no chance for that. He's not that stupid. His first stop after landing is Xingcheng. It's time to settle accounts with this 'older brother'."

The moment the cabin door opened, a damp sea breeze rushed into the passageway, and the neon lights of the port city ignited a blazing fire in his eyes.

During the time Lu Yang was transferring flights.

The equity swap agreement for Sun Yansheng's 20% stake has been finalized, and the ownership of Wan Yan Electronics has been settled. It has been acquired by Century Group, the major shareholder behind Xiaoshentong, and the news has already spread in mainland China.

Pengcheng.

The headquarters of Sinco Electronics.

The chairman of Xianke Electronics, who just received a US$3000 million investment from the Asian Audio-Visual Fund represented by the Li family.

The smile on his face hadn't lasted more than a few days.

We're ready to make a big splash.

This sudden news from across the ocean made me a little nervous.

"What exactly is Mr. Lu, the major shareholder behind this child prodigy, from Century Group, planning to do?"

Ye Weijun frowned.

At just over 40 years old, he was in the prime of his life.

They started by making laser TVs.

Under his leadership, Sinco Electronics was one of the earliest companies in China dedicated to laser disc technology and high-tech industries. Its laser discs and LD discs once held a leading position in the domestic market, with a market share of almost 70%.

However, since switching to VCD production, although the corresponding VCD discs are still ranked first in domestic shipments, the sales of the VCD player itself have been far surpassed by Xiaoshentong Electronics in the same city. It can no longer hold the second place and has been overtaken by BBK VCD produced by BBK Technology in the neighboring city of Dongguan. It can only temporarily occupy the third position in the domestic market.

Of course he was unwilling to do so.

We are a leading audio-visual manufacturer in China since the LD era. Although we have switched to making VCDs, everyone is learning from Wan Yan Electronics. Based on the foundation of the old-established manufacturer, there is no reason why we should lose to these small factories that have only been established for a few years.

Yes.

He accepted losing to Wan Yan Electronics because they were the ones who invented VCDs, but he was not convinced of losing to Xiao Shen Tong and the neighboring BBK. These two companies had no foundation whatsoever; they were just makeshift operations and not the original manufacturers that innovated and invented the new VCD audiovisual technology.

But a loss is a loss, and he kept looking for an opportunity to turn the tide and make Sinco Electronics stand at the top of the domestic VCD shipment list.

Fortunately, the opportunity finally arrived. Capital represented by the Li family, one of the four major families in Hong Kong, established the Asia Audio-Visual Fund. They also saw the market potential of VCD and were willing to invest in Sinco Electronics to help Sinco Electronics fight against the pressure from market leaders such as Little Prodigy and win this turnaround battle.

This also gave him a glimpse into the possibility of SenseTime Electronics listing in Hong Kong as the main entity.

However, I never expected that less than three days later, such terrible news would come.

"Chairman, this seems to be a strategic failure for the Li family, but it shouldn't have much impact on us!"

One of the vice presidents couldn't help but stand up.

This deputy general manager works in the marketing department, and he doesn't quite have a good grasp of the big picture.

Ye Weijun frowned and couldn't help but scold, "What do you know?"
On the surface, this appears to be a strategic blunder by the Li family, but it also exposes many of their problems, such as how weak and ridiculous their foundation in China is. We are now allies with the Li family, and we will soon face a pincer attack from both the market giant Little Prodigy and Wan Yan Electronics, the original inventor of VCDs. The dangers involved are far beyond what a mere deputy marketing manager like you can comprehend.

Get out of here and reflect on your actions!

Ye Weijun was known for his absolute authority in the company. When faced with the marketing department's deputy manager's empty words, he immediately launched into a tirade, showing no respect whatsoever. The deputy manager was so ashamed that he dared not utter another word and could only slink away from the meeting room with his head down.

The remaining company executives, seeing this, decided to keep quiet and refrain from speaking.

Seeing that no one spoke, Ye Weijun frowned again. "What, are you all mute? Are you afraid to speak, or do you lack knowledge? If you don't want to work here, you might as well quit and I'll replace you with a new batch of people."

Several company executives who were familiar with his temperament realized that they had no choice but to stand up one by one and speak in turn.

"I think this matter has disadvantages for us, but actually, well, it also has advantages. The Li family's establishment of the Asian Audio-Visual Fund is obviously intended to cast a wide net and use a pack of wolves tactic to surround Little Prodigy Electronics, which currently has the highest market share. Our Xianke Electronics is at most the wolf head among the wolves chosen by the Li family, and may not even be the only leader."

As far as I know, Mr. Duan Yongping, the CEO of BBK Electronics in Dongguan, also accepted investment from the Li family. Although he refused to join the Asian Audio-Visual Fund and doesn't seem to be involved in the encirclement of Xiaoshentong, judging from the current situation, even if the Li family helps them and they can defeat Xiaoshentong, the domestic company with the highest VCD market share, by using a pack of wolves tactic, the share that Xianke Electronics gets is actually not much.

It's kind of like a chicken rib – useless.

On the contrary, the failure of the Li family's investment in and acquisition of Wan Yan Electronics has likely caused the previously planned "wolf pack" strategy to fail in its initial stages. Before it could even be implemented, they will have to change tactics and focus on supporting a mainland VCD manufacturer to directly compete head-on with the VCD manufacturer controlled by the Century Group, represented by Xiao Shen Tong. This would be their opportunity. Who would be more suitable than them?

"Yes, Chairman, I also think this could very well be a good thing, so there's no need to worry too much."

"Doubt, that makes sense."

"Shouldn't we celebrate after get off work?" The executives chatted amongst themselves, and before long they got off-topic, turning a bad thing into a good one. They even started planning to celebrate after get off work, and had already chosen a spot to pinch each other's cheeks.

Ye Weijun initially listened and thought it made sense. He changed his mind and thought that since the Li family had run into obstacles elsewhere and did not want to back down, they could only transfer more resources and funds to a leading domestic VCD manufacturer like Xianke Electronics to support them in competing with Xiaoshentong VCD, which currently holds the top spot in domestic shipments.

But as they listened, something felt off. These bastards didn't have the slightest sense of crisis, and not a single one of them even considered what Mr. Lu from Century Group was after in order to complete this urgent full acquisition of Wan Yan Electronics.

Was it to prevent the Li family from planting their flag under his nose?

Or is it for some other reason?
If it was merely to prevent the Li family from establishing a foothold, then it was indeed a false alarm, or even, as one of the executives just said, a bad thing turned into a good thing.

But if it wasn't to prevent the Li family from establishing a foothold, but for some other reason...

He pondered carefully, recalling the recent uproar surrounding the establishment of the World Trade Organization. The new WTO has now replaced the old General Agreement on World Trade and Tariffs (GATT) and places greater emphasis on protecting inventors' patents. It seems that the country also intends to join and is actively preparing and applying for membership. If it is approved, a new patent protection law will likely be enacted domestically and implemented at a very rapid pace.

"Then when the time comes..."

He suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.

We are currently in a period of rampant patent infringement, where there is no protection for the rights of so-called inventors. This allows these copycats to recklessly imitate and counterfeit Wan Yan Electronics' VCDs without spending a penny on technology research and development. They can simply mass-produce the products and flood the market with cheap prices to defeat the original manufacturers who have spent a lot of money on research and development of new technologies.

But if the new patent protection law is introduced and implemented by the state, wouldn't it be easy for anyone to sue them?

"No, we have to find a way to stop it... Otherwise, we can only bypass their patents. Fortunately, there is still time to make arrangements. The new patent protection law should not be introduced so soon."

Ye Weijun frowned.

And then I saw these executives, who were still in a meeting, talking more and more out of control, even starting to think about where they would spend the night after getting a foot massage.

He slammed his hand on the table and shouted, "It's so noisy! Get out, all of you! Only the two vice presidents, please stay."

Fortunately, he hadn't lost his mind and knew that his idea was actually quite sound, except that he might have lacked a sense of crisis. But that was a matter for the future. At the moment, at least these people were right. The Li family had run into obstacles elsewhere, so they could only focus more of their energy on Xianke Electronics.

"Let's talk about how much we can afford if the Li family is prepared to invest again."

"Should we raise the valuation again?"

Furthermore, what is the minimum number of shares we can release to ensure the interests of our company's management and prevent the Li family-led Asian Film and Television Fund from seizing control of our management?

To put it bluntly, they want money and resources, but they won't relinquish management rights.

Several vice presidents who also owned shares in the company and were co-founders along with Ye Weijun nodded in agreement.

"The chairman is right. We should really think this over carefully. The Li family has wolfish ambitions. Although they want to use us, we have to be on guard. We can't let them use us for nothing."

“If the money isn’t in place and we’re all fed, the Li family can only dream about taking control of the company.”

Ye Weijun couldn't help but interject: "The company's listing in Hong Kong is already in the works. You guys shouldn't think too much about it. The shares definitely can't be sold. We need to stick together and keep a firm grip on the company's control so that we can all achieve financial freedom once the company goes public. Otherwise, we're very likely to be picked off one by one and easily dismissed, doing all the work for others while watching them earn more money than we could ever earn in eight lifetimes."

“Alright, we’ll all listen to Lao Ye. It’s agreed that no one is allowed to sell their shares to the Li family privately.”

Dongguan City.

BBK Group.

Duan Yongping held a glass of red wine in his hand, standing at the high office window looking down.

The crimson wine shone through the light onto his face, making his expression appear particularly somber.

Behind him came his right-hand men, who had fought alongside him to build his empire: "Brother Duan, what should we do now? Should we terminate the negotiations with the Li family first...?"

The changes in the shareholding structure of Wan Yan Electronics have clearly reached this area as well.

Duan Yongping swirled the red wine in his glass, then tilted his head back and drank it all in one gulp. He said in a dry voice, "There's no need to change the plan. Let's continue preparing for the signing. Whether it's the Li family or that President Lu from Century Group, they are just some of our regular partners at BBK. We can't favor one side just because one of them is gaining power. Remember, strength only truly belongs to you when it's in your own hands. And... BBK is not anyone's vassal."

Duan Yongping is an ambitious man, at least for now.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have given up his good job as the factory manager of Little Tyrant, leaving the company he founded that had annual profits of over 100 million yuan, to start his own business.

Star City.

Wanyan Electronics Headquarters.

Jiang Wanli's roar continued, "Why? By what right? Your Li family is so untrustworthy, it's simply outrageous... Ah... Why did you tear up the contract?"

In a moment of impulse, he grabbed Li Zekai by the collar.

"Let go."

"I won't let go, and I won't give you an explanation. You're not leaving today."

"Fine, you want an explanation, then I'll give you one. Your shares are now worthless. Your overseas ally, Sun Yansheng, has already sold all his shares to Lu Yang of Century Group before you did. Now Lu Yang of Century Group owns 69% of the company's shares, far exceeding the absolute controlling stake... Your position as president is over. Don't you understand?"

Li Zekai was forced into a corner and had no choice but to tell the truth, otherwise it seemed he wouldn't be able to leave this conference room.

"Bullshit, impossible..."

Jiang Wanli didn't believe it at all, nor could he believe it, because if he did, everything would be over. Two hundred million US dollars, that's two hundred million US dollars, and it was almost in his hands.

"Let go, ah... you hit me..." (End of Chapter)