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

Xu Siqi collapsed into Lu Yang's arms, panting heavily. The muffled sound of the rain pounding against the glass curtain wall outside the window could not drown out her pounding heart.

Lu Yang's fingertips traced the back of her sweaty neck, but his gaze drifted to the corner of the conference room, where a television screen displaying rolling financial news was flashing glaring headlines:
[Lianxiang Computer partners with PCCW (Hong Kong) to officially enter the VCD market!]

The scene shifts to the press conference in Beijing: Li Zekai shakes hands and smiles with Lao Liu, while the slogan on the backdrop, "A powerful alliance to create a new domestic VCD ecosystem, disruptive audiovisual technology leading a new era trend," is as red as blood.

"Looks like some people can't wait any longer."

Lu Yang sneered.

He cupped Xu Siqi's face in his arms, gently kissed her forehead, then pulled the remote aside. While the secretary was still in a daze, he grabbed the remote and turned up the volume.

Old Liu's voice boomed through the rain: "Lianxiang will leverage its advantages in computer hardware and software to launch a new generation of decoding chips within three months, helping Lianxiang Yingke VCD to top the domestic VCD sales market. Media friends, remember one thing: Lianxiang is the best! Lianxiang Yingke VCD, the best VCD!"

Xu Siqi suddenly froze.

Only then did she realize why the stinky boss had just shoved her head open.

She glanced at Lu Yang in a panic, only to see a chilling glint in his eyes: "Li Zekai has invested in Xianke Electronics in Pengcheng, preparing to compete with us locally. He's also trying to poach BBK in Dongguan, and when that failed, he tried to drive a wedge between me and Duan Yongping. Now he's also courting Lianxiang. I had a bit of a disagreement with Lao Liu over Lao Ni's issue, and Lao Liu has been wanting to pick a fight with me for a long time, but he never had the chance. Now Li Zekai has given him an opportunity. Lianxiang, a computer company, is getting into VCDs too. What a stunt! Does he really think I have no temper? Fine, just wait."

The remote control was slammed onto the conference table, and the batteries bounced and rolled to Xu Siqi's feet.

A streak of pale lightning flashed outside the window, illuminating Lu Yang's chiseled profile: "Notify Lao Ni and tell him the situation. There's no reason why a complete novice like Lianxiang would dare to claim they can develop a new generation of decoding chips within three months. I've already given him a year, and I've already set up the lab for him. The experimental equipment inside is the most advanced in the country. I don't care what difficulties he has. In three months, I want to see him deliver a report card that's no less impressive than what Lao Liu has achieved with Lianxiang. Lianxiang wants to use its accumulated technology in the computer field to crush us across boundaries? Hmph, they're thinking too simply."

The lack of money has always been the fundamental reason why Lianxiang, led by Lao Liu, dared not take the technology-industry-trade route. For a company, walking on two legs is definitely healthier than walking on one leg. However, sometimes in order to save money, we have to concentrate our limited resources and put our efforts in one direction. It is simply a matter of choice: long-term benefits or just immediate benefits.

As a pragmatist, Lao Liu naturally wouldn't consider long-term interests. What he wanted was to concentrate resources, better navigate the market, and strive to gain more immediate benefits.

Now the situation has changed. With the support of the Asian Audio-Visual Fund led by the Li family of Hong Kong, and the strong investment from PCCW Digital, owned by Li Zekai, the second son of the Li family, the two parties have joined forces to establish a new company. By leveraging the electronic technology accumulated by Lianxiang in the computer field, combined with the funds of the Li family and PCCW Digital, they will transform it into product strength to create a VCD product that surpasses all similar products on the market, thereby monopolizing the hype and capturing this market with a future of hundreds of billions that is already clearly visible.

Wouldn't that be wonderful?

It was like a godsend, helping Lianxiang fill the gap in its "technology, industry, and trade" technology. After all, computer technology can be applied to VCD players, and the technology accumulated in VCD player manufacturing can also be transformed into Lianxiang's own computer technology. With a little time to complement each other, they can perfectly achieve a 1=1 effect that is far greater than 2. The key is that it doesn't cost the head office a penny, and they can even get a share of the market in the fierce VCD battle.

Why not?
"Old Liu must be laughing in his sleep, right?"

"That's not all. He should also be grateful to me. If it weren't for me, the several major VCD manufacturers under my name would have put too much pressure on the Asian Audio-Visual Fund led by the Li family. They wouldn't have approached Lianxiang to help Lianxiang transform its product strategy. Without taking up Lianxiang's original computer-related resources or affecting its original strategy, it could still choose to cultivate the desktop computer field. Instead, it opened up a new path, which is equivalent to giving Lianxiang an additional source of income. It also provides an accumulation of VCD software and hardware technology, which can be applied in other areas if needed in the future."

When Lao Ni called from Pengcheng, Lu Yang said the following on the phone.

"But boss, I have a question. Why did it have to be Lianxiang?"

Clearly, Lao Ni was still unwilling to accept it.

He left Lianxiang entirely because of Lao Liu, and the two sides became bitter enemies. Now, less than a year after he left Lianxiang, the other party has actually received large sums of money from the Li family, one of the four major families in Hong Kong, and its second son, Li Zekai.

"Because Lianxiang chose to list in Hong Kong, it helped Lenovo. Cooperating with Lianxiang also indirectly boosted Lenovo's stock price in Hong Kong."

Lu Yang said confidently, "If I'm not mistaken, after today, Lianxiang's stock will probably surge..."

The money they made from fleecing retail investors in the stock market was enough to recoup the costs of the Li family and the people behind them, all of which they had spent on investing in Lianxiang.

Clearly, the cost ultimately comes from the consumer.

Ni Guangnan could only say hesitantly over the phone, "Boss, three months might not be enough. Besides, I'm certain that Lianxiang is just putting up a smokescreen. I know Lao Liu better than anyone what kind of person he is; he's always using these kinds of tricks. And most of the talent in Lianxiang's lab has already been brought out by me. Although it's backed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lianxiang still has its foundation, but..."

In the end, he hesitated, clearly due to a lack of confidence.

Making chips is not that simple.

Even if it's just a decoding chip that doesn't involve internal computer chips and is only used in simple players like VCD players.

—That's a chip too.

Lu Yang: "You don't need to tell me that. Just keep it in mind. My requirement is that your progress cannot be slower than Lianxiang's. Submit your report in three months. If Lianxiang is just making empty promises, and you have indeed made breakthroughs in progress, I will continue to add funding. If one hundred million is not enough, then I will add another one hundred million..."

Upon hearing this, Ni Guangnan on the other end finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He was afraid that Lu Yang was an outsider. Because of the pressure from Lianxiang and Lao Liu's declaration to reporters, he also adopted a high-pressure policy towards him, forcing him to submit a perfect answer.

Better than Lao Li.

However, conducting experiments and developing products does not mean that you will immediately see results just because you have enough money, nor does it mean that you can squeeze out profits by adopting high-pressure policies.

Anyway...

It all comes down to a bit of luck.

"Okay, thank you, boss. I understand. I will definitely lead these young men to work hard and strive to deliver a perfect result. Haha, I won't let your money go to waste." "That sounds nice, but I hope the result you deliver will be just as nice as your words."

"Don't worry, boss."

"Then let's hang up. You should focus on your research. Don't worry too much about Lao Liu's situation. Under his leadership, no matter how much Lianxiang achieves, it will all be thanks to him. You are now the chief scientist of Century Group, with hundreds of doctoral and graduate students conducting scientific research under your supervision. The product laboratory invests one or two hundred million yuan every year, which exceeds the current investment of many university laboratories and similar private laboratories in China. If you can lead Century Group's own laboratories to achieve results and Century Group achieves great success in the future, then all the credit will be yours."

Lu Yang is never stingy when it comes to praising people. On the phone, he not only lauded Lao Ni as one of the best in the world, but also praised him to the skies.

He even promised him that as long as the other party could produce the new generation of decoding chips, which belonged to Century Group, then without waiting for the group's headquarters to go public, he would personally cut off a piece of the pie from his own share of the VCD giant Little Prodigy, in which Lu Yang held a major stake, and give it to Ni Guangnan so that he could also enjoy a celebration of financial freedom with Little Prodigy's upcoming overseas listing.

When future generations have no worries.

In the future, I will work hard in the laboratory, do the research I love, and give full play to my talents.

Anyway, he really manipulated Lao Ni to the point of exhaustion, making him so excited that he almost flew to Xingcheng to kowtow to his good boss, Lu Yang.

"Alright, I have some things to take care of here."

After hanging up the phone, Lu Yang turned to Du Manni, who was staring at him in disbelief, and said, "What are you standing there for? Go hand over your work. I can only stay here for two days. I have to go back to Xingcheng soon."

It turns out that Lu Yang has been quietly living in his hometown.

The land he is standing on now is the Baoqing Industrial and Trade Park, where Du Lingling once served as director in the urban area of ​​Baoqing City.

Xiaotiancai, a technology company and electronics manufacturer established by Lu Yang six months earlier than Xiaoshentong, is located in the center of the science and technology industrial park in this fourth-tier city.

Du Manni, Lu Yang's confidante from his early years, was once the head of the Xiaotiancai branch factory in Zhaoxian County. She did well in Zhaoxian and developed her abilities, so Lu Yang promoted her back to the main factory.

Together with Champion Brother and Lu Yang's third brother Lu Youyi, they are in charge of Xiaotiancai, a major electronics manufacturer that currently occupies half of the sales volume in the domestic computer learning machine market.

Lu Yang's purpose in coming this time was not only to transfer Du Manni to Xingcheng, but also to wait two months until he had sorted out all the internal problems of Wan Yan Electronics and removed some stumbling blocks, so that his confidante could accept him.

Originally, Lu Yang's favorite person was Xu Siqi, his secretary who had been with him for four or five years. She graduated from a top domestic university in Beijing, had no shortage of connections and talent, and her family background was also there. In Xingcheng, she was practically back home. But the silly girl was stubborn and insisted on following him for life.

She wasn't even tempted by such an important position.

Faced with this silly girl, Lu Yang had no choice but to agree, and he had to think of another way. After thinking it over, he finally thought of Du Manni.

This is different from the way this silly girl is devoted to him, giving him her whole heart.

Dumani is another extreme.

Love was just a condiment to her, it couldn't bring her bread. She followed Lu Yang namelessly and without status, not only because Lu Yang was indeed the domineering CEO type she liked, but also because Lu Yang could give her the material life she wanted and the kind of strong woman ambition she pursued.

And Lu Yang has always been accommodating her.

So in the past year or two, they have spent very little time together and rarely even had the chance to meet. But Lu Yang has never forgotten his promise and has been doing his best to cultivate and help her, leading her to become a more successful businesswoman.

"But……"

Du Manni said with some difficulty, "If I leave, what will happen to that little genius? Who will take responsibility?"

Lu Yang turned his gaze to his third brother, Lu Youyi, and then to Champion Brother's face. "You, Champion Brother, will be the president of Little Prodigy, but your main focus is still your product lab. You can't relinquish your position as the chief planner of the product lab. We're about to start producing desktop computers and enter the computer field, so we can't be careless. Product updates and iterations are still a top priority."

"As for Third Brother..."

Lu Yang looked at Lu Youyi and said, "Third Brother, you have two choices now: either continue to be the president of Mester Apparel, or give up your position now and let you come to Little Genius as a vice president for the time being. We'll make further arrangements later."

Among Lu Yang's cousins, Lu Youyi was neither the most talented nor the most honest and loyal. In terms of trustworthiness, he wasn't even the one Lu Yang trusted the most.

Ironically, he was the most suitable person to be promoted by Lu Yang to a core position in the group at this very moment.

Lu Youren, the eldest cousin, was the first to follow Lu Yang in building his empire. He was undoubtedly the most trusted person among Lu Yang's cousins. Unfortunately, he remained in Shanghuai Village, a small mountain village. He felt that being able to serve as the factory manager of Meister Clothing's first factory was enough. He could stay with his wife and children and take care of his mentally unstable mother. He felt that his life was complete.

After Lu Yang tried to persuade him a few times, he stopped trying.

The reason for giving Third Brother Lu Youyi a second option is that if Third Brother is willing to hand over the position of head of the main factory of Meister Garments in the city, then the main factory in the city will be downgraded to a branch factory, and the old factory in Shanghuai Village will remain the main factory. At that time, it will be handed over to Eldest Brother Lu Youren to manage.

From now on, this clothing company will be managed as the ancestral property of the Lu family. Several cousins ​​who have followed him for so many years will each take a share in it, as a way of repaying the cousins ​​who have silently supported him over the years.

Moreover, this also prevents the cousins ​​in the group from getting too involved in the future, which could lead to them turning against each other. By taking out this garment factory and letting the cousins ​​invest in it, this problem can be avoided.

Lu Yang, whose career focus has long since shifted away from this area, is perfectly capable of letting go easily and won't care about the final outcome. (End of Chapter)