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

The torrential rain outside the window continued to pound against the glass curtain wall with a dull rumble. The white light from the conference room ceiling light elongated Lu Yang's shadow, making him appear particularly cold and aloof in the wet reflection.

Du Manni opened her mouth, but ultimately only managed a soft reply: "I'll go hand over the duties right away."

The sound of her high heels clicking on the ground as she turned was swallowed by the thunder, leaving the three men in the room facing the huge "Little Genius Electronics Factory Five-Year Strategic Map" on the wall.

Lu Youyi rubbed his sweaty palms, his Adam's apple bobbing as he looked at Champion Brother, who had already silently unfolded the company's newly purchased IBM ThinkPad 701C laptop, with a 3D model of the newly designed desktop chassis flashing on the screen.

"Third brother..."

Lu Yang suddenly spoke, tapping the "Computer Business Line" marked with a red arrow on the strategic map with his fingertip. "If you can't make the decision, then I'll make it for you. By the morning of the day after tomorrow at the latest, I need to see Mester's handover plan, and here... the personnel structure chart for the Xiaotiancai Computer Business Department. From now on, you will be the head of the Xiaotiancai Computer Business Department, responsible for its sales and marketing. You'll complement Champion, and the two of you need to have a clear division of labor."

A bolt of lightning illuminated the small space of the conference room, revealing the faces of the three people.

Lu Youyi was about to speak.

The champion had already stated his position: "Boss, I understand. I will focus my energy primarily on product development in the lab and continue to specialize in computers. As for running the company, I'm not particularly good at it, and even this president position, I feel..."

Lu Yang shook his head, interrupting him, "You don't need to say anything more. The position of president is still yours. I only transferred my third brother here temporarily. The focus is on training him. Once he's familiar with things, you'll be more secure in your position as president. I hope that both of you can be independent. My business is expanding rapidly, and all of you have a chance. Believe me, if Xiaotiancai goes public one day, both of you will achieve financial freedom."

Although there was no direct promise, the shares were offered up now.

But as soon as Lu Yang uttered those words...

Whether it's the champion who's still being humble and declining the president's position, or Lu Youyi who's been hesitating about whether to take this step, or Lu Youren who, like his older brother Lu Youren, stays at the garment factory and lives a simple and peaceful life, it's all up to him.

Their eyes lit up.

The champion quickly shut his mouth and stopped being modest.

Just kidding.

The company president is the top executive, while the head of the product laboratory is at most one of the company's core senior executives.

And this "one of" encapsulates many issues.

Now, because he wants to avoid trouble and focus on research, he humbly declined the CEO position. But the loss he will suffer in the future will not be a small amount of money, but a lot of money, which may be the only opportunity for financial freedom in his life!

Lu Youyi was almost there. He finally gritted his teeth, mustered his courage, raised his head, looked into Lu Yang's eyes, and said, "I'll do it. I'll start learning from scratch. Cousin, as long as you believe in me, I will definitely work hard to manage the company well and make it bigger and stronger in the future."

Lu Yang nodded in satisfaction. "Okay, then I'll enroll you in an adult class at Shenzhen University. You can take a few days each month to go to Pengcheng to report to the head office and also attend a few classes. If you set aside a few years, you'll definitely learn something."

In 95, although there was no mature IBM executive program in China, some business schools were already conducting research in this area.

Many universities have also launched courses in this area.

It's not surprising that entrepreneurs attend short-term training courses for senior managers held by universities; it's a historical fact that aligns with the trends of the times.

The class that Lu Yang was planning to enroll his cousin Lu Youyi in was similar to the aforementioned short-term training courses for senior managers. It was an adult seminar organized by Shenzhen University for business guidance and management philosophy for entrepreneurs, and it was taught by some of the most famous economists in China.

Lu Yang had attended a few classes himself, and although he felt they were just so-so, he was a reborn person, while his cousin Lu Youren hadn't even finished junior high school. He figured he could just go and hang out, get a feel for the atmosphere, make some business friends, and attend a dozen or so classes.

Having some experience in a particular area is always better than having none.

Lu Youren opened his mouth, "Me, can I?"

He never imagined that at his age, he would still have the opportunity to go to university. This was university, a hallowed hall of learning that he had never dared to dream of before.

Lu Yang smiled without saying a word, and simply nodded.

The champion standing next to Lu Yang then chimed in with some boastful words, "Third Brother, just relax. What kind of person is the boss? He wouldn't lie to you. If he says you can go to university, then you definitely can. Just work hard, attend some classes when you have time, and strive to learn something. If we work together, we'll definitely make Little Genius even stronger."

As he spoke, he couldn't help but excitedly pump his fist.

It's as if everyone can already see Xiaotiancai going public in the future, standing at the bell-ringing ceremony, and about to achieve financial freedom.

Lu Youyi couldn't help but get excited. "Okay, I'll definitely do my best. Brother Champion, you can focus on your research and make sure to manage production well at the company. You must also strictly control the quality. As for product sales and market promotion, you can leave it all to me. I will definitely do my best and live up to your expectations."

Although Lu Yang hasn't invested much in Meister Apparel over the years, and has even taken a lot of profits and cash flow from it, the company's development hasn't lagged behind. In recent years, it has been gradually expanding, with domestic sales and international trade orders from Asia, Africa, and Latin America constantly growing.

This growth is inseparable from Lu Youyi, the head of the main factory.

Of course, there were also some who belonged to the sixth and seventh brothers, Lu Youzhi and Lu Youxin, who were two unfortunate brothers who were abandoned by Lu Yang at the Guangzhou office of Meister Clothing for several years.

If the growth in domestic clothing sales is credited to Lu Youyi, then the credit for foreign trade orders in Asia, Africa, and Latin America undoubtedly belongs to this pair of unfortunate brothers.

Let's leave those aside for now.

These two brothers are still young and in the same boat; Lu Yang will eventually make arrangements for them.

Let's start with Lu Youyi. Because he had gained experience in the garment factory in recent years, although he was transferred to Xiaotiancai to be in charge of Xiaotiancai's new business, the marketing of desktop computers, which was a cross-industry move, it wouldn't be accurate to say that he had no progress at all.

Otherwise, Lu Yang wouldn't have made such an arrangement. "Alright, stop praising each other."

Lu Yang interrupted their conversation, intending to address the issue of Lianxiang's foray into VCDs. In response, he hoped his cousin Lu Youyi could strategically target the Lianxiang brand in marketing, ensuring that wherever Lenovo computers were present, Xiaotiancai computers would be there too—in short, a head-to-head battle.

Otherwise, some people really wouldn't know how many eyes Lord Ma has.

In a word.

Even if he loses money, Lu Yang will still teach Lao Liu a lesson and disgust him to death.

The result was that he hadn't even finished speaking; he was only halfway through...

Secretary Xu Siqi rushed into the conference room, still damp with sweat, and said breathlessly, "Boss... I just received news from Hong Kong that Lianxiang's Hong Kong shares surged 17% at the opening! The Li family announced an increase in their holdings."

Rain dripped from her hair onto the map Lu Yang had just unfolded, spreading out a wet, ink-like stain.

Lu Yang suddenly laughed, grabbed the soaked blueprints and crumpled them into a ball: "The Li family, well done, the Li family, you played the capital card brilliantly."

Although I had expected that the money would ultimately come from the consumer, I didn't expect it to happen so quickly.

They've practically stopped acting altogether.

With the simultaneous investment from PCCW Digital and increased holdings by the Li family in both the mainland and Hong Kong stock markets, Lianxiang's strength will undoubtedly surge in the coming period, allowing it to allocate more funds to VCD product development and desktop computer marketing.

Lu Youyi lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then raised his head and said hesitantly, "Cousin, should we... postpone our plan?"

From his perspective—no, from Xiaotiancai's perspective—with the newly established computer department and the first Xiaotiancai desktop computer they had just launched, they should at least take a slight step back, if not avoid competing with established domestic desktop computer brands like Lianxiang…

Once we've established ourselves, we can then compete with the other side for the title of King and Queen.

Instead of engaging in close combat and using loss-making methods to annoy others in the name of loyalty, what good does that do for the company?

He didn't speak up or stand up to object just now because he had no excuse.

And now, a ready-made excuse has arrived.

Lu Yang glanced calmly at his cousin Lu Youyi, then looked at him again, who also seemed hesitant to speak, clearly agreeing with the idea.

What is this wave called?
This is a case of "your position determines your perspective."

Lu Yang shook his head. "If you're not in that position, you shouldn't concern yourself with its affairs, so I don't blame you. But your thinking is still too narrow. I hope you won't limit your vision to just the little geniuses."

He stared into their eyes and said, “Little Genius is just one of the companies under my group. Its future development is definitely limited. If you want to continue to rise in the future, you need to consider things from the perspective of the group headquarters and step out of the framework of Little Genius.”

Lu Yang's gaze fell on the five-year strategic layout map of Little Genius Electronics Factory on the wall. "The reason I need you to do this is to cooperate with Pengcheng Little Prodigy. Your two companies used to work together on computer learning machines, so you could do things independently, each with your own market, and sometimes even compete with each other."

But now, one of you is making computers, and the other is making VCD players. Only by working together can you put double the pressure on Lianxiang, which is making both computers and preparing to make VCD players. Do you understand what I mean?

By launching desktop computers through Xiaotiancai, the scheme aims to disrupt Lao Liu's strategic layout in the desktop computer market, prevent him from focusing all his efforts on VCD product development, delay his product launch, and create a more favorable opportunity for Xiaotiancai to systematically defeat the ragtag group that the Li family has assembled.

This was Lu Yang's idea.

They simply never expected that Xiaotiancai's desktop computer would immediately generate an extraordinary market response upon its release, dethroning Lianxiang from its sales throne and making itself the domestic king of desktop computers.

That's obviously unrealistic, okay?

If it weren't for wanting to annoy Lianxiang and Lao Liu, and to restrain them, Lu Yang had no intention of rushing to launch his own desktop computer under the Little Genius brand. Instead, he planned to make some technical preparations and launch his own brand of personal computers around 2000 when the time was right.

By then, there will be mature fiber optic cables, making it easy to bring personal computers into homes via wired internet. The number of internet users will have increased dozens of times compared to now, and major portal websites, Tianya, and QQ, as well as other social networking software, will have basically all appeared.

This is the real opportunity for the popularization and development of personal computers. When that time comes, the genius will either remain silent or make a name for himself. After 10 years of honing his skills, how could he not get his share of the business in desktop computers?

It was simply a matter of timing and fate. In order to restrain Lianxiang, to annoy Lao Liu, and to further restrain the Li family, Lu Yang had no choice but to hastily launch Xiaotiancai's personal desktop computer business.

Clearly, Lu Youyi and Champion Brother did not understand Lu Yang's good intentions.

That's why both of them just raised objections to Lu Yang's arrangements and had different opinions. The difference was that one said it aloud, while the other only showed it on his face.

Fortunately, Lu Yang wasn't angry.

He even patiently explained to both of them the reasons why he did it.

It can be said that they are nurturing them with all their might.

After understanding the reason, the two men, both looking ashamed and somewhat excited, said, "Don't worry, boss. I understand. I know what to do next. (Cousin, I won't say more. Just watch my performance. If I don't do a good job, you can fire me.)"

Lu Yang raised his hand and patted his cousin Lu Youyi's shoulder heavily. Then he walked over and patted Champion's shoulder. "You two work together well. I trust you. I can only stay in this small city of Baoqing for a maximum of two more days. After that, it will all depend on the two of you."

As he spoke, he turned and precisely tossed the crumpled paper into the trash can, the metal rim making a dull thud. He then rushed in, his hair soaked, and said to Xu Siqi, who was running in, "Notify Little Prodigy CEO Xiao to develop a new product promotion plan within a week. In conjunction with Little Genius's desktop computers, we'll create a joint new product launch promotion. Isn't there a reason for a price reduction? I've already found one for him. Let's start with Shenzhen's local company, Xianke Electronics, and start clearing them out one by one..." (End of Chapter)