Age of Legends

Chapter 244 Collapse
At the meeting that Chen Yu attended alongside Zhang Zhonghua, he saw several key documents, one of which was the "Technical Indicators of the FD-29 Patent Valuation Report".

The contents inside made Chen Yu somewhat alarmed at first glance: the metal oxide composite coating used in FD-29 has a light transmittance of up to 92%, a surface resistance of 8 sheet resistance, and a cost of $65 per tube!

What is this concept?
In comparison, LG's ion-plated cathode ray tubes have a light transmittance of 88%, a surface resistivity of 15 ohms, and a cost of $82 per tube!

Cost reduction and performance improvement—these are the core strengths of technology. How did Zhang Zhonghua achieve this?

Chen Yu understood even more clearly what this meant.

To put it bluntly, the South Korean side is building factories in China simply because of the low costs and the market. Zhang Zhonghua's technology can reduce the cost per tube so much. If the annual production scale is 300 million units, then the cost savings are 5100 million US dollars per year.

What does this even mean?!

Moreover, there are more benefits than just that. First, the technological leadership is in China's hands, which can prevent South Korea from threatening to cut off technology supply in order to obtain more joint venture benefits. The supply chain security premium in this regard is indispensable.

On the other hand, Xi Mingrong also stated that he would strive for government subsidies for Nam Kwong, on the grounds of supporting domestic technology. The government's technological upgrading subsidy is 2% of sales revenue. If the annual output is 300 million units and the selling price is US$110, then the government will subsidize US$660 million a year.

At the municipal government meeting, Xi Mingrong was persuading the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission and the Industrial Investment Group: "In addition, according to past practice, foreign companies with technological dominance would take 60% or more of the profits, but if we use Zhang Zhonghua's plan, we can expect to achieve a 50/50 split!"

It's not easy for foreign companies to achieve the goal of having a share of more than 60%. First, they need to have core monopoly technology, such as LG's shadow mask etching technology for picture tubes and Sony's dynamic focusing technology.

Secondly, there are export-oriented brand sales channels. Since Nam Kwong and LG are a joint venture, the export channels for their brands are indeed controlled by the other party. However, there is a domestic market, so this market advantage can be offset.

The core technology, FD29, is one of the core technologies, capable of competing with South Korea. Therefore, Xi Mingrong's statement is reasonable, and the joint venture can definitely achieve a 50/50 profit split with South Korea.

"That portion could generate an annual increase of over $1200 million!"

"So we can draw a conclusion. If we use FD29's technology, it can generate over $6500 million in profit for the joint venture each year. This year, Nam Kwong Group's profit is $5500 million. This profit margin is equivalent to 1.2 times Nam Kwong's net profit!" Xi Mingrong said.

Everyone present nodded, feeling somewhat encouraged.

Chen Yu's scalp tingled with disbelief... What? The meeting minutes he had helped deliver revealed that Zhang Zhonghua had revived the technology line that Nam Kwong's parent company had abandoned years ago, and it could generate an additional $6500 million in profit annually?!
This is not over yet.

Chen Yu then saw another agreement – ​​“FD-29 Patent Valuation Report (Rongcheng Asset Appraisal Institute)”.

The agreement shows that, as a pilot project for mixed-ownership reform, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) specially approved Zhang Zhonghua to acquire a 20% stake in Chenguang Display Co., Ltd. for RMB 1.2 million, representing a 187% premium on the FD29 technology patent. Rongcheng Industrial Group holds 51% of the shares, while Rongcheng State-owned Investment Group acquires 29% by contributing RMB 2.3 million from land transfer fees.

The 2001 regulations for the reform of state-owned enterprises stipulated that in joint ventures with state-owned assets, individual technical contributions could not exceed 20%. This shows that Vice Mayor Xi Mingrong was treating Zhang Zhonghua with the highest level of preferential treatment!

In addition, there is a dual-track patent system to compensate for the losses caused by Zhang Zhonghua's shareholding of no more than 20%. Specifically, 3% of the joint venture's sales revenue is paid to Chenguang Display Company as patent fees.

Of course, this plan is already on the verge of triggering provincial-level supervision, and it also faces difficulties. Xi Mingrong will inevitably have to contend with the provincial authorities.

But even what Chen Yu saw today was already bizarre and surreal.

It also gave him a thrilling feeling of immense power coming from mastering core technologies.

Who could have known that, with the internal reorganization, Zhang Zhonghua, an engineer who was laid off by Nanguang New Company, would transform into a key figure in the Rongcheng City government's technological negotiations with foreign capital, thanks to his years of professional immersion and research that led to technological breakthroughs?

In the blink of an eye, he became a billionaire!
This is incredible! Who would have thought that Zhang Zhonghua, who faced setbacks everywhere in his attempt to transfer to a new company, would be where he is today?

Chen Yu was also excited. He felt that providing Zhang Zhonghua with evidence out of a sense of justice and fairness was the right thing to do.

As for why Zhang Zhonghua wanted him to attend this meeting today, Chen Yu already had some guesses and was also feeling quite emotional.

After the meeting ended and they had a casual meal, the city lights were already on. Standing under the shade of the paulownia trees on the street, Zhang Zhonghua patted Chen Yu on the shoulder, "Once everything is on track, would you be willing to be my assistant?"

As children of long-time employees of an electronics factory, Chen Yu and his family had dedicated themselves to the company and would not leave. Zhang Zhonghua understood this, yet he still made this request at this time.

The future trajectory is already self-evident.

Chen Yu nodded emphatically, "Okay! Engineer Zhang... oh, no... General Manager Zhang!"

"Just call me Engineer Zhang! I'm working for the government now!" Zhang Zhonghua smiled. The day's meetings, plus the responsibilities that lay ahead, weren't as easy as he had imagined.

……

In the past few days, since the announcement "Regarding the FD-29 technology of our company is indeed an invention made by Zhang Zhonghua in the course of his employment" appeared on the official website and internal bulletin board of Nanguang Company, the news has spread rapidly throughout the factory compound, both east and west.

It caused quite a stir, attracting a large crowd. Looking at the notice board, someone exclaimed, "Wow!" "They've even put up big-character posters!"

Yes, after discovering that Zhang Zhonghua was unyielding, Nam Kwong Group reacted quickly, first issuing a statement claiming that Zhang Zhonghua's FD29 patent was a service invention. The entire announcement was written in a very "righteous" tone, basically accusing Zhang Zhonghua of stealing state-owned assets and using his position to obtain technology for personal gain!

Whether or not there was any profit-making involved is another matter, but such an announcement will certainly stir up the indignation of grassroots employees. These days, if you accuse someone of stealing state-owned assets or causing losses to state-owned assets, Zhang Zhonghua may very well be rendered unreasonable under the pressure of public opinion and the company's machinery.

The problem is that these kinds of things are hard to resolve. You say you have meeting minutes, that's fine. But I also have witnesses. If several people come forward and say you did this in your position, how can you explain yourself? Everyone has their own version of events, so you might as well go to court and sue. But if you drag it out for years, it'll be too late.

When the news first reached Huang Huifen, someone went to her Xuhui Real Estate office to look for her, but she wasn't there. Instead, they saw her wearing a helmet at the park and told her about it.

Since they were neighbors, word of the matter spread, and many people came to inquire and try to get information. However, Huang Huifen didn't storm into Zhou Ping's office and throw a tantrum as many had expected. Instead, she calmly told those who had come to report the incident but were actually curious about her reaction: "Oh, I know about this. My husband Zhang didn't embezzle any inventions. There's evidence to back it up. Zhou Ping and his group are just trying to frame us. We'll ignore them; we can always sue them!"

Many people felt that Huang Huifen had changed a lot. She had suddenly become more composed and capable, instead of the woman who used to have a fiery temper.

Is it because becoming a CEO makes all the difference?
Little did people know that Huang Huifen was genuinely thinking that there was no need to get entangled with the company like this. After so many years, she had long since become indifferent to these people. Zhang Zhonghua's matter was thankless and exhausting; if it really collapsed, she could still earn money through her own business and wouldn't have to worry about her family's livelihood.

As a result, this farce had barely begun when Ding Shenghua hurriedly walked into Zhou Ping's office and saw a document on his desk.

Ding Shenghua added in a somewhat ingratiating tone, "What's wrong that you can't resolve? Even you, Old Zhou, have times when you're this unhappy?"

Zhou Ping looked at him with a dark expression, "You passed by the bulletin board today, didn't you see anything?"

Ding Shenghua was a little puzzled. "What's on the bulletin board? A few days ago, when we released Zhang Zhonghua's statement, a lot of people went to see it. Ha, he thought he could control us. Now that the news is out, I believe many employees will stand on our side..."

Zhou Ping tossed a form in front of him. "This was in my office this morning! There are also many copies posted on the bulletin board! Take a look for yourself!"

Ding Shenghua, unaware of what was going on, picked up the scattered papers from the table. When he saw the heading, his expression changed instantly. He finally understood why Zhou Ping was so angry.

It was a document consisting of several pages.

The first page is a photocopy of the invention patent certificate, which states that Zhang Zhonghua is the inventor and owner of the FD29 technology. There is a line that reads, "This invention has been examined by this office in accordance with the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China and a decision has been made to grant the patent right." Below is the signature of the Director of the State Patent Office.

The second page contains a report issued by the Provincial Intellectual Property Office.

The report is titled "Zhang Zhonghua FD29 Technical Non-Job-Related Invention Certificate Form".

It's clear that this document, now posted on the bulletin board, has completely shattered Ding Shenghua's previous statements and publicity stunts.

(End of this chapter)