Age of Legends

Chapter 254 Hero
Zhang Zhonghua's deeds have spread through various channels in Fuzhou. On the "Electronic Technology Community" forum, a popular online forum for electronics enthusiasts in China, an engineer from Nanguang Group posted anonymously: "Domestic core technology has shattered the LG myth!"

Although this article is anonymous, it describes, from the perspective of an eyewitness, the story of how Zhang Zhonghua, a representative of Chenguang Display Technology and a former engineer of the Nanguang Group, brought out the domestically produced electron gun and dynamic focusing technology FD29 in the conference room of Nanguang Company in Fuzhou, challenged LG's Silver Core, and then won.

The "Electronic Technology Community" is a broad technical discussion platform, considered a "holy land" for CRT technology discussions in China. It is home to many "experts," and people come here every day to ask all sorts of strange CRT TV repair questions, often finding help and answers here.

A television is a major household item, and when it breaks down, people go to great lengths to find spare parts for repairs, patching it up for another three years. There are many exchanges on troubleshooting and repair techniques for CRT televisions, monitors, and other equipment. For example, the forum once enthusiastically helped with a picture tube neck-cutting repair technique that occurred in Dali, Nanhai.

There are also technical and theoretical debates. Many of the people here are engineers from industries related to cathode ray tubes and television technology. The major debate currently taking place on the forum is from the period around 2000 when TFT-LCD and CRT cathode ray tubes were being debated. The discussions involve core issues such as cathode ray tube material improvement and electron gun design, and the arguments continue endlessly on the forum every day.

But no matter how much these engineers and professionals argue, they always mention Philips, LG, Panasonic... all well-known international companies. They pontificate and boast, but there will never be any domestic brands in their discussions. If any domestic brands do appear, they are only there as foils or negative examples.

But today's post, like a firsthand account, is so moving that it gets your blood pumping while you're reading it on your computer!

"An engineer from Nam Kwong Group, forced into early retirement, has made an internationally recognized invention!"

"By bypassing Sony's patent licensing fees to LG, no wonder LG would acknowledge this invention. It's like they've indirectly reduced their commission. Isn't that worth millions of dollars?"

"Upstairs, you have the nerve to say a million dollars? With Nanguang Company's annual output, the savings should be at least tens of millions of dollars! This invention alone is worth over 100 million RMB!"

"Look, this guy is an engineer who was forced out of Nam Kwong Group. Nam Kwong Group is such a short-sighted company. They were the ones who did the accounting fraud and whose former chairman went to jail. They almost went bankrupt, which is why they formed a new company. It seems this new company is unreliable. They even threw away this kind of talent!"

"They've secured government support and come back! Haha, the leaders of the new Nam Kwong Group must be green with envy, having missed out on such a huge piece of the pie!"

"Damn, it's true that times make heroes! This invention is worth hundreds of millions, and who knows how much value it will create in the future. Rongcheng has really struck gold this time. To have such a figure emerge, who knows how much tax revenue it will generate this time. It's said that LG Group brought in 500 million RMB to invest this time!"

The news stirred up industry forums, and Fuzhou's Metropolitan Daily and Evening News followed suit, reporting on the news of M&G Display and LG under the headline "Engineers Forced to Leave Create Over 100 Million Yuan in CRT Patents, Defeating the LG Myth".

……

In the residential compound of Nam Kwong Group, some retired employees came to Zhang Zhonghua's door with a banner. As some of the veteran technicians, they vividly remembered how much they suffered and how much hardship Nam Kwong Group endured when it took over the production line that was being phased out by South Korea. The South Koreans even used their own people as operators, and Chinese people were not allowed to enter the core production area. They received wages ten times higher than them. These veteran employees had held onto this resentment until retirement. When they heard about Zhang Zhonghua's actions at the inspection conference, they felt a sense of pride and decided to present him with the banner.

Well, when Zhang Chen returned home from evening self-study, he found a banner displayed in his house. It read, "Precision breaks the myth of foreign guns; the furnace fire forges the backbone of Chenguang." The banner was signed: "Respectfully presented by all employees of the former Ninth Workshop of Nanguang Group."

The writing and signature were carefully chosen, clearly indicating an awareness of the feud between Zhang Zhonghua and the Nam Kwong Group. Therefore, instead of referring to Zhang Zhonghua as the backbone of Nam Kwong, the name of the company he founded, Chenguang Xian, was used. Indeed, only he had truly served the Nam Kwong Group, while Nam Kwong had failed him—a fact these veteran employees were well aware of.

This banner is remarkably similar to the one Zhang Chen received.

The banner he had given for saving the person was lying on a junk box in the corner of the restaurant, with some of the red edges faded.

Zhang Zhonghua was fiddling with hanging the banner next to the world map in the living room, and asked Huang Huifen, "Don't you think it's a bit crooked? Shouldn't we adjust it to the right?"

……

Chen Yu also called Zhang Zhonghua: "Engineer Zhang, Nanguang contacted me. They told me about the specific position and salary, and asked me to liaise with you. Engineer Zhang... I know it was you who put in a good word for me..." Today, Chen Yu was transferred from the archives department and came to see his HR manager in a friendly manner, practically saying that he should represent Nanguang Group in communicating with Zhang Zhonghua more often. Chen Yu had suddenly gone from being demoted to potentially being promoted directly to the position of director.

There's nothing he can do; he has connections in high places!

The most proud person was his father, who lived in the old Pidu factory's residential compound. The old man had worked at Nanguang Company his entire life, and considered it his pride and joy. When Chen Yu graduated from university, he entered Nanguang Company as an assistant general manager, a promising career indeed. The old man was extremely proud, and his house was always bustling with visitors during holidays. However, after Chen Yu was transferred from his assistant position, supposedly because he had offended the general manager for Zhang Zhonghua's sake, the Chen family suddenly became a jinx in the eyes of others. Of course, some retired colleagues still maintained contact with the old man's family, but those whose families held positions at the head office naturally distanced themselves, avoiding them like the plague.

Someone chatted with the old man, lamenting that Chen Yu had chosen the wrong side. The old man, however, stubbornly insisted, "I taught him from the beginning: one is one, two is two. Don't lie, what is, is. This is especially important in the workplace. Because we've spent our lives in technology, we know that technology doesn't tolerate any falsehood; you can't fool anyone! My son didn't do anything wrong. He just provided truthful information, so what?! Anyway, I'm watching. If anyone tries to make things difficult for my son, I'll sue them. Zhou Ping and his ilk won't be able to get away with this!"

However, when news of Zhang Zhonghua's resounding success in Rongcheng reached the old residential compound in Pidu, everyone was in an uproar. They knew all too well the glory of having surpassed the seemingly godlike LG Philips picture tube technology (at this time, LG had already merged with the Dutch Philips picture tube business).

Chen Yu, one of the driving forces behind this, became an overnight sensation in the old residential compound after news of his promotion spread. Everyone was talking about him, saying that the young man was truly promising, and they went around praising him to his father.

Chen Yu remembered that there was a classmate of his in the family compound who got into Peking University, which caused a sensation throughout the compound. Everyone said he was promising, and Chen Yu watched with envy. Now, with Zhang Zhonghua's fame spreading throughout Fuzhou, Chen Yu suddenly seemed to be enjoying the same treatment as that classmate who got into Peking University back then.

He has a bright future in everyone's eyes.

"Rather than saying I made the arrangements, it's more accurate to say that your own abilities and character make you qualified for the position of liaising with me in the new company. Anyway, I've already said that I'll only accept you from Nanguang Company. If we don't use you, and Zhou Ping and Ding Shenghua send anyone else, they'll be responsible for any problems that arise due to inadequate coordination!"

Zhang Zhonghua sounded quite assertive on the phone.

Chen Yu expressed his gratitude repeatedly and said that he would definitely do his job well.

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Zhonghua noticed that Zhang Chen was staring at him, so he asked, "What's wrong? Is there something on my face?"

Zhang Chen smiled and shook his head, saying, "Dad, I think you've already got the air of a great general!"

Zhang Zhonghua felt very comfortable being praised by his son.

It seems like it's been a long time since I've been treated like a hero by my son. When he was little, he used to carry Zhang Chen high on his back, like a horse on its shoulders, and he would think he was a hero.

As I grew older, I felt that my dad was a hero for riding his bicycle to take me to school and pick me up every day, rain or shine.

As he grew older and began to rebel, he started to think that his father was no good in any way—a coward, a spineless man, a middle-aged man who had bowed his head to life and lost all his edges. Meanwhile, his father was annoyed by Zhang Chen's poor grades and troublesome behavior, worrying about his future. The two argued frequently, each arguing with the other, like two thorns at each other. Sometimes, the anger even made his heart ache, and he knew that the version of himself his son had seen as a hero in his childhood was probably gone forever.

However, things took an unexpected turn; who could have known that fate would bring so many changes?
Zhang Zhonghua said, "That's not true. In the future, the signing authority will be in my hands. Without my signature, they won't be able to move even a single screw on the production line."

Zhang Chen felt that having control over core technologies was awesome.

Now even Zhou Ping and Ding Shenghua of the Nam Kwong Group have to rely on Zhang Zhonghua's whims!
(End of this chapter)