Age of Legends

Chapter 284 Resentment
In 2001, when Zhang Chen returned to the beginning of his senior year winter break, Tencent had just encountered a public outcry over its paid registration policy. Internal voices led to a policy shift, and it was during this period that Zhang Chen and Tencent reached a preliminary verbal agreement on a future bet on the future of the Tencent gaming industry.

Huang Huifen's Xuhui Real Estate Lanyuan project has completed its first phase and obtained a pre-sale permit. Pre-sales are about to begin, which is crucial for quickly recovering funds. The entire company is planning and is caught in a strange balance of chaos and order every day.

Zhang Zhonghua then devoted himself to the establishment of the joint venture, a process fraught with difficulties. During the technical verification of FD29, he embarrassed the South Korean side, and now the South Korean representative, Park Jung-soo, had lost face, which would be detrimental to future cooperation. Therefore, he launched a strong counterattack, proposing many stringent standards for mass production at the meeting, demanding that Zhang Zhonghua ensure that the technical parameters and mass production stability met the South Korean standards, otherwise it would affect Zhang Zhonghua's realization of the patent dividends valued at 1.7 million yuan.

On the other hand, the government also demanded that Zhang Zhonghua gain control over the technological discourse and leverage his position as China's technical representative to secure favorable terms, in order to avoid the frequent instances where South Korea demanded that China abandon its independent technological path. Now, this power struggle has led to the first issue: the naming of the joint venture.

Don't underestimate the importance of naming; it can absolutely determine the power distribution between the two parties. For example, there is currently a three-way joint venture between M&G Display, Nanguang, and LG Philips, but the final name of the joint venture is "LG Philips M&G Electronics".

First, the name "LG Philips" had to be placed first, both to demonstrate their technological dominance and to establish their brand. Only after this was the name "Chenguang" (meaning "Morning Light"), used by Chenguang Display Technology, a joint venture led by the Rongcheng Municipal Government, to highlight its identity. However, the South Korean side firmly disagreed with the inclusion of the full name "Chenguang Display" in the joint venture, which was seen as a manifestation of technological suppression.

Zhang Zhonghua still compromised, mainly because he controlled the FD29 sunshade and electron gun technology. The Korean side had no choice but to compromise. In contrast, other joint ventures of LG Philips in China were almost all called "LG Philips Branch in a Certain Region." Although everyone knew they were joint ventures, the name only reflected that they were LG Philips companies.

Therefore, in this process, Namkwang Company, which acted as the contract manufacturer, was not even mentioned. This essentially explains the ownership structure of the new joint venture. The Korean side is dominant, while Zhang Zhonghua acts as a middleman, backed by the government, to prevent the Korean side from achieving technological hegemony.

As for Zhou Ping and Ding Shenghua, the general managers of Nanguang Company, they were immediately ranked below Zhang Zhonghua in the new company, which infuriated them. Unfortunately, the die was cast. They had originally intended to use Zhang Zhonghua to gain technical control in the joint venture and enhance their own power. Who knew that in their eyes, Zhang Zhonghua had pulled off a clever switcheroo, maneuvering himself into the Chinese technical representative position in the joint venture. His power immediately surpassed theirs.

These two were still resentful, but everyone in Nanguang Company knew their inner workings and was shocked. Zhang Zhonghua, originally an engineer ostracized by them, had been transferred because he didn't know how to "use connections" or pull strings with Zhou Ping. Who knew he would pull off such a brilliant comeback?

Parents within Nam Kwong Company are now using this story to teach their children: "Look at the use of studying! This is its practical application. Zhang Chen's father, Uncle Zhang Zhonghua, has become the CEO of a new company because of his invention patents, which even Koreans have to take seriously! He's now worth billions and he calls the shots in this new company! This is the meaning of studying!"

This statement is actually a bit of an exaggeration. South Koreans have a history of not vying for the CEO position in joint ventures, in order to avoid arousing suspicion from the Chinese government. They actually value production capacity control more than nominal positions. For example, Park Jung-soo serves as COO, Chief Operating Officer, and Vice President of Global Supply Chain for the South Korean side in the new company. He holds the power to influence technology and controls most of the core technologies, which is far more powerful than those so-called CEOs. They can control your operations at will.

This time, the South Korean side had no choice but to rely on Zhang Zhonghua. Therefore, Zhang Zhonghua also established an internal technical committee. Zhang Zhonghua's technical committee and the South Korean COO shared the equipment management password. Both parties had to be present to start the core machine, and Zhang Zhonghua's signature was also required.

These are all the various aspects of the establishment of the joint venture. However, in the process, Zhang Zhonghua became increasingly aware that he needed to shed the shackles brought about by the titles preceding the company name.

In this situation where both parents are extremely busy, Zhang Chen has the greatest autonomy.

"We want to eat hot pot! We want to eat hot pot!"

Winter break is here, but the party group is still not done. Last time they went hiking together, Zhang Chen and Shen Nuoyi unlocked the achievement of a date alone, Zheng Xue unlocked the achievement of hiking with Shen Nuoyi's best friend and making Han Zhouxuan jealous, and Xiao Wang unlocked the achievement of ordinary physical exercise and being a third wheel.

Everyone is looking forward to the next gathering.

Today, during a discussion in the group chat, Wang Shuowei and Zheng Xue unanimously requested to have hot pot because of the cold weather. Zhang Chen and Shen Nuoyi complied; what could they do, they spoiled them.

These two together are a real handful, and they seem to have become the darlings of the group of four.

The hot pot they were going to eat was Shancheng Hot Pot, located across from Tonglu Bridge. This hot pot restaurant has been popular for a long time. The storefront may not be very fancy, but the ingredients are fresh and the taste is excellent. In the past, Zhang Chen would have complained about the smell of hot pot on his clothes, but now, his body actually enjoys strong flavors.

Before leaving, Zhang Chen sent Shen Nuoyi a text message: "How are you getting there? Or should I pick you up?"

"No need, my mom and I are outside, we'll take a taxi there ourselves."

Shen Nuoyi and her mother were shopping for clothes when Ning Wenjing asked who had eaten with them that day, and Shen Nuoyi listed them off. When Ning Wenjing heard Zhang Chen's name, she paused for a moment, then casually asked, "So, you're not going to meet up with Pei Yan anymore?"

Shen Nuoyi shook her head.

Ning Wenjing then asked, "And what about Han Zhouxuan?"

Shen Nuo said, "We need to chat online; she's busy too." Recently, Han Zhouxuan has been frantically updating her social media with pictures of her travels and activities, especially since she's studying in the UK and has recently traveled to the American Great Cliffs, exploring everywhere without returning to China. In the past, Shen Nuoxuan would always come back to visit her, especially during winter break. The winter break for senior year of high school was short, and it passed in a flash.

Ning Wenjing nodded. "How are you getting there later? Should I take you?"

"No need, I'll take a taxi. You go ahead with your work, I'll take my things home."

Although Ning Wenjing doesn't interfere with Shen Nuoyi's overall direction at the moment, she clearly has a better grasp of her movements, and Shen Nuoyi is actually aware of her intentions.

The main purpose is to prevent people from crossing the line.

When the time came, Shen Nuoyi and Ning Wenjing parted ways, hailed a taxi, got in, and drove away.

Seeing her usually composed daughter moving with a slightly hurried pace, Ning Wenjing felt a pang of sadness. When her daughter was younger, she had always cherished the time spent shopping with her. Now, it wasn't easy to say anything; after all, she was a promising student for Tsinghua University, and there was no other way to scold her. So, she could only swallow her resentment.

(End of this chapter)