Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 472 The Vigor of Eight or Nine O'Clock

The earnest conversation with Wan Bu continued until after 10 p.m.

Instead of getting a chance to dine at a fancy dinner, I ended up eating a boxed lunch.

However, I did gain a lot.

The basic principle of "blooming outside the wall but fragrant inside" has been established.
But when they returned to the hotel, they ran into Tang Xiao Kui, who had a dark expression on her face.

After Zhai Da and the others left in the afternoon, only a young female employee was left to take Tang Xiao Kui around Beijing.

You can't really say that employees are doing housework. The young female employee herself was overjoyed. It was a company-funded trip to a place like northern Beijing. She was all smiles before she left.

Zhai Da didn't have many requirements. Apart from paying attention to safety, the two of them discussed it on their own based on their interests. He only mentioned the need to "take the child to drink soy milk".

Of course, Tang Xiao Kui's dark face wasn't because of the soy milk; in fact, her face turned white when she drank it.

Rather, they felt that Zhai Da had been gone for too long.

"Brother, is this what you meant by 'taking me out to play'?"

"Just tell me whether you came out or not."

"It's out."

"Did I bring the right one?"

".Um."

"Did you play today?"

Tang Xiao Kui:
Seeing that the little girl was almost in tears, Zhai Da stopped teasing her, squatted down, hugged her in his arms, and weighed her in his arms: "Alright, alright, I was just teasing you. I really can't get away today, but I have time tomorrow."

Tang Xiaokui finally smiled. This child was quite understanding. Zhai Dazhen agreed, but then worried that she might be being too willful.

He buried his head in Zhai Da's shoulder and whispered:

"It's okay if you don't have time, brother. Your work is more important."

Zhai Da waved his hand dismissively: "No, I have four specific hours tomorrow."

Tang Xiaokui exclaimed in surprise, "Four hours?!"

That's a lot!

Zhai Da nodded and said, "We got up at 5 a.m. and went to Ditan Park. We've been wanting to go for a while. We have a meeting at 9 a.m., so it's just right."

Tang Xiao Kui:
------

Kidding.

Zhai Da wasn't that cruel; he just got up a little earlier and took Tang Xiao Kui to the morning market.

Cheng Mo and the others also joined in. Compared to the hotel breakfast, the morning market, full of steam and the aroma of cooking, was obviously more authentic.

At a small stall, you can find big fried dough sticks, salted duck eggs, and a bowl of tofu pudding for each person. To get the authentic taste, you have to stroll around and drink it!
Tang Xiao Kui held a large sweet sesame cake, her eyes shining as she ate it.

I was terrified yesterday. I thought all the food in northern Beijing was like douzhi (fermented mung bean juice)!

Zhai Da shook the crumbs off the little girl's skirt and asked Cheng Mo, who was standing beside him, "How was your party last night? Did you get anything out of it?"

Cheng Mo thought for a moment: "It's nothing, they're just some rather traditional businessmen. They even invited several actresses to dance and sing during the meal."

Zhai Da raised an eyebrow.

That's very traditional, almost as traditional as the Republican era.
But thinking about it, it makes sense. They're mostly among the top 100 richest people in China; so-called celebrities are really not enough to compare.

There's no need for sympathy; they might even be eager to sing a song for their sugar daddy to win investment.

Sun Ting asked gossipily, "Who are they? Are they pretty?"

Zhai Da coughed lightly, indicating that there were still children present.

Tang Xiao Kui broke off a piece of sweet sesame cake and brought it to Zhai Da's lips: "Brother, would you like to try some?"

Zhai Da looked at the shiny little hands with disgust, but still ate them.

"There are still three days left in the trip. Today is another seminar, but this time I'm not representing a private company. Instead, I'm an industry technology expert, so it'll probably be even more grueling than yesterday."

Sun Ting was somewhat insecure: "Does someone like me qualify as an expert?"

Zhai Da smiled and said, "Be confident. You are the expert, the expert in silicon carbide semiconductors. Let anyone who thinks they are so great make one themselves."

The second day's agenda was completely different from the first day's, and the scale was much larger.

The huge conference room was filled with more than 60 academicians, more than 40 leading experts from various fields, and experts from various companies, totaling nearly 200 people.

Meetings with this many participants are impossible to understand unless one "only listens and doesn't speak," so they are divided into two parts.

The main conference topics were explained in the morning, while the afternoon sessions were divided into smaller venues based on different industries.

The research institute is categorized into communications, computers, and semiconductors.

For each of the three industries, a concise and to-the-point industry outlook suggestion of no more than 5000 words should be summarized, and then, after evaluation, a decision should be made on whether to include it in the "12th Five-Year Plan".

Zhai Da learned from fellow attendees that similar meetings had been held many times in the past few years, and he could even recite some of the topics by heart.

Such a significant plan would naturally not be rushed into the last few months. It's just that the research institute rose too quickly and we joined too late, which is why everything seems so new.

At the meeting, the research institute submitted its suggestions as industry experts on two aspects: "the market prospects of silicon carbide semiconductors" and "the ecosystem of mobile operating systems".

The two documents were prepared before leaving Dongyang and contained a large amount of data and charts. As for Sun Ting's concern about "conducting scientific discussions with academicians," that did not happen.

Those things that can influence the industrial landscape are inevitably those that lag behind cutting-edge advancements. For example, superconductors with demanding requirements could have been manufactured long ago, so why are we still discussing the "development of the superconductor industry" today?

That's science, not technology.

Moreover, this conference was not entirely innocent. Everyone had their own interests and wanted the country to pay more attention to their field. Even those seemingly uninterested scholars could be implicated by related companies.

Wherever there are people, there is a social dynamic, regardless of whether it is a private enterprise, a state-owned enterprise, or even experts and scholars.

This seems to be a philosophical question: Is it true that listening to only one side leads to ignorance, while listening to both sides always leads to enlightenment?
However, Zhai Da quickly figured it out.

Perhaps the key to decision-making at the higher levels was not "listening" at all.

Instead, they focused on "observation," which is "research."

Everyone's voice, including those of the research institute, may play a secondary role.

The real support comes from data, positioning, and foresight. The sub-venue concluded successfully, but before leaving completely, Zhai Da visited another sub-venue, found the person waiting there, and submitted a brief "Forward-looking Suggestion for the Automotive Industry" of only 1500 words.

The content was actually the same as what he had discussed with Wan Bu yesterday, but according to the agreement, he needed to express his "interest" in this field through official channels.

Finally, on the third day after arriving in northern Beijing, after having breakfast at the morning market again, the researchers put on formal attire and ties.

Unlike many years later, this "Symposium for Private Enterprises" was not open to the public, nor was it filmed by any television stations, and there were not many reporters at the entrance.

With a folder tucked between his legs, Zhai Da strode towards the legendary "East Hall." Compared to the mostly over 50-year-old figures around him, some looking tired and others overweight, he was like the sun at eight or nine in the morning.

The people behind him were also beaming with pride.

This is, after all, a special place.

As for Tang Xiao Kui, since the "East Hall" is also a tourist attraction, we brought her along. Although she couldn't enter the venue, it was still quite interesting to stroll around inside.

"Go for it, bro! You're awesome!"

Zhai Da waved his hand and walked into the venue.

As one of the speakers, his seat was in the first row.

His seat wasn't in the center; after all, he was a newcomer.

After all, the people in the same row were all veterans who had been in the business world for many years.

Cheng Mo and the others were seated a few rows behind, so they couldn't be bothered with that for the time being.

About ten minutes later, all the attendees arrived, and a group of people walked in from the side of the stage in front of them. Among them were Lu Bu and Wan Bu, whom Zhai Da knew well.

Oh, and there's another person I barely know; I gave him a quick glance at the World Expo opening ceremony, and he's also one of today's hosts.

The meeting started smoothly, and the host began his "keynote speech".

The content was basically the same as what he knew before, but Zhai Da still keenly noticed that some wording had been revised.

Given such specifications, the wording should be scrutinized. Whether it is "大力" (vigorously) or "全力" (all-out effort), "倡" (advocate) or "倡" (promote), each has its own interpretation and requires careful consideration.

This process lasted about 20 minutes, followed by separate speeches from each department.

The departments listed are, in order: the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Ministry of Commerce.

Finally, it was time for the most important part of the presentations for private enterprises.

The general content has already been submitted for the seminar. Each person has 10 minutes, which is not short. After ten people have finished speaking and there are interludes, two hours will have passed.

Zhai Da spoke in the eighth seat, so he still had time to organize his thoughts while listening to what others were saying.

After listening to a few, he felt somewhat surprised.

Whether it's a well-established, large enterprise or a rapidly growing emerging company.

Whether it's agriculture and food chain-related industries that directly impact people's livelihoods, or real estate companies that are making a fortune.

Almost every entrepreneur's speech carried a subtle sense of "reporting bad news".

Yes, almost everyone is talking about how much pressure and challenges they face in their own field.

High labor costs, excessive tax burden, and low local efficiency.
We hope the business environment will be even better, we hope the government will provide more subsidies, and we hope banks will be more lenient in lending.

Food regulations are too strict, stock market regulations are too strict, and production qualification requirements are too strict.
These incredibly wealthy entrepreneurs all seem to have a deep sense of "crisis awareness." Listening to their stories, one gets the feeling that every industry is in dire need of rebuilding and that it's tough to make a living in any of them.

Extremely unpleasant!

But clearly, this was a decade of rapid economic growth in China.

It was the decade when capital created the most wealth.

It was Zhai Da who, sitting on a small stool in Utopia, handpicked a decade of opportunities for everyone.

It wasn't until the seventh speaker finished speaking that Zhai Da finally understood.
Perhaps this is how they deal with the state, a tacit understanding among many who have become wealthy first.

He could see that "Liu Zhonglie" spoke with great intonation and commanding presence, just like a national business leader.

We can also see real estate tycoons listing data from abroad and advocating for the financialization of real estate.

But what he couldn't see was a kind of vitality.

A surge of vigor rising above the tide.

Finally, it was the eighth seat's turn to speak.

Inside the meeting room, everyone turned to a page of the pre-prepared meeting agenda.

Then everyone saw the topic of the speech from the "Mechanical Core Research Institute".

A small commotion spread throughout the East Hall, and even above the main stage, many people raised their eyebrows slightly.

They actually saw that person's famous quote in the title of a speech given by a private enterprise.

It is a completely different perspective, one that has not been proposed at similar conferences for years or even decades.

According to the rules, Zhai Da did not need to stand up; he simply moved the microphone closer to him and then pressed the switch.

"Thank you to the organization and the country for giving us the opportunity to speak. The Mechanical Core Research Institute is a startup company. Please forgive us if there is anything inappropriate."

A soft laugh rang out. This company, which was riding high globally and had captured both the "mobile operating system" and "third-generation semiconductor" markets, called itself a "startup," which was quite amusing.

But, it doesn't seem like there's anything wrong with it.

Countless eyes turned towards them.

Sixty-one years later, eight words were extracted from that old man's book, "The Relationship Between the United States and China".

It was brought up again.

"The theme of my speech is: Be wary of the retreat of globalization and rule-breakers."
"Abandon illusions and prepare for struggle."

　The high-risk parts will not be elaborated on in terms of the speeches and meeting process; they will be left blank.

　　The basic concept has been mentioned many times since the beginning of this book, and it was very ahead of its time 10 years ago.

　　Although we are dealing with this now, to be honest, we are still not prepared enough. If we had been a few years earlier, we would have been more proactive.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)