My Lord, you need to stand up!

Chapter 351 We're all lords, let's see who grovels to whom.
Wei Dong had no idea who the man facing him was.

This is none other than Steve Jobs, the chosen one of the computer age, the emperor of electronic fashion, the eternal guru, the father of smartphones, the godfather of Apple fans, the prophet and liberator of the animation world, the pioneer of consumer electronics, the trailblazer of digital products and the god of the entire industry, the investor favorite who raised the fastest IPO in Wall Street history, and the inventor of the Apple computer.

This white man, who is only thirty years old, became the world's youngest self-made billionaire five years ago thanks to Apple's IPO.

He is practically the best spokesperson for Citibank's dream.

They had no idea what kind of era of frenzy the other side would unleash with Apple phones in the next twenty years.

As a veteran security guard in an administrative civil service unit, he ensured that there were almost no Apple mobile phone users in the vicinity of Weidong.

He wasn't even familiar with the names of these people, let alone the brand.

Moreover, the Apple Macintosh computer on the table uses an early, colorful Apple logo.

Most people who aren't tech enthusiasts wouldn't be particularly interested in this logo; their attention would be entirely focused on the computer itself, and they wouldn't associate it with Apple phones at all.

But every point he made was absolutely "correct".

Personal computers will inevitably become graphical user interfaces, and computers all over the world will eventually move towards this style, but whether it will be the current brand system is unknown.
The mouse will eventually have two buttons, and most of them will become streamlined and ergonomically designed to fit the palm of the hand.

Computer games are the most, most, most important part of a computer, and even determine the frequency of hardware upgrades. In order to play more powerful games, people are willing to upgrade their hardware.

This is precisely the seemingly insignificant corner missing from the Macintosh computer in front of us.

This was also the most agonizing and frustrating period of Steve's entire life.

The Macintosh, released last year, consumed a lot of the listed company's R&D funds and production resources, but sales were not good, with sales far below expectations.

The entire board of directors and stock investors were all shouting for this failed leader to get out.

Even if it was a company he founded himself, he lost absolute control after it went public. If the performance was poor, he would be letting down the investments of countless shareholders and should be replaced and fired.

To paraphrase that workplace idiom, when sales are down, it's wrong whichever foot you step into the company first.

Steve is now caught in a huge public relations crisis due to his arrogance, extravagance, nepotism, harsh management, and humiliation of employees.

In Citibank, a highly developed financial, commercial, and media industry, he was being "cyberbullied" from all sides, much like a trending topic on the internet thirty or forty years later. This was compounded by various negative news surrounding him, including his past as a hippie, drug use, abandonment of women, and disownment of his own children before founding Apple.

It was almost on the verge of falling apart when the World Expo came to support Apple computers.

At this point, Steve was at loggerheads with the professional managers and financial investors.

I met this young man from the East almost by accident.

Steve, who was about to cash out all his Apple shares and become a billionaire, extended an invitation to Ron Weidong: "Would you like to come with me to Citibank? I believe you have the talent to change the computer world."

If it were any mainland Chinese in this era, they would probably be overjoyed. In this age of the frenzy of going abroad, at least they could go and see paradise.

Unexpectedly, Wei Dong refused without hesitation: "Thank you, but I don't need it. I only care about one thing: can you get me a cheap 6502 chip? We have money, we're not beggars who need your charity and handouts."

Why was Steve Jobs attacked by professional managers, investors, shareholders, and the media? Besides the fact that his sales failure ruined everyone's interests, the surface reason was that he was only kind to geniuses.

He only likes those brilliant tech geniuses, computer prodigies, and business geniuses. He can be very respectful to these people, treat them like brothers, and give everything to satisfy them. He is irritable and disgusted with all ordinary people, wishing he could make these idiots his slaves.

Both sides are going to extremes.

So when they see such an unconventional guy, they like him even more, and they put their arms around each other's shoulders: "You can't do this even with just a chip."

Wei Dong proudly declared: "I own a factory. I have my own bakelite and plastics factory, my own radio cassette player factory, and I can handle almost all semiconductor components, except for the 6502 chip."

This was in 1985, a critical juncture when mainland China's electronic products were not yet far behind the world's.

In other words, although European and American countries can make 1-micron chips, the mainstream is still 3-micron, while China can make 5-micron chips. Not to mention that a couple of years ago we were still exporting electronic equipment to Japan.

The following decade saw a dramatic drop in performance. In an effort to catch up, the mainland resorted to purchasing technology instead of conducting research, which quickly halted the development of its own R&D personnel and even created a talent gap, which was the most damaging aspect.

The 1990s were precisely the golden age when Moore's Law began to take off, and the IT and electronics industries were changing dramatically every moment.

So once you start earning some money to catch up on lessons, you'll have to pay a heavy price.

Steve immediately asked the same question that had been bothering him earlier: "You can really make it for $99?"

Wei Dong found it simple; he turned on the keyboard.

That's right, it's just the somewhat clunky keyboard in front of the Macintosh computer: "Make the back of the keyboard bigger, stuff all the circuit boards inside, no need for a monitor, no need for storage... the cartridge is the storage device, keep changing the cartridge, do you see Nintendo's Famicom?" Qin Yuye translated with difficulty, but it didn't matter that she didn't know the technical terms, Wei Dong could fill in the words himself.

If you had never seen a learning machine, no one would associate the Famicom with a computer.

But once professionals are enlightened about this relationship—the kind of relationship Wei Dong expressed to the Hong Kong girl in the hotel—the game controller is the keyboard, the game console is the console, and the TV is the monitor, they will suddenly understand.

In fact, even the chips are exactly the same!
The Famicom is only $60 now!

Steve felt as if he had been struck by lightning, his whole body going numb and frozen in place.

Where did my $2500 computer go?
When it comes to graphical interfaces, weren't game consoles the earliest form of graphical representation?

genius!

Steve loves geniuses like this the most.

They can see the exquisite wonders that ordinary people cannot see, and can instantly change the whole world like striking acupoints.

Wei Dong tapped the Macintosh computer case with his finger: "My plastic factory makes these cases for tape recorder factories. They're much bigger than this one. Do you know how much they cost? Twelve yuan..."

Even so, the bakelite factory was already laughing. Chemical raw materials were worthless, and molding was just a mechanical job. Once the order was confirmed, it was all mechanical work.

The translation also needs to take the exchange rate into account. With an exchange rate of about 1:3, that means it would cost four US dollars to make this casing.
Circuit boards and semiconductor components are mostly priced in cents and dimes. That's about it. Besides that, game consoles without monitors consist of just these few things.

It's ridiculously cheap and simple: "So can you get me a 6502?"

Let Weidong be the one who will answer whatever you ask, and I will express everything I know and can say to you. Then, every sentence will be about whether you can give me 6502.
Like a persistent business traveler who finds a business card under the door of a hotel in an unfamiliar place, he becomes interested at this crucial moment and asks only how to get the job done; nothing else matters.

I don't care what billionaire Steve is, I don't know how awesome your company is, and I don't care about any other fancy grand narratives. I just want to know if you have a movie.

Chips.

Steve has seen countless geniuses, and the top ones are all so focused on their own tasks, with everything else being insignificant.

Therefore, he was convinced that Wei Dong was a genius.

When faced with a genius, his gentle and affectionate sycophantic side kicks in, and he puts a tight arm around Wei Dong's shoulder: "Yes, I can arrange for the shipment to be sent to you through a friend right away..."

To stop Wei Dong from making empty promises: "Immediately, right now, we have the money to pay. Can you finalize the order right now? I have an even better idea."

Don't you know about time differences? It's afternoon in Tokyo, but it's still midnight in Los Angeles!

Wei Dong had no idea: "Xiao Qin, ask your older brother for the contact person at Citibank, and go connect with his people immediately. Don't just brag; I need things that I can confirm right now."

Steve, both amused and exasperated, put his arm around Wei Dong's shoulder and led him to the back office to make a phone call.

As the world's best science fair, and the home of Japan, the world's leading electronics industry, especially since it was an office prepared for Citibank, it certainly had the best PBX system.

At this moment, Wei Dong played a trick: "Lowest price, take 20,000 pieces first. I can pay a deposit of US$50,000. After the goods arrive at Shanghai Port, I will pay the remaining balance. Do you have US$50,000 in cash?"

The translator, like a woman desperately seeking a gigolo, nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, I'll have Lawson transfer the money..."

Steve was even more generous than her: "Don't worry about the details, I'll take care of it for you. OK, OK, $8.50 a piece, the first batch of 50,000 pieces will be shipped within a month. You can pay me after you check that everything is in order."

That's why his computer isn't expensive; the marginal cost of paying for geniuses is too high.

He practically gave everything to satisfy geniuses; as long as you could create the most amazing thing, he'd grovel before you.

He wasn't even a professional in computers, IT, software, or electronics; he was simply a leader who could inspire geniuses to risk their lives for him!
Unfortunately, it also awakened the bloodline of Wei Dong's current lord, making him the kind of person who can never be subdued.

After obtaining the chip manufacturer's contact number from Steve, Qin Yuye immediately called his older brother to arrange for a friend at Citibank to take over the negotiations. He emphasized very confidently in Cantonese that this was Weidong's most important order, and that the partner he was currently communicating with was Steve Jobs of Apple...

Qin Zhiming was so frightened in Hong Kong that he almost knelt down: "Is that Steve Jobs himself?"

Looking at the two men who were already lying on the large sofa with their arms around each other, Qin Yuye suddenly worried that they might take things further and impatiently urged them to hang up the phone: "That's right, that's right, hurry up and don't make a mistake!"

He rushed back to work as a translator.

Qin Zhiming made arrangements in a chaotic manner and decided to fly to Tokyo that very night for a pilgrimage!
It's normal for a girl graduating from a girls' school not to know Steve, but for Hong Kong businessmen who are well-versed in the ups and downs of the US stock market and care about technological developments, especially speculators like Qin Zhiming who pay close attention to the development of various new technologies, this is a super expert.

But with Rang Weidong, everyone is on the same level.

(End of this chapter)