Those Years When I Was Forced to Top the Forbes List

Chapter 282 Looking Back on the Path We've Traveled

Chen Xuebing paused for a moment, then quickly recovered, took off his glasses, and put them in his pocket.

Lin Huixiang gasped, "It really is you! What a coincidence!"

"You guys have business here...?" Chen Xuebing glanced around, avoiding eye contact with Xin Mengzhen.

In fact, he had been consciously looking away for those few seconds, and he still couldn't see Xin Mengzhen's face clearly.

The last time we met was in March. We haven't seen each other for half a year and haven't been in touch. The situation is different now, and I can't use excuses like "being angry" to brush it off.

He and Xin Mengzhen broke up.

Nobody said it.

“Mengzhen is here too…” Lin Huixiang wanted to say that Xin Mengzhen also had a company nearby, but hesitated for a moment.

"Let's talk some business here," Xin Mengzhen suddenly said.

"Hmm." Chen Xuebing nodded with his hands on his hips. "Me too, I came to check it out."

Lin Huixiang frowned: "You... are you conducting an inspection? Isn't Zhanxun located in Zhangjiang?"

"Oh, not Spreadtrum, upstairs, another company." Chen Xuebing pointed upstairs.

As he spoke, his gaze finally settled on Xin Mengzhen.

The hair no longer has the slight frizz of when it was tied in a high ponytail; the flowing luster of the straight hair seems to have been polished by time.

Her style of dress has also changed, from the seriousness she showed when she first entered the workplace to a combination of comfort and sophistication—the same white shirt, with the collar slightly open and the cuffs rolled up twice, paired with cropped trousers and loafers, as if she had given herself a little more leeway.

Her exquisitely beautiful face is the core of her outfit; this simple combination looks poetic on her figure.

"I have more important things to do, and I don't have time to linger in front of the mirror."

When Chen Xuebing saw her, he couldn't help but feel an artistic aura surrounding him, and his eyes were filled with a touch of aesthetic appreciation. This entrepreneurial town, full of industrial style and slightly hot, seemed to have gained a more photogenic beauty at this moment.

Incidentally, I noticed that her slender wrists seemed somewhat empty, like a page of paper waiting to be signed.

This painting should be paired with a watch.

Brown alligator leather, vintage dial.

Tsk tsk.

A monster that inspires creativity.

"Upstairs? Arm?" Xin Mengzhen looked upstairs, his voice pulling him back to reality.

"Hmm, you know?" Chen Xuebing asked with interest.

“Yes, we’ve had someone give us lessons here, and we plan to learn from your Turkey solution.” Xin Mengzhen was very direct. “We’re trying to provide our clients with a one-stop service for OEM manufacturing and sourcing, from component procurement to PCB design and fabrication, SMT and DIP processing, and testing and inspection throughout the entire process.”

"PCBA mode? Not bad."

When the conversation turned to work, Chen Xuebing's thoughts flowed much more smoothly, and he smiled and said, "You guys got ARM to train you? You're not going to make phones too, are you?"

ODM factories like Xin Mengzhen's are different from OEM factories like Foxconn. They not only process according to the drawings provided by customers, but also do their own designs. Some large factories may buy their solutions and have them produce them, add some storage, peripheral modules, heat dissipation optimization, etc., and then sell them under their own brand.

Lenovo, for example, nowadays does this with over 90% of its products. Their focus is not on design and manufacturing, but on quality control and assembly. That's why many people call Lenovo an assembly plant or a sales plant. They operate with a heavy brand and light assets, and behind them are a bunch of ODMs.

Chen Xuebing looked around and laughed, "You're here to find clients, but you've turned your attention back to China? Which company are you doing the manufacturing for? It's not Lenovo, is it?"

He continued to use a bunch of logical guesses to prove his judgment.

However, this time the guess was wrong.

"Mr. Chen thinks too highly of us. We can't get into Lenovo's quality control. We provide solutions for ASUS and assembly for HP."

Xin Mengzhen's laughter had changed somewhat, now crisp and clear with a gentle resonance.

Chen Xuebing's expression hardened slightly.

ASUS and HP are both computer manufacturers these days.

"Making computers? Then you should get training on x86 from Intel, why are you looking for Arm?"

“Arm’s architecture can improve energy efficiency, can’t we learn from it?” Xin Mengzhen tilted her head, with a hint of questioning and pride.

"Wow, you learn very quickly, and you develop very quickly too," Chen Xuebing said with some admiration.

Xin Mengzhen must not have been involved in her family business for very long, and her family didn't used to be computer OEM manufacturers. At most, they made educational machines and handheld black-and-white devices. Her coming to ARM to learn must not have been taught by her family.

“You’re not bad either.” Xin Mengzhen tilted her head slightly, smiling with her eyes narrowed.

Chen Xuebing squinted and couldn't help but laugh.

He liked Xin Mengzhen because they resonated with each other.

But there's also a hint of competitiveness.

I enjoy watching her run on the same track as me, but she can't catch up with me.

It's interesting.

So he raised his hand to check his watch, and added condescendingly:

"Where are you going? I'm having dinner with Mr. Liu from Lenovo tonight. I'll introduce you to the boss of the quality control department."

Lin Huixiang's eyes lit up.

The CEO of Lenovo?
Lenovo, isn't that a very big company?
What level is this Mr. Liu at Lenovo?
She excitedly patted Xin Mengzhen on the back, her eyes darting around as if sending a telegram.

Hurry up and go!

Instead of wasting time arguing with someone's manager, why not have a meal with the CEO?
Xin Mengzhen, however, was well aware of the significance of the character "willow" in the association.

MediaTek CEO Cai and Lenovo CEO Liu, these two figures she could never see, were like two heavy weights on one side of a scale.

—On the other side was her pride, which did not bow down, but was instead smashed high.

"Where's the important person?" Xin Mengzhen smiled slightly. "Such an important gathering, I won't take up your time, go on ahead."

"Eh?"

Lin Huixiang glared at the silly girl, but when she realized that the girl was being stubborn, she quickly turned around and tried to persuade Chen Xuebing to stay.

"Chen Xuebing, I haven't thanked you yet about MediaTek! We're just about to go to Wang Baohe, the one from last time! Shall I treat you and Mengzhen to dinner?"

The wording of "I invite you and Mengzhen" is very particular, and there is a big difference between it and "I and Mengzhen invite you".

"I have a dinner engagement tonight," Chen Xuebing hesitated slightly, but then subtly gave Lin Huixiang a knowing look.

"Those business gatherings don't provide enough food!" Lin Huixiang said knowledgeably, holding Xin Mengzhen in one hand and gripping Chen Xuebing's arm with the other, adopting a forceful sales pitch.

Lin Huixiang's not-so-strong body now bore the heavy responsibility of tethering a beautiful, stubborn donkey and a wealthy white horse.

Just then, a black Mercedes pulled up in front of the three of them, and the window rolled down.

"Mr. Chen?" the driver asked questioningly.

Lin Huixiang was overjoyed to see reinforcements arrive. She opened the back door of the car and forcefully shoved Xin Mengzhen inside. Then she opened the passenger door and got in herself, waving to Chen Xuebing.

"Get in! Driver, do you know Jiujiang Road?"

The driver was a little confused.

Chen Xuebing scratched his head, laughed out loud, and then gave Xin Mengzhen, who was leaning against the door, a meaningful look.

Is it convenient?

Xin Mengzhen closed her eyes and sighed helplessly to her best friend, then sat down a little further inside.

As Chen Xuebing got into the car and closed the door, she sighed and returned to her body. She smelled that familiar, clean, and refreshing scent, which evoked her memories and a touch of longing. Her long eyelashes fluttered slightly.

Only when Chen Xuebing got close did he realize that the fragrance on her body was no longer faint, and he felt an urge to embrace her and savor it.

But due to reality, he could only endure it, his fingers tapping slowly and rhythmically on the doorknob, revealing his inner state.

Xin Mengzhen opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Go ahead and smoke if you want, it's your car, it's fine."

Chen Xuebing paused for a moment, then smiled and shook his head, indicating that he did not want to smoke.

But the driver in the front seat, upon hearing this, slowed down and thoughtfully handed over a car ashtray.

Chen Xuebing smiled abruptly, realizing that the girl seemed to have noticed something and told him to calm down.

So he stopped pretending, took out a cigarette, took a puff, and inhaled some of the faint fragrance in the air.

A top-quality puff of smoke after a long period of abstinence.

"call"

He shook off the cigarette ash before opening the window to let the cool breeze in.

We thoroughly enjoyed the crab feast.

Chen Xuebing always wanted to prove that everything had changed, but when it came to eating, he wanted to prove that everything seemed unchanged, just like when he ate heartily when buying a house in Shanghai, acting like he had never seen the world before.

Humans are contradictory creatures, and Xin Mengzhen is no exception.

When her grandfather was sick, she said she wouldn't talk about work anymore, which bored Chen Xuebing. But now that Chen Xuebing wants to talk about something else, she keeps quiet about the past and only talks about work during the meal, which still leaves Chen Xuebing bored.

When Chen Xuebing came out of Wang Baohe's house, it was already dark. He made a phone call.

Xin Mengzhen lowered her head and unconsciously kicked the paving stones.

After Chen Xuebing hung up the phone, Lin Huixiang asked again, "Where to now?"

Chen Xuebing looked at Xin Mengzhen and took the initiative to invite her: "How about we go have some fun together? It's at No. 3 Bund, Huangpu Club, there should be a lot of people there."

“I’m not going, you go ahead,” Xin Mengzhen shook her head, refusing.

It's no longer appropriate for her to attend such public events.

That belongs to Yang Qingyue.

How could a girl be so insensitive? During the Lunar New Year, Yang Qingyue and she were both in Hong Kong. On New Year's Eve, Yang Qingyue specially went to Victoria Harbour to take photos. Later, around July, Yang Qingyue collected those photos into a photo album and named it "You".

She still harbored a sliver of hope that this "you" might be someone else.

When they met in the afternoon, she noticed that Chen Xuebing was holding a phone of a model she had never seen before, with such a smooth frame. She was quite pleased at that moment.

But when Chen Xuebing took out that old-fashioned cell phone with the wood grain pendant while eating and made a call, she already understood.

Chen Xuebing may be carefree, but he's not stupid. If Yang Qingyue has another boyfriend, he wouldn't still be wearing that pendant.

She could even guess from that photo when they started dating.

Chen Xuebing wasn't a god, so of course he couldn't guess such a complex psychological process. Seeing Xin Mengzhen's insistence, he prepared to give up.

Lin Huixiang, however, kept adding fuel to the fire: "Mengzhen, it's only a little past six o'clock, how boring! The Bund is so close, let's go take a look!"

"Why don't you go play with him?" Xin Mengzhen glanced at Lin Huixiang, but did not show her emotions.

“Okay! Then you go home, I’ll go with him!” Lin Huixiang immediately took Chen Xuebing’s arm.

This really messed up Chen Xuebing and Xin Mengzhen's emotions.

A little bit shy.

Just as Chen Xuebing was about to push Lin Huixiang's hand away, Lin Huixiang squeezed his hand harder, her eyebrows twitching as she faced the opposite street, and whispered without moving her lips, "Drink more later. If you get drunk, I'll take you home!"

At that moment, Chen Xuebing had a sudden inspiration.

Suddenly it occurred to me that Lin Huixiang should be staying at Xin Mengzhen's house right now.

go home…

An irrepressible smile gradually spread across his lips.

Good comrade!

What a good comrade!
He solemnly promised himself: He must say a few good words about Lu Mingyu to MediaTek CEO Tsai!
You also need the right equipment and rank! The support player even volunteered to match with us, and they're incredibly skilled!

"Alright then, we're off!"

Chen Xuebing waved to Xin Mengzhen and walked away without looking back.

Lin Huixiang, arm in arm with Chen Xuebing, turned back and waved to Xin Mengzhen: "Bye-bye, baby! Go home soon! Mua!"

Xin Mengzhen stood there, stunned.

"you!"

Lin Huixiang! How could you hold his arm like that!
He has a girlfriend!
……

Six fifty.

The evening breeze from the Huangpu River, carrying the damp heat of summer, swept over the Baroque-style columns of the century-old building.

On the fifth floor of No. 3 Bund, Chen Xuebing had just stepped out of the elevator when he saw the gilded dragon at the entrance illuminated by golden lights, so bright it was dazzling.

The sounds of the pipa and saxophone harmonized, accompanied by a female voice singing the old-fashioned tune of "Shanghai Nights".

It was Chen Xuebing's first time attending a Shanghai night banquet, and he looked around with some curiosity. Lin Huixiang, who had adjusted her skirt in the elevator, now appeared poised and elegant.

"Mr. Chen!"

Liu Chuan, wearing a well-fitting silver-gray vest, came out to greet him.

"President Liu," Chen Xuebing said with a smile, shaking hands.

"They're all old friends inside! Let me introduce you!"

Liu Chuan didn't linger at the door and led him inside.

Just a few steps in, we entered a small, sophisticated hall with a military-style ambiance. There were booths on both sides, but in the middle was a large, round dining table that looked rather out of place. It was set with a lot of exquisite dishes, and about a dozen people were chatting in twos and threes in the booths, like a living room, with the guests waiting for the meal to start.

The window was open, and the Huangpu River stretched out before us, with a ferry passing by.

Someone sat alone in a booth by the bed, holding a wine glass and drinking alone in the night.

—As soon as Chen Xuebing entered the hall, he saw the square-headed man drinking alone.

Liu Chuan clapped his hands, drawing attention in the hall, and said in a very authoritative tone:
"Oh, we have a new friend! Let me introduce you! This is Chen Xuebing, the boss of Gu'an Group and Spreadtrum Communications! You can call him the Stock God if you like! Yongping, no offense intended—Mr. Chen's current profits are even higher than yours! Hahaha!"

"Mr. Chen! I've heard so much about you!"

A thin, middle-aged man wearing a red polo shirt and sporting a labor camp hairstyle stood up, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and exuded a strong sense of江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry).

Chen Xuebing recognized Shi Dazui at a glance and returned the greeting with a smile and a fist salute.

Shi Yuzhu may look like a gangster, but he is actually a top scorer in the county's college entrance examination and a high-achieving student in the mathematics department of Zhejiang University.

A couple of years ago, JJ Lin wrote a song called "Knowing How to Read Books," which included the line, "I don't understand why people in this day and age can still say that reading good books will make you rich. It's really silly."

Once you enter the circle of wealthy people in mainland China these days, you realize that if you're not good at studying, you really look stupid.

Zhang Chaoyang, Department of Physics, Tsinghua University, PhD from MIT.

Li Yanhong, Department of Information Management, Peking University.

Lei Jun missed Tsinghua University by 14 points and went to Wuhan University instead.

Liu Qiangdong, Renmin University.

Li Guoqing, Peking University.

Guo Guangchang and Lu Zhiqiang, Fudan University.

Ma Huateng's score was actually quite high, over 730 out of 900. Even with a total score of 750, that's over 600 points.

Going further back in time, there are those who never had the opportunity to study.

He glanced around as he came in and spotted several familiar faces. The one with the worst grades was probably the square-headed guy sitting by the window drinking.

I took the college entrance exam three times. The last time, I was 5 points short of the undergraduate admission line, but because of my good English score, I was admitted to Hangzhou Normal University.

It's similar to his experience of going from a second-tier university to a key university.

"President Chen, listen to what President Liu has to say."

A middle-aged man in a suit walked over and shook hands with him, but paused slightly as he got closer.

Chen Xuebing smiled and extended his hand: "President Guo, we just met before the New Year, you haven't forgotten, have you?"

Guo Guangchang frowned, his memory beginning to surface.

"Oh! Mr. Chen, it's you!"

His shout aroused curiosity among the others.

Liu Chuan frowned and asked, "Guangchang knows Xuebing?"

“Yes, yes, I know her! We’ve been to meetings together! And there’s a junior from Fudan University too.” Guo Guangchang blurted out, then, noticing Lin Huixiang next to Chen Xuebing, added cautiously, “And this is…”

Upon hearing this, Lin Huixiang immediately looked at Chen Xuebing: "Is he talking about Mengzhen?"

Chen Xuebing nodded.

Lin Huixiang immediately smiled and raised her hand to shake hands with Guo Guangchang: "President Guo, I am a good friend of my junior from Fudan University. My junior from Fudan University has something to do today and can't come. I will keep an eye on President Chen for her. I am from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. You can just call me my junior from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics."

Guo Guangchang laughed heartily: "Hahaha, I understand! I get it! You're very pretty, junior from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics!"

"Thank you, Mr. Guo." Lin Huixiang smiled sweetly, knowing exactly when to stop.

Chen Xuebing chuckled dryly, looked at the man by the window, and asked him to start.

"Mr. Ma, I know him too."

The person on the other end paused for a moment, then turned to stare at Chen Xuebing.

"You are."

Chen Xuebing smiled and said, "We spoke on the phone on New Year's Day 05."

"Huh?" Jack Ma was stunned again.

"If you dare to pay, I dare to compensate." Chen Xuebing said with a smile, revealing the six-word mantra and restoring Ma Yun's memory.

This is also his memory.

Seeing these people today is perhaps a way of looking back on the path they came from.

The air gradually quieted down.

Jack Ma's brows furrowed, his eyes widened, and he suddenly sprang to his feet.

"Holy crap! It's you?!"

(End of this chapter)