Those Years When I Was Forced to Top the Forbes List

Chapter 81 Contacting MediaTek

My trip to Guangzhou on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

At midday, at a teahouse, having morning tea.

Shrimp dumplings, spare ribs, and char siu pastries, accompanied by the girl's laughter.

"The Great Wall is forever lost, the Yellow River flows on and on—"

Chen Xuebing sat casually in the chair, swaying his head and singing along to the music coming from the street outside.

Xin Mengzhen was both angry and amused.

"That's not how it's sung!"

Chen Xuebing stared at the ceiling and shook his head indifferently: "Anyway, you're not going to teach me Cantonese properly. If people ask me in the future, I'll just say I'm a student of Xin Mengzhen."

"Alright, alright, I'll teach you a phrase!" Xin Mengzhen said with a helpless smile:
"Carry a stool, grab the best spot, go to Baietan, and watch the fireworks!"

Xin Mengzhen looked glamorous today, with lipstick on, her lips glossy. She slowly taught him Cantonese and gave Chen Xuebing an ear spa treatment.

She knew her Cantonese sounded a bit affected, so after speaking, she rolled her eyes at Chen Xuebing and then lowered her head shyly.

Gee tut.

Warm oil.

This is what you call fine southern chaff.

Chen Xuebing likes girls like Xin Mengzhen who appear cold on the outside but are passionate on the inside.

Old Deng's mentality gradually gained the upper hand, and he started teasing again:

"Hey, beautiful, my lips are chapped, could you put some lip balm on them for me?"

Who hasn't seen "King of Comedy"?

Xin Mengzhen was so angry that she clenched her little fists to hit him, but when she looked up, she noticed something and suddenly laughed.

Chen Xuebing sensed something was wrong and was about to turn around when a fair hand was extended in front of him.

"We don't have lip balm, but we do have this. Would you like to apply some?"

The fingers in front of her held a rectangular tube of delicate lipstick.

When Chen Xuebing turned around, the scent of perfume wafted out.

She was a girl with her hair in a bun and dressed in a relaxed manner.

Wearing a black floral top and a pencil skirt, she wasn't exactly stunning, but she was definitely pretty.

She gracefully extended her other hand: "Hello, handsome and promising young man, my name is Lin Huixiang."

Chen Xuebing was a little confused, but he still extended his hand and shook hands lightly with her. Then, realizing she was Xin Mengzhen's friend, he smiled in the same flippant tone:

"Not particularly outstanding, just moderately outstanding. Hello, beautiful lady, my name is Chen Xuebing."

Lin Huixiang then smiled and walked towards Xin Mengzhen.

"Where did you find such a scoundrel boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend!" Xin Mengzhen wrinkled her nose and poked her waist.

"He came all the way from out of town to see you on the first day of the Lunar New Year, and you even asked me to introduce him to a manufacturer. What else could he be but your boyfriend? Did he drink all three cups of milk tea that you asked me to buy for you last time? You have quite an appetite."

As Lin Huixiang spoke, she glanced at Chen Xuebing again.

Chen Xuebing was even more confused: "What manufacturer?"

Xin Mengzhen laughed, her tone slightly arrogant: "Didn't you want to open a factory with MediaTek? How can I let you come here for nothing? Sister Huixiang knows a manager at MediaTek, she can introduce you."

Chen Xuebing suddenly realized.

Yesterday afternoon, while he was strolling around Shenzhen, he exchanged a few text messages with Xin Mengzhen and mentioned his idea of ​​opening a factory in Shenzhen.

It's a kind of sharing; he and Xin Mengzhen run the shop together, and there are no secrets about their business.

As a result, Xin Mengzhen called him last night and asked him to come to Guangzhou.

He thought it was a New Year's date invitation, but it turned out to be something else entirely.

Mentioning this, Lin Huixiang looked at the two of them apologetically and said:
"I'm sorry, he's in Liwan and a bit busy. I can't ask him to come over. We might have to go there ourselves."

Xin Mengzhen glanced at Chen Xuebing.

"Oh!" Chen Xuebing immediately smiled and stood up. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about, thank you!"

Lin Huixiang smiled again, looking at Chen Xuebing and said, "Hmm... you're quite tall, but I heard that mothers-in-law in Chongqing are particularly domineering. Mengzhen, I suggest you find a boyfriend from Chaoshan."

Chen Xuebing felt offended, but since the other party was clearly joking, he didn't know what to say.

There seems to be something else behind those words.

As Chen Xuebing was savoring the moment, Xin Mengzhen stood up, embarrassed and annoyed, and pushed Lin Huixiang away with both hands:
"You're so annoying! I told you it's not true! Go away!"

"Hey, hey, hey, you're asking me for help, so be polite!"

……

The Guangzhou Southern Building was once the tallest building in China, standing at 50 meters tall with 12 floors.

Built in 1922, it was formerly known as the Daxin Company outside the city.

It was bombed by Japanese artillery shells and was rebuilt in 1954 and renamed Nanfang Building. The lower floors were once the busiest department store in Guangzhou, the sixth floor was a computer market, and the upper floors were a hotel and restaurants.

I heard that the department store on floors 1-5 is now going to be converted into an international digital wholesale city, just like Huaqiangbei, to wholesale mobile phones.

Of course, Chen Xuebing knew nothing about these things; he only heard them from Lin Huixiang on the way.

She said that Manager Lu from MediaTek usually lives in Shenzhen and will go back to work after the Lunar New Year. He didn't go back to his hometown in Taiwan but stayed at a hotel in the Southern Mansion to investigate the market.

Chen Xuebing was also somewhat tempted. There was a hotel upstairs and a new wholesale market downstairs. Staying here for the time being would be perfect!

He can also take this opportunity to check out the market!
Upon arrival, the first thing that caught my eye was a rather old-fashioned European building, quite beautiful.

Lin Huixiang was a chatterbox, which was a bit out of character for her appearance. She talked the whole way, intentionally or unintentionally mentioning Xin Mengzhen's family.

"Mengzhen, your younger brother will be starting school soon, right?"

"Yes, next year."

"You're more mature now, aren't you? How's your relationship with him?"

"not bad."

Has your family told you what position they will give you at the company?

"No, Sister Huixiang, I haven't gone to university yet, okay?"

“Silly boy, your family is from Chaoshan, and they don’t give any inheritance to girls. You’re so strong-willed, you should start planning ahead.”

"I know, I know, Sister Huixiang, you're so annoying."

After listening for a while, Chen Xuebing suddenly realized the meaning behind Lin Huixiang's words.

It turns out she was reminding him that Xin Mengzhen wouldn't get a share of the family property, and that he shouldn't "overthink it."

Chen Xuebing couldn't help but smile.

He certainly knew these things. Chaoshan merchants were all over the world, and he had known a few of them in his previous life, and they had talked about some Chaoshan customs.

Chaoshan people do not discriminate against girls in their daily lives. Families with some money usually provide a high dowry. It is just a rule passed down from generation to generation that family property is passed down to sons, not daughters.

They seem to dote on their daughters-in-law a bit, because in their minds, the daughter-in-law was raised by someone else's family and came to their own home to serve her parents-in-law, so they feel indebted to her.

Therefore, intermarriage within the Chaoshan region is the most common practice.

However, there are exceptions.

“Not all Chaoshan families are like that, are they? I heard that the Huang family in Shenzhen’s Great China Plaza passed the company on to their daughter, didn’t they? Xin Mengzhen’s grandfather is quite open-minded, isn’t he? She’s so smart, her grandfather will definitely consider it.”

Chen Xuebing, remembering Xin Mengzhen's keen interest in business, figured she must be anxious about this and wanted to offer some words of comfort. Lin Huixiang, hearing this, gave him a knowing look, cast a long, hard glance at Chen Xuebing, and her tone turned colder.
"Passing the inheritance to a daughter? Not even one in a hundred! Besides, how can her grandfather decide such a thing? Her father will inherit the family fortune in the future, okay?"

Even though Chen Xuebing was the one being criticized, Xin Mengzhen was completely unhappy and let go of Lin Huixiang's hand.

"Sister Huixiang! What do you mean?! I'm a Chaoshan girl, and you look down on me? I don't need to rely on my family!"

Lin Huixiang is just a college student. She was a bit reckless in her words just now in an attempt to "warn" Chen Xuebing. Now she finally realized that her words had hurt Xin Mengzhen, and quickly pulled Xin Mengzhen aside and said:

"Goodness, how could I look down on you! I... I'm just worried you'll get hurt."

Xin Mengzhen's face remained etched with worry.

Chen Xuebing chuckled silently and gently patted Xin Mengzhen's back.

“It’s okay. Wasn’t your grandpa quite happy last time? He even gave you an MP4 player. Actually, I can give you some advice on your family business. If you talk to your grandpa, he’ll be very happy. He might even dump your dad and raise you as his heir.”

Lin Huixiang laughed at these words.

Xin Mengzhen knew Chen Xuebing's intelligence; she knew that even Taobao could adopt his suggestions, charging 10,000 yuan per word.

Moreover, she knew that Chen Xuebing also had a major "merchant alliance" plan, which he had not yet revealed to Taobao.

Her eyes lit up slightly; she had finally become interested.

"Really?"

“Really.” Chen Xuebing nodded. “Actually, I think it’s a bit of a waste for your family to just do OEM manufacturing. I’ve been thinking of a few blockbuster products lately. Since you’re home right now, why don’t you mention it to your grandfather and talk about doing targeted independent research and development and creating your own brand? Let’s discuss it when you have some free time.”

"Great!" Xin Mengzhen's eyes were filled with a touch of emotion when she heard that Chen Xuebing had come up with a special idea for her.

Lin Huixiang was on the verge of a breakdown.

what!

How could such a smart girl like Mengzhen be so easily fooled at a time like this? She believes just a few empty words?
Love really makes people stupid!

I'm impressed!
...

Lin Huixiang made a phone call, and the other party said they were on the third floor.

She clung tightly to Xin Mengzhen the whole way, her eyes filled with wariness as she looked at Chen Xuebing.

Chen Xuebing didn't seem to care, but walked around and looked at the surroundings with great interest.

The interior of the Southern Building is very large and is currently undergoing renovation. The interior style is much more mercenary than the exterior, with narrow, winding corridors, small shops on both sides, and average ceiling height, resembling an underground shopping mall.

Although it's not as exaggerated as the one-meter counter in Huaqiangbei, it's only about two meters long.

However, a place like this, with five floors, is enough to accommodate hundreds or even thousands of stalls. If it can truly achieve full occupancy of merchants, it is indeed an electronics wholesale market that can rival Yuanwang.

Unfortunately, it seems there isn't much of a market around here, so it might not be able to achieve the same clustering effect as Huaqiangbei.

On the third floor, in the slightly more spacious central intersection area, a man in his thirties stood in front of a counter under renovation with LED lights on. Lin Huixiang saw him and immediately waved.

"Boss Lu!"

The man turned his head, a smile appearing on his face. As the three approached, he adjusted his glasses and said:
"Excuse me! Our company is planning to set up a chip display case here, and we'd like to trouble you to make the trip."

He spoke with a light Taiwanese accent, and was very polite, like a technician.

"It's alright, since you've come to Guangzhou, I should treat you to a meal." Lin Huixiang said politely, then turned and introduced:

"This is Mr. Chen, who is looking to cooperate with you. He's a friend of my sister. Mr. Chen, this is Mr. Lu from MediaTek, Lu Mingyu! His family also has shares in MediaTek!"

Chen Xuebing thought to himself, "Holy crap!"

shareholder?

God!
He had read in the Computer Weekly that MediaTek was the DVD giant, with 60% of DVD production in China using MediaTek chips, and its net profit last year was two to three billion yuan!
Currently, its status in Taiwan is roughly the same as that of TSMC.

"Ms. Lin, please don't flatter me. MediaTek's equity is very dispersed. The major shareholders are all Americans, and the minority shareholders are just that—minor shareholders."

Lu Mingyu smiled and gestured with his finger to indicate "a tiny bit" before saying to Chen Xuebing:

"Mr. Chen, you don't actually need to contact me. We are actively promoting the market right now. Our turnkey solution emphasizes one-stop service. If you have any product problems, just call us and our sales staff will come to your door to solve all your problems until you are satisfied."

Upon hearing this, Chen Xuebing felt a little embarrassed.

“My factory is actually just a small one, and it will probably be a while before construction can begin. I really didn’t expect to get to know Mr. Lu. But as the old saying goes, since I’m already here, I plan to stay for a few days and check out the mobile phone market. How about I ask you for some advice when Mr. Lu is less busy?”

Lu Mingyu readily agreed, laughing heartily as he picked up a booklet from the counter and handed it over: "No problem. However, our products are all very convenient. If you have any questions about the products, you can basically find the answers in this booklet. If you have any other questions, you can come directly to me. Customer first, after all."

Chen Xuebing took the booklet, clicking his tongue inwardly.

Their service attitude is truly befitting of a market leader.

However, upon opening the brochure, it became clear that services and prices were linked.

It’s not cheap.

Even a baseband chip like the MT6205 with only basic GSM functions would cost over 60 pieces.

The MT6218 with added GPRS, WAP, and MP3 functions costs over 200.

The MT6226 with a camera processing unit is priced over 300, and the high-configuration version is even more astonishing.

No wonder there aren't many high-quality products on the market. Many counterfeiters still prefer to make generic knockoffs, using cheap, secondhand chips that cost only a few dollars.

A high-configuration chip alone costs several hundred, and with the high-quality replica appearance and accessories, the cost can easily reach several hundred.

Lu Mingyu noticed Chen Xuebing's frown and said with a smile:
"This is last year's brochure. Some of the chips listed have already been discounted. For the new prices, Mr. Chen, could you give me your email address and I'll send them to you?"

"Oh…"

Chen Xuebing's expression showed slight relief.

The booklet suddenly became eye-catching in his eyes.

The chip is also compatible with various software platforms, which is very intuitive!

The U800 microprocessor, U700 flash memory, U300 Bluetooth chip, U250 RF chip, and U900 power and audio chip used in the Motorola V3 can all be directly replaced with an integrated set here.

380 yuan, one is equivalent to five.

"Mr. Lu, can the software also be packaged with installation?"

"It's all included. As long as you buy our solution, we can also train your software engineers and upgrade your chips for free."

"Oh? There's another plan?"

Chen Xuebing was intrigued and quickly flipped through the pages, where he indeed found the comprehensive service plan.

The range of services is dazzling.

But the six-digit number marked in white on the side column was so eye-catching that it instantly brought me to my senses.

"Uh, two hundred and fifty thousand, Mr. Lu, is this in New Taiwan Dollars?"

Lu Mingyu smiled and said, "President Chen, 250,000 is just the basic service price for a small production line. Our fees are very high, but the services we provide are absolutely worth the price and cannot be bought elsewhere. We are the only one that offers this service."

Lin Huixiang, who was standing next to Chen Xuebing, secretly laughed as she watched Chen Xuebing's embarrassed expression.

Starting a factory at such a young age, I thought it must come from a wealthy family.

It doesn't seem that great.

After letting out a long breath, Chen Xuebing also revealed a faint smile.

Lu Mingyu is right.

Given the current and future environment, being able to buy these things is already a blessing.

I'm afraid I won't be able to buy the most expensive and best ones.

"Mr. Lu, this brochure is from last year. There should be new chips now, right? May I take a look at your best and most expensive chips?"

(End of this chapter)