sjar Chapter 409 Another daydream
Chapter 409 Another daydream
On March 5, 2002, the day after Lingyun returned to Jinan.
In the conference room of Xinghuo Group, Chen Zhongming, Ma Baoguo, Zhao Weiguo, and Li Mo sat on either side of a long table. Ling Yun sat in the main seat, with a document in front of him—materials about Liu Zhenxiong compiled by Wang Degui.
"What's the situation with the South China Electronics Chamber of Commerce?" Ling Yun asked.
Zhao Weiguo opened the folder in front of him and said, "Our people have been keeping a close eye on things. Since the release of our open-source solution, their situation has become increasingly difficult. Xiongfeng Electronics' orders in February dropped by 60% compared to January. Liu Zhenxiong has contacted several chip suppliers, trying to bypass us. But the products on the market that can replace our ARM chips are 40% more expensive and their performance is not as good as ours. He contacted Zhuhai Actions Semiconductor, and Actions said their solution needs to be re-adapted, which would take at least three months. He can't wait three months."
Lingyun asked him, "Are their production lines still running?"
Zhao Weiguo said, "We've started operations, but the rate of resumption of work is less than 30%. More than half of the workers have left, and the rest are mostly old employees who have nowhere to go. On the supplier side, several have already stopped supplying goods and are demanding that previous debts be paid in full first."
Ling Yun nodded. He picked up the phone on the table and dialed Ma Baoguo's number. "Director Ma, starting today, Xinghuo Electronics Factory will cease supplying ARM chips and OLED screens to all member companies of the South China Electronics Chamber of Commerce. It's not a price increase; we're not selling."
There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone. "Okay, Mr. Ling, I'll arrange it right away."
Ling Yun hung up the phone. He looked at Zhao Weiguo and said, "Keep an eye on things. Report back immediately if anything comes up."
The next afternoon, Zhao Weiguo called. "President Ling, Liu Zhenxiong's production line has stopped. Yesterday afternoon, their purchasing manager called Factory Manager Ma, saying they needed to urgently order a batch of chips. Factory Manager Ma said they had no stock. The purchasing manager got anxious and said they would pay a higher price. Factory Manager Ma said they had no stock either. This morning, all of Xiongfeng Electronics' production lines stopped."
Ling Yun asked him, "Where is Liu Zhenxiong?"
Zhao Weiguo said, "He's looking for people. He's contacted several suppliers, including those in South Korea and Taiwan. But that's not enough to solve his immediate problem. Even if he finds someone, their prices are much higher than ours. He's accepted orders from clients, and the delivery deadline is approaching, but he can't deliver. The clients have already started pressing him, some have even canceled their orders and are demanding compensation."
Ling Yun asked, "Has he contacted us?"
Zhao Weiguo said, "He did try. He had someone call Factory Director Ma, but Factory Director Ma said it was a group decision and he couldn't make the decision. He then went to General Manager Chen, who said that it was a rule set by President Ling and he couldn't change it."
Ling Yun didn't speak.
Three days later, Zhao Weiguo called again. "Mr. Ling, Liu Zhenxiong has lost more than half of his clients. His biggest client, a Hong Kong trading company that was taking 50,000 units a month, officially notified him today that they are canceling their cooperation. Two other domestic distributors have also canceled their orders. He doesn't have enough orders left to keep the production line running."
Lingyun asked him, "Did he ask anyone to put in a good word for him?"
Zhao Weiguo said, "I did contact him. A vice president of the Shenzhen Electronics Industry Association called Mr. Chen and said that we're all in the same industry and see each other all the time, so could he make an exception? Mr. Chen said that he couldn't make the decision; it would have to be approved by you, Mr. Ling."
"Mr. Ling, after being rejected, Liu Zhenxiong flew to Beijing overnight. Our people found that he booked a flight to Beijing, with the destination being the headquarters of Yixiang Group."
Ling Yun narrowed his eyes. A wild idea, yet another one. So, behind Liu Zhenxiong stood this troublemaker, Yi Xiang.
8 PM.
When Wang Degui called, Ling Yun was in his study looking at the OLED production line progress report sent by Xinvino. He answered the phone.
"President Ling, we've uncovered some new information about Liu Zhenxiong's case." Wang Degui's voice was low.
"explain."
"There's someone in the South China Electronics Chamber of Commerce who's close to Liu Zhenxiong. He got drunk and let it slip. He said Liu Zhenxiong has connections behind him, not from the Chamber of Commerce, but from the north. It's a big computer company, a competitor of yours, and they have a history with them. Liu Zhenxiong has met with people from there several times since he went back from Jinan."
Ling Yun paused for a moment. "Wishful thinking?"
"He didn't say it explicitly, but the implication was that Liu Zhenxiong is related to a senior executive of that group. We're still investigating who it is. Yixiang had been repeatedly defeated by Xinghuo in the PC market and has been holding a grudge ever since. This time with the MP3, they were the ones stirring things up behind the scenes, giving Liu Zhenxiong money and effort to make him take the lead and cause trouble."
Ling Yun leaned back in his chair. He recalled last year in Nanjing, when Zhao Weiguo was nearly imprisoned after being framed by someone from Yixiang. He remembered even earlier, when the bid documents for a Jiangsu provincial university project were snatched away, and the person was cornered in a hotel. He remembered those news reports, those advertorials, those labels of "Spark Monopoly" and "Traitor to National Brands." Every time, Yixiang's shadow was behind it all.
"Do you have any evidence?" Ling Yun asked.
"Still looking. Liu Zhenxiong is a cautious person. He meets with people from Yixiang in private, without keeping records. But his subordinates are not tight-lipped; after a few drinks, they'll say anything. This time when he went to Beijing, he met with Yixiang's sales director. Give me some time, and I can get concrete evidence."
Okay. Let me know when you get it.
The call ended. Ling Yun put her phone on the table, stood up, and walked to the window. The night outside was deep; there were no stars, no moon, only the car lights on the distant road, red and yellow, flowing back and forth.
A fantasy. Another fantasy.
He recalled the university project in Jiangsu Province in 1998. After Xinghuo won the bid, the delusional Director Wu threw a chair in the conference room. Later, they hired people to snatch the bid documents, hired people to stage an accident involving Zhao Weiguo, and hired people to write smear articles in the media. Every time, they used underhanded methods, and every time they almost succeeded.
Now, they're back again. Instead of showing up themselves, they're hiding behind the scenes, supporting Liu Zhenxiong to create trouble for Xinghuo in the MP3 market.
But Lingyun knew that Yixiang's ambitions went far beyond that. MP3 was just a test, a preliminary battle. What they truly wanted was the core of Spark—chips, systems, and the ecosystem. If a company like Yixiang, with no technological bottom line and only market tactics, were to gain even a fraction of the technological control, they would tear it apart, devour it, and then destroy the entire industry ecosystem like hyenas.
Ling Yun walked back to the table, picked up the phone, and dialed Zhao Weiguo's number.
"Weiguo, there's a new development regarding Liu Zhenxiong's case. There's something fishy going on behind him."
There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone. "Wishful thinking? It's them again?"
"Yes. They supported Liu Zhenxiong, giving him money and technology to compete with us in the MP3 market. When they couldn't win, they tried to sabotage him. But that didn't work, and now Liu Zhenxiong's production line has stopped, his customers have left, and Yixiang is probably getting anxious too."
"Mr. Ling, what should we do?"
"No rush. Let's get the evidence first. Once we have the evidence, it won't be up to them to decide what to do, it will be up to us."
Ling Yun hung up the phone and dialed Fiona's number again.
"Could you check if Yixiang has made any major capital moves recently? Have they been active in the secondary market, or contacted any investment banks?"
Fiona said, "Dreamlike? Aren't they PC makers?"
"They want more than just PCs. Investigate for me, and let me know immediately if you find anything."
Ling Yun hung up the phone and sat back down in his chair. He knew that Yi Xiang wouldn't just send Liu Zhenxiong. They must have a bigger plan. And what he needed to do was to see the whole game before they made their move.