Not long after Jiang Yuan left, Xie Chengnan received a phone call from across the ocean. The caller informed him that the custom equipment he had ordered six months ago was finished ahead of schedule and was ready for delivery at any time.
Xie Chengnan was somewhat surprised. The agreed delivery date was still three months away. He had originally thought he would have enough time to make the preliminary preparations, but he hadn't expected plans to change so suddenly. Now, his schedule was abruptly tightened.
His purpose for returning to the country this time was to establish his own technology company. By utilizing several patents and research materials in his possession, he aimed to become the first entrepreneur to bring robots into mass production.
Currently, both domestically and internationally, the field of artificial intelligence robotics was largely stuck in the research and development phase, with very few companies actually moving into production. The twin mountains of technical bottlenecks and manufacturing costs deterred most enterprises from entering the field, leaving the market almost entirely blank.
Xie Chengnan wanted to be the first to take the plunge.
After placing the equipment order six months ago, he had immersed himself day and night in validating key data, completely forgetting that there was a mountain of administrative trifles to handle.
Xie Chengnan rubbed the space between his eyebrows. He urgently needed a professional to help him handle corporate qualifications, equipment import approvals, and other such procedures. Thinking through the people he could turn to for help, Xie Chengnan decided to find Shen Qinian first.
The Shen Group's office building was located in the heart of Nancheng's financial district, a place where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold.
When Shen Qinian received a call from his secretary saying that a Mr. Xie was at the front desk looking for him without an appointment, he didn't immediately realize it would be Xie Chengnan.
It was only after the secretary relayed the receptionist's description of the visitor's appearance that Shen Qinian confirmed the "shut-in" Professor Xie had actually deigned to leave his lair to visit a friend.
Shen Qinian had the secretary bring Xie Chengnan up while he personally went to the elevator to meet him.
The secretary had worked for Shen Qinian for two years, and this was the first time she had seen her Vice President act with such eager hospitality. She couldn't help but wonder what kind of extraordinary person was arriving.
When the elevator doors opened and Xie Chengnan stepped out with his long legs, the secretary couldn't stop the high-intensity "marmot scream" echoing in her mind. She had to use every ounce of her willpower to maintain a professional smile. Her job was truly difficult!
Shen Qinian had the secretary bring a cup of coffee and then sent her out. He looked Xie Chengnan over with interest and teased, "Has the sun risen from the west today?"
Xie Chengnan leaned back comfortably on the sofa and spoke frankly. "I wouldn't visit your 'Great Buddha Hall' unless I had business."
He then briefly explained his intentions. Without standing on ceremony, he directly asked for manpower.
This kind of preliminary preparation was not a difficult task for a large conglomerate.
Shen Qinian didn't decline. He immediately called his secretary to delegate the work. Only then did he find the time to express his shock. "You've got quite the ambition, don't you? Are you planning to look for investors?"
Xie Chengnan shook his head. "Not for now. I've consolidated all the liquid capital I have; it's enough to sustain me for a while."
"Do you realize this isn't a small sum?" Shen Qinian tapped his finger on the armrest. "Mass-producing robots sounds simple, but implementing it is essentially starting from zero. Never mind the long term—just the cost of those custom production machines is enough to hit your bottom line hard."
"Don't worry about that." Xie Chengnan curled one side of his mouth. "The reason I agreed to sell that project to LR Company was to solve this problem. They agreed that for the next three years, any equipment I need will be sold to me at cost. This was written into the contract as a specific clause."
"Three years, huh?" Shen Qinian stroked his chin. "They probably didn't expect you to start your own company, did they?"
"They knew, but the benefits were simply too great for them to refuse." Xie Chengnan clasped his hands over his knees, looking confident and arrogant. "The technology I sold to LR will allow their annual profit to grow by more than 20% over the next three years. Furthermore, by relying on that technological advantage, they can leave their competitors in the dust in the short term and seize a significant market share."
Shen Qinian's pupils contracted slightly. Such a temptation—if he were the boss of LR, he wouldn't be able to resist it either.
Xie Chengnan continued to calmly analyze the pros and cons for the other party. "You also know that custom equipment costs are too high. If I can't break into the market and recoup my capital quickly, I'll only be able to place one order at most within three years; they won't lose much. Conversely, if I succeed, I'll become a long-term client, constantly funneling money into their pockets. No matter how they calculate it, they can't lose."
"I'm impressed." Shen Qinian gave him a thumbs-up. "Do you know what I'm thinking about right now?"
Xie Chengnan raised an eyebrow. "?"
Shen Qinian straightened his jacket and said solemnly, "Brother, give me a chance to be your partner."
Xie Chengnan was somewhat surprised. "Your group wants to invest?"
Shen Qinian shook his head and pointed to himself. "Not the Shen Group. Me, Shen Qinian."
Xie Chengnan tilted his head.
Shen Qinian knew Xie was waiting for him to continue. He gave a bitter smile and spoke with rare seriousness. "My father is in good health, and my older brother is in his prime. Although I've held the position of Vice President these past two years, it's not good for me to interfere in too many things. I'm afraid outsiders will think we brothers are fighting for power, which would lead to the stupidity of people picking sides."
"But I don't want to keep going like this." Shen Qinian looked at Xie Chengnan with burning eyes. "You have the technology, and I have the ability to operate and manage a company. Why not give it a try? I know you refused investment to maintain absolute independence. I can guarantee that I will never interfere with your research direction or content. As long as I'm there, you can focus entirely on what you're best at, and leave all the remaining trifles to me. What do you think?"
It had to be said that Shen Qinian truly understood him. Xie Chengnan was moved.
Today's sudden situation had made him realize that he couldn't do everything alone. He had sought Shen Qinian's help in the first place because he trusted the man's ability and character.
Once he made a decision, Xie Chengnan was not one to hesitate.
He reached out his hand and smiled. "Happy to be working with you, partner."
Shen Qinian broke into a wide grin, stood up, and gave him a fierce hug. "Happy to be working with you! Thanks!"
Now that they had decided to start a business together, Xie Chengnan was even less polite. He began directing Young Master Shen to go rent factory space and office buildings.
Shen Qinian said amusedly, "Do you know that most of the factory buildings on that industrial land to the south, as well as several commercial buildings in the financial center, belong to the Jiang family?" Shen Qinian winked. "Why don't you sacrifice your body and get Young Master Jiang to give us a 'friendship price'?"
"The Jiang family?" Xie Chengnan was a bit surprised. He seemed to recall his parents mentioning that land in the south. Back then, Old Master Xie had bought a large tract of land because he was optimistic about the area's development. Later, when the Xie family's capital chain broke, they had to package and sell it all at a low price to an outside enterprise that could pay in full to save the family. He hadn't expected it to end up in the Jiang family's hands.
"Yes." Shen Qinian thought for a moment. "I heard my grandfather mention it once. The Jiang family swallowed the whole plot of land originally, but later they transferred part of it out due to capital issues."
Xie Chengnan frowned. He felt something was slightly off. "Do you know when the Jiang family bought that land?"
Shen Qinian shook his head. "I'm not clear on that. I just overheard it during their idle chatter. But something like that should be easy to look up; after all, it couldn't have been a small stir."
Xie Chengnan nodded and didn't ask further. He said, "A-Yuan is still young. He might not be in a position to interfere with his family's company affairs."
Shen Qinian let out an exaggerated sigh. "You only know how to dote on your A-Yuan, you don't care about me at all."
Xie Chengnan replied righteously, "Children are meant to be pampered. Partners, naturally, are meant to have their value squeezed dry."
Shen Qinian threw a fountain pen at him. "Get out!"
The two discussed for a long time, making a list of the problems that needed to be solved in the near future.
Shen Qinian said, "We also need to pull a team together. Otherwise, once the paperwork is done, it'll be useless if the whole company is just two 'generals without soldiers.'"
Xie Chengnan nodded. "Do you have any suitable candidates?"
"No." Shen Qinian leaned back on the sofa with a headache. "The Shen Group has plenty of talent, but I can't exactly poach from my own family's walls." He then remembered something. "I have a friend who runs a headhunting firm. Why don't we screen a few management-level people first, and once we have enough hands, we can do a public recruitment?"
"Fine." Xie Chengnan had no objection.
Coincidentally, Jiang Yuan sent a WeChat message saying he wouldn't be coming home for lunch. Xie Chengnan replied with a "Good," then looked up at Shen Qinian. "Why don't you ask your friend if he's free to have a casual lunch with us?"
"Sure." Shen Qinian made a call and asked directly, "Young Master Jiang, are you free at noon? I want to introduce you to some business."
The person on the other end seemed to say something.
"Alright, I'll pick a place and send you a WeChat." Shen Qinian hung up and said it was settled. He then called his secretary on the intercom to book a restaurant nearby. After booking, he remembered to ask Xie Chengnan, "A-Yuan's school isn't far from here. Should we ask him to join? Jiang Shiyi knows him too."
Xie Chengnan thought about it and didn't refuse immediately. He said, "I'll ask him when he's out of class."
***
