[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-reborn-starting-from-1993":3,"chapter-reborn-starting-from-1993-reborn-starting-from-1993-chapter-6":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Reborn Starting from 1993",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2356990,4611,"Chapter 6: Chapter Six: The Immense Fortune They Refused to Accept","reborn-starting-from-1993-chapter-6",6,"\u003Cp>“Who doesn’t know that radios are completely obsolete now? Radios are doomed to be phased out—why keep producing them? Who’s even going to buy them in the future?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is this the level of a top graduate from Hanxi Jiaotong University?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Li Dongling finished speaking, the conference room erupted in laughter, as if hearing a joke, with constant criticism and mockery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Education doesn’t equal experience—you’re still too young! Today’s students are nowhere near the standard of our generation. Truly, each generation is worse than the last!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An elderly technician sitting below Xu Yiqiao took off his glasses and shook his head with a long sigh. Li Dongling remembered his name was Song Yajun—he, like Zhou Wenyang, was one of the old workhorses in the Technical Department, and he too thought Li Dongling was talking nonsense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Dongling ignored these remarks. Unlike Zhou Wenyang, he had no deep emotional attachment to Xicheng Wireless Factory No. 1 and would never stubbornly cling to this dying enterprise. You can’t reason with someone determined to die—since these people wanted Xicheng Wireless Factory No. 1 to wage price wars against TV giants like Changhong, why should he bother trying to persuade them?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>TVs still seemed booming, in the midst of color TVs replacing black-and-white ones, with sales surging—but with Xicheng Wireless Factory No. 1’s capabilities, competing against giants like Changhong would be like a dung beetle crawling into a toilet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xicheng Wireless Factory No. 1 had previously manufactured large household radios. Though users seemed few now, radios still existed—and would continue to exist for the next ten, even twenty years. Just this user base alone numbered in the tens of millions!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Few bought household radios anymore, but entertainment options were still limited; information came mostly from TV, newspapers, and radio. Radios remained a necessity and primary leisure tool for many.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Launching a personal mini radio—while not promising a blockbuster hit—would still easily sell hundreds of thousands annually in China. Even if each unit sold for just a few dozen yuan, it would be enough to pull Xicheng Wireless Factory No. 1 through its crisis and even earn tens of millions, sustaining the factory for years to come.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they could pivot to car radios, riding the automotive industry’s wave, listing Xicheng Wireless Factory No. 1 on the stock market wouldn’t be difficult at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Domestic car sales would explode for decades ahead. Current sales were under a million vehicles annually, making the car radio market seem small—but future annual sales could reach twenty to thirty million vehicles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Holding onto this lifeline, even if they became industry leaders and did nothing else—no audio equipment, no home theater, no internet audio platform like Himalaya—just lying flat, they could survive for decades. With patents alone, they could limp along another ten years; half a century might easily pass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A fortune of unimaginable wealth had been dumped right on their faces, a meal served straight to their mouths—and Xicheng Wireless Factory No. 1 stubbornly refused to eat it, choosing to starve by their own hand. If one day Xicheng Wireless Factory No. 1 collapsed, would these people regret their decision today?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yiqiao forced back a smile. “Your idea’s not bad, but Dongling, you might just be unfamiliar with this industry—you lack experience. Lao Zhou, you should guide Dongling more. Young people still need to grow.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I understand!” Zhou Wenyang immediately stood up and said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Honestly, I think your idea has real potential. My old man just retired, spends all day wandering around—if we launched a portable radio like that, he’d carry it everywhere. I’d buy him one for sure!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After leaving the conference room, Zhang Ao sidled up to Li Dongling. He didn’t understand tech at all, but he knew what products people would actually use.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Dongling felt Zhang Ao was just killing time in the Technical Department—if he switched to sales, he might be a real talent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But you don’t get to decide!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Li Dongling’s words, Zhang Ao cursed back, “This factory’s gonna be worked to death by those good-for-nothings. If I were factory director, I’d kick out every freeloader…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Dongling couldn’t help but laugh. Zhang Ao was so fierce he even cursed himself—he realized he’d gone too far, dragging himself into it, and flushed with embarrassment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your bike’s still needed tomorrow!” Tomorrow was a day off—Li Dongling planned to go home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Ao, though rough around the edges, had a carefree nature. He waved his hand. “Use it all you want—just don’t lose it. That bike was my old man’s when he was director of the supply and marketing cooperative. As long as you don’t lose it, you’re fine.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before heading home, Li Dongling went to the store and the meat shop, buying plenty of goods, then to the bookstore for books and supplies. His younger sister, Li Dongyue, was in her final year of high school and would take the college entrance exam next year—he needed to buy her things.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Dongling’s family home was in a village under Shangguan Town, near the suburbs of Pingyang City. In his past life, Shangguan Town had been developed into urban area, and his village had been demolished and relocated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Riding his bike, seeing buildings that had once existed only in memory now before his eyes, Li Dongling’s mind filled with countless thoughts. He sped up, heading home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mom!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Following memory, he arrived at a courtyard and saw a woman in gray clothes washing clothes at the door. He couldn’t help calling out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Xiulan looked up, her face lighting up. “Dongling’s back!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She set down the half-washed clothes, stood up, opened the wooden gate, took the pile of things he’d bought, and scolded, “Why buy so much? Wasting money—I and your father can’t use any of it!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Old man, Dongling’s back—why don’t you say a word?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Xiulan spoke to the old man sitting in the courtyard, smoking a pipe. At this, Li Zhenlin looked up, glanced at Li Dongling, and slammed his pipe twice against the ground. “I’m not blind—I can see!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Dongling knew his father’s temper well—he was certain Li Dongshan had returned and told Li Zhenlin he’d come back to Pingyang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Dad!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ignoring Li Zhenlin’s mood, Li Dongling pulled out the two bottles of good wine and the meat. “Tonight, I’ll drink with you and Brother.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his past life, after Li Dongling and An Ruxue’s breakup, Li Zhenlin and Wang Xiulan had worn themselves out worrying—overnight, they seemed to age decades, their backs bent. Li Zhenlin had a fierce temper, but his entire life had been devoted to his three children.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Second brother!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A clear voice rang out. Li Dongling saw Li Dongyue step out of the house—short hair, black-rimmed glasses, always giving off a serious air. But Li Dongling knew his little sister’s true beauty shone once she took off her glasses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his past life, Li Dongyue got into a university in Yanjing, earned her doctorate, then co-founded a software company with her husband—the best-off of all the siblings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Dongyue glanced around behind Li Dongling, then lifted her stiff little face. “Where’s Xue-jie? Didn’t she come back with you?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During holidays, An Ruxue had visited Li’s home several times. She’d bought Li Dongyue countless clothes and school supplies, tutored her in lessons—Li Dongyue was An Ruxue’s staunch supporter in the Li household. When Li Dongling and An Ruxue fell out, she’d flown from Yanjing to Xiyuan City multiple times to plead for reconciliation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Dongling couldn’t help grabbing her stiff little face. “She’s busy—she’s not coming to Pingyang.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today, for once, the whole family was home. Wang Xiulan prepared a full table of dishes, braised the fish Li Dongling brought, and slaughtered a home-raised laying hen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You finally got into college, and instead of staying in the provincial capital, you insist on coming back here—how many more humiliations will you suffer?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During dinner, Li Zhenlin, who’d been silent all afternoon, finally couldn’t hold back. He took a bite of meat, swallowed a gulp of the wine Li Dongling brought, and muttered under his breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he muttered, Li Dongling heard every word clearly. Wang Xiulan, rushing around the kitchen, tending the simmering soup, came back and slapped Li Zhenlin’s arm. “Old man, stop nagging! Dongling and the others only come home once in a while!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You don’t understand!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zhenlin glared at Wang Xiulan, but after decades of marriage, she knew his temper inside out. She ignored him completely, leaving him with nowhere to vent his anger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Come on, let’s drink!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Dongling poured wine for the three men. Li Zhenlin grumbled but raised his cup. They clinked glasses. In his past life, after Brother Li Dongshan fell ill, the family hadn’t drunk together like this again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a building in the provincial capital’s Xiyuan City official housing compound, a telephone rang. An Ruxue, sitting on the sofa beside it, immediately picked up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your brother’s calling—transfer’s done!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After connecting the call, An Ruxue shouted upstairs, then sat back down to read—but her grip on the book tightened unconsciously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A middle-aged man sitting on another sofa watched all this, and shook his head slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>",1527,"2026-06-21T04:42:08.057Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","2a0d43ce2019c98ff0b7bdf99ba85d7057ba511bc7a4ec84ab34aafda402796c","reborn-starting-from-1993-chapter-7","reborn-starting-from-1993-chapter-5",989,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Freborn-starting-from-1993-cover.jpg"]