Chapter 83: Exclusive Interview

When the electronic pet device was first launched, it was always meant to make quick money to raise funds for Dongling High-Tech; Li Dongling never intended to bet everything on the electronic pet device project.

“How’s the development of the digital cordless phone going?!” Li Dongling turned to Chen Tao, who oversaw technology.

Chen Tao looked slightly embarrassed; according to what he had previously told Li Dongling, the digital cordless phone should have been completed last month, but it had been delayed until now.

Li Dongling didn’t blame Chen Tao or the technology department—delays in product development were only normal, especially for entirely new products developed from scratch, where unexpected issues were common.

“It’s currently undergoing testing, and we’ve made improvements to some features; once all tests are complete, we can begin pilot production!”

"This cordless phone was designed and developed according to your requirements, Boss Li. All the technology was developed in-house by our department, with over 67% of the components either independently developed or sourced from other domestic suppliers; the remaining parts were procured from Hong Kong, Japan, and other locations."

Dongling High-Tech’s digital cordless phone, developed according to Li Dongling’s technical specifications, offered far more features than ordinary cordless phones on the market.

Although development was slow, Chen Tao spoke with clear pride when mentioning the digital cordless phone developed for Dongling High-Tech—developing the technology entirely without relying on foreign tech was extremely difficult among domestic manufacturers.

Using more domestic components meant that after production began, Dongling High-Tech’s digital cordless phone could quickly reduce costs; if all components were imported, they’d essentially be working for others.

After listening, Li Dongling nodded, then turned to Yao Luoying, Hu Zi, Zhang Ao, and others: “Get the network access permit for the digital cordless phone processed as soon as possible, and find overseas agents.”

“Once the digital cordless phone is ready, start producing the advertising campaign to promote it!”

The digital cordless phone was much more expensive than ordinary landlines; after Dongling High-Tech launched its model, it needed simultaneous promotion both domestically and overseas—its goal was to replace landlines entirely.

Traditional cordless phones had existed for years, but they had never been widely adopted in America or Europe due to too many flaws: easy interference, susceptibility to eavesdropping, and no significant advantages over ordinary landlines—only drawbacks, higher prices, and thus slow adoption.

Dongling High-Tech’s cordless phone primarily fixed the flaws of current ordinary cordless phones and added many new features; if it could capture the landline market in America and Europe, it would open a goldmine to Dongling High-Tech!

The landline market in America, Europe, and other regions currently has at least hundreds of millions of units; even if only one-tenth of users switched to Dongling High-Tech’s digital cordless phones, that would mean tens of millions to over a hundred million units—a market worth billions, even tens of billions of dollars.

This new market wasn’t as potentially huge as the mobile phone market, but it was stable—sustaining for over a decade was no problem. Even if landlines were phased out domestically, they remained firmly entrenched in America and Europe, enough to become a steady cash cow for Dongling High-Tech.

Hearing this, Yao Luoying, Hu Zi, Zhang Ao, Gao Peng, and others clearly sensed that Li Dongling was shifting Dongling High-Tech’s focus away from the electronic pet device—clearly, he had no intention of betting on it anymore.

“There are two more matters,” Li Dongling said, looking at those present. “Dongling High-Tech must establish a headquarters in Hong Kong to better handle overseas operations!”

“Second, Dongling High-Tech’s management structure needs adjustment—we need to recruit a general manager and department heads such as a production manager.”

As Dongling High-Tech expanded, the volume of business had grown rapidly—not just domestic operations, but overseas ones too, and in the future, it would certainly need overseas offices, requiring experienced professional managers to steer the company.

The current executives at Dongling High-Tech were no longer sufficient; bringing in professional managers was inevitable.

Yao Luoying, Hu Zi, Zhang Ao, Gao Peng, and others exchanged glances unconsciously—once professional managers joined, especially once a general manager was appointed, their authority as early members of Dongling High-Tech could no longer be what it once was; they wouldn’t be able to oversee multiple departments alone anymore, and they would henceforth be known as the “founding faction.”

Any company transitioning from a makeshift setup to a formal organization would inevitably face tension between professional managers and the founding faction, but such divisions were usually not stark, especially during the company’s growth phase—as long as the major shareholder didn’t deliberately stir conflict, neither side would descend into power struggles.

Of course, some company owners enjoyed playing balance games—deliberately favoring one faction while suppressing another to maintain their own authority and prevent being sidelined by subordinates.

In Dongling High-Tech’s case, Li Dongling was the absolute majority shareholder; no matter how many factions emerged, as long as he didn’t take sides, any disputes between the newly hired managers and department heads would remain normal internal debates, never affecting the entire company.

After the meeting, Li Dongling went to the technology department building beside the office tower—this building had since been purchased by Dongling High-Tech and now housed many new R&D devices, many of which were bought at great expense and were internationally competitive, let alone top-tier domestically.

“The current tests are focused on interference resistance and signal security.”

Entering a laboratory packed with dense equipment, Li Dongling saw the nearly finished digital cordless phone—the main unit, pure white, sat on the table, beside it a smaller, more refined handset, much more compact than a Dageda .

In simple terms, the digital cordless phone was a base station like a landline, connected to a phone line, capable of pairing with multiple handsets; the handsets used wireless communication and didn’t need phone lines, allowing free movement within a room.

Li Dongling was intimately familiar with this digital cordless phone—after all, he had designed the blueprints himself; originally, this model had been developed alongside the Silver Mink mouse, but it wasn’t until today that it was finally completed.

“The digital cordless phone developed by the technology department can pair with up to six handsets, with a maximum outdoor range of three hundred meters and full functionality indoors across five floors.”

“Also, as per your requirements, we’ve developed features like voicemail, caller ID, call rejection, number recognition, time display, and an alarm—all units use orange-backlit screens to ensure usability at night!”

“I can guarantee that Dongling High-Tech’s digital cordless phone is the most feature-rich telephone product ever made.”

“However, due to these added features and the fact that current decoders, batteries, and screens are all sourced from Japanese companies like Toshiba, Sanyo, and Sharp, the cost may… be significantly higher!”

Chen Tao spoke cautiously, watching Li Dongling’s expression—he knew Li Dongling hated being dependent on others, but Dongling High-Tech’s digital cordless phone demanded such high functionality that component performance requirements were extreme; the only suppliers capable of meeting these standards were the major Japanese firms.

“Still, while developing this digital cordless phone, our department has also developed over sixty-five new technologies and patents, including caller ID, number recognition, and call rejection—all have been registered by Dongling High-Tech.”

“We’re also collaborating with the United Lab and Hanxi Jiaotong University to develop Dongling High-Tech’s own digital cordless phone system chip!”

Chen Tao added this last point, though even he had little confidence—developing a chip was no easy task, requiring massive R&D investment with no guarantee of success; if it were easy, domestic companies wouldn’t all be importing from abroad.

“Complete the digital cordless phone testing as soon as possible!”

Li Dongling finally clapped Chen Tao on the shoulder—no matter how much he disliked dependence, this was the current reality of China’s tech industry: key component patents and technologies were controlled by Japan, America, Korea, and Europe; to get the best components, one had to buy from Sharp, Toshiba, and others.

But for Dongling High-Tech’s digital cordless phone chip, Li Dongling was determined to invest in R&D—while computer and smartphone chips were hard to develop, he remembered that in his past life, most global landline and digital cordless phone chips were supplied by a single domestic company; at its peak, it shipped tens of millions annually. If they could do it, Dongling High-Tech had a chance too.

Misfortune leans on fortune, fortune hides within misfortune—as the saying goes, crisis can also be opportunity; isn’t this precisely one of the chances for Dongling High-Tech to enter the chip industry?

“Assistant Yao, this reporter from Hanzhong Provincial TV says he wants to meet Boss Li!”

As Yao Luoying was about to leave the office building, the receptionist approached her.

Yao Luoying looked up and saw a girl in a white dress, carrying a lady’s bag popular in Hong Kong, standing gracefully. The girl wore no makeup, her simple attire only accentuating her beautiful face and cool, detached aura.

As if sensing Yao Luoying’s gaze, the white-dressed girl lifted her head—their eyes met, each fixed on the other.

(End of Chapter)