Chapter 432: The God Who Tells the Truth

"You came to see me because of roller skates?"

After Li Ye, with the help of several kind basketball boys, finally found the Beijing Computer New Technology Development Company under the Computer Institute, the company's manager looked at Li Ye and Pei Wencong and felt this man didn't seem to be here for a "return."

During those days just after being swindled, this manager had indeed set up a stall on Zhongguancun's streets selling roller skates with his startup team, but he didn't remember selling any to someone like Pei Wencong!

Look at his suit, his watch, and that foreign secretary behind him—would he buy your crude roller skates?

"You're Manager Liu, right? I'm Pei Wencong. I never bought your roller skates, but when I heard that researchers from the Computer Institute were selling roller skates, I was shocked and ashamed—you should be doing something more suitable."

Pei Wencong had long been instructed by Li Ye; he stepped forward with a smile to shake Liu Lianxiang's hand, then displayed the noble sentiments of a patriotic businessman, feeling ashamed that the nation's top technical talent was forced to sell goods on the roadside for survival.

Liu Lianxiang shook Pei Wencong's hand in confusion, utterly baffled—but once he realized Pei Wencong was a Hong Kong businessman, he snapped back to his senses, his eyes instantly brightening with fervor.

His Computer New Technology Development Company still hadn't found a clear profit point—still hadn't found a clear way to make money.

Although he had used his organizational connections to bring in the tech god Ni Guangnan, with barely any cash on hand and only two or three underlings, he was still far from having survived the difficult early stages of entrepreneurship.

"Hahaha, Mr. Pei, right? Sit, sit, sit! Oh, we absolutely need entrepreneurs like you! We'd already arranged a social donation, but you know how things are on the mainland—funding for tech development is enormous."

"."

Pei Wencong had just been ushered onto the sofa by the enthusiastic Liu Lianxiang when one sentence left him bewildered.

Donation? Is this a poor mountain area? And do I look like someone here to donate money?

We've barely met—do you really think you can just take money from me for free?

But soon he realized Liu the manager was a smooth operator; his earlier words were merely a fleeting probe.

Seeing Pei Wencong didn't respond, he immediately guessed his true intent.

"Mr. Pei just said we should be doing something more suitable—what exactly did you mean?"

"We've already invested in an electronics factory in Pengcheng and plan to launch color televisions soon, but we're very interested in personal computers. Since you're a computer development company, you must have research capabilities in this area, right?"

"Color TVs? Computers?"

Liu's eyes nearly caught fire; he immediately said: "Yes, we have the capability. I don't know if you're aware, but though our company looks small, behind it is the Academy of Sciences—we have national-level research strength."

Li Ye sat quietly to the side, observing coldly as Liu Lianxiang grew increasingly animated in conversation with Pei Wencong, slowly merging him in his mind with the famous entrepreneur of the future.

He had once been a logistics manager, not technically skilled, but he possessed the accumulated social connections from the previous generation and was himself smooth-talking and adept at maneuvering.

No matter what, turning a small company into an industry giant meant Liu Lianxiang was undoubtedly a formidable businessman—dealing with him was anything but safe.

But right now, Li Ye had no way to approach other computer research institutes.

Only this small company under Liu Lianxiang's management could flexibly take orders and offer a chance to poach talent.

Also, the mainland's research institutes were a mixed bag; Li Ye had no idea who, besides the tech god Ni, was currently a leading general in the computer industry.

In the open-information era of the future, many abandoned research projects became known, and people would sigh, saying, "If only we'd persisted, if only we hadn't strayed so far…"

In truth, many such cases happened simply because there was no strong scientific leader to guide them.

A powerful scientific leader's impact far exceeds that of a group of ordinary research engineers.

Like Qian, who studied missiles; Deng, who studied the bomb; the chief designer at Chengfei, and others.

Such people must understand technology, possess long-term wisdom, have unwavering willpower, and demonstrate fearless responsibility—only then can they press forward relentlessly for decades on the arduous path of research.

Most people can't even determine the right direction or stick to it, let alone anything else.

Even in the supercompanies of the future, such people were few—perhaps only one or two; once replaced, the company's research progress would collapse or fall behind in a short time.

And the tech god Ni was one such person who had been replaced.

"Mr. Pei and I truly regret not meeting sooner! We've talked so long we've forgotten it's dark—what a shame! Let's eat first, and talk while we eat."

After chatting with Pei Wencong for a while, as dusk just settled, Liu Lianxiang immediately pulled him out to dinner.

Pei Wencong gladly agreed, but with one request: bring along the company's other technical staff to build rapport.

So the rest of the company joined them for dinner—but as they stepped out, Li Ye subtly shook his head at Pei Wencong.

Pei Wencong looked at Li Ye in surprise, then followed his gaze to the employees; after several seconds, he finally understood.

The person Lao Da had his eye on wasn't here!

"Manager Liu, are all your technical staff present? Didn't you say you had twelve employees?"

"Hmm~"

Liu Lianxiang paused, then smiled: "I didn't know Mr. Pei was so well-informed about our company? Hey, go get Lao Ni—he gets so absorbed in research he ignores everything else. How can that be?"

Moments later, Li Ye finally saw a middle-aged man wearing glasses; after careful observation, he confirmed this was the Ni he was looking for.

Ni was forty-five, nothing like the white-haired figure familiar from the future—he was solidly in his prime.

Li Ye gave a slight nod; Pei Wencong instantly knew who his ultimate target was.

But Li Ye had instructed him not to rush; so Pei Wencong didn't try to get close to Ni, merely nodded politely, not even shaking his hand.

At the restaurant, everyone gradually grew more familiar and learned that Pei Wencong had come from Hong Kong as a cultural figure invited to observe the signing ceremony of the Joint Communique.

Now Pei Wencong was even more sought after; everyone took turns toasting him, showering him with flattery—if Li Ye hadn't drunk most of the wine for him, he'd have been completely drunk.

But just as everyone was enjoying food and drink, Ni the god asked a string of thoroughly awkward questions.

"Mr. Pei, are you certain you want to develop personal computers? How much money do you have? How much can you invest annually? For how many years? If you get no results in a year, will you demand compensation?"

"."

"Lao Ni, how much have you had to drink? How can you discuss these things at dinner?"

"Heh, Mr. Pei, our Engineer Ni is just like this—blunt and straightforward. Don't take offense."

The colleagues at the table scolded Ni for being too direct, others tried to smooth things over.

We're a team of over ten people who built this company ourselves—after so long, we finally found a big investor, and you're firing five rapid-fire questions at him over dinner? Are you trying to scare him off?

Who's going to pay our salaries? Who's going to take responsibility if the bonuses vanish?

But Pei Wencong wasn't angry; he smiled and said: "Mr. Ni, I believe personal PCs will transform our work and lives, so we're definitely going to research them. If you won't cooperate with us, I'll find someone else."

"Ah, ah, Mr. Pei, you're wrong—we never said we wouldn't! We'll definitely cooperate, definitely."

Pei Wencong waved his hand and continued smiling: "As for funding amounts, we need detailed budgets, so I can't specify now—but I can tell you, though I'm from the cultural sector, I'm a billionaire—my assets exceed one hundred million U. S. dollars."

"Oh~"

"."

The table erupted in astonishment; everyone's hearts warmed instantly.

One hundred million U. S. dollars! How much was the entire company's operating budget again?

Two hundred thousand RMB—and more than half of it had been swindled away.

Liu Lianxiang was about to speak to Pei Wencong when Pei Wencong smiled and asked Ni: "Mr. Ni, I've answered your questions—now I have one for you: Do you currently have the capability to develop personal computers?"

"."

Ni remained silent for a long time, not answering.

Everyone grew anxious, desperately signaling to Ni.

【Don't you dare tell the truth! Or will this deal even go through?】

But Ni finally shook his head: "We currently lack the capability to research personal computers—at least not to develop complete machines."

"."

At least five or six people at the table wanted to cover Ni's mouth.

But Ni added: "However, the program-controlled switch you mentioned—we have a research foundation. If you provide funding, we can start immediately, and we will succeed."

Li Ye nodded inwardly, deeply impressed.

In research, one must be factual—what is, is; what isn't, isn't. Never speak recklessly.

(End of Chapter)