Chapter 583: He Is a Scammer

"My technology can increase a computer's data read speed by five percent. IBM is considering acquiring my patent, so I can't accept less than one million dollars."

"Mr. Ge, we believe eighty thousand dollars is a reasonable price."

"Deal."

"."

Li Ye and Wen Wen Leyu, as interns, sat quietly in a corner of the conference room, watching as the man boasted wildly and spoke with absolute certainty that his invention could reshape the computer industry—yet immediately backed down after Jeff's brief offer.

Wen Wen Leyu wrote a few words on paper and pushed it toward Li Ye.

【He looks kind of like a scammer?】

Li Ye calmly wrote a few words and pushed them back to Wen Wen Leyu.

【When you cast the net, you don't know how big the fish below are—but if you never cast it, you'll never catch any.】

After reading it, Wen Wen Leyu pursed her lips and fell silent.

But from the slight furrow of her brows, Li Ye deduced the girl was upset.

After all, Wen Wen Leyu had contributed most of the venture fund's initial capital; now, nearly half of her millions in royalties had been swept away, and someone used to frugality like her couldn't help but worry.

Moreover, over these years of studying and living together, Wen Wen Leyu had grown overly dependent on Li Ye. If Li Ye guaranteed a profit, she would trust him unconditionally—but now, she had to learn to bear this pressure herself.

Even if only Cisco backed this deal, her little savings would soon swell—and this process, for her, was a gentle kind of training.

"Mr. Li, we have one final project. Could we quickly discuss it?"

Jeff dismissed Mr. Ge and turned to discuss the last project with Li Ye. This project, too, had been selected and recommended by Jeff, but final investment required unanimous approval from all partners.

Since Pei Pei Wencong was absent, Li Ye now held his authority.

Li Ye flipped through the project report again: "Fine, I have no objections. Jeff, do you think twenty thousand dollars is a fair price?"

Jeff smiled. "I think lower is better."

Li Ye smiled. "Jeff, you're an excellent negotiator. The rest is up to you."

Jeff chuckled and asked his secretary to bring in the visitor.

But the moment the man walked in, Li Ye wanted to tell Jeff: twenty thousand is too generous.

The visitor had dark skin and light brown hair—clearly a White Elephant.

Li Ye knew there were many White Elephants in Silicon Valley; after all, "IC" originally stood for "integrated circuit," but in Silicon Valley, it had become shorthand for "White Elephant" and "Flower People."

Yet the name "Pan Pan Dite" on the project report hadn't alerted Li Ye to the man's identity.

Though Li Ye was no racist, given the countless bizarre stories he'd heard about White Elephants in the future, he suddenly felt uneasy.

As someone once said: "White Elephants dare to boast about any ability, dare to pursue any business, dare to blame any failure, and dare to do no work."

With so many such traits, can they all be false?

"Mr. Pan, our offer is already generous. Your research remains confined to the lab and has not been patented."

"No, no, no, respected Mr. Jeff, my research isn't unpatentable—I simply dare not publish it."

"Because both Motorola and Alcatel are researching digital wireless communication, and my technology is the core technology they desperately need. I believe you know, Mr. Jeff, that a small company like ours cannot resist the theft of industry giants."

"."

Li Ye stared in shock at Pan Pan Dite, mentally scrambling through his biological hard drive, desperate to retrieve any information related to him.

Holy shit—what kind of technology would make Motorola resort to theft? How much would it be worth? Would twenty thousand dollars even cover the down payment?

In his past life, Li Ye had indeed heard similar legends.

Like a low-level researcher who invented a revolutionary patent, caught the attention of industry giants, then suffered relentless theft and intimidation—only to lose the lawsuit with no recourse.

But legends are legends. Could it really be so coincidental that he'd stumble upon one?

In the mid-eighties, mobile phones still used analog signals; research into digital signals was still in its infancy. If a truly groundbreaking technology truly existed, it could easily birth a great company.

But Jeff was even more frugal than Li Ye. He remained unmoved by Pan Pan Dite's boasts—not even twenty thousand, not even ten thousand. Five thousand was the maximum.

"Alright, alright! Let's drop this patent for now."

Unable to sway Jeff, Pan Pan Dite pulled out another document from his bag.

"I heard you're interested in computer software. I happen to have a computer operating system comparable to Microsoft's Windows."

"."

Li Ye tossed the project report aside, utterly losing all interest.

Microsoft had just released Windows 1.0 two months ago—and now you claim to have something similar? How much bigger can you puff this lie?

In his past life, Li Ye had heard some claim India's IT industry led the world, that IIT graduates were the globe's top talent—he'd half-believed it, thinking India's computer tech was far ahead.

Later, he met a middle-aged coder who'd retired from a major firm, and learned what "world-leading" really meant.

India led the world in software outsourcing.

That "outsourcing" meant a U. S. researcher earning $200,000 a year paying $50,000 to hire a researcher from Heilongjiang.

The coder said that if the U. S. researcher had chosen wisely, he could've outsourced the work to an Indian coder for just $20,000.

It wasn't that Indian coders were cheap—it was that India's IT industry development lagged far behind China's.

After 2000, China's IT industry entered a twenty-year rocket phase; any coder with even a modicum of skill earned six-figure salaries.

Outsourcing is all about layer upon layer of profit-taking. If Chinese coders were already earning tens of thousands, why bother competing with Indian codgers for a few thousand?

Over time, international clients stopped hiring Chinese technicians altogether.

It wasn't that Chinese coders were too expensive—it was that Indians offered better value.

After all, it was just routine work. Even if the Indian coder delivered a mountain of garbage code, as long as it didn't crash on launch, it was fine.

You paid for curry, so why expect a five-star chef to serve you Imperial Tofu?

"Mr. Li, do you have any concerns?"

Jeff noticed Li Ye tossing the documents and whispered quietly.

Li Ye glanced at Pan Pan Dite, then turned to Wen Wen Leyu: "Do you think he's a scammer?"

Wen Wen Leyu, who had been staring at Pan Pan Dite's eyes, nodded firmly: "Not just looks like—he is a scammer."

"."

"Mr. Pan, we'll discuss this another time."

"What? No, no, no—I can accept five thousand dollars."

"."

"Three thousand is fine too."

"."