Chapter 15 Absolute Control Required
Wang Chaoxin picked up his chopsticks, wiped them with a napkin, and simply set them aside. "Excuse me for the embarrassment."
Su Yuanshan smiled. He understood why Wang Chaoxin had such a big reaction. Wang Chaoxin was one of those rare enterprise leaders with real courage. Jiangyin Transistor Factory was not like those old state-owned factories with "XXX Factory" designations. It had started as a branch of a textile plant, later transitioning to electronic component manufacturing. According to the newly released June regulation, "The Regulations on Urban Collective Enterprises," it was officially a collective enterprise. Yet even such a company, with no prestigious origins, had been transformed by Wang Chaoxin into a leader in the domestic chip packaging and testing industry in later years.
Going from weaving fabric to semiconductor packaging and testing was as big a leap as going from selling salted duck eggs to building atomic bombs. To say that such a factory director lacked vision would clearly be picking a fight.
"Old Zhang," Wang Chaoxin's eyes flickered, and almost instantly, he made a decision. "Let's directly set up a pager production factory."
Wang Chaoxin's decisiveness stunned everyone at the table, especially Zhang Jianjun, who gaped for a long time before stammering, "You... you decided just like that?"
"Of course!" Wang Chaoxin waved his hand and said firmly, "You probably don't understand the market potential for pagers. At the current pace of economic development, within five years, pagers will be ubiquitous on the streets."
"But... pagers have been around for years already. And they're mostly used by rich people," Zhang Jianjun still hesitated.
Wang Chaoxin smiled. "A market's emergence needs people to accept and adapt to it. In China, you must also factor in the rising living standards. How much did wages rise over the past ten years? People had no money. But how much have wages grown from last year to this year? Nowadays, the constraint on pager popularity isn't awareness—it's purchasing power. And purchasing power will keep growing with the economy."
Wang Chaoxin spoke confidently, then turned to Su Yuanshan. "Brother, I'll invest in a PCB production line."
Zhang Jianjun seemed a little bewildered, but seeing everyone else smiling encouragingly at him, the middle-aged man downed his wine in one gulp, slammed the glass onto the table, and said, "I'll go back and have people start preparing new molds!"
Su Yuanshan twirled his teacup and smiled. "To be honest with you, Director Zhang, Director Wang, we originally planned to take our prototypes to Shenzhen or Shanghai to find partners. But since we get along so well with you both, and since I happen to have the authority to decide, we'll stay."
"We at Yuanxin are an innovative technology company, and we firmly believe that technology drives markets and shapes the future. Therefore, in any joint venture where Yuanxin holds shares, we require absolute controlling interest. I hope you two can understand."
Wang Chaoxin raised an eyebrow upon hearing that. He gave Su Yuanshan a deep look. "Meaning if the three of us partner up, Yuanxin must hold at least 51%?"
"Exactly," Su Yuanshan nodded calmly. It wouldn't be until 1993 that the Corporate Law would be promulgated, but by the basic principles of shares and rights, 51% indeed meant control. "Director Wang, you understand the market prospects for pagers. Honestly, if Yuanxin wasn't currently short on funds and racing against time to seize market share, I could wait a few months, attend the Las Vegas Computer World Expo, sell a few sets of EDA software to foreigners, and easily establish a wholly-owned subsidiary myself."
Wang Chaoxin fell silent. This was not quite what he had anticipated.
Su Yuanshan guessed what Wang Chaoxin was worrying about. "The factory will still be set up in Jiangyin, and you two will be fully responsible for operations. Yuanxin will only provide technical support. Unless it's absolutely necessary, Yuanxin will never interfere with factory management."
Wang Chaoxin looked at Su Yuanshan again. "And what constitutes necessary?"
"Naturally, situations involving the survival of the enterprise," Su Yuanshan said. "For example, when pagers are no longer viable, I will be responsible for convincing you both to pivot and transform the business."
Wang Chaoxin was stunned into silence, while Zhang Jianjun couldn't even find his voice. Even the others at the table looked at Su Yuanshan in astonishment.
The factory hadn't even been established yet—contracts unsigned, partnerships not even formalized—and he was already talking about pagers becoming obsolete!
"A market created by technology will inevitably be replaced by newer technology," Su Yuanshan said, his eyes shining. As he spoke, he glanced at Pan Xiaojun by the door, then at Tian Yaoming, and finally at Qin Weimin.
That insight had originally come from Qin Weimin.
Qin Weimin slowly savored the words, then lightly slapped the table. "Well said! Xiaoshan, Senior Brother is convinced!"
Wang Chaoxin fell into deep thought. After a while, he nodded solemnly. "Let's leave it here for today. As soon as the prototype is ready, we move."
"Director Wang, there's one more thing," Su Yuanshan said.
"Go ahead."
"According to the new policy this June, your Jiangyin Factory is still classified as a collective enterprise," Su Yuanshan said, narrowing his eyes slightly. "If I were you, even if I had to sell the kitchen pots, I would rush the privatization process."
"Frankly, as a private company, we're not too keen on partnering with a collective enterprise. Too many messy issues might arise later."
Wang Chaoxin's pupils contracted sharply. After a few seconds of silence, he turned to glance at Pan Xiaojun.
Following his gaze, Su Yuanshan also looked over at Pan Xiaojun—the deputy director's younger brother.
Pan Xiaojun suddenly felt his mouth go dry. Finally, he forced a bitter smile and said, "I didn't hear anything."
"It's fine," Su Yuanshan chuckled. "Manager Pan is one of ours now. Senior Brother Qin, may I borrow your pen and paper?"
Understanding immediately, Qin Weimin handed over his entire briefcase.
Su Yuanshan pulled out pen and paper, quickly wrote up an employment contract right there on the table, signed it, and passed it back to Qin Weimin, who also signed and finally stamped it with an official company seal.
A general manager's assistant, a star student, and a general manager's secretary—the boss's son—all carried the company seal at all times.
They were fully authorized to represent Yuanxin.
"Other terms and benefits will be specified in a supplementary contract," Qin Weimin said, handing the pen to Pan Xiaojun with a smile. "Sign it, and you're officially part of Yuanxin."
Without hesitation, Pan Xiaojun looked at Su Yuanshan, then signed his name.
Wang Chaoxin drained his cup and said in a deep voice, "One week at most!"
**
The next day, after lunch at Jiangyin Factory, Su Yuanshan, Qin Weimin, and Tian Yaoming got into Pan Xiaojun's Jeep.
Pan Xiaojun remembered Su Yuanshan's warning about speeding. He drove steadily, not fast at all. By the time they reached the shores of Taihu Lake, it was two in the afternoon.
Compared to Jiangyin Factory, Huajing was much grander. The state-owned giant boasted not only thousands of workers but also a microelectronics research institute with over five hundred researchers. After several expansions, it had now grown into Huajing Microelectronics Group, with investment projects often reaching billions of yuan.
The Jeep pulled up outside the main gate of Huajing's Central Research Institute.
The security guards at the gate stood ramrod straight—obviously not the same as the old retired grandpas guarding Jiangyin Factory.
"Hello, please show your communication pass or visitor invitation letter."
Tian Yaoming handed over an introduction letter. "We're from the University of Electronic Science and Technology and Yuanxin Technology. Here are our letters."
The guard examined the letters carefully, glanced into the car, and then nodded, raising the barrier.
"I won't go in with you," Pan Xiaojun said, staying in the driver's seat. "They say everyone inside has at least a master's degree... I'll wait for your news."
Among the four, Tian Yaoming, who technically had the highest "degree," laughed. "Honestly, I'm a bit nervous too. Even the security guards here seem more impressive than some department heads elsewhere. Who knows how arrogant the people inside are? Damn..."
Qin Weimin chuckled. "Relax. We've got brothers from our university everywhere. Xiaojun, can I use your mobile phone?"
Qin Weimin used Pan Xiaojun's huge mobile phone to send a page. Within minutes, a call came back, and they were told someone would come meet them shortly.
Five minutes later, a researcher rushed out the front gate.
"Senior Brother Chen!" they greeted.
"Weimin, good to see you. Yaoming too," Chen Yujie said, smiling as he shook hands with them. He looked no older than twenty-seven or twenty-eight but was already showing signs of an encroaching hairline. "And this... is Su Professor's kid?"
"Yes, nice to meet you, Senior Brother Chen," Su Yuanshan said warmly, shaking hands. "I visited your lab once when you were still studying under Professor Zhang Qiang."
"My, how time flies," Chen Yujie sighed, leading them into the building as he introduced the research center.
This microelectronics center, originally formed by about five hundred people from Yongchuan Semiconductor Institute, had grown over a few years to nearly eight hundred staff members, including over twenty PhDs and two hundred master's degree holders, with the rest being seasoned researchers. Combined with Huajing's industrial strength, it was now the most formidable semiconductor research center in the country.
The institute's mission was to build domestic two-to-three micron production lines. Their approach of digesting imported technology while simultaneously participating in the construction of new lines was, without a doubt, the right one. However, the MOS production line had already been under construction for a year, and Huajing's self-funding reserves were nearly exhausted. The national 908 Project was still under review.
Fortunately, Huajing could rely on older production lines to keep generating revenue, avoiding losses for the time being.
As for the chip design departments, they were much smaller. Only about seventy people across three teams were actively designing chips—mostly for aerospace and military needs. Only Chen Yujie's team focused on the civilian market.
"If you want to fabricate chips, we'll need to take you to see Director Jia," Chen Yujie said as they entered the building. "But I'll warn you—the fabrication costs are high. What packaging are you planning?"
"The QFP package," Qin Weimin replied.
"Oh, that's manageable. We have QFP... wait—"
Chen Yujie abruptly stopped and stared at Qin Weimin.
QFP packaging was a flat, square package style allowing up to a hundred or more pins to extend from all four sides. It required SMT (surface mount technology) for installation—no drilling holes into the PCB.
In other words, this was the kind of packaging used for manufacturing CPUs.
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