Chapter 451: Not a "Strong Woman"
To Wen Xiaoqian, Sun Xihui was someone she admired deeply—perhaps even more than President Chen.
She had heard the stories about Sun Xihui for years, but now, seeing her in person, she didn't dare act casually. As a junior, she sat upright, attentive and respectful, ready to absorb any words of wisdom that might come her way.
And she quickly noticed: the moment Su Yuanshan saw Sun Xihui, his entire demeanor changed. He instantly shifted from CEO to something more like a mischievous younger brother—relaxed, carefree, and unbothered by appearances.
It was as if the boss had disappeared, and in his place was a playful kid doting on his big sister.
"Forget it. I won't argue with you," Sun said, shooting him a sideways glance, though still smiling. Then she turned to Wen Xiaoqian. "Xiaoqian."
"President Sun." Wen immediately sat up straighter.
"Hehe, no need to be so tense. Do me a favor—go to my room and help my secretary Shirley sort out this past half-year's financials. I heard you studied accounting, right?"
"Yes, I did." Wen quickly stood. "I'll head over now."
"Go ahead." Sun nodded with a kind smile.
After Wen left, Su Yuanshan curled his lip and laughed. "Sun-jie, that wasn't very nice. You chased off the poor girl—she wanted to…"
"Enough," Sun interrupted with a cough, the smile fading as she grew serious. "Let's talk business."
"Alright." Su straightened up as well, though he'd much rather stay lounging. But seeing Sun's expression, he knew the conversation had shifted.
Even though they hadn't seen each other in a long time, the two had stayed in touch through phone calls and emails.
This time, Su had come to discuss the potential listing of Xinghai Trading.
"Xiaoshan, my suggestion is: don't go public for now." Sun stared at him and pursed her lips. After a brief pause, she added softly, "I know you're short on money, aren't you?"
"Mm…" Su didn't try to hide it—just hadn't said it as plainly over email or phone before. "Yuanxin spent way too much last year and this year. Right now, we're holding things together with a fragile cash flow. Our strategic objectives have been mostly achieved, but next year's R&D funding and our risk management capacity will be weakened."
Sun frowned slightly. "I heard from Jiang Wanchao that Zhiyuan EDA is planning to go public in Hong Kong by year's end. How many shares do you still have?"
"Not much. A little over ten percent." Su shook his head. "And I can't touch that stake easily."
Sun was a bit surprised, but nodded. "Understood."
"Sun-jie, we still need to keep expanding into internet-related industries next year. The foundry's profitable, sure, but that money needs to be reinvested in process development. Bottom line is… I'm broke." Su grinned bitterly and spread his hands. "Even if I spin off the foundry next year, the capital raised will have to go into phase-two plant expansion. It's not going to be like EDA, where we could just sell and pocket the money."
"Yeah… now really isn't a good time to go public. Plus, you know the government wants us to wait a couple more years—until after 1997," Sun sighed, visibly frustrated. "They can't do anything about you, so they keep pestering me instead. You know how it is—being in trade means constantly dealing with the government."
"Yeah," Su sighed too.
He knew full well that it wasn't a good time for Xinghai Trading to IPO. As a more traditional industry, even with the Xinghai brand halo, investors might not respond enthusiastically.
Worse yet, Xinghai Trading had started in Hong Kong, which meant any public listing would have to happen there.
But right now, the mood in Hong Kong was tense. Many wealthy locals were already pulling out their capital—some moving it to nearby countries like Malaysia or Thailand, others to far-off places like Australia, Canada, or Europe.
Would a traditional trading company even be able to raise much capital through a listing under these conditions?
And that wasn't even accounting for the government's own political calculations. They clearly had a timeline—and wanted to make this part of their "gift package" after 1997.
"If you're really short on funds," Sun said slowly, "I can still pull together quite a bit. How much do you need? Would a billion dollars be enough?"
Seeing her so casually offer such a sum, Su couldn't help but laugh. "Sun-jie, how's that money supposed to get into Yuanxin? You're under Xinghai's umbrella."
"Investment, of course. Just give me a project, and I'll invest directly."
"Don't joke around. This isn't a game. Xinghai Trading is on its way to becoming a global leader—you can't afford a black mark on your record."
But Sun simply shook her head, exhaling slowly. She looked at Su for a long time and then said softly, "Xiaoshan, I've never actually wanted to be the world's number one—or even Asia's number one…"
Su froze.
In that moment, he saw it clearly in her eyes: exhaustion.
"Tired?" he asked gently.
"A little," Sun admitted, rolling her neck and pressing her palms into the sofa as she smiled faintly again. "All this scheming and maneuvering… it's nothing like back when I just worried about rice, oil, and office supplies."
Her words transported Su back in time to the early days of Yuanxin.
Back when his uncle rented the top two floors of an old building for their first office, they had barely any money for renovations, and the logistics staff ended up working in cramped, uncomfortable quarters.
At lunchtime, Sun would lead her small team into Su's office to take naps on his big couch—so often, in fact, that he eventually bought a reclining chair just so he could nap too.
Back then, the logistics department was tight and busy, sure, but life was simple. Salaries were good. People admired them.
Now, Sun Xihui held a top executive position, worth billions on paper. But was she happier? Clearly not.
"Then take a break," Su said softly.
He was never one to force people. He had brought Sun in because of her talent—but never stopped to consider what she wanted.
Looking back, maybe he had forced her into this "iron lady" role without realizing it.
And now, it seemed, Sun was telling him—she wasn't an iron lady at all.
"Mainly, it's just been a rough stretch," she said with a self-deprecating smile. "Back when I was poor, I thought that once I had money, I'd be free from worry. Work aside, life would be peaceful. But now I see—even with money, there's still plenty to stress about."
"Don't tell me… is that boss Huang bothering you again?"
"No," she shook her head with a bitter smile. "It's my kid. That little brat's getting spoiled."
"…"
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Chapter 452: The Moment of Awaiting a Miracle
Su Yuanshan was genuinely glad that Sun Xihui was willing to share her worries with him—especially since her troubles had begun to affect her state of work.
After listening to her vent in detail, Su wasn't able to offer much concrete advice right away. A single-parent household, raised by elderly grandparents, and with an abundance of wealth—any one of those factors would require special care in a child's upbringing. But Sun Xihui's kid hit all three. Unsurprisingly, he had turned into a bit of a schoolyard tyrant.
"Switch schools," Su finally said. "It's okay if a kid isn't exceptionally talented, but what matters most is not letting them learn bad values."
"Yeah, I'm thinking of transferring him too. Maybe bring him to Hong Kong, or send him abroad… Any advice?" she asked.
"Uh… I wouldn't recommend sending him abroad yet. He's still pretty young, right? Ten years old?"
"He just turned ten this year."
"Then there's no need to rush it. A change in environment should be enough," Su said. "But I wouldn't suggest keeping him in Hong Kong either. You're the boss, and having him close to you means he'll inevitably interact with your staff. A kid that age getting a taste of power and praise—it's not good for their development."
"Speaking of which," Sun Xihui suddenly turned to him with a curious expression, "if you had a child in the future, how would you raise them?"
Su froze for a moment, then squinted slightly, forcing back the image of a daughter that suddenly popped into his mind.
"If you'd asked me a few years ago… I probably would've said, just let them live a happy life. That's every parent's wish."
Sun nodded, deeply agreeing with that.
"But now… Sun-jie, don't you think that being born into the right family is a kind of talent in itself?"
She blinked, not understanding why he was talking about reincarnation.
Su laughed. "It's only been a few years, but based on how Yuanxin and Xinghai are growing, it's easy to predict that our families will live in comfort for generations."
"Being born into that kind of household… if they still only aim for a simple, happy life…"
He didn't finish the sentence, but Sun understood exactly what he meant.
She nodded slowly. "The fortune of a noble family rarely lasts beyond five generations."
"Alright, I've made up my mind—I'm bringing him here with me and raising him strictly."
"Be rational with him. At ten, he can already understand reason," Su said. He hesitated for a moment, wanting to say something more, but eventually held back.
…
After getting those concerns off her chest, Sun visibly relaxed. She and Su shifted the conversation back to the matter of Xinghai Trading's IPO.
Her plan was to help Su financially by directly transferring dividend profits into the Xinghai Fund, which would then handle a stock equity transaction with Yuanxin.
The ready-made model was for Yuanxin to spin off its foundry, bring in capital for it, and in parallel, Yuanxin would reduce its ownership. That way, the foundry would still remain under Su's control—just under the Xinghai Fund instead of Yuanxin directly.
Su frowned. "Ten billion dollars, sis… If you pull that much, won't it impact Xinghai Trading's operations? Isn't that risky? You know now is exactly the time to take over more market share."
Unlike those pulling their money out of Hong Kong, Sun had always believed in the city's long-term stability—even after 1997, she was confident it wouldn't become the "chaotic black hole" some people claimed it would.
Even if the mainland completely rose to dominance, Hong Kong, as a free port, would still play an essential role in the nation's trade network.
What's more, Xinghai Trading had already expanded far beyond Hong Kong. Its business footprint covered the entire mainland.
"No worries. The risk is minimal," Sun said seriously. "I've done my due diligence—this isn't just off-the-cuff."
"Alright, I'll think about it." Su paused, then asked, "Since you're not in a hurry to list… which side will you end up on in the future? Xinghai Fund, or Yuanxin Holdings?"
"Yuanxin Holdings," she replied without hesitation.
"Good."
…
In Hong Kong, Su only stayed long enough for lunch with Sun. That afternoon, he returned to the Special Economic Zone.
National Day soon followed, but Su didn't return home—even though Yuanxin's private jet finally landed at the SEZ airport on the day of the holiday.
He stayed in the office, using the holiday break to thoroughly review everything he had done over the past six months. He carefully evaluated his plans for the future and looked for anything he might have overlooked.
LCD panels, lithium batteries, online streaming… Su took stock of the past two years of investments and progress, evaluating their positions in the global landscape. His conclusion: Yuanxin wasn't too late.
Even in the worst-case scenario, they were still ahead of where they had been in his past life.
While back at the Science Park, Su also received some good news from Pandora Lab.
His senior, Tang Jun, who had returned from IBM at Xi's invitation, had been fully supported by Su. Now, his first DSP chip had entered the simulation phase. If everything went smoothly, they could start tape-out as early as next year.
If successful, it would be China's first commercially viable high-performance DSP chip.
Granted, its technical specs were still about a generation behind what IBM and Texas Instruments were offering—but so what? It would still work.
DSP (digital signal processor) chips weren't common in everyday PCs, so the public didn't know much about them. But in reality, DSPs were used in a massive range of applications: communications systems, signal processing, automatic control, radar, military tech, aerospace, healthcare, home appliances—any device that handled digital signals needed them.
In the digital future, DSPs would become one of Yuanxin's "three chip pillars."
"Looks like the last big surprise this year will depend on the lithography machine," Su murmured as he flipped through project files with a smile.
Over at the optics lab, progress was sluggish—mainly because China lacked the technical foundation and had no existing model to "borrow" from. Everything had to be developed from scratch, and their ambitions were aggressive.
Still, slow progress was still progress. The team led by Zheng Zhenchuan remained motivated, working day and night with engineers from the wafer fab.
The latest update? It seemed all of the major problems had been identified.
Now, it was just a matter of… waiting for a miracle.
Closing his laptop, Su stretched his back in the empty office and stood up.
Time to head next door and see if Zhang Xiaolong wanted to grab lunch.
Ever since Su had arrived, even Zhang—normally a laid-back guy—had turned into a workaholic.
It was hard to say whether he'd been inspired or simply pressured into it.
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Chapter 453: So It Was Him
"Brother Xiaolong, let's go grab some food."
Su Yuanshan pushed open the office door and waved cheerfully at Zhang Xiaolong.
Zhang Xiaolong was staring at his monitor with a serious expression. When he heard Su's voice, he turned, saw who it was, and smiled as he stood up. "Let's go. But today we'll have to eat out—nothing in the canteen."
"Hmm, no problem. Let's just get something simple—I remember there's a Sichuan restaurant downstairs. Can you handle spicy food?"
"I can manage a little."
"Perfect." As they left the office, they ran into two other department heads who had just finished working overtime. The four of them went downstairs together to the restaurant.
It was the holiday period. Most employees were off, leaving only a few department leads working overtime. This… had practically become a Yuanxin tradition.
After all, if the big boss himself was spending his holiday at the office, what excuse did they have not to be there?
Inside the private dining room, they ordered a few dishes and sat down casually. Su looked around the table and grinned. "Brother Xiaolong, Brother Chen, Brother Wang—I'm just a stranger in this SEZ. My senior is off with his wife, so I'm stuck in the office. You don't have to feel guilty about me being here."
Chen Wei, the head of the network department, laughed and waved him off. "President Su, we're not feeling guilty. Honestly, the holiday gives us a chance to catch up and reorganize the workload—nothing more. Plus, my hometown's far away. To get back, I'd need to take multiple connecting flights. Unless you loan me your private jet."
"Your hometown? Even if I lent you the jet, you probably wouldn't have a place to land it." Zhang Xiaolong raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you say it's in the mountains?"
"I'd just call the county government and ask them to clear a stretch of road. Should work."
Su chuckled. "Seems like even the county government has to show you face, Brother Chen."
"Eh, it's just borrowed glory. All because I work at Yuanxin."
…
Because it was a casual meal, no one brought up work.
Once the dishes arrived, the four of them chatted and ate in a relaxed atmosphere.
Just as they were starting to enjoy themselves, the door to the private room suddenly opened. A head peeked inside, only to freeze when all four men turned to look at him.
The man immediately smiled apologetically. "Ah—President Zhang, President Chen—sorry to disturb you."
He looked to be in his early thirties, dressed sharply in a suit and polished leather shoes. As he entered, he carefully closed the door behind him, leaving just a small gap open.
Su Yuanshan looked at Zhang Xiaolong in surprise.
Zhang Xiaolong froze for a second as well, then frowned slightly and leaned toward Su, whispering, "That guy's a vendor. Sells office supplies and computers. He's pretty well-connected around here."
Su nodded, smiling.
Well, it seemed every city had its own hustlers.
"Old Qiu, what's this? Not taking a break for the holiday? You're not here to sell us computers today, are you?" Chen Wei joked.
"No, no. I just happened to run into a friend here who wanted to meet some of you. We heard you were dining upstairs, so… I figured I'd stop by," the man said, still grinning.
His name was Qiu Aihua, and as his eyes scanned the room, he paused at the sight of Su Yuanshan. Young, but seated casually next to Zhang Xiaolong with an air of calm authority—clearly not just some assistant.
Qiu blinked in slight surprise, then quickly recovered and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.
"Old Qiu, put those away. None of us smoke," Chen Wei said with a laugh, raising his hand.
He then gestured at Su. "Let me introduce everyone. This is Wang Xingang, our new product manager."
"Hello, President Wang," Qiu said politely.
"And this—" Chen glanced at Su. Seeing that Su showed no signs of avoiding the introduction, he smiled. "This is President Su, a new senior leader in our department. President Su, this is Qiu Aihua, a well-known distributor in the SEZ."
"Ah, I don't deserve that kind of praise. Nice to meet you, President Su!" Qiu Aihua quickly stepped forward, extending both hands eagerly.
Su stood and shook his hand.
No wonder this guy had managed to do business with Yuanxin despite the company buying its office computers directly from manufacturers. With nothing more than general supplies and consumables to sell, and still managing to get recognized by a top-level manager like Zhang Xiaolong—it was clear he had serious networking skills.
At the very least, Su couldn't do that.
And so, he became curious—what exactly was this guy up to?
"Presidents, would you honor me with your presence? Let me host this meal. There's a friend of mine outside who's eager to meet you all," Qiu said as he rubbed his hands together. His eyes flicked between the four, finally landing on Zhang Xiaolong.
But when he noticed that Zhang was looking to Su for input, Qiu's eyes flickered with surprise. It was subtle, but Su caught it.
Still, there was a principle to hospitality—Su wasn't about to embarrass someone who came in smiling. He nodded slightly.
Zhang Xiaolong remained mostly expressionless, but nodded as well. "Alright then—thank you, Old Qiu. So who's this friend of yours?"
"I'll call him in now."
Overjoyed, Qiu rushed to the door and opened it wide.
In walked a man of average height, in his early thirties, with plain looks and a somewhat awkward smile. Faced with a room full of Yuanxin executives, he seemed clearly uneasy.
Su Yuanshan blinked, then froze for a split second.
The next moment, realization hit.
He immediately recognized the man—recognized who he was, and understood his presence.
Then, with practiced calm, Su composed himself, simply smiling as the man entered.
He's finally here.
"Mr. Ma, let me introduce you," Qiu said seriously, pulling the man forward. "These are senior leaders from Yuanxin's network division. That's President Zhang… President Chen… President Wang…"
"Hello…"
Before Qiu could get to him, Su spoke up with a smile. "Mr. Ma, is it?"
The man nodded. "Hello."
"I'm Su Yuanshan."
"I'm… Ma Yun."
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Chapter 454: Mr. Ma's Purpose
"Brother Xiaolong, get two more sets of tableware," Su Yuanshan said with a smile toward Ma Yun, then turned and gently instructed Zhang Xiaolong.
Running into Mr. Ma here could only be called fate.
Su didn't know everything about the future empire that Ma Yun would build, but he did remember that Ma had started with "Yellow Pages"—not the NSFW kind, but the business-directory type that published corporate contact info on the internet for easier access.
It was from that starting point that Ma built his network among businesses. From publishing company information to building corporate websites, then connecting with the Ministry of Foreign Trade to design sites for investment promotion, product showcases, and events.
From there, he used his technical foundation and relationships to create a service platform for businesses—Sesame Open (yes, you know the one). Once that platform was firmly tied to enterprise resources, launching TB.com (yes, that one too) became a natural next step.
After a notoriously aggressive and borderline rogue early-stage growth campaign, the "guaranteed trust" payment system debuted—and from that moment, eBay, EachNet, 8848, and all other earlier e-commerce players were swept off the beach by a tidal wave.
In truth, back then, the rise of ZF Pay (we all know who) solved the biggest obstacle in online commerce: the issue of trust between buyers and sellers. (And as someone who lived through that era, Su had seen with his own eyes the rogue marketing tactics of TB and the absolute disruption ZFB caused once it launched.)
At this point in time, even globally, e-commerce was still in its infancy. Most countries hadn't taken their first real steps yet.
So, Ma's purpose in coming here must be to promote his Yellow Pages business.
…
Su's good temper was well known within Yuanxin, so Zhang Xiaolong didn't question the request. He had the waiter bring two more sets of dishes. Qiu Aihua, meanwhile, busied himself ordering a few more plates and hurriedly instructed the server that he would be covering the bill.
In the brief time it took to order, both Qiu and Ma had begun to sense something: the real boss in the room wasn't Zhang Xiaolong, head of Yuanxin's Internet Center—it was the young man beside him, the one they only knew as "President Shan."
Still, in an age before modern information access, neither of them had any clue who Su Yuanshan truly was.
This wasn't the era of Google and Wikipedia, where anyone's corporate background could be discovered in seconds.
"Gentlemen," said Chen Wei, who was better acquainted with Qiu Aihua. Glancing at the expressions of Su and Zhang, he sensed they appreciated directness. With a chuckle, he said, "Old Qiu, what brings you here today that you're so eager to treat us?"
"Ah, that's for Mr. Ma to explain. I'm just the connector." Qiu smiled, picked up a teacup, and raised it toward Su. "President Shan, no wine at lunch—just tea for now. But if you're free this evening, we can have a drink."
"Sounds good." Su picked up his cup, took a polite sip, then looked at Ma Yun and said, "Mr. Qiu, leave your number. Let's have a proper chat another time."
"Absolutely!"
Ma Yun steadied himself under Su's gaze, smiled, and said, "Here's the situation, President Shan. I was a teacher for two years, but with the growth of the internet in China… we've just founded the first commercial internet service company in the country—focused on enterprise-level services."
"Oh?" Zhang Xiaolong turned to Su, then looked at Ma with surprise. "Commercial internet services? Sounds kind of like what our Internet Center does. Where's your company based?"
"In Hangzhou. But our services don't overlap with Yuanxin's Internet Center," Ma quickly clarified. "You guys handle deep tech for internet companies. We focus on helping traditional companies with publicity and online presence."
"With the way the internet's evolving, the future will undoubtedly be digital. Maybe it's not so obvious here yet, but abroad, the internet is already entering everyday life. In China, with lower economic development, internet adoption will probably start with businesses—because they're more willing to invest in visibility."
Once the topic turned to the internet, Ma Yun found his rhythm. He spoke smoothly while watching Su's reactions. Seeing that Su was listening attentively, he let out a quiet breath and smiled. "I noticed that many of Yuanxin's products and subsidiaries are pretty low-key online. I figured the Internet Center must be busy with R&D and core tech, leaving no time to build a proper corporate website…"
Zhang Xiaolong's expression turned a bit amused. "So, Mr. Ma, are you offering to build our website?"
The Yuanxin execs around the table couldn't help but laugh.
Even Qiu Aihua, who didn't know much about the internet, realized that suggesting you could "build a website" for the head of Yuanxin's Internet Center was… a bit presumptuous.
"No, no," Ma Yun chuckled and shook his head. "I'm not talking about building a site for the Internet Center. What I'm proposing is to feature Yuanxin on a dedicated page and column on our Chinese Yellow Pages platform."
Su Yuanshan finally exhaled in relief.
For a moment, he had wondered if Ma Yun was about to launch into some groundbreaking revelation—but no, he was here to pitch business.
"Right now, our China Yellow Pages platform has hundreds of companies listed, including semiconductor firms, major retailers, and many manufacturers. Users can browse by category to find suppliers. We also offer services like email campaigns and promotional placements for our listed companies."
Under the table, Ma Yun clenched his fist lightly. "We're all in business. Our goal is to eliminate information barriers, to make middlemen and deal brokers obsolete. To make business in this world easier—not harder."
Su blinked. He glanced at his colleagues.
They remained calm and unimpressed.
Well… that made sense. He had probably said too much about the future of the internet in his usual speeches. To his team, Ma Yun's vision wasn't new—and honestly, it sounded milder than Su's own.
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Chapter 455: President Shan
Seeing that no one at the table reacted, Ma Yun started to feel a little nervous.
This wasn't the kind of silence he was used to—like when clueless, old-school business owners heard him pitch the internet and just blinked in confusion.
No, this was the kind of quiet that said: "Yeah, we know."
Still, Ma Yun had come mentally prepared. After all, this was Yuanxin. His trip to the Special Economic Zone wasn't specifically for them. His real goal was to win over the hundreds of small and mid-sized enterprises in the area. If he could lock those down, then his business would finally take shape.
Visiting Yuanxin had just been a bonus. He'd casually mentioned it to an old classmate, and the classmate—wanting to help—had said he knew someone in Yuanxin's Internet Center. That's how this meeting had come about. Ma Yun had done some prep and came with the mindset: "Why not give it a shot?"
Now, however, it was clear that Yuanxin's Internet Center was far more "advanced" than he'd anticipated. At the very least, they had already thought seriously about the internet's future.
The possibility crept into his mind: could Yuanxin be planning to get into enterprise-level internet services too?
Then, Su Yuanshan smiled.
"Mr. Ma, your ideas are solid, and your understanding is sharp. I support your vision." Su nodded lightly. "No one believes in the future of the internet more than Yuanxin does—and I'm sure you share that belief."
Ma Yun smiled in return, while secretly sizing up Su.
—He vaguely recalled that Yuanxin had been founded by a man named Su Xinghe, a well-known academic. So this "President Shan" sitting beside Zhang Xiaolong… could he be Su Xinghe's son? The heir to Yuanxin?
"As for listing on the Yellow Pages… honestly, it doesn't mean much for Yuanxin." Su kept his tone warm, but there was a hint of teasing in his smile. "Let's be real—anyone who wants to do business with Yuanxin will find us, one way or another."
Ma Yun froze for a moment, then gave a sheepish laugh and tapped his forehead. "Right… I forgot about that."
A company of Yuanxin's size and reputation needing a Yellow Pages listing? If that were true, the brand team would be the first ones to be fired.
They spent tens of millions annually on advertising. If their name wasn't already household-level, then Wan Yongliang really needed to step down.
But Ma Yun still added, "Still, the internet is a new frontier. Even a company like Yuanxin should have a strong online presence."
"That's fair," Su nodded. "No harm in having one more channel."
"Then…"
"Listing on Yellow Pages is fine," Su said. "But I'd like to ask you, Mr. Ma—besides Yellow Pages, what else can a company do on the internet?" He smiled and leaned forward, eyes twinkling.
Ma Yun paused.
Besides Yellow Pages… what else?
And by "company," Su clearly didn't mean an internet service provider, but a traditional manufacturing firm.
Other than putting up a listing… what else could they do? At this stage of the internet's development, there really weren't any other options.
Ma Yun looked at Su, puzzled. Su smiled and said, "If you ever come up with an answer, feel free to reach out to me."
He opened his briefcase—only to realize he hadn't brought his business cards. What he had was a small stack of Zhou Xiaohui's cards.
Thinking for a moment, Su pulled out two and handed them to Ma Yun and Qiu Aihua.
"I forgot my own cards. Take these—they're from Director Zhou. If you need to reach me, just call her and she'll pass the message."
Both men accepted the cards.
Ma Yun didn't think much of it, but Qiu Aihua froze.
When he saw Zhou Xiaohui's name and title—Assistant to the Chairwoman of Yuanxin—his mind blanked for a moment.
Holy shit.
—Besides the actual chairwoman, who else would casually carry her assistant's card and offer it like it was no big deal?
And then there was this young man, with his easy composure, effortless authority, and the way he'd quietly led the entire conversation like it was second nature…
Qiu suddenly remembered some gossip and took a deep breath. He looked at Su a little more carefully and tucked the business card away with great care.
Even though he was well-connected within the Special Economic Zone's electronics world, and had built a respectable name for himself, this was the first time he'd been handed a card of this "caliber."
None of the other Yuanxin execs at the table had ever given him one.
To them, he was just another vendor. Selling computers and office supplies. Hardly worth their time.
"By the way," Su added, turning back to Ma Yun and Qiu, "if you ever do come up with more ideas for how the internet can be applied more broadly in business, Yuanxin would be open to working with you."
He smiled again. "Now let's eat."
…
"Old Chen—President Chen, wait up a second."
After the meal, Su and Zhang Xiaolong began heading back upstairs.
Qiu Aihua hadn't even had time to pay the bill yet when he darted over to intercept Chen Wei, who had just come out of the restroom.
Chen raised an eyebrow, looking at Qiu and the still-awkward Ma Yun standing behind him.
Truth be told, in the past, Chen wouldn't have given Qiu more than a few polite words.
After Yuanxin's Internet Center was restructured, it had slowly regained its full staff. The volume of consumables and supplies had shot back up. Occasionally, even computer parts that weren't part of centralized purchasing had to be bought individually, giving vendors like Qiu a foothold.
Chen didn't know whether kickbacks were involved, but he did know these guys would pull every trick in the book to close a sale.
As a department head, he had no interest in getting his hands dirty.
But now…
Chen had picked up on something. Su Yuanshan seemed genuinely interested in these two.
So, he stayed.
"What is it, Old Qiu? Mr. Ma?"
"President Chen, can you level with me?" Qiu asked in a hushed voice, watching Su's group disappear around the corner. "That President Shan—what exactly is his background? I just don't want to offend anyone if I contact him later…"
"Contact him?" Chen raised an eyebrow. You probably won't get the chance, he thought. But then, remembering Su's unexpected warmth earlier, he chuckled and said, "Alright, Old Qiu… President Shan is Yuanxin's chairman."
"I thought President Chen—Chen Jing—was the chairwoman?"
"She is," Chen nodded. "But let's put it this way—President Shan is her boss. He's Yuanxin's founder. The son of Professor Su Xinghe. In short… he's the company's largest shareholder. Its true owner."
"…"
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