Chapter 362 USB Flash Drive
In response to Zheng Zhiguang's question, Zheng Youyuan said: "Children should not interrupt when adults are talking."
Zheng Zhiguang looked at Lu Yiming, who was several years younger than him, and silently lowered his head to eat.
After dinner, Zheng Youyuan invited Lu Yiming to his study.
In the living room, Zheng Fengting looked at Zheng Zhiguang curiously.
In the past, most of the guests who came to the house would chat with her father in the living room. Only those with special status or particularly good guests would be invited into the study by her father.
"Who the hell is this guy?"
Although she knew that Lu Yiming definitely did not come from an ordinary family, Zheng Fengting still did not expect that Zheng Youyuan would attach so much importance to Lu Yiming.
Zheng Zhiguang, who had just been scolded by Zheng Youyuan, was still depressed. After hearing what Zheng Fengting said, he immediately said unhappily: "Isn't he your classmate? Shouldn't you know him better?"
Zheng Fengting: “…”
Who did I offend?
In the study, Zheng Youyuan asked Lu Yiming to sit down, and then boiled water to make tea for Lu Yiming.
"Mr. Lu, this is your first time to drink tea here. Coincidentally, a friend of mine just happened to send me some rattan tea that he made himself not long ago. Try it, it tastes pretty good."
Zheng Youyuan was not anxious. After all, they were all in the same circle, so he naturally knew that Liang Shuzhen and Zuo Chunrong were using the power of the Lingdong business group to suppress Lu Yiming. The business activities of companies such as Tongxin Internet Cafe, Jianlai Technology, and Jingyi Real Estate were greatly affected.
Unless Lu Yiming is willing to bow to the other party, this "encirclement and suppression" will never end so easily.
In fact, when Zheng Youyuan learned from Zheng Zhiguang that Lu Yiming was looking for him, he was already wondering in his heart whether Lu Yiming was looking for him or not because of this matter.
Although the power of the Lingdong Merchant Clan is very strong, this world has always been about profit first. As long as the profit is big enough, even brothers will turn against each other, not to mention that this is just a business competition.
Zheng Youyuan was curious about what conditions Lu Yiming could offer to persuade him to take action against the Lingdong Merchants Gang.
Facing the calm Zheng Youyuan, Lu Yiming was not in a hurry. Instead, he admired the calligraphy and paintings hanging on the wall.
"Mr. Zheng is a man of culture ."
Zheng Youyuan smiled and said modestly, "No, I'm just a rough guy and don't understand these things. I just put it up to look good and pretend."
Two people came in, but neither of them mentioned the transaction that had been discussed earlier.
Of course Lu Yiming would not ask for help from others. Although the Lingdong Merchants' Clan could bring difficulties to his business, he was not a person who was afraid of trouble. If he was asked to go and beg others for help because of this matter, he could not do it.
He had been servile enough in order to make a living in his previous life. He made money in this life just to hold his head high and live his life with dignity.
Zheng Youyuan would naturally not speak. As long as Lu Yiming did not take the initiative to ask him for help, he would never interfere in the feud between Lu Yiming and Liang Shuzhen, Zuo Chunrong and others.
Although the Lingdong Merchants' Clan and the Guangfu Merchants' Clan are in competition in all aspects, this has nothing to do with Lu Yiming. It is impossible for Zheng Youyuan to help Lu Yiming deal with the Lingdong Merchants' Clan just because of Lu Yiming's words.
When it comes to business, any motivation should be based on profit first. Anyone who talks about emotions is simply stupid.
Therefore, although he was very interested in Lu Yiming's so-called business, Zheng Youyuan did not take the initiative to mention it.
Lu Yiming stood in front of a calligraphy painting and admired it for a long time. He couldn't help but say, "It rained for months in the spring, and it was spring again after one day of rain. The green pond was flooded with three feet of water, and the green elms were covered with a new pool of shade. I have seen this painting "Clear Spring in a Deep Valley" by Wen Zhengming in textbooks. I didn't expect to see the original here today. This feeling is really wonderful, as if the ancients who lived more than 500 years ago suddenly stood in front of me."
Zheng Youyuan smiled and said, "That's really some fate."
Seeing Lu Yiming speaking so seriously, Zheng Youyuan also felt suspicious.
This young man, isn't he in a hurry?
Since Lu Yiming was not in a hurry, Zheng Youyuan was naturally even less anxious. His eyes stayed on "Clear Spring in a Deep Valley" and he continued, "This small landscape was said to be painted by Wen Zhengming when it was cloudy and rainy, to record events and emotions. This work has a broad brushwork, rich ink color, and changes in shades and rich layers. Although it is a small scene, it also shows a broad realm and a strong momentum. I like it very much."
Lu Yiming hinted at something and said, "Boss Zheng, look at this painting. Several trees are clustered together, with green leaves and withered branches, supporting each other, yet they can also present a dark vitality. Do you think if we work together, will we also have such an effect?"
Seeing that Lu Yiming finally got to the point, Zheng Youyuan asked, "What kind of cooperation is Mr. Lu talking about?"
Lu Yiming said: "As far as I know, the main business of the Dayuan Electronics Factory founded by Mr. Zheng is now OEM for foreign companies."
Zheng Youyuan was a little surprised when he saw Lu Yiming suddenly mention the electronics factory, but he still said, "Not bad."
Lu Yiming sighed and said, "Although OEM can make money, in the end, we still have to rely on foreigners to survive. Eating the leftovers that they despise is no different from begging on your knees."
Although this is true, Lu Yiming's words are really too harsh.
No matter how good-tempered Zheng Youyuan was, he couldn't help but reveal a bit of anger between his brows.
"Boss Lu, what you said is a bit serious."
Seeing Zheng Youyuan's angry face, Lu Yiming said calmly, "Mr. Zheng, you misunderstood. It's not shameful to make money. But I think that your Dayuan Electronics Factory is not small in the same industry in China, so you don't have to rely on others. It would be better if you can make money on your own."
Asking someone to do something for you is bound to cost you a lot of money.
But Lu Yiming did not intend to suffer any loss. He did not intend to visit either the Lingdong Merchants' Clan or the Cantonese Merchants' Clan, because he wanted to become the new merchant.
And Zheng Youyuan is a person worth winning over.
In Lu Yiming's opinion, as long as the bait is big enough, there is no need to worry about Zheng Youyuan not taking the bait. Once the entire Zheng family is tied to his chariot, it will be easy to use Zheng Youyuan's connections to deal with Liang Shuzhen and Zuo Chunrong.
The so-called circle is nothing more than a collection of interests.
As long as the benefits offered are big enough, Lu Yiming himself can become a member of the new circle. Why bother to stick to other people's cold butts and spend so much effort to integrate into other people's circles?
I had previously supported my cousin Li Yiwen and my good friend Li Quanwang in the hope that they could grow up and become my supporters.
Unfortunately, they are of no use now, so Lu Yiming plans to find a few more tools to train. Zheng Youyuan is one of his targets.
Zheng Youyuan smiled slightly, with a hint of sarcasm towards Lu Yiming's ignorance in his smile: "It's easy for you to say that. Nowadays, almost all electronic products are foreign brands. The patents and technologies are in their hands. Can you still make money without doing anything?"
In the early 1980s, a lot of foreign capital came to invest and set up factories in the southeastern coastal areas. In order to save trouble, some foreign capital would look for some reliable partners locally and adopt the "three-in-one" model to operate.
The so-called "three-in-one and one-compensation" is actually the abbreviation of "processing with supplied materials", "assembly with supplied parts", "processing with supplied samples" and "compensation trade".
To put it bluntly, everything belongs to others, and the Xia people can only sell their labor, do the hardest work, get the least money, and have to act according to the wishes of others.
Even as late as 1996, processing trade still accounted for more than 50 percent of Xia's total exports, and the Pearl River Delta region was full of sweatshops.
For example, the Dayuan Electronics Factory founded by Zheng Youyuan, although some electronic components have been domestically produced, the main customers are still foreigners.
Without orders from Europe and the United States, his electronics factory would go bankrupt immediately.
So, what Lu Yiming said about making money while standing is simply impossible.
It’s not that Zheng Youyuan doesn’t want to, it’s just that reality doesn’t allow it.
Dignity and money, who doesn’t want these two things?
But the problem is that you can't have your cake and eat it too.
At least in Zheng Youyuan's opinion, he couldn't have it all.
However, this little thing is naturally not a problem for Lu Yiming, a reborn person.
Facing Zheng Youyuan's disbelieving expression, Lu Yiming said confidently: "Of course I have a way to make you earn money without doing anything."
Zheng Youyuan felt that Lu Yiming was just bragging.
Although Lu Yiming's road to rise can be described as legendary, looking at the world today, technology is respected in Europe and the United States, and Xia Country is only fit to do some of the most downstream superficial processing and earn some hard-earned money. This is an objective fact and cannot be changed by human willpower.
Can the situation be changed just by Lu Yiming shouting slogans?
It's impossible.
Then, Lu Yiming continued, "I funded a technology company called Jianlai Technology. It seems that some of the components were purchased from your electronics factory."
Lu Yiming's jumping thoughts really made Zheng Youyuan a little confused, but he still said, "Yes, there is cooperation."
Lu Yiming said: "Mr. Zheng should be familiar with computers, right?"
Zheng Youyuan pointed to a white computer on the desk and said with a smile: "I am familiar with this. I use this computer to trade stocks."
Lu Yiming said: "Computers are indeed good things, but do you feel that they are a little inconvenient to use in daily life?"
Accustomed to using computer products of later generations, Lu Yiming actually has deep resentment towards these old computers from the 1990s. The backward technology obviously can no longer meet his spiritual and cultural needs.
However, Zheng Youyuan had no way of understanding Lu Yiming's idea. He said, "No, it's very useful. This is a high-tech product from Europe and the United States. How could it not be useful?"
Lu Yiming said: "Computers have been developed for so many years. The entire computer, from the mainboard, CPU to the mouse and keyboard, has been constantly updated. Only the floppy drive has remained unchanged for many years and has always been a standard configuration. This is very inconvenient to use."
After hearing what Lu Yiming said, Zheng Youyuan recalled the scenes of his own computer use, nodded slightly and said: "It seems to be true. The floppy drive at home is often damaged, and you have to be very careful when storing it, otherwise a small mistake will make the data inside unreadable. But isn't it the same for everyone? Is there any problem?"
Lu Yiming smiled and said, "Innovation means doing things that others cannot do. Since there is a demand in the market, can we abandon the floppy drive and make a small, stable mobile storage device with a capacity many times larger than that of a normal floppy disk to replace it?"
"We? Do it ourselves? Impossible!"
What Lu Yiming was talking about was so high-tech that even the technological powers in Europe and the United States haven't made it yet. How could Xia Country possibly make it?
So, Zheng Youyuan’s first thought was that it was impossible.
After all, in modern times, it is often foreigners who have been scrambling to grab land in the field of scientific research, and the domestic sector has already done its best just to catch up, let alone surpass them.
Most people don't even dare to think about it.
Lu Yiming snorted and said, "In terms of intelligence, who have we, the Xia people, ever lost to? In the road of scientific research, the West is just one step ahead, which does not mean that they are naturally smarter than us. We, the Xia country, have been ahead of the world for 5,000 years , and we are only a hundred years behind the world. Are you so unconfident?"
Zheng Youyuan sighed and said, "It's not that I don't have confidence, but this is an objective fact. The past one or two hundred years have been an era of crazy technological progress. The development of science and technology may be more than the previous three to five thousand years combined."
Lu Yiming was too lazy to argue with him and said directly: "I have such a thing now, just tell me if you are willing to cooperate. Once this thing is made, it will definitely bring about a revolution in the computer world. By then, our names will be like Wen Zhengming, leaving a strong and colorful mark in the future era."
Zheng Youyuan is not short of money now, but he is quite moved by Lu Yiming's words about going down in history. The Xia people are suppressing Europe and the United States in technology. What a passionate thing!
Thinking of this, Zheng Youyuan also felt a little jealous and asked, "Boss Lu, what exactly are you going to make?"
“USB flash drive.”
Lu Yiming said these two words lightly, but it was as if a thunderclap exploded in this era.
In fact, when Lu Yiming learned that USB flash drives had not yet been invented in this era, he was also quite surprised. However, now it can be used as a bargaining chip to tie the entire Zheng family to his chariot.
Zheng Youyuan, who still knew nothing about USB flash drives, did not feel much about these two words. Instead, he was still quite confused: "Is this USB flash drive you are talking about very powerful?"
"The uses of USB flash drives are far beyond your imagination."
At this moment, Lu Yiming seemed quite confident, because he knew the subsequent development of the USB flash drive and how great an impact this thing had on the entire early consumer electronics industry. The subsequent MP3 and MP4 were all developed from such a seemingly insignificant gadget.
