Chapter 402: So That's What Happened
After receiving Cheng Xiaohua's call, Lu Yiming quickly rushed to Mingyuan Technology.
Seeing Lu Yiming coming, Cheng Xiaohua and Fang Yunfeng both seemed to have found their backbone.
Cheng Xiaohua said, "Boss Lu, you're finally here. If you hadn't come, Old Fang would have had to carry a 40-meter-long sword and have a peaceful exchange with Zheng Baishun."
Lu Yiming frowned and asked, "I said it when we started the company that the R&D department would operate independently and only accept my leadership. They want to stop my project now. Is that against the rules?"
Fang Yunfeng slapped his thigh and said, "That's right."
Lu Yiming asked: "Where is that guy now?"
"The office."
Lu Yiming said: "I'll go over and take a look."
Cheng Xiaohua was worried about Lu Yiming's safety and said, "I'll go with you."
Lu Yiming smiled and said, "No need. Even if he had a hundred guts, he wouldn't dare to do anything to me."
Lu Yiming came to Zheng Baishun's office, opened the door and walked in, sat on the sofa without any hesitation, crossed his legs, and said in a stretched voice: "Secretary Zheng, President Zheng has been away these few days, you have been living a very carefree life."
He deliberately emphasized the three words “Secretary Zheng”, as if to remind Zheng Baishun to pay attention to his identity.
Zheng Baishun was a little surprised to see Lu Yiming appear in the company so quickly, but he didn't take it seriously. He said calmly, "Managing the company is my daily responsibility. Mr. Lu came here today. Do you have any advice?"
Lu Yiming smiled and said, "It's okay to give me advice, but I just heard that you want to stop my project?"
Zheng Baishun already knew that Lu Yiming must have come because of this matter, so he had already thought of the wording in his mind.
He said calmly, "Mr. Lu, the USB flash drives of Mingyuan Technology are very popular at present, and the demand is in short supply. We only need to make more USB flash drives and increase production capacity, and we can make a lot of money. As for your high-speed flash memory and MP3, I think it is completely unnecessary at this stage. Instead of investing money in such a place where you can't see the benefits, it is better to expand a few more production lines and develop more sales channels."
After listening to Zheng Baishun's words, Lu Yiming quickly understood Zheng Baishun's thinking, and immediately said with a smile: "Secretary Zheng, if my R&D department does not engage in R&D, where will Mingyuan Technology's new products come from?"
Zheng Baishun said bluntly: "USB flash drives are not selling enough now, why bother to develop new products? Do you know that developing new products is very expensive? Throwing the money you earn into research and development instead of trying to expand sales channels is just a waste of resources. Do you know L Company? Do you see them doing research and development? Selling products is the kingly way, Mr. Lu."
Lu Yiming laughed immediately.
Since Zheng Baishun could say such words, Lu Yiming knew that no matter how much he said, it would be useless.
"Secretary Zheng, do you know what was written in the company's articles of agreement when Zheng Youyuan and I first established the company?"
At that time, Zheng Baishun had not come to Mingyuan Technology, so he didn't know these things, so he asked: "How is it written?"
Lu Yiming said slowly, "Our cooperation documents stipulate that President Zheng and I jointly invest in the establishment of the company, I am responsible for research and development, and the R&D department only accepts my leadership. I have more shares than President Zheng. You are not qualified to command the R&D department, do you understand?"
Zheng Baishun was slightly stunned, then laughed and said, "Boss Lu, it seems that you really don't know how to do business. As a company, the two departments are actually under different leaders and do not interfere with each other. Is this still a company? Two sets of leadership teams within a company? That's bullshit. I do this for your own good. If you want the company to continue to develop, you must unify the leadership and management, otherwise it will be dissolved sooner or later."
Lu Yiming raised his eyebrows and said, "So, you are planning to go against me?"
Zheng Baishun said: "I am only considering the development of the company."
"Okay, I'm too lazy to tell you."
Lu Yiming stood up and left.
Zheng Baishun had a triumphant smile on his face: “Goodbye, I won’t see you off.”
Lu Yiming returned to the laboratory, and Fang Yunfeng asked anxiously, "Boss Lu, how did the talks go? Did Manager Zheng agree to continue disbursing funds?"
Lu Yiming shook his head slightly and said, "No. His reaction was strange. I had already told him that I had the decision-making power over the R&D department, and I was also the major shareholder of Mingyuan Technology. Zheng Youyuan had to listen to me, but he seemed to be fearless. I didn't argue with him and just walked out."
Cheng Xiaohua looked thoughtful and said, "I've actually thought about this. Although Zheng Baishun is a relative of Zheng Youyuan, he is still a worker. Why does he think he can go against you, Mr. Lu?"
Cheng Xiaohua was immediately startled: "Could it be Mr. Zheng..."
Lu Yiming patted Cheng Xiaohua on the shoulder and said, "Don't speculate. There may be something else going on. Just be patient. Just continue to do your work and do research and development. If you need money, ask me for approval first."
"OK."
With Lu Yiming's promise, the two felt much more at ease.
On the other hand, although Zheng Youyuan was not in the company, he was an old hand after all, so he also left a few spies to watch secretly, and soon brought back the news of the conflict between Lu Yiming and Zheng Baishun.
Zheng Youyuan was half lying on the bed, looking at some information brought by his informants. Just as he was thinking about how to respond, the door of the ward opened and Zheng Baishun walked in with a fruit basket.
Zheng Youyuan silently put the document under his pillow .
"Uncle, how do you feel today? Are you feeling better? I brought you some fruit."
Zheng Baishun put the fruit basket on the bedside table and sat at the end of the bed.
Zheng Youyuan said calmly, "Much better. How's the company doing these days?"
Zheng Baishun smiled and said, "Everything is normal and running well, don't worry, uncle. Just focus on taking care of your health and don't think too much about other things."
Zheng Youyuan said calmly, "But I heard that you and Mr. Lu are fighting and want to stop the funding for the R&D department?"
Although Zheng Baishun didn't know who told Zheng Youyuan the news so quickly, he didn't care, but argued: "Uncle, this is not my intention to conflict with Lu Yiming. I did this for the development of the company."
Seeing that Zheng Youyuan seemed unconvinced, Zheng Baishun quickly explained: "The technical research and development department has too much power, almost above the entire company. This is unreasonable, and the expenses are very shocking. They invest tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of funds a year, but the things they develop may not be useful. It makes me sweat. If we don't pay attention, the company's capital chain will be broken."
Zheng Youyuan raised his eyebrows and said, "They have a new project?"
Because Lu Yiming told Cheng Xiaohua that they had only been making MP3 for a few days, and Lu Yiming did not need to report matters of the R&D department to Zheng Youyuan. In addition, Zheng Youyuan drank himself into the hospital at this critical moment, so Zheng Youyuan still didn't know that Lu Yiming was going to make MP3.
When they first co-founded Mingyuan Technology, the two had already agreed on three rules.
First, the proportion of a company's annual R&D expenditure to total sales must exceed 24%.
Secondly, the two of them divided the work and cooperated with each other. Zheng Youyuan was responsible for production and sales, as well as communication with channels, while Lu Yiming was responsible for product research and development, and they did not interfere with each other.
As for the last point, if strategic investment is to be introduced, the equity transfer contract will only take effect with the consent of both parties.
Precisely because of the existence of this agreement, Zheng Youyuan is not too concerned about what Lu Yiming is going to develop. After all, Lu Yiming has perfectly demonstrated his vision and strength with the USB flash drive, a groundbreaking product.
Seeing that Zheng Youyuan didn't even know that Lu Yiming was working on a new project, Zheng Baishun immediately became more confident: "See, even you don't know what they are doing, how can this be possible? Are they going to shut down Mingyuan Technology one day, and you are the last one to know?"
It must be said that Zheng Baishun's words were like a thorn that pierced Zheng Youyuan's heart. He asked calmly, "What do you think?"
Zheng Baishun said: "We at Mingyuan Technology already have the USB flash drive as our trump card. Based on the business principle of maximizing profits, I think we should invest more money to promote USB flash drives and strengthen production and sales, rather than throwing money into new projects with uncertain prospects."
After hearing what Zheng Baishun said, Zheng Youyuan nodded slightly and agreed: "What you said makes sense."
Then, he warned, "Since Lu Yiming wants to start a new project, he must have his reasons. If it's not necessary, you shouldn't cut off the funding for the technology research and development department on your own initiative."
Zheng Baishun said firmly: "You are wrong. I think it is necessary to do so! After cutting the huge R&D investment, I asked the finance department to make a new profit report. Now there is a foreign businessman from Israel, Mr. Dover Amon, who is willing to invest in our Mingyuan Technology at an estimated price of 3 billion yuan."
Zheng Baishun said to Zheng Youyuan as if to take credit for it: "Uncle, think about it, if Dover Amon becomes a shareholder of Mingyuan Technology, then our Mingyuan Technology will become a joint venture! A joint venture has preferential policies for tax reduction and exemption, and we can also acquire land at a low price! Besides, the valuation of 3 billion is not low, not to mention that Mr. Amon is Jewish, he has many connections on Wall Street, and he has promised to help Mingyuan Technology go public within three years."
When Zheng Youyuan heard that the company could go public in the United States, he became excited.
On October 9, 1992, Brilliance Auto became the first company from China to be listed in the United States. It was issued in the United States at a price of 16 yuan per share and successfully raised 72 million US dollars!
At that time, when the news of Brilliance Auto's listing in the United States spread back to China, it immediately caused an uproar. In this era when foreign exchange is more precious than gold, the operation of raising money in the United States through the stock market opened the door to a new world for domestic wealthy bosses.
Hearing that Mingyuan Technology could be listed on Wall Street, Zheng Youyuan was also a little excited. He couldn't help but sit up straight and asked, "Can it really be listed in the United States?"
Zheng Baishun patted his chest and said, "How can this be false? If you are worried, at worst we can ask for this clause to be written into the contract."
Zheng Youyuan took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. Then he said with some doubt, "Even if this is the case, there is no need to cut the funding for the R&D department, right?"
Zheng Baishun said: "If we don't cut the R&D department's budget, the expenditure will be too high, which will lead to a decline in the company's overall profit margin. If the listing is successful, it will affect our stock price."
Zheng Youyuan frowned and asked, "Really?"
Zheng Baishun said confidently: "Of course, if you don't believe me, you can ask a professional who knows securities investment analysis to see if I'm right."
Zheng Baishun did not lie about this.
After all, on Wall Street, it is common practice to cut off the R&D department of a listed company to improve its short-term profit data, make the company's financial statements look good, and then sell the company at a high price.
What will be the final outcome for the company if it does this?
Who the hell cares?
Seeing that Zheng Youyuan seemed to be moved by his words, Zheng Baishun breathed a sigh of relief.
Even though he had the guts to confront Lu Yiming head-on before, he was actually still very insecure. After all, without Zheng Youyuan's support, how could he, a senior worker, fight against Lu Yiming?
Now, Zheng Youyuan is also on his side, and he feels even more confident!
After leaving the hospital, Zheng Baishun contacted Dover Aimon and told him that he had initially persuaded Zheng Youyuan to accept Aimon's investment. Then he asked, "Mr. Aimon, what you promised me at the beginning..."
Dover Amon laughed loudly, and then said generously: "As long as you can accomplish this, I will not break my promise to give you 10% of the shares and 2 million US dollars."
Zheng Baishun smiled happily: "Mr. Aimon is indeed a gentleman who keeps his promises. I will wait for good news. "
On the other end of the transatlantic call, Dov Emon was lying on his yacht with a few supermodels in his arms, mockingly saying, "The Xia people are really stupid. They sell out their own interests for a little bit of profit."
Then he turned his head and looked at a man wearing sunglasses beside him: "Qiao, what do you think?"
Lying next to him was a blond, blue-eyed, burly Wall Street elite named Joe Burt.
Joe Bert said: "As long as Mingyuan Technology cuts off its R&D department, Aimon will soon be able to catch up and compete head-on with it."
Dover Amon agreed with this and said, "There are still some patents that cannot be circumvented, so I still need to invest in Mingyuan Technology and obtain the technical license for the USB flash drive. Otherwise, once a patent lawsuit is filed, we still have no chance of winning."
Joe Bert said meticulously: "Don't worry, leave the acquisition to me, and I guarantee that I will help you solve all your worries."
"Haha, then I'm looking forward to your performance."
The two of them talked about investing in Mingyuan Technology as if they were talking about a piece of fat meat on a chopping board that they could cut however they wanted.
