Chapter 77 The Shameless Style of the Giants
This Mercedes-Benz W140, with its tough exterior, had made it the vehicle of choice for crime bosses in countless cop movies. And true to its reputation, it was much more comfortable than Uncle Zhang's beat-up Crown and Santana.
"Sony's delegation will arrive in the provincial capital on April 26," Chen Jing said while driving. "Their Vice President will come along with Ken Kutaragi, the project lead from their collaboration with Nintendo. This shows they intend to settle things in one go. But the person you dealt with, Takeda Naoto, won't be coming. Why do you think that is?"
Su Yuanshan, just adjusting his seat to recline a little more comfortably, smiled slightly at the question: "Haven't really thought about it."
"You..." Chen Jing shot him a look, clearly exasperated. "We faxed the official invitation two days ago, and you only gave it a glance?"
"Of course. Since you're handling everything, why would I overthink it?" Su Yuanshan shrugged, smiling brightly. "I've been thinking about more important things — like how to leverage our collaboration with Sony to combine our YX01 chip with our graphics chip. Strengthening our console hardware lineup. Pure technical stuff."
"..."
"But since you asked," Su Yuanshan continued, "I'll hazard a guess. Sony likely considers the VCD negotiations a backup play. They already have too many advantages."
Chen Jing turned her head briefly to look at him again. "Analyze their advantages for me. Oh, and which way to the tech park?"
"Turn left at the next intersection and keep going straight. The biggest construction site you see — that's ours," Su Yuanshan said, then leaned lazily against the seat. "Sony dominates the traditional home appliance sector and also controls a big chunk of the Western audiovisual content market. Honestly, no company is better suited than them to promote the VCD format in mature markets where copyright awareness is strong."
At the mention of "copyright," Chen Jing's lips curved into a sly smile. "So you're letting Zhang Jianjun handle the pirated discs?"
Su Yuanshan smiled faintly: "Zhang Jianjun doing pirate discs? First I'm hearing of it."
Even as he said it, a small wave of anxiety rose in his heart — could Old Zhang really be blabbing that openly?
Chen Jing caught his expression and chuckled lightly: "Zhang Jianjun acquired a disc pressing machine. Combine that with the fact he kept asking me about popular music and TV shows on the island — and after your little comment earlier — I could figure it out with my toes. Your main revenue will come from VCD hardware, while the content will be left to the pirate market. After all, Yuanchip hasn't even tried contacting the major record labels."
Su Yuanshan instinctively glanced down at her feet — but alas, the jeans revealed nothing.
"I've spent the past few days researching mainland income levels and the sales figures for video and audio equipment. I found that if we can control the cost of VCD players and offer cheap content, plus decent advertising, selling over a million units a year should be easy," Chen Jing said.
She paused for a moment, then added: "Though I still officially condemn this infringement on copyright."
Su Yuanshan laughed heartily: "President Chen, you're forgetting something. For the record labels, the VCD represents a new market, new audiences. Once our first wave of publicity hits, we'll give away a batch of sample players to the publishers. If they have even half a brain, they'll start producing VCD discs to go with us. But pay us for licensing rights? They can keep dreaming!"
"... You really have the spirit of those shameless corporate giants," Chen Jing said after a long pause.
The car turned onto the high-speed road to the tech zone, surrounded by trucks hauling construction materials. Chen Jing followed a large truck toward a massive construction site.
"Your parents must know how smart you are," Su Yuanshan teased, seeing how accurately she navigated to Yuanchip's tech park.
"They know," Chen Jing replied casually. She parked the car and got out, standing beyond the safety barrier and gazing at the construction site, slightly surprised: "The progress is so fast?"
"Money talks," Su Yuanshan said, nodding at the cranes and banners overhead — slogans like "Provincial Second Construction Company supports Yuanchip Tech Park — fighting the tough battle and creating miracles" fluttered in the breeze. "We're the most straightforward clients. No asking suppliers to front materials, no delays on payments. Naturally, they're motivated."
"So you'll be able to move in by next year?"
Chen Jing's eyes lit up as she gazed over the massive five-hundred-acre site. "This could house tens of thousands of people."
"Not quite. You can't calculate tech parks like commercial zones. But this is just Phase One. Phase Two is still in planning. If everything goes well, we might build a joint tech park with Provincial University, Electronics Tech, and Yuanchip. Then we're talking about thousands of acres."
Hearing this, Chen Jing was genuinely surprised: "Your ambitions are that big?"
"Not ambition, just necessity," Su Yuanshan said nonchalantly, standing atop a slightly raised stone. "The mainland's tech sector is so underdeveloped. If we leave it entirely to government management, the infighting over resource allocation would last for years. A private capitalist like Yuanchip can make decisions much faster — investment allocation comes down to me saying a few words."
"But that takes a lot of money."
"Exactly. So, we need to make a lot of money," Su Yuanshan said, turning to grin at her. "And for that... Sister Jing, I'll be counting on your help."
Chen Jing blinked, pressed her lips together, and a beautiful dimple appeared: "Since you're calling me 'Sister,' I guess I have no choice but to do my best."
"Should've called you that earlier. After all, you're older than me, so no psychological burden at all."
"!!"
Chen Jing shot him a glare, brushed the windblown hair from her cheek, and said teasingly: "No wonder your secretary said you're so good with words. Bet you sweet-talked plenty of schoolgirls back in the day."
"!!!"
The next day, Su Yuanshan didn't even have time to savor the subtle changes in Yuanchip's atmosphere after his return — Chen Jing immediately pulled him, along with Qin Weimin and Yu Yurou, into intense strategy meetings for the upcoming negotiations.
As Chen Jing put it, in high-stakes business negotiations, the moment both sides make contact, the game has already begun. Yuanchip's stunning performance at the Las Vegas exhibition and Su Yuanshan's assertiveness in his earlier talks with Takeda Naoto had given them an excellent starting hand.
Based on her understanding of Yuanchip's ambition, Chen Jing quickly set the tone for the negotiations — aggressive.
Of course, by aggressive, she didn't mean being hostile in attitude but rather being firm in setting conditions.
To demonstrate goodwill, Chen Jing even arranged a three-day "cultural tour" for Sony's delegation, showcasing Guan City and Mount Qing — a way to impress upon them the deep history and the natural harmony of Daoist philosophy.
"In short, we play out our weak cards first, save the strong ones for later. Since both sides are serious about cooperation, there's no real danger of negotiations breaking down."
Chen Jing rolled up her sleeves, exposing her slender, fair wrists, and tapped the table with authority.
"And Minister Yu, when we're drafting the contracts, you should coordinate closely with the Xinghai team," she said.
Yu Yurou, who had quickly come to respect Chen Jing's decisiveness and sharp mind over the past ten days, nodded immediately: "Understood."
"There's an old saying from our island — when signing a contract with the Japanese, you better have eight top lawyers review it first," Chen Jing said, narrowing her eyes with a sly smile. "Their contracts are always ambiguous, full of tricks."
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