What's wrong with me being a rich man?

Chapter 431 Breakthrough
The development of the domestic short video market will inevitably change with the actions of industry giants.

Yu Xing received a strange phone call from Xing Hongyu, and hung up without knowing what the other party's intention was. However, he guessed that there might be disagreements within Tencent, otherwise, President Xing had previously given people the impression of being quite refined.

Once WeChat and WeChat start working together, Weishi's positioning will become noticeably awkward.

Of course, this also depends on the development of external products. At the very least, the secret attempts by Silicon Carbon Data Company to use MusVid must be kept hidden.

In addition, the pioneering product Vine seems to have really run into trouble.

Compared to the diversity of Instagram, Vine, which adheres to a minimalist style and is unwilling to increase the recording time of videos, has encountered a diversion of users. Its daily active user growth rate has been reported to have dropped from 30% in the summer to 10% in the fall, and its growth rate has obviously slowed down.

This seems to further confirm the possibility that independent apps have a bleak future.

Instagram and Weibo have integrated short video functionality into their existing software, fully leveraging their massive user base. Alibaba's WeChat is also about to follow this path. Therefore, whether it is still necessary for Weishi to invest resources in its development is a matter worth discussing.

Yu Xing believes that Weishi's demise should not be seen by the end of the year, but once resources are reduced, opening the door to a slow death, it may not be seen next year.

In the last week of November, besides the changes brewing in the short video market, what attracted Yu Xing's attention the most was the crazy rise in the price of Bitcoin.

After breaking through $600 and then experiencing a slight pullback, it predictably continued to rise, eventually reaching $1151 at the end of the month, representing an 8700% increase compared to the beginning of the year.

Such a huge price change in a year naturally attracted more media coverage. Even Yu Xing could hear the employees discussing it occasionally when he went to the cafeteria for lunch these past few days.

On the first day of December, Yu Xing unexpectedly received a call from his mentor, Liu Jingrong.

"Teacher... Brother." Yu Xing saw the number, answered the call, and then quickly changed his address, "Uh, um, Brother Rong, what's up?"

Liu Jingrong fell silent upon being addressed in this way.

He paused for a few seconds before saying, "I'll have the students call me 'Brother Rong' now. That way, I can get used to you calling me that, but calling me 'Teacher Brother' is a fresh take on the term."

Yu Xing chuckled: "Brother Rong, I just couldn't contain my respect for you."

"Hmm." Liu Jingrong pondered for a moment, "Yu Xing, there's something I'd like to ask you."

Yu Xing was somewhat surprised: "Tell me, tell me."

Liu Jingrong said after careful consideration, "I have a friend's child who is studying veterinary medicine. He interned at Tencent before, but now he wants to change his career path."

Upon hearing this, Yu Xing asked in surprise, "Veterinary medicine? Can veterinary medicine practitioners work at Tencent?"

“Yes, it’s at the Goose Farm.” Liu Jingrong confirmed, then suddenly realized the problem and added, “Not the Goose Farm you’re talking about in the internet industry, but a real goose farm. He was quite outstanding in school and always received scholarships.”

It's not Penguin Factory, it's Goose Factory.

Yu Xing couldn't help but chuckle: "Okay, okay, so what direction do you want to go? How about I recommend him to Tencent? I do have friends at Tencent."

Before his mentor could speak, he asked again, "You want to come to my place? It's not that I can't arrange it. Hmm, didn't you ask Xiaoying? Her investment firm is quite good for training people. If I mentor her, her future prospects might be good."

Liu Jingrong was a little embarrassed: "I called her, but she refused..."

My younger sister is unwilling, but the other side is an old friend, so I can only try to find a potential brother-in-law.

Yu Xing suppressed a laugh: "Brother Rong, then send me your resume and I'll have someone take a look at it. Hmm, I can also do an internship, but if you can't be patient and end up not producing anything worthwhile, then there's nothing I can do."

Liu Jingrong was quite pleased: "Okay, okay, I know that. Just send him wherever you want to train him. I'll talk to his dad about it."

Yu Xing had a serious chat with him for a few minutes, which could be considered a genuine internal referral.

Liu Jingrong expressed his gratitude, and then asked as the call was about to end: "Yu Xing, you are both very busy with work and have your own ideas. It may not be appropriate for me to say this, and your teacher's wife doesn't want me to say it, but you and Xiao Ying have been together for a long time, hmm."

Upon hearing this, Yu Xing repeatedly agreed.

“I asked Xiaoying, Xiaoying, and she said she really likes her current situation.” Liu Jingrong spoke slowly. “I don’t understand what you young people are thinking. Well, that’s the gist of it.”

call ended.

Yu Xing quickly received the electronic resume on WeChat. He glanced at it briefly and forwarded it to his secretary. The Silicon Carbon Group was not a good fit, but Silicon Carbon Data might offer more opportunities for growth. If he could endure hardship, it would be good to train overseas with the Mus team.

He stopped dealing with his work and started thinking about his personal life, but before long he received another unexpected call from Ji Kairui, the vice president of Capital Today.

"Mr. Yu, hello, hello, this is Ji Kairui from Today Capital." The voice on the phone was very polite, introducing himself as if afraid that Yu Xing hadn't saved his contact information.

"Mr. Ji, you're too kind," Yu Xing said with a smile. "I saw my uncle a few days ago, and he told me that he really had to thank Mr. Ji for his guidance in running their fruit chain business."

Yu Xing's relatives run a fruit chain business together, and it's been doing very well this year. They've already started to expand their stores in East China on a trial basis. He had previously asked Today Capital for some guidance.

Whether it's Silicon Carbon Group or Silicon Carbon Data Company, Lingang has a very good relationship with Today Capital, and the other party is naturally willing to maintain this relationship in such matters.

Hearing President Yu's words, Ji Kairui felt somewhat relieved, but his voice became more serious: "President Yu, it's not about giving guidance. President Chu and I were just chatting about... this chain business, um..."

Yu Xing, being perceptive, immediately said, "President Ji, it's alright. You can speak frankly. Is there something inappropriate on their end?"

Ji Kairui made this call to discuss the issue, and after receiving understanding, he said, "It's like this, President Yu, someone on my side sometimes goes to talk to President Chu about the company's situation. He has worked on similar projects in China before, so he is quite familiar with some things."

"That is to say, he personally visited the farmers' market to purchase fruit and also went to see the procurement of other brands, including the premium pricing of high-quality varieties. And this year's market situation is relatively stable."

"Yes, after he met with President Chu last time, he came back and told me that the fruit purchase price that President Chu mentioned was slightly overpriced, and there might be room for optimization in the procurement process."

Ji Kairui paid attention to his word choice, using phrases like "a little bit of premium" and "the possibility of optimization."

Yu Xing understood and asked directly, "Is there something fishy going on with the procurement?"

“Well, this…” Ji Kairui said tactfully, “We can’t see the cash flow and specific procurement on President Chu’s side. We still need to look at the actual situation. However, he visited a few stores, and the prices of some premium fruits and ordinary fruits seem to be a little higher.”

Yu Xing knew that the other party had reservations, after all, this business was being done by his relatives, and it was easy for him to put in effort but not get any credit.

However, since he still made that phone call and mentioned his subordinate's background and "visiting," there's a high probability that something is wrong.

"Mr. Ji, I'll have someone come and check on the situation. Thank you so much." Yu Xing expressed his gratitude. "When will you be available to come to Hong Kong, Mr. Ji? I'd like to treat you to dinner."

Ji Kairui received the attitude he expected and ended the call satisfied.

Although even an upright official finds it difficult to settle family disputes, he felt that Mr. Yu was a reasonable person.

Yu Xing put down his phone, considered for a few seconds, and then dialed his uncle Chu Jinxiang's number, asking him to come over when he had time.

Chu Jinxiang was in Haiyan, and although he was a little confused, he still came to Lingang the next morning. On December 2nd, Chu Jinxiang arrived at the president's office of the Carbon Silicon Group, and before he could even exchange a few words, he saw his nephew busy with work.

"Uncle, please have a seat. Something urgent has come up."

Yu Xing poured tea, but he had to deal with the more pressing emergency first.

Although it was said to be a sudden event, it is actually a major positive development.

Shortly after arriving at his office that morning, he received a call from Du Yaojie, Vice President of LK Group, who mentioned the significant breakthrough in the prototype of the ultra-large die-casting machine and believed that it could be delivered to the workshop of Silicon Carbon Group by early 15 at the latest.

This also means that Silicon Carbon Group can proceed with the final mass production according to the planned complete vehicle body design.

The investment of Silicon Carbon Group in vehicle safety is well-documented. Their experience in this area actually comes from the Volvo team and the absorption of top industry standards, including but not limited to high salaries, poaching talent, purchasing patents, and independent research and development. The cage-type body structure has also undergone practical testing.

However, even among top-tier levels, there can be further distinctions.

Logically speaking, the increased strength resulting from integrated die casting is understandable.

If, as reported by LK Group, the ultra-large die-casting machine is introduced into the production line of Silicon Carbon Group, this technology will lay the foundation for the construction of Silicon Carbon Group for the next ten to twenty years.

The "Kyushu" model currently features a one-piece die-cast rear floor, but the body structure can continue to evolve after accumulating sufficient experience.

This technology is not only a breakthrough for silicon carbon companies, but it is also highly likely to be a significant advancement for the industry.

Upon learning of this news, Yu Xing had no choice but to confirm and deal with it immediately. As for issues like procurement corruption and fruit overpricing, well, let them be.

"Mr. Du, you guys are really good at hiding things! You're holding me back if I don't pay!"

"I've already paid, so you'd better give me the real thing!"

"You've got some nerve, Mr. Du!"

Yu Xing was so happy he wanted to curse.

"Hey, Mr. Yu, you're really wronging us!" Du Yaojie was equally happy, but still had to defend himself, "We were just at a critical point, we just couldn't hold on any longer, but Mr. Yu, you were willing to take the lead, you were willing to take the lead without hesitation, and that's how we got through it!"

"Our static load tests in the middle of the year always resulted in cracks within an hour, but by July, this problem was solved!"

“After the establishment of 'Carbon Power' company in September, the bench testing of our subsystems has been progressing step by step. The month before last, our performance pass rate was 92%. I have been personally supervising the processing and testing of the parts for the past two weeks to confirm the overall performance before I dared to make this call!”

"Mr. Yu, we can definitely take this step in the industry!"

Besides the technological advancements in the project itself, Du Yaojie was also very excited about this kind of innovation in the industry.

"Yes, Mr. Du, we can succeed if we can, but we wouldn't come to you if we couldn't," Yu Xing said with a smile. "Thank you, Mr. Du, and thank you to all the employees of Lijin. Thank you for your hard work and dedication!"

Du Yaojie added, "We also have to thank President Yu for his firm stance."

The two thanked each other, both genuinely believing that this craft had an excellent future.

However, as the excitement gradually cooled, Du Yaojie still said, "President Yu, although we have made some breakthroughs in die-casting machines, the yield rate of die-casting will inevitably still have problems, and it may not be easy to solve. The cost in this area needs to be diluted by sales volume."

Yu Xing breathed a sigh of relief: "Understood, President Du, I understand. They've talked to me about it many times."

The cost of integrated die casting is higher than that of conventional processes, so if sales don't pick up, the deal won't be so worthwhile.

Yu Xing and Du Yaojie chatted for a while longer, and Yu Xing finally thanked Du Yaojie repeatedly before hanging up the phone.

He put down his phone and looked at Chu Jinxiang, who was reading a newspaper on the sofa.

We've already discussed the more important issues: the corruption in the family's business procurement and the overpricing of fruit cannot be allowed to continue.

"Xingxing, why are you so happy? Judging from your voice, you must have made some technological progress?" Chu Jinxiang put down his newspaper, and although he didn't know what had happened, he smiled and was happy for his nephew.

Yu Xing shook his head and laughed, "President Chu, your affair has been exposed!"

Chu Jinxiang was stunned for a moment, not quite understanding: "Huh?"

Yu Xing observed his uncle's expression and asked again, "I heard that the family's chain is all about collusion, with everyone happily making money. Is that true?"

Chu Jinxiang's expression immediately turned serious: "Who told you that? That's impossible!"

Yu Xing took a sip of tea and briefly recounted the reminder from Capital Today.

Chu Jinxiang frowned, various thoughts flashing through his mind. He was in charge of the overall operation of the fruit chain, but this was the first time he had run a company like this, and he was still quite confused about many things. Moreover, they were all relatives, so there was a natural trust between them.

He hesitated for a while, then said, "Then I'll go back and check the accounts."

“You don’t need to investigate.” Yu Xing shook his head. “Let Red Falcon go through the accounts under the guise of additional investment, and then everything will be clear.”

This time, Chu Jinxiang did not hesitate and immediately agreed: "Okay."

Seeing this, Yu Xing called his secretary in: "Xiao Zhang, you come along. Take people to investigate today."

Chu Jinxiang didn't say anything more and followed Zhang Yangxu out of the office. After walking a few steps, he saw the audit team, fully prepared and ready to go.

The hawk provides the name, and the carbon silicon provides the manpower.

Everything is arranged.

Chu Jinxiang sighed; there was a problem at home.

He took out a cigarette, then suddenly noticed Zhang Yangxu's gaze. After a moment of surprise, he asked, "Xingxing, you don't still suspect me, do you?"

Zhang Yangxu said naturally, "How could that be? President Chu and President Yu didn't forbid you from contacting people."

Chu Jinxiang: "..."

He paused for two seconds: "Even if I make a phone call, they can still find out, right?"

Zhang Yangxu nodded confidently and said, "Don't worry, everyone here is a professional."

Chu Jinxiang was relieved. "Go ahead and investigate. As long as it's done professionally, get to the bottom of it and leave no room for argument."

(End of this chapter)