What's wrong with me being a rich man?

Chapter 437 Sensitive
The research on aluminum alloy materials is a project in which the Silicon Carbon Group collaborates closely with two professors from Jiaotong University under the guise of industry-academia-research cooperation.

The requirement for these material properties was proposed by the company after it initially approached LK Group. The core objective was to break through the bottlenecks of traditional aluminum alloys and make them compatible with the integrated die-casting process innovation.

Compared to the setbacks of the LK Group, the team led by Professor Ding and Professor Peng has lived up to expectations, making progress in performance every now and then. Moreover, they have launched aluminum alloys with five subtypes under two alloy systems, successfully improving material fluidity by more than 15% and increasing the strength-ductility product by more than 30%.

Traditional aluminum alloys have insufficient fluidity at high temperatures, making them unsuitable for filling the complex cavities of large die-casting molds. The latest aluminum alloys, with optimized ratios of elements such as magnesium and zinc, can increase the filling speed to 5m/s, which is close to the fluidity level of injection-molded plastics.

In layman's terms, the new aluminum alloy is fluid, strong yet not brittle, and does not require heat treatment; it can be used directly after pressing.

Yu Xing immediately reviewed the materials submitted by the laboratory, quickly skimmed over the various data, and repeatedly looked at the conclusions. Ultimately, he expressed his longing for the perfect combination of the new aluminum alloy and the ultra-large die-casting machine.

We have the materials and the equipment. Although Lijin is still optimizing, the integrated die casting is at least on track.

Although Yu Xing was pleased, he hadn't made a complete judgment yet, since the yield rate was still a factor. However, this globally unique technology was indeed gaining wider and wider application.

He calmed himself down, called the materials laboratory, and then contacted Carbon Power Company, hoping to have a new round of exchanges and cooperation on the latest breakthroughs.

Soon, the joint seminar was scheduled for three days later.

On December 14, Yu Xing, still basking in the joy of the breakthrough in materials, received a call from the head of IDG, who told him that he was going to take a tour of Lingang and that he had a talent worth recommending.

Before Xiong Xiaoge arrived, the talent's resume was sent over first. At first glance, there was a sense of connection; he was a seasoned supply chain professional from Jiaotong University named Song Gang.

The next day, Yu Xing welcomed President Xiong's arrival and immediately showed him around the progress of the silicon carbon group. Then, as usual, he drove the prototype vehicle and told him about the various problems, big and small, that had been encountered during this period.

For example, the deep integration of German-made air suspension with domestically produced systems.

For example, the joint venture between silicon carbon and LKK, and the breakthrough in aluminum alloy materials.

Xiong Xiaoge was initially quite interested, but the more she listened, the more confused she became.

When he switched to driving the prototype car, he couldn't help but sigh, "Mr. Yu, I pride myself on being an investor who likes to study industry trends, but you... you're becoming less and less like an internet person."

Yu Xing couldn't help but chuckle: "Then let's go next door to chat. The people next door are quite internet-savvy; they're genuinely reporting to the shareholders, aren't they?"

“Shareholders like to have a clear understanding of the company’s situation, but with companies like Silicon Carbon Group, we can only wait for the final conclusion.” Xiong Xiaoge touched the steering wheel. “Right now, I just feel a bit silly and happy to be able to drive a car.”

He continued, "Mr. Yu, I wouldn't be surprised if I saw you with half a head of white hair in two years."

Yu Xing didn't take it to heart: "President Xiong, I have my own unique way of relaxing."

Xiong Xiaoge found it rather strange and asked, "What kind of unique relaxation?"

After thinking for a moment, Yu Xing replied, "I like to go to karaoke when I have free time, and sing songs like 'The Fake Monk'. It's especially good for relieving stress, and I think that's why 'Sing Karaoke Together' has such a good daily active user base."

Xiong Xiaoge smiled and said, "President Yu, rich people have many tricks up their sleeves, but yours is the most down-to-earth way to relax."

Recalling what he had just heard, and deciding that since he was already there, he said, "Then I'll listen to your progress on integrated die-casting technology tomorrow?"

Yu Xing readily agreed, then joked, "If you're willing to sit there like a block of wood, I won't stop you."

Xiong Xiaoge didn't feel embarrassed. Even if he couldn't understand it, listening to it would still be beneficial. When he encountered occasions where he had to meet with leaders, he could pick out a few sentences and appear very professional.

He was satisfied with the progress of the silicon carbon group.

After discussing the overall situation, Xiong Xiaoge mentioned that the person he recommended was someone he had met while participating in industrial investment, and after exchanging ideas and researching, he felt that this person's resume and abilities were quite good.

After hearing the explanation, Yu Xing said, "I felt a vague impression of his name when I saw it yesterday, so I had someone check it out. We had tried to recruit him to come to Lingang, but he refused. Mr. Xiong, isn't this a case of one-sided enthusiasm?"

Song Gang graduated from Jiaotong University and then worked in the supply chain of automakers such as GM and Ford. As early as the beginning of 2012, he was shortlisted by Silicon Carbon Group, but subsequent communication was rejected by the other party.

The falling flowers were willing, but the flowing water was indifferent; such things cannot be forced. In addition, the carbon silicon group's factory was still under construction, so nothing came of it.

“Huh? Really? I haven’t heard him mention that before.” Xiong Xiaoge said, somewhat puzzled. “I did talk to him about the carbon silicon group’s electric vehicle project, and he spoke highly of it. Then, I mentioned that Lingang is short of talent, and he didn’t refuse to recruit them.”

Song Gang mainly works in joint venture car factories in China, where he is involved in vehicle manufacturing and supply chain management, and has extensive experience.

Xiong Xiaoge also asked around and found out that this person did indeed have a very good reputation.

He pondered for a moment, then suddenly had a guess: "I don't think he was just saying that to politely ask me to come. Maybe when you were poaching him, the Silicon Carbon Group was still penniless, so naturally he was unwilling to come. Now that it has taken shape, he has room to maneuver, so naturally he can seriously consider it."

Yu Xing agreed with this idea, but still smiled and said, "Then I'll have someone ask again. Never mind, I'll just call him directly. But, Mr. Xiong, you don't need to recommend people to me like this in the future. We will find suitable candidates ourselves."

Xiong Xiaoge was somewhat disgruntled; the shareholders were just trying to do their part.

Yu Xing had his secretary write this down. Song Gang was indeed on the company's talent list, so they could ask him about it again.

He then discussed the progress of the three major components of electric vehicles, with a particular emphasis on the battery issue, which is currently the slowest to develop.

Silicon Carbon Group has issued requirements to CATL regarding the performance standards of lithium iron phosphate batteries, but the feedback received is that progress is underway and further optimization and testing are expected by mid-year.

The pressure on CATL is immense, as it must not only meet performance requirements but also comply with the safety standards of two or even three other companies.

Yu Xing ignored the repeated pressure and had only one thought: You are the Prince of Ning, you can't be incompetent.

Hearing the slight distress that President Yu seemed to be experiencing, Xiong Xiaoge didn't say anything. "You're President Yu, you should be worried," she thought. The two then discussed the tram's situation and some financing plans for next year.

Finally, Xiong Xiaoge mentioned another shareholder: "Has Ms. Xu come over recently? She seems to be quite busy; she missed two institutional meetings."

A strange look flashed in Yu Xing's eyes, and he shook his head, saying, "She didn't come. She's been quite busy, I don't know what she's been busy with."

She's probably busy with that worthless, unsuccessful scheme of hers.

Some investors are helping to find suitable talent for projects, while others...

Yu Xing had such a thought, but then quickly dismissed it, after all, the horse beside him was a top-class horse.

Moreover, if Vanya wants to stir up trouble, he might also motivate President Xu's side to take action, killing two birds with one stone.

He kept in mind the pretext of reporting the carbon silicon situation to General Manager Xu. Seeing that General Manager Xiong was about to pull over, he thought about the other party's situation and extended an invitation to visit the carbon silicon data company in the afternoon.

Xiong Xiaoge readily agreed, and also mentioned the changes at Tencent Video and the trend of short videos.

He felt that silicon carbon data could also be explored in this area.

Even Xiong Xiaoge, Yu Xing does not intend to reveal the situation of Mus for the time being. This is one of the advantages of using an offshore company to remotely control the situation. Everyone, including Lü Haiying, has also signed a strict confidentiality agreement.

“We still need to see how the market is doing, but the latest hot topic this year has seen very encouraging progress in expanding advertising revenue. I’ll have Zhong Zhiling give you a good introduction this afternoon.” Yu Xing thought about Xiong’s background and then smiled, “By the way, Xiong, do you have any friends on Facebook and Twitter? I’ve been quite interested in foreign internet companies lately.”

Xiong Xiaoge asked, somewhat puzzled, "Does Silicon Carbon Data intend to collaborate with foreign companies?"

"I just want to learn more. Internet companies all have something in common," Yu Xing remarked. "The development of mobile internet is too fast. Carbon Silicon Data and I both want to study it more."

After thinking for a moment, Xiong Xiaoge said, "I am quite familiar with Jim. He invested in Facebook a long time ago and is now a board member of Facebook. We have some exchanges, including some cooperation on investment. He owns a company called Breyer Capital and is quite interested in the domestic market."

Yu Xing was surprised that a casual question could reveal such a relationship, and couldn't help but praise, "President Xiong, you truly are... a top-notch horse. If you have the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas next time, remember to invite me."

"What do you want?" Xiong Xiaoge asked directly, pondering the business of silicon carbon data.

Yu Xing laughed and said, "The competition in China is too fierce. To put it simply, the latest hot topic is that advertising revenue is growing very rapidly in the second half of the year. This growth has basically allowed Carbon Silicon Data to break even this year. This is due to our research and application in algorithm recommendation."

He didn't mention short videos, but what he said now is true: "We are considering trying out applications similar to the latest trending topics overseas, but there are fewer channels for traffic distribution in overseas markets, so I want to explore the situation first."

"Break-even?" Xiong Xiaoge was astonished. "Is the latest trending information flow really that powerful?"

He was still surprised when he saw Mr. Yu nod. Just like Mr. Yu's earlier remarks, the development of the mobile Internet is too fast. And as a company that has been deeply involved in the mobile Internet, how could its development not be fast?
Even including the three giants, Carbon Silicon Data's development speed in the mobile Internet is already close to that of the first batch, and the significance of breaking even is even greater.

Upon recalling this, Xiong Xiaoge provided more specific details: "Jim and we have a DG-Accel China Growth Fund, and he also participated in our venture capital IV fundraising. This year, we jointly invested in Circle's Series A round in the United States. Circle is an American blockchain financial company."

Yu Xing then realized that "familiarity" meant this extent, and he was even more surprised that President Xiong had already invested in a blockchain company.

Xiong Xiaoge pondered for a moment and said, "How about this, Mr. Yu, when Jim comes to China next time, I'll have him come to Lingang to take a look. If Carbon Silicon Data wants to expand into overseas markets, perhaps we can consider his Breyer Capital in the next round of financing."

Yu Xing could only offer him a cigarette.

A Facebook board member is a good target for building a good relationship, and with Xiong Xiaoge's endorsement, the relationship and business dealings will be much easier.

Xiong Xiaoge accepted the cigarette with a smile. Although he saw the surprise on President Yu's face, he was also surprised by the progress of Carbon Silicon Data in terms of revenue.

That afternoon, he visited Silicon Carbon Data Company to learn more about the practice of recommendation algorithms and information flow advertising. He had the feeling that... Silicon Carbon Data was unremarkable in Lingang, but it was indeed making great progress.

Xiong Xiaoge calculated the time; if Jim didn't come to China before the Spring Festival, she could invite him after the New Year.

The following day, as a shareholder, Xiong Xiaoge attended a seminar held at the materials laboratory of the Silicon Carbon Group and the Carbon Power Company.

He really did become a blockhead, unable to understand the discussion from both sides.

However, Xiong Xiaoge suspected that even President Yu, who rarely spoke, couldn't understand these things!
However, just as he was thinking this, President Yu interrupted him.

"President Du, from what you're saying, the performance difference in your die-casting machines is related to the raw materials? Now that you've changed them, there's no problem with that. So, whose materials were used in the previous batches?" Yu Xing flipped through the documents, noticing the details in the live discussion.

“We used Kobe Steel’s 6000 series aluminum plates to make the runner system for die-casting molds, but there was always a problem: it would crack under high-pressure injection conditions.” Du Yaojie had a deep impression of this situation. “Later, we switched to Ansteel’s material, and the problem has not been found in recent tests.”

He shook his head: "Kobe Steel's material consistency may not meet the standards, and there may be problems with the actual strength."

Seeing that President Yu seemed to be deep in thought, Du Yaojie frowned and said, "Even when we use Kobe Steel wire to make hydraulic components, there are equipment malfunctions. The tensile strength also seems inconsistent. We have already asked Kobe Steel to investigate the problem."

Yu Xing nodded slightly; his sensitive skin was about to flare up again.

Kobe Steel, the Japanese company Kobe Steel, could this be another problematic supplier?

He wrote the name "Kobe Steel" on the document and circled it, showing a strong willingness to investigate the material issue from this Japanese manufacturer.

Yu Xing gestured for the discussion to continue, and he continued to act as a passive observer, having only temporarily cut in line when crossing the mountain peak.

Listening to President Yu's questions and answers, Xiong Xiaoge was already impressed; the man seemed to really know his stuff.

(End of this chapter)