Restart life

Chapter 338 0335 [Olympic Torchbearer]

The Spring Festival is approaching.

Xie Yang not only didn't go home for the Spring Festival, but instead brought his parents to Beijing to celebrate New Year's Eve in the new house he bought last year.

In the same neighborhood, Chen Guiliang went to visit Xie Yang's parents as a way of wishing them a Happy New Year.

"Why are you sighing like that?" Xie Yang asked.

Chen Guiliang said, "We don't have anyone we can use. I originally wanted to ask Professor Pan Aiming to take overall charge of smartphone R&D, but now it's become three professors each in charge of a part."

"What's the problem?" Xie Yang asked.

Chen Guiliang said, "We need a technical coordinator to coordinate the three laboratories. This person must be qualified and technically proficient, otherwise they won't be able to keep the three professors in check. Their responsibilities also include supervision to prevent the professors from slacking off or misusing research funds."

Xie Yang said, "I can't help with this. I don't know any technology at all."

Chen Guiliang laughed and said, "Even if you understand the technology, you won't be able to keep the professors in check if you have enough experience."

After having lunch at Xie Yang's house, Chen Guiliang picked up his phone and started sending New Year's greetings to people around the country several days in advance. He also wanted to inquire about suitable candidates for recruitment.

The Ministry of Information Industry was still more than a month away from becoming the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. A director suggested to Chen Guiliang: "Why don't you try working at Motorola's R&D center in Beijing? The technical head there is Zhou Guangping."

Zhou Guangping?
Chen Guiliang felt the name sounded familiar, and after thinking for a while, he suddenly realized, "Isn't this the co-founder of Xiaomi?"

……

At that moment, Zhou Guangping was making an overseas phone call and cursing.

At the end of 2007, the head of Motorola's mobile phone division jumped ship to Dell. Shortly after, CEO Ed Zander also resigned.

The new CEO, Gray Brown, faced a disastrous start: Motorola's global mobile phone business collapsed, losing hundreds of millions of dollars every quarter. A number of senior executives resigned, especially key technical talent who were poached. Motorola's stock price plummeted uncontrollably.

Therefore, the new CEO adjusted the business strategy, implementing a global contraction.

Zhou Guangping had just received news that the R&D budget for the Beijing R&D center he was in charge of had been cut by 80% in 2008. Even his R&D team was dismantled; the smartphone team was transferred back to headquarters, and the remaining staff were reassigned to Tianjin to be under Qian Chen's command.

"A bunch of idiots!" Zhou Guangping slammed down the phone and cursed.

He knew why he was being targeted, and he also knew why Qian Chen was being given important responsibilities.

This involves internal strife within Motorola. The senior executive at the company headquarters who promoted him was the head of Motorola's global mobile phone business who had jumped ship to Dell!

This man was the first executive to voluntarily leave Motorola when the company was in crisis, directly triggering a wave of executive departures. As his trusted confidant, promoted in China, how could I not be suppressed by the new CEO?

Moreover, suppressing them is convenient for both public and private purposes, providing an opportunity to streamline the Chinese R&D team.

Before the adjustment, Zhou Guangping in Beijing and Qian Chen in Tianjin were at the same rank. After the adjustment, Zhou Guangping must report to Qian Chen on all matters!

Can you fucking bear this?
Zhou Guangping sulked for a long time before calling his mentor: "Sir, my R&D team is about to be dismantled."

The person on the other end of the phone said, "Come to Dell with me. Dell is about to make a full-fledged entry into the smartphone market and highly values ​​top-tier technical talent. With your resume, you're sure to be given a prominent position."

In China, a bunch of manufacturers are going to make smartphones.

The same is true in the United States.

This is a huge opportunity!

Zhou Guangping asked, "Do I have to go to the United States to work?"

The other party replied, "Yes. Dell's mobile phone project will not be establishing a research and development center in China for the time being. If you are willing to come to the United States, I will try to offer you a position as Senior Technical Director of Dell's mobile phone division. It's even possible that you could be directly appointed as Vice President of Dell's Wireless Product Development!"

Zhou Guangping was quite tempted, but also somewhat reluctant to leave China.

He has been back in China for eight years, and he personally established Motorola's Beijing R&D Center.

He bought a house in Beijing, and his whole family has settled there. Should his wife and children also go to the United States? If his wife and children don't go, then the family will be separated.

Then there's his team; about two hundred people were dismantled, but a few dozen remained to continue working. He couldn't bear to part with those team members.

If nothing unexpected happens, Zhou Guangping will continue working there for another six months. He couldn't stand the pressure from the new CEO, so he angrily jumped ship to Dell, where he became the Vice President of R&D for Dell's mobile phones.

However, Dell's wavering on its mobile phone strategy greatly displeased Zhou Guangping, so he accepted Lei Jun's invitation to work together on Xiaomi.

After several days of feeling down at the R&D center, Zhou Guangping was doing some project liquidation work.

The day before Chinese New Year, he was still working in the lab when his wife suddenly called: "Old Zhou, Mr. Chen from ByteDance is coming to visit us for the New Year. He lives in the same community as us. We live in Phase 2, while he bought a house in Phase 3."

“ByteDance? What does he want to do by visiting us for the New Year?” Zhou Guangping was completely baffled.

The wife said, "I don't know either. But when people come to pay their respects with gifts, I can't just turn them away. He's playing with the kids in the living room right now."

Zhou Guangping said, "Please treat me well. I'll be back as soon as I'm done here."

In the evening, Zhou Guangping went home after get off work.

Overtime is out of the question. The R&D team is about to be dismantled. Who has the mind or motivation to work overtime?
"Hello, Mr. Chen!"

Happy New Year, Mr. Zhou.

The two had never met before, and their conversation was pointless, consisting of random, disjointed chatter.

As it grew later and Chen Guiliang finished his dinner but still showed no sign of leaving, Zhou Guangping finally couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Chen, please just say what's on your mind."

Chen Guiliang said, "I want to make smartphones. Would Mr. Zhou be interested in joining me? If Mr. Zhou is willing to come, he will be a co-founder. The annual salary is negotiable, and the company shares are also negotiable."

Surprisingly, Zhou Guangping didn't refuse outright. Instead, he inquired in detail: "What preparatory work has President Chen already done?"

Chen Guiliang then gave a brief account of the three professors' affairs and his own experience of acquiring land to build a research and development center.

Zhou Guangping said, "I can go, but I need to bring a team of 47 people." Chen Guiliang frowned and asked, "Won't this overlap with the tasks of the three professors' teams?"

Zhou Guangping then asked the three professors what specific projects they wanted to undertake.

Chen Guiliang explained in detail.

Zhou Guangping said, "Some of those three professors' projects are still somewhat impractical, or rather, somewhat disconnected from commercial applications. If I were to go there, I would cut some of their projects and reduce the size of their labs. They would be responsible for preliminary technology research, while I would be responsible for R&D coordination, engineering transformation, and commercial mass production."

"This means... they've agreed?" Chen Guiliang was a little confused; he had prepared a speech but hadn't said it yet.

Zhou Guangping said, "I want an annual salary of 200 million yuan, plus 5% of the shares in HarmonyOS. In addition, my team of 47 people should also receive sufficient salaries."

Chen Guiliang asked, "Regarding non-compete agreements?"

Zhou Guangping said, "I can handle it. Motorola's arbitrary layoffs and team dismantling are unjustified. They violated the agreement first, and I have ample reason not to abide by it. At worst, we can fight a legal battle. Motorola is currently suffering serious losses and doesn't have the financial resources or energy to fight a long-term lawsuit in China."

Chen Guiliang finally understood why the other party had agreed so readily.

With Zhou Guangping's involvement completed, HarmonyOS Technology can be considered to have truly gotten on the right track.

When the three professors heard that their lab size was to be reduced and some of their projects to be cut, they were so angry that they almost had a falling out with Chen Guiliang.

It was Zhou Guangping who personally intervened, presenting the facts and reasoning with each individual to persuade them. He also promised that the projects that had been cut would be gradually reinstated in the future.

……

On New Year's Eve, Bian Guanyue suddenly flew back from Chengdu to spend the New Year with Chen Guiliang in Beijing.

The two went to the market to buy ingredients and cooked a sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner together.

We ate while watching the Spring Festival Gala.

Uncle Benshan's skit is called "Torchbearer".

Chen Guiliang, watching the skit, said, "Longdu also invited me to go back and be an Olympic torchbearer."

"Really? You're amazing!" Bian Guanyue said in an admiring tone.

Chen Guiliang said, "It's alright."

The list of torchbearers from all over the country was announced in three batches.

Chen Guiliang belongs to the second batch, announced during the New Year's Day period. This batch of torchbearers consists of entrepreneurs and social celebrities.

There were a total of 208 torchbearers in Longdu.

There are quite a few celebrities, including Super Girl Tan Weiwei, Diving Queen Gao Min, Table Tennis Champion Tong Ling... and several world champions.

Bian Guanyue said, "My dad was also a torchbearer, but he paid a sponsorship fee. Did you pay a sponsorship fee?"

"A sponsorship fee is required?" Chen Guiliang genuinely had no idea.

But it’s normal to think about it.

Longdu is a small city with few celebrities to begin with; it's already a feat to be able to invite any celebrities back. How could they possibly dare to ask for sponsorship fees?

Chengdu, as the provincial capital, is not lacking in celebrities, nor is it lacking in entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs who want to be torchbearers naturally have to spend some money.

It's estimated that in Beijing, the sponsorship fees from entrepreneurs for torchbearers are even higher. Because of the limited number of spots and fierce competition, even paying money doesn't guarantee becoming a torchbearer.

Chen Guiliang was quite looking forward to it; being an Olympic torchbearer was such an honor.

Bian Guanyue said, "I've applied to be an Olympic volunteer, but I don't know the specific arrangements. It seems like it involves serving on the streets, acting as a translator for foreign tourists or something. The school's volunteer team has already organized training, and we'll be going to several other schools for training sessions next."

Bian Guanyue doesn't usually participate in many activities, but she will still sign up for things she likes.

She and Wu Meng encouraged each other to sign up as Olympic volunteers.

Before the New Year's Eve dinner, Chen Guiliang had already called relatives and friends to wish them a Happy New Year. After the dinner, he mainly sent New Year's greetings via text message and MMS.

My phone kept ringing with New Year's greetings text messages, making it hard to even watch the Spring Festival Gala.

Seeing that he was "busy with work," Bian Guanyue didn't bother him and leaned on Chen Guiliang's arm to continue watching the Spring Festival Gala.

Tao Xue sent a text message, wishing me a Happy New Year and proudly boasting, "My novel has made a name for itself!"

Chen Guiliang: "Will your new book be available for sale during the Chinese New Year?"

Tao Xue: "Yes."

Chen Guiliang: "Which one is it?"

Tao Xue: "The ninth book."

Chen Guiliang: "I despise old eunuchs."

Tao Xue: "There's a book I wrote that has over 60 words, okay? That book isn't abandoned, it's just a bad ending. This book is doing well on the shelves, and I will definitely finish writing it."

Chen Guiliang: "Go for it!"

Tao Xue: "Once I've earned enough from writing, I'll buy a house in Beijing with you!"

Chen Guiliang: “…”

Tao Xue has become obsessed with online novels. She used to be a literary girl, but her online novels were too pretentious and not very popular with readers on Qidian.com.

After accumulating a vast collection of books, the eunuch has finally begun to change his writing style, shedding his excessive literary affectations.

(End of this chapter)