King of Technology: A Fresh Start in 1983

"Section Chief Liu, we really became friends after our initial disagreement. Look, we've only been apart for less than ten minutes, and I already miss you again," Zhang Wei said with a smile.

"What's wrong, you surnamed Zhang? Trying to curry favor with Grandpa again?"

"I have a recording here, let me play it for you."

After Zhang Wei finished speaking, he held the recorder close to the bottom of the mobile phone and pressed the play button…

After the playback finished, Zhang Wei asked with a smile, "How was it, Section Chief Liu? How was the effect?"

There was no response on the other end of the phone, so Zhang Wei waited patiently.

After a long while, Section Chief Liu said angrily, "I should have thought of that earlier. If you dared to take photos secretly, you would definitely dare to record them secretly."

"Sigh, I was so damn careless. It was just a moment of carelessness..."

"That's understandable! Nobody's perfect, everyone makes mistakes, it's only human nature."

Zhang Wei said slowly and understandingly, "If I hadn't made that impulsive decision yesterday morning and had waited less than ten minutes, we wouldn't have had so much trouble, wouldn't you say?"

"What do you want?" Section Chief Liu asked grimly.

"Oh! I just wanted to ask, did you send those photos to the Discipline Inspection Commission?"

"When I went downstairs just now, I specifically asked a few people in your Economic Commission building where the Discipline Inspection Commission is. Shall we go there together now?"

"That's exactly what I was planning to do by sending them the recording as well."

"In this way, there are not only images, but also sounds, making it vivid and expressive."

"Section Chief Liu, I guarantee that this time you will definitely become a model citizen of Qingcheng City."

The other end of the phone went silent again, and Zhang Wei continued to wait patiently.

Then, Section Chief Liu's tone changed, and he said enthusiastically, "General Manager Zhang, you left the agreement with me earlier. Could you please come over now so we can sign it and each take a copy, okay?"

Zhang Wei smiled and said, "No need, Section Chief Liu. What I have here is much more useful than the agreement, wouldn't you agree?"

Section Chief Liu immediately said menacingly, "Hey Zhang, don't go too far!"

"Don't forget where you are right now. I'll make sure you never leave Qingcheng, you believe me?!"

"I believe you! Section Chief Liu, I completely trust you. You always keep your word and are a man of your word."

"So, before I called you, I had already called Tiangong headquarters and asked them to record and save the recording I just played."

"And I've already recorded our conversation, I'll send it back to headquarters as soon as I hang up."

"If necessary, these two recordings and those photos will soon appear in the disciplinary departments of the Qingcheng Economic Commission, the Shandong Provincial Economic Commission, and the State Economic Commission."

"I, Zhang Wei, guarantee I'll keep my word. Do you believe me?"

"Oh right, I forgot to tell you, it's okay if I don't go back. Actually, I didn't plan to go back so soon anyway."

"Several companies here have already invited me to visit them one by one."

Section Chief Liu immediately softened completely: "General Manager Zhang, let's have lunch together, it's on me. Consider it an apology. How about we go back to that place last night?"

"It's better to resolve conflicts than to let them fester. You're bound to run into them eventually, aren't you?"

Zhang Wei said sincerely, "Section Chief Liu, what you said is absolutely right!"

"In this regard, I would like to add that the ideal situation between us is that we will never interfere with each other again."

"You continue being your section chief, and I'll continue selling my [Xuanyuan] microcomputers."

"Regardless of the past, present, or future, as long as you do not hinder Tiangong's sales of microcomputers in Qingcheng's state-owned enterprises, I, Zhang Wei, keep my word and will absolutely not create any crisis for you."

"As for lunch today, we'll skip it. There's plenty of time!"

"Because we've already made appointments with two companies, we need to rush over and sign agreements with them."

...

That evening, the four of them had dinner together. After saying goodbye to Wei Chen and the others, Lin Yidan was accompanied by Zhang Wei back to her residence.

Once inside the taxi, Lin Yidan finally seized the opportunity to hug Zhang Wei's arm and rub her head against his shoulder.

She sighed deeply, "It's truly amazing, unimaginable how you've managed to persevere until now..."

After two days, Zhang Wei's mind was indeed somewhat numb.

He didn't react for a moment, and asked wearily, "What do you mean?"

"You know what? Yesterday, there were three times when I really, really wanted to advise you to give up on this project."

Lin Yidan continued, "The first time was when a guy surnamed Liu forced you to kneel down and kowtow to him."

"The second time you asked me to record a video, but I misunderstood it as taking a picture."

"The third time was when we got the photos at night, and you immediately said they weren't working."

"Every time, I wanted to pull you around and leave, let's go back to Beijing, quit this business, never come to Qingcheng again, and never see these guys again."

"But you show no sign of giving up, not even willing to take a step back for now."

"I suddenly remembered a saying that someone once said: If you want to be a hero, you might as well be a coward first."

Zhang Wei was immediately taken aback: "Who is that person?"

"Wang Guozhen!"

Lin Yidan saw Zhang Wei's expression, as if he were asking, "Who is Wang Guozhen?"

He laughed and said, "You've probably never heard of him. In your world, there's no such thing as poetry or poets."

"I didn't just act like a coward, I acted like a grandson! I retreated more than just one step!"

Zhang Wei said with a wry smile, "I've already knelt down, how can I back down now?"

Lin Yidan continued, "What you did wasn't called retreating, it was called using retreat as a strategy for advancement. You know that's not what I meant. I meant letting go, at least temporarily."

Zhang Wei suddenly became agitated: "Let go? You finally got it and now you're letting go? Retreat? You finally made it this far and now you're going back?"

"Where would be considered a stop after retreating? Where's a good place to do business?"

"Where aren't there section chiefs, division chiefs, and directors like Liu? And which business deal doesn't require you to go through a lot of trouble to close it?"

Lin Yidan was speechless and at a loss for words after being interrupted by this series of sharp remarks. She blurted out without thinking, "But not all skin is the same! This time you've lost face."

"Being bullied by that guy surnamed Liu must have hurt your pride so much. It breaks my heart to see you like this. You're really good at enduring it. No wonder you're a Taurus with type A blood."

Zhang Wei turned to the side and used one hand to prop up Lin Yidan's head.

Looking into her eyes, he said, "Do you think what I did was shameful? Well, we have completely different views."

"I think doing that is not shameful at all, but rather a source of pride, a source of pride for our Tiangong. To me, it is an unparalleled honor."

"I'd love for everyone to know this!"

"The more people know how difficult it is to create something from nature, the more people will understand how remarkable it is."

Lin Yidan couldn't help but sigh: "Look at you, for the sake of Tiangong, even your sense of honor and shame is different from that of normal people."