King of Technology: A Fresh Start in 1983

Lin Yidan walked out of Chen Jianghe's office, smiling broadly as she looked up at Zhang Wei: "You guys are awesome!"

"In just over a year, he went from being someone who basked in the spotlight to becoming an interviewee."

Zhang Wei sincerely said, "You deserve credit for this too; Reporter Lin deserves a lot of credit."

"How about it, are you calmed down now? I told you I couldn't do an interview with you, but now I'm the one who's come to do it on my own initiative..."

While feeling pleased with himself, Lin Yidan added, "But you have to promise me that this interview must be an exclusive first release."

"You have to wait until my article is published before you can give other interviews, understand?"

"Then I'll have to ask you to hurry. If your masterpiece doesn't get published soon, I can't just keep putting all my eggs in one basket, can I?"

"What do you want to do? Let me tell you, Zhang Wei, you can only have me as your tree. You must hang on to me for the rest of your life."

As Lin Yidan spoke, she raised her hand and pinched Zhang Wei.

"Then let me treat you to lunch as a reward, so you'll have the energy to write your article."

"Hmm, that's more like it. But I'd better hurry back to the office to write the article and try to get it published tomorrow."

As Lin Yidan reached the corner of the stairs, she secretly glanced up and down, and saw that there was no one at either end…

She grabbed Zhang Wei's clothes and said, "Kiss me now, or I really won't have the strength to write anymore."

Zhang Wei turned to look at Lin Yidan, his smile gradually fading.

She then became somewhat displeased: "You're doing this again. I've said before that I don't like you bringing up two unrelated things. It sounds like you're blackmailing me."

Lin Yidan didn't expect Zhang Wei to change his expression so suddenly. He pouted and said aggrievedly, "I'm just being cute, don't you understand?"

"There's a right way to act cute. You know I don't like this method, so why do you keep using it?"

Lin Yidan stared at Zhang Wei's face for a long time, then said angrily, "I understand, listen carefully!"

"I will never threaten you again. I'm not that cheap!"

After saying that, she forcefully shook off Zhang Wei's clothes, ran down the stairs, and walked straight out the door.

Zhang Wei was stunned, his face filled with disbelief.

...

That evening, Tiangong Group held a grand celebration banquet in the banquet hall of the Friendship Hotel's VIP building.

Not only were all employees present…

Chen Jianghe also invited the heads of the joint venture and the agents, and a large group of them sat down.

A huge banner read: "Warmly celebrate the Tiangong [Xuanyuan 486] computer, which has sold over 3,000 units in two days."

Below several large balloons, banners were being dragged along, each reading:

"A resounding success," "A stunning debut," "A meteoric rise," "A resounding victory in the first battle"...

Chen Jianghe, holding a wine glass, walked to the microphone to give a speech, starting with the hardships he faced making Chinese character cards in a tin-roofed shack, and then moving on to the difficulties he encountered in the factory in Huilongguan…

As she spoke, she suddenly choked up!

The audience below the stage fell silent.

Chen Jianghe quickly rallied his spirits and began to talk at length about the glory of this battle.

Finally, he raised his glass and shouted, "Cheers to the future of Tiangong!"

This immediately drew a chorus of agreement from the hundreds of people in the audience.

Then, he led Su Wanqing, Zhou Yuguang, Li Mingyuan and others to each table to offer toasts in turn.

When Chen Jianghe presented the toast to Zhang Wei, he suddenly smacked his lips and said, "Little Zhang, I always feel like something's missing, it's not quite there yet. Haven't you noticed?"

Zhang Wei couldn't figure out what Chen Jianghe meant, so he remained silent.

Chen Jianghe tilted his head and said, "We're missing a song, a song of divine craftsmanship."

"Just imagine, if all the employees raised their glasses and sang our company song right now, wouldn't that be amazing!"

"Xiao Zhang, this task will be assigned to your planning department. Go find people tomorrow, ask a poet to write lyrics and a composer to set the music. We'll cover the cost."

"At the next celebration party, we must sing our 'Song of Heavenly Craftsmanship'!"

Zhang Wei nodded in agreement.

After completing his rounds, Chen Jianghe returned to the microphone and began, with deep emotion, to recount the meritorious individuals from each department and position…

"The R&D department has it tough. Take Lin Wei and Zhao Lin for example, they've worked countless days and nights, often eating on the lab bench."

"Furthermore, the production department led by Wang Liping worked in two shifts and ate and slept in the assembly workshop in order to meet the deadline."

"Our production line has the highest average education level in China, with all the workers having a bachelor's degree or above from a prestigious university. Even the section chief is an engineer."

"And the logistics department, in order to ensure that spare parts are in perfect condition, has everyone from top to bottom going to the front line to inspect and escort the vehicles."

"That kind of hard work, aren't you moved? And the sales staff, needless to say..."

Chen Jianghe mentioned everyone in the company, from the vice president to the frontline sales staff, but he never mentioned Zhang Wei.

Finally, Chen Jianghe filled his glass to the brim and announced loudly, "Next, the person I'm calling out is the number one contributor to Tiangong Computers. Can you guess who he is?"

A few young men in the distance jokingly chimed in, "It's General Manager Chen!"

Chen Jianghe waved his hand with a smile: "This person always thinks about the future of Tiangong and always insists on creating conditions even when none exist."

"He played a pivotal role in the formulation of Tiangong Computer's market positioning and pricing strategy."

"He single-handedly built Tiangong Computer's nationwide sales network and was the chief commander of this price war at Tiangong Computer."

"This top contributor is none other than our Zhang Wei!"

The crowd immediately turned to Zhang Wei and chanted in rhythmic unison, "Zhang Wei, Zhang Wei, Zhang Wei..."

Zhang Wei blushed and bowed to everyone with a smile.

Chen Jianghe beckoned him over and, turning to the crowd, asked, "Shouldn't you all do something to show our number one hero?"

"Someone come here! Throw Zhang Wei up in the air!"

Wei Chen and several subordinates from the channel department and planning department were the first to volunteer.

But these people were all thin and withered, and were not in the same weight class as Zhang Wei at all.

Several people surrounded Zhang Wei, gesturing wildly, unsure of how to proceed.

Chen Jianghe then shouted, "Does Tiangong have no one left? Come on, any tall guys over 1.8 meters, send on up!"

As soon as he finished speaking, several burly young men stepped forward.

They lifted Zhang Wei up in an instant, working together to hoist him high into the air while chanting slogans.

Logically speaking, this should have been a highlight of Zhang Wei's career.

But at this moment, he felt more nervous than joyful.

He couldn't help but recall again and again the words Zhao Xiaobo had said to him before they parted:

"Today's Zhao Xiaobo is tomorrow's Zhang Wei. Just you wait and see!"

...