Returning wealthy individuals develop their hometowns and become rich in the 1980s

On the Viscount plane bound for San Francisco, Chen Dong was flipping through Apple's quarterly financial report provided by Allen, his brows furrowed deeply. Seeing his boss's expression, Allen, who was sitting opposite Chen Dong, explained, "Boss, there's a disagreement about the company's sales direction. Sales of the company's flagship L computer are far below expectations, and the M computer, which Steve is in charge of, is consuming a large portion of the company's R&D budget."

"Net profit this quarter has dropped by nearly 30% compared to last quarter. Sculley has already called me to complain," Allen said with a bitter face. "Steve is too domineering and too stubborn. Once he's made up his mind, no amount of persuasion will work. The other directors have a lot of opinions about this."

The L computer was originally developed and overseen by Steve Jobs, who always adhered to the original idea of ​​"one computer per person," making Apple's L computer affordable for ordinary American families. However, Apple is a publicly traded company with shareholders who want to make a profit, and they did not take Jobs's ideas seriously.

Jobs was ousted from the L computer project by the shareholders. To prove his ideas, the stubborn Jobs took over the M computer project, determined to make his cheap personal computer widely available and lower the price to below one thousand dollars so that ordinary people could afford it.

Unlike today's L computers, which can easily cost over nine thousand US dollars each.

This high-end business computer business model aimed at enterprises was something Jobs disliked; it was too rigid and not romantic enough. What he wanted was a cheap, practical personal computer for the masses.

Faced with IBM's offensive and its own internal competition, Apple was starting to suffocate itself. As shareholders watched the quarter's profits decline, they called for a shareholders' meeting to stop this pointless infighting.

"Boss, the shareholders' opinion is that Steve should stop the development of the M computer and concentrate the company's resources to improve the L computer first," Allen said.

Chen Dong shook his head. "You said it yourself, Steve isn't someone who's easily persuaded."

"Then we can only remove him from the company's management. We can't let him continue to mess things up like this. The other shareholders are more willing to implement the standardized management model proposed by Sculley," Allen said, looking at Chen Dong and trying to get his opinion on the matter from the boss's face.

Chen Dong did not directly answer Allen's question about expelling Steve Jobs. Instead, he said, "I'll talk to Steve in person after I meet him. If he still insists on continuing the M computer project, then we'll make a decision."

"Okay, boss!"

The plane landed at San Francisco International Airport, where Allen had already prepared a car to take them directly to Apple's headquarters in Cupertino. The headquarters building was not large, with gray and white exterior walls, and was so unassuming that it didn't look like a tech company that had once caused a sensation on Wall Street when it went public.

The shareholders' meeting was held in the large conference room on the second floor of the headquarters. When Chen Dong and Allen entered the venue, there were already more than a dozen people sitting around the long table, whispering among themselves. Steve Jobs sat at the far end of the table, wearing a black shirt. He was very thin, so thin that his cheekbones protruded, but his eyes were sharp as knives. He stared at Chen Dong and Allen as they walked in, his brows slightly furrowed, and he didn't seem to be going to greet them.

Sculley sat next to Jobs, the CEO whom Jobs had personally recruited from White House. He wore a sharp dark blue suit and his hair was neatly combed, a stark contrast to Jobs' casual demeanor. He stood up, shook hands with Chen Dong, and politely said, "Mr. Chen, welcome to today's shareholders' meeting."

Chen Dong nodded with a straight face and sat down in the chair. When the other board members saw that Chen Dong and Allen had arrived and no one else was absent, some of them got up and closed the meeting room door.

"Gentlemen, I'm quite puzzled after reading this quarter's financial report," said one of the executive managers from Silo Corporation. He glanced at Jobs before turning his gaze to Sculley. "Can anyone tell me why IBM's sales performance is consistently outpacing ours?"

Jobs remained silent, still resting his chin on his hand in deep thought. Sculley could only cough lightly and say, "Mr. Carl, the problem lies in the company's internal strategy. We misjudged the technological advantages of the L computer compared to IBM, which led to the decline in L computer sales, far below our expected targets."

Sculley didn't directly blame Jobs; he simply said that the company's strategy was flawed, that it was a technical issue, not caused by internal competition, in an attempt to ease tensions with Jobs.

But Jobs wasn't appreciative. After being kicked out of the L computer project, he was determined to prove his worth as a founder again. He declared, "The failure of the L computer wasn't a technical problem, but rather a problem with the company's positioning of it!"

Scully's expression tightened, and he bit his chin as he listened to Jobs continue, "The L computer is a professional personal computer, and its price should not be so expensive. If it were an office computer used by a company, it would not need such a high configuration. It's not that the technology is lacking, but that the positioning and sales direction are wrong."

Upon hearing Steve Jobs bring up the old issue again, the expressions of all the board members present turned serious. Chen Dong looked at Jobs and asked, "Steve, so what is your suggestion?"

"Promote the M computer," Jobs said, spreading his hands. "The M computer is the latest personal professional computer I'm in charge of, as long as..."

"No, no, no, Steve," the Ross Foundation representative interrupted Jobs's long-winded explanation. "I know you have high hopes for the M computer, but Steve, the software investment required for your M computer is already consuming too many of the company's resources. With so much money invested and no return on investment, I think I need to reassess whether to cancel the M computer project!"

Interrupted and threatened with the termination of his project, Jobs glared angrily at the Roth Fund manager. "It's precisely because it's a state-of-the-art personal computer that it needs even more specialized software to complement it. How can there be research and development without investment?"

The manager of the Ross Fund shrugged noncommittally, showing no interest in Jobs's old arguments. Jobs had no choice but to turn his attention to Chen Dong. "Mr. Chen, the reason why the M computer is not selling well is because there is not enough software. If the company does not continue to invest in research and development, then the gap between IBM and WeSoft will widen even further."

"The future belongs to software. If the company continues to invest, give me a year, and I can deliver a satisfactory financial report!"

Chen Dong shook his head and said, "But the company's current funds are only enough to sustain operations for one year. If we continue to invest in the research and development of the M computer, while the L computer's sales are still slow to pick up, then the company will have no choice but to take on debt, Steve!"