2000.
February 23rd.
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With the outbreak of the corruption case of Chengdu Heavy Industry Group, the head of Fuchs fled back to the United States. After the public opinion storm caused by his sensitive identity, Fulong's technical negotiations in the United States were completely interrupted.
The Los Angeles Times commented that this move would cause Fulong to pay more than 4 billion in the future to purchase specialized chips, while losing the possibility of independent technological iteration. Fulong Company ended its lobbying negotiations in the United States, withdrew its forces, and returned to Chengdu.
Zhao Qing hasn't returned yet.
In February, Chengdu has a cold and rainy air.
Jiang Hongshao rushed to Beijing because her grandfather was seriously ill and hospitalized. Cheng Ran called her to ask about the situation. Her voice was a little hoarse and she said she had a cold. Cheng Ran reminded her to take care of herself while taking care of her grandfather, take medicine on time and drink more hot water.
In the lonely silence of the phone call between the two of them, Jiang Hongshao said, "Cheng Ran, my mother..."
Of course, what is happening now has not been widely publicized among the people, but in some upper-level positions and certain circles, this matter has inevitably caused waves of shock and quarrels. In the political, business and technology circles, gossip is circulating wildly.
Jiang Hongshao also got some information about her family. When she came to Beijing to take care of her grandfather, she learned from clues why her grandfather was furious and why he didn't even answer Rongcheng's mother's phone call. Rongcheng also fell into a black hole in her family environment that no one wanted to talk about.
Cheng Ran said, "It just happened to happen. I can only say that for both parties, this time the luck is not very good..."
After a brief silence, Jiang Hongshao asked, "They said your father's company's escape route has been cut off. Is that true?"
"Not everything can go smoothly, and if you pin your hopes on everything lowering your expectations, you may succeed for a while, but you will fail in the end. The Americans are exaggerating, saying that without their technical cooperation, there is no future. Just listen to how arrogant they are! How can you be so alarmist? If there is no road, then make one yourself. My father said that. I think it is very encouraging and good. He said that even if you have to grope and make your own way, even if you have to hold on to green vines, you must climb the steepest cliff and stand on the top of the mountain."
"Did your father say that, or did you say that?" Jiang Hongshao asked.
"Father and son are of the same mind. Anyone can be fooled by this statement."
"I think so too." There was a slight laugh from Lao Jiang, but then her eyes became melancholy again. She was not an ordinary girl. Cheng Ran said this in a light-hearted and passionate manner, but the words between the lines, such as "groping for a green vine among the thousand-bladed peaks", also represented a very grim reality.
From the beginning to the end, Jiang Hongshao was asking him questions and taking care of his feelings. Cheng Ran asked back, "How is your family?"
Jiang Hongshao said softly, "My mother has not been suspended from her position as rumored. It's just that she has handed over part of her work and is also in charge of part of it... It's nothing serious, don't worry."
But in fact, it is impossible that nothing big happened. The center of the storm was in Chengdu. It started with her mother. From the fact that her grandfather fell ill, we can see the chain reaction caused by this incident.
Cheng Ran said, "Don't worry about such words. If I tell you, neither you nor I will believe it. So I won't say it. I'm just worried about what will happen next... I'm still here. I'm still here."
The bright girl under the banyan tree in the courtyard of the sanatorium said softly, "Okay."
…
In the provincial party committee villa in Chengdu, Li Jingping was making several phone calls. The most recent one was to the Qingyuan Microelectronics Research Institute. An old professor who had a close relationship with the elders in the family and was in charge of the development of two national projects came to inquire about the situation.
"Mr. Zhang, are the consequences really as serious as the recent journal article said..."
Almost as soon as the report on Fulong spread in the United States, some technical experts and scholars at the forefront of relevant science and technology in China already knew what Fulong had lost in related fields. Therefore, almost immediately afterwards, several articles were published in several core journals of Peking University's core system that are widely recognized by the academic community, causing quite a stir.
Experts don’t care about any preconditions. They are also deeply hurt. They just hold the results and talk about it. Some of their words are close to the point of verbal criticism. It is difficult to talk about politics with scientific and technological workers. It is difficult to tell them the situation. Even if it is clear, they don’t care. They are heartbroken and just want to scold. Moreover, the intellectuals scolded and cited data to draw conclusions. The harsh words revealed the intensity, which was like a mountain of pressure.
Mr. Zhang was quite polite. "Xiao Li, I have an old relationship with your father, so I am telling you all these things. What are you doing in Chengdu? What are you doing? Another 'snail incident'? Aren't the lessons of the 531 strategy and the 908 project enough? It's hard to control... Don't tell me it's hard to control... I know it's a case... It's not done well, so before doing it, have you conducted a comprehensive investigation to make sure it's foolproof? Are there any measures to prevent mistakes in advance or to remedy them after they happen?... No! So you are not wronged at all."
"How big is the impact? I'll tell you how big the impact is. You should know Qualcomm, a company that is rumored to have more lawyers than engineers. Now it controls the relevant patent authorization. Using their patents not only requires huge licensing fees, but also adds a patent fee on the sales price of your overall equipment. It's like if you buy a car, because it uses its chips, then part of the price of the whole car will be paid to them, the so-called Qualcomm tax. In our domestic market, we use more or less things authorized by their company, and give them to them to suck our bones and marrow. To put it bluntly, this is a monopoly. What Fulong is doing is to break such a monopoly and bypass the possibility of the other party's patents... But now, what the result is is self-evident. A company that could have fought hard is finished... It has lost the possibility of follow-up..."
Even Li Jingping had to bear it when faced with this heavyweight member of the think tank, the Institute of Microelectronics, who had a bad temper and was often received by leaders.
After hanging up the phone, Li Jingping took a deep breath and saw that Jiang Yueqin next to him had a blank expression on her face and was staring out the study window, looking a little dazed.
Although it was through the microphone just now, the old professor's voice could not be suppressed by the microphone and echoed in the study.
Li Jingping stepped forward, stretched out his hand and patted the back of her hand, "You just did what you were supposed to do, you didn't do anything wrong..."
It was better than nothing, but Li Jingping's figure standing in front of her still made her feel comforted.
The phone rang. Jiang Yueqin picked up the phone and was stunned after hearing what was coming from the phone. "Are you sure?"
After sorting out the things that were thought to be unclear on the phone again, Jiang Yueqin said, "I understand."
She held the Nokia mobile phone in her hand and did not speak for a long time.
In the process of arresting the head of Fox, Marek, Jiang Yueqin learned from the lesson of the information leaked when investigating the head of Sichuan Heavy Industry. She screened all the key personnel involved in the operation and made sure that these people were as clean as possible. They didn't even know why they were transferred to other places overnight. Such arrest operations would allow people to escape early and make the matter bigger.
The consequences caused by this forced Jiang Yueqin to re-examine every aspect of the incident.
It was discovered that the key might be Marek's Chinese lover, so Jiang Yueqin sent people to investigate the other party. As a result, this person disappeared mysteriously, so the investigation was launched. This phone call was the confirmed information just received.
Marek's Chinese lover, who seemed to have evidence to break the bribery chain, had evaded control by some unknown means and left the country a few days ago on a flight to the United States.
There was a long busy tone on the phone that was not hung up.
…
Then came the rumors and gossips. It was said that at the Western Tea Art Expo currently being held in Chengdu, a deputy secretary from Pengcheng was chatting with an official of the same level who was receiving him and suddenly decided to visit well-known companies in the relevant industry in Chengdu. The senior official of the same level agreed at first and drew up an itinerary for the other party. As a result, the executive in charge of the economy came to the secretary who had promised and asked him to cancel the trip to Fulong Company that the senior official of Pengcheng had specially requested on the itinerary. The action was so urgent and strict that it was nicknamed "goalkeeper save" by the outside world.
There are also rumors that Jiang Shuji may face the situation of being moved. This event with a great influence, both the Sichuan Province and the Jiang faction need to give an explanation for it.
The outlook is not optimistic.
Of course, all kinds of remarks are rampant now, and what is behind them is a fierce game of competition.
…
At Jinjiang Hotel, the provincial party committee and government held a dinner to welcome the Chengdu Business Association's business delegation back from the United States. The dinner was of high standard, with the top two leaders all present, and the whole room burst into applause after their speeches. After the top leader raised his glass to toast, he talked to Cheng Feiyang for a while, saying that he could speak freely about what policies were needed and what difficulties he had.
After dinner, Cheng Ran came to the lobby to get some fresh air. Outside the lobby, which was magnificent like the banquet hall, was decorated with large leather sofas. Cheng Ran sat here to get some fresh air and saw Jiang Yueqin coming out. She was talking with some entrepreneurs in the lobby with a smile on her face. After seeing these people off, Jiang Yueqin whispered something to the secretary, and the secretary went back to the banquet hall. She stood in the middle of the carpet embroidered with auspicious clouds for a moment, then walked over and sat down on the sofa next to Cheng Ran.
Cheng Ran looked at her and she looked at him.
He didn't smile and pretend to be obedient and called out "Aunt Jiang" because there was no need to do that and there was no need to do anything meaningless.
Jiang Yueqin did not feel offended. She looked at Cheng Ran calmly, as if she wanted to see the young man in front of her clearly.
After a moment, she frowned and said, "What happened to your father's company in the United States was an accident. You should know that after all, evil... cannot be tolerated."
Cheng Ran nodded, "The crime is indeed unforgivable..."
"But... you and I both know that this is not unavoidable."
Jiang Yueqin's pupils dilated for a moment.
"There was no warning, no remedial mechanism after the incident. I didn't expect that you had such a bad impression of me all along and disliked me so much... I'm sorry, it's my fault."
Cheng Ran stood up after he finished speaking. When Jiang Yueqin was trying to support herself and raise her head, Cheng Ran leaned sideways again and gave her what she wanted most. "My dad won't move the company away, you can rest assured... But this doesn't mean anything, it's not forgiveness."
"My father believes that we should stand up wherever we lose. Even if the bullet comes from behind us."
Cheng Ran walked forward. Jiang Yueqin sat where she was, with a more complicated look in her eyes: confusion, shame, anger, even indignation, and a hint of regret.
After this day, her political career will reach a turning point.
And the lives of people are implicated in the rolling of the wheel of time.
The same is true.