Chapter 134 - Emergency Rescue on the Island
Hearing that Chen Daohua's health wasn't good, Su Yuanshan instinctively froze.
"What happened to your brother? Is it serious?"
"He had a minor surgery. The doctor said he needs a lot of rest… He used to have me helping him, but now he's alone, and since he comes from a technical background… well..."
Listening to the guilt in Chen Jing's voice, Su Yuanshan didn't know what to say.
Motherboard manufacturing could become a huge business, but the reality was that profits weren't very high, and the work was exhausting. Plus, with a design plus manufacturing model, it wasn't easy to bring in professional managers.
Not to mention that on the island, family-run businesses were the norm.
After a moment of silence, Su Yuanshan asked gently,
"Alright, but have you figured out why the motherboard business declined?"
He asked because their joint-venture motherboard factory had the mainland market as a guaranteed customer base — it had been profitable from the start.
But to Chen Daohua, a joint venture would never feel like his "real son."
His roots were still on the island.
So if performance dipped, he would naturally get worried.
"Lack of technical strength. Our competitors have been poaching aggressively. Since last year, after we set up the joint venture, funds started getting tight. Plus, with me coming here, business got a little impacted. So now, all the pressure's on my brother. When his health declined, it became hard to push any technical breakthroughs. We've basically lost the retail market," Chen Jing summarized.
Hearing this, Su Yuanshan relaxed a little.
If it was a technical problem, that was manageable.
"Alright, the funding issue is easy.
I'll just move some money into Meijie in the SEZ, and we'll funnel it back via dividends.
As for the technical side..."
Su Yuanshan paused for a moment, thinking.
"Can you arrange it so I can come visit the island?"
"Really?" Chen Jing's voice immediately brightened.
Su Yuanshan laughed,
"You're the CEO I headhunted — managing a billion-dollar company, and you're thinking about staying home to rebuild the family business...
Of course I have to come help solve the problem."
There was a brief silence on the line before Chen Jing chuckled softly,
"It's not like I'm not coming back."
"Mainly, I might be spending a few months at Peking University.
Without you, Yuanchip wouldn't survive."
"I'll arrange it immediately," Chen Jing said.
"Given the current cross-strait relations, you can head directly to Hong Kong first."
"Good."
After hanging up, Su Yuanshan exhaled deeply.
A dangerous thought crossed his mind: maybe it would be better if Meijie went bankrupt altogether.
That way, Chen Daohua and Chen Jing would have no choice but to settle completely on the mainland.
But he quickly felt ashamed of himself for thinking that.
...
The next day, Su Yuanshan packed his luggage and flew straight to the SEZ.
He didn't bring any technical staff from the SEZ motherboard factory with him —
after all, most of the engineers were interns assigned last year, guided by mentors from the island.
If they came along, it might be good for training, but they wouldn't solve the immediate crisis.
Among all of Yuanchip, only Su Yuanshan could truly fix "technical" or "functional" issues.
When it came to motherboards, assuming consistent materials and workmanship, what truly made a difference were proprietary technologies.
Without signature features, it all came down to yield control, cost-cutting, and personal connections.
After arriving in Hong Kong, Su Yuanshan caught his connecting flight.
Upon landing, he immediately spotted Chen Jing, standing elegantly at the terminal entrance, wearing the same beige trench coat she had worn when they first met.
"I miscalculated — forgot how much hotter it is here.
I'm still wearing a down jacket," Su Yuanshan said, shrugging self-deprecatingly.
He was still wearing the teal-colored down jacket Chen Jing had bought him —
completely out of place among the crowd.
Chen Jing smiled,
"No worries, we'll just buy you another one."
"Uh… right, but I only have US dollars on me, no NT dollars."
"No problem.
I can afford to buy you a jacket," Chen Jing said, leading him toward the car.
"My brother isn't well, so I came alone. Hope you don't mind."
"Of course not —
besides, I came empty-handed. Didn't bring any gifts.
Hope you don't mind either."
"Hehe, if you had brought something, what would you have brought?"
"Old cured meat? Sausages?"
"Pfft—"
After checking into the hotel, Su Yuanshan hesitated and said,
"I think I should visit your brother."
Chen Jing pursed her lips and smiled faintly,
"It's really not necessary."
"No, I should.
He's a partner, after all.
At least it's basic courtesy.
Although…"
Su Yuanshan scratched his head awkwardly,
"Since he's at home, it feels a bit awkward to visit."
"You should still go.
Come on, let's buy some gifts first."
Seeing Su Yuanshan heading straight for the door, Chen Jing was briefly stunned, then smiled like a crescent moon.
...
Chen Daohua lay on the sofa, flipping through the latest PC magazine.
Although the doctor had advised him to rest — especially to avoid mental strain — with the company's troubles, how could he truly rest?
Last year, with the launch of the Pentium processor, Meijie's lack of technical reserves was brutally exposed.
Even though Pentium CPUs hadn't fully hit the market yet, several motherboard manufacturers had already developed compatible boards.
Meanwhile, Meijie, strained by last year's overzealous investments and the recent brain drain, plus Chen Daohua's own health issues, had inevitably fallen behind.
However, the situation wasn't yet desperate.
They still had a batch of OEM boards under contract —
as long as they could deliver designs on time, there wouldn't be major issues.
But when it came to non-OEM retail boards, they were already losing competitiveness.
As the first company to promote DIY motherboards,
if they had to start pushing generic OEM boards into retail,
it would be a complete embarrassment.
Putting down the magazine, Chen Daohua glanced toward the door —
as if sensing something.
Right on cue, the doorbell rang.
Chen Daohua struggled to get up, but his son beat him to it.
"Hello, Auntie," his son said first, then turned his big curious eyes toward Su Yuanshan.
After a moment of hesitation, he sweetly asked,
"Who's this big brother?"
"Call him Uncle," Chen Jing said firmly, startled for a moment but recovering quickly.
...
After meeting Chen Daohua's family, Su Yuanshan was taken to the study for a private talk.
The truth was that Chen Daohua's illness wasn't just physical exhaustion —
it was a deep mental strain.
So Su Yuanshan got straight to the point.
"Brother Daohua, ever since I got the news yesterday, I've been thinking."
"For retail motherboards, you don't necessarily need the highest technical specs.
As long as you use quality materials, performance won't suffer. Right?"
Chen Daohua nodded,
"Exactly.
As long as we meet specifications, it's fine."
"Good. Meijie's boards always had an advantage in overclocking — but now that feature is becoming commoditized. It's losing its competitive edge... and it's hard to fix."
"On the way here, I thought of a pretty cool feature."
"What feature?"
"An error code display screen."
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