Chapter 288 Don't Want a Promotion?
A few days earlier, after Duan Yongping had spoken with Su Yuanshan and Chen Jing over the phone, he had traveled to the capital. There, while finalizing a cooperation deal with Jiamei's CEO, he also made time to visit BOE and meet with an old acquaintance — Wang Dongsheng, now the head of BOE.
Su Yuanshan didn't know exactly what had been discussed during their meeting.
But Duan Yongping did manage to gather information about BOE's progress with LCD panels.
—They were interested. They recognized it was the future. They were slowly working on it.
But limited funding meant they were still stuck in the early experimental analysis phase.
That was Duan's exact wording.
Hearing this, Su Yuanshan immediately understood that BOE's path would likely mirror what he remembered from his previous life —
He recalled clearly that BOE's real rise only began after it acquired Hyundai's TFT-LCD business in 2003.
The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences even named that deal one of the "Top 10 Domestic M&A Events of 2003" —
proof of its historic significance.
Even with Yuanxin's support and Su Yuanshan's foresight now in play, he didn't believe a BOE stuck at the "laboratory analysis" stage could break through into the rapidly developing LCD industry.
Not when they were already years behind entrenched giants like Sharp, Casio, and Toshiba.
Currently, the LCD industry was heating up in Japan, and a full-fledged domestic production chain was forming — but Sony's name was conspicuously absent.
It wouldn't be until next year that Samsung — the perennial troublemaker — would pull its famous counter-cyclical investment stunt, seizing on the downturn in LCD markets to crash into the industry by partnering with Fujitsu and eventually claiming the throne.
...
So Su Yuanshan's plan was to pull Sony — still naïve about the future — into this venture together.
"From humble beginnings with calculator screens, to instrumentation panels, to BP pager displays, to today's mobile phone screens, and now even ten-inch TV panels..." Su Yuanshan ticked off each milestone on his fingers as he spoke slowly to Kutaragi Ken. "Mr. Kutaragi, we have every reason to believe that LCD panel sizes will only keep growing, the technology will only keep improving, and eventually, they will replace CRTs and become the dominant display technology."
"And the timeframe?" Kutaragi stared at him. "How far into the future?"
"Ten years.
At most ten years, and CRTs will be obsolete," Su Yuanshan answered with complete confidence.
Kutaragi gazed intently at him, silently pondering.
He knew Su Yuanshan wasn't someone who would joke about matters like this.
If Su Yuanshan was saying ten years, then in his mind, it really would happen within ten years.
Kutaragi licked his lips, then let out a long sigh.
"Actually... we've considered this issue before."
"Oh?"
"Yes, Su-san. We've thought about it," Kutaragi nodded with a sigh. "But as you know, LCD panels evolved from 'small gadgets.'"
Su Yuanshan nodded.
Indeed, LCD panels had always been used for "small gadgets" since their invention.
As an industry heavyweight, Sony naturally preferred to pursue grander visions.
They weren't likely to invest in something whose future seemed so unclear — especially when they were still pursuing breakthroughs with CRT technology.
"Our internal outlook was much more optimistic — we thought it would be at least twenty years before LCDs would matter.
Besides, CRTs have advantages that LCDs can't match..."
"You misjudged," Su Yuanshan said bluntly.
"CRT's advantages, however real, only matter in highly specialized or professional fields.
For the mass market, LCDs' slim form factor alone will outweigh every advantage CRTs have."
"And beyond that, every flaw of LCD panels can eventually be solved —
That's how technology progresses."
"Agreed," Kutaragi nodded again.
Su Yuanshan smiled faintly. "Let me be direct, Mr. Kutaragi.
Investing in LCD panels will require massive amounts of capital — and deep technological foundations.
Yuanxin alone can't pull it off."
"And Sony alone can't either," Kutaragi admitted easily.
"When we discussed LCD panels before, we shelved the idea because of the huge costs...
Plus, some of our divisions were running losses at the time."
"Then let's cooperate."
...
After sending Kutaragi off, Su Yuanshan returned to the sofa, closed his eyes for a short rest, and then picked up the phone to call Duan Yongping.
On the call, he asked Duan to reach out to Wang Dongsheng again and see if they could set up a meeting after National Day.
Soon, Duan called back.
Wang Dongsheng said he was available anytime and would be honored to host.
Su Yuanshan wasn't surprised by BOE's attitude.
After all, he was already considered a "big shot" in domestic semiconductor circles.
And the closer one was to semiconductors, the more likely they were to know about him.
Rubbing his temples, Su Yuanshan called out toward the door.
"Sister Xiaohui!"
Zhou Xiaohui pushed open the door, sighed lightly, and said,
"Booking flights?"
"Yeah. Book one for the 27th.
Just me."
"No way. You're not going alone," Zhou Xiaohui said firmly.
"I'll go with you."
Su Yuanshan laughed.
"Come on, do you think I'm a child?
Can't I take care of myself?"
Zhou Xiaohui said nothing, but inside she was thinking:
Exactly.
She had traveled all over the country with Su Yuanshan for years — she knew exactly what kind of person he was.
Even though he acted far more mature than his appearance or age suggested — like an old man trapped in a young body —
in daily life, he really wasn't good at looking after himself.
He never bought his own clothes, never carried cash...
And this was the man who claimed he could handle himself?
She certainly didn't believe it.
Not to mention that Su Yuanshan wasn't just anyone —
He was the young master of Yuanxin, worth billions, the core pillar of the company —
and even seen as a national treasure-level genius.
No one could let him travel alone.
"Don't argue. I'm booking two tickets."
"Come on, Sister Xiaohui..." Su Yuanshan sighed.
"I can't have you following me around forever, can I?
Don't you want to do more than just be a secretary?"
Zhou Xiaohui froze.
Panic flashed across her heart.
She quickly closed the door behind her, leaning her back against it.
She glared at Su Yuanshan and whispered,
"Are you trying to get rid of me?"
"...You don't want to leave?
You don't want a promotion?"
Su Yuanshan smiled teasingly at her.
He had mentored her for three years —
but she couldn't stay in his shadow forever.
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