Chapter 291 Rebirth from the Ashes
In 1995, Jiuxianqiao was nothing like the bustling, extravagant part of the capital it would become years later. Although the winds of reform had been blowing for some time, compared to the explosive development in the south or the construction boom within the city center, this place still felt old, tired, and decaying.
BOE was far from the shining giant it would one day be.
At this point, it had only just completed its restructuring and had barely started turning a profit.
Their top priority now was simple survival — finding a way to carry forward the old Capital Electron Tube Factory's legacy and dignity into a new era of reform.
As for taking up the national mission of revitalizing China's LCD panel industry?
That was still years away.
Only after acquiring Hyundai's TFT-LCD business in South Korea in 2003 would BOE truly step onto that stage.
The Global Mergers and Acquisitions Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences even ranked that acquisition among the "Top 10 Domestic M&A Deals of 2003" — a testament to its importance.
Even with Yuanxin's support and Su Yuanshan's forward-looking vision, he didn't believe that a BOE still stuck at the experimental stage would be able to break through into the fiercely competitive LCD panel industry, let alone catch up to Japanese giants like Sharp, Casio, or Toshiba, who had been refining the technology for years.
Right now, the LCD industry in Japan was booming, and they were rapidly forming a national supply chain.
But notably, Sony's name was absent from that chain.
And next year, Samsung would once again play its trump card of counter-cyclical investment, seizing the opportunity presented by the downturn in LCD markets to partner with Fujitsu and carve out its dominance.
...
Thus, Su Yuanshan's plan was clear:
Pull Sony into the game while they were still naive and open.
"From the early days of calculator screens, to instrumentation panels, to BP pager displays, to today's mobile phone screens, and now ten-inch TV panels..." Su Yuanshan ticked off the milestones on his fingers as he spoke slowly to Kutaragi Ken.
"Mr. Kutaragi, we have every reason to believe LCD panel sizes will only keep increasing, the technology will only keep improving, and ultimately, they will replace CRTs as the dominant display technology."
"And the timeframe?" Kutaragi asked intently.
"How far into the future?"
"Ten years," Su Yuanshan said without hesitation.
"At most ten years — CRTs will be obsolete."
Kutaragi stared at him for a long moment, silently pondering.
He knew Su Yuanshan would never joke about something like this.
If Su Yuanshan said it would happen in ten years, then it would happen.
Kutaragi licked his lips, let out a long breath, and said,
"Actually... we have considered this before."
"Oh?"
"Yes, Su-san.
We considered it," Kutaragi nodded. "But you know, LCD panels evolved from 'small gadgets.'"
Su Yuanshan nodded knowingly.
Indeed, from their inception, LCD panels had only been used in "small" devices.
A heavyweight like Sony naturally had grander ambitions.
They wouldn't invest heavily in a technology with such an unclear future—especially when they were still chasing breakthroughs with CRTs.
"Our internal estimate was more optimistic — we thought LCD panels would matter twenty years from now.
And besides, CRTs have advantages that LCDs can't match..."
"You misjudged," Su Yuanshan said bluntly.
"No matter how many advantages CRTs have, they only matter in highly specialized or professional fields.
For the mass market, the slimness of LCDs alone is enough to completely overshadow every advantage CRTs hold."
"And beyond that, all of LCD's shortcomings can eventually be overcome — that's the nature of technological progress."
"You're right," Kutaragi admitted again.
Su Yuanshan smiled.
"Let me be direct, Mr. Kutaragi.
Investing in LCD panels will require massive amounts of capital, and deep technological expertise.
Yuanxin alone can't manage it."
"And Sony alone can't either," Kutaragi said candidly.
"When we discussed LCD panels before, we shelved the idea because the investment would be too big...
Plus, some of our divisions were running losses."
"Then let's work together."
...
After seeing off Kutaragi, Su Yuanshan returned to the sofa, closed his eyes for a brief 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 enthusiasm.
In the domestic semiconductor circle, he was already a known quantity.
And the closer you were to semiconductors, the more likely you were to know about him.
Rubbing his temples, Su Yuanshan called out,
"Sister Xiaohui!"
Zhou Xiaohui pushed open the door and sighed lightly.
"Booking flights?"
"Yeah. Book it for the 27th. Just me."
"No way. You can't go alone," Zhou Xiaohui said firmly.
"I'll go with you."
Su Yuanshan laughed.
"Come on, do you think I'm a kid?
Can't I take care of myself?"
Zhou Xiaohui said nothing — but she thought to herself:
Exactly.
She had traveled with him for years and knew him better than anyone.
Despite his maturity, inside he was still a bit... helpless.
He never carried cash, never bothered to buy clothes —
and this was the man who thought he could manage fine alone?
There was no way she would let him travel by himself.
"Don't argue. I'm booking two tickets."
"Come on, Sister Xiaohui..." Su Yuanshan sighed.
"I can't keep dragging you around forever, can I?
Don't you want to do something more than just be a secretary?"
Zhou Xiaohui froze.
Panic flickered across her heart.
She quickly closed the door, leaned her back against it, and stared at him.
"You're trying to get rid of me?" she whispered.
"...You don't want to leave?
You don't want a promotion?"
Su Yuanshan smiled teasingly.
He had mentored her for three years —
but she couldn't stay at his side forever.
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