"Distinguished guests, while our people found no evidence at Jiangnan Group, they did discover something far more interesting!" The representative from GH, feeling that his previous reveal had been somewhat underwhelming, suddenly spoke up.
"Oh? What interesting thing?" everyone asked with curiosity.
"It's some documents from Jiangnan Optoelectronics!" As the representative finished speaking, everyone's eyes lit up. They had gone to such lengths, meticulously planning and scheming, all to obtain Jiangnan Optoelectronics and the technology behind its formidable storage chips.
Otherwise, who would be willing to cause such a stir with Jiangnan Group, and with such endless repercussions, potentially alerting Chinese authorities and affecting future cooperation with China?
Everyone was acutely aware of the immense size of the Chinese market. Offending the authorities and severing future cooperation would undoubtedly be an incredibly foolish act, let alone being implicated in the seduction of a major bank chairman. These were matters with far-reaching and unpredictable consequences.
Yet, they had proceeded, for one reason only: to acquire this groundbreaking technology held by Jiangnan Group. This technology promised greater profits, and they were determined to possess it.
However, Jiangnan Group clearly understood the importance of this technology and guarded it fiercely. They knew that related research and development were conducted at the research center of Jiangnan Optoelectronics in Cao County.
But the security measures there were exceptionally stringent. They had dispatched numerous individuals attempting to infiltrate the facility, only to be blocked by the rigorous review system.
Their attempts to win over some employees were met with betrayal; they were reported by these very employees and then dealt with decisively.
As for forcibly breaking in… please, did they truly believe this was a world of movies and television dramas, where these large-scale research institutions were mere trifles, allowing so-called elite agents to come and go freely?
Anyone who dared to approach would be immediately detected by the radar network blanketing the entire base, not to mention the layers upon layers of internal security measures. It was simply unrealistic.
Now, they finally had intelligence on this mysterious facility, and naturally, they were exhilarated.
"Firstly, while examining financial records, we obtained a payroll for Jiangnan Optoelectronics, clearly listing the salaries of its 1,981 employees!" the representative stated slowly. "Although this list only contains employee names and monthly incomes, not detailed personal information, our people meticulously analyzed the payrolls over twelve months. They found that the majority of employees, numbering 1,041, had salaries ranging between ten thousand and thirty thousand, forming the largest demographic group."
"If I'm not mistaken, these 1,041 individuals should be the research personnel of Jiangnan Optoelectronics!"
"Can we identify the inventor of the storage chip from these 1,041 people? The key research backbone! Is it that person named Tong He?" others asked excitedly.
Based on experience, a epoch-making invention was rarely the collective effort of a group but rather the masterpiece of a single genius. Therefore, this storage chip was likely the result of such an individual's brilliance.
The possibility that it was someone named Tong He was high, especially since he was the recipient of the first Huang He Physics Award. Perhaps he was indeed the inventor of this storage chip!
If that were the case, they might not even need Jiangnan Group; they only needed Tong He. They could then employ various temptations towards him, such as offering him American citizenship and promising him research opportunities in the United States. They were confident he wouldn't refuse.
"Whether it's him, I'm not sure. However, among everyone, the highest earner is their Chief Engineer, Ni Guangnan, with a monthly salary exceeding 87,000 yuan!"
"We already know about Ni Guangnan; this is almost public information!" the others shook their heads. "He is indeed a talent in the chip field, but he's old and lacks the capacity for innovation!"
There was a common understanding in the scientific community that older individuals generally lacked the ability to produce groundbreaking research. Their creativity, it was believed, had become rigidly confined by decades of learning and experimentation, leading them to conduct research only according to their habits and common sense, thus hindering breakthrough scientific achievements.
Younger individuals, conversely, were different. Their ideas were not overly constrained, increasing the possibility of transcending tradition. The vast majority of employees in most research companies were young people.
Of course, older individuals also had their advantages, particularly in conducting in-depth research, where they possessed unparalleled strengths.
Once a young person achieved a breakthrough in research, it was best paired with an experienced elder leading a team of dozens of young individuals to further develop that achievement. This was the ideal combination, so they did not believe Ni Guangnan was the key figure.
More importantly, they knew Ni Guangnan too well. He was a national scientist whose loyalty to the country exceeded 200%, a person who would absolutely never betray his nation and people. There was no necessity or possibility of trying to win him over.
It was only the younger generation who might be swayed by the various spiritual and material benefits offered, ultimately betraying their country and company. They hoped the inventor of this research achievement was a young person, like that Tong He.
"If not Ni Guangnan, there's another person on the list named Li Dakang, whose salary is second only to Ni Guangnan. However, we couldn't find any information on this Li Dakang at all, not even a single published paper. Therefore, I suspect Li Dakang is a recent graduate, or perhaps even an undergraduate, who was recruited by Jiangnan Group due to his outstanding research capabilities!"
"He achieved extremely significant research results, which is why his salary is comparable to Ni Guangnan's... Oh, and we discovered that Jiangnan Group awarded him a bonus of one million Renminbi three times: in May 2002, December 2002, and February of this year. Such bonuses are typically given for making major scientific breakthroughs!" the representative stated.
"Precisely, the key figure must be this Li Dakang!"
"Indeed, highly probable. May was the time their server company and research center were established. December was when they completed the development of storage-class servers. By February, mass production should have commenced, otherwise, they wouldn't meet the sales schedule for this year."
"These timelines all revolve around the storage chip. This Li Dakang is very likely the inventor of this technology, and it is precisely because Jiangnan Group mastered this technology that they decisively entered the server industry."
"Otherwise, why would a company that sells blind boxes suddenly develop an interest in servers? They must have lost their minds!" Several intelligent and elite individuals analyzed. Their statements were precise and their logic impeccable. There should be no error; Li Dakang was the inventor of this technology.
"Is that Tong He on the list?" someone else asked.
"Yes, he is!" the representative nodded. "However, Tong He's salary is only twelve thousand yuan, which is the average level for all research personnel, and he has never received a bonus. It doesn't seem like he's made any significant research achievements."
"Strange, Huang He awarded him a Huang He prize, how could his salary be that of an ordinary researcher? Wasn't it said that he made groundbreaking discoveries in physics?" the Samsung representative murmured to himself, puzzled.
"Indeed!" others nodded. They had conducted extensive investigations into Tong He previously, discovering that Tong He's parents had moved into Jiangnan Group's apartments, and his other personal connections were largely severed. It all appeared as though someone was deliberately concealing him, likely the research genius of Jiangnan Group.
"Could it be possible that Tong He is merely a decoy, a cover for Li Dakang?" the Kingston representative said in a deep voice. "In our industry, to protect cutting-edge researchers from being poached by rival companies, we often release false names externally and strategically introduce scapegoats, attributing the research credit to them. This way, we safeguard those who truly made the research breakthroughs from being targeted by competing firms."
"Could this Tong He be Li Dakang's scapegoat?"
"That makes sense!" everyone nodded in unison. Then someone added, "It's also possible that others on this list are the real key figures. Liu, can you share this list with us?"
"Heh heh!" the chairman's representative chuckled. "Well, that remains to be seen. Our leadership instructed me that all documentation will be handed over with both hands once our transaction is complete!"
Indeed, this chairman was not foolish. What if he facilitated the downfall of Jiangnan Group but failed to secure the position of World Bank president? Wouldn't that be digging the deepest pit for himself?
Therefore, he intended to keep this information firmly in his grasp and would only release further intelligence as the transaction progressed. These were his bargaining chips in dealing with these foreigners.
"Of course! Of course!" others chimed in. At this juncture, they still relied on this chairman's cooperation and dared not issue any harsh words.
"By the way, you mentioned other important documents. What are they?" the Kingston representative continued to inquire.
"Ah, the other document is the procurement list for Jiangnan Optoelectronics!" the representative said with a smile.
"Procurement list!" everyone's eyes brightened even further. A procurement list might sound insignificant, but anyone involved in electronics knows that procurement lists are extremely valuable intelligence.
This is because electronic products often require various metals, compounds, and rare earth elements. If one could obtain a company's procurement list, it would be possible to ascertain their annual purchases of various materials. This, in turn, would allow for the reverse deduction of the material ratios required for some of their products, and subsequently, their formulations.
Don't dismiss this method as foolish. Americans themselves have, on more than one occasion, obtained the formulas for numerous classified materials from around the world through this very method.
China's ceramic firing formulas, in fact, were leaked through this means as well. It is truly impossible to guard against.