Chapter 34: Lack of Empathy

Zhang Biao took a drag of his cigarette and gazed at Su Desheng. A bottle of Maotai and a bag of Huazi cigarettes (two packs) were placed in the corner as a gift from Su Desheng.

Of course, the bag didn't just contain Huazi cigarettes; it was filled with stacks of RMB.

During this period, both Zhang Biao and Su Desheng had been fortunate. After they disclosed the technology for imitating the mainboard of Demag CNC machine tools, they gained significant recognition from market leaders.

Following that, the Jiangzhou Municipal Government took the lead and signed an agreement with the Shanghai General Equipment Design Factory. Experts from Shanghai replicated the integrated circuit diagram based on the equipment's mainboard and handed it over to Zhongjing Company for production.

This event brought Zhang Biao immense praise in the market, elevating his career.

As for Su Desheng, he was not surprised when he was transferred to Jiangzhou as the deputy director of the Jiangzhou General Plant after the year.

Market leaders kept inquiring about the inventor of the Demagie mainboard, as this incident was deemed a revolutionary event that could change the Xiaguo CNC machine tool industry chain and was worthy of praise.

Su Desheng chose to keep this matter quiet and never reported it.

Now, it was clear that he wanted to attribute the invention to his son.

Su Desheng flattered, "Mr. Zhang, it's just a name; the intellectual property rights must remain with the factory. Zhongjing Company has already begun production, and the equipment in our factory has been updated. There won't be any disputes. You also know that though the university has expanded its enrollment this year, getting into a good university isn't easy, and university graduation doesn't guarantee job placement..."

Zhang Biao laughed. It didn't matter who invented this thing, as it had all been under his leadership.

However, he certainly wouldn't say that Chen Xiao had invented it.

If it was an ordinary technician in the factory, Zhang Biao wouldn't gain any additional benefits.

If it was Su Desheng's son, it would be a favor to Su Desheng.

Zhang Biao said, "Parents' love for their children is understandable. As the director of Jiangcheng Machinery Factory, you must know who invented this patent."

The superior was still the superior. When Zhang Biao said this, Su Desheng immediately understood!

He gratefully replied, "Of course, I know! Thank you, Mr. Zhang! I will always remember your concern for me! (I will remember your favor when the time comes)."

Zhang Biao waved his hand and said, "If you manage the factory well, I'll be reassured. However, I don't want to get involved in the patent matter. You handle it yourself."

"Of course! Of course!"

The middleman Su Desheng contacted was actually a recruiter with a vast network of contacts and methods. They could handle patents, from invention descriptions to patents themselves. If Su Qiao truly had a solid invention, it would be even better.

After thanking Zhang Biao, Su Desheng left his house. He immediately called Yanjing. The other party learned that Su Qiao had such an important invention and replied, "Shuimu University is assured, but applying for the patent here will not be easy. In reality, I can only make an application for an invention patent and submit it to Shuimu University. As long as it is confirmed that the patent is unique to you, it will be easy to handle."

Definitely unique!

Chen Qiang's family was just a working-class family, and they were not aware that patents could be used for special university recruitment. Even if the mainboard was invented by Chen Xiao, they wouldn't think of applying for a patent.

Moreover, the first usage scene of the motherboard was in Jiangcheng Machinery Factory, and now the sister company of Jiangcheng Machinery Factory, Zhongjing Equipment, was producing this type of motherboard.

Su Qiao had indeed invented the motherboard, and it was a significant breakthrough!

Su Desheng was overjoyed that his son's university admission was now secured.

After Su Desheng left, Zhang Biao opened the bag containing Huazi cigarettes, which held two thick stacks of money.

Twenty thousand!

Zhang Biao was satisfied and placed the money in the safe.

...

Life in the third year of high school was dull, but thanks to the study group organized by Chen Xiao, it became more lively.

Especially after Shen Wei joined the school group, many boys flocked to her.

For a beautiful girl to teach a topic to a boy was an enjoyable experience.

During this time, Su Qiao became more energetic; he already knew that his admission to Shuimu University was guaranteed.

However, this time, Su Qiao behaved well, kept quiet, and didn't mention it.

On Friday, December 31, 1999, Jiangcheng No. 1 Middle School's third year students were granted a two-and-a-half-day New Year's Day holiday, a rare break for high school students.

"It's a holiday!" Deng Chao said, "Do you want Xiaozi to set up a Half-Life gaming session?"

Chen Xiao waved his hand and said, "I'm not that free."

Deng Chao nodded and said, "That's true. You're aiming to get into a key university."

Chen Xiao's New Year's Day holiday was busy. He spent it improving the 11181 website and designing a visualization window for the mainboard of the CNC machine tool, which required adding an operating system to the machine.

Although Linghua's equipment was currently leading, there would be times when it would be surpassed. Now that he had the opportunity to use his knowledge to accumulate more wealth, Chen Xiao was eager to do so.

The operating system for the machine tool wasn't overly complicated, and its underlying code was much simpler than that of the XP system. However, it still required time to write the code in a language.

"Chen Xiao!" Shen Wei chased after him on her bicycle.

Since she started riding Chen Xiao's bicycle home, Shen Wei had worked hard to convince her family to allow her to ride a bicycle to school. From that day on, Shen Wei would ride with Chen Xiao every day after school.

She handed him a beautifully packaged small box and said, "This is for you, a New Year's gift! Don't open it until you get home."

A New Year's gift, how mysterious!

Tomorrow would be the year 2000, and Chen Xiao felt a bit trance-like.

He took out a pen and paper and wrote down a five-digit number.

This was the first batch of OICQ numbers, five digits with vanity numbers.

Shen Wei's number ended with 6, while Chen Xiao's ended with 7, making them two good numbers side by side.

Shen Wei's password was her birthday.

"What's this?" Shen Wei asked, a little puzzled.

OICQ was the predecessor of QQ, which was later renamed QQ due to name infringement.

At this time, QQ was not famous at all, and the employees at the company were still pretending to be girls and chatting with men to attract customers.

Chen Xiao explained, "This is the account and password for OICQ, an instant messaging tool. The top one is your account, and the bottom is your password. I've added you as a friend, so once you go home and download the software, we can chat online."

"Really?" Shen Wei was pleasantly surprised.

Chen Xiao nodded, "In the future, it will become the largest chat software in Xia Kingdom. Your account ending in 666 will be worth tens of thousands of dollars in ten years."

Shen Wei laughed, "You're exaggerating."

The two of them happily rode their bicycles home. When they got home, Chen Xiao finally opened the gift box Shen Wei had given him.