Chapter 51: A New Hope Emerges

As one of the most closely watched figures in both the tech and news industries, Li Dongling's final remark in the arrival hall was instantly reported by major media outlets, subsequently triggering quite a ripple effect.

However, for the most part, people who saw this news didn't take Li Dongling's words seriously. Li Dongling's statement implied that China was set to become the world's largest manufacturing powerhouse, producing everything from daily necessities to home appliances and machinery domestically, and then exporting them overseas.

Yet the reality was that currently, domestic goods—whether in electronic technology or mechanical processing—were predominantly imported. They were either made in Japan or manufactured in America, Germany, and France. Even products from neighboring South Korea outperformed domestic items.

Under such circumstances, daring to put forward that proclamation of "Made in China" could be called a shocking statement. Still, most people who saw the news simply regarded Li Dongling as boasting. Some even began to lump Li Dongling together with Boss Mou, who frequently made wild claims. Aside from his devoted followers, most people just watched the spectacle and didn't take what he said seriously.

Within the tech industry, however, quite a few people sighed deeply upon seeing Li Dongling's remarks at the airport. They, too, wanted to make grand declarations and vow to compete head-on with foreign brands, but in the end, they could only manage a helpless sigh.

At the headquarters of the Giant Group, Boss Shi looked at the newspaper report concerning Li Dongling in his office and merely smiled nonchalantly. Giant was currently at the peak of its glory, and Boss Shi was in high spirits, even carrying a touch of arrogance, conceit, and invincibility. Of course, the Giant Group gave Boss Shi the qualifications to feel that way!

Boss Shi wanted to turn Giant into China's IBM. Among the figures most admired by young people in China, Bill Gates ranked first, and Shi Yuzhu ranked second. Now, it seemed a certain Mr. Li would have to be added to the list, but Boss Shi was undoubtedly the most influential figure in China's tech industry at present.

As for Li Dongling, who was currently basking in the spotlight, others might feel envious, but Boss Shi didn't feel much. The path Li Dongling was walking on—the spotlight, the pursuit by public opinion—he had already experienced all of that. Regardless of its scale, workforce, or revenue, the Giant Group was far superior to Dongling High-Tech, so naturally, he wouldn't feel any envy.

Nevertheless, Boss Shi was somewhat interested in Li Dongling and thought about finding an opportunity to meet him. Boss Shi was confident that in the future, he would also have Giant's products sold all over the world, and he wanted to talk to Li Dongling about overseas markets.

However, after putting down the newspaper, Boss Shi also felt a bit anxious. His goal was to have the Giant Group complete its listing by next year. Yet, following the reduction of computer tariffs, foreign computer brands began making inroads into the domestic market. Faced with shrewd foreign computer brands, domestic local companies were almost entirely defenseless. Even the Giant Group had taken a hit, and its financial performance was affected.

Boss Shi, who had a massive amount of cash sitting in his account, was not as frantic as the major computer brands. But he knew that to successfully list next year, and given that the seventy-story skyscraper under construction also required a large sum of cash to sustain, the Giant Group had to make a change!

With that thought, Boss Shi turned his attention to the market research report on the domestic health supplements industry that he had commissioned, and then picked up the phone to make a call.

In Hong Kong, a red sports car pulled up in front of an upscale private hospital. A short-haired woman emerged in a rush, wearing a red coat over a tight wool sweater, paired with tight jeans and high heels.

"Ms. Ning!"

Medical staff were already waiting by the ward entrance and called out as Ning Wuke approached.

"How is my father?" Ning Wuke asked anxiously.

"There was some sudden fluctuation earlier, but his condition has stabilized now. You can go into the ward to check on him," the nurse told Ning Wuke.

Entering the ward, she saw a man with graying hair lying on the bed, his figure extremely emaciated. Ning Wuke hurried over and grasped the hand of the man on the bed. "Dad!"

For all of Ning Wuke's calling, the man on the bed showed no reaction. Ning Wuke's expression shifted from hopeful to silent, and she turned to ask the medical staff behind her, "When will my father wake up?!"

"This requires further observation. Our hospital will provide Mr. Ning with the finest medical care..."

Hearing this evasive boilerplate, Ning Wuke knew the situation was dire and cut them off. "I understand. You all can step outside first; I want to spend some time alone with my father."

Once everyone else had left, Ning Wuke rested her head on Ning Wantian's hand, weariness washing uncontrollably over her face.

A few months ago, Ning Wuke, who was still studying abroad in Britain, had been urgently summoned back to take over the Ning Family's Trading and Import-Export Company from her old man, Ning Wantian.

The Ning family's business primarily dealt in trade channels across Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Siam, and other parts of Southeast Asia. This meant acting as an agent for foreign brand products entering Southeast Asia, or selling products from these regions to Europe and elsewhere, profiting from the price difference.

Over the past few years, however, numerous trading agency companies had sprung up in Hong Kong, making competition exceptionally fierce. For the same brand, the Ning family charged a 15% channel agency fee as profit, whereas other companies required only 10% or even 5%. This caused the performance of the Ning family's trading company to decline continuously. Overwhelmed with anxiety, Ning Wantian suffered a cerebral thrombosis and collapsed into the hospital; after surgery, he had yet to wake up.

Stepping out of the ward, Ning Wuke transformed once again into the decisive and iron-fisted new head of the Ning family. In the eyes of outsiders, Ning Wuke was fighting a desperate battle to save the Ning family business, but only she knew how difficult things truly were.

Leaving the hospital, Ning Wuke drove back to the company. In those days, she basically lived at the office. When tired, she would wash up and rest at a hotel nearby, then return to the office to busy herself once more.

Before heading upstairs, Ning Wuke casually bought a newspaper. By the time she worked into the evening, Ning Wuke finally raised her head and massaged her stiff neck. Ever since she took over the Ning family company, she had already laid off a batch of employees and even sold off many of the properties and real estate they held, which barely allowed the Ning Trading Company to catch its breath.

Yet this was only temporary. If she failed to secure agency rights for new high-profit products, the Ning family's company would not last much longer.

Stretching her neck slightly, Ning Wuke took a sip of coffee and picked up the newspaper on her desk to read. She didn't expect to find any useful information; she was just treating it as a way to relax.

After flipping through several sections—filled with news about Hong Kong and Taiwan entertainment stars or how some tycoon in a particular Hong Kong industry was caught in another scandal with a celebrity—Ning Wuke, who used to enjoy reading such gossip, now had zero appetite for it.

Turning a few more pages, just as she was about to put the newspaper down, she caught sight of Li Dongling's figure in the print. At first glance, she thought he was just a newcomer recently pushed by TVB or Shaw Brothers. But then, the phrase "Computer Mouse King" caught her eye, halting her actions.

The reporter for this newspaper first chronicled the craze surrounding the Silver Marten mouse that they had witnessed at a computer market in Guangzhou.

"I saw it with my own eyes: users going to the computer market to buy computers cared most about neither the computer brand nor the computer configuration, but the mouse!

Those purchasing computers used whether a mechanical Silver Marten mouse was included to judge the quality of a computer. It is baffling, and it feels insane, but it is indeed the case. It happened right before my eyes. The Silver Marten mouse is currently the most popular electronic product in the mainland, and countless people consider it a symbol of high tech, taking immense pride in owning one!

Today at the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, the founder of Dongling High-Tech, the developer of the Silver Marten mouse, shouted the slogan 'Made in China.' I don't know if this will actually come to pass, but it truly feels crazy. Hong Kong's electronics tycoons, television tycoons, fan tycoons, and the like have never dared to shout such a slogan. Our newspaper is currently inviting Mr. Li to Hong Kong for an exclusive interview..."

Having read the entire report, Ning Wuke could sense that the Hong Kong media and reporters were mostly holding an attitude of curiosity toward Li Dongling and Dongling High-Tech. However, they seemed to have very little interest in importing the Silver Marten mouse. This was perhaps also tied to their mindset: Hong Kong companies currently held a psychological superiority over the mainland, believing that Hong Kong's technology and products were vastly superior to those of the mainland, and naturally saw no need to import any Silver Marten mouse.

Yet, a light dawned in Ning Wuke's eyes. Whether acting as an agent for the Silver Marten mouse would be profitable, she wasn't certain, but if she could secure the agency rights for the Silver Marten in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, it would undoubtedly be advantageous for elevating the reputation of the Ning Trading Company!

"Perhaps it's time to take a trip to the mainland!" Ning Wuke muttered as she looked at the newspaper.

Inside the hotel suite, Li Dongling was on the phone with Hu Zixian back in Hexi. Previously in New York, communication between the two sides had been inconvenient, reduced to only a few scattered phone calls. Now that he was back, Li Dongling naturally had to inquire about Dongling High-Tech's situation domestically.

In the suite's living room, Yao Luoying, Gao Peng, and Gao Zhiyuan were chatting.

"Luoying, it's been a long time since we last saw each other, hasn't it? I remember back when we were still in the same residential compound, you were just such a little girl back then, and now you've grown up so much!"

Gao Zhiyuan said with a sigh as he looked at Yao Luoying. By this point, both he and Gao Peng were well aware of who Yao Luoying was, except that their families hadn't lived in the same compound for a long time, and Yao Luoying had gone off to study in another city early on, followed by studying abroad. Having not seen her for so long, they hadn't recognized her at first.

"Zhiyuan-ge is just like before. How is Uncle Gao's health now?"

Listening to Gao Zhiyuan's words, Yao Luoying smiled gracefully and asked about the condition of the Gao family.

"Yao..." Gao Peng looked at Yao Luoying and hesitated. "Assistant Yao, does Li-ge know about what's going on with Uncle Yao?"

Hearing Gao Peng bring up Yao Zhengru, Yao Luoying knitted her delicate brows. Whether Li Dongling knew about the relationship between her and Yao Zhengru was something she couldn't quite figure out. She felt that Li Dongling must have picked up on some clues, especially since during this recent trip to America, Yao Zhengru had specifically dispatched someone to protect Yao Luoying's safety. Yet Li Dongling had never once brought it up to her, leaving Yao Luoying somewhat guessing at Li Dongling's thoughts. She felt as though Li Dongling didn't seem to care much about these matters at all.

"What are you all talking about, chatting so happily?"

"You must be Lawyer Gao. Thank you so much for your help this time!"

Li Dongling emerged from the bedroom, smiling as he looked at Yao Luoying, Gao Peng, and Gao Zhiyuan.