Chapter Twenty-Eight: What Is Meant to Come Will Come

Before the proliferation of mobile phones, the primary—or perhaps only—way for two people thousands of miles apart to converse was the landline telephone. Even for those who owned pagers, one still had to use a "big brother" mobile phone or a landline to return calls. Sometimes, due to signal issues, even those bulky mobiles were unreliable, leaving most pager users to queue up at landlines just to call back.

Two years ago, the Japanese Sanyo Group launched the telecommunications industry's first cordless phone, but it failed to make much of a splash due to numerous flaws and immature technology. Li Dongling intended for Dongling High-Tech to launch a digital cordless phone that, compared to standard cordless models, would offer superior sound quality, enhanced privacy, and a wider range. Its greatest feature, however, would be the ability for a single base station to support three or even six handsets.

Pagers would be phased out in a few years, never to be remembered again, but landlines were here to stay. Municipal governments, hospitals, fire departments, and other public utilities worldwide could never abandon them. Certain emergency services required someone to be stationed by a phone twenty-four hours a day; only a landline could guarantee that, ensuring their existence for a long time to come.

In the years before mobile phones became truly ubiquitous, digital cordless phones would always have a market, and even after mobile phones became widespread, the landline would persist for many years. If managed well, Dongling High-Tech could launch the world's first digital cordless phone, a business that could sustain itself for years—perhaps even decades. If these units could be exported, would that not be far more profitable than the pager business?

Pagers in the domestic market largely meant earning money from one's own countrymen. If Dongling High-Tech’s digital cordless phones could be sold abroad, it would be like harvesting foreign wealth—far better than fighting other local factories for the scraps of the pager market. The crux of the matter was that the lion's share of pager profits was taken by Motorola and other foreign component manufacturers; domestic firms were merely earning a pittance for their hard labor. Of course, creating a digital cordless phone was no easy feat. Beyond the technical challenges, selling them abroad required winning over foreign consumers—a task far more difficult than the engineering itself.

In addition to the digital cordless phone, the scroll-wheel mouse was another product Li Dongling intended for Dongling High-Tech to launch. The value of this product lay not just in the potential revenue, but in its patents and the reputation it would bring to Dongling High-Tech, which might far exceed the profit margins. Imagine if the scroll-wheel mouse became the standard for computer mice; with the number of computers produced globally each year, the patent royalties alone would be enough to sustain Dongling High-Tech. Furthermore, if the scroll-wheel mouse became mainstream, it would significantly boost Dongling High-Tech’s visibility, establishing a foothold in the tech industry and gaining widespread consumer acceptance.

Li Dongling looked at the two sets of blueprints in his hands. For someone with a design background like his, drafting these products was not difficult, but turning them from paper into reality was a different story. Unlike satellite dishes, which could be assembled by simply sourcing parts, digital cordless phones and scroll-wheel mice involved precision electronics and mechanics. They required genuine technical expertise and a dedicated R&D team.

After staring at the blueprints for a long while, Li Dongling placed them and his drafts into the office safe. He felt that recruiting technical personnel and building a team in Pingyang might be difficult; there were simply too few experts in this field locally. If he couldn't find them, he would have no choice but to head to the provincial capital or even Shenzhen to headhunt.

*Creak.*

A wooden door was pushed open. Hu Zixian, having just returned from the train station, looked at the empty courtyard, dust-covered and weary. He never expected to return to this place. Weeds had grown in the yard. Carrying his bag, he pushed open the door that had remained shut for years, and a cloud of dust rushed out, causing him to cough repeatedly.

Ignoring the grime, Hu Zixian tossed his bag inside and slumped into a chair. Looking at the old house, he remembered the year he was admitted to Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. With his few belongings, he had declared with high spirits that he would live in a big city and never return. Yet, here he was. Reflecting on the past decade, it felt like a dream.

Hu Zixian had been among the first to attend university. After graduating, he joined a state-owned enterprise in Shanghai, eventually rising to the position of financial manager. He had even designed a new financial audit process for the company, significantly improving efficiency and earning the high praise of his superiors.

Years later, as foreign enterprises began flooding into Shanghai, Hu Zixian was headhunted by a multinational corporation to serve as a deputy financial director. He performed exceptionally well, earning a salary—including bonuses—of eighty to ninety thousand yuan a year. Even by today's standards, that was an elite income.

But then came the wave of people leaving their stable jobs to enter the private market. Hu Zixian’s alumni, former colleagues, and even foreign executives were all jumping ship, some amassing fortunes in the millions. Unable to resist, Hu Zixian resigned from his foreign firm. Upon arriving in Shenzhen, he used his professional expertise to open a financial consulting firm, helping companies handle import-export tax matters and tax avoidance. He made a fortune, far exceeding his previous salary, and within months, his net worth reached nearly a million.

As his wealth grew, so did his ambition. After hearing the buzz from Yazhou, he couldn't resist joining the fray. At his peak, his company held an entire building, with a paper value exceeding eighty million yuan—he was only a step away from being worth one hundred million. Then, overnight, it seemed as if no one wanted property anymore. The real estate in his hands became unsellable, yet the bank loans still had to be repaid.

Though housing prices in Yazhou seemed to hold steady, and rumors of further increases persisted, small firms like Hu Zixian’s were the first to collapse. Sensing the danger, he cut his losses, sold his properties at a deficit, and fled back to Pingyang in disgrace. With a background in finance, he had enough risk awareness to avoid the fate of others who had ended up in massive debt or worse.

After cleaning the courtyard and roughing it out for the night, Hu Zixian went out the next morning to buy breakfast and a few newspapers. His funds were nearly exhausted. Having experienced such turbulence, his ambition had been shattered; he no longer dreamed of making a comeback. His only priority now was to find a way to make a living and fill his stomach.

Scanning the job advertisements in several newspapers, he grew increasingly disappointed. While he didn't expect the salaries in Pingyang to be high, the pittance offered for accounting roles made him feel the stark contrast to his former life.

He was just considering heading to the provincial capital or returning to Shanghai when he happened upon the *Pingyang Daily*. While flipping through the recruitment section, he initially paid no mind, but his eyes stopped when he saw that Dongling High-Tech was hiring a financial manager.

The next day, donning the imported brand-name suit and leather shoes he had brought back from his time away, a well-groomed Hu Zixian headed toward Changqing Road, where Dongling High-Tech was located.

"Brother Li, it’s been several days, and we still haven't found a suitable person for the finance, HR, or technical manager roles. Should we go to the provincial capital to recruit?"

Seeing that several days had passed without finding the right candidates, Gao Peng couldn't help but grow impatient, even if Li Dongling remained calm.

"What is meant to come will come," Li Dongling replied, shaking his head while holding a copy of *Computer News*, a publication just launched the previous year by Southwest University and the Chongqing Science and Technology Association. As one of the earliest tech newspapers in the country, it had become a national sensation, regarded by many as a bellwether for the industry.

Just then, the phone on Li Dongling’s desk rang. "I understand. Please ask them to wait in the reception room. I will meet them in the conference room!"

Before arriving, Hu Zixian had harbored doubts. He had seen too many con artists in Shenzhen. However, upon entering Dongling High-Tech and seeing an office environment that rivaled those of foreign firms, he felt at ease. Typical scammers wouldn't go to the trouble of setting up such an elaborate facade in a city like Pingyang; it wouldn't even cover their costs.

After registering at the front desk, Hu Zixian was led to the reception room by a receptionist dressed in a white professional suit, a style commonly seen in Hong Kong. Upon entering, he saw a tall woman sitting inside, wearing a red jacket and blue jeans, her legs crossed.

As Hu Zixian entered, the woman looked up from her magazine and nodded at him. Struck by her appearance, Hu Zixian paused for a moment before nodding in return and taking a seat on the other side of the room. Having experienced the highs and lows of life, he now understood exactly how to maintain a sense of proportion and distance.