Rebirth 2010: I taught Mr. Lei how to make a mobile phone

Chapter 857 If only they were kidnappers.
The day before the joint investigation was to begin at the company, Lao Liu did not receive a call from the kidnappers, but instead received shocking news.

The truth has come out!

He sat up abruptly in his armchair, immediately realizing that the problem was no longer how to find his daughter, but how to get her out of trouble.

In fact, what he fears most is a desperate criminal who is unreasonable, unpredictable, and capricious.

For wealthy people of their caliber, encountering a trustworthy robber like Cheung Tze-keung would be the best scenario, just like doing business where payment is settled on time and integrity is paramount.

This is good news amidst bad news, which has temporarily put his mind at ease.

Lenovo still holds the top spot in the global PC market with a 21% market share, but HP is closing in on it.

The transformation to mobile devices has been fraught with difficulties. Motorola Mobility, which was acquired in 2014, has failed to be revitalized and has encountered setbacks in the European, American, and Chinese markets.

But even a weakened camel is bigger than a horse, and its annual revenue of nearly $500 billion still keeps it firmly among the giants.

Since 2011, he has stepped down as chairman of Lenovo Group, handing the position over to Yang Yuanqing and withdrawing from front-line management. However, he still serves as chairman of Lenovo Holdings (the parent company) and continues to participate in the group's strategic decision-making, effectively ruling from behind the scenes.

Although he is advanced in years and no longer directly manages Lenovo Group, he still maintains his influence through capital operations and public opinion.

Having navigated the ups and downs of the business world for half his life, from group restructuring and the Ni-Liu dispute to the construction of a school by the lake, the network of relationships he has built is unfathomable.

"Godfather of Contemporary Chinese Enterprises" and "Entrepreneurial Leader" are not official titles, nor did he claim them himself. They are recognized by mainstream media and accepted by entrepreneurs of his generation.

Old Ma previously stated publicly that "President Liu is no less than any other outstanding entrepreneur or business magnate in the world," which further confirms this point.
Of course, as the saying goes, "a sedan chair is carried by many people," and he also openly praised some of Alibaba and Jack Ma's achievements.

The "Top Ten Brand Figures of the Year" award he just received this year is enough to prove that he is still a leading figure in the Chinese business community.

So, while he finds his daughter's current situation somewhat troublesome, it's just that—troublesome.

He understood the principle that one must give before one can take.

We've taken so much from our master over the years; we can just return some of it. Anyway, our family fortune is enough for our descendants to squander for generations.

The original plan to use this incident to elevate the entire family to a higher level has now fallen through. What a pity!
But he still couldn't understand: how could such a secret operation have been leaked?
Could there be a traitor among them?
Cheng Wei? Although he looks like a suspect, his relationship with his daughter is intertwined with her interests, so there's no reason for him to turn against her.

Representatives of the investors? We're all in the same boat, sharing both prosperity and adversity, so there's no reason for us to disagree.

After filtering through the last names, Lao Liu's gaze darkly settled on one name.

He picked up the encrypted phone: "Check this person named Zhang Bo."

I'm seventy-three years old now, and I never imagined that I would still have to work so hard for my children in my old age.

But he's just old, not dead.

The years of cooperation have built up a deep bond, and someone should give him face.

Old Liu thought this way, but things quickly took a turn for the worse than he expected.
The day after the joint investigation team entered the company in question, the executioner's blade fell with unprecedented efficiency!
The official statement was unusual, issued twice in two days: announcing that all products of the company involved had been removed from online platforms.

First it was a lightning-fast IPO in twenty days, now it's been dealt a thunderous blow in just two days.

If it's just a matter of stopping new user registration, it's a phased rectification measure, usually in the stage of investigating and collecting evidence regarding business compliance issues, and hasn't yet touched the core security red line.

This indicates that regulators believe the current expansion of the user base may exacerbate risks, and that expansion needs to be suspended to control the scope of the impact.

Enterprises are required to address issues within their existing user base, such as improving data security measures and adjusting business models.

Generally, once a company completes the required rectification within a month and passes the review, it can resume normal registration.

The removal of a product from shelves only indicates that the company has committed serious violations or triggered systemic risks, potentially involving fundamental issues such as national security, cross-border data leaks, and the dissemination of illegal content.

The regulators determined that continued operation of the software could cause irreversible harm, requiring the company to restructure its business logic from the ground up, and it may even face permanent shutdown.

This is to prevent the problem from spreading, especially for nationally popular applications with a large user base.

Regulatory processes have always been implemented in stages:

Step 1, Warning Stage: Interview and fine; Step 2, Restriction Stage: Stop new registrations; Step 3, Removal Stage: Remove from all platforms.

The first two steps are considered "yellow card warnings," while the third step is considered "red card dismissal," meaning that the regulator believes the company is beyond saving and can be abandoned.

Just like Fanfou, the website Wang Xing created before launching Meituan, which was shut down due to problems with public opinion control.

However, the scale was incomparable to this one. The authorities were too lazy to even issue a statement, leaving Wang Xing, who had not yet made his fortune, to beg and plead for half a year without finding a temple to open.

This is actually another method of removal.

This time, the company involved in the incident hasn't even learned to walk yet, and it's already jumped directly from the first step to the third step in a standing long jump.

Starting lightly and then hitting harder, two punches later, and this second-largest ride-hailing company was left barely clinging to life.

If registration is suspended on the first day, the public will mostly just observe, discuss, and speculate, and the initial ripples will be visible.

As the matter came to a head, in-depth financial and technology reports began to fuel the fire. The company's shareholding structure was thoroughly dissected: SoftBank (Japan), Uber (USA), Apple (USA), Temasek (Singapore), Alibaba (?)...

The inside story of the Uber takeover, the complex internal relationships, and the merger facilitated by inside and outside collusion are being revealed layer by layer.

When a tree falls, its monkeys scatter; various negative news about this company has begun to resurface.

These reports are like a popular science documentary, peeling back the layers of a complex issue like an onion and bringing it to the public's attention.

Although the official punishment has not yet been finalized, the fact that such a serious incident occurred during a holiday period creates a stark contrast.

This immediately stirred up a huge wave of discussion, with netizens unable to contain themselves and taking action, vying to become online judges.

"Only by secretly listing on the US stock market can executives' shares appreciate significantly and they gain access to cash out, turning them into multi-millionaires or even billionaires. My previous suspicions weren't unfounded; there's only one possibility I can think of."

"Damn it, if I ever use this app to hail a ride again, I'm a dog!"

“I was really blind before. I could tell from those previous promotions on ride-sharing that this company was no good.”

"Judging from the official description, I feel that this matter will definitely not end here. None of these company leaders are good people!"

"How could that be? Don't you see who's here? They're the godfather's sons. You're overthinking it."

"I just hope the final result isn't just confiscating someone's allowance for the day."

"Everyone needs to be patient. I believe the official response will be satisfactory. What we need to do is uninstall DD, starting with ourselves!"

These past few days have been a magical experience for DD employees that they will likely never forget.

Family members, who knows?

Everything was going well in class, and suddenly the company inexplicably went public?
Surprised? Unexpected?
Going public is a good thing, no matter what.

Some managers with stocks and options were suddenly hit by this surprise and are still trying to process the fact that their net worth has skyrocketed.

The next day, this beautiful dream was shattered by cruel reality.

Why have all the leaders disappeared?

Why was there a sudden investigation and rectification?
Why does it feel like the company is about to go bankrupt?

In the CTO's office upstairs, a group of directors surrounded Zhang Bo, chattering away like ants on a hot plate.

"The impact of stopping new user registrations isn't too bad, but yesterday's product removal coupled with negative public opinion caused uninstallation rates to exceed 20%, and this number is still rising rapidly."

"What are we going to do if this continues? We need to come up with a solution."

"The rectification plan already exists, we will fully cooperate!"

"Is there even a need for rectification? Wouldn't it be more straightforward to just bury it in soil?"

"Shh! They're still outside. Are you out of your mind?"

"That's the truth. Even if the rectification is completed and the app is relisted, how many users will be left? It's obvious."

"Now that General Manager Liu and General Manager Cheng are not here, General Manager Zhang, wouldn't you like to say something?"

All the directors turned their attention to Zhang Bo, who was drinking tea.

Upon hearing this, the latter replied, "Why are you all looking at me? Right now, our company's most important task is to cooperate with the rectification. You're all overthinking things. Only by complying with regulations will we have a chance to survive."

"So we're not going to respond to anything from the outside world?"

"No response is the best response."

"Mr. Zhang, have you managed to contact Mr. Liu and Mr. Cheng?"

Zhang Bo dialed the phone in front of everyone, saying, "Look, you've all seen it. It's not that I don't want to contact them, it's that their phone is off. What can I do?"

"With such a big thing happening to the company, where did those two go? It's ridiculous!"

"Why!!!"

The group shook their heads and sighed as they left, cooperating with the housekeeper to carry out the rectification work.

There's no other way; besides the two general managers, Zhang Bo holds the highest position in the company right now, so we can only listen to him for the time being.

In fact, Zhang Bo had a vague premonition that Cheng Liu and the other person were either here or there.

Looking out the window at the anxious crowd, Zhang Bo sighed inwardly: Why not be a good person instead of a dog?
His phone rang suddenly, and upon seeing the caller ID, a smile involuntarily spread across his face.

"Honey~~~ Did you have fun? I've been watching your and our daughter's videos every day these past few days~"
Your happiness is the most important thing
Want to come back? It might take a few more days, a week at most.
Oh dear, I'm a grown-up, what more could I want? I'll love anything you buy!
Mmm, love you all!

(End of this chapter)