Siheyuan, Shazhu: I have both parents in this life

Chapter 440 Opponents and Speculators

“Yaozong, these three people may have enough technical and management experience, but I always feel they lack a bit of inspiration.”

"Aura?"

"The internet is a rapidly changing world, and sometimes you can't just look at resumes. What we need are people with a beast-like intuition for the market who can lead a team to carve out a bloody path through the mud. Go and broaden your search; don't just look at those who have already achieved success, but also those young people who are emerging from below, with ideas and drive. Give them a chance and see how far they can go."

He Yaozong pondered for a moment: "Dad, do you mean they lack an unconventional mindset?"

“Yes, this industry is where young people create the future. The rules and regulations we set might cause us to miss out on real talent. Go and do it. Implement a system that combines internal selection with external recruitment, and set up several rounds of practical assessments. I'll come up with the questions.”

"clear."

Just as the Yellow River Group was busy searching for a new leader in the internet industry, its competitors in the market did not stop.

XICQ, an instant messaging software under XunJie Technology, has seen its user base continue to climb thanks to its constantly updated cartoon avatars, emoticons, and relatively stable file transfer function. It has gained popularity, especially among young students and urban white-collar workers, and has begun to erode HICQ's core user base.

The morale of employees at Yellow River Internet Company was low, and the chaos during the restructuring period brought product iteration to a near standstill.

He Yuzhu didn't just wait around.

He made a phone call to Chen Sheng, who was far away in North America.

"Sheng, ask the New-Vision technical team for help. Based on their audio compression technology, develop an algorithm module that can stably transmit voice under low bandwidth. It should be as streamlined as possible and suitable for embedding into our instant messaging software. Also, have them compile a list of software tools, from system optimization and media playback to graphics processing. Pick those that are popular abroad but not yet available or easy to use in China, and organize a team to translate and localize them."

"Boss, what's going on?" Chen Sheng asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Prepare ammunition for our new weapons," He Yuzhu said calmly. "Get it done as soon as possible, and send over the source code and installation package."

"clear."

"Also, collect all kinds of applications from North America, package them together, and send them over."

"Ok."

A month later, a unique selection process for Yellow River Internet Leaders was launched in the special economic zone.

In addition to the several senior individuals selected earlier, there were more than a dozen younger, even somewhat immature, faces.

Among them were recent graduates, tech geniuses, product managers from small companies, and even a few hardcore HICQ users who came into view through their sharp criticisms and improvement proposals for the product.

The final step in the selection process was a roadshow personally designed by He Yuzhu: within limited resources and time, participants had to propose feasible solutions to address the challenges facing Huanghe Internet's business and then answer questions from He Yuzhu, He Yaozong, and several technical experts.

Most of the candidates focused on conventional approaches such as improving existing product features, strengthening marketing, and optimizing server architecture.

When it was the turn of a young man named Fang Qidong, his proposal made He Yuzhu sit up straight.

Fang Qidong was not yet thirty years old. He wore black-rimmed glasses and an ordinary jacket, but there was a fierce, unyielding spirit in his eyes.

He didn't use PowerPoint; he just drew a few simple diagrams on a whiteboard.

“Mr. He, President He, I believe that the core problem for Yellow River Internet right now is not technology, nor marketing, but that it has not found the users’ pain points and has not provided irreplaceable value.” Fang Qidong got straight to the point, his voice not loud but clear.

"Oh? Continue." He Yuzhu became somewhat interested.

"The competition in instant messaging may seem like a battle of features, but it is essentially a battle for relationship chains and users' time. XICQ attracts young people with its emoticons and entertainment, but have we ever thought that there is a need that is more rigid than entertainment?" Fang Qidong paused and wrote two big characters on the whiteboard: "Communication".

“It’s not text chat, it’s real-time voice.” He glanced at everyone present. “How expensive are long-distance calls these days? Students, long-distance couples, and families separated by distance all have a huge need for real-time communication, but they can’t afford the phone bills. If our communication software could provide stable, clear, low-latency voice calls, even multi-person voice chats, under current network conditions, and it were completely free, consuming only a tiny amount of data, what do you think users would choose?”

The meeting room fell silent. Voice functionality wasn't unthinkable, but limited by the network bandwidth and technology of the time, its effectiveness was often poor, and it was considered a useless feature.

He Yuzhu looked at Fang Qidong and slowly said, "Are you confident in the technology? The current network is not as ideal as a laboratory."

"That's the key!" Fang Qidong's voice became excited. "I've studied New-Vision's previous technical documents on multimedia. They have an audio codec algorithm optimized for low bandwidth. With deep customization and optimization, it's entirely possible to achieve acceptable voice quality in the mainstream 56K modem environment! We can make it into two modes: 'voice messaging' and 'real-time intercom,' prioritizing clarity and saving data, rather than pursuing CD-quality audio. This is our 'secret weapon'!"

He continued, "At the same time, we can leverage the group's advantages to establish an official software center, providing a large number of localized and optimized practical software tools for free download. Many users have difficulty finding software online, and there are many viruses and Trojans. By providing safe and convenient one-stop downloads, we can attract a large number of novice and intermediate users, forming a traffic portal, which in turn will boost our communication software."

“There are also games.” Fang Qidong’s thoughts became clearer as he spoke. “I noticed that Taishan Group in the peninsula has a game company under its umbrella. They are developing a graphical online game with a very advanced concept. We can get the domestic distribution rights first. A well-made game that can interact with tens of thousands of people online at the same time has a stickiness far exceeding any single application and can build a strong moat.”

He Yaozong couldn't help but ask, "These ideas are all very big, but they take time to implement. Our competitors won't wait for us. Moreover, if the voice function doesn't work well, it will damage our reputation."

"Therefore, we need to optimize it to the extreme, conduct a small-scale public test, and then promote it after it's mature." Fang Qidong was clearly deep in thought. "We can concentrate our efforts on promoting the voice intercom function among universities and young office workers, focusing on the core selling point of 'saving on phone bills.' At the same time, we should quickly launch the software download platform to accumulate users. Simultaneously, we should negotiate game distribution rights. By taking a three-pronged approach, we can create a time difference and a gap in market awareness!"

After listening, He Yuzhu leaned back in his chair, his face unreadable. After a long while, he asked a question: "If you were to take charge of the project, what kind of support would you need?"

Fang Qidong took a deep breath: "Absolute product control, a lean and capable technical team that dares to try and fail, and the patience to not care about short-term profits in the early stages."

"Then let me ask you another question: how did you notice these companies and come up with the idea of ​​integrating their products?" He Yuzhu asked the question that was on the minds of all the interviewees, because it was too coincidental. Only the group's veterans knew the background of these companies.

Faced with He Yuzhu's question, Fang Qidong showed no sign of panic. He sat up straight and answered calmly, "Mr. He, I'm not just making things up. First of all, regarding New-Vision's technology, I'm a heavy user of their products and have long followed their developer documentation and technical blog. Their technical articles on multimedia processing under low bandwidth have greatly inspired me. As for Taishan Group's games, as long as you follow international game exhibitions and industry trends, it's not hard to see that their investment in graphical online games and the quality of their demos far surpass those in China. In fact, this level is rare even internationally. This is no secret; it's just that many people in China haven't realized its potential yet."

He paused, then continued, “Integrating different business lines is based on my observations of the internet ecosystem. Single applications have limited stickiness, but communication tools bring traffic, software platforms address users' actual needs to retain them, and high-quality games create immersive experiences and strong willingness to pay. If these three can connect their account systems and share data, they can form a closed loop, making users want to stay and unable to leave once they're in. This isn't my original idea, but I believe Huanghe has a unique advantage in quickly implementing this concept—funding, technological reserves, and,” he glanced at He Yaozong, “the foundation of communication networks.”

After listening, He Yuzhu's face remained expressionless. He looked at He Yaozong and asked, "What do you think?"

He Yaozong took a deep breath. He had to admit that Fang Qidong's plan, though bold, was to the core and cleverly utilized internal and external resources of the group. It was not far-fetched but highly feasible.

“Dad, I think Fang Qidong’s plan has both risks and opportunities, but the direction is right. Especially the voice function, if it can really be developed based on New-Vision’s technology, it will be disruptive in the current market.”

He Yuzhu remained silent for a moment, the conference room so quiet you could hear a pin drop, everyone awaiting the decision of the leader.

"Fang Qidong," He Yuzhu finally spoke.

“Mr. He.” Fang Qidong straightened his back.

"Huanghe Internet Company is now in your hands. Your position is General Manager, with full authority over product, technology, and operations. Yaozong will serve as Chairman, coordinating resources but not interfering with your specific decisions. I'm giving you six months. I need to see the internal beta version of the voice intercom function, the software download platform launched, and the agency agreement with Taishan Games. If you need any resources, just submit a report, and the group will prioritize them."

This decision surprised many people, directly placing a young man who had just turned thirty in such an important position.

However, He Yuzhu has always been unconventional in his approach to hiring.

Little did they know, this kid revealed what He Yuzhu was planning to do. Perhaps due to a lack of information, he didn't tell the whole story, but he covered about 50-60 percent of it. If they didn't use someone like that, who would they use?

A bright light flashed in Fang Qidong's eyes, and he stood up and nodded vigorously: "Mr. He, President He, I will definitely live up to your expectations!"

"Don't be too happy yet," He Yuzhu poured cold water on the idea. "If you succeed, you'll be a hero. If you fail, I'll make you realize the consequences you can't afford."

"Understood!" Fang Qidong replied firmly.

Next came the appointment, which caused quite a stir within the Yellow River Internet organization.

However, companies undergoing restructuring need strong leadership and a new direction. With He Yuzhu's powerful backing and a clear and attractive blueprint, Fang Qidong quickly stabilized the situation.

His first act upon taking office was to reorganize the technical team, drawing on elite personnel to work in intensive development with the technical support team sent by New-Vision, focusing all their efforts on perfecting the voice intercom function.

The goal is to achieve a voice latency of less than 500 milliseconds, a clarity of over 95% intelligibility, and data consumption of only one-tenth that of an MP3 music of the same duration in a 56K modem environment.

Even with New-Vision's support, the process will be very difficult.

The code was optimized line by line, the algorithm parameters were repeatedly debugged, and tens of thousands of tests were conducted in a simulated real network environment.

Fang Qidong and his technical team practically lived at the company, with coffee and instant noodles becoming their staple foods.

At the same time, the software download platform project was launched.

He Yaozong coordinated with the group's legal and business departments to quickly reach localization and distribution agreements with several overseas software companies.

A team of product managers and designers worked day and night to design the platform interface, plan software categories, and write user tutorials, ensuring that hundreds of rigorously tested, virus-free, and plugin-free commonly used tools and fun software were available for download when the platform went live.

He Yaozong personally handled the negotiations with Taishan Group for the game agency, and the deal was signed smoothly without any setbacks. Of course, from the outside, it seemed like there were round after round of negotiations because Taishan wanted to create momentum in the peninsula, so they did some public relations work to raise the value of the game company.

Two months later, Yellow River Internet Company held its first internal demonstration of the new product.

He Yuzhu and He Yaozong were present in person.

Inside the demonstration room, two computers with the voice version of HICQ installed were connected via a network.

Fang Qidong personally took action and clicked on a speaker icon in the chat window.

"Hello? Mr. He, can you hear me?" Fang Qidong said into the microphone.

After a brief, almost imperceptible delay, He Yaozong's voice came through the speakers in front of him clearly. Although it had a slight "metallic" quality characteristic of digital compression, it was still clear and the background noise was well controlled.

“I heard it very clearly!” He Yaozong replied.

The two sides engaged in a back-and-forth dialogue for several minutes, with stable results that far exceeded expectations.

"How are the traffic statistics?" He Yuzhu was more concerned about this.

The technical lead immediately pulled up the backend data: "Mr. He, the total data consumption for the three-minute call was about 800KB, which is less than 300KB per minute on average. Even on a 56K modem, this is within an acceptable range."

He Yuzhu nodded, a barely perceptible smile finally appearing on his face. "Not bad."

Next, a demonstration of the new beta version of the Yellow River Software Download Center was presented.

The interface is simple and clear, with well-organized categories, one-click download and installation, and also includes user rating and review functions.

The platform already offers hundreds of software programs, ranging from office tools to entertainment, from system tools to learning materials, providing a comprehensive selection.

Finally, He Yaozong reported on the progress of negotiations with Taishan Games: "We have basically reached an agreement to exclusively distribute the operation of its first large-scale graphical MMORPG, 'Conquer,' in China. Technical testing is expected to begin in the second quarter of next year."

Fang Qidong summarized: "Mr. He, President He, the voice function is expected to undergo a small-scale public test after another month of optimization and stress testing. The software center can go live at any time. Once the game agency is signed, the market warm-up can begin. Our plan is to promote the concept of 'free voice, worry-free chatting' through campus promotions and online activities before the public beta, directly targeting the core user group of our competitors."

He Yuzhu stood up and looked around at everyone: "Let's proceed at this pace. Remember, the product is fundamental, and the user experience is key. On launch day, I want to see the market's real reaction."

After more than a month of intensive preparation, the new strategy of Yellow River Internet Company was officially launched.

First, the official version of "Yellow River Software Center" was quietly launched. With its massive, secure, and convenient features, it quickly accumulated a first batch of users with good word-of-mouth among novice and intermediate users, and the daily download volume steadily increased.

Following this, a limited public beta test of the voice version of HICQ, targeting universities and young white-collar workers, was launched.

The Yellow River's official website and BBS posts bluntly state: "Still worried about long-distance call charges? Yellow River Voice Chat, talk for free!"

The effect was explosive.

At that time, long-distance couples, students studying away from home, and friends scattered across the country all had a strong need for inexpensive, real-time voice communication.

Although the initial version still had some flaws in voice quality, these flaws became tolerable in the face of the huge temptation of being free and usable.

Public beta invitation codes are extremely scarce, and the number of new HICQ users shows a steep upward curve.

XICQ, which was originally enjoying great success with its emojis and entertainment features, suddenly felt immense pressure.

Their users, especially those with real-time communication needs, began to flock to the Yellow River in large numbers.

Other similar software, such as UC and TICQ, were completely overwhelmed and their market share shrank dramatically.

While competitors were hastily starting to develop their own voice functions, Huanghe Internet had already built a preliminary barrier with its voice calling and software center. Moreover, its more powerful weapon—the agency operation of "Conquer Online"—was already ready to be launched.

December 19, 1999, night.

In the old city of Beijing, there was the He family's courtyard house.

The television in the main room was still on, the volume low, showing a live broadcast of the handover ceremony of sovereignty over Macau. Compared to the lively atmosphere of the family gathering two years ago when Hong Kong returned to China, the courtyard was much quieter tonight. He Daqing and Chen Lanxiang, being elderly and lacking energy, had already retired early. The younger generation were either in their rooms or on duty at their workplaces.

He Yuzhu and Xiaoman sat in front of the TV, as did Yu Zecheng and Wang Cuiping.

In the video, the Portuguese flag is lowered, while the Chinese national flag and the Lotus District flag are raised to the strains of "The March of the Volunteers".

Xiaoman said softly, "Another child has come home."

He Yuzhu hummed in agreement, his gaze calm. He looked at the cheering crowd on the screen, but his thoughts drifted away. The sound of firecrackers on the night of Hong Kong's return to China still echoed in his ears, yet more than two years had passed in the blink of an eye. In these two years, undercurrents had never ceased, and beneath the surface calm lay deeper schemes and contests.

Wang Cuiping lamented, "Hong Kong and Macau have returned, but only [the rest] remains."

Yu Zecheng gently nudged her, signaling her to be careful what she said. Wang Cuiping immediately fell silent and then said, "This is a big step towards reunion."

He Yuzhu picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said calmly, "The road ahead is still long."

Thunderous applause erupted from the television, and the ceremony moved into the cultural performance segment.

He Yuzhu stood up: "You all see, I have something to do in my study."

Xiaoman glanced at him, said nothing, and simply nodded.

December 31st, the eve of the open beta of "Conquer Online".

The server room of Yellow River Internet Company was brightly lit.

Fang Qidong and his core technical team stood in front of the monitoring screen, which displayed real-time user reservation data, server load predictions, and network traffic.

"Mr. Fang, the number of reservations has exceeded 800,000! Based on the conversion rate forecast, the number of concurrent online users tomorrow at noon is very likely to reach 200,000." The operations manager's voice was filled with excitement and a slight tremor. This number was extremely astonishing at the time.

"Have you confirmed the server cluster and bandwidth? What about the backup plan?" Fang Qidong stared intently at the screen, his tone calm.

"Everything is in place! We've prepared for a peak load of 300,000, and the network nodes have been optimized. In addition, the technical expert team dispatched from New-Vision is on standby to assist in handling any underlying system compatibility issues."

Fang Qidong nodded and took a deep breath. This was not just about the success or failure of a game, but also a crucial battle for whether Yellow River Internet could gain a foothold with its "communication + software + game" trio.

Meanwhile, at the headquarters of the Yellow River Group and the IT centers of its various subsidiaries, there was a similar atmosphere of high alert.

He Yaozong is stationed at the command center of Yellow River Communications in the Special Economic Zone, where he also shoulders the important responsibility of coordinating the group's global IT infrastructure to deal with the "Y2K bug".

On the huge screen, most of the indicator lights representing major data centers and network nodes around the world are green, indicating that they have passed the "Y2K" compliance test and the patches have been deployed.

"All core nodes in North America, Europe, Hong Kong, Beijing, and the Special Administrative Region are reporting normal system clock synchronization, and the patch is effective." The IT director made the final confirmation.

"Okay, keep monitoring. Especially our own Vison system platform, it absolutely cannot have any mishaps," He Yaozong instructed. Thanks to He Yuzhu's early reminders and the New-Vison team's months of hard work, the Vison system and its related enterprise-level product lines were the best prepared.

Time ticked towards midnight.

In every household, people either stayed in front of the television to watch the New Year's Eve gala or gathered with relatives and friends, waiting for the arrival of the new millennium.

In the computer rooms and control centers of countless enterprises and institutions, technicians hold their breath and stare intently at the system time on the screen.

January 1, 2000, 00:00:00.

In an instant, the anticipated chaos began to unfold in certain corners of the world.

Some bank ATMs displayed garbled characters or stopped working; some factory production lines using outdated systems experienced control program errors and shutdowns; several international airlines' booking systems suffered brief outages… News reports began to appear sporadically. However, within the Yellow River Group system, everything remained calm.

Office computers, servers, and data centers running the Vison system smoothly transitioned from "1999" to "2000" without any impact on business processes. Huanghe Communications' network equipment operated stably, supporting the surge in call and data traffic during the New Year's Day holiday.

He Yaozong received safety reports from branches around the world at the command center and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

The real test came a few hours later.

At 10:00 AM on January 1st, the public beta server for "Conquer Online" was launched on time.

Like a floodgate being opened, players who had been waiting in front of the client surged in. Creating characters, flooding into the newbie village... the screen was instantly filled with densely packed player figures and dazzling skill effects.

In the monitoring hall of Yellow River Internet, the data curve soared.

"The number of concurrent users has exceeded 50,000!"

"Breaking through 100,000!"

"150,000! Server load at 70%, running smoothly!"

"Two hundred thousand! We've reached the expected peak!"

The cheers had barely subsided when the numbers continued to climb.

"250,000! 85% load! Queues are starting to appear on some maps!"

Fang Qidong made a decisive decision: "Activate the backup server group and dynamically distribute the load! Notify operations and maintenance to prioritize the stability of the game logic server and database!"

The newly added server resources were quickly deployed, alleviating the queuing pressure. Throughout the morning and afternoon, the number of online players for Conquer Online remained above 200,000. Although there were occasional minor issues such as lag or disconnections on certain maps due to the sudden influx of players, these were promptly resolved thanks to the rapid response of the technical team.

The game's excellent graphics, rich gameplay, and innovative multiplayer interactive experience quickly captured players' hearts. The world chat was bustling with activity, constantly flooded with guild recruitment messages, team invitations, and trade information. A vibrant virtual world successfully opened its doors on the first day of the new millennium.

In contrast, the chaos caused by the Y2K bug and system overload on the outside world appears quite chaotic.

Many enterprise email systems and website servers built on Microsoft Windows NT or earlier Server versions have experienced service delays, data errors, or even crashes because the Y2K bug issue was not completely resolved or the system itself was unstable under high load.

The IT departments of the relevant companies are in a state of chaos, with emergency repair calls ringing non-stop.

After this incident, many companies decided to switch to the Vison system.

After New Year's Day, the daily visits and downloads of Yellow River Software Center reached new highs in the days following the holiday, with a large number of users switching from unstable platforms to Yellow River, a safe and stable alternative.

Riding this wave, the daily active users of the voice version of HICQ have steadily surpassed the million mark, leaving its competitors far behind.

Conquer Online became an instant hit. After a week of open beta testing, the number of concurrent online users remained stable at over 300,000. Media reports described it as "ushering in a new era for Chinese online games," making it a phenomenal product.

If competitors can't beat them and won't join, then they resort to underhanded tactics.

The first to launch an attack was the instant messaging field.

"Mr. Fang, there's a problem!" The HICQ project manager rushed into Fang Qidong's office, his face grim. "Since yesterday afternoon, our customer service channels have received a large number of user complaints that their accounts have been hacked! The hacker not only deleted the friend list but even impersonated the account holder to borrow money from friends!"

Fang Qidong looked up from a pile of data reports, his brows furrowing instantly: "What's the scope? Is there a pattern to the account theft?"

"Currently, there are several thousand cases, spread across the country, and the number is still increasing. Preliminary analysis by the technical department indicates that locally encrypted files were being read."

"Locally encrypted files?" Fang Qidong stood up. "Then aren't they hidden?"

"This one should have been found, right? There's more..."

"Anything else? Tell me all at once."

"Also, a HICQ plugin appeared online, claiming to make voice communication smoother. However, after users downloaded and installed it, they immediately uninstalled our software."

"Have you found the root cause?"

"They should be our competitors."

"With more competitors, which one?"

"XunJie"

"And what are your remedial measures?"

"In progress"

"I asked how to do it!" Fang Qidong retorted angrily.

"Change the location and filename of the encrypted file, change the format of the encrypted file, and prevent the plugin from being uninstalled."

Fang Qidong felt a headache coming on after hearing this. After thinking for so long, all he came up with were these two ridiculous solutions. This project manager should be replaced.

"Let's have a meeting!" Fang Qidong said coldly.

"it is good."

At the meeting, Fang Qidong began to assign tasks.

"First, the technical department worked overnight to develop a forced upgrade patch, eliminating local password file storage and requiring server-side verification for each login. Second, password policies were strengthened; newly registered and modified passwords must contain numbers and letters and reach a certain length. Third, a dynamic CAPTCHA mechanism was introduced, requiring CAPTCHA input for frequent login failures, logins from different locations, and other abnormal behaviors to prevent brute-force attacks."

"This will put a lot of pressure on our servers," the technical lead said.

“If the server is under a lot of pressure, upgrade it. If you can’t even solve these problems, then you can all be laid off.” Fang Qidong got up and left the conference room, leaving a room full of people looking at each other in bewilderment.

It seems that XunJie fired the first shot in the domestic internet industry, and bad news about the game "Conquer" followed one after another.

"Manager Fang, the game project team reports that cheat programs for 'Conquer Online' have appeared on the market!" The game operations manager said anxiously. "They mainly involve automatic monster killing, automatic item pickup, and even stealing monsters and killing players, which seriously disrupts the game balance and causes complaints from normal players."

Fang Qidong rubbed his temples: "Does Mount Tai have an anti-cheat system?"

"No, they hadn't considered that at all. Besides, the cheat is updated very quickly, almost a new version every week."

"So you discovered it a long time ago, why did it take you so long to report it?"

"Because, since there were no offline transactions before, there were no legal issues involved."

"So you have it now?"

"Yes, the police have contacted our legal department."

How much money was involved?

"Tens of thousands of yuan."

"What are the details of the case?"

"After the buyer bought it, the seller gathered a group of people and used cheats to destroy it, and then tried to sell it a second time."

"Damn it." Fang Qidong really wanted to curse, but he held back.

After communicating with the legal department, since there are no relevant laws, we can only proceed offline. We don't have much to do with the game company; we're just helping to recover the data.

Then Fang Qidong went to Peninsula and stayed at the game company under Taishan for half a month. During this time, he called He Yuzhu, who gave him some pointers, mainly about some practices of the game company in his previous life, such as plug-ins, trading systems, etc.

Of course, these things couldn't be achieved all at once, nor could they all be released in a short period of time. Many of them were recorded as killer features for later parts of the game.

Just as Huanghe Internet was facing internal and external challenges, He Yuzhu was receiving an old friend—an aero-engine expert surnamed Sun, introduced by Factory Director Song.

Mr. Sun was not old, wore glasses, and had a refined demeanor, but there was a lingering worry between his brows.

“Mr. He, I apologize for bothering you. Old Song has mentioned to me many times that you are an entrepreneur with a grand vision.” Engineer Sun got straight to the point. “We are currently working on the core engine of a high-performance aero-engine, but progress is not going smoothly. In particular, the high-temperature alloy and cooling structure of the turbine blades have been inconsistent in the laboratory data, and are far from the design specifications.”

He Yuzhu poured him a cup of tea: "Engineer Sun, I'm an outsider, please forgive me if I'm wrong. Is the materials issue due to insufficient basic research, or is it a bottleneck in process equipment?"

Engineer Sun sighed: "We have both. Basic research takes time to accumulate, and we can't afford to wait. As for process equipment, especially high-purity smelting and directional solidification equipment, foreign countries impose strict restrictions on us. What we can buy are all outdated and substandard products. We want to cooperate with your Jinggong to see if we can improve the pass rate and performance of the blades under the existing conditions through optimized design and local process innovation. Even if it's only by five percent, it would be a breakthrough."

“Mr. Sun, Jinggong’s strengths lie mainly in precision machining and structural design, not in materials smelting. However,” he paused, “our group has a materials research laboratory in Hong Kong. I think you could make a trip there, because I really don’t understand the specific parameters and stuff.”

"Thank you so much! Mr. He, this is a real lifesaver!"

"Old He, I didn't expect you to have a trick up your sleeve," said Factory Director Song.

"What are you hiding? My lab used to research steel formulations. But the steel mill moved, so the lab isn't just sitting idle. We're doing other research now."

Factory Director Song had an attitude that said, "Do you think I believe you or not?"

"What do you mean by that?" He Yuzhu asked.

“We think three steps ahead for every step we take, but you think decades ahead for every step you take. What do you think?” Director Song said.

"I'm telling you, I feel like I'm helping you guys, but what you said is really hurtful," He Yuzhu said half-jokingly.

"I've said too much thanks already. I know what you want to see. All I can say is that we won't let you down."

"That's right."

After seeing Engineer Sun off, Factory Director Song didn't leave. He asked He Yuzhu, "Old He, has your radar made a breakthrough?"

"Really? How come I didn't know that?"

"Aren't you going to tell me the truth?"

"What truth!"

"You're in charge of the lab."

"Okay." Old Song was disappointed that he hadn't gotten any information.

"It just so happens that I need to talk to you about something."

"what's up?"

"Give me a copy of all the model kits from previous generations of your aircraft; I need them."

"What, you want to take my job?" Director Song was alarmed when he heard this, as he knew He Yuzhu's capabilities.

"What are you thinking? I just set up a model factory. It's missing some parameters, but it has to look decent, right?"

"Model? Model airplane?"

"Yes, there are flying creatures, walking creatures, and swimming creatures."

"It sounds like you're presenting a whole feast."

"Just tell me whether to give it or not."

"Here you go. Not only do we have these, but I'll also help you with the others. However, it's agreed that I can only provide the external models; I can't provide the models of the internal components."

"That's enough."

"But since we're on the topic of food, you have to treat me to a meal."

"How can you be so shameless? You come to me asking for a favor, and you expect me to treat you to a meal?"

"Should I invite them or not?"

"Alright, just for the sake of that plane you showed me last time, this meal is on me," He Yuzhu said irritably.

"Ha ha ha ha."

After eating and drinking his fill, Director Song wiped his mouth contentedly, and left happily, carrying with him He Yuzhu's promise to get some good materials and his urging to send the model parameters as soon as possible.

Director Song acted swiftly. Within a few days, a batch of photocopies of external three-view drawings, basic dimensional data, and exterior photos (all non-classified) of various aircraft, ships, and tanks were delivered by a special person to Li Chengru's desk at Jinmen Huanghe Precision Modeling.

Along with the materials, He Yuzhu also requested that the team thoroughly understand the information and create the best and most accurate static scale model in China, without considering profitability in the initial stage.

Li Chengru dared not delay and immediately organized the newly formed technical team to digest the information.

This is undoubtedly a huge challenge for workers who have just transitioned to producing rough toys.

Just understanding the complex three-view diagrams and comprehending scaling took a tremendous amount of effort.

Li Chengru recruited several retired level-eight fitters and mechanical drafting masters from Yellow River Heavy Industry and Factory 541 to serve as technical consultants at Yellow River Precision Mold, where they provided hands-on instruction.

On the other hand, an electronics engineer transferred from Yellow River Communications, along with several young people with basic skills, tackled the miniaturization and stability of the remote control equipment.

The goal is to make traditional, bulky remote control devices as lightweight and integrated as possible to meet the needs of future high-end dynamic models.

Before the Chinese New Year, in response to the HICQ account theft and malicious plugins, the technical team worked overtime to develop a forced upgrade patch and a new security verification mechanism, which were quickly launched.

Although the increased server verification pressure initially caused some users to experience slow login times and led to some complaints, it effectively curbed the wave of account theft.

Fang Qidong personally posted announcements on major forums and the Yellow River Portal website, explaining the reasons for the upgrade and the importance of security. His sincere attitude won the understanding of most users.

Meanwhile, the company's legal department was also busy. Under He Yaozong's coordination, they joined forces with the public security cyber police to collect evidence and filed a report against Xunjie and other companies for allegedly developing and disseminating malicious programs and engaging in unfair competition, and pursued legal action against them.

Although it may not be effective, it demonstrates Huang He's firm stance.

The problem of cheating in the game "Conquer Online" is even more troublesome.

Fang Qidong brought back from the peninsula not only He Yuzhu's ideas, but also a deeper technical cooperation memorandum signed with Taishan Games.

The two parties jointly established an anti-cheat team. On the one hand, they accelerated the development of the game's built-in anti-cheat system. On the other hand, drawing on He Yuzhu's idea of ​​convenient in-game functions (in-game cheats), they began to plan and develop official auxiliary functions such as automatic AFK and automatic potion use that do not affect the game balance, aiming to weaken the attractiveness of third-party cheats from the root.

Online, the operations team organized a large-scale campaign to clean up the game environment, encouraging players to report cheating software and offering substantial rewards to those who verified the reports.

Offline, in cooperation with the public security authorities, several gangs that used cheat software to illegally trade virtual property, involving huge sums of money, were cracked down on. The cases were also reported by the media, which had a deterrent effect.

This series of combined measures, while failing to completely eradicate cheating, significantly improved the gaming environment, gradually calmed players' resentment, and after a brief fluctuation, the number of online players steadily rebounded.

After these months of honing his skills, Fang Qidong has shed his initial bookishness and gained a more composed and decisive demeanor.

He spearheaded the restructuring of the technology team, introduced a more agile development process, and boldly promoted several young people who had excelled in handling the crisis.

Yellow River Internet Company, like a piece of steel tempered by fire, has become more resilient.

(End of this chapter)