Father and Son's Late-Night Talk

Shanmei Passenger Station.

A new pickup truck was parked near the entrance and exit.

Huang Xiuyuan was slightly agitated, his hands trembling as he opened the car door. He covered the distance in a few strides, and despite having a thousand words to say, he could only shout, "Dad!"

"You brat." The slightly plump middle-aged man, his father Huang Fuqiang, threw his cigarette butt on the ground and crushed it. He patted Huang Xiuyuan's shoulder with his rough, large hand:

"Let's go, let's head home."

"Okay."

They tossed the suitcase into the truck bed, and the father and son sat in the back row, chatting about recent family matters.

Huang Fuqiang already knew a bit about Huang Xiuyuan starting a company and winning the lottery earlier. He was quite open-minded and didn't have that typical overbearing parental attitude.

Upon returning home, since his mother hadn't returned yet, the father and son had to go to the recycling plant next door to eat.

Huang Sixiao, who was in charge of managing the recycling plant, also knew that Huang Fuqiang was coming back today and had prepared a few extra side dishes early on.

They checked the recycling plant's inventory and the incoming and outgoing accounts.

In the small office of the recycling plant, the father and son ate while chatting.

"Dad, how is Grandma doing?"

Taking a small sip of red rice wine, his father sighed: "After transferring to Huaxi Hospital, her condition has stabilized quite a bit, but she needs to remain hospitalized for observation. It might take half a year or more."

Huang Xiuyuan thought for a moment and took the opportunity to suggest: "Dad, I've been keeping an eye on the real estate market this year. Housing prices in Rongcheng are only around three to six thousand. Why don't we buy a house there?"

His father, who was picking up a peanut with his chopsticks, paused: "Buy a house?"

"It doesn't cost much anyway. You and Mom have to take care of Grandma, so staying in a hotel definitely isn't convenient. Even if you don't live there in the future, you can always resell it."

After thinking for a moment, his father seemed somewhat moved. After all, he was running back and forth between two places, and having a house would save a lot of trouble.

Striking while the iron was hot, Huang Xiuyuan continued: "Why don't we just buy a small villa and a few storefronts for a small investment? I'll put up ten million."

When his father heard this, he became concerned: "This... will it affect your company?"

Huang Xiuyuan joked half-heartedly: "My company has sufficient funds for now. This investment is also a backup plan. If the company can't keep running in the future, I can still live off the rent."

The speaker was unintentional, but the listener was attentive. His father was also worried about the future, and according to the older generation's thinking, property could indeed preserve value.

"Alright, let's buy a house and shops in Rongcheng."

Huang Xiuyuan breathed a sigh of relief inwardly. As long as the property was purchased in Rongcheng, considering his grandmother's physical condition, she certainly wouldn't be able to handle the back-and-forth travel in the short term. She would inevitably recuperate in Rongcheng, which would ensure her safety.

On the other hand, just in case, he specifically assigned two bodyguards to his father's side under the guise of running errands and helping out, having them follow him to Rongcheng.

This was a backup arrangement to ensure that things would not spiral out of control.

He had gone to great lengths to ensure his parents' safety.

"A-Yuan, how do you plan to make money with this company of yours?"

Huang Xiuyuan replied nonchalantly while picking up food: "Our family's recycling plant can make money, so my recycling company naturally has ways to make money."

"I'm not trying to discourage you, but this industry is controlled by local thugs. Many types of scrap have their own specific channels, and the waters run deep. Don't be careless." His father began to share his own experience to prevent his son from suffering a major loss.

Huang Xiuyuan didn't feel offended, nor did he pay much attention to it. Local thugs were indeed a problem, but he had no intention of dealing with those guys, so naturally, it wasn't a big issue.

Perhaps seeing his son's indifference, Huang Fuqiang gave up on a long lecture and secretly made up his mind to instruct Huang Sixiao to keep an eye on his son's company at all times to prevent him from being cheated by others.

The father and son each had their own thoughts, and the meal lasted until after eight in the evening.

Huang Fuqiang, exhausted from his travels, went home to rest.

As for Huang Xiuyuan, he stayed in his room, looking at news about the international financial market. The intensifying subprime mortgage crisis had brought his total assets abroad to about 48.57 million USD.

Tomorrow was March 1st. The prey he was targeting was already on the verge of collapse, and in about ten days, the truth would be revealed.

The next day.

Early in the morning, he arrived at the company headquarters.

Under the management of professionals like Lin Baijie, the internal operations of Suiren Company had become well-organized. The day before yesterday, seven more executives and technicians officially joined the company.

Arriving at his office, he picked up the phone and notified the newly arrived intellectual property legal counsel to come to his office.

A few minutes later, a woman with short, capable-looking hair knocked on the door and entered. She was of medium height and slender, with a beauty mark on the left side of her mouth. Judging by her appearance and attire, she really didn't look like a thirty-one-year-old woman.

"Ninghua, the work of your patent group is going to be very busy from now on. You need to be mentally prepared."

Shang Ninghua replied with a smile: "Chairman, is the company going to apply for patents?"

"Come with me."

The two arrived at the first floor of Factory Building No. 2, which was originally a raw material warehouse with an area of about 2,000 square meters.

Lu Xuedong, who had been working through the night at the company, was already busy inside.

This place had been transformed into the company's server center and software laboratory. Besides Lu Xuedong, there were two programmers and three interns.

To work in this laboratory, one had to sign not only a strict non-disclosure agreement but also a non-compete agreement. He also had Huang Weichang lead people to establish a security management system exclusive to Suiren Company, modeled after military security protocols, to reduce unnecessary trouble.

Although it seemed like overkill to people like Lin Baijie, Huang Xiuyuan understood that if he didn't take precautions now, trying to remedy things after problems arose could cause huge losses to Suiren Company.

He was accustomed to thinking three steps ahead. Many of the technologies he would bring out in the future would inevitably attract prying eyes. Rather than relying on the integrity of his enemies, it was better to build his own iron walls and minimize potential threats.

After passing through a security checkpoint and personnel screening, he brought Shang Ninghua to a computer.

He turned on the computer and pulled up a large stack of files; these were documents he had prepared in advance regarding patents for industrial software.

"There are patents for two pieces of industrial software here, totaling 76 items. Among them, the 27 I've marked in red are critical patents that need to be filed internationally."

Shang Ninghua thought for a moment and asked, "Chairman, are these patents for the purpose of selling industrial software?"

Clicking print on the directory and attachments, Huang Xiuyuan turned his head: "Yes and no. We need our own industrial software patents to ensure future strategic security, though if the opportunity arises, commercialization can also be considered."

Shang Ninghua offered her suggestion: "If that's the case, then I suggest filing via the PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty). For individual non-PCT member states, we can supplement with the Paris Convention, which should basically cover all of Europe and America."

"That works. Arrange it as soon as possible. If you don't have enough manpower, have Baijie hire more."

Shang Ninghua reminded him: "Chairman, there is another issue with filing a PCT: the review time. It usually takes 30 months, whereas the Paris Convention only takes 12 months."

"Industrial software patents aren't urgent; a longer timeframe is acceptable."

Taking the directory and the attached materials, Shang Ninghua nodded: "Very well, I will arrange the patent applications as soon as possible."

Applying for patents is not a simple matter; the format of the application materials and the laws and regulations of the corresponding countries must be handled meticulously to pass approval.

One could hire a patent agency for such tasks, but it is best to find a large firm, as the professional standards of small firms vary wildly and can even be disastrous.

Shang Ninghua herself came from a patent agency background.

Thank you all for your support, and thanks to book friends "Roubao Youdian Xian" and "ZACK Yang" for the tips (ω｀)