The Pursuit of Change

Wu Wei was furious.

Lan Meng had actually dismissed his product as utterly worthless.

That was going too far.

Thanks to his product, Wu Wei had already picked up several female classmates at Imperial Capital University. And he had to admit, they were all pretty attractive—and they all had boyfriends.

There was clearly a demand and a market, yet Lan Meng insisted it was pointless.

Wu Wei was not happy about that.

Of course, that was not the only thing bothering him.

"Yunhai, I'm not happy about this."

Wu Wei invited Qin Yunhai out and told him about his conversation with Lan Meng.

Qin Yunhai was stunned by what Wu Wei had said, too.

"Bro, I think Lan Meng has a point."

"Actually, I know I'm not being unreasonable," Wu Wei said calmly.

Qin Yunhai glanced at Wu Wei, then nodded, against his conscience.

After all, brotherhood mattered more.

But his conscience really did hurt.

"But I'm still not happy about it," Wu Wei stressed.

Qin Yunhai and Wu Wei were on the same wavelength; otherwise, they never would have become best friends.

After Wu Wei emphasized it again, Qin Yunhai began to guess what was on his mind.

"It's because of money. Strange, what suddenly got you so worked up? We're not short on money."

The two of them received the highest scholarships every year.

On top of that, they took on the occasional side job, so they would never be short of pocket money.

Of course, they had enough for small expenses. But without a powerful family behind them, they certainly had no access to the big money—not yet, at least.

Wu Wei had always known how important money was. And as he got older, his desire to make money only grew.

"Yunhai, we're short on money. Big money."

"That's why we need to build our reputations. Only after we've made a name for ourselves can we get funding from the authorities or investment from companies. But we're still so young, and we've only just finished our studies. There's no need to rush, is there?"

Qin Yunhai understood Wu Wei's impatience, but he did not think there was any need for it.

Wu Wei shook his head. "This way of building a reputation works, but it's outdated and far too passive. It leaves our fate entirely in other people's hands—just a handful of people, at that."

Qin Yunhai frowned.

"We've both studied history. Wang Anshi spent decades building his reputation before he got the chance to take office and push through reforms. And what happened after that?

"Zhang Juzheng also spent decades building his reputation before he could put his learning into practice. And what happened to him?

"Yunhai, can we afford to wait that long? Can we accept the same kind of ending?"

Wang Anshi and Zhang Juzheng were giants who had set the Great Qin Empire's long history back on course. They were both celebrated at length in the history books.

Unfortunately, neither of them had ended well.

Qin Yunhai looked at Wu Wei, deep in thought. "I understand. You want to make yourself stronger so you won't be at the mercy of capital or powerful factions. But that isn't realistic. No one can live in this world without getting caught up in things."

"Exactly. We can't live in this world without getting caught up in things. To make something last, we have to let a lot of people benefit from it. But I want to try a different approach."

Wu Wei had been thinking about an idea for a long time. It was a wild one, though, so he needed to find friends who shared his vision.

"Yunhai, take my situation, for example. I invented something, but Lan Meng said it had no future. Maybe it really won't, because she has money and controls both the narrative and the decisions.

"I know that's perfectly normal, but I don't like feeling at someone else's mercy. I think my mom could have done better."

Lin Shen had certainly achieved her legendary status thanks to Lan Tian's generous support.

But hadn't Lan Tian become the richest person in the Qin Kingdom by investing in Lin Shen?

In the end, Lan Tian and the Lan Family had actually gained more.

"To some extent, my mom was held hostage by Lan Tian. That's just how things are. I can't say Lan Tian did anything wrong, but I don't like it. I think she deserved more."

The Five Emperors standing together in harmony was certainly a beautiful sight.

But that was only because none of them had truly reached the pinnacle.

Everyone knew that Lin Shen was the key figure.

But she couldn't claim the biggest share of the gains.

Her research depended on the others' support and help, even if all they did was assist her.

"Wu Wei, what exactly are you trying to do?"

"When a company grows big and strong, it eventually goes public. People who had nothing to do with its fate buy shares, tying the fates of countless people together and making the company even stronger. Yunhai, think outside the box. If a company can go public, why can't a person?"

Qin Yunhai's pupils suddenly widened, and his hands trembled for a moment.

"This idea—maybe it really could work."

Qin Yunhai's eyes gradually lit up.

"If a scientist or a research project could sell shares directly to raise money for research, then pay the shareholders many times over once the research produced a product, it might look no different from seeking investment. But it would cut out a lot of steps, create a new channel for wealth to flow, change the existing class divide, and raise scholars' status in society. That said, it would be incredibly difficult to pull off, and society might not allow it."

"Every change comes with difficulties. But every reform also sends new beneficiaries soaring to the top. My mom opened the door to the last reform, but the ones who ultimately enjoyed the benefits were the other four people who had played supporting roles." Wu Wei spoke calmly, without much self-pity. "My mom did a very good job, but I think maybe we can do even better.

"Back when I read martial arts and xianxia novels, I often wondered why those powerful heroes and immortals never seemed short of money, yet were never the richest, either. Their ways of making money were mostly begging for handouts, doing good deeds, or collecting protection money. It worked, but it was pretty low-class.

"In modern society, scientists working at the cutting edge are basically the equivalent of cultivators. So are the powerful people who receive state stipends, especially those at the Heavenly level. Their thinking seems completely rigid; they have no idea how to use their own advantages. Even celebrities know how to cultivate a public image. When it comes to image, who could possibly compare to people who truly have extraordinary abilities?

"Why can't knowledge and ability be turned directly into money and brought straight to the public? We don't have to work only for conglomerates or the state. We have other options.

"If one day, a single person's brand value exceeds that of the entire Lan Group, wouldn't that be a future worth looking forward to? If one day, the whole world were our investors, who could stand against us?"

Wu Wei calmly laid out the future he envisioned for Qin Yunhai.

Qin Yunhai's breathing grew increasingly rapid.

It would be incredibly difficult to make that future a reality. It even sounded like a fairy tale.

But twenty years ago, who could have imagined BAT reaching its present scale?