Leadership Inspection

Fu Zan pushed the calculator over.

Old Zhang counted the zeroes on it and sucked in a cold breath.

"The money for the first batch of fifty thousand sets." Fu Zan put the remittance slip into the safe and locked it. "The second batch of fifty thousand sets for Japan has already started pressing, and the Traditional Chinese version for Hong Kong and Taiwan has sold out too. This is only the beginning."

A few stifled gasps came from the crowd.

Some people slapped the wall beside them hard; others rubbed their hands and paced in circles where they stood.

More than half a year of burying their heads in development, the huge gamble of giving up full 3D, the torment of dealing with legal supervision—before this string of numbers, all of it had been converted into tangible returns.

"Kobayashi, balance the accounts." Fu Zan pulled out a chair and sat down. "Sort out the relevant statements and make three copies."

"This afternoon I'll make a trip to the Municipal Electronics Industry Bureau. This counts as software exports earning foreign exchange, so we have to report it to our supervising authority according to procedure. With something like this, it's much better for us to report it on our own initiative than to have higher-ups investigate and come asking."

"Understood. I'll get on it right away." Kobayashi took the folder and walked quickly back to his workstation.

Fu Zan picked up the letter paper on the desk, preparing to list an outline for his report.

The pen tip had just touched the paper when the phone on the desk rang.

This phone rarely rang in normal times. It was used only for key external contacts.

Fu Zan picked up the receiver.

"This is Mercury Technology, Fu Zan speaking."

"President Fu, this