The number of livestream viewers far exceeded expectations, leaving Gao Yuan slightly taken aback.
But Gao Yuan quickly regained his composure. No matter why these viewers had come, it was not a bad thing for promoting the Kunlun Asking the Way website and advancing the use of native languages in academic papers.
After steadying himself, Gao Yuan walked over and sat before the camera. Behind him was the office's white wall, with a large world map hanging on it. The setting was quite simple.
Once Gao Yuan sat down, the comments began scrolling faster. Many viewers found it strange. By all rights, Gao Yuan was now a rather wealthy domestic tycoon, yet his office furnishings and personal style of dress were no different from those of an ordinary young man. He seemed especially low-key.
In truth, the viewers had misunderstood somewhat. Gao Yuan's assets mainly came from the value of his X Fiber patent rights. The cash he could actually mobilize was nowhere near comparable to that of the truly wealthy magnates.
Moreover, the company was developing at high speed, and there were countless places where money had to be spent. Payment for goods might come into his left hand and be spent from his right immediately afterward. The funds Gao Yuan could take out at any time were probably only tens of millions. In Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai, where wealthy people gathered, that truly was nothing special.
As for Gao Yuan's looks, he was probably just above the passing line—slightly better than an average passerby. Still, he had always kept himself neat and clean, his hair was styled refreshingly, and his tall, lean build made a fairly good first impression.
"Gao Yuan doesn't seem any different from when we were in school," Su Zhenqiu said as she watched the livestream and chewed the tapioca pearls in her milk tea.
With Jiang Yuanyuan and Fan Xiaoyun there as well, the three rich, beautiful girls from high school were all present.
Back when they had been in high school, they had not actually spoken much with Gao Yuan. After all, they moved in different circles.
In the Jiangsu-Zhejiang region, private enterprise was highly developed, and there were countless sons of small business owners like Gao Yuan. The trio, however, not only came from wealthy families but also had connections to officials. Thus, throughout their three years of high school, they had barely interacted at all, at most exchanging greetings when they met.
But now, Gao Yuan had risen above his former high school classmates and become a prominent figure with a well-known reputation. His social standing and personal wealth had soared. When Fan Xiaoyun and the others looked at Gao Yuan again, they could not help feeling oddly unsettled, as though they had misjudged him back then.
People always paid more attention to things they knew. Just as it made little difference to you no matter how rich Jack Ma became, if someone around you suddenly became an important figure or a major celebrity, everyone would inevitably talk about that person with great interest.
After sitting down, Gao Yuan began speaking calmly and first introduced himself. Thanks to recently managing the company, often teaching colleagues in the research department and assigning them tasks, he remained fairly composed now. Facing the camera, he kept a smile on his face and spoke with confidence.
After introducing himself, Gao Yuan told a joke that was not particularly funny, then went straight to the point. In a deep voice, he said, "I think everyone must be curious why I didn't publish my paper in those famous journals, but put it on Kunlun Asking the Way instead."
With a slight smile, Gao Yuan said, "There is naturally a reason for that. Let me use an analogy. The world we live in is like a company. Eagle Country is the company's founder, manager, and biggest beneficiary."
"And Rabbit is an employee of this company. Over the years, Rabbit has earned a little money through its own intelligence and hard work, gradually climbing from barely making ends meet to the company's management level."
"Then one day, Eagle Country suddenly takes a dislike to Rabbit. It thinks Rabbit is so intelligent and so hardworking that it may threaten its ruling position in the future, and therefore Rabbit must be eliminated quickly and decisively."
"So here is the question. Faced with such a situation, if Rabbit keeps striving to improve and resolves not to be bullied by Eagle Country, working even harder from then on, can it truly overcome the crisis?"
"The company was built by Eagle Country in the first place. Can Rabbit work hard within the company and transform itself from an employee into the boss? Might it be that the more it does, the more mistakes it makes?"
Right from the start, Gao Yuan raised a string of thought-provoking questions, prompting everyone to reflect deeply.
After a pause, Gao Yuan continued, "For another example, we all know that the only one in the world capable of making Photolithography Machines is the Netherlands. Eagle Country itself does not have Photolithography Machines either, so why is it not afraid of technological blockades?"
"At present, we already have aircraft carriers, but we are still far from Photolithography Machines. It seems that Photolithography Machines are the peak we should conquer next. If we captured them with all our strength, it would seem as though we would have a bright future."
"If—and I mean only if—the Strait of Malacca were blockaded, our goods could not be shipped out, and trade were forced to stop."
"In that situation, with no shipping routes, resources could not come in and products could not go out. Even if we had Photolithography Machines and could manufacture chips, who would we sell them to? Who would we trade with?"
"So when we look at the issue from a higher perspective, which is truly more important: the technologically more advanced Photolithography Machine, or the technologically less advanced aircraft carrier?"
This...
What a sharp question. With a series of questions, Gao Yuan pointed directly at the root of every problem. Most of the livestream viewers found it immensely satisfying, then fell into prolonged silence and thought.
People began to realize that the world was ultimately a complex whole. The problems China faced could by no means be solved merely by a single Photolithography Machine.
After a long while, people looked toward Gao Yuan, hoping to get an answer from this young man.
And Gao Yuan did not disappoint them. He smiled at the camera, casting aside his previous severity and coldness as he switched to a more relaxed tone. "What I just described is only one possibility. It may not necessarily happen."
"As a veteran lurker in the internet industry, I read vast amounts of information every day. Recently, there has been a view among us that Rabbit is certain to win."
"It must be admitted that under the current international trade order, Rabbit does indeed have advantages: an enormous population base, more engineers than all other countries in the world combined, hardworking and kind people, and the only civilization in human society that has continued uninterrupted to this day."
"Yes, we possess all of this. With these things, we can compete with Eagle Country."
"But please do not forget that Eagle Country set the rules of competition. Eagle Country has not broken those rules yet because it can still benefit from them. For example, the entire world must use the US Dollar for trade, allowing Eagle Country to sit at home and collect seigniorage."
"But if, through relentless effort, we eventually succeed, and the rules of world trade no longer favor Eagle Country but favor us instead, then Eagle Country will naturally have no obligation to continue maintaining rules that do it no good."
"It is like racing Eagle Country. The stadium and track hosting the race were both built by Eagle Country. Then, through desperate training, we win the championship on Eagle Country's home ground, stand on the awards podium built by Eagle Country, and accept the cheers of the entire world."
"Friends, doesn't that sound rather like a fairy tale?"
Please recommend! Please bookmark! Please support!
Before you continue