Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Uni-President, an old hand in tea beverages, moved much faster than I had expected. Hearing Liu Mingyao tell me about it really caught me off guard. But thinking about it, they had been making tea drinks for over thirty years. With such a huge market and such promising prospects, why wouldn't they want a piece?

As for Ting Hsin, they were probably just following suit. Their instant noodle business had done so well over the past two years that they had some money to burn.

Taiwanese businesses had countless preferential policies in their favor and more experience than us. They really weren't easy to deal with...

After discussing it with Zhang Xiaotong, we decided to split up. She would continue overseeing Crimson Youth, while I would serve as Yu Chunrong's armchair strategist. Their established technology and teams did intimidate me a little, but we couldn't retreat without a fight. Even if we retreated, we had to fight as we went.

Zhang Xiaotong simply couldn't stand never being able to find me, so she forced me to get a mobile phone. I had hated carrying a phone my whole life, yet here I was ahead of the times, owning one before 1995. Both my work and my phone calls felt like underground operations. Whenever class or school ended, I would hide in some corner to make secret calls, like a Nationalist spy in the early days of the People's Republic.

Ting Hsin moved faster than Uni-President. Back when they were fighting for the instant noodle market, it had gotten a step ahead and beaten Uni-President so badly it couldn't hold its head up. Since I had brought forward the golden age of tea beverages in China, I had no idea how they had managed it, but they had actually come up with a strategy ahead of schedule too, launching a drink similar to iced black tea.

Uni-President proceeded steadily, bringing out its own green tea brand, simply changing the packaging and promoting it all over again.

As the saying went, every village had its own tricks for tunnel warfare. Since they had the ability to compete for the market, none of them were pushovers. Fortunately, the two weren't working together, or we would have died a miserable death.

I quickly analyzed both sides' strategies. From what I remembered, Ting Hsin liked trendy advertising, which went over very well in China at the time. Everyone liked it. Uni-President had plenty of cultural substance, but most domestic consumers didn't go for that, so they eventually took the price-war route.

The first move I suggested to Yu Chunrong was nothing new: cut prices.

Price cuts were a last resort, generally only considered when there was no other choice. But we weren't cutting retail prices, only wholesale prices, which meant giving retailers a larger profit margin. We needed to expand our distribution reach and make everyone remember our products before the other side began its advertising and pricing offensive.

Meanwhile, I told Yu Chunrong to find anyone who wasn't a Chinese national and register a shell company to discuss a partnership with us, giving the existing beverage factory a new face as a fake joint venture in the hope of obtaining more government support and preferential treatment. Apart from their lack of strategic vision, a major reason domestic private businesses couldn't compete with foreign companies in the mid-nineties was that they didn't enjoy enough preferential policies.

Yu Chunrong contacted an old friend who had established himself overseas, and Liu Mingyao found a small company in Hong Kong with close ties to Sun Electronics. As a result, the beverage factory became a foreign-invested enterprise, with several flagpoles erected outside and the flags of three countries flying overhead. I joked to Yu Chunrong, "Well, now we're a colony."

Looking at the flagpoles outside, Yu Chunrong gave a wry smile. "Really fills you with fucking ambition. Should we still contact those fruit growers?"

"Yes, of course," I said. "Drag them all into this. We'll make premium pure fruit juice drinks and try them out in the big cities first."

This invasion of the domestic market by Taiwanese businesses made me keenly aware of my shortcomings in gathering business intelligence. After all, the histories of the industries I was involved in were gradually changing. Relying on the little industry knowledge I had was soon going to be insufficient. I asked Guo Zhen to pass a message to Third Brother, saying I hoped to meet him.

It had been a while since we last met. Apart from getting a little darker, Third Brother hadn't changed much. I had changed quite a bit myself, growing a little taller, though I was still skinny.

Third Brother looked in good spirits, his face full of smiles. "Xingwen, it's been a while."

I smiled. "Long time no see. Thanks for all your hard work lately, Third Brother."

"It's no trouble." Third Brother put a cigarette between his lips and was about to light it when he noticed Zhang Xiaotong was there too. A little embarrassed, he put it down. "It's all my old line of work, really. Not much different from running a corner shop. Cigarettes, liquor, sweets, tea, that sort of thing."

I handed Third Brother a piece of gum. "Have this instead. It's a new brand just imported from abroad. Third Brother, can you find some quick-witted people these days?"

Third Brother took the gum. "Sure. Half-grown lads, all sharp as monkeys. Do you want decent-looking ones or rough-looking ones?"

"Decent-looking," I said. "I've been thinking something over lately, and the more I think about it, the more I feel you're the only one who can help."

"We're family. No need to be so polite," Third Brother said. "Tell me what it is."

"I want to recruit some people to go out and gather intelligence for me."

Third Brother paused. "Can't you just pay for intelligence?"

I paused too. Why hadn't I thought of that? You could just buy intelligence... Damn it, I had even asked Third Brother to look into the MSG Factory for me before. How had I forgotten about that?

Still, I needed an intelligence organization of my own. I asked Third Brother, "Do you have anyone who really looks up to you and is particularly loyal? I need both young and older people, preferably clever ones."

"Sure. We've got every kind of person here." Third Brother laughed. "They're just waiting for you to give them a chance to show what they can do, Boss Zhou."

"Don't tease me, Third Brother." I smiled wryly. "Your reminder made me remember that intelligence can actually be bought. I'm not familiar with those channels, so I forgot. But we still need to set up our own intelligence organization. I'll probably have to trouble you to put more effort into that."

Third Brother understood. "All right, I'll find the people for you. Do you want women?"

I rubbed my head and glanced at Zhang Xiaotong. "Forget it... Sex appeal is a double-edged sword. Better not play with that."

Third Brother laughed. "All right, got it. What intelligence do you want most right now?"

"Two Taiwanese brands have entered the domestic market recently." I didn't spell it out; Third Brother would naturally understand. "I want to know everything about them."

"I'll send a few people out to take a look," Third Brother said. "I should have detailed information for you around Christmas at the latest."

I nodded. "Sure. There's no rush. They won't be able to pose a threat to us just yet."

Beside me, Zhang Xiaotong laughed. "Keep being smug."

I curled my lip. "Do what we can and leave the rest to fate."

Third Brother was much more decisive than I was. Once he understood what I meant, he took his leave. With Third Brother handling this, I felt fairly reassured.

By late November, the atmosphere of final exam revision at school grew ever more intense. I became the only student in the class who didn't attend afternoon self-study, packing my bag and leaving promptly at three every afternoon. It wasn't that I thought my grades were so damn good that I could look down on the teachers. The real issue was that Liu Mingyao had been pressing me hard these past few days... Sony's new disc-based home console, the PS, was due to launch on December 3. Before that, WithYou had already been internally selected as a launch title, with the Japanese version of the pocket pet WithYou to be released alongside it. Kuta thought quite highly of our work. Not only did he send developers from his company to help with the port, he even provided us with development kits free of charge. I had long heard of the PS development kit back in the day. How could I pass up this chance to broaden my horizons?

With developers from both countries working together, the port went fairly smoothly. Making launch was definitely impossible, though, so we could only push it as a major Christmas release. I came up with the slogan "Emotion on the go," which SCE appreciated very much. Their senior management was also discussing my new draft cooperation proposal. Liu Mingyao took credit for my work, announcing publicly that he had proposed it and making the Japanese see Sun Electronics in a new light. Over the phone, Liu Mingyao told me with a wry laugh, "These days, whenever our Old Master has nothing to do, he goes out telling people his son can bring honor to the country too..."

I knew perfectly well who his Old Master was. Since he didn't say it, I didn't point it out either. "It's fine. I'm not after fame or fortune... I'll leave getting famous to you, Handsome Liu. I'll keep finding new things for you to do."

There was a thud on the other end of the line. Presumably, the overburdened President Liu had fainted once again.

Even days spent dawdling had their amusing moments. Before Christmas, Zhang Xiaotong came to me for help, saying a particularly persistent classmate at No. 1 High School had written her over three hundred love letters. He kept coming to her classroom to get close to her, whether he had any reason to or not, pestering her beyond endurance. She wanted me to find a way to resolve it. I guessed she had heard about the incident with Zhou Xinglu, which was why I was the first person she thought of when she ran into this sort of trouble.

I had been worrying over what Christmas present to get Miss Zhang. With this suddenly landing in my lap, I immediately felt utterly irritated. I called Guo Zhen, summoned a whole bunch of brothers, and we headed out in force to lie in wait outside No. 1 High School.

Outside just about any middle or high school, there were always a few little punks squatting by the roadside, cigarettes dangling from their mouths, hair disheveled and faces sallow, trying to look tough. Guo Zhen had spoken to a few of the local big brothers around No. 1 High School beforehand. By the time we arrived, a row of people was already standing outside, not one with a cigarette in his mouth, all looking exceedingly respectful. Such was the authority of professional thugs before amateur ones. The men who came with Guo Zhen were all ruthless types, and Guo Zhen himself was no angel these days either. Our group swept in and formed two circles by the gate as though no one else existed, squatting down to browse the stalls selling pirated tapes and snacks.

Normally, you shouldn't be so brazen when you came looking for trouble. After all, there was still a gatekeeper who knew how to call the police. The only reason we dared make such a show of it was that Guo Zhen even knew the gatekeeper... How do all my brothers have such wild connections? I thought. The gatekeeper looked at least fifty-something. Apparently, he too had once run with the rough crowd, but later his wife and children had all left him, and he had made the painful decision to quit.

Guo Zhen had promised him, "No one will end up in hospital, and nothing serious will happen," so he was happy to let us do our thing.

The high school's evening self-study ended at 7:30. It was completely dark by then, and very cold. Our group stood outside the gate in the typical thug outfit-military overcoats-each of us glaring menacingly at the people coming out.

The stream of students leaving evening self-study was greater than most people could imagine. We stamped our feet and rubbed our hands until nearly eight before finally seeing Zhang Xiaotong emerge looking impatient, followed by a fairly tall, handsome boy.

Guo Zhen bared his teeth and breathed out. "That him?"

Zhang Xiaotong had described the boy's appearance to me in very unflattering terms, but compared with the person before us, the description was fairly accurate. I waved a hand. "That's him. Get him, boys."

Twenty-odd men surged over in a noisy jumble, surrounding Zhang Xiaotong and the boy.

Putting on a ferocious act, Guo Zhen barked at Zhang Xiaotong, "Woman, I've got some private business with this brother here. Nothing to do with you. Stay out of the way."

Zhang Xiaotong's acting was equally convincing. Patting her chest and pretending to be frightened, she said to the boy beside her, "So these are the people you hang around with. I'll never believe another word you say!"

Hiding behind Guo Zhen and the others, I kept sticking up my thumb. "Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. You could all consider careers in show business."

The boy, whose name was Wang Bin, was first startled at being surrounded by a crowd, then angered by Zhang Xiaotong's words. Just as he was about to lose his temper, he noticed that the looks, clothes, and builds of the people around him all spelled trouble. He could only hang his head and say, "I... I don't know you..."

Guo Zhen pulled out a Zippo and lit a cigarette. "As long as we know you, that's enough. Boys, chase off all the spectators. Let's take our classmate Wang somewhere for a nice heart-to-heart."