Chapter 571 Mr. Song, where does your karma lie?

The Tengda Technology Semi-Annual Conference was in full swing at the Jiuhua Mountain Villa venue.

When COO Wang Jing stepped onto the stage, the agenda had already reached its climax.

"Dear colleagues, the group has officially launched the listing process."

The word "listing" is like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, stirring up ripples.

The faces of the executives and core technical personnel present instantly lit up. The company was going public, stock options were vesting, and the door to financial freedom was about to open.

Beside Wang Jing, a giant electronic screen switched between images, displaying a detailed equity incentive plan.

"Please look at the table, everyone." Wang Jing held a laser pointer, and the red dot accurately landed on the key data.

"The group's total share capital is 10 billion shares. Equity incentives cover T5 to T18 job levels. For T1 to T4 levels, the incentives are mainly cash rewards and they are not eligible for stock options."

She paused briefly, giving the audience enough time to process the information.

"Take the core strength level T7 and T8 as an example."

The laser dot moves. "This job level corresponds to a junior manager in management and a mid-level engineer in technical positions, with stock options ranging from 5,000 to 12,000 shares."

"Take T15 level executives as another example."

The light spot jumps to the top of the table, indicating "corresponding to the subsidiary president and business unit general manager; the technical position is chief researcher."

Their option grants range from 1.2 million to 1.6 million shares.

"In addition, the exercise price is not fixed," Wang Jing added another key detail.

"Based on the time of joining the company, there are four levels, and the specific correspondence is clearly listed. Please refer to them yourself."

In the audience, Zhang Zhao, the executive president of the Digital Media and Entertainment Group, beamed with joy and was extremely excited.

He joined the company in 2005, with the most favorable exercise price in the first tier, at $1 per share. His position was T17, Executive President, and he was granted options totaling 5 million shares!

According to market forecasts, the group's market value will likely exceed $300 billion after its listing.

This means his options will have a face value of a staggering $150 million!

Even after deducting hefty taxes, the cash-out would amount to at least 700 to 800 million Hong Kong dollars, making him a billionaire in no time.

Sitting in the front row, Chief Financial Officer Chen An was also calculating rapidly.

As a member of the core management team at level T18, and because the three founding shareholders, Song Ci, Zhang Yong, and Wang Jing, do not participate in the allocation of stock options.

He received the maximum number of stock options—12 million shares—for non-technical executives!

Based on the company's market capitalization of $300 billion, the options are worth $360 million, or approximately 2.2 billion Chinese yuan!

Even though he was used to seeing large sums of money, he couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement at this moment. This was like becoming one of the top billionaires overnight.

Wang Jing's voice rang out again, quelling the commotion in the room: "In addition to the regular job title conferment, the group has also established an exceptional incentive system, which requires Chairman Song's personal approval."

"It mainly targets two groups of people," Wang Jing explained.

"Firstly, strategic technical talent can open up a brand new track for Tenda, or safeguard a core business stronghold."

Secondly, they are industry giants poached capable leaders who can stand alone.

For these two types of elites, the conditions for exercising their powers can break through conventional restrictions; the standards for exercising powers can be set by Chairman Song, and are not limited by rank.

Unlike the excitement and restlessness that filled the audience, Song Ci was leaning back in his chair, his eyelids lowered, resting with his eyes closed.

The presentation of equity incentives excited every executive, but for him, none of that mattered much.

As the founder and controlling shareholder of Tenda, the stock options distributed among the executives were all diluted from his equity.

Just then, the phone on the table vibrated.

He glanced down and saw a WeChat message from his wife, Liu Shishi. He swiped to open the screen.

"Honey, this afternoon I'm taking Mr. Zhang Rujing, the founder of Huaxin International, to Jiuhua Mountain Villa to see you. Please make sure you can meet him."

Song Ci was slightly taken aback.

Huaxin International? Zhang Rujing? How could Shishi know this pillar of China's semiconductor industry?

The film and entertainment industry and the high-tech semiconductor industry are two completely unrelated worlds.

Although he was filled with doubts, he knew that his wife was a woman of discretion. Since she had come in person with her people, he had to meet her.

With a tap of her finger, she replied: "Okay, then let's have dinner together with Mr. Zhang. We can talk about anything over dinner."

"Okay, I'll see my husband this afternoon."

After chatting casually on WeChat for a few more minutes, Song Ci put down her phone, turned slightly to the side, and waved to Jiang Tiantian, the director of the General Office, who was sitting in the second row.

Jiang Tiantian was still immersed in the joy brought by the stock option incentive plan. When she saw the big boss calling her, she quickly got up, walked quickly to Song Ci's side, and bowed slightly.

Song Ci whispered, "Arrange an elegant private room. I'm entertaining Zhang Rujing, the founder of Huaxin International, tonight."

“Okay, Chairman Song.” Jiang Tiantian replied, then professionally inquired, “Approximately how many guests are there in total? I’ll arrange suitable rooms.”

"Mr. Zhang is the only guest. Shishi and Lin Hao will also be coming."

"Madam and Chairman Lin are coming too! I understand, I'll get on it right away." Jiang Tiantian nodded quickly, already knowing what to do.

As night fell, in the hotel's high-rise guest room lounge, Song Ci and Zhang Rujing stood side by side by the window, gazing at the distant city lights.

Song Ci was curious. The banquet had ended, but the man beside her, the founder of China's semiconductor industry, still hadn't explained his purpose for coming.

“President Song,” Zhang Rujing finally spoke, breaking the silence.

His voice was calm, yet carried a profound sense of history: "What you see standing here is an unprecedented prosperity in China."

What you see is traffic, data, your internet empire, right?

Upon hearing this, Song Ci paused slightly, then a confident smile curved her lips: "Mr. Zhang is right. Tengda Technology is indeed one of the centers of this digital world."

The old man gently shook his head, his gray hair gleaming silver in the light from the window.

Pointing to the dazzling lights outside the window, he said, "What I see is a prosperity without a foundation."

You built skyscrapers with code, but the foundation that supports them isn't beneath our feet.

Zhang Rujing's voice suddenly became deep, "A storm blowing in from across the ocean could shake all of this."

Song Ci turned his gaze back to the window. This time, he saw not only the prosperity, but also the vulnerability that lurked beneath the surface.

“Mr. Zhang, I’m familiar with your background.” Song Ci turned around, her words filled with sincere admiration. “You are truly admirable.”

Zhang Rujing smiled calmly: "There's nothing admirable about him, he's just blindly following a foolish path to the end."

I worked at Texas Instruments for twenty years, holding a high position and enjoying a comfortable life.

At fifty, I reset everything to zero and returned to China to found TSMC, solely to help the Chinese people manufacture their own chips.

The old man's voice was as calm as if he were telling someone else's story, but Song Ci could feel the turbulent waves beneath that calm.

"Later, World Semiconductor was acquired by TSMC, and I was back to square one for the second time. But I didn't stop. I gave up my TSMC stock and used the money from selling the company to almost single-handedly found Huaxin International."

A complex look flashed in Zhang Rujing's eyes. "Back then, so many people laughed at me for being foolish, saying it was a deal destined to lose money."

Song Ci listened quietly.

"Later, I left Huaxin, which was the third time I started from scratch."

Zhang Rujing refocused his gaze on Song Ci. "And right now, I'm still busy with the chip issue. Mr. Song, do you know why?"

Song Ci's expression was solemn: "Please enlighten me, sir."

Zhang Rujing's slightly cloudy eyes shone with an astonishing light at that moment: "Because this isn't business, it's a fundamental commitment!"

His voice suddenly rose, “In business, you look at the profit and loss statement; but in building a lasting legacy, you look at the historical record spanning decades!”

The two words "roots and karma" resounded like a great bell in Song Ci's heart, shaking his soul.

The old man fumbled in his pocket for a moment, then took out a small chip and carefully placed it in his palm, his movements as gentle as if he were holding a rare treasure.

“Mr. Song, look, it’s very small and light, isn’t it?” Zhang Rujing stared at the chip in his palm. “In your digital world, it might just be a piece of code on the server backend, a cold component.”

Song Ci sighed softly: "Chips are the cornerstone of modern technology."

“You’re right, and you’re wrong.” Zhang Rujing slowly raised his head, his voice deep and powerful. “I think it’s not the foundation, but the threshold.”

It determines whether a nation will sit at the table or become a dish on the menu in the future world.

These words struck Song Ci like a heavy hammer blow.

"We can't build it. No matter how high a fighter jet flies or how far its radar can see, its brain and eyes will depend on others."

Zhang Rujing's voice began to tremble, as emotions that had been suppressed for too long surged forth.

"Defense security, economic data, and even the digital lives of 1.4 billion people are all built on a black box that can be shut down at will by others."

This isn't a development issue; it's a fundamental survival issue!

The old man gently placed the chip in Song Ci's palm. That tiny chip, at that moment, seemed to weigh a ton.

"Throughout my life, I've been ridiculed for doing something that resulted in a loss. I accept it!"

Zhang Rujing's eyes sparkled with a crystalline light, "But our generation came from poverty and backwardness, and we have a sense of pride in our hearts!"

This sentiment isn't about being competitive; it's about the dignity of a nation with five thousand years of civilization no longer wanting to suffer injustice!

Song Ci felt the chip in his palm getting hot, burning his hand and his soul.

He looked down at the tiny chip and suddenly understood the weight it carried.

"President Song, have you thought about this?" Zhang Rujing's voice rang out again, "You have connected the lives of hundreds of millions of people with software, but the core soul of the mobile phones and servers that support this software is not in our hands."

“It’s like,” the old man paused, searching for a suitable metaphor, “that we’ve built countless highways leading to the world.”

But the engines of all the cars on the road are controlled by others.

They can siphon oil from your car at any time, and even decide how fast you can drive.

“This feeling of being controlled by others,” Zhang Rujing said, emphasizing each word, “is about having no dignity.”

Silence fell in the room once again.

Song Ci could clearly hear his own heartbeat, each beat like the resounding of war drums.

Zhang Rujing's gaze was piercing, as if piercing through time and looking directly into the soul of Song Dynasty poetry:

"President Song, you are the chosen one, the son of the times, possessing resources and wisdom that we dared not even dream of in our time!"

In this era of globalization, your abilities and energy are beyond imagination!

He didn't give Song Ci time to reply, took a deep breath, and used all his strength to say his final words:

"You are already incredibly wealthy. Once Tengda goes public, you will become the world's richest person, possessing trillions of dollars in assets."

Money is something you can't take with you when you're born, and you can't take it with you when you die.

But if you can use this wealth to lay even a slightly more solid foundation for our nation, which has suffered so much in the past.

So many years from now, when our descendants look back on today amidst the galaxy of digital freedom, what they will remember will not be the wealth rankings of some richest person.

Rather, it was the name that, at the crucial moment, broke through the blockade and laid the foundation for their bright future: Song Ci!

"Wealth, you can't take it with you when you're born, and you can't take it with you when you die!" Song Ci repeated this sentence in a low voice, a self-deprecating bitter smile appearing on his lips.

Just three days ago, he was meticulously planning to set up a family office and a family trust, hoping to pass on his wealth from generation to generation.

At this moment, all those schemes seem so ridiculous!

"What use is wealth to my descendants if they are like me? What use is wealth to my descendants if they are not like me!"

These two ancient proverbs echoed in his mind, clearer than ever before.

His thoughts drifted to Zhang Rujing before him, his lean face, his simple clothes, and his calm yet deep, ocean-like eyes.

This elderly man started from scratch three times in his life, each time for the same ideal: to create a chip for China.

He lost his position, money, and personal comfort; but what he pursued was to become the backbone of a nation.

And what about himself? Holding trillions of dollars in capital, with foresight and insight, all he thinks about is how to make his business empire bigger and longer-lasting.

Compared to Zhang Rujing's grand ambition of "roots business," all his business calculations and capital operations seem so exquisite and insignificant.

It's like a clever child building a castle on the beach, proudly believing he has created an immortal achievement.

This is a difference in perspective; in the face of the lofty "Tao," his mastery of "techniques" appears so pale and powerless.

Song Ci stood there, motionless.

A thunderous heartbeat filled his chest, and an unprecedented emotion swept over him.

It wasn't excitement, but a profound sense of compassion and responsibility stemming from the depths of history.

He looked down at the chip in his hand and saw not just an ordinary semiconductor component, but the dignity of the digital age; not just a business opportunity, but a crossroads of history.

After a long while, Song Ci slowly turned to the side, without saying a single polite word, and faced Zhang Rujing.

The preacher, the guide who had shown him the way, bowed deeply, very deeply.

When he straightened up, the confusion in his eyes vanished, replaced by a deep and unfathomable calm and determination.

Watching this scene, Zhang Rujing reflected on his own life, which had been marked by hardship, and how, in his sixties, he had been able to select such a guardian for China's semiconductor industry. Overwhelmed with emotion, his eyes welled up with tears.

"President Song, what you've done already makes you an outstanding entrepreneur. But I, President Ren, and a few other old guys are a bit greedy; we have even higher expectations for you."

The old man paused for a moment, his voice soft yet carrying immense weight:

"I hope you can grow even further and become a great national entrepreneur and an unparalleled national hero!"

(A free bonus chapter from Zhang Rujing's blog)

Zhang Rujing v: Peace of mind, and then peace of career.

Dear colleagues and friends who care about Huaxin International:

Lately, I often toss and turn in bed late at night.

Outside the window, countless lights twinkle in the night, but my thoughts remain preoccupied with the current state of Huaxin International. Beset by internal and external troubles, the situation is shrouded in gloom.

Although I have been away from the front line for many years, every brick, every tile, every speck of dust there embodies the hard work of me and countless colleagues over half a lifetime.

It is not just a company, but a beacon erected by our generation for China's semiconductor industry to stand tall in the world.

Seeing the fierce winds and high waves, and the lighthouse covered in dust, how could I not lose my appetite and be filled with worry?

I have always kept this chip close to my body.

It was small and light, and the wiring on it might look rough by today's standards.

But in my heart, it weighs a ton. This is the first chip that Huaxin International has successfully taped out.

It is not perfect, but it is a testament to something from nothing, and it is the first spark that we, a group of "foolish" people who persisted, ignited for China's "chip".

These days, holding it, I feel as if I can touch those passionate years and feel our determination to "go against all odds."

I've been thinking, how can this spark be kept burning forever? To whom can we truly entrust this legacy with peace of mind?

Today, I can honestly tell you all that I am at peace with myself.

I am very happy.

Because today, I have successfully chosen a "guardian" for Huaxin International and for our shared dream.

I solemnly handed him this chip, which I considered my lifeblood. I hadn't misjudged him.

When he took the chip, what I saw in his eyes was neither greed for wealth nor desire for power.

Rather, it is a profound sense of responsibility that resonates with our generation, and a magnanimous spirit that foresights the future and dares to take on challenges.

I'll keep his identity a secret for now.

But I can assure you that he possesses not only the immense power to turn the tide, but also a pure heart dedicated to laying a solid foundation for this country and this nation.

With him around, no one can shake the foundation of Huaxin International.

Therefore, all colleagues at Huaxin International, please don't panic, stay calm.

The road ahead is smooth, and even in the vast wilderness, one can return home!

We once forged a path to survival from scratch, and now we have even stronger companions.

The voyage ahead may still be fraught with storms, but the keel of this ship has been rebuilt, and its course will surely lead to a wider, brighter sea.

Please join me in firmly believing that the best era for Huaxin International has only just begun.

Zhang Rujing

Sleepless night, but finally a peaceful night.

Midnight, August 1, 2013

(End of this chapter)