Chapter 13
“I object. AI healthcare requires substantial funding, which is a bottomless pit, and it’s uncertain when we’ll break even.”
"Yes, yes, yes."
"That's right!"
...
"AI is developing so rapidly, please open your eyes and look at the world, instead of being like an old fogey."
"How dare you speak like that?"
"Get out!"
...
Bang! Bang! Bang! Slam the table and smash the cup.
The Zhou family's high-level conference room, which was supposed to be a sure-fire investment seminar, turned into a morning wholesale market.
Zhou Yubai's face turned ashen. He glanced at Du Zhiguo, the first member of the Strategic Committee on his left, who was clearly trying to stir up trouble, but he wasn't one of Yao Shengjie's people.
Du Zhiguo stood up, signaling for everyone to be quiet, then turned around and earnestly began to speak:
“Yu Bai, I’m not personal, I’m just stating the facts. Please don’t be resistant. My job is to be responsible for the company’s long-term development plan and major decisions. I understand that you young people want to make a name for yourselves, but the larger the project, the more cautious we need to be. We have to keep the hundreds of people in the company in mind, not to mention our colleagues in the downstream factories. Everyone has to support their families. We can’t all risk our dreams.”
Zhou Yubai clenched his fists, sneering inwardly, "Du Zhiguo has played both the good cop and the bad cop."
Now we're putting him right on the fire.
Shen Que sat quietly in her office waiting. The phone rang, and she glanced at the time. It was almost an hour later than she had expected, so the battle seemed to be raging.
I got up, packed my laptop and hard drive, and left the office.
Everyone in the office turned to look at her. Today, the political landscape was changing hands, and everyone was waiting for the outcome.
Lin Muchen and others waited at the conference room door, and seeing Shen Que was like seeing a savior.
"They insist that you demonstrate it on the spot. Honestly, didn't you already send them the results? Now they're finding fault again. It must be that old woman's doing again. I really suspect she's out of her mind."
After talking for a while, seeing that she wasn't responding, he became a little uneasy. "Chen Que, is there something wrong with the software?"
Shen Que glanced at her expressionlessly, and Lin Muchen subconsciously tugged at the collar of his business suit, looking embarrassed.
She didn't say a word, and pushed the door open to enter.
Her beautiful eyes swept across the conference room, where all the senior executives were blushing and their necks were red. She glanced at Du Zhiguo out of the corner of her eye, but did not say a word before taking her seat at the end of the table.
“Chen Que, since Chairman Du has objections to the software developed by the engineering department, then you should demonstrate it to everyone again.”
Zhou Yubai, seated at the head of the table, raised his hand in greeting.
"It's not that we have any objections; we have no objections to any department. Let me reiterate, this is a major strategic decision for the company. The success or failure of one software cannot represent the success of the entire project. With the aim of the company's macro-continuous development, I hope to reduce potential risks, especially those that have already emerged, which we cannot ignore."
Du Zhiguo spoke passionately, beginning with every word of the company's rules and regulations, and every sentence focused on the issues, not the person.
Zhou Yubai had already reached his limit. "Chairman Du, what exactly do you mean? This project has been underway for six months, with such a large initial investment. Now you want to completely reject it? You want all the hard work of everyone to go to waste? Who will bear this loss?"
They went straight to the point, highlighting Du Zhiguo's value.
Du Zhiguo remained calm, saying, "Every project requires investment in the early stages, but not every project needs to yield results. If problems are discovered along the way, we should stop the losses in time. Such losses are also in our plan. This is for the good of the company and to be responsible to every shareholder."
"AI healthcare is an inevitable trend, what's wrong with that?" Zhou Yubai was also furious.
"AI in healthcare is not a problem; it aligns with international trends, modern technological development, and is a goal our company pursues. However, the project you are pushing forward has major issues."
Du Zhiguo's piercing gaze swept over everyone present. "If a project accounts for more than 80% of the total annual investment and there is no possibility of recouping the investment within a year, it is no longer a matter of risk, but rather pushing the company into an abyss."
"Chairman Du is exaggerating too much. What project in this world is without risk? Even farming depends on God. If you're too timid, you might as well go begging. Oh, begging also depends on whether anyone will give you alms, so there are risks too. So what should you do?"
Zhou Yubai's loyal subordinates made sarcastic remarks.
His men burst into laughter.
Du Zhiguo's men immediately retorted, as did Yao Shengjie's men, Zhou's father's confidants, and so on.
For a moment, everyone was talking at once, blaming each other.
Chen Que sat quietly at the end of the table. It was common sense that middle managers would not expose each other's shortcomings when they quarreled, so as not to be known by the higher-ups and give them a handle to use against them. The lower-level managers understood it even more simply, it was just a matter of whether or not to work overtime and who did more or less work.
Unlike now, the argument is getting more and more outrageous, with all sorts of petty theft and thievery happening.
"...The Southern Development Project of 2018—don't think we don't know, it was you who bribed the agents,"
"Bullshit! You're just spouting nonsense; I'll sue you for defamation!"
That's enough.
Zhou Yubai slammed his hand on the table, and the room fell silent instantly.
Having ultimately controlled half of the Zhou family's territory and accumulating power over time, the crowd looked at each other in dismay.
The gray-haired finance director stepped in to smooth things over, saying, "All the leaders are arguing back and forth, but it's all for the good of the company. As an old accountant, I'll just say something fair."
The CFO is an old man who helped Zhou's father build the empire, and he has always maintained neutrality on the surface.
Shen Que's lips twitched slightly, and a barely perceptible hint of mockery flashed in his eyes.
"President Zhou, don't worry about this. Chairman Du's concerns are everyone's concerns. The risks are too high and the cycle is too long. Of course, I understand that the returns are greater, but as Chairman Du is worried, what if the cash flow dries up when the business is so large? We can't let one project drag down the whole company."
The CFO spoke in a calm, even tone, "How about this: since the engineering department is here, let the professionals explain it to us laymen, and then we can discuss it further?"
"Wait a minute, she's Mrs. Zhou, this isn't appropriate."
The marketing director, who was in the middle, raised a question.
During Du Zhiguo's speech, he always echoed and supported him. When he and Zhou Yubai were exchanging insults, he argued back and forth, forging ahead bravely.
The CFO chuckled but didn't reply.
Shen Que muttered under his breath, "Old fox."
They pushed her out without revealing her identity.
"What's the problem?" Zhou Yu rolled his eyes sharply, staring directly at the marketing director. "Just because Shen Que is my wife, does that mean the company is going to reject the software she created?"
“President Zhou, last year when the marketing department launched a new product, it was also thanks to the technical support from Shen Gong. According to their logic, this technology should be withdrawn.”
"Exactly, when it comes to avoiding suspicion, it has to be thorough."
A group of confidants immediately echoed his sentiments.
The atmosphere in the meeting room became tense once again.
"Hey, let's stick to the point, we've gone off on a tangent again," the CFO tried to smooth things over. "Vice President Liu, you just love to argue. Be careful, next time we'll all get you drunk."
"Hahaha……"
Du Zhiguo smiled and spread his hands, "One of the responsibilities of our strategy committee is to supervise the effective allocation of company resources, prevent nepotism, and ensure that every major investment is fair and just so that the company can develop effectively."
“Okay, then let my wife give a live demonstration. If there are any problems with the software, I will immediately withdraw the project, and I will personally bear the initial losses.”
Zhou Yubai finally couldn't hold back any longer.
Du Zhiguo picked up his teacup. "We're just having a discussion; we don't mean to assign blame to any one person." He blew on the tea foam, appearing calm and composed.
"Alright," the CFO pressed Zhou Yubai down, "Let's begin the work."
She calmly stood up, connected to the projector, briefly explained the basic principles of the software, and simulated the practical operation process. When someone raised a question, she directly replied with professional terminology, leaving the other person speechless for a long time.
Ten minutes later, the CFO waved his hand, signaling to stop.
Shen Que pressed pause, his expression remaining calm.
CFO: "Outsiders see the spectacle, insiders see the details. I'm not an insider, but I have a question: what are the data sources for AI healthcare? Healthcare is a professional field, unlike shopping, which we can control."
expert.
That hits the nail on the head.
Shen Que glanced at Zhou Yubai without making a sound, and the latter picked up his coffee and handed it to his secretary behind him, "Get another cup."
She understood, "The database needs to wait for the software to go live."
Zhou Yubai stared at her in shock.
As discussed before, this kind of question doesn't need a direct answer.
The CFO chuckled and didn't press the matter further.
The others seemed thoughtful.
The Zhou family business itself did not have a strong database, which was why she initially wanted to seek cooperation from outside sources.
However, this proposal was rejected by Zhou Yubai a few months ago.
To put it bluntly, he wants to monopolize everything. Of course, the company's senior management would not agree to cooperating with outsiders and sharing the profits.
“Building a database takes time; no project can be accomplished overnight,” Zhou Yubai added.
Du Zhiguo put down his teacup. "So that means there's a problem with the software?"
“No,” Shen Que said coldly.
“Okay, okay, my statement was incorrect and incomplete,” Du Zhiguo shrugged. “AI healthcare is based on software. The foundation isn’t even laid yet, no, the design is incomplete. We’re discussing building a landmark building here. Is this a joke?”
The marketing director immediately straightened his back. "That's right, this is a complete waste of our time."
“I understand that R&D requires investment, and we all support it, but we can’t keep burning money. This project has been going on for half a year since it was initiated, and the blueprints are still not complete?”
“Such a large project, only four months old, is basically complete. We must proceed with the project.” Zhou Yubai trembled with anger.
He even had some regrets. He had wanted to take over the company legitimately, but he hadn't expected so many scoundrels to be lurking beneath the surface.
I should have skipped the seminar and pushed the project forward first, letting these old guys cause trouble.
“That’s impossible,” the usually mild-mannered CFO suddenly said seriously. “If you do that, my finance department can’t cooperate with you.”
“I said there’s nothing wrong with the software,” Shen Que began, “Let’s make it lightweight.”
Zhou Yubai stared at her in disbelief, his pupils dilating frame by frame, his voice hoarse, "What did you say?"
Lightweight means zero server-side and zero database; it's just a simple tool that can't perform in-depth user statistics, so it can't last long.
But there is one advantage: it makes money quickly.
"What you are worried about is that the initial investment will go down the drain, and the later stages will be too long to recoup funds. By doing a lightweight approach, the initial work will not be in vain, the return on investment will be quick, and you will make a profit without any risk."
Chen Que spoke calmly, looking at Zhou Yubai, "Your dream of completely controlling the Zhou family has been shattered, Zhou Yubai."
“You should have said so earlier! Oh dear, you had to complicate a simple issue. I agree with today’s discussion,” Du Zhiguo said first.
I agree.
I agree.
...
More than four-fifths of the hands were raised, including those of Zhou Yubai's men.
If you don't agree to a sure-fire, risk-free deal, then get lost.
The remaining one-fifth, well, that is, three, belong to Zhou Yubai's platinum lackeys.
The group filed out of the conference room.
"Why?"
Only Zhou Yubai and Shen Que remained in the large conference room. He roared, "Why did you betray me?"
Shen Que suddenly laughed, "You actually dare to ask me why?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
