Chapter 29
Li Chuanmai had anticipated that many companies might be interested in the zero-gravity seat project, but he didn't expect it to be this many.
In the past, the most competitive projects he had encountered involved no more than a dozen or twenty rival companies. But right now, sitting in this large conference room, there were roughly over a hundred people. Adding those who hadn't yet arrived overnight, his competition this time seemed far too great.
Ji Zhixing and the other two were also dumbfounded. They were indeed very confident in their project, but they never expected such a grand occasion.
Ji Zhixing asked the director to speak privately: "Director, we haven't evaluated our project yet, and we don't know how much the patent fee should be. Isn't it too hasty to hold a meeting now?"
“Oh dear, it’s not like we have to finalize it right now. It’s just that they keep coming to us one after another, and it would be a bit unreasonable to kick them all out without even letting them see you.” The director glanced at the conference room and said softly, “It’s okay if we haven’t decided on a price yet. I can ask them to submit their bids in a sealed-bid manner later, so that you have the initiative.”
Sealed bidding? This method is indeed good, saving them the trouble of asking for exorbitant prices and then haggling. They just need to choose the highest bidder among those offering the same price.
The director led Ji Zhixing and the other two into the conference room and announced loudly, "Distinguished representatives from various companies, these are the designers of our school's zero-gravity seating project—Ji Zhixing, Lin Lang, and Xu Dongyang. First, let's have them introduce the advantages of this project."
Although the companies sent representatives to discuss the patent rights, they must have conducted thorough investigations into their projects beforehand. But even a self-promoting vendor has to exaggerate his own sales pitch to drive up the price.
The three exchanged a glance and decided that Ji Zhixing would be the one to make the introductions.
Although Ji Zhixing did not prepare in advance, this was not much different from a thesis defense, except that the focus was different.
So he stepped forward, picked up the microphone at the front of the conference room, and began his presentation fluently: "The zero-gravity seat project is centered on comfort. It is designed based on a three-dimensional multi-mesh method using steady Navier-Stokes equations and coupled damping moment volume rendering, which allows the parts of the body in contact with the seat to remain in a pressure-free state for extended periods of time..."
Li Chuanmai grabbed the director standing at the door and whispered, "That's not fair, old classmate! You didn't even tell me about this meeting. If I hadn't come along, I would still be dreaming about them selling the patent!"
The director wasn't embarrassed at all. He said that although they were old classmates, they had only been in the same class for three years in high school and hadn't been in contact for decades. What kind of friendship did they have?
He said with a grin, "But you didn't tell me you came here to buy their patents. Didn't you say you came specifically to see me?"
"I only made excuses because I heard it's hard to get into Guangling University now. Besides, aren't they supposed to have strict security and not allow outsiders into the school easily? What's with this room full of people?"
The director looked at him with a disapproving expression and said, "We set up access control to prevent the media from harassing our students, not to block their path to making money. Of course, those who come to discuss patent fees can be let in."
Unable to argue with him, Li Chuanmai had no choice but to quickly go into the conference room and find an empty seat at the back. The director thought for a moment, then went to the storage room and got him a plastic chair to sit on.
Ji Zhixing didn't give a long speech; he simply mentioned the technical feasibility and commercial prospects of their project.
Then the director came in from the storage room carrying a stack of document bags.
"Good evening, everyone. As you've probably seen, the zero-gravity chair project designed by our students is very popular. With so many people interested, it's impractical to negotiate the patent transfer with each one individually. So, if you're interested in bidding, please come up and pick up a pen, paper, and document bag, and write down your company's offer. Our project designer will then select the most suitable company to transfer the patent rights based on the offers."
Upon hearing this, the company representatives present frowned. This format was tantamount to a "sealed bid," which was a huge disadvantage for them, forcing them to reveal their hand. Most of them had sent their top negotiators, thinking that a face-to-face confrontation would easily secure the three students. However, they hadn't expected everyone to arrive so "in unison" overnight, creating a competitive situation that was unfavorable to the buyers and favorable to the sellers.
In this situation, the initiative and the right to choose were no longer in their hands. So, although most were dissatisfied with the sealed bidding format, the company representatives still stepped forward to receive the document bags and paper and pens.
Li Chuanmai, however, had come to his senses and decided to give up.
Their company was a "middleman," but now everyone is going to "direct sellers," so there's no room for middlemen to make a profit. Having made up his mind to give up, he relaxed and spent the rest of his time watching the show, glancing here and there.
Originally, in this kind of sealed-bid auction format, either everyone would write down their bids in advance and bring them to the venue, or the seats in the venue would be spaced out to prevent the disclosure of each person's bid.
But now the conference room is packed to the brim, almost people are standing shoulder to shoulder, so there are quite a few people like Li Chuanmai who are keen to peek.
"Oh dear, it's only 3 million? You don't need to hand it over at all. I just saw 5 million."
The bidder, whose offer had been exposed, glared angrily, while those offering less than 5 million began to reconsider their bids.
"Oh my, ten million! There's hope, there's hope!"
Upon hearing this, those intending to bid had to raise their offers even higher.
Li Chuanmai's meddling earned him glares from everyone. He didn't care; he wasn't planning on bidding anyway. He just wanted to stir things up.
About an hour later, the company representatives finished writing their quotations, sealed them in document bags, and handed them in.
The director had already instructed that the bidding wouldn't be opened on the spot; they would have to wait a few days until all the interested companies had submitted their bids before deciding which company would be awarded the patent rights. However, no one wanted to leave early, fearing that those who stayed behind might try to pull some dirty tricks.
Only after everyone had paid their dues and the director gave the order to leave did everyone set off to leave the school.
News of this hastily organized auction spread quickly. Companies that had been observing the situation immediately abandoned their reservations and submitted their bids as instructed by the director. Over the next few days, companies continued to submit their bids.
The folders containing the quotes were piled up all over dormitory 310; given the sheer scale of the situation, there was little need to hire a consulting firm anymore.
Ji Zhixing and his two companions opened the document bags one by one. The highest bid so far came from Hao Yi Seating Co., Ltd., a leading domestic passenger car seat manufacturer. They quoted 51 million!
From beginning to end, Lin Lang excitedly slapped the table every time he opened a letter, and by the time he finished, his palms were swollen.
However, Xu Dongyang became increasingly silent as the demolition continued, as if he had something on his mind.
Ji Zhixing noticed Xu Dongyang's unusual behavior and asked, "What's wrong with you?"
Xu Dongyang shook his head: "It's just... I'm a little confused about the future."
Lin Lang deeply sympathized: "Right? Right? I'm confused too! Should I continue with graduate school or get a job?"
Fifty-one million! That's seventeen million per person! Even if you just deposit that money in a bank, you'd earn twenty or thirty thousand in interest every month. To be honest, he went to university and even took the postgraduate entrance exam just to get a degree, and then find a job that could support his family. He originally thought that earning ten thousand a month after graduation would be great, but now, he's about to receive the salary of two or three lifetimes. So what should he do with the rest of his life?
Ji Zhixing felt that the two people's confusion was not the same thing, but seeing that Xu Dongyang didn't seem to want to talk about it for the time being, he didn't press the matter.
For several days in a row, a steady stream of people from outside the community entered and exited the campus, which naturally attracted the attention of the students, who started discussing it on the school forum.
"I heard that those people came to buy the patent rights to the zero-gravity seat project from Ji Zhixing and his team!"
"I'm so envious! They're about to receive their money!"
"I wonder how much it can sell for, maybe a million?"
"That's too low! I think this project has great potential. If they really made a zero-gravity seat, who wouldn't want it?"
"That's right, if the price is right, I'll definitely buy one."
"Should someone ask? I really want to know."
"It's still in the bidding stage, who would dare to ask?"
"It certainly won't be low. I heard that a few nights ago, hundreds of companies flocked to the site, and they've been coming to quote prices ever since. With all this competition, the price is bound to go up."
"How much were the patent fees for National First-Class patents in the past?"
"Sigh, I don't know."
Because Guangling University had never won a national first prize in the CUPT competition before, this news did not circulate much.
Young people today are very enthusiastic about discussing wealth, especially when the person in question is one of their classmates, which makes them feel more involved. So, although they were too embarrassed to ask Ji Zhixing and his team directly about the pricing, they were genuinely curious.
At this moment, a new account appeared.
"The highest national first-class patent used to be the shortwave radio frequency non-electric eavesdropping device project at Yanda University, which cost 30 million yuan in patent transfer fees at the time."
"Wow!"
"It will directly lead to financial freedom!"
"However, Ji Zhixing's project shouldn't be able to sell for that price. The eavesdropping device project is related to information security, which is why a state-owned enterprise bought it at a high price to prevent the relevant technology from flowing into the market."
Suddenly, a well-informed person appeared, and everyone started posting questions online.
"So, how much do you think Ji Zhixing and his team's project can sell for?"
"It may not be as high as people imagine. Their project is still in the theoretical stage. There is still a long way to go from theory to practice, and the research and development funds to be invested in the later stages are not small."
"So how much is it exactly?"
"Moreover, their technical theories cannot be guaranteed to be entirely correct. If they cannot achieve a zero-gravity effect, then the patent fees paid by the company will be wasted. Therefore, they will be very cautious in their pricing."
"So how much could it be?"
Despite repeated inquiries, this alternate account stubbornly persisted in its pessimistic pronouncements.
"Even if we could actually produce a seat that achieves a zero-gravity effect, the cost would definitely be high, so the price would be something to consider. If we sell it at a high price, we won't be able to open up the market; if we sell it at a low price, we won't be able to recover the costs."
"Could you state the conclusion first?"
"In short, although it seems like there are many companies bidding right now, they probably won't offer very high prices."
"I estimate it's around ten million. After taxes, we'll have to deduct over a million, so we'll only get a few million. And if we split it among the three of us, there won't be much left."
"It's not as much as I imagined, but several million is still a lot."
"Only a sophomore, and you've already made so much money just by using your brain, that's quite impressive!"
Upon seeing these comments, Fan Yongjie's face contorted behind the screen as he continued to post using his newly registered alternate account.
"To be honest, they've been busy with competitions these past few months, so they probably haven't been able to concentrate on their classes. Final exams are just around the corner, and I wonder if failing for short-term gains is a bad deal."
"Haven't they already secured their places in graduate school?"
"You can't go to graduate school if you haven't earned enough undergraduate credits."
"Well... if you gave me a few million to fail my exams, I could actually accept it—"
"I remember now, didn't Ji Zhixing and Fan Yongjie have a bet on the final exam? If he loses, he'll have to sell a watch worth millions. If the patent fee is lower than the watch's price, then he'll lose money!"
"That's true."
"Breaking news! I just heard Lin Lang howling like a wolf in the dorm. It seems a new offer of 88 million just came in!"
Wow!
"My goodness!"
Everyone was excited about this record-breaking number, and no one bothered to ask Fan Yongjie about it anymore.
Fan Yongjie angrily slammed his phone onto the sofa, feeling a surge of anger rising in his chest. He pounded the sofa several times, still not satisfied, and then kicked the coffee table, scattering its contents across the floor.
Damn it! Damn it! Why is Ji Zhixing so successful?! Why?!
He used to be just a poor nobody who could only afford steamed buns, so why did he suddenly have such good luck!
A watch worth 100 million was something he could never have dreamed of before, but Ji Zhixing had it all in a single day! A watch worth a few hundred thousand could only buy him a secondhand Omega, and he didn't even want the Rolex given to him by the competition sponsor. And now, the 88 million patent fee is almost in his hands!
"Damn it!" Fan Yongjie roared in fury, hurling insults at the enemy.
When Fan Chuanshuo returned home, he saw that the living room was in a mess, with things scattered everywhere.
He quickly slammed the door shut and angrily shouted, "What's wrong with you now! Didn't I tell you to behave yourself during this period?!"
Fan Chuanshuo had always gone to great lengths to cultivate his son. Recognizing his limited natural talent, he showered him with resources and used his position to groom him, making him appear quite respectable to outsiders. Among the children of faculty members at Guangling University, his son was considered quite successful.
Since Fan Yongjie's defeat in the competition, Fan Chuanshuo has felt ashamed, not to mention that the root cause of the defeat was his carelessness that led to data errors!
After the competition results were announced, he privately spoke with Zhao Yi and Sun Er for a long time before forcing them to promise not to reveal the reasons for their defeat. He had gone to so much trouble to protect Fan Yongjie's reputation, but in the blink of an eye, Fan Yongjie was disciplined for defaming Ji Zhixing. He had to go through a lot of trouble again to get the principal to agree not to disclose the disciplinary notice.
Therefore, Fan Chuanshuo got angry whenever he saw Fan Yongjie lately, never expecting him to be so restless even at home.
Fan Chuanshuo gave Fan Yongjie a severe scolding, and Fan Yongjie stood aside with his hands tied, his eyes red.
Looking at his only son, on whom he had placed so much hope since childhood, Fan Chuanshuo finally sighed with a softened heart.
"You'd better behave yourself for now. Even if you want to deal with Ji Zhixing, there's no rush. I'll find a way to get him to be my graduate student later, and then you can do whatever you want with him, right?"
Fan Yongjie's eyes lit up, but he was also a little doubtful: "Won't he choose another mentor?" No matter how much he disliked Ji Zhixing, he knew that Ji Zhixing wouldn't be stupid enough to take the initiative to become his father's disciple.
"Hehe, he hasn't even finished all his undergraduate credits yet, there's still plenty of room for maneuver..." Fan Chuanshuo didn't say much, mainly because he was worried that his son might accidentally blurt it out in the heat of the moment.
He then put on a stern face and instructed, "In short, behave yourself during this period and don't cause any more trouble. The Ministry of Science and Technology has already released the National Key Research and Development Program for the next year, and I'm currently trying to secure a project from it. We can't afford any mishaps!"
Fan Yongjie looked at Fan Chuanshuo expectantly: "Is it the one where the government will allocate tens of millions of yuan in research funding?"
"Yes!" Fan Chuanshuo nodded. Once he got this project, at least half of the funding would end up in his pocket!
While Fan Chuanshuo and his son Fan Yongjie were secretly delighted about the research funding they were likely to receive, dormitory 310 was also cheering for the high patent fees.
"Eighty-eight million! My God! I never even dreamed I could earn that much money in my life!" Lin Lang had been jumping around for over ten minutes and still couldn't stop.
Ji Zhixing hadn't expected the bid to be so high. Yesterday he saw 51 million and thought that might be the highest bid, but he didn't expect it to reach a new high today.
He carefully examined the information of the quoting company, Heng'an Technology? He didn't know much about this field, so he turned on his computer and searched for it.
Heng'an Technology is a company that mainly deals in smart devices. As Ji Zhixing read on, he discovered that this company actually had a deep connection with Hengtai Technology.
Lin Lang, sitting to Ji Zhixing's left, exclaimed, "Wow! The founders of the two companies are brothers!"
Xu Dongyang, sitting on the right, said, "Isn't such a high price partly out of gratitude to Zhixing?"
As far as he knows, Hengtai Technology's stock price has been rising recently, and its market value has increased several times. He also heard that it recently participated in a super oil project worth 48.7 billion RMB signed by China Construction Bureau in Africa.
"I think it's very possible! Maybe part of the money came from Hengtai Technology!"
Just then, Ji Zhixing's phone rang. He picked it up and saw that it was Shi Yanshi calling. He gestured for Lin Lang and Xu Dongyang to be quiet for a moment, and then answered the phone.
Ji Zhixing had initially thought that Shi Yanshi might be there to curry favor with Hengtai Technology regarding the pricing, but he hadn't expected him to be there to poach employees from the company. Well, saying he was poaching might be too strong a word, but the suggestions Shi Yanshi made on the phone were indeed beneficial to them and detrimental to Heng'an Technology.
Ji Zhixing thanked Shi Yanshi and said after hanging up the phone, "Mr. Shi suggested that we should not sell the patent rights outright, but instead choose to cooperate with Heng'an Technology by contributing technology as equity."
"Technology as equity?" Lin Lang asked. "Like their digital seismic wave laboratory?"
The Digital Seismic Wave Laboratory was initially established under the leadership of Shi Yanshi. Later, due to funding shortages, when Hengtai Technology extended an offer, the entire laboratory joined Hengtai Technology as equity investment, holding a total of 38.9% of the shares. Recently, Hengtai Technology's stock price has soared, and their personal wealth has accumulated to a level unimaginable for the average office worker.
“Yes.” Ji Zhixing nodded. “He said that although you can’t get a lot of money in the short term by investing technology, once the product is successfully developed and the market is successfully launched, the subsequent profit sharing will be almost continuous and can last a lifetime!”
"Of course, that's on the premise that our project can actually achieve a zero-gravity effect. However, it's also possible that the existing materials can't support our theory in practice, or that the research progress might not go smoothly and the entire project might be canceled. In that case, we wouldn't get a single penny. In short, a one-time sale and technology investment each have their advantages and disadvantages, and he told us to think about it carefully."
Lin Lang was confused. Should he simply cash in and be safe, or take a gamble and risk it all?
Xu Dongyang remained silent, his mind churning with thoughts of what he had been pondering these past few days.
In comparison, Ji Zhixing is more laid-back. He currently has over two million yuan in savings and can earn points from the system every day. He also doesn't have any extravagant or expensive hobbies, so he doesn't feel any urgency about money.
He was happy with either a one-time sale of the patent rights for the zero-gravity seat project or a technology-based equity investment, and he was open to both. However, he did find the technology-based equity investment risky; if he ended up with nothing, it would be very discouraging.
"Zhixing, Lin Lang..." Xu Dongyang hesitated before speaking, but after opening his mouth, he hesitated and did not continue.
Ji Zhixing had been secretly watching Xu Dongyang all this time. Xu Dongyang had been preoccupied with his own thoughts these days. Lin Lang was as happy as if he had won the lottery, but Xu Dongyang was as heavy-hearted as if he owed a loan shark.
Seeing that Xu Dongyang seemed to finally be willing to open up, she quickly encouraged him: "Tell me, what's on your mind? Let's discuss it together."
The usually carefree Lin Lang then noticed Xu Dongyang's unusual behavior and put his arm around him, asking, "Is there anything you can't tell us?"
Xu Dongyang looked at Ji Zhixing, then at Lin Lang, his hand loosening and clenching again before finally whispering, "What do you think... about us starting our own business?"
"Start a business?" Ji Zhixing asked. "Do you mean we develop our own zero-gravity seats and then bring them to market?"
Xu Dongyang nodded. Once the thought that had been lingering in his mind for some time was spoken, it became much easier to continue.
"I'm not saying we absolutely have to do it this way, I'm just saying it out loud so you can see if it's feasible." Xu Dongyang looked at Ji Zhixing nervously.
Ji Zhixing pondered for a moment and said, "I think we can consider it."
To be honest, selling the patent rights outright and immediately receiving the 88 million yuan patent fee is certainly exciting. However, once the zero-gravity seat is successfully developed and launched, its financial prospects are immeasurable.
For example, Hao Yi Company offered 51 million yuan to buy out the patent rights, which seems like an exorbitant price. However, after checking Hao Yi's publicly available financial report yesterday, they found that its revenue last year was 17.93 billion yuan and its net profit was 650 million yuan. Compared with this, the patent buyout fee of more than 50 million yuan is really insignificant.
If they were to contribute their technology as equity, the three students wouldn't have any leverage against a large company like Heng'an Technology. If the project were to be canceled, they would have nothing left.
Xu Dongyang's idea of starting his own business is certainly worth trying. With the patent rights in their own hands, they won't be hindered in their R&D. If the R&D is successful, the lion's share of the profits will be theirs. Even if the R&D fails, they can sell the patent rights later. Perhaps they won't get the high price they have now, but it shouldn't be too low either.
Hearing Ji Zhixing say this, Xu Dongyang's eyes lit up. What Ji Zhixing had just analyzed was exactly what he had been pondering over and over these past few days.
After gaining Ji Zhixing's approval, Xu Dongyang revealed his true thoughts: "To be honest, I also have my own selfish motives. I want to take back my grandfather's company from Wang Zhanpeng, but I know nothing about business operations, so I thought I would start my own business first to accumulate experience." Xu Dongyang became a little embarrassed as he spoke.
Lin Lang patted his back: "I understand, I understand. Who can swallow that insult?" He felt very sorry for Xu Dongyang's mother when he heard about the story of the man from a poor background who had taken over someone else's home.
“But…” Xu Dongyang said with difficulty, “If we start our own business, we will not only have no income in the early stages, but we will also have to throw money into it.”
Ji Zhixing had just thought of this as well, but he now had some savings, and since he was single and had no family to worry about, he didn't need to think too much about it.
Although Wang Zhanpeng had taken over the company, Xu Dongyang still had some savings.
The two looked at Lin Lang, who slammed his hand on the table: "What's the big deal? No need for further explanation, just do it!"
He actually breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that there was another option. After the initial excitement of the exorbitant patent fee, he felt somewhat lost about life. He was still young, and life held endless possibilities, but he also knew his lazy nature; without pressure, there was no motivation, and over time, he would become sluggish.
Now that he has a worthwhile career to strive for, although there may be many difficulties, he feels very excited, and the confusion of the past few days has been swept away!
The three hit it off immediately and decided to temporarily stop selling the patent and start their own business!
However, relying on just the three of them, the research and development progress would be as slow as a snail, especially since materials are not their area of expertise.
However, hiring staff requires renting office space, paying salaries, and making social security contributions, which are too expensive.
The three, who had no entrepreneurial experience, then discovered that starting a business was much more complicated than they had imagined.
At this point, Lin Lang stammered, "I do have a way to recruit people without spending any money..."
As soon as Ji Zhixing saw Lin Lang's expression, he knew it was definitely not a serious idea.
A note from the author:
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