Chapter 7 Legal Department
May 1st.
All programmers were given the day off, although voluntary overtime was welcomed—with double pay.
Su Yuanshan slept in lazily and only left the dormitory around ten in the morning, riding his battered Forever bicycle, which he had bought for twenty yuan from a senior, even though it was missing a pedal.
Outside the Jiangdu Building mall, a sea of people surged, making Su Yuanshan feel firsthand the truth of an old saying: the principal contradiction of the current era is between the people's growing material and cultural needs and the backwardness of social production.
Parking his bike by an electric pole and locking it, he shaded his eyes with his hand, looking toward the mall entrance.
Six hostesses greeted customers at the entrance, four of them wearing long pants, shirts, and little sashes, their hair neatly combed. Honestly, state-owned enterprises did have their advantages; these young women were pretty enough that any one of them could easily get catcalls from street punks.
But when compared to the two Yuanxin Technology girls wearing the professional suits designed by Su Yuanshan—short skirts, stockings, butterfly ties—they were instantly crushed. They shone like stars amidst a field of mud.
Those two girls had only spent one afternoon rehearsing how to stand and gesture, but they had already become the most dazzling presence among the crowd.
Blending into the crowd, Su Yuanshan entered the mall.
All around, banners swung gently in the air conditioning draft, each bearing the simple words—Di Di.
At the Yuanxin booth, four young women in suits were surrounded by throngs of customers asking questions, placing orders, crowding so tightly it was difficult to move.
Zhang Ke was off to one side, happily taking payments and writing receipts.
"This is crazy," Zhang Ke whispered in Su Yuanshan's ear during a lull. "I never realized there were so many rich people in this city. They're throwing down over a thousand yuan without blinking."
Because of the crowd and the cash shortage among customers, many paid deposits to reserve numbers and would return later with full payment.
"And you made the deposit non-refundable?" Su Yuanshan asked, grinning.
"Of course. Followed your advice. I threw in more than half a million worth of stock this time, five hundred pagers ready for sale. Looks like we'll be sold out today."
Zhang Ke rubbed his hands together excitedly. "What about our chip development?"
"Should be ready by the end of June," Su Yuanshan calculated quickly.
Zhang Ke beamed. "Then I'll wait for your good news!"
Su Yuanshan nodded.
The overwhelming sales validated his plan: developing the Chinese-character pager was a top priority. Not only for profit but also for strengthening Yuanxin's reputation in the tech world.
He thought of the future rise and fall of Boda Electronics. In 1993, Boda had been the first to create a fully self-developed Chinese pager, securing its dominance in the communications market. Yet later, because of stubbornly rejecting new technology, Boda was crushed by cheap domestic imitators.
"Pagers," Su Yuanshan murmured, "are only the beginning."
...
"Hey, kid," someone called out behind him.
Su Yuanshan turned around to see a young woman standing at the front desk of Yuanxin Technology's showroom. She was looking at him with an arrogant tilt of her chin. "Who are you looking for?"
Su Yuanshan blinked, confused. He checked the Yuanxin sign behind her. He hadn't gone to the wrong floor. Today's receptionist was supposed to have the day off. Who was this?
Just then, Tang Wenjie ran over and quickly slung an arm around Su Yuanshan's shoulder. "Oh, she's my girlfriend, Yang Yiwen. She wanted to come see where I work, so I let her sit at the front desk. Should I pay her a salary?"
"Yang Yiwen, this is Professor Su's son, Su Yuanshan."
Upon hearing this, Yang Yiwen looked a bit embarrassed. "Oh! You're the young boss."
Su Yuanshan laughed. "It's fine. Just call me Xiaoshan."
In his past life, he had heard that Tang Wenjie's wife was named Yang Yiwen, a sharp and capable lawyer who kept her teasing husband firmly in check.
Calling her "sister-in-law" now dispelled any awkwardness.
Yang Yiwen smiled and stuck out her hand. "I apologize for earlier."
"No worries," Su Yuanshan shook her hand politely. "Are you just visiting?"
"I finished my internship early, so I had some free time," she said.
"Oh, I see," Su Yuanshan smiled. "Then I won't disturb you two."
He paused halfway to his office and turned back. "Sister-in-law, which school did you attend?"
"Southwest University of Political Science and Law. Why?"
"Ah, one of the Five Famous Law Schools."
Yang Yiwen looked surprised. "You know that? You're still in high school, right?"
"I know a little," Su Yuanshan smiled. "May I ask which major you studied?"
"Commercial and civil law," she answered.
Su Yuanshan grinned. "Perfect. Sister-in-law, would you be interested in joining our company?"
Yang Yiwen was caught off guard. "Huh?"
"We're a tech company," Su Yuanshan said. "We'll need strong legal support for patents and intellectual property rights. My dad has been wanting to set up a legal department but hasn't found the right person."
Yang Yiwen was genuinely surprised. She bit her lip, staring at Su Yuanshan.
"If you join us, I'll convince my dad to pull some strings and get Senior Brother Tang his own graduate dorm room."
Tang Wenjie coughed loudly. "Cough, cough!"
Yang Yiwen blushed furiously, half laughing, half scolding.
Su Yuanshan winked and went into his office.
He was serious. A tech company must have a legal department to manage its intellectual property and defend its rights aggressively.
Right now, they couldn't afford a top-tier lawyer, but Yang Yiwen, fresh out of law school, was a perfect fit.
...
Over the next two days, Yuanxin sold nearly five hundred pagers.
Each pager had about two hundred yuan of gross profit. That meant close to a hundred thousand yuan earned over two days.
Even after paying salaries, rent, and other costs, Zhang Ke realized he was still sitting on a solid mountain of profit.
Emboldened, he quickly rented two more storefronts around the city, expanding his pager business aggressively.
Meanwhile, back at Yuanxin, the EDA development reached its final sprint. All-nighters became common.
Su Yuanshan even partitioned a nap area in the office so exhausted engineers could catch some sleep.
By mid-May, Yang Yiwen returned with a suitcase and officially joined Yuanxin's legal department.
On her first day, as she entered the company, a thunderous applause erupted from the engineering teams.
Yang Yiwen, blushing from head to toe, quickly found Tang Wenjie to hide behind.
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