Chapter 128: Returning Home in Glory

During this period, he concentrated most of his energy on Penguin.

Su Mu was now certain that Boss Han truly intended to exclude him from the company’s management. During their recent phone calls, all he could glean from Han’s high-spirited tone were conclusions about what needed to be done, rather than discussions between partners about how the company should develop.

From choosing the location for the second store to decorating it, hiring employees, and contacting suppliers, Boss Han made every decision himself. If Su Mu had not called him, he seemed to have completely forgotten that the company had a second-largest shareholder.

The company was still in its infancy, and Su Mu was worried that open conflict might erupt. Besides, the supermarket business was developing quite well, so he deliberately avoided provoking a confrontation. For the time being, everything remained calm.

There was certainly a knot in his heart.

In the short span of six months, the lazy convenience-store owner from the summer seemed to have transformed entirely into a calculating businessman.

Su Mu wanted desperately to think the best of him, but another voice in his heart kept telling him that, when faced with enormous profits, Boss Han would not be able to maintain his present position for long before changing sides...

December was drawing to a close.

During the final month of 1984, Penguin secured the general agency rights for IBM personal computers and hired a highly capable Miss Blake to help manage the company. In barely half a month, the first signs of change were already visible.

The salesmen were divided into teams for internal competition, and the beginnings of a management structure emerged. They were no longer a disorderly rabble as they had been before.

When Miss Blake learned that Penguin had hired so many salesmen simply to sell computers, she remained speechless for a long time. At last, she told Su Mu, “The fact that it managed to hold together for more than a month is already remarkable!”

She even gave him a thumbs-up. Naturally, she was mocking him.

Representing Penguin, Su Mu had worked with a lawyer to draw up a formal employment agreement with Miss Blake. The employees both loved and feared her, and their performance rose accordingly. The entire company was now bursting with energy, while the various sales teams engaged in healthy competition under the stimulus of bonuses and rewards.

The idea of developing software had been put on hold for the time being. Su Mu had mentioned to Miss Blake the possibility of assembling computers under their own company brand, but the timing was not yet right. There were not enough suppliers in the market, and the patents were controlled by various companies. Building machines under their own brand would actually cost more than buying complete IBM systems.

The eighty-twenty rule applied to the information-technology industry as well, and its effects were even more pronounced. Companies possessing patented technology could effortlessly monopolize their fields and seize the vast majority of the market.

Yet monopolizing a market through technological patents did not violate antitrust law. Su Mu would have loved to seize some patents, but he had too little capital. IBM alone had spent several hundred million dollars on research and development the previous year, putting it completely beyond his reach. For now, he planned to continue selling IBM computers honestly and diligently.

Penguin’s business was expanding into the surrounding states. Its salesmen could now be found in Nevada, Washington, Arizona, and Utah, as well as on the East Coast in New York and Pennsylvania.

Those markets had only just been opened, and the Christmas and New Year holiday would last more than ten days. It was easy to predict that, by the following year, the company’s performance would be even stronger.

A total of 376 salesmen were helping sell computers. That was no small number. The profit on each computer sold was now around 110 dollars. Even after deducting bonuses, more than 70 dollars remained as pretax income. To Su Mu and Li Pingan, it was practically a money-printing machine.

After wages and bonuses were distributed on the twenty-fourth, most of the employees began their holidays. Only a few salesmen remained behind, volunteering to work for double pay. They answered calls and recorded orders, though the goods could not be shipped until the following year. Su Mu was already planning to purchase a warehouse on the East Coast; otherwise, delivery times would be too long and would seriously damage the company’s reputation.

Including the 300,000-dollar agency authorization fee paid by Miss Marianne, the company’s accounts now held one million dollars in liquid funds. Su Mu therefore made the decision to buy a car for Miss Blake and himself.

Before she had even seen the vehicle, Su Mu and Li Pingan took it to Los Angeles. One of the company’s employees happened to be returning there, so he drove them in a brand-new Jaguar XJ6. The purple luxury car headed south along Highway One, and Su Mu’s heart swelled with the pride of returning home in triumph.

Stories about making easy money by selling computers were everywhere in the early 1980s. People had only just begun experimenting with personal computers, and schools that placed particular emphasis on student education were very willing to spend money on computers and set up courses. If one school in a given area purchased computers, the nearby schools would most likely do the same.

When training employees, Su Mu always taught his subordinates about his experience of outsmarting his way into a programming course. He was filled with anticipation for the coming year, because more than two hundred salesmen who had just completed their training would help him open up new markets.

In only six months, his life had changed dramatically, and the Su family’s life had changed as well.

During this distribution of year-end bonuses, Su Mu and Li Pingan also received a share of the company’s profits according to their respective ownership percentages. The total came to 200,000 dollars. Carrying 180,000 dollars in cash back home, Su Mu discovered that the house was being renovated.

The walls had been freshly painted, the broken door and roof tiles had been replaced, and the brand-new Jaguar was parked in a nearby lot. The employee who had driven them had received a 100-dollar tip and taken a taxi home.

Old Man Su was carefree by nature and disliked being managed at work. He had quit that job and continued making custom suits for people at home.

Su Mu had returned without notifying the family in advance. When he saw his father, the old man had a cigarette between his lips and was gossiping with a neighbor.

“Children and grandchildren have their own blessings. There’s no need for me to worry about them anymore. We happened to have a little spare money, and since the house was getting too old, we decided to spend some of it on a minor renovation.

“My eldest grandson sells computers in San Francisco whenever he has free time and makes himself a little spending money. We don’t have to support him anymore. At my age, I can finally enjoy a bit of comfort in my old age.”

His back was ramrod straight as he spoke, and every sentence seemed to contain a boast. Still, he was not being too excessive. He knew enough to conceal his wealth, saying only that the money had all been spent on renovations. That way, if anyone came to borrow money, he could easily claim that he had none.

Most white people disliked borrowing money from one another. Even adults found it difficult to ask their parents for money, believing that doing so would cost them their dignity. Their sense of independence was relatively strong.

Chinese people were different, especially relatives connected by blood. They might even regard another family’s money as their own. If a relative happened to be somewhat wealthy, they might borrow the money and then simply refuse to repay it, treating it as assistance owed to their own household.

The old man had his pride. No matter how poor the family became, he would never borrow money from anyone. He had suffered because of that in his youth, and he likewise hated lending money to others. No one’s money had fallen from the sky; there was no reason to lend it out for nothing and then be left without repayment.

Hearing this, Su Mu could not help laughing silently. He had not yet told his family how much he had truly earned. The main reason he had taken money from the company this time was to buy them another house and move them away from the Chinatown district...