Chapter 138: Trading Up

Silicon Valley in this era is brimming with opportunities and miracles. While there are certainly plenty of investors like James who have lost everything, there are just as many talented individuals who have struck gold and made a name for themselves.

Over the past two centuries, there have been three technological revolutions: the first accompanied the steam engine and the subsequent Industrial Revolution, the second was the electrical revolution, and the third is the information technology revolution. Since the early seventies, a new wave of technological revolution—marked by microelectronics, biotechnology, and new materials—has fundamentally altered the way people live. Looking back at these revolutions, each has consistently produced a new generation of millionaires.

Su Mu is fortunate to have caught the best timing. Penguin Company has helped him earn some money, giving him the confidence to enter the fields of computer hardware assembly and software development. Feeling he has sufficient capital, he is preparing to invest in the development of the first program of his life.

He told James, "Let's do this. I'll make an initial investment of two hundred thousand dollars. I'm not yet sure how many developers the program I have in mind will require, so after I establish a new company, you can find people to help me evaluate it, and then we'll recruit. It would be best to get it done quickly. I met Mr. Bill Gates last year and kept his phone number; he might be willing to pay a high price for it, provided you manage to build it first."

"I tried to sell him the software I developed last year too," James said, his tone heavy with resignation. "I worked myself to the bone and traveled all the way to Seattle, only to get a meeting with his assistant. She told me it was already obsolete and lagged far behind several programs Microsoft was currently developing..."

Mentioning this painful memory left James feeling helpless. He didn't believe Su Mu's new company would succeed, but he wasn't foolish enough to say it out loud. Nowadays, no one knows in which direction the IT industry will evolve; everyone is simply feeling their way forward. If you're lucky, you become famous and rich; if you're not, your hard work mostly goes down the drain. It’s as simple as that. James had already failed once, and after half a year, the sting remained fresh. He didn't feel he had the expertise to offer any guidance. He understood that a good idea could be worth millions or even tens of millions of dollars. He was a man of integrity, and though he was incredibly curious, he didn't ask Su Mu what kind of program he intended to develop.

Others may not know how the future will unfold, but Su Mu does—or at least, he has a rough idea. The success of the Qu-Gou supermarket and Penguin Company has given him immense confidence. He smiled and said, "Lighten up, pal. It’s been a long time; you should move on. This company can be a fresh start for you. If it sells for a high price, I’ll definitely give you a generous bonus!"

As he said this, Su Mu suddenly remembered the time he had wanted to buy shares in Microsoft, and Mr. Bill Gates had quoted him two million dollars. He could afford that amount now, though he had no idea if Gates' offer still stood. He didn't think Gates had been serious, and he hadn't taken it seriously himself at the time. Recently, Penguin Company has needed capital to prepare for the assembly of personal computers to be sold under the Penguin brand. He planned to develop a program, and he didn't yet know how much it would cost. Furthermore, Boss Han had been harboring ulterior motives, and Su Mu needed to keep enough capital in reserve to prevent his shares from being diluted. He hadn't agreed to sell his shares earlier precisely because he feared Boss Han might use a capital injection to forcefully dilute his stake in the company.

He couldn't spare too much capital for external investments right now, and Su Mu felt there was no need to invest in other companies; the profits from Qu-Gou and Penguin were already substantial, and he saw no reason to look elsewhere. Sitting in the living room, he discussed the establishment of the new company with James. There wasn't actually much to discuss; he planned to incorporate a new entity soon, separate from Penguin, to handle different business lines. He would have to wait for James to resign next week before the work could officially begin.

After they finished talking, Su Mu intended to go back to his studies, but Ms. Black called him away. When they first met, she had been a rather laid-back beauty, but once she threw herself into work, her personality seemed to transform completely. She was full of drive and kept the company running like a well-oiled machine. Not only was the minority shareholder, Li Ping'an, afraid of her, but even Su Mu was subconsciously intimidated. Earlier this year, he had privately decided to have salespeople expand the business into several northern states, which led to a disagreement with Ms. Black. It later turned out she was right; the market there was not yet mature, and schools and businesses were unwilling to purchase personal computers.

Although it was technically Su Mu and Li Ping'an's company, the employees respected Ms. Black even more. Fortunately, she was just a professional manager and hadn't yet received any company shares; otherwise, he would truly be worried about her becoming a second Boss Han. However, if Ms. Black were to resign and take a group of employees with her, Penguin Company would certainly suffer a severe blow. That is why Su Mu offered her a base salary of fifteen thousand dollars a month, with year-end bonuses, and a stock incentive plan was also on the agenda. He was determined to do everything in his power to bind her tightly to Penguin Company.

After celebrating his birthday in March, Su Mu turned seventeen. The employees still lacked respect for him, though it was much better than before—but it still wasn't enough. If he were a middle-aged man of thirty or forty, this situation certainly wouldn't exist; his youth caused quite a few headaches.

Having just received his driver's license in early April, he could now drive legally. A brand-new white Porsche 911 was parked at the garage entrance. Next to it was a red Ferrari; after Li Zhekai finally gave in to his super-dad, this car soon appeared. He was likely worn down by the hardships of life until he lost his temper.

Getting into the exquisitely crafted Porsche sports car, Su Mu drove straight toward Sand Hill Road. Traffic police rarely checked if a driver was under eighteen, provided you didn't drive too fast. He had officially become someone who owned a house and a car—both quite expensive. On the wrist holding the steering wheel was a black Rolex Submariner watch, and he no longer bought his clothes at street stalls. No matter how you looked at him, he appeared to be a "successful man."

Compared to his first visit to Sand Hill Road, not much had changed. Boss Charlie's IBM computer retail store had closed down, replaced by a coffee shop. The office leased by Penguin Company was on the third floor of a ten-story building on a street corner. After parking and taking the elevator up, he saw the employees busy at work. There were only thirty-something people in total, and occupying an entire floor seemed like a waste. Most of the time, the sales staff were running all over the United States, not even sparing the major islands of Hawaii. They did manage to pull in orders, but after paying the shipping costs, there wasn't much profit left, to the point where no one wanted to go there to promote the products anymore.

In Ms. Black's words, a large office could cultivate a sense of belonging among employees. Su Mu thought there was some truth to that, and besides, she had only told him about it after she had already signed the lease, so he had moved in without fully understanding why. The old warehouse by the coast in Palo Alto was used purely as a warehouse, with employees there reconfiguring IBM computers before shipping them across the country. Walking directly into Ms. Black's office, Su Mu asked with a sigh, "What is it now? I still have to study; I even brought my school bag..."