"Moreover, you aren't a researcher or technician, and you don't know the first thing about the tech sector. All you have is passion. That's why I advise you to think this over carefully. I don't recommend you enter the technology field."

"Perhaps investing in real estate, film and entertainment, or even just internet startups would be a better and more promising path."

Yi Anguo laughed. "I know you're right, and that it's for my own good, but I aspire to be like you. I hope that one day, others will also address me respectfully as 'Mister.' I want to do my part for this country and its people!

"As for funding, although I can't produce a lot of money at the moment, that won't be a problem in two or three years at most."

"How much investment capital can you put up right now?" Zhang Jing asked curiously.

Yi Anguo thought for a moment before saying, "If I had to provide it immediately, it would be over a billion US dollars. In a year, I'll have even more to invest."

This time, Zhang Jing was utterly shocked. The man before him looked no older than thirty, and the name Yi Anguo didn't belong to any notable financial tycoon or famous venture capitalist. Yet, he had just casually stated that he could immediately come up with over a billion US dollars for an investment.

He knew that although he had raised one billion US dollars in the United States to establish Central International, it had taken a great deal of effort and the combined support of many investors to accumulate such a sum. Furthermore, he himself had built a considerable fortune over the years, and it was only through people's trust in his abilities that he was able to borrow so much. But Yi Anguo, on his own, could so easily produce over a billion dollars to invest. No matter how experienced and worldly Zhang Jing was, he couldn't help but feel astonished.

At the same time, his resolve to help Yi Anguo establish a high-tech company hardened.

In truth, Zhang Jing was becoming increasingly aware of the mounting external pressures on Central International. He suspected he might eventually have to give up and leave the very company he had founded. Only his departure would make the old rivals from Treasure Island cease their suppression, trading his exit for Central International's peaceful development. He might even be forced to sign a non-compete agreement, barring him from the semiconductor industry for several years.

Zhang Jing's mind began to race, pondering what kind of high-tech company Yi Anguo could start and who he could ask to assemble a technical team to help him. Since Yi Anguo didn't understand technology, he could only be a pure investor, the nominal boss. The actual company management, operations, and technical innovation would have to be handled by multiple teams. A research and development team and a management team were both indispensable. Zhang Jing knew countless talented people in these fields, but not just anyone would be a good fit. Even among the suitable candidates, he had to select the absolute best person to lead the entire endeavor. This was his responsibility to the future company and to the investor, Yi Anguo.

Zhang Jing didn't give Yi Anguo a direct answer, but he didn't refuse to help either. He only said he needed to think it over carefully before giving him a reply.

Yi Anguo understood that this was a major undertaking, not something that could be settled easily. It was perfectly normal for the other man to want to consider it thoroughly. He bid farewell to Zhang Jing, with nothing left to do but wait for good news.

Success would be best, but failure wouldn't be surprising either. At least he had tried.

On the way back, Zhou Mengdie asked, "Mr. Yi, how did your talk with Mr. Zhang go? Did he agree to help us?"

Yi Anguo shook his head. "I don't know. He neither agreed nor refused. He just said he wants to think it over carefully before giving me an answer."

"Mr. Yi! If it's inconvenient for Mr. Zhang to help, we could also seek assistance from international headhunting firms to find the top talent we need," Zhou Mengdie suggested.

"International headhunting firms? Will that work?" Yi Anguo mused. "The so-called 'talent' they find just works for the highest bidder. They have no loyalty. For the tech company we want to create, our R&D talent must not only be technically skilled—and we can certainly offer them substantial compensation—but they should ideally have a sense of patriotism, a willingness to devote their passion to the nation's technological advancement. The people headhunting firms find only care about their salary. No matter how much we pay them, they'll be easily poached the moment someone else offers more."

"But the candidates found by headhunting firms still have to be interviewed by us, right?" Zhou Mengdie countered. "We can reject anyone who doesn't meet our criteria until we find the right people. Besides, many high-end professionals recruited by headhunters don't just care about money. A lot of them are very professional, and once they decide to join, they show great loyalty to their company. This is especially true for some foreign research experts. They aren't Chinese, so they may not feel loyalty to our country, but they are very loyal to their work and their company. As long as we continue to treat them with sincerity, they won't betray us easily."

Yi Anguo considered this. "Hiring foreigners isn't a problem, and it's fine for them to do R&D work, but the soul of the team must be one of our own. Let's wait a while. Perhaps Mr. Zhang will give us a pleasant surprise."

A few days passed in a flash, but Zhang Jing never contacted Yi Anguo. Even after he finished his inspection tour and left Shenzhen for the Magic City, there was no word. The result left Yi Anguo somewhat disappointed, but he didn't call Zhang Jing again. He felt that some things couldn't be forced.

Fortunately, there was other good news. Yi Xiaoman's parents had gone to the Island Province and, after some effort, arranged for a wedding to be held in Li Village, allowing him to successfully bring his beautiful bride back to Shenzhen. The couple still planned to hold another wedding celebration in their hometown when they returned for the Lunar New Year. Yi Xiaoman's parents also took the opportunity to visit Shenzhen and see how their son was doing at work.

The last batch of Hainan huanghuali wood also arrived in Shenzhen. Seeing the warehouse filled to the brim with it made Yi Anguo very happy. This is all money! In fact, the money spent to acquire all this wood was less than the cost of building the mountain road for Li Village.

Nevertheless, the entire Li Village had prospered because of it. Every family had built a new house with new furniture, gotten electricity, bought a large color TV, and had the road connected. With money in their pockets, the people of the village were overjoyed, and they were incredibly grateful to Yi Xiaolin and Yi Xiaoman for bringing about these changes.

This, in fact, was the key reason Yi Xiaoman had been able to successfully bring home the most beautiful girl in Li Village. And although Yi Anguo had spent a considerable amount of extra money, he was still immensely satisfied and in high spirits.

Yi Anguo also met Yi Xiaoman's wife. She was indeed quite beautiful, with skin much fairer than most people from the Island Province. After Yi Xiaoman's introduction, she confidently called Yi Anguo "Uncle."

Yi Anguo took out a large red envelope he had prepared and handed it to her.

Then he turned to Yi Xiaoman and said, "Your wife came a long way to marry you. From now on, you must behave yourself and treat her well. Don't you dare bully her."

"Uncle Anguo! How would I dare?" Yi Xiaoman replied with a wry smile. "I'll be happy as long as she doesn't bully me."

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