"President Wei, have some tea." Liu Yutong sat across from him, raised her teacup, and gestured.
Wei Xiao quickly picked up his cup and took a sip.
"President Wei, after your last visit, have you given any more thought to what we discussed?" Liu Yutong set down her teacup and got straight to the point.
When they had first met at the Emperor Club, Wei Xiao had chosen to stay with Yunsan Hui instead of leaving with Chu Junlin. That was when Liu Yutong had taken notice of him.
Not because of his family background, but because of the temperament he carried.
Steady. Composed. Not restless.
Most importantly, in a place like the imperial capital, he ran a security company that could take on overseas contracts—which meant he had connections, networks, and things other people didn't.
"Miss Liu, if you'll forgive my bluntness, the security market in the West is very mature. The local security firms are incredibly strong. It would be very difficult for an outsider like us to break in. Investment there requires caution—one misstep and things could go wrong."
"I've never expected this to turn a profit."
"Then what exactly are you suggesting...?"
"President Wei, you know I own a chip company called Dragon Core, right?"
Wei Xiao nodded. "I do."
Liu Yutong said, "In the chip manufacturing industry, there's still a huge gap between what we have domestically and what they have abroad. Many key pieces of equipment and technologies are blockaded by foreign countries—you can't buy them even with money."
"I'm not planning to charge straight at the blockade. I intend to go around it."
Wei Xiao's brow furrowed slightly, as if he were weighing her words.
"In the West, there are many high-tech companies, and a lot of talented people there want a change of environment. Quite a few of them are senior engineers and technical experts in chip manufacturing. Some of these people are restricted in their freedom because of their status—even if they wanted to change environments, they can't."
"My idea is to use certain special channels to safely 'invite' these people into the country."
When Wei Xiao heard this, he finally understood her intention. He wasn't stupid; he could read between the lines well enough.
The normal headhunting route—poaching through legitimate channels, applying for work visas—that was the visible path. But Liu Yutong had come to him, which meant what she needed was not the visible path.
"Miss Liu, when you say 'special channels,' could you be more specific...?"
Liu Yutong didn't hide anything: "I need you to set up a standalone route from your overseas bases, so that those talents willing to come develop in China can enter the country safely and covertly."
"The entire process cannot leave any paper trail or electronic trace. Every step has to be person-to-person, point-to-point."
"Once they're in the country, they'll be given new identities and assigned to work in Dragon Core's secret laboratory. I'll have people handle all the paperwork so that everything is legal and above board."
Wei Xiao fell silent.
He wasn't hesitating over whether to do it—he was assessing the risks and feasibility of the operation.
What Liu Yutong was proposing, to be frank, was skating the edge of the law.
Is it illegal? Those experts are genuinely 'willing' to come, and proper procedures can be arranged.
Is it not illegal? The entire process deliberately avoids foreign oversight—it's clearly exploiting a loophole.
"Miss Liu, can I ask you a question?"
"Go ahead."
"Why me? With your resources and connections, you could easily find a much larger and more capable company to do this."
"Because I don't trust anyone else."
"Something like this requires absolute trust, and with your background and profile, I'm completely at ease."
There was no way around it—bringing in talent with access to cutting-edge process technology and core lithography machine secrets through normal channels was nearly impossible. Even the people she'd recruited through Jace and through Zeng Jin hadn't reached the core circle. The powers that be were guarding against China with every means available. If she went for an open, blatant poaching approach, the likely outcomes were sanctions—or worse, the people involved ending up behind bars. The risk was substantial.
So she felt it was worth trying to create another secret channel—run people in under the radar, give them new identities, and have them work in a secret lab to speed up the domestication of lithography machines.
Of course, she was only testing the waters. Whether it would work remained uncertain.
The real topic of today's meeting was actually about the overseas subsidiary of Wanlong Group and the personal security arrangements for its senior executives abroad—which required in-depth cooperation with Wei Xiao.
After all, the overseas market was important too. There would be dangers there as well, and a certain level of personal protection had to be arranged.
Wei Xiao didn't agonize over it. He simply extended his hand: "Pleasure doing business."
Liu Yutong extended hers: "Pleasure doing business."
After Wei Xiao left, Liu Yutong had just finished handling the last bits of company business and was about to head back to school when her phone rang.
It was an unknown number from BS Province.
She hesitated for a second, then picked up.
"Hello, is this Chairman Liu Yutong?" A middle-aged man's voice came through the line.
"This is she. Who am I speaking with?"
"Chairman Liu, hello. This is the General Office of the BS Provincial Party Committee. My surname is Zheng."
Liu Yutong was slightly taken aback.
The General Office of BS Province.
Uncle Zhu's secretary?
"Director Zheng, hello. Is there something I can help with?"
Director Zheng said over the phone, "Chairman Liu, the leadership would like to invite you to BS Province for a visit, to take a look at our investment environment. The leadership mentioned that if it's convenient for you, the province can arrange a private plane to pick you up."
Liu Yutong felt a swell of emotion at those words.
A private plane to pick her up—that was a high honor indeed.
Though she understood. In previous phone calls, Uncle Zhu had subtly hinted that he hoped she could bring more investment his way. Right now, apart from Wanlong Plaza and supermarket operations, her other business ventures hadn't expanded into the region.
She wondered what Uncle Zhu hoped she'd invest in this time.
Tourism development? Or some kind of specialty agriculture?
Whatever it was, she had to go.
"Director Zheng, no need for the private plane. I'll make my own travel arrangements. Just give me the dates, and I'll figure out my schedule."
Director Zheng quickly said, "The dates are entirely up to you. The leadership said to work around your convenience."
Liu Yutong thought it over, then said, "Let's go with next Tuesday. I'll arrive in BS Province next Tuesday, and I'll get in touch with you then."
"Excellent, excellent. Then on behalf of the leadership, let me thank you in advance, Chairman Liu. See you then."
"Okay, good-bye."
After hanging up, Liu Yutong leaned back in her chair and thought about the last time she'd been in BS Province.
Back then, she was a freshman, organizing sports events with the teachers and students there. When the earthquake came, she'd immediately donated two billion through the Wanlong Charity Foundation, and later added another two hundred million of her own. More than a year had passed since then, and she hadn't been back to BS Province yet. This visit—disguised as an assessment trip—would let her check on the state of the regional branches and the construction of the schools she'd donated to.
And those lovely students.
With that thought, she pressed the intercom and called for Lan Die.
"Help me make arrangements. Next Tuesday I'm heading to BS Province, and the trip will last about three to five days."
"Understood. I'll arrange everything right away."
"By the way, help me prepare some gifts—some for the teachers and some for the children. As for the quantity... hmm... let's start with ten thousand sets."
"Understood."
After arranging the itinerary, Liu Yutong finally left the office and returned to the school. But no sooner had she arrived at the dormitory than she was dragged out by Li Xiaohui.
