Chapter 50: Need to Speed Up
Chapter 50: Chapter 50: Need to Speed Up
Chen Xiao’s basketball skills were a bit rusty, and many of the moves he wanted to try came out clumsy and awkward.
...
After the game, Chen Xiao seriously reviewed his performance and asked the System, "This 85 Endurance doesn’t feel all that great."
"With an Endurance of 85, what more could the Host possibly want?"
’What does that mean? Isn’t the maximum score 100?’
"A score of 100 means you’ll win every battle!"
’What? It goes even higher?’
"A score of 200 means you’ll never be defeated in a hundred battles."
"..."
He felt a flicker of fear in hindsight. It was a good thing his Endurance was 85 now. What was his previous score of 60 like? ’He wasn’t some one-second wonder, was he?’
After resting for a while, Zhao Xiangjun went to cook dinner, and "Uncle Chen" just lay there, waiting to be fed!
He was only energetic when it came to playing ball; the rest of the time, he was completely lazy. He was good at making excuses, though: ’Playing ball is exhausting!’
Zhao Xiangjun couldn’t be bothered to call him out on it; she was already used to him being this way.
There was one small regret: no "Opposite Sex Blessing Fund" tonight. This was because Chen Xiao had paid for the groceries, and the System was a real penny-pincher. ’It was just a few bucks,’ he couldn’t help but complain internally.
The next day, Zhao Xiangjun went to work as usual. Even though she was now a major shareholder in the Yino Group, she insisted on maintaining her old lifestyle.
It was probably just a matter of habit, and Chen Xiao fully supported it. He suspected that if she were to change jobs, her Diligence Points would be reset to zero, and her special blessing fund would be greatly reduced.
Last night, Chen Xiao had insisted on playing three "games" with her, not stopping until she was so exhausted she begged for mercy!
’It’s great to be young! Youth is pure vigor!’
After their "exercise," he held her and briefly explained his family situation. Since his mom was coming over in a couple of days, he wanted her to be prepared.
When she learned that Chen Xiao came from an ordinary, working-class family, she was even more astonished that he had been able to amass so much wealth at such a young age.
She believed Chen Xiao’s story, attributing all his success to luck!
It was just like her own situation. Even though she now had a large house and 10% of the shares in Yino Group—making her financially independent, by all accounts!—
...she felt she was still the same person as before. Since it wasn’t wealth she had earned with her own two hands, she always felt a little insecure about it.
That’s why she assumed Chen Xiao, despite being so wealthy, continued to work as a salesman for the same reason she kept her job. ’Our values are so compatible!’
A smile graced her lips, causing a nearby customer to stare at her, dumbfounded. She had no idea just how stunning she was; a smile like that on the street could probably cause a pile-up.
「Dr. Feng’s Robot Co., Ltd.」
Chen Xiao had to speak with Feng Feifei about the company’s major strategic partnership with the Jiangzhou Design Institute on a water conservancy project, so he arrived at the office especially early that morning.
Ma Jing made him a cup of tea and joked, "Brother Chen Xiao, you’re positively glowing today. Did something good happen?"
’Is it that obvious? He was practically bursting with pride!’
He glanced in a mirror. ’Huh, my pimples are all gone. Guess I really do need to blow off some steam regularly!’
"Hey, Ma Jing, let me know when President Feng gets here. I’m going to be busy for a bit!"
Ma Jing rolled her eyes at him. ’Busy with what? Making sure you aren’t distracted while playing your games, more like!’
Feng Feifei didn’t arrive until nearly ten o’clock, accompanied by a man who looked to be in his early thirties. The two chatted as they made their way to her office.
’She has a visitor?’ Chen Xiao felt a surge of frustration. If he couldn’t finalize this matter with her today or tomorrow, the weekend would mean another two days wasted.
’A major strategic project like this is a race against time. We can’t afford any delays.’
So he sent a message to Feng Feifei, telling her about the project from their call yesterday: "It’s big, it’s tight, and it needs to be fast!"
Feng Feifei’s face flushed red after reading the message. ’This Chen Xiao,’ she grumbled to herself, ’he really doesn’t know how to talk. What is this even supposed to be?’
Hou Fei, who was sitting across from her mid-monologue, asked in surprise, "Feifei, what’s wrong?"
"Oh, it’s nothing, please continue. A colleague from the sales department needs to see me about something."
Hou Fei smiled. "Not a problem. Take care of work first. We can continue our chat when you’re finished!"
"Okay, then. Please wait just a moment. Actually, you can help us look over this project together!"
Without further ado, she sent a message telling Chen Xiao to come to her office.
Chen Xiao saw Hou Fei when he entered the office and gave him a nod.
"Let me make an introduction. This is Chen Xiao, from our sales department. He’s also our company’s top seller!"
"And this is Dr. Hou Fei, my senior from my studies in Germany. He’ll soon be joining us as our CTO and Vice President! With Dr. Hou joining the team, we’re finally shoring up our last weakness!"
Chen Xiao shook Hou Fei’s hand, exchanged a few pleasantries, and sat down on the nearby sofa.
Chen Xiao gave a concise report on his discussion with Bai Lu the previous day about the major business partnership for the water conservancy project.
He analyzed it from every angle—market prospects, market size, competitors’ current technology, and market share—and then presented his conclusion.
His conclusion was that the market was sufficiently large, and competing products were still using relatively traditional methods. If they could leverage AI to create a solution now, the resulting cost reduction and efficiency gains would open up vast market prospects.
As experts in the field, Feng Feifei and Hou Fei understood immediately. Traditional methods relied on machines for data collection but left the analysis to be done manually.
Dr. Feng’s Robot, on the other hand, could partner with the Jiangzhou Design Institute to create a fully automated system for both data collection and analysis. The key component was the ability to parse massive datasets—precisely the company’s specialty.
A product built on this model would be more efficient, more accurate, and save tremendously on labor costs. Once launched, it would inevitably revolutionize the market!
Besides, the market size was staggering. The tech industry wasn’t like traditional sectors where you could have a first and second place.
In tech, it was a binary distinction between 0 and 1. Winner takes all!
"Chen Xiao, this project is worth doing. In fact, we *have* to do it! Schedule a meeting with Assistant Bai—we can go to her or she can come here, either is fine. We need to discuss the specific requirements and direction as soon as possible!"
"Feifei’s right, this project is definitely worth pursuing," Hou Fei chimed in. "Could I perhaps take the lead on this?"
Chen Xiao gave him an odd look. ’You? Take the lead? It’s hardly appropriate for you to lead a project of this magnitude.’
He glanced at Feng Feifei and saw the difficult expression on her face. He knew right away she agreed: Hou Fei had just arrived, wasn’t familiar with their operations, and wasn’t suitable to take the lead.
At the same time, she was afraid of discouraging him. After all, he had volunteered himself, and she didn’t want to crush his proactive spirit.
After a moment’s thought, he spoke up. "President Feng, President Hou, this matter is of the utmost importance. Assistant Bai’s team has specifically requested that it be designated a top-tier strategic priority, and that you, President Feng, must be the one to personally lead it!"