Investment Life

When Meng Lisheng looked at Chen Yuanming, Chen Yuanming was also looking at the man in front of him seriously.In later generations, he had seen photos of Meng Lisheng in Economic Weekly or website newsletters. The man in the photos was always tired. Aging and puffiness had already changed his temperament, leaving only the desolation of old age.

But this person in front of him is completely different. He looks very young, about 40 years old. Although his eyebrows are not handsome, the elegance and demeanor of the senior intellectuals of the older generation are clearly evident. In addition to his expectations for future career, The whole person glowed with high spirits.

Withdrawing his hand, Chen Yuanming was filled with emotion.When he learned that Xiao Junyi's relative was the father of VCD, his heart was also full of surprise and excitement, and seeing him now, he was full of thoughts.In the long and voluminous reports of later generations, there are mixed praises and criticisms for his entrepreneurial history, but the most common one is not to praise his contribution to the VCD business, but the almost ironic description-"revolutionary martyr".

Yes, the founder of the world's first VCD, the owner of the only independent product in China's home appliance industry, finally ushered in a total failure of his personal career.During the 1995 years from 2000 to 5, China has created a world-widening miracle. With only one VCD product, it has created a huge market with annual sales exceeding 100 billion. The huge profits and the concentration of enterprises are simply unprecedented. See.But these have nothing to do with Meng Lisheng, because his company fell into the sand as early as 1996, was defeated by those imitators who followed suit, and withdrew from the market sadly.

This is the first person to eat crabs, but he failed to taste the deliciousness of crabs, and instead got his finger pinched...

Smiling slightly, Chen Yuanming's hand holding the gift box tightened a bit. Seeing him at this time and this place, can he reverse the coming future?

Since both parties were a little absent-minded, the scene fell into embarrassment. In the end, Meng Lisheng's wife welcomed the two into the house with a smile. She served tea and water, and took melon seeds and fruits, as if entertaining the younger generation.When he saw that Chen Yuanming was still carrying a gift, he showed a very surprised and slightly joyful smile, and put the two big boxes aside.

This busy work finally turned the atmosphere around, but the formal talks originally planned also came to naught.Meng Lisheng looked bitterly at the materials he had sorted out overnight, not knowing how to feel.He is actually not familiar with "venture capital", but after communicating with Professor Yan in detail, he chose the safest way, prepared materials, prepared overnight, tried his best to figure out how to sell his products, and listed Standard profit distribution plan, ready to try to contact this investor.

But now?Meng Lisheng only felt that the materials under his hand were extremely hot, like a joke.For such a child, how much can he understand dozens of pages of information?If he's just a young master looking for trouble for nothing, what are his worries these days?

Looking at the two people talking happily with his wife, Meng Lisheng sighed. "Xiao Yi, is this the investor you mentioned?"

"Yes, Uncle Meng." Xiao Junyi replied quickly, "Yuan Ming was trading stocks with my uncle in Shanghai some time ago, and we had a very good relationship. After hearing about your project, I wanted to fly over to see the situation. This time he He has made a lot of money in the stock market and is planning to develop into a business, he is a rare business genius..."

What he said was extremely appropriate, how could Xiao Junyi fail to see that Meng Lisheng didn't want to talk anymore at this time, it was because Yuanming was too young, if he didn't know him well, he would basically call "send a child out" as an insult.But in this matter, Chen Yuanming was unwilling to negotiate with the client indirectly, which created such an embarrassing situation.

It's just that this boast did not win Meng Lisheng's approval. After a short silence, he turned his head and looked at the boy sitting opposite the sofa. "Chen Yuanming, right? I seldom hear Xiaoyi boasting like this... But friendship is friendship, and business must be taken seriously. I just want to ask, who are you representing this time?"

Even if it is a family business to train the son-in-law, Meng Lisheng thought of Xiao Junyi's identity, as if grasping at the last straw, he asked a question without giving up.

The smile on Chen Yuanming's face was still warm, but the words he said were not so amiable. "It made Mr. Meng laugh, I represent myself. For a new product, I believe my funds can still support it, but I don't know if this product is worth the investment?"

The tone of these words was not small, and Xiao Junyi, who was already worried, smiled wryly.Why is he being stubborn now?Where did the usual slickness and scheming go?

Choked to the point of being speechless, Meng Lisheng also showed a wry smile.He's really a young master... But a venture capitalist really should look like a venture capitalist, and it's unethical enough to let the other party come to your door, so why don't you still show your face to the rich man?It's just that such an investor may not be a good choice...

Though his heart was turning a thousand times, his face finally regained his composure. Meng Lisheng didn't hand over the pile of materials to Chen Yuanming, but just cleared his throat and introduced them slowly.

"I think you may have heard what Xiaoyi said about me. At present, what I am developing is a project that can replace laser disc players. It is to use a disc called VCD to replace today's laser discs, and produce related Playing equipment. It has been confirmed that the VCD disc uses a 120mm disc as the carrier, and the audio and video are played in full screen synchronously, with a resolution of 352x288 pixels and 25 frames per second. The audio is 1150kbit/s. If the experiment results, the video quality is roughly equivalent to that of a VHS tape."

The terminology is rather technical and unflattering.Xiao Junyi frowned. This is not a real attitude to solicit investors. Isn't the selling point just to be simple and easy to understand and attract people, so there is no use of terminology to scare people.

But Chen Yuanming didn't say anything, just pondered for a moment, "Only PAL format, no NTSC format?"

Meng Lisheng was taken aback for a moment. He actually did not expect this child to be able to name the system standard. PAL and NTSC are both the two major standards for TV signal transmission. The TV signals in the United States and Japan are mainly based on NTSC, while those in China, Germany, Singapore and other countries are based on PAL is the standard, since it is sold in China, it is natural to choose PAL system.

However, as soon as an expert makes a move, he will know whether there is any. Since the other party has really done some research, I believe that the sincerity is more than expected.Meng Lisheng patiently explained, "At present, my country's TVs have just switched from black and white to color TVs. PAL receivers have lower requirements for receiving equipment and better color retention. Domestic color TVs all use PAL equipment, so it is naturally more appropriate to choose it."

Chen Yuanming was noncommittal, but just hummed lightly.

Seeing that the other party did not refute, Meng Lisheng continued, "At present, a VCD disc can hold about 600m of content, and the duration is about one hour. The cost is much lower than that of laser discs and VHS video tapes. If there is no accident, it can quickly replace other video. Equipment has become one of the entertainment must-haves for Chinese families. We have done some investigations in the early stage. At present, the domestic sales of video recorders, laser players, and audio equipment are more than one million units. If VCD players are put into production, the cost advantage will be quickly revealed. , after the product enters the mature stage, it is predicted that the annual sales volume will be around 200 million units!"

This number is not unattractive, but Chen Yuanming seemed unmoved. After pondering for a while, he finally said, "It sounds good, but I have two questions."

He raised his head and looked seriously into the eyes of the man in front of him. "First, how original and ingenious is this product? Is there a similar product worldwide?"

Meng Lisheng replied decisively, "At present, there is no possibility. The MPEG format was developed by my partner Professor Yan. If someone uses this format to develop new products, he will know in advance. The originality of VCD is beyond doubt."

Chen Yuanming nodded, "If that's the case, have you obtained industrial property rights? All intellectual property rights including patent rights and trademark rights."

"What?" Meng Lisheng gasped in surprise, and replied with some embarrassment, "This... about intellectual property rights is a very complicated issue. We have already spent a lot of time and money on product development. If the remaining Spending energy on applying for patents will greatly delay the launch of VCD players, and the gains outweigh the losses, right?"

Indeed, neither he nor Professor Yan has ever thought about applying for a patent. The issues involved are too complicated, and China's property rights law is not yet perfect. Most people have no patent awareness at all. Who would spend time on it? What about this?

Chen Yuanming did not refute, and then asked the second question, "So, if the production is a VCD player, what are your plans for the VCD discs that match this player?"

This topic is even more acute, and this is also the biggest problem they face.Isn't it a joke to make guns but not bullets?Moreover, the promotion and sales of new products is also a difficult point... However, Meng Lisheng felt that he had a fairly complete answer to this point, and he replied confidently, "This is not a problem. A large number of VCD karaoke discs will be launched at the same time as VCD players, which will greatly alleviate people's unfamiliarity with VCD players, and can also promote the sales of audio companies."

"Why audio-visual, not film and television?"

Is this too unprofessional?Meng Lisheng explained in a good-tempered manner, "The time limit is limited. Ordinary movies are more than 120 minutes long, and a single-disc VCD can't accommodate it. It is more appropriate to adopt the format of karaoke."

That's it... Until then, Chen Yuanming showed a wry smile.The two questions that have been repeatedly criticized by later generations are just such simple answers. Are the two fathers of VCD too naive or too dead-headed?

Shaking his head slightly, Chen Yuanming said the key points of his trip. "As far as the product you mentioned, I am still very interested. If the plan is indeed feasible, I would like to spend 5 million yuan as the upper limit of venture capital, and use preferred shares to occupy 30% of the company's shares."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Meng Lisheng held his breath, it came a little too fast, and it was beyond his imagination.Involuntarily looking at Xiao Junyi who was sitting on the side, the other party nodded at him. 5 million RMB!And from Xiao Junyi's point of view, this kid can really figure it out!If this money is really invested, it will firmly occupy more than half of the capital, and only 30% of the equity is required, which is not enough for a controlling stake!

"But..." Before Meng Lisheng could react, Chen Yuanming continued. "I still have some doubts about this project. There are two issues that must be resolved before investing. One is patent rights. You must apply for industrial property rights in China and the United States, including invention patents, trademarks, and product appearance. All intellectual property rights. The second is about the content and production methods of VCD discs, which need to be re-discussed. If these two requirements are not met, I am sorry that I cannot throw a large amount of money into the water.”

After being startled, Meng Lisheng didn't know what to say anymore.Is this optimistic about their products, or spare no effort to belittle them?What is the point of these two requirements?Didn't look at the product, didn't look at the research room, didn't care about any important things, but spent his energy on side details. What the hell is this kid thinking? !

However, at this time Chen Yuanming had already stood up, and nodded friendlyly to Meng Lisheng and his wife, "Thank you for your hospitality, but it's getting late today, so it's not suitable to continue talking. I will be here in the next week If you can meet my requirements and have sufficient sincerity to cooperate, you can contact me again."

The words are light and calm, but the meaning of farewell cannot be refuted.Meng Lisheng stood up and shook hands with the other party a little stiffly, but when he was sending him out, he grabbed Xiao Junyi's arm.

"Xiaoyi, what does this mean today? How did you confuse me? There are two more conditions. He's insane, right? Such a weird condition..."

Patting the back of Meng Lisheng's hand, Xiao Junyi showed a determined smile, "Uncle Meng, Yuanming's temper is a bit weird, but his vision and ability are really nothing to say. On this point, the entire Xiao family can give him Make an endorsement. Since the conditions are given, it means that he really wants to cooperate, and those two conditions are probably the key issues that need to be resolved urgently. You may wish to think about it..."

"What?" Meng Lisheng heard some overtones, "Isn't he your friend who came to spend money for investment? The entire Xiao family..."

Xiao Junyi nodded, "Yes, my father and uncle are very optimistic about him. Although the Xiao family will not get involved in this business, if necessary, we will support Yuanming as much as possible."

Using the power of the Xiao family to support a teenager, Meng Lisheng didn't know what to say, he just murmured, "But that problem..."

Xiao Junyi rolled his eyes, "Uncle Meng, why don't you take a closer look at what Yuanming gave you? This kid is extremely smart, maybe what he wants to say is in those two big boxes."

After saying this, Xiao Junyi didn't delay anymore, and hurried downstairs after saying goodbye to Meng Lisheng, only to see Chen Yuanming waiting for him standing in the cave.

Seeing someone coming, the young man smiled slightly, "How about it, are you going to play the side drum?"

Xiao Junyi also smiled, "The prime minister has entrusted me with such generosity, fortunately I did not disgrace my life."

The smile on the corner of Chen Yuanming's mouth was even better, and he nodded slightly, "Good."

"But what exactly is in that box?" Now that the kit has been sent out, there is no need to hide it anymore, right?Xiao Junyi asked the same question again.

This time, Chen Yuanming didn't give a shit, and replied directly, "It's two machines. I think Meng Lisheng will understand..."

&&&

Standing at the door, Meng Lisheng didn't come back to his senses for a long time. The shock Xiao Junyi gave him just now was too great. What does the box mean?Why can't he understand...

Walking home in a daze, he sat on the sofa, thinking hard about what happened just now.It was really too fast. In less than an hour, the God of Wealth was greeted in such a daze and then sent out. What happened in the middle?At this moment, there was an exclamation from the side. Meng Lisheng looked up and saw that his wife had already opened a huge gift box, and he was admiring something loudly.

"What's wrong?" Meng Lisheng asked involuntarily.

The wife turned her head, and the joyful smile on her face could not be concealed, "Look at Chen Yuanming, he brought such an expensive gift with him when he came here, a learning machine! I've been hearing about this a lot recently, and I'm planning to buy it for my son. One! It’s not worth 3 or 4 thousand yuan..."

leaning machine?Meng Lisheng stood up from the sofa, "Quick! Open another box and see what it is!"

He didn't wait for his wife to react, and ran over to unpack the packaging. After a while, the exquisite gift wrapping paper was torn to pieces, revealing a machine, red and white, with two handles, Transformers and a cassette.

"what is this?"

His wife's confused voice came from beside him, but how could Meng Lisheng not recognize what was in front of him.This thing is called Familycomputer, which is a family game console produced by Nintendo of Japan. It is commonly known as red and white machine or FC. As an electronic technology researcher, he has seen this thing a long time ago, and he is also amazed by the Japanese company's creativity.But what do these two machines in front of them represent?

"This thing is called a red and white machine, and it's a game machine..." Not sure what the problem is, Meng Lisheng hesitantly explained to his lover, "The learning machine over there is modified from the red and white machine, and it can be used universally. The cassette of the red and white machine is just an extra keyboard..."

"Game consoles? Isn't it a good thing?" These days, parents are afraid of games like tigers and wolves. They can't wait to eradicate all poisonous weeds that affect their children's studies. Hearing the name of the red and white games, the other party naturally frowned, "Learning machines are better. ! All those game consoles should be banned!"

As soon as these words came out, Meng Lisheng felt a thump in his heart and froze on the spot.Is that what Chen Yuanming meant? !