Chapter 908
The Storm is Brewing: Galaxy Technology Caught in an Ambush
Galaxy Technology Headquarters, Top Floor Conference Room
Around the huge circular conference table, the core executives of Galaxy Technology took their seats one after another.
Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the construction site of the Tang Imperial City is bustling with activity, and the steel arms of the tower cranes slowly turn in the morning light, like the pulse of this ancient capital awakening.
Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting dappled shadows on the dark conference table.
Wang Donglai sat in the main seat, his expression calm and composed, showing no emotional fluctuations. His right hand unconsciously twirled the black fountain pen on the table.
Those who know him well know that this calm often foreshadows an impending storm.
The conference room door opened for the last time, and Xu Songyao strode in and sat down in his assigned seat.
His hair was neatly combed, his dark gray Zhongshan suit was impeccably tailored, and a fountain pen he had used for twenty years was clipped to his left breast pocket.
As he sat down, he habitually adjusted his glasses and glanced at everyone present.
"Everyone is here."
Wang Donglai glanced around and said calmly, "Let's begin."
Xu Songyao was the first to speak.
He cleared his throat, leaned forward slightly, and placed his hands crossed on the table.
He pushed up his glasses, his tone tinged with helplessness, but more so with the stubbornness of an old-fashioned intellectual.
"Let me first report on the progress of Galaxy Education."
He paused, took a document out of his briefcase, but didn't open it; he simply placed it beside him.
"The acquisition of the vocational education school has been completed, the one I mentioned before. The renovation plan for the school buildings has been finalized, and the equipment procurement list has been submitted. According to the plan, we can start enrollment and publicity next month, and the school will officially open in September."
As he said this, his brows furrowed slightly, and his fingers tapped the table unconsciously.
"But here's the problem."
“Yesterday, people from relevant departments came to ‘guide our work’.”
He emphasized the words "guidance work" and a wry smile appeared on his face: "They call it guidance, but it's really just passing on instructions. They said that the school's enrollment quotas, tuition fees, and curriculum should all be implemented 'according to a unified plan.' As for the artificial intelligence and intelligent manufacturing majors we wanted to offer, they said 'there are no corresponding faculty certifications for the time being,' and asked us to reapply."
He took off his glasses and slowly wiped them with a cleaning cloth, his movements slow and deliberate, as if he were calming himself down.
"Besides that, there's the issue of land for the school. We originally planned to expand the campus by building a training base on a piece of land next to the main campus. Everything had been agreed upon beforehand, but the planning department suddenly said that the land already has 'other uses' and that we should wait. When I asked how long to wait, they said 'wait for notification'."
After putting his glasses back on, his gaze became sharp.
“I’ve worked in the university system for decades and I’ve seen this kind of thing many times. But in the past it was just wrangling, now it’s aimed at us. What’s the difference? Wrangling can be negotiated, but when it’s aimed at us, it’s real and serious.”
His finger tapped lightly on the table.
"That's not all."
He took a deep breath and added, "A few days ago, a former leader called me and said that our school's educational philosophy was a bit 'too advanced' and 'incompatible with the positioning of vocational education.' He suggested that I 'be more cautious' and continue with the old model for a few years until the experience is mature before making changes."
As Xu Songyao finished speaking, he leaned back slightly, his tone tinged with indignation.
“I asked him what he meant by ‘old model’. He said it meant doing things the same way as before, without any need for major changes. Students just need to learn some skills so they can get jobs in factories.”
He extended his right hand and tapped the table lightly with his index and middle fingers, making a "thud" sound.
"Mr. Wang, we invested 1 billion yuan to establish this school to train engineers, not to train assembly line workers for factories. Now someone wants to pull us back. What should we do?"
After he finished speaking, he looked directly at Wang Donglai, waiting for a response.
Wang Donglai nodded without saying anything, but gestured for him to continue.
Xu Songyao took a deep breath, and his emotions calmed down a bit.
"There's another issue. Three of the teachers we recruited are being held back by their original work units. The reason given is that 'talent mobility requires approval,' and this has been going on for some time. We hadn't thought about it in detail before, but now, considering all the factors, it's quite obvious."
He spread his hands, making a helpless gesture.
That's all.
After saying that, he leaned back in his chair, picked up the teacup in front of him, and took a small sip.
After Xu Songyao finished speaking, Wang Donglai did not give a specific answer, but instead signaled for the meeting to continue.
Upon seeing this, everyone continued their report.
Nie Yun was the second person to speak.
He seemed much more composed than he had been a few months ago, as if he had been "polished" by the time he spent with Yu Donglai.
He sat upright with his hands on the table, but there was a hint of seriousness in his expression.
"Let me report on the progress of the Galaxy Supermarket project."
His voice was lower than before, and he spoke at a moderate pace, with a calmness that came from deep thought.
"Following Mr. Wang's instructions, we decided not to take the leasing route, but to acquire the land ourselves and build the project ourselves."
As he spoke, he pulled up a map, projected it onto the large screen, and then pointed at the map with a laser pointer, explaining, "The advantages of doing this are obvious. The property management has complete autonomy and is not restricted by the landlord. They can design every inch of space according to our concepts. Mr. Yu from Pang Donglai also said that this is his idea and consideration as well."
He turned around to face the crowd, the laser pointer twirling gently in his hand.
"But that's also where the problem lies."
He took a deep breath and pointed the laser pointer at the three red dots marked on the map.
"These are six plots of land we selected in six cities. We've almost finalized deals for three of them, but we've run into trouble with the remaining three."
His brow furrowed, and he gripped the laser pointer tighter in his hand.
“The local authorities were very enthusiastic at first, offering preferential land prices, tax breaks, and all sorts of support policies. They agreed to everything. But when it came time for us to actually sign the agreement, all sorts of ‘technical problems’ suddenly appeared. Some were planning adjustments, some were environmental impact assessments that hadn’t been approved, and some were still going through the approval process at higher levels.”
He put down the laser pointer, placed his hands on the table, frowned slightly, and leaned forward slightly.
"The most outrageous case is in Hangzhou. We had already found a piece of land we liked and had even reached an agreement with the local authorities. But then they suddenly said that the land was going to be re-planned and that we should wait. I asked around and found out that a local real estate company beat us to it. They want to take the land and then sublet it to us at a high price."
He sneered, a sarcastic smile playing on his lips, and said, "I heard that this company plans to use this land to cooperate with us after acquiring it, making us pay for the construction and then offsetting the cost with rent."
"They're treating us like fools, thinking they can take us down with them."
Wang Donglai remained silent, only nodding slightly.
Nie Yun was not discouraged and continued speaking.
"There's one more thing. After word got out that we were working with Pang Donglai, some people in the industry said that we were 'outsiders instructing insiders,' 'we had money to burn,' and 'wouldn't last three years.'"
He chuckled, a hint of sarcasm in his voice: "It's fine to just listen to these kinds of words, but the problem is, some suppliers are starting to take a wait-and-see approach. Those who originally agreed to supply us are now saying 'we'll think about it some more.' I checked, and someone is whispering behind our backs that if you cooperate with us, you can forget about cooperating with certain large retailers."
He sat back down in his chair, a hint of anger still lingering on his face. Third in line was Yang Anchao, who was in high spirits, his eyes sparkling with excitement; clearly, the "whole arrow to the moon" plan had him very motivated.
But when he spoke, his tone was also somewhat solemn.
"Regarding Galaxy Aerospace, let me first share two pieces of good news."
He moved forward a bit, resting his hands on the edge of the table, a barely suppressed smile on his face.
"We have completed the initial simulation of the parallel herring scheme on a quantum computer, and the conclusion is that it is feasible."
As he spoke, he gestured with his hands, his face beaming with joy, and said, "The parallel rocket engine technology is entirely feasible, based on the simulation. If we add the soil coating, we can push it even higher."
He paused, his smile fading slightly.
"As for Masla, a preliminary cooperation agreement has been reached. He is willing to give us the Starlink launch orders, with the first batch being twenty satellites. In exchange, we will allow SpaceX astronauts to participate in a lunar mission."
He raised his right hand and held up one finger.
"But there are objections from higher up."
His brow furrowed, and his fingers tapped lightly on the table.
"After I reported to NASA, they held a special meeting. The conclusion was: they supported it in principle, but many details needed to be 'further clarified.' For example, if SpaceX astronauts were to ride on our rockets and something happened, how would the responsibility be divided? Starlink satellites were launched by us, so if a conflict occurred in the future, who would own those satellites? Also, Masla's background is too complicated; if we cooperate with him, will they be able to use it against us?"
He spread his hands, making a helpless expression.
"These questions are rather complicated and I cannot answer them. I'm afraid we'll need Mr. Wang to step in."
He sighed and leaned back in his chair.
"There's another thing. Some people in China are making underhanded moves behind our backs. Several of our core engineers have been poached with high salaries. One of them almost left, but he stayed because his wife and children have settled down in Tangdu and he couldn't bear to leave. When I asked him who poached him, he only said it was a domestic company."
He gave a wry smile, shook his head, and looked at Wang Donglai with a complex expression in his eyes.
At this point, if only Galaxy Aerospace had experienced such an incident, Yang Anchao might still think it was an accident.
However, based on reports from others, the situation is already quite clear.
It's obvious that someone, or a group of people, is sabotaging Galaxy Technology.
The next speaker was Guo Xing, who had rushed back from Yunnan Province.
She didn't look well, with obvious dark circles under her eyes, clearly indicating that she hadn't been sleeping well lately.
As she sat down, she subconsciously rubbed her temples before looking up at the crowd.
Filming for "All or Nothing" is still ongoing.
Her voice was a little hoarse, and she cleared her throat before continuing.
"But the invisible pressure is getting bigger and bigger."
She pulled up a set of photos and projected them onto the big screen.
Her fingers trembled slightly when she saw those photos.
"This is the filming location of the crew in Baixiang Kingdom. Someone climbed over the wall in the middle of the night, splashed red paint in the studio, and left a note that read, 'Mind your own business, or you'll die.'"
She pointed at the photo on the screen, her voice filled with suppressed anger.
"The local authorities have opened a case, but they probably won't find anything. The other party did it very cleanly; the surveillance cameras were destroyed beforehand, leaving no trace."
She took a deep breath and clenched her hands on the table.
"That's not the worst part."
Her voice lowered.
"The problem is that some people are starting to stir up trouble online."
"They say our film is fabricated out of thin air and deliberately trying to smear our image; they're really stirring up trouble."
Guo Xing closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then continued speaking.
"Several young people in the crew couldn't take it and resigned. The remaining actors, if it weren't for the high compensation they had signed contracts with, would also be preparing to leave. Even so, they were on edge every day on set, which seriously affected the filming schedule and quality."
"In addition, there were calls from superiors to 'show their concern'."
"They said the film is 'sensitive in subject matter' and 'easily controversial,' and suggested that we 'carefully consider' whether to continue making it, or change the script before we've invested too much."
"Finally, they explicitly stated that there have been reports about this movie all along, and they are in a difficult position."
Wang Donglai remained expressionless, simply listening quietly.
Guo Xing took a deep breath and continued.
"There is one more thing, regarding the revival of Hanfu and the national roots-seeking movement."
She pulled up another set of photos, which were pictures from the event.
In the photo, the young man is wearing Hanfu (traditional Han clothing) and has a bright smile.
"This is a public welfare project we have been doing. We have held more than 100 events, which have reached tens of millions of people online and millions of people offline."
"The effect is very good. Many young people have started to wear Hanfu, learn about traditional culture, and rediscover our heritage in history."
Her lips curled up slightly, but she quickly pursed them back up.
"In contrast, the voices of opposition are growing louder and the actions are becoming more frequent."
"Various smears and criticisms have appeared online."
"Some people say that Hanfu is a 'feudal remnant' and belongs to backward culture. It is something that should be eliminated and overthrown."
She shook her head, gave a wry smile, and said with a hint of speechlessness, "The most outrageous thing is that some people went to the relevant departments to report us, saying that we are undermining unity and promoting feudalism. The reason is that Hanfu is the traditional clothing of the Han people, and promoting Hanfu is 'belittling other ethnic groups,' and that Hanfu is a product of feudalism, so promoting Hanfu now has the meaning of promoting feudalism."
She spread her hands, clearly still somewhat incredulous and surprised.
"The problem is that these reports are actually being taken into account. People from relevant departments came to talk to me and said that our activities 'need to pay more attention to unity' and 'avoid causing unnecessary conflicts.' They suggested that when we organize activities in the future, we should 'take into account the characteristics of all ethnic groups' and not 'only highlight the Han ethnic group.'"
The meeting room fell silent for a few seconds, and everyone was speechless, but at the same time, they felt a chill run down their spines.
According to the reports, it seems to be getting more and more dangerous.
At this moment, Wang Donglai finally spoke.
"Just listen to what they say. Do what you normally do. If anyone tries to stop you, tell them to come find me."
Guo Xing nodded, a resolute look in his expression. (End of Chapter)