Haifeng glanced at Ren, who was nodding again and again, fully convinced.
Wenwei, on the other hand, was silently screaming inside.
Boss, you're falling for a scam.
But Ren's expression remained warm and unshaken.
"Extraordinary people do extraordinary things. It's completely reasonable," Ren said sincerely.
"The experts in China Star's No. 1 Lab are the kind of people I admire most. I'm not surprised they've achieved such miraculous breakthroughs."
Wenwei nearly fainted on the spot.
Miraculous, my ass.
This guy's fooling you, and you're handing him the keys!
He kept shooting Ren glances, desperately trying to signal:
Stall him. Back out. This is not normal.
Ren turned calmly and said:
"What's wrong, Xiao Xu? If you're tired, go get some rest."
Wenwei: "…"
Haifeng and Ren were too deep in discussion to notice anything else.
Haifeng shifted topics:
"Even though we've achieved 14nm lithography and are closing in on 7nm, the reality is that all the chip production capacity is still locked behind global giants."
Ren nodded gravely.
"Let's work together. Huawei has mastered 30nm lithography and accumulated over 5,000 related patents."
"But right now, we're in an R&D slump.
We need fresh talent, and no one's joining."
"Even worse, barely anyone in China wants to pursue domestic chip design.
To most, it's a dead end."
"People think investing in this is throwing money away."
Haifeng's voice turned sharp.
"If I wanted to make quick money, I could've just licensed tech from overseas."
"But if those tech giants one day cut us off or the parts suppliers stop shipping, what?"
"What's the point of even playing the game?"
"Real strategy means long-term thinking.
Building a business that can survive ten, twenty, even fifty years."
"That's why I'm going all in."
He looked straight at Ren.
"Your Honor brand's about to go public, isn't it?"
"Let's both push forward. Make each other better.
Let the market decide whose product stands tall."
Ren gave a satisfied nod.
"Well said. That's exactly what I wanted to hear."
That was the moment the tone between the two shifted.
The air of doubt evaporated. Strategic unity solidified.
From then on, they spoke like equals—two men determined to break the technological blockade on their country.
Two hours passed in the deep, future-focused discussion.
By the time lunch turned to afternoon, Ren and Wenwei had to head to the airport. Haifeng and Zhang Yu personally saw them off.
Honor Brand Headquarters – Days Later
Inside the meeting room, Zhao Liangyun, head of the Honor division, was preparing to postpone their new phone launch.
The Star Series had crushed the market. Confidence was low.
It was a safe move.
Just as Zhao opened his mouth to make it official, his phone vibrated.
He almost rejected the call—until he saw the name.
He picked it up immediately.
"President Ren."
The room fell silent. Every employee went dead still.
Zhao spoke softly for over ten minutes.
Then he put the phone down and looked around the room.
"We proceed with the launch. Even if we lose money."
"The Honor brand's reputation must be established."
His eyes were sharp—his voice was unshakable.
"Put 200,000 200 RMB coupons on the official website."
"And add this line to the sales page:
'First 100,000 customers will receive a 200 RMB mobile phone card.'"
Everyone stared in disbelief.
With Honor's already-low pricing, these discounts slashed profits to the bone.
By rough estimates, after this promotion?
Each phone sold would only earn the company a few dozen RMB.
But Zhao was resolute.
"We'll burn our boats if we have to."
"President Ren gave me a mission.
And I'm going to complete it—no matter the cost."