vrcanaries Chapter 308 The Wisdom of Waiting
Chapter 308 The Wisdom of Waiting
July 24, 1998, 6:00 AM.
Jinan.
When Ling Yun opened her eyes, it was already daylight outside the window. The bed beside her was empty, and the pillow was still a little warm.
He put on his slippers and strolled out.
An Shiyu sat on the sofa with her laptop on her lap. She was wearing his T-shirt, her hair was casually tied up, and she stared intently at the screen.
"You're awake?" She looked at Ling Yun with great joy.
"Hmm. What are you looking at?"
"Your email," An Shiyu pointed to the screen, "These are from Carly, the European data center construction plan. And David's, the one from the Middle East. I've downloaded them for you."
Ling Yun walked over and sat down next to her. There were indeed two documents on the screen, with the filenames clearly labeled: European Plan_V3.2_19980623.pdf, Middle East Plan_V2.8_19980623.pdf.
"You've seen it?" Ling Yun asked.
"I've looked at a bit." An Shiyu handed him the computer. "The one Carly wrote, it has several options for the location of the data center in Lyon, and she made a comparison table. David's one, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, he seems to prefer Dubai."
Lingyun took the computer and began to look at the documents.
An Shiyu didn't leave; she sat down beside her, slowly drinking her milk.
Carly's proposal was 47 pages long, complete with illustrations. She provided a detailed comparison of the two locations, Lyon and Marseille: electricity costs, fiber optic access, land prices, climate conditions, natural disaster risks, surrounding amenities... each item included data and ratings. Ultimately, she recommended Lyon, citing "higher power stability and proximity to the University of Lyon, making recruitment easier."
Ling Yun turned to the budget page. Initial investment: $12 million. Of this, $3 million was for land, $5 million for infrastructure, and $4 million for equipment. There was also a table listing the projected operating costs for the next three years.
The second document, by David, is thirty-nine pages long and equally detailed. It compares Dubai and Abu Dhabi: policy incentives, tax breaks, local talent supply, religious and cultural compatibility requirements… He prefers Dubai because “Dubai has a more mature free zone policy, foreign capital can hold 100% ownership, and the living facilities are better, making it easier to attract expatriate talent.”
Budget: $15 million, more expensive than in Europe, because infrastructure costs are higher in the Middle East.
After reading it, Lingyun closed the laptop.
"How is it?" An Shiyu asked.
"Well done," Ling Yun said. "Very detailed."
"So, do you want to approve it?"
"Okay. Let them proceed according to this plan."
An Shiyu nodded and didn't ask any more questions. She picked up her phone from the coffee table and glanced at the time.
"What time is your flight?" Lingyun asked.
"10:30," An Shiyu said. "There's still time. You go wash up first, and I'll make breakfast."
She stood up and shuffled towards the kitchen. Ling Yun sat on the sofa, then turned on his computer and replied to emails from Carly and David.
The email to Carly was short: "The plan is approved. Proceed from Lyon. Keep the budget within fifteen months. Contact Durand after arriving in Paris to confirm the French supporting policies."
To David: "The Dubai plan has been approved. The localization team needs to be assembled as soon as possible. Coordinate with Dr. Leila, and strive to start data center construction before the end of the year."
send.
The sizzling sound of frying eggs came from the kitchen.
At eight o'clock, the two went out.
An Shiyu leaned on Ling Yun's shoulder, looking out the window. The streets, shops, and pedestrians receded frame by frame.
"What's Hong Kong like?" she asked.
"There are many tall buildings, many people, and it's crowded."
"Is it fun?"
"good."
An Shiyu smiled and didn't ask any more questions.
At 10:20, the plane took off.
Outside the porthole, Jinan grew smaller and smaller until it became a blurry patch of color. Below, clouds spread out like a white ocean.
An Shiyu sat by the window, gazing outside. Ling Yun had his eyes closed, but he wasn't asleep.
Three hours later, the plane landed at Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok Airport.
Stepping out of the cabin, a wave of heat hit her. Late June in Hong Kong was humid and hot, the air carrying the salty smell of the sea. An Shiyu stood on the boardwalk and took a deep breath.
"It's so damp," she said.
"Um."
After collecting his luggage and walking out of the arrival hall, Ling Yun found Li Ziyu already waiting at the door. He was wearing a light blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, and a smile on his face. Upon seeing Ling Yun, he quickly walked over.
"Mr. Ling!" The handshake was firm. "Did you have a safe trip?"
"Successfully." Ling Yun stepped aside to introduce, "An Shiyu, my lover."
Li Ziyu paused for a moment, then smiled and extended his hand: "Hello, sister-in-law! I've heard so much about you."
An Shiyu also extended her hand and gave it a light handshake. "Hello, Mr. Li."
"Just call me Ziyu," Li Ziyu said, taking the suitcase from Ling Yun. "The car's outside, shall we go to the hotel to rest first?"
"No need," Ling Yun said. "Let's go straight to the company. After we finish our business, we'll go out for a stroll."
Li Ziyu glanced at him, then at An Shiyu, and nodded.
"Okay, whatever you say."
The car was a black Mercedes, driven by a young man who spoke very little. Li Ziyu sat in the passenger seat, while Ling Yun and An Shiyu were in the back. The car drove out of the airport and merged into the traffic.
Hong Kong outside the window was just as she remembered: towering buildings, narrow streets, and throngs of people. An Shiyu pressed herself against the car window, her eyes wide as she looked at the densely packed buildings.
"So many buildings," she said softly.
"Um."
The car drove into Central and stopped in front of a glass-walled building. Li Ziyu got out of the car and led them into the elevator.
The door opened on the 23rd floor.
The words "Yu Hui Capital" hung on the wall behind the reception desk; they were small but eye-catching. A young woman sitting behind the reception desk stood up when she saw them come in.
"Mr. Li."
"Hmm. Is the meeting room ready?"
"Ready."
Li Ziyu led them inside. As they passed the open-plan office area, several employees facing their computers looked up, glanced over, and then quickly looked down again. Some had their fingers still on the keyboard, while others had their coffee cups raised in mid-air, forgotten to put them down.
Ling Yun saw it but didn't say anything.
The meeting room was small, with a long table, a few chairs, and a whiteboard on the wall covered with numbers and lines.
"Sit down." Li Ziyu pulled out a chair.
Ling Yun and An Shiyu sat down. Li Ziyu walked to the whiteboard and picked up a marker.
"Let me explain the situation first." He drew a coordinate axis on the whiteboard, with time on the horizontal axis and index on the vertical axis. "The Hang Seng Index started to fall in April, fell below 8,000 points in early June, and fell below 7,500 points on June 20. It fell to a low of 7,283 points—that was on June 22."
He drew a downward curve, and then added a heavy stroke at one point.
"This is the time you made me wait for."
Ling Yun stared at that spot without saying a word.
"And then," Li Ziyu continued drawing, the curve starting to rebound, "starting from the 22nd. Yesterday's closing price was 7,894, and this morning's closing price was 7,937. It rebounded by more than 600 points in three days."
He put down the marker and turned to look at Ling Yun.
"A few of my traders are getting a bit restless," he said calmly. "They wanted to build positions around 7,300, but you told them to wait. Now that it's rebounded to 7,900, they feel they've missed the best entry point."
"What do you think?" Ling Yun asked.
Li Ziyu remained silent for two seconds.
"I'll listen to you," he said. "I saw your operations in Southeast Asia with my own eyes. If you say wait, I'll wait."
Ling Yun nodded.
"Let them keep waiting," Ling Yun said. "Tell them the money belongs to the company, not them. They just need to execute the company's decisions."
"If they..."
"If they're not happy," Ling Yun looked at him, "they can leave, and we can find someone else."
Li Ziyu was silent for a few seconds, then nodded.
"I see."