146: Mr. Chen, what kind of silk do you want?

Investing in the chip industry was understandable; after all, mobile processors are the top priority.

If the USA were to impose a blockade, they would at least have the possibility of producing their own.

But cars and mobile phones? These two industries seemed completely unrelated. Was there even a connection?

Couldn't they just focus on selling their phones?

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Cars?

How could a smartphone manufacturer manage to handle the automotive industry?

"Mr. Chen, I think we should reconsider entering the automotive industry. It's better to be cautious."

"Right now, we need to exert effort in mobile phones, home appliances, and smart devices, while also laying out our chip strategy. This will already consume a massive amount of our energy."

"Even if our manpower can keep up with so many projects, I'm afraid there will be problems with funding."

"Moreover, the automotive industry is completely foreign to us. Entering it directly carries too much risk."

"I feel it's better to wait until the market matures before making a move. By then, our mobile business will be established, and we won't have to fear losses."

Chen Chen nodded after listening to them speak.

It was true that new energy vehicles were the future trend, but that was still ten years away.

The country's infrastructure construction hadn't officially begun yet, and Red Star wasn't planning to dive headfirst into it right now. Otherwise, it would be a joke if they produced cars but had nowhere to charge them.

"Mr. Zhang and Aunt Zhou are right. It is indeed unwise to enter the new energy vehicle field now, but I didn't plan on entering the industry immediately either."

"We need to prepare for a rainy day. For now, we'll build the framework and can start early research and development into electronic controls and motors."

"Electric cars only consist of a few core components anyway. As for batteries, Manager Zhao, I'll leave this task to Yangtze River New Energy Company. You need to increase research into power batteries; don't be afraid to spend money."

"Fruit is paying for it anyway."

"Hahaha..." Everyone in the meeting room laughed at this. With their unique batteries, Fruit was building factories for Red Star and paying in full upfront. It could be said that with Fruit's orders backing them, Yangtze River New Energy Company didn't have to worry about burning money on research.

Since they weren't ready to enter the new energy vehicle market yet, they would start with technical reserves.

"Understood, Mr. Chen," Manager Zhao of Yangtze River New Energy readily agreed.

Lu Weiqi, Zhang Feng, and the others breathed a sigh of relief seeing that Chen Chen wasn't stubbornly insisting on entering the new energy vehicle field right away.

"Manager Lu, I'll leave the task of forming the new automotive research department to you."

"Didn't I hear you say last time that you poached a vision team?"

Lu Weibing answered hurriedly, "Yes, Mr. Chen, but I didn't poach them. Li Lei from Shitou Technology did. I saw that this team was very good at visual detection, so I took them from Li Lei's hands."

"They are currently in Mr. Zhang's IoT Division's camera team."

Hearing that the team was snatched from Li Lei, Chen Chen gave a bitter smile. This Li Lei really wouldn't give up!

During the previous visit to Shitou Technology, Li Lei wanted to make a robot vacuum with a pure vision solution, but Chen Chen ended up taking his vision Engineers away as a package deal.

Now that his robot vacuum sales were decent and he had money, he wanted to play around with a robot vacuum solution that combined vision, a mobile trash bin, and a robotic arm.

"Alright, now that the new department is being formed, pick a suitable candidate to lead it for me. Move that visual detection team into the new New Energy Research Team."

"Understood, Mr. Chen."

When it came to the person Red Star trusted most, there was no second choice besides Lu Weibing. Chen Chen felt most at ease leaving these matters to him.

As for the Red Star equity in Lu Weibing's hands, Chen Chen actually had absolute control, so that small amount didn't matter. However, Lu Weibing had taken the initiative during the Spring Festival to offer to transfer all his equity to Chen Chen.

It could be said that in this world, Lu Weibing was the only person who truly looked upon Chen Chen as family.

One must know that Red Star's annual revenue was nearly a hundred billion and was still growing rapidly.

The capital market's valuation of Red Star had already reached fifty to sixty billion us dollars. The shares in Lu Weibing's hands were worth at least several billion at the very least.

Despite such value, Lu Weibing was willing to transfer his equity to Chen Chen without hesitation.

In his words, this equity was originally given to him by the Old Mr. Chen, and he himself had no children and no attachments.

He had followed the Old Mr. Chen since they were young and had watched Chen Chen grow up; he completely viewed Chen Chen as his own nephew.

Chen Chen used to be unruly and neglected his duties. After the Elder Mr. Chen passed away, only Lu Weibing dared to discipline him. But now that Chen Chen was leading Red Star to become stronger and stronger, there was no need for him to hold onto that equity.

Of course, Chen Chen now had full control of Red Star and naturally wouldn't mistreat Lu Weibing. He and Zhou Niyun directly refused Lu Weibing's equity transfer. This man, who saw him as a nephew and had single-handedly supported the massive Red Star when the company was in chaos, was completely family.

"Alright, that's all I wanted to say today. Everyone, remember one thing: enter the village quietly, don't fire any shots. This new project must be kept low-key. Do not make a big scene or attract attention."

Chen Chen had a premonition. Normally, the USA only started imposing sanctions on Chinese companies like Huawei after the trade war began.

But now, since Huawei's development hadn't met expectations, the first target the Americans would strike would likely be Red Star. It hung over Chen Chen's head like the Sword of Damocles.

In other words, the time left for Red Star was truly running out!

After the meeting adjourned, Chen Chen called Lu Weibing, Lu Weiqi, and Zhao Zhijie into his office. Some of Red Star's projects could not be discussed directly in the general meeting.

The laboratory also had the highest level of security; ordinary researchers couldn't even gain access.

"Uncle Lu, you'll need to find me two more assistants this year. I plan to move Shen Rou to the mobile development department to gain some experience."

"I feel that with her abilities, being my assistant is a waste of her talent."

"Let Shen Rou train the new assistants for a while so they can adapt."

"No problem, Mr. Chen. I'll arrange it later."

"Does Mr. Chen want assistants in white stockings or black stockings this time?" Lu Weibing looked at Chen Chen with some suspicion. Since the first time he saw the boy at the company in 2011, he felt like he had become a completely different person.

It was a good thing he had connected Shen Rou's office to his and even arranged a soundproof lounge.

If things had been like they were before, he'd probably be at home helping him raise kids by now.

"Uh, any kind is fine," Chen Chen was choked up by Lu Weibing's words. "As long as they are capable. I don't want any eye candy."

"Fine, I'll scout some for you when I get back."

"Uncle Lu, I'm afraid I'll also have to trouble you to find a few experts in robotic arms. They must be reliable."

"Robotic arms?"

Lu Weiqi looked shocked and said hurriedly, "Experts in robotic arms? Does that mean there's progress on that project of ours?"

Chen Chen nodded. "Yes, there's been some progress, but there are still some high-precision technologies that Dr. Zhou and his team can't quite grasp."

This robotic arm was actually the system reward from when Chen Chen released the robot vacuum. After receiving the technical data for the robot vacuum's robotic arm (hand) last September, Chen Chen immediately handed it over to Dr. Zhou and formed a new project team.

The Mechanical Ascension Project Team!