76: I want all mobile phone parts to be domestically produced.

After seeing Xiao Yuan off, Chen Chen happily hummed the new song by a top singer in his office.

"My heart is surging; we strive to reach the perfect state."

"My heart is surging; we are quite formidable in terms of smoothness."

"Stronger and cooler, our reputation won't be tarnished by Mi-haters,"

"My heart is surging; this generation is a complete upgrade over the last."

As expected of a top singer, these lyrics and melody are catchy and even more singable than the previous one.

Enduring her boss's eccentric taste, Shen Rou, who had brought out more detailed information on Tianguang Optical Instruments, spoke up:

"Is President Chen going to make his debut as a singer?"

"Haha, I can't debut. There's already a top singer in the tech circle, so I won't join in on the fun."

"Xiao Yuan holds the majority of the shares in Tianguang Optical, with a 79% personal stake. There are also three minority shareholders holding the remaining 21%. Among them, one named Li Huo holds the largest portion at 10%."

Chen Chen nodded. This wasn't something he needed to worry about; he would just let Xiao Yuan handle those minority shareholders.

"President Chen, I don't understand why you're so insistent on acquiring Tianguang Optical Instruments. Is it because of their Liquid Lens?"

In Shen Rou's view, even after acquiring the company, the price of their sensors wouldn't drop, so why choose the expensive option?

"Xiao Shen, you don't understand. The localization of components in the 863 program isn't just a slogan to be shouted and forgotten. Since we've joined this program, we must seriously push for the advancement of the industry chain."

"Of course, I have my own reasons for acquiring Tianguang, which is to strive for Red Star to master the entire industry chain."

"The entire industry chain?"

"Yes. On our most localized shining 2, the localization of parts has only reached 54%. I'm thinking that one day in the future, Red Star can be like Samsung and build a 100% localized phone without relying on foreign companies."

"This sensor is just the first step. There are also lenses, panel glass, RF, filters, ISP, and basebands—we need to push the localization process for all of them."

"I know it's difficult, but one must have dreams, right? If we work hard and stay grounded, what if it actually happens?"

Shen Rou nodded. Having spent a year with her boss, she could see that his ambition was definitely not some superficial goal like having the world's highest shipment volume.

This year's domestic shipment figures aren't out yet, but based on the sales from the first three quarters, Red Star's shipments are definitely number one in the country, and there's even hope of breaking into the global top three.

A few days later, just when the acquisition seemed like a sure thing, Xiao Yuan brought bad news.

Li Huo, who holds a 10% stake, rejected the merger.

Li Huo's disagreement wouldn't actually change the fate of the acquisition, but Chen Chen didn't want an outsider holding shares in his subsidiary.

"A 10% stake converts to over 26 million. I didn't expect someone in this small company to be uninterested in money."

When Chen Chen received Xiao Yuan's call, an incredulous expression appeared on his face; he never expected anyone to refuse this equity acquisition.

Shen Rou timely handed Li Huo's information to Chen Chen.

"He's had a technical stake since Tianguang's founding?"

"The Liquid Lens is also a project he's leading?"

After reading Li Huo's profile, Chen Chen's interest was instantly piqued.

Li Huo, male, 46 years old, graduated from Imperial Capital University, then went to Japan for further studies, and joined Tianguang Optical Instruments after returning to the country.

He joined Tianguang Optical Instruments with a technical stake and has been in charge of R&D ever since. His equity has grown from an initial 7% to the current 10%.

That Tianguang Optical Instruments was able to gain a foothold in the domestic market and secure a place in the knock-off phone market as well as the current low-end market was largely due to Li Huo's influence.

"Interesting, very interesting. Xiao Shen, go contact Xiao Yuan. I want to have a private chat with this Li Huo."

Chen Chen was now full of interest in this minority shareholder. He asked Shen Rou for his phone number, preparing to talk to him to see if he was just holding out for a better price or if he truly had some skill.

No matter how strong your technology is, you can't just hold onto shares of a Red Star company and refuse to let go.

Chen Chen now absolutely would not allow anyone else to hold shares in a company within his vital industry chain.

Moreover, for an important company like Tianguang Optical, which Chen Chen planned to continue funding for increased R&D after the acquisition, it was even more impossible to let Li Huo keep such a large stake.

As for those in the ecosystem chain, that was a different story.

He had intended to chat over the phone, but after receiving Chen Chen's call, Xiao Yuan and Li Huo flew from Shenzhen to the Beijing again. Li Huo expressed his desire for a face-to-face meeting with Chen Chen.

A face-to-face meeting it is, then.

If he wanted a slight premium, a million or so wouldn't matter to Chen Chen; he'd just give it to him.

But if he wanted to hold out for an exorbitant price, then he'd be sorry.

Xiao Yuan and the other shareholders of Tianguang had plenty of ways to handle the situation.

In the reception room, Chen Chen sized up the middle-aged man wearing thick glasses, and the other man was sizing up Chen Chen in return.

He was clearly an Engineer who focused on research and didn't care much about the outside world.

He hadn't expected the chairman of Red Star to be so young.

"Manager Li, the current Tianguang no longer has enough funds to invest in R&D. Besides, you are extremely ill-suited for the current market. If things continue this way, there is no other path for you but bankruptcy."

"I haven't tried to lowball you either. The price of 260 million is very fair."

"Will Red Star's acquisition of Tianguang really bring us back to life? I'm not prepared to sell my shares, even if they end up being worthless!"

"I've worked at Tianguang for 12 years. I've poured my heart and soul into this company's development over the past decade!"

Seeing the somewhat agitated Li Huo, Chen Chen signaled Xiao Yuan to calm him down.

This man was just so stubborn and unyielding.

After Li Huo returned from Japan, Tianguang was his first company. He had worked there for over a decade, so it would be a lie to say he had no feelings for it. Chen Chen understood, but how could they talk if he got so agitated right from the start?

Seeing that Li Huo had calmed down, Chen Chen continued to persuade him patiently:

"Manager Li, Red Star is a company that places great importance on R&D. After acquiring Tianguang, I will continue to inject capital for you to develop new CMOS and other new technologies. It's not as if we'll just ignore you after the acquisition."

"I'm very interested in the Liquid Lens technology you're currently developing. I will continue to let you lead the development of this lens, you can rest assured of that."

At this point, Li Huo let out a long sigh of relief. All that talk about having feelings for the company and being unwilling to sell was an act; his real goal was to stay in Tianguang's research department and continue developing the Liquid Lens.

As for money, it wasn't that important to an Engineer like him.

If the Liquid Lens were successfully developed, it would definitely be a revolutionary product. Li Huo didn't want to give up on something he had been researching for so long.

In Li Huo's view, the people at Tianguang were a bunch of short-sighted fools. He had noticed the industry shifts years ago. If Tianguang wanted to keep growing, it had to introduce newer equipment and increase R&D investment.

But those shareholders were content to just sit back and make money from the knock-off phone market, completely ignoring Li Huo's foresight.

By the time they realized they needed to increase R&D investment, it was too late. The company was now in a dilemma: they wanted to boost R&D and update equipment but had no money, and without money, the products they produced wouldn't be recognized by major manufacturers.

The final result could only be bankruptcy.

When Li Huo recounted his experiences with frustration, Xiao Yuan, who was standing nearby, looked embarrassed. After all, he too had once wanted to just sit back and make money from knock-off phones.

Even if Chen Chen were a fool, he would have understood by now. This Li Huo clearly didn't want to leave the industry and was afraid that there would be no place for him after Red Star's acquisition.