500: Chapter 500: Rice's Closest Encounter with Death! Lei Jun's Struggle

"Mr. Lei, Transsion has officially announced the restart of Bird.

You guessed it exactly right; that kid Lu Weibin is the one who went over to be in charge of the cost-performance brand.

Everyone is welcoming it now; should we send our congratulations too?"

Lei Jun snorted instantly. Send congratulations to Transsion?

Isn't that like asking a chicken to wish a weasel well! How could that be possible?

How could he possibly swallow such a life-and-death grudge.

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Most importantly, he had no time to deal with Bird.

Compared to the impact of a new brand, the document in front of him was the thing that could truly cost Xiaomi its life.

After all, Xiaomi was backed by Kyoto. If the other party really dealt a lethal blow, then to maintain the reputation of Kyoto's technology sector, someone would certainly protect him.

Just like with the car last time...

But this time, the attitude of the relevant departments had changed. On the desk lay an inquiry letter stamped with a bright red official seal.

It was jointly issued by three departments: the Kyoto Market Supervision Administration, the Cyberspace Administration, and the Development and Reform Commission.

The core content was simple: Xiaomi was required to provide a written explanation regarding the shareholding status and business associations of its largest shareholder, Silver Lake Capital, as well as the relevance of Silver Lake Capital to recent cross-border cyberattack incidents, and to cooperate with subsequent interviews.

Currently, Silver Lake Capital had already been issued an administrative penalty banning it from investing for one year.

Facing these issues, Lei Jun had such a headache that he wanted to go straight to the hospital for two days of peace and quiet, but he had to face them.

After all, Silver Lake Capital held 40% of Xiaomi's shares and was undoubtedly the largest shareholder.

And regarding the matter targeting Transsion, they happened to be the ones behind the scenes.

Being targeted by regulatory departments at this time changed the nature of the situation entirely.

At best, he would face fines, rectification requirements, and a reduction in the foreign ownership ratio.

At worst, they would be labeled as a foreign shell company that endangered national information security, which would deal a devastating blow to Xiaomi's current mobile phone and automotive businesses.

"Respond to what? What is there to respond to?" Lei Jun cursed impatiently.

"It's just a Bird; it won't be able to turn the world upside down."

It was all Transsion; it was all because if not for this troublemaker, how could Xiaomi be doing so poorly today?

The secretary didn't say much more; after all, Mr. Lei was in a bad mood right now!

"Mr. Lei, the congratulations aren't a big deal, but regarding the inquiry letter... how should we respond?"

The secretary asked cautiously, as if this wasn't handled well, Xiaomi would truly be dead.

"There's no rush to respond; this isn't a problem we can solve right now."

Lei Jun paced around irritably. After all, he had already called the secretary, but the issue was a bit too big, and the other party seemed to want to avoid suspicion...

So... once it wasn't handled well, he would be an abandoned pawn, and if Shen Fei targeted him again then, it would be easy.

"Help me book a ticket to Wuhan for tomorrow; I'm going back to Yinghan University."

"Mr. Lei, are you planning to go find the president..."

"Yes." Lei Jun's tone was a bit complex; this was his last resort.

"Just say the school anniversary is coming up, and I'm going back to give a speech, donate some money to the school, and discuss some school-enterprise cooperation projects."

After all, Yinghan University was a top-tier institution, and quite a few people who came out of it held high positions.

Only by opening up this network could he suppress the Silver Lake Capital matter.

Spending money was a small matter; as long as it could avert disaster, that was fine.

"Oh, right." Lei Jun added, "Report the donation amount on the higher side.

Make the cooperation projects bigger too; say we want to jointly train master's and doctoral students, fully fund the entire cycle, and then take all the talent away."

"Understood."

The assistant understood these things very well; this was sending money and projects, so the president would definitely take action.

After the person left, Lei Jun began to worry again.

Transsion was really pressing him at every step; they really weren't leaving him any chance!

These days were truly too difficult; it seemed the Dami Auto matter really needed to be accelerated.

...

The next afternoon, the plane Lei Jun was on landed at Wuhan Tianhe Airport.

The president and secretary of Yinghan University personally brought people from the school office to welcome him at the airport.

Lei Jun was one of Yinghan University's most famous alumni. Over the years, he had donated quite a bit of money to the school, and as a well-known entrepreneur, the school naturally had to give him enough face.

The welcome banquet was held at the school's Academic Exchange Center.

After toasting a few glasses of wine, Lei Jun stood up again with his glass and bowed slightly to the president and the secretary.

"Secretary, if it weren't for my alma mater's cultivation back then, I wouldn't be where I am today.

I have always kept my alma mater's kindness in my heart."

The old president smiled and waved his hand: "Little Lei, you are being too polite. The achievements you have today are due to your own hard work.

You are also the pride of our Yinghan University."

"That's not how you should put it." Lei Jun said with a sincere face, "Coming back this time, firstly, is to see my alma mater and my teachers.

Secondly, I want to do something practical for my alma mater."

The four presidents and secretaries present heard Lei Jun say this and put down the wine glasses in their hands. They certainly knew what Lei Jun had come for.

But it wasn't a matter of principle; he was just implicated by the investors...

If the benefits were great enough, helping them get through this crisis wouldn't be a big deal.

Seeing that the presidents nodded, Lei Jun continued to say sincerely.

"Xiaomi is currently in a period of expansion. Mobile phones, smart cars, and whole-house intelligence—all these lines are gaining momentum, and what we lack most is top-tier scientific research talent."

"Little Lei, just say whatever is on your mind; there are no outsiders here." As the old president spoke, the other three also nodded.

"I want to cooperate with the school to establish a Xiaomi-Yinghan University master's-doctoral integrated training class."

Students majoring in computer science, electronic information, automation, and automotive manufacturing will go directly from undergraduate graduation to doctoral studies. All tuition, living expenses, and scientific research funds will be fully covered by Xiaomi."

Just as the presidents were preparing to nod, Lei Jun waved his hand again to indicate there was more—there was a new benefit.

"After graduation, they will join Xiaomi directly with a guaranteed annual salary starting from 300,000, with no upper limit for core positions."

The power of Lei Jun's words was far more than that. Finally, he raised his hand and said to the leaders.

"This can not only contribute to the school's talent cultivation but also solve the students' employment problems.

President, do you think this is feasible?"

The president and the secretary looked at each other and saw satisfaction in each other's eyes, but whether this could be done still depended on the old secretary's opinion.

After all, there were some things that the two of them might not necessarily...

But the old secretary was even more satisfied; this was a solid political achievement.

Furthermore, it was a fully funded joint master's and doctoral program, which could both improve the school's employment rate and secure scientific research cooperation with the enterprise; it sounded good when spoken about.

Most importantly, Xiaomi's reputation was there; there were always young people willing to believe!

Perhaps the entrance scores for students in this master's and doctoral training class could rival those of Tsinghua and Peking University... This was truly a good project.

"What a good thing!" After receiving support from the two old leaders, the president didn't hesitate and nodded quickly, "This is a great thing! Our school will fully support it."

But after saying this, the president rubbed his hands together; next, it was time to talk...