SWNOVELXO Chapter 70: Chapter 70 Open Source Plugin Competition
Chapter 70 Open Source Plugin Competition
If her trajectory remained unchanged, Carly — the woman who would later be known as "the most beautiful CEO in the world" — would in 1995 become a senior executive at Lucent, a company spun off from AT&T. Then in 1999, Hewlett-Packard would come along with a metaphorical excavator, directly poaching her to serve as president and CEO. In her first year at HP, the company's stock price jumped from $70 to $100, shocking the world and leaving Lucent dumbfounded. Later, she would orchestrate a bold move, swallowing up her old rival Compaq and announcing the creation of the "New HP."
However, this woman was no simple figure. When business began to decline, she ruthlessly fired three senior executives without hesitation. Of course, her own ending wasn't too glamorous either — in 2005, the board of directors convened an emergency meeting and directly fired her. When news of her dismissal spread, HP employees reportedly raised their glasses in celebration, illustrating just how unpopular she had been among the rank and file.
Reflecting on Carly's glorious yet tragic career, Su Yuanshan could only lament that she had been born twenty years too early. If she had been born two decades later, the aggressive corporate style she favored would have fit perfectly into the "wolf culture" that would become fashionable in Chinese tech companies. Unfortunately, HP, with its century-old tradition, emphasized a "motherly," people-oriented corporate culture. In such an environment, Carly's cutthroat methods could never thrive.
But now, at Xinghai, there was no established corporate culture to hinder her. Xi Xiaoding focused purely on technology, Yang Yiwen handled legal affairs and daily operations, and Qin Si was responsible for market expansion. As for internal management, the three founders maintained a delicate balance through mutual respect and negotiation, so there were no major conflicts.
Still, as Su Yuanshan pointed out, Xinghai's development was moving far too slowly. It wasn't anyone's fault — they simply weren't professionals. Qin Si was slightly better, but her real expertise was in investment, and she was still learning to transition from the financial sector into high tech.
After Su Yuanshan introduced Carly's background, Xi Xiaoding nodded and said he actually recognized her — he occasionally ran into her at a nearby café. After all, Silicon Valley was small, and Xinghai's office wasn't far from AT&T's semiconductor division.
"She definitely seems like a very capable woman, but... are you sure she would come work for us?"
"Poaching ordinary people only requires one thing: money," Su Yuanshan said. "Poaching people like you requires two things: future growth potential and money. No, wait, it also needs a fun, satisfying work environment." He curled his fingers as he laughed: "We have all of that."
Xi Xiaoding opened his mouth as if to argue, but ultimately just smiled bitterly: "You're right."
After arriving in Silicon Valley, Su Yuanshan didn't even bother adjusting to the time difference. He headed straight for the company. After six months of rapid and somewhat chaotic development, Xinghai had grown into six departments.
The first was the software development group led by Xi Xiaoding, consisting mainly of Chinese overseas students and local students. They were in the final stages of testing the CRM software (Customer Relationship Management system). Design-wise, Xi Xiaoding had largely adopted Su Yuanshan's suggestions. Since CRM was purely a commercial software product rather than a niche industry tool, and thus had no stubborn entrenched competitors like Synopsys, Su Yuanshan had advised a slower, feedback-driven update cycle instead of a rush for completeness.
The second was Howard's commercial chip design department. After successfully finishing the cordless phone design, Howard's team, following Su Yuanshan's strategy, began coordinating remotely with Tian Yaoming's team at Yuanchip headquarters to work on GSM development, communicating progress via phone and email.
Then came Qin Si's investment and market expansion department, a young man named Phipps leading the EDA technical support group, and Yang Yiwen handling logistics and legal affairs.
Altogether, just the Silicon Valley office now had over four hundred people, nearly matching Yuanchip's main site in the provincial capital — and this didn't even include the newly established branch in Europe.
Sitting in Xi Xiaoding's office, Su Yuanshan reviewed the current organizational chart and chuckled: "It's a miracle you haven't fallen apart, running things this chaotically."
Yang Yiwen shot him a glare: "Doesn't Yuanchip have just as many people?"
"That's different," Su Yuanshan said, putting down the files. "At Yuanchip, after-sales support runs independently. Headquarters mainly focuses on R&D, and I'm still able to hold things together."
Looking up at Qin Si, he said sincerely: "Sister Qin Si, you've worked hard."
Hearing this, Qin Si visibly relaxed. Though she had been personally invited by Su Yuanshan to join the team, she was still considered an outsider among the three original founders. Over the past six months, she had thrown herself wholeheartedly into the company's business operations, always afraid that if anything went wrong, she would be the first to take the blame. Hearing Su Yuanshan's genuine recognition now reassured her — it showed that her efforts had not gone unnoticed.
"Everyone should play to their strengths," Su Yuanshan continued. "Going forward, Sister Qin Si, your main focus should stay on the investment division. Sharpen your judgment quickly. Eventually, the investment arm will become an independent professional firm."
Qin Si readily agreed: "Got it."
"As for Sister-in-law," Su Yuanshan turned to Yang Yiwen, "no major changes for now. Hiring a professional lawyer here is crazy expensive. We'll continue working with external law firms. Meanwhile, you should deepen your knowledge of local laws — maybe even consider applying for a master's program here?"
"I'll think about it," Yang Yiwen said.
Turning back to the couch where Xi Xiaoding was lounging like a king, Su Yuanshan grinned: "And as for Senior Brother Xi..."
Xi Xiaoding chuckled: "What about me? Just say it."
"You'll have to wait until Chen Haoming finishes his degree and can take over your role." Su Yuanshan glanced at Qin Si: "Sister Qin, isn't Senior Brother Chen graduating soon?"
She nodded: "Yes, in June."
Su Yuanshan looked back at Xi Xiaoding: "After that, you can either return to China right away or wait until the new tech park is ready by the end of the year. But no later than next year's second half. I suggest you take a teaching position at Electronics Tech, supervising outstanding graduate students specifically focused on algorithms."
Xi Xiaoding immediately sat up straight: "Be more specific."
"Specifically, we'll try to write a textbook suitable for Chinese students on algorithm theory. Right now, even here, very few specialize deeply in algorithms. Most of the textbooks are based on Cormen and Leiserson's 'Introduction to Algorithms,' right?"
Xi Xiaoding nodded: "When I returned to China last year, I considered translating 'Introduction to Algorithms,' but after visiting several universities and seeing that most didn't even have decent computer labs, I gave up. By the way, how did you learn it?"
Su Yuanshan laughed: "With a dictionary."
Everyone else: "..."
As the excitement of planning gradually faded, a wave of fatigue washed over Su Yuanshan. Looking around, he felt like he was forgetting something important. He squeezed his eyes shut for a second, then noticed the little forum window at the bottom of the monitor.
Suddenly wide awake, Su Yuanshan slapped his forehead: "Damn, I almost forgot! Senior Brother, post a notice on our forum. Announce that Yuanchip EDA is sponsoring the First Open Source Plugin Competition. Finalists will be chosen by a combination of expert judges and forum members, and Yuanchip will award cash prizes to the top three — with a top prize of $30,000. Make it clear that Yuanchip employees cannot participate."
"Shit... that's ruthless," Xi Xiaoding muttered.
Su Yuanshan just smiled.
It wasn't ruthlessness — it was necessity. With no real Internet yet, online forums were the only gathering places for elite programmers. That Yuanchip's forum hadn't taken off yet was understandable given its focus on industry-specific tools. But considering how many IC designers worldwide had access to the net, their low engagement was unacceptable.
"I'm too tired. I'm heading back to sleep. Senior Brother, you send the email to Carly Fiorina and see if she's available tomorrow."
Yawning, Su Yuanshan tossed a scrap of paper onto the desk and stumbled out.
(End of Chapter 70)
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