Qiao Yu felt that they could do the sa now. Whether at Yanbei University or Huaqing University, he could take Keke around to show off, and if anyone displeased them, they could let Uncle Zheng handle it.
It’s just that they’re older now and not as immature as before. However...
"Why don’t you ask your advisor for a day off tomorrow, and I’ll take you to relive the feeling of showing off in the neighborhood?"
"Huh? At school? Don’t ss around! That’s not a good idea, is it? Nowadays, people love taking short videos. What if it gets spread around? I don’t care, but you’d lose your reputation! What kind of professor bullies students at school?"
"Who said anything about bullying students? Just take a leave tomorrow and co over here, and I’ll play with you like we did when we were kids!"
...
anwhile, Brad Smith finally convinced the board to support his idea. Undoubtedly, this was no easy task.
It took three full etings to reach a consensus. After the board flatly rejected his idea in the first eting, he imdiately offered his resignation.
Just as he expected, this didn’t stir much of a ripple in the board. However, Brad Smith was ready to be shown the door.
Whoever wants to take over this ss can have it; he didn’t want it in the slightest! If you haven’t sat in this position, you don’t know how torturous it is.
He had pondered for a long ti and couldn’t find a way out, putting his hopes on Huaxia making mistakes. Clearly, this was a slim chance.
After taking over from Satya Nadella, Brad Smith carefully studied Huaxia’s rise over the past thirty years.
Over the years, every step Huaxia took was so steady that it was hard to find errors. Any major reform would first be piloted; during the pilot, most potential issues would be identified before wider implentation.
The most terrifying aspect was their policy continuity.
For so many years, regardless of dostic opinion or external pressures, the upper echelon, like a cold machine, continuously explored economic developnt...
Massive infrastructure, urban expansion, a high-speed rail and highway network forming a rapid transit system, evolving from barefoot to shod.
And now they’ve beco relentless pursuers in the global technology sector.
Moreover, the sequence in which Huaxia ascends the technology tree is frustrating. After shodding themselves, the first advancents they pursued were in defense technology.
The space station, the Beidou system, shipbuilding, and the space-based defense plan... Then they delivered a hard blow in the areas they’re best at.
Brad Smith wasn’t being pessimistic.
With such a rigorous developnt model, expecting Huaxia to make a mistake soon and letting them catch up is more unlikely than expecting Jesus to resurrect and lead them to greatness again.
After understanding all this, Brad Smith could even comprehend the decisions made in the White House.
It’s no exaggeration to say that surrendering now is the best option. At least they can still stand. Waiting longer and once the space-based system covers the entire Northern Hemisphere, even kneeling in surrender might not be accepted.
So in that eting, when he proposed his resignation directly, he was prepared for the chairman to call a board eting to kick him out.
He only planned to wait for headquarters’ approval, after which he’d skip the eting with Qiao Yu and go straight back.
Even if bringing Bill Gates out again was necessary, just to see how the big shots handle such situations.
But who could have imagined, the next day while he was still asleep, the board actually gave in and started working to accommodate him.
He did so probing and understood the reason for the board’s quick concession—nobody wanted to take over this ss!
In the past, he had sched with many people to sit in this position. Now, surprisingly, nobody wanted it?!
Even Mr. Gates explicitly refused to co out of retirent to save the company. This was the company he founded, so he could only stay there.
As for his proposal, his supporting shareholders at headquarters began persuading those who disagreed...
After a day, those difficult big shots finally reached a consensus. If abandoning Windows allowed future collaboration with the Huaxia Quantum Alliance, it would be on the table.
In other words, the board ultimately conceded.
They probably understood the current situation. After all, these wealthy people were greedy, not stupid.
This sowhat relieved Brad Smith. He finally had so leverage.
Willingness to abandon Windows was an attitude in itself—his only card to play now.
Otherwise, he couldn’t think of any reason to collaborate with the Quantum Simulation Computing Alliance.
Now, what he needed to do was to use this card to persuade Qiao Yu. This was the first and most difficult hurdle.
Despite being in Huaxia for a long ti without eting Qiao Yu, he had already gathered information.
Without Qiao Yu’s consent, discussions with the Quantum Simulation Computing Alliance were impossible.
After all, the most crucial patents for quantum simulation calculation were authorized for the alliance by Qiao Yu’s company, which was now exceptionally united.
Previously, Brad Smith was most worried about the company and Bill Gates planning to discard him after negotiating with the Quantum Simulation Alliance.
This was sothing Microsoft or Bill Gates would genuinely do. Negotiations in Huaxia with Qiao Yu or the Quantum Simulation Alliance inevitably required bowing their heads.
Once he finalized the cooperation plan and Microsoft secured a lifeline, he feared getting kicked aside upon returning to headquarters.
So during the recent discussions with headquarters, he specifically raised this issue. He also signed a new electronic contract.
If he accomplished nothing in Huaxia, there’d be nothing to say. But if he successfully negotiated a cooperation agreent recognized by headquarters, and if Microsoft forced him out of his position for any reason within three years, they must pay him substantial compensation.
Thus, one mustn’t think that fools exist at the level of multinational corporate executives. Real fools would have been devoured long ago.
For the board, this was also unavoidable. They needed Brad Smith to genuinely consider the company’s interests and finalize this deal.
This had little to do with their trust in Brad Smith. It was mainly because the signals from the White House were too shocking.
The capital represented by the company’s major shareholders was already in chaos!
It’s well known that when a collective faces significant changes, so will inevitably pay the price. Especially for those with vested interests.
So, given the slightest possibility, no one wants to be among those paying the price. Or at least, if a price must be paid, they strive to minimize losses.
In the absence of anyone willing to step forward, the frightened capitalists were now treating Brad Smith in Huaxia as their lifeline.
In short, they each needed what the other offered.
Nonetheless, Brad Smith finally felt a bit relieved. But even so, he didn’t let his guard down, still pondering how to maneuver, hoping for a hefty compensation package that would allow him to live lavishly in his later years.
Indeed, Brad Smith wasn’t planning to stay in this position for another three years.
His mind was solely focused on securing a board-approved agreent, returning, and waiting for the board to kick him out.
Just then, he received a call from the staff mber responsible for his current reception.
"Mr. Smith, hello, Academician Qiao has made ti for tomorrow at two in the afternoon, is that okay for you?"
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