Chapter 275 Journey to the East
"Mr. Davidson, welcome to the provincial capital," Su Yuanshan said as he greeted Bob Davidson, extending a warm welcome. He merely exchanged glances with Claude, Howard, and the rest of the team before walking straight toward Qin Si and Davidson.
"I've always wanted to visit this beautiful country and witness the miracle of Yuanxin with my own eyes," Davidson replied with an enthusiastic laugh. After exchanging a few pleasantries with Su Yuanshan, Zhou Xiaohui guided him toward one of the business vans.
Su Yuanshan then turned to shake hands with Qin Si, teasing her, "Sister Qin Si, welcome to the provincial capital. I trust you've come to oversee our work?"
Caught off guard, Qin Si, who had always carried herself with the poise of a top-tier female executive, was momentarily unsure how to respond. In truth, she hadn't been especially familiar with Su Yuanshan at first. Her impression of him had gradually formed through colleagues like Xi Xiaoding and Yang Yiwen. Later, her work-related interactions with him had shown her just how sharp his intuition was — something that had both impressed and slightly unnerved her.
"Well, I'm here to report to you, Boss," she finally replied with a smile, visibly relaxing. She glanced over at the cluster of technical men chatting nearby and added, "I'd better go keep Bob company."
"No worries, we can walk together. Let them talk shop for now."
Over by the other group were the technical leads for each corresponding team, and Su Yuanshan left the greetings in the hands of Xi Xiaoding. His main reason for coming today was to receive Qin Si and Davidson.
As they chatted casually, the vans quickly arrived at the tech park. Chen Jing, already informed of their arrival, was waiting at the entrance with Liu Hongyan from the administration department. After a brief welcome ceremony, Liu took charge of settling everyone into the internal guesthouse Yuanxin had just completed the previous month.
This guesthouse had been a late addition to the original plan. Unlike typical hotel-style apartments, it resembled standard residences. Some units even had three bedrooms and a living room. This setup not only made it easier to host visitors, but also provided housing for returning employees and visiting family members.
Once the check-in was complete, it was time for each team to get to work — most of them were already so familiar with each other through emails and conference calls that meeting in person felt like seeing old friends.
For these visitors, coming to Yuanxin felt more like a vacation with friends, with a bit of business sprinkled in.
...
After dinner, Su Yuanshan took Bob Davidson and Qin Si on a tour of Yuanxin.
This was Qin Si's first time visiting Yuanxin in all these years, and she couldn't stop taking photos with her camera as they walked through the campus.
"Mr. Su, I've always wondered — why did Yuanxin abandon the software business?" Davidson asked, voicing a question he had been holding onto.
"Because we're a semiconductor company," Su Yuanshan replied almost without hesitation. "Even our earlier EDA tools fall within the semiconductor domain. So it's not that we gave up on software — we just never considered it part of our core."
"Oh," Davidson nodded, though his expression showed he wasn't entirely convinced. Or at least, not satisfied with the answer.
Since partnering with Xinghai, Davidson had taken time to study Su Yuanshan, Xinghai, and Yuanxin more seriously. From Qin Si, he had come to understand that Su Yuanshan's greatest strength was his vision. As a veteran software distributor, Davidson hoped to hear the young entrepreneur's real thoughts on the future of the software industry.
Su Yuanshan smiled, pausing to think before continuing. "Actually, saying Yuanxin abandoned software isn't completely accurate. After all, we have an Internet Division, and we've released EM and the Foxmail client — those are very much software products."
"But the pace of internet development is going to far exceed what we can currently perceive. Traditional software distribution is bound to be disrupted — even devastated."
Davidson nodded heavily, concern flickering across his eyes.
That was the main reason he had insisted on coming to Yuanxin — a gut feeling told him he might find answers here, from the man often called the most forward-thinking entrepreneur in China.
Su Yuanshan paused for a moment, then continued, "In the future, only operating systems and tool-based applications might still be distributed traditionally. But as network infrastructure advances, even those will shift toward digital delivery. For instance, a 100MB program might seem huge right now, right? But LANs already support 10MB/s transfer speeds. That means the whole thing can be downloaded in ten seconds. ADSL has already been proven successful in labs. Next up is fiber optics — which means all software will inevitably be downloaded and distributed online."
"It's the same principle as Moore's Law. We know one day it'll reach its limit — the manufacturing scale of wafers will hit the nano barrier. The only question is whether that day comes sooner or later."
At that moment, Qin Si put away her camera and added with a smile, "No one dares bet that day won't come."
Davidson sighed deeply, his respect for Su Yuanshan growing by the second. "That's why I've shifted my focus to Custom."
He looked at Su Yuanshan. "But now it seems, even games are facing the same threat."
"Yes — and no," Su Yuanshan replied, smiling. He knew he had to encourage this partner. Historically, Davidson Software had become famous for acquiring Blizzard — but that had been its only real claim to fame. It was a husband-and-wife company that would be fine living comfortably, but if they truly wanted to do something big, Davidson needed a push.
Through interactions with both Qin Si and Yang Yiwen, Su Yuanshan had come to believe Davidson was ambitious and capable — more than he had first assumed. That's why he ultimately invited him to China. Originally, he had considered using Davidson Software as a disposable partner, one-and-done.
But people weren't all the same. Not everyone had unbreakable resolve, but sometimes success came down to one moment, one decision.
"The PC gaming industry isn't like traditional software. Its audience is clearly defined. And unlike console gaming, PC gaming is a rapidly emerging market. When a new market emerges, what's the most profitable thing to own? What's the first thing you should control?"
"What?" Davidson and Qin Si asked in unison.
"The platform," Su Yuanshan said.
"The platform is like the mall owner — the bridge between game developers and players," he continued, his eyes narrowing as he looked up at the fading twilight. "If you still don't get it, just look at Nintendo and Sony."
Davidson's eyes lit up with sudden clarity. "So traditional software could also become platform-based!"
"You're overthinking it. The traditional software market is too massive. Aside from those who deal in operating systems, who else can dominate it?"
Su Yuanshan gave him a quick glance, then chuckled. "Better to focus on games. That's where the real future lies."
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