Chapter 10: The Crying Napoleon

As Li Yi delved deeper into his introduction, the audience below began to chatter.

A tall foreign man stood up and loudly said, "Sir, our group is willing to pay three million US dollars to buy the patent for this technology."

Another foreign guest immediately stood up and shouted, "Three million five hundred thousand!"

A Japanese man stood up and said, "Our consortium will pay five million US dollars! We can sign the contract on the spot."

Li Yi said, "Let me reiterate: everyone here can bid, except for the Japanese! I don't want to use my inferior technology to pollute their sophisticated eyes."

"Ha ha ha!" Both Chinese and foreign guests laughed. Several Japanese people glared angrily at their impolite colleague, wishing they could tear him apart. The Japanese man, realizing his mistake, kept his head down and dared not speak.

As the bidders offered increasingly higher prices, all the Chinese in the venue were stunned.

Zhou Ziqi's gaze towards Li Yi clearly changed.

Zhou Jimin's expression was complex. To be honest, his first impression of Li Yi was very poor; he looked like a poor student from the countryside.

He had seen many such people. These poor students, often smart and academically excellent, would cling to well-born girls, hoping to secure a good future and a job in the city.

Such people had strong self-esteem and could endure a lot. Once they were provoked, they would seek revenge when they became successful. Therefore, Zhou Jimin was always cautious about his daughter's marriage, aiming to find a match that was at least equal in status, even if he couldn't find a better one.

However, Li Yi's performance today was truly unexpected.

The first surprise was Li Yi's demeanor. Yes, demeanor. Zhou Jimin felt this term was usually used to describe leaders, but he sensed it in Li Yi.

The second surprise was Li Yi's courage. For a student of his age, no matter how smart or creative, how many would dare to attend such a large international conference and speak confidently in front of so many provincial and municipal leaders?

Talent alone is not rare, but talent combined with demeanor is rare. Smart people are not scary, but smart and courageous people are.

Moreover, Li Yi was not only smart and talented but also had a great demeanor and was bold and meticulous. More impressively, he managed to sell a technological innovation for such a high price. Describing it as turning stones into gold would not be an exaggeration.

At that time, the average wage was only a few hundred yuan!

What does five million US dollars mean to an ordinary person?

Do not underestimate a poor young man; the ancients were not wrong!

The venue was noisy, with people exclaiming and whispering. Many took out their phones to make calls.

Li Yi was not surprised at all, calmly observing the reactions of the audience below.

Of course, he knew the value of this technology.

This was not his original creation but the collective wisdom of hundreds of scientific researchers from the future. He was merely borrowing it. However, in this era, it was as valuable as an atomic bomb in the Middle Ages. For example, if Li Yi now had a pirated disc of Windows 95 or a Linux disc and went to Bill Gates, he would certainly offer a sky-high price.

This is the advantage of technological leadership.

Even with such a high bid, Li Yi remained unmoved.

Wen Yuxi's feelings were beyond mere shock.

Li Yi felt a cold gaze from Liu Mingming, filled with jealousy and resentment.

Li Yi ignored it.

A tall Russian stood up and said, "Six million US dollars!"

Wen Yuxi could no longer sit still, twisting his body and glaring at the provincial and municipal leaders in the front row.

Everyone understood Wen Yuxi's meaning, but six million US dollars! Nearly fifty million yuan! Just for a piece of paper?

The vice president of Liugang was discussing with the party secretary and the general manager. Listening to the increasingly high bids, he was terrified.

The three stood up, bowed their heads, and walked to Wen Yuxi's side. The secretary said, "Secretary Wen, this price is too high. How about this: I'll privately invite that young man for a chat later. Since we are a state-owned enterprise and he is a fellow countryman, he might sell it to us at a lower price out of patriotism."

Wen Yuxi glared at him without a word.

The three looked at each other, sweating coldly, and returned to their seats awkwardly.

The discussion in the venue reached a climax, and Li Yi's introduction of the ccpp technology came to an end.

Next, Li Yi dropped another bombshell: "The wastewater recycling and green regeneration system. After full closed-loop treatment by this system, industrial wastewater is recycled and reused, with no pollution, no odor, and no harmful gases. When used in conjunction with the ccpp unit, it will achieve zero pollution in the entire factory, both energy-saving and beautifying the factory. A zero-harm, zero-pollution, green, and environmentally friendly new enterprise will win the favor of more new and old customers and retain skilled workers."

An American journalist asked, "How did you develop these two systems? You look younger than me."

Li Yi stroked his chin, "Even Napoleon was once a crying infant."

Thunderous applause.

The American journalist was not satisfied, "Sir, to be honest, I still doubt that you alone could create such a magnificent work?"

Li Yi smiled, "Any great work in the world is a masterpiece of genius. The Mona Lisa's smile, the Symphony of Fate, the Theory of Relativity, the Law of Universal Gravitation—aren't they all creations of geniuses? Even the world was created by God alone, wasn't it, Mr. Journalist?"

The American journalist gave a thumbs up, "Then, sir, how much do you plan to sell these two systems for?"

Li Yi extended one finger, moving it from left to right, and then slowly said, "One hundred million US dollars. Of course, my technology is not limited to this. The most important technology, the highlight, is the hot-pressed thin plate technology and its supporting technologies. There are many more technologies related to steel. However, I have already taken up too much of the conference's time today, so I won't go into detail about the others."

The audience was stunned.

First, they were shocked by the astronomical price of one hundred million US dollars, and then they were excited by the highlight Li Yi mentioned.

Only experts would understand the value of the hot-pressed thin plate technology Li Yi mentioned.

In the future, it took billions of dollars and the efforts of hundreds of industry elites over several years to develop.

Li Yi pressed his hands down, and the venue quieted down.

Li Yi smiled, "By the way, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Li Yi, Li as in 'wood' and Yi as in 'perseverance.' Foreign friends can call me Li Yi in English! I am a senior in the Chinese Department at Southern University. My dormitory phone number is ******. Friends interested can contact me; perhaps there will be unexpected surprises waiting for you."

Li Yi bowed to Wen Yuxi and the audience again, "Thank you all for taking such valuable time to listen to my fifteen minutes of rambling. I am very grateful to the organizing committee for giving me this opportunity to showcase myself. Goodbye."

After saying this, Li Yi turned and left without any hesitation, just as he had come suddenly, leaving the audience with endless thoughts.

Li Yi did not know that as soon as he left, representatives from over a dozen countries called their embassies, demanding that they spare no effort to investigate Li Yi's background.

Wen Yuxi had no interest in reading the five-page speech and ended his speech with a few hurried words.

He needed time to digest what had just happened.

Originally, he had only wanted to see what this student, who was dressed simply but had an extraordinary demeanor, was selling, so he had helped him intentionally or unintentionally and allowed his indulgence. Otherwise, Li Yi would not have had the chance to speak.

He did not expect that this young man would give such a big surprise.

As soon as Li Yi walked down the stairs, Zhou Ziqi chased after him, "Hey, Li Yi!"

Li Yi turned around and smiled, "Hello, why did you come out?"

Before he could react, a fragrant breeze blew, and Zhou Ziqi threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and planting a kiss on his face.

"Uh!" Li Yi was completely stunned.

"Li Yi, I love you! I love you so much! You were so cool just now! You are the coolest man I have ever seen!" Zhou Ziqi let go of Li Yi, looking up at him with a starry-eyed expression.

"Ha ha!" Li Yi could only laugh foolishly, unable to find any other words to express his feelings.

The Southern Province had spared no effort to host this grand global steel forum, but it had led to Li Yi's stunning transformation.

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