Chapter 65: The Mentor’s Call

Rein Leinar was completely astounded by Du Qiu’s software; there was no exaggeration in what he had just said.

You should know that he has deeply used and studied the top ten CNC software in the world, but none have controlled a machine tool to this extent.

Although he couldn’t see the intrinsic algorithms of the software, just the tool path movements of the machine tool made him realize this software’s uniqueness.

Rein Leinar believed that he should do something for this software, and he immediately discussed with Du Qiu the issue of marketing the software in the European market.

To think of selling the software abroad, particularly to the stronghold of CNC software in Germany, was something Du Qiu had never considered.

However, Rein Leinar emphasized that this software was, without question, the best CNC control software in the world, and he was willing to take on its agency sales in Europe.

Perhaps it could then collaborate with some major manufacturers, allowing this software to shine in the field of CNC.

“Batty, I never knew you had such a keen sense for business,” Du Qiu teased.

In his eyes, Rein Leinar had always been just a tech guy.

“Hey, Du, my father used to be Siemens’ best salesman; I must have his genes, right?”

“Okay then, I’ll discuss it with some people.”

Du Qiu called Sun Hongming and Kim Zhenan, who was responsible for intellectual property declarations, to his office.

“Kim Zhenan, have we applied for a patent for our software in Europe?”

“We’ve already registered, but there is a fee to be paid to continue the process, which I estimate can only be done after May Day.”

Kim Zhenan was a woman in her thirties with a degree in law, previously worked as a lawyer for a while before switching to intellectual property.

She and Yuan Minhua had once worked together in the same company, where they developed a good relationship.

Rein Leinar said immediately: “Du, once it’s registered, you don’t have to worry about being copied, and intellectual property protection in Europe is very strict.”

Sun Hongming was somewhat hesitant and said: “Although President Du has just added an investment, we currently might not be able to support the costs of promotion and sales in Europe.

Unless we look for venture capital financing, then we could rapidly advance the software’s sales.”

Du Qiu shook his head and said: “Financing now would be at a great loss. Although our software is indeed valuable, without having undergone high-end industry appraisals, venture capitalists will definitely drive down the price.”

Rein Leinar, not quite understanding Du Qiu’s point, asked, “The software should skyrocket; venture capitalists should be fighting to get stock, right? Why bother with industry appraisals?”

Du Qiu smiled wryly: “Here at home, software is far less valued than hardware, especially when it comes to industrial equipment. It’s easy to spend millions or even tens of millions on equipment, but when it comes to buying software, spending a few hundred thousand makes people question if it’s too expensive? Unless it’s imported software – then any price seems reasonable.”

Kim Zhenan agreed: “President Du is right. A few years ago, I helped a software company with property declarations, and I heard about their experiences with a government tender in a certain place.

The local agent complained that bidding on hardware for several tens of millions wasn’t as tough as bidding on domestic software that’s only worth a few million; it exhausted all his connections.”

Rein Leinar found it somewhat unbelievable and said, “In our Germanic countries, this kind of software is much more important than hardware.

Du, I can contact my father right away, and I believe we will have good news soon.”

Seeing Rein Leinar’s sincerity, Du Qiu decided to give him the general agency rights in Europe to see for himself Rein Leinar’s network in Germannic Europe.

As for the promotional costs, Du Qiu directly refunded them from the sales rebates given to the agent – in other words, the agents advanced the money.

After Rein Leinar cheerfully went downstairs to guide the young people in the R&D department, Sun Hongming gave Du Qiu thumbs up, “President Du, you’re truly adept!”

Looking at Sun Hongming and Kim Zhenan, Du Qiu habitually rubbed his temples, “Oh, it’s so tough for me – who would’ve thought a landlord would run out of grain?”

They both laughed, and as Sun Hongming was about to leave, he said, “I almost forgot to tell you, Manager Qin has already settled the accounts, and I’ve ordered two CNCs from FANUC.

The dealer has them in stock; they will be delivered to the company tomorrow, just in time for the May Day exhibition in the capital.”

“You moved so fast?” Du Qiu was surprised.

“I was afraid you would spend money too quickly,” said Sun Hongming, then quickly left.

“Ha, Brother Sun has learned to be bad too.”

After tidying up, Du Qiu went to his personal lab; he intended to spend the afternoon trying to decipher the white pattern in the crystal pillow.

Time always flies when doing research.

When Du Qiu felt unbearably hungry, he realized it was already eight o’clock at night.

Turning his head to look at the table by the door of the lab, there was unsurprisingly a boxed meal, beside which was a microwave.

This was arranged by Yuan Minhua who knew Du Qiu often forgot to eat; he didn’t want to be bothered, so he waited for Du Qiu to feel hungry and heat it up himself.

“It seems I’ve forgotten to eat again.”

Du Qiu tidied up, went over, warmed up the boxed meal in the microwave, and then devoured the food.

“In this instant, there are a million possibilities…”

As Du Qiu was about to drink some water, his phone rang.

He picked up the phone, a little surprised to see it was from his mentor, Academician Ding Youlun.

Knowing how busy Academician Ding was with teaching and research, and that he seldom contacted his students once they had graduated, Du Qiu had only seen his mentor during this year’s Spring Festival when he made a special visit.

He had intended to visit his alma mater yesterday, but the mentor had been away on a business trip.

“Hello, Teacher.”

“Du Qiu, you really did well! I truly haven’t misjudged you,” Academician Ding’s voice sounded quite excited.

Du Qiu was confused; his mentor seldom praised anyone, and now he was calling after months just to offer praise.

Wondering if his mentor had joined some kind of praise group, Du Qiu carefully inquired, “Teacher, how have you been? Is your blood sugar still normal?”

“Ha ha, I’ve been feeling great because of the happy events; my blood sugar has never been so normal.”

“Oh, Teacher, what happy event have you encountered?”

“I attended an expert appraisal meeting at the ministry today and ran into Old Xu from Wudao Mouth; the guy kept praising me, which left me stupefied.”

Du Qiu was puzzled. Academician Xu Bingchang from the Wudao Mouth Institute of Electromechanical Studies was also a top expert in the field in the capital, and he had maintained a longstanding friendship with his mentor, Ding Youlun.

Of course, being rivals in the same field, they often debated heatedly, turning red in the face with anger.

Therefore, it was rare indeed for Xu Bingchang to openly praise his own mentor.

“Teacher, did Academician Xu praise you in public?”

“I knew you wouldn’t believe it, ha ha, I still think I’m dreaming. But the one who turned this dream into reality is you,” laughed Ding Youlun.

Ding Youlun and Xu Bingchang had been bickering and arguing for decades; both had their achievements in the industry, and the outstanding students they had taught over the years were also well-matched.

Unexpectedly, this time it was his own student who had stood out.

“Teacher, I’m really confused. Don’t beat around the bush, what did I do to make you proud?”

Unable to hold back any longer, Du Qiu wanted to straighten out his mentor’s divergent thoughts.

“You cheeky fellow, can’t I praise you a little longer?” Ding Youlun chided with a laugh and then asked back, “Did you finish that software of yours? Is it called ‘Sky Conqueror System’?”

Du Qiu was momentarily stunned; his software had only just sold to a couple of clients, and now it reached Academician Xu?

Thinking about this, Du Qiu replied, “I’ve recently started my own company called Dream Technology, which is mainly engaged in the field of intelligent machinery software and hardware.

The software has indeed been successfully developed recently, and the first client was Chairman Xue of Huading Group. She acquired Tianqi Company in Magic City, and now all products use my software.

Could it be that Academician Xu learned it from Chairman Xue?”

Ding Youlun said, “I remember you went to an autonomous driving technology company after graduation. Did you start your own business because the software was successfully developed? Did you accept investment from Xue Ningmei?”

Du Qiu quickly replied, “That company went bankrupt, and just when my software was almost ready, I thought about starting my own business.

Xue Ningmei indeed wanted to invest in my company, but I did not agree.”

“Not bad, good that you didn’t accept.” Ding Youlun started to praise and then flipped mood, “But I must scold you!”