Chapter 298 The Best of Times: She's Definitely Going On

Silence fell over the reception room.

At that moment, Mr. Hu didn't know how to respond.

The electric fan was still blowing loudly, and the air conditioner was slowly putting its cooling function into play, gradually dissipating the summer heat in the room.

Mr. Hu slowly exhaled, unable to hide his emotion: "Mr. Wang, everyone says that computer science education should start from childhood. Are you planning to start working on lithography machines from the moment you turn your back on your coffin?"

Wang Xiao laughed, not focusing on himself, but continuing to emphasize the benefits of recruiting overseas Chinese engineers: "They have experience and bring their own resources."

She then cited Morris Chang as an example, saying, "TSMC was able to survive after it was built because Morris Chang secured orders from Intel."

Even 30 years from now, TSMC's mere presence will shake the global semiconductor industry.

In the 1980s, TSMC was a pitiful little thing that no one cared about.

The contract manufacturing model was not accepted at the time, given the mainstream IDM (Integrated Device Manufacturing) model, which handled everything from design to manufacturing and packaging/testing in-house.

Semiconductor giants all have their own factories, so why would they choose you for processing?

But if you want to gain a foothold, you must find industry leaders. Only when industry leaders recognize your abilities can you prove your skills and win orders from other small and medium-sized manufacturers.

It's fair to say that without Morris Chang's connections, even if TSMC remained TSMC, it wouldn't have been able to secure Intel's orders.

This is a universally applicable principle for doing business.

All that nonsense about the Western world not valuing connections, not engaging in social niceties, and not having backstabbing office politics is just empty rhetoric and self-deception.

If that were the case, why would Morris Chang leave Texas Instruments and General Instrument one after the other?

Wherever there are people, there is a world of its own; even a foreign world is still a world of its own.

There are rules in the martial arts world, and for newcomers who want to enter this circle, having someone to guide them is the most suitable thing to do.

There was a knock on the door, and the waiter brought over a slice of watermelon.

Wang Xiao smiled, took a slice, and gestured for everyone to start. He also sincerely praised, "The soil in Shanghai is excellent, and the 8424 melons grown here are especially sweet."

The air was filled with a cool, sweet smell.

Take a bite, and you'll find a natural, chilled drink—a gift of the summer night, especially good for calming the nerves.

President Hu also ate watermelon bite after bite.

Although there are many cold drinks on the market now, and all kinds of ice cream, popsicles and ice cream are available, he still feels that in summer, one should eat a watermelon soaked in well water.

While eating, President Hu sighed, "I'm afraid they won't want to come back."

He certainly knew the benefits of returning from overseas.

Putting aside other things, the foundation of China's semiconductor industry was laid by returnees from overseas.

These veteran scientists, including Wang Shouwu, Huang Kun, Xie Xide, Xia Peisu, Tang Dingyuan, Huang Chang, and Lin Lanying, laid the first foundation for China's semiconductor industry.

It was their support that built the emerging semiconductor industry, ensuring the electronic and computing support for a number of major military projects, such as the "Two Bombs, One Satellite" project.

But times change.

After the reform and opening up, the government sent so many students abroad at public expense, but not 10% of them returned; it was only 1%.

Because in the decades following World War II, the world's ideological struggles were so intense that it reached a point where everyone lived on the same planet, yet seemed completely unable to communicate.

In the 1920s and 30s, American capitalists helped the newly formed Soviet Union lay the foundation for its industrial system.

But nowadays, even if they could get 10 times the amount of gold, the US government would absolutely not allow such a thing to happen.

After finishing a slice of watermelon, President Hu remained worried.

Wang Xiao laughed and teased, "President Hu, you can't back down first. You have to step back and start from their perspective."

She then cited Morris Chang as an example, saying, "He is known as the father of Taiwan's semiconductor industry, but he had never lived in Taiwan before he went to work there."

Huh? This time, most people, including Vice Mayor Huang, widened their eyes in surprise.

He's Chinese, and he achieved a second period of success in Taiwan after turning fifty. Everyone naturally assumed that he would return to his roots and start a business there.

Mr. Zheng nodded in agreement with Wang Xiao’s statement: “Yes, Morris Chang spent his childhood in Hong Kong, attended Chongqing Nankai Middle School for secondary school, went to Hong Kong with his parents in 1949, and then went to the United States to study.”

His life trajectory truly has nothing to do with Taiwan.

As a result, he was recognized for his talent by the Taiwanese authorities, who recruited him and then led Taiwan onto the world stage of semiconductors.

It's important to know that until the late 1970s, the mainland's semiconductor industry was still far ahead of Taiwan's.

In just over a decade, they have left them far behind.

Wang Xiao pressed on, saying, "If Sun Yunxuan had insisted on being Taiwanese back then, none of this would have happened."

It's really quite a sad story.

The person who actually grew up in Taiwan is another semiconductor industry tycoon surnamed Zhang—Zhang Rujing.

As a result, he became a powerful force for the mainland semiconductor industry, a strong person who never gave up and constantly strived for progress.

Therefore, simply using background or politics as an excuse to say whether or not talent can be recruited is a sign of lazy governance.

Any headhunting firm that operates like this is not far from going out of business.

Of course, Wang Xiao couldn't use Zhang Rujing as an example now, so he could only emphasize seriously: "When it comes to recruiting talent, a gentleman judges by actions, not intentions. As long as the talent can be put to use, that's enough."

From her perspective, she really dislikes those bureaucrats.

When we're working, we ask you to contribute, because you're a member of the team. But when it comes to distribution, you go back to where you came from, and you're no longer part of us.

Mr. Hu looked at the melon rind in his hand and sighed softly, "Finding the right person to do this isn't easy either."

“So we need to address the root cause.” Wang Xiao gestured for him to eat another piece of melon, smiling. “Officials in charge of recruiting talent should ideally have relevant professional backgrounds and preferably have overseas study experience. This makes it easier for everyone to communicate on the same wavelength and avoid talking at cross purposes.”

She also provided a template: "Taiwan has the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), which has made great contributions to the development of the island's semiconductor industry. It serves as a communication channel between semiconductor companies and between companies and the government, and also helps semiconductor companies to exchange ideas and make progress."

As she spoke, she added, "If there were such an institution, we wouldn't have ended up like in the 1980s, with the whole country rushing to import dozens of obsolete 3-inch wafer production lines. We spent so much of the country's foreign exchange, and then we didn't even know how to use them, so they just sat idle."

This is why mainland China later partnered with foreign companies to establish chip factories.

The semiconductor industry is facing a talent shortage. Without collaboration, production technology and software design problems are simply unsolvable. If you don't fully understand the industry, even the most expensive equipment you buy will just sit there collecting dust.

Seeing how actively she was helping and offering advice, General Manager Hu picked up the second slice of watermelon and said with a rather emotional expression, "General Manager Wang, you certainly have a lot of confidence in the semiconductor industry."

In fact, after the Gulf War, most countries with the capability to compete, including China, felt the urgency of developing their own chips.

In essence, the Gulf War was a high-tech war centered on chip technology.

Precision and speed have replaced quantity; chips have triumphed over the steel torrent and human wave tactics, becoming the key to victory.

However, this is not something you can develop simply by concentrating your efforts on major tasks and overcoming difficulties all at once.

Take Project 908 for example. Huajing's 6-inch wafer production line was initiated under the personal guidance of the old gentleman, but to this day, they haven't even been able to reach a technical cooperation agreement.

President Hu himself may not be able to say it out loud, but in fact, there are already voices arguing that socialism is not suitable for developing the semiconductor industry.

The system dictates that the semiconductor industry is ill-suited to the socialist world.

So he was very puzzled as to why Wang Xiao was so convinced that entering this industry now would be a good opportunity.

She's not an ignorant person; she's traveled abroad countless times, spending half the year flying around.

She should know about these issues.

Wang Xiao nodded firmly: "Of course, I firmly believe that China will become the world's leading semiconductor country. This is determined by our national conditions, and only we can do it."

These words were truly earth-shattering. The graduate students, who had been happily eating watermelon and only half-listening, all held their watermelons, their round eyes wide open, revealing a clear sense of foolishness.

Uh, isn't that a bit of an overstatement?

Even someone like him, who considers himself to be rather ignorant, knows that both mainland China and Taiwan only began preparing to develop the semiconductor industry in the late 1970s.

Given the current progress, anyone with eyes would be embarrassed to say, against their conscience, that mainland China is developing better than Taiwan in the semiconductor industry.

With this, you still have the nerve to talk about the superiority of the system?

You can talk, but we don't have ears to listen.

However, capitalists are obviously more shameless than students, and can still solemnly emphasize: "Yes, this is determined by the superiority of socialism."

She had already eaten two slices of watermelon, and was using the rind as a model. "The Gulf War was a turning point. It can be said that after the Gulf War, South Korea's semiconductor industry rose rapidly and has now begun to surpass Japan in many areas. There is no doubt that the conflict between the US and Japan gave South Korea the opportunity to rise. But another important point is cost control."

She reached out and gestured towards the melon rinds on either side, saying, "South Korea was able to win the fundamental battle because its product cost control is better than Japan's. The key to this is labor costs, specifically, the cost of engineers."

"South Korea's GDP per capita is lower than Japan's, and its labor costs for engineers are lower than Japan's, so it can win."

This is easy for anyone to understand, because that's just how labor-intensive industries are.

Why are the costs of light industries like clothing and textiles in China so low? It's because labor is cheap.

If that's the case, then China should indeed win. Chinese engineers aren't paid high salaries either.

It's not unreasonable for Mr. Wang to be so confident.

But as the saying goes, "a newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger," and students are always impetuous.

The graduate student, who had originally wanted to eat a third slice of watermelon, actually managed to control his itching hand. Instead of reaching for the watermelon, he raised his hand and looked at Wang Xiao with a serious expression: "So, Mr. Wang, I have a question. Are we going to have to be paid less than them forever? Will our salaries never increase? If that's the case, how can we retain employees? You yourself said that you can't expect to tie people down with a sense of national pride."

With a "slap," Wang Xiao clapped his hands together, looking excitedly at the graduate student whose forehead still had acne: "You've hit the nail on the head. What I'm about to say is the superiority of our socialism, the superiority that renders capitalism powerless."

“The level of income and your actual purchasing power are two different things.” She pointed to the watermelon. “Here, a watermelon only costs a few dollars. But in South Korea and Japan, a watermelon can sell for hundreds of dollars. An engineer in Japan or South Korea might earn 10,000 dollars a month, which seems like a lot, but his daily income might only be enough to buy one watermelon.”

The graduate student stared wide-eyed, unable to believe his ears: "So expensive? It's just a watermelon!"

Wang Xiao nodded: "It's watermelon. Not just watermelon, but other foods in Japan and South Korea, including fruits and vegetables, are quite expensive. They earn a lot, but prices are just as high, and there are many places to spend money."

She laughed and said, "This is a common problem for them. The reason why vegetable prices in our country can be controlled is because the government intervenes and there is a food supply project. Similarly, in other aspects such as clothing, food, housing, transportation, education, and medical care, the government's system allows it to intervene and control these issues."

The window was open to let in some fresh air, and the faint strains of singing drifted in from outside: "Socialism is good, socialism is good, the people of socialist countries have a high status..."

It's quite fitting for the occasion.

Wang Xiao immediately raised his hand and made an innocent expression: "This was not my arrangement."

Everyone in the room burst into laughter.

Wang Xiao laughed along with him.

Actually, she was saying these words to the people present, but also to herself.

She had to admit that Mr. Zheng's frank and discouraging remarks had been quite a blow to her.

But after thinking it over, she regained her confidence.

Because she believed that the various policies implemented by the country before she traveled through time were validating her words.

We can keep our wages lower than yours to control production costs and maintain our competitive advantage in the market.

But our quality of life can be no lower than yours, and may even be higher.

In this way, by ensuring a sense of well-being in life, people can be retained.

Mr. Hu laughed and slapped his thigh: "Hearing your words is better than reading for ten years. You are indeed knowledgeable and insightful. Mr. Wang, I think you are suitable to be the leader of this Industrial Technology Research Institute. You are definitely capable of attracting talent."

What does this mean? Are they trying to recruit her into an official position?

Was Wang Xiao tempted? Tempted my foot!

She had absolutely no interest in it.

She genuinely hopes that China's semiconductor market can take off. Because only when the pie gets bigger can everyone get a larger slice.

But this doesn't mean she has to sacrifice her hobbies and interests to become a cog in the revolutionary machine.

She shook her head without hesitation: "I can't do this, and I'm not interested."

Vice Mayor Huang secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself that if he had personally witnessed Wang Xiao being retained by Shanghai as a cadre, he would be a sinner if he returned to Xiaozhou.

If they really wanted her to be a cadre, wouldn't Xiaozhou arrange it for her?

Oh dear, when he gets back to his room he has to call the Party Secretary and figure out a way to get Wang Xiao promoted to the CPPCC member of Jiangbei Province again, to give him some more leverage.

It was getting late, and the revolutionary song "Socialism is Good" had finished playing outside. It was time for President Hu to get up and say goodbye.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry to bother you. Mr. Wang, Mr. Ivanov, and everyone else, please get some rest."

He had already stepped out of the meeting room when he suddenly turned back, snapping a picture of his head and exclaiming, "Look at my head! Mr. Wang, I almost forgot. I came here to ask you for a definite answer: can you spare 50 mu?"

He was mentally prepared to patiently persuade him not to always think of being the master of a state-owned enterprise.

Whether it was the watermelon being too delicious or the stirring strains of "Socialism" playing outside the window, Wang Xiao actually nodded in agreement: "Okay, we'll use 50 mu of land as shares at the current market price. Don't worry, I won't interfere with their work. As for the comrades at the research institute, those who are capable, don't give me their brother-in-law or sister-in-law's relatives. Those who are willing to take a leave of absence without pay will still receive their original benefits."

Mr. Hu was completely dumbfounded, utterly baffled as to why she had changed her mind so suddenly.

She actually decided not to make decisions for others.

As for the matter of using land as shares, he didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

From a business perspective, she did acquire the land cheaply at the time, but she also kept her promises, actively developed the land, and solved the employment problems of so many farmers whose land was expropriated.

Times have changed. Now that land prices have risen, it's quite normal for her to demand shares at market price.

Mr. Hu couldn't believe his ears and asked again, "So you're saying the people at the research institute are being put on unpaid leave to work for you?"

It's actually not too difficult to accomplish this.

Why? Because research institutes are generally having a tough time these days.

Right now, government agencies, including public security, procuratorate, and courts, are busy doing business and making money. How can research institutes escape this trend?

To put it bluntly, administrative law enforcement agencies have a natural advantage in doing business.

The research institute is truly inadequate in this regard. Their knowledge and technology are unlikely to fetch a good price on the market, making it difficult to find buyers.

Therefore, in the past two years, quite a few researchers have taken unpaid leave to try and earn more money.

That's why Mr. Hu felt like he'd won the lottery, and he always thought Wang Xiao was too easy to talk to, and he suspected that Wang Xiao had other tricks up his sleeve.

Wang Xiao smiled broadly: "Yes, I want the research institute's."

Although Mr. Hu was full of doubts, he was afraid that if he said too much, she would change her mind, so he immediately made a decision: "Okay, then it's settled. A gentleman's word is as good as his bond."

Wang Xiao nodded with a smile: "Of course."

After seeing the people off, Vice Mayor Huang turned back and sighed, "Oh dear, Shanghai is Shanghai after all. Mr. Wang, you're still biased."

Wang Xiao was speechless. Boss, don't you realize that your tone is quite like that of West Lake Longjing tea?

She shrugged: "In the semiconductor industry, you have to respect Moore's Law. Moore once warned that what's more dangerous than falling behind Moore's Law is being ahead of it. That could very well mean billions of dollars of investment going down the drain."

Upon hearing that it was billions of US dollars, Vice Mayor Huang immediately fell silent.

When faced with money, especially large sums of money, who can stand tall?

To put it bluntly, if they could get a little more money, these leading cadres would throw a tantrum at the ministry and put on a tearful performance.

Mr. Zheng smiled and said goodbye, "Then we'll be going back tomorrow."

Wang Xiao nodded: "Okay, when can you expect to complete the leave of absence procedures? When can you come over?"

Professor Zheng's smile froze, and he raised his eyebrows in surprise: "You still want to make a lithography machine?"

Vice Mayor Huang also looked over, equally surprised. Hadn't she already given up? She no longer wanted the people from Factory No. 3 to take her orders.

“Of course we should,” Wang Xiao said earnestly. “Our engineering team hasn’t been trained yet, and our industrial level can’t keep up, so let’s start with laboratory research. At least at the laboratory level, we need to demonstrate the feasibility of the 193nm immersion lithography machine as soon as possible.”

She laughed. "We are latecomers, but we have our advantages. We have nothing to lose. We're a blank slate, so at least the lab can do whatever it wants with our research."

So what if we don't get any results from the research? What does it matter? Originally there was nothing, so where can dust settle?

She glanced at the graduate student next to her, and extended an invitation with a beaming smile: "Would you be interested in coming with your advisor to work on the research and development of lithography machines?"

The graduate student, looking blank, adjusted his glasses and suddenly asked a completely unrelated question: "So, in this industry, newcomers beat the pioneers by controlling costs. Then, how do the pioneers maintain their advantage? Don't they have any other methods?"

Wang Xiao waved his hand: "How could that be? Giants are giants. They basically monopolize the entire market, making it very difficult for newcomers to enter. In addition to technological blockades and equipment embargoes, there are also conventional economic measures—depreciation policies."

She explained, "Leading manufacturers often adopt aggressive depreciation policies, selling at high prices within a relatively short depreciation period to obtain excess profits and abundant cash flow. With this money, they can further invest and support various high expenses. Once the equipment depreciation is over, they immediately start a price war, using low prices to deter newcomers and maintain their leading advantage."

As she spoke, she couldn't help but sigh, "That's the cruelty of this industry. It's either live or die. Nobody can just lie around and coast along, hoping to at least have some soup if they can't get any meat."

She extended the invitation once again, "How about it, are you interested in making a lithography machine?"

The graduate student initially seemed to realize what was happening, but when asked the question, he was somewhat at a loss and subconsciously turned to look at his advisor.

Instead of taking on all the responsibilities for his student, the old gentleman looked at him seriously and said, "Take this opportunity to think carefully about how you want to walk your own path in the future."

He didn't care; he was already quite old, and more than half of him was buried in the earth.

Even if he changes allegiances and spends the rest of his life on things that yield no results, at most he'll just lose face.

Young people are different; they definitely need to carefully consider their future path.

Wang Xiao smiled and said, "Then you two should go back and rest first. There's no rush. You can tell me the answer tomorrow."

She intends to continue doing it.

The best time to do anything you want to do is always now.

Starting now, when the first real chip boom in China begins around the turn of the millennium, her lithography machine, even if it's not perfect, will still have a place to be used.

The development of lithography machines itself requires user feedback.

Only by starting can there be a positive cycle later.

Besides, how could 1994 be an unsuitable year for developing lithography machines?

Don't forget that the current head of the family was formerly the Minister of Electronics Industry, and he himself graduated from the Department of Electrical Engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

He understands chips; he knows the importance of semiconductors.

The attitude of family members is crucial for the progress of any large project.

Wang Xiao believes that, given this historical context, any progress her lithography machine project makes will receive strong support from the national level.

How can this not be the best of times?

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Note: Zhang Chu covered "Socialism is Good" in 1991. In the early 1990s, classic revolutionary songs experienced a resurgence in popularity, and the cassette tape "Red Sun" sold over three million copies in just three months. "Red Sun" became a nationwide sensation, ultimately achieving an astonishing 7.2 million copies sold. This record of 7.2 million remains unbroken in the history of Chinese audio-visual publishing. Therefore, the widespread popularity of this song in 1994 was not a deliberate attempt by A Jin to create an atmosphere by forcing the song onto the market at an inopportune time. [Let me see...]