Chapter 226 The Dawn of Technology
Inside the factory of Haitang Technology in the suburbs of Beijing.
The cleanroom was as bright as day, and the air was filled with the distinctive smell of solder and equipment heat dissipation.
Zhou Jimin, a man in his thirties with hair as messy as a bird's nest, was wearing thick glasses and holding a small black square in his hands with slight trembling. His bloodshot eyes were flashing with an almost manic light.
"It's out...it's finally out..." he murmured to himself, his voice hoarse, having not slept for days and nights.
Standing next to him was Jiang Fan, a tall man wearing a faded denim jacket, his hands in his pockets, an unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth, looking nonchalant. He leaned over for a glance and pursed his lips.
"Old Zhou, this thing, no bigger than a fingernail, has nearly made you fly to heaven?"
"You know nothing!" Zhou Jimin suddenly looked up, his face flushed with excitement.
"This is no ordinary thing! This is art! This is the future of China's semiconductor industry! I call it 'Dawn One'! Our first 8-bit processor chip!"
He held the chip, which he named "Dawn No. 1," up to the light, as if admiring a priceless treasure.
Jiang Fan removed the cigarette from his mouth and looked at the small object that reflected a dim luster under the light. A spark ignited in his usually rebellious and unruly eyes. Although he loved to argue, he knew the significance of this object.
He was silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke up: "Old Zhou, what do you think about using this thing on our 'Tangdi Pharmaceutical' production line for automated control?"
Zhou Jimin froze, adjusted his glasses, and his mind raced. "Automation...control?"
“Yes.” Jiang Fan carefully took the chip from his hand and weighed it between his fingertips.
"Look, we have our own factories, our own technology, and we develop our own chips, which we first use on our own production lines. We test their performance while simultaneously improving efficiency. What's that called? That's called internal technology circulation. Once we've mastered it, we can then release it to the outside world—that's a game-changer!"
Zhou Jimin's breathing quickened as he looked at Jiang Fan as if he were meeting this young man, whom the school considered a "troublemaker," for the first time.
The prototype of a vast and awe-inspiring technological empire quietly emerged in this small laboratory, through a few words of conversation between two eccentric geniuses.
...
The jeep drove smoothly on the road.
Su Wantang leaned back in the back seat, her eyes closed, her fingers unconsciously stroking the warm jade brooch on her chest.
"Young Miss, where are we going?" Qin Zheng, who was driving, glanced in the rearview mirror and asked in a deep voice.
"Haitang Technology." Su Wantang opened her eyes, the softness in them fading, replaced by her usual clarity and decisiveness.
When the car arrived at the factory, it was already close to noon.
Su Wantang had just sat down in her office when Zhou Jimin and Jiang Fan knocked on the door and came in.
"Boss!" Zhou Jimin carefully placed the anti-static box containing "Shuguang No. 1" on Su Wantang's desk, so excited that he was incoherent.
"We did it! We...we got it working!"
Su Wantang opened the box and looked at the chip, which was countless times rougher than those of later generations, yet carried the technological starting point of a nation. Even she felt an indescribable surge of emotion.
She looked up at the two geniuses in front of her, whose styles were very different.
A man, disheveled and unkempt, yet with eyes that hold the stars and the sea.
A rebellious and cynical man, yet with a vision for the future in his mind.
They're all her people.
"You've worked hard." Su Wantang's voice was soft but firm. "I can give you everything you want. I just want one result."
She looked at Jiang Fan: "Your idea for an automated production line is excellent. I'll approve the funding, the personnel, and whatever you need. Just go ahead and do it."
Jiang Fan paused for a moment, then grinned, revealing a set of white teeth. "Alright! Boss, just you wait and see!"
After seeing off the two excited techies, the office returned to silence.
Su Wantang looked at Qin Zheng, who had been standing solemnly to the side.
"Qin Zheng".
"exist."
“Choose a few from among your retired brothers.” Su Wantang picked up her teacup and blew on the foam. “I’m going to Hong Kong.”
Qin Zheng's expression hardened.
What kind do you want?
"The most skilled, the most discreet," Su Wantang put down her teacup, her voice turning cold. "Ideally... someone who has seen blood and isn't afraid of death."
Qin Zheng's heart skipped a beat. He had been by Su Wantang's side for so long, and this was the first time he had heard such blunt and murderous words from her.
He knew that the trip to Hong Kong Island was not as simple as the "market research" that his boss had mentioned.
That will be a real battlefield.
"Understood." Qin Zheng didn't ask a single question, but simply nodded heavily.
He turned to leave, but there was a knock on the office door.
Lu Jingyan pushed open the door and came in. He had changed out of his military uniform and was wearing a simple white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, revealing his strong and muscular physique. He was carrying a net bag containing a few apples.
Seeing Qin Zheng there, he nodded, then walked straight to Su Wantang's side and placed the net on the table.
"It's lunchtime, eat first. Aunt Wang packed your lunchbox." He unscrewed the lunchbox, and the aroma of food immediately wafted out. "Would you like me to peel an apple for you?"
His tone of voice was so natural that it couldn't be more natural, as if this wasn't the office of a high-tech factory, but their own kitchen.
Qin Zheng tactfully saluted, then quietly slipped out, closing the door behind him.
As Su Wantang watched him skillfully take out a knife and carefully peel an apple, her nerves, which had been tense all morning, unconsciously relaxed.
This man always managed to soothe all her anxiety in the simplest way.
Her gaze fell on the jade brooch on her chest.
The cool jade stone, having been pressed against her body, had become warmed by her body temperature.
The Dong family... keepsake...
A single thought, like a bolt of lightning, pierced through all the fog in her mind.
When she goes to Hong Kong Island, she is not just Bai Shu, nor just Su Wantang.
She could also be...someone else.
An identity that would make the Huo family wary and be accepted by the old guard of Hong Kong.
Lu Jingyan peeled the apple, cut it into small pieces, and used a toothpick to put a piece to her mouth.
Su Wantang opened her mouth and ate it; the apple was sweet and crisp.
She looked at Lu Jingyan, a sly glint in her clear, peach-blossom eyes.
"Lu Jingyan, what do you say, how about we put on a grand show in Hong Kong?"
Lu Jingyan stopped feeding her the apple. Looking at the light in her eyes, he knew that his wife was thinking of some earth-shattering plan again.
He didn't ask what kind of play it was, but simply pushed the remaining apples in front of her, his voice low and indulgent.
"I'll listen to you."
Su Wantang picked up a piece of apple, took a bite, and made a crunching sound.
In her mind, a bold and meticulous plan was rapidly taking shape.
Isn't the Huo family all-powerful in Hong Kong?
Don't those old-fashioned families look down on these new elites?
So she took advantage of the Dong family's influence and sent them a "cousin" who had been lost for many years.
A grand drama unfolding, featuring a real and a fake heiress.
She wanted to see what it would be like for someone claiming to be a "descendant of the Dong family," possessing enormous wealth and cutting-edge technology, and backed by the Chinese military, to be parachuted into the deep waters of Hong Kong.
How big of a wave it will stir up, how many fish it will drown.
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