Chapter 84 Hard to Please, Both Villains and Women
Although the procurement list looked chaotic with all kinds of components, in reality, apart from a few specialized bearings and motors, most were standard parts that Yuanchip could easily source. So Su Yuanshan wasn't particularly worried. Around noon the next day, he simply handed the list over to Chen Jing. Unexpectedly, Chen Jing dug out a thick book — as thick as a dictionary — listing export prohibitions.
Su Yuanshan stared, dumbfounded: "Where the hell did you get this?"
"I printed it before coming over," Chen Jing said, flipping through the hefty volume. "Even though the island doesn't openly say it won't do business, in reality, it's following the West's lead. So basically, everyone keeps a copy."
She glanced up at him: "Feeling uncomfortable?"
Su Yuanshan locked eyes with this elegant woman and smirked: "How do you think I should answer?"
Chen Jing smiled, gently shaking her head: "Let's not talk about it."
"Fine, let's not."
Chen Jing quickly skimmed the pages: "Honestly, things have loosened up internationally since last year. Most components aren't an issue anymore. From a corporate perspective, everyone's eager to do business. Otherwise, look at microcontrollers — after UESTC91 came out, the companies that make them practically jumped in frustration. If they had opened the market earlier, UESTC91 wouldn't even exist."
Su Yuanshan laughed out loud.
Chen Jing continued smiling as she flipped further: "By the way, at the TB Computer Expo, will the 91 microcontroller be ready for demos?"
"No problem."
"Good."
She frowned slightly as she turned to the latter part of the list: "Currently, the most advanced air-bearing motors are restricted exports. If you need those... even Sony might not be able to help. They don't manufacture them."
"Then we'll just have to see if we can source them through Hong Kong."
"Even there it'll be tough. Motors for lithography machines are considered consumables," Chen Jing said, watching him closely. "Do you really need it?"
"It would definitely be better to have it," Su Yuanshan said vaguely — there were confidentiality issues regarding Chengguang's project, and Chen Jing's background was a bit too sensitive.
"If it's necessary, I'll see what I can do," Chen Jing said, closing the catalog and stifling a yawn. "Both the motherboard and VCD factories will need huge quantities of materials. We might as well consolidate the orders when the time comes. By the way, are you really not joining the negotiations?"
Su Yuanshan shook his head with a smile: "I'm really not going. When it comes to haggling over conditions, you're way better than me."
Chen Jing didn't even bother with false modesty. She simply reclined her chair and smiled: "Otherwise, why do you think Confucius said both villains and women are hard to manage?"
"…Good afternoon."
After five grueling days of negotiations, Yuanchip and Sony finally signed agreements covering VCD licensing, follow-up R&D cooperation, partial functionality licensing for optical drive technology, and the design of two new chips.
However, when it came to the 91 microcontroller that Chen Jing had been eager to promote, the Japanese side — with their typical "rigorous" attitude — politely declined. They explained that they already had their own mature microcontroller products, even if their specs weren't quite as good on paper as the 91's.
After sending off Sony's delegation, Chen Jing immediately led Jiang Wanchao and the logistics team to Beijing. They went to join Pan Xiaojun, who had already established Yuanchip's office there in mid-April, to conduct Yuanchip's first-ever campus recruitment drive. The main recruitment target was Tsinghua University, focusing on computer science and communications majors.
Su Yuanshan didn't go with them. He found some time to visit the construction site, only to be disappointed with the slow progress.
He sought out the head of the Second Construction Company to negotiate for faster work, even proposing a three-shift rotation to speed things up. But the foreman explained that because the buildings were cast-in-place concrete structures, every floor had to undergo proper curing.
No matter how much money you threw at it, you couldn't skip curing time.
Fortunately, the three buildings currently under construction — an experimental lab, an office building, and a dormitory — were only 12 stories high. Given the pace and full funding, two floors could be completed each month.
Thus, by October, the main structures should be finished.
Factoring in interior decoration, the campus could be ready for use just after the Spring Festival.
"You only built one dormitory. How are you planning to allocate it?"
Su Xinghe had come to attend a meeting next door. Su Yuanshan picked him up after work and brought him to inspect the site — the growing expanse of land was increasingly weighing on Su Yuanshan's mind.
Yuanchip already had 600 employees, but not even a cafeteria.
Delivering lunchboxes every day had become a huge headache for logistics.
"We'll allocate based on contribution. And it's not just one dormitory. Once these three buildings are done, we'll immediately start Phase Two. I won't stop until we have housing for at least ten thousand people," Su Yuanshan joked.
Su Xinghe laughed loudly: "You little brat, trying to become a lord of ten thousand households?"
"Not really. I just want to take advantage of current low construction costs to build some housing stock. Later, outstanding employees can be directly rewarded with apartments."
"And what about ordinary employees?" Su Xinghe asked, looking at the desolate surroundings and shaking his head. "This place is too remote."
"We'll arrange public buses, run company shuttles, and provide transportation subsidies," Su Yuanshan said with a smile. "Besides, if you work at Yuanchip for a few years and still can't afford a car, maybe you should rethink your life choices."
"And dormitories can always be shared — it's not like everyone needs a private apartment."
At that moment, the construction manager spotted the two and hurried over to exchange greetings. After some polite chatting and inquiries about progress, the father and son duo got back in the car and headed home.
A week later, Chen Jing and the team returned from Beijing.
They had hired more than sixty new employees, including sixteen master's degree holders — a result so impressive that Su Yuanshan was overjoyed.
Yuanchip's reputation had already spread far and wide. If you didn't want to accept government job assignments, Yuanchip was now considered the best place to go.
The new recruits would undergo two weeks of EDA training in Beijing under Pan Xiaojun before moving to the provincial capital — giving the company enough time to prepare for their arrival.
In this fledgling era of market economy, Su Yuanshan didn't want these brilliant new graduates — "the favored sons and daughters of heaven" — to be immediately crushed by the harsh realities of adult life.
Thus, Yuanchip's logistics department went all out to help arrange housing, offer living advances, and provide various support services.
With the new employee arrangements complete, June soon arrived.
(End of Chapter 84)
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