Chapter 106 - Talent Must Be Secured
Tang Wenjie and Yang Yiwen watched as the two passed through airport security before leaving.
Back in the car, Tang Wenjie sat in the passenger seat and looked toward Yang Yiwen, who was about to start the engine.
"Wenwen, doesn't it seem like Xiaoshan is carrying out some special mission?"
Yang Yiwen was slightly startled, "What are you talking about?"
"I mean, Xiaoshan's every move feels like he's doing underground work — being overly cautious," Tang Wenjie leaned forward, looked around carefully, and whispered, "A few days ago, he kept reminding me: if there are any research results, we must secure them immediately.
He even pointed out a specific research direction for me."
"What direction?" Yang Yiwen let go of the car key and, somewhat surprised, turned to her boyfriend, who was frowning deeply. She knew Su Yuanshan was amazing — even several of her senior classmates admired him.
But that he could be so amazing as to guide Tang Wenjie's research direction... that was something else — it showed he had mentor-level insight.
"He talked to me extensively about Moore's Law and leapfrogging in technology," Tang Wenjie smiled bitterly. "He said in the future, what will limit CPU development won't be design, but the manufacturing process, specifically lithography machines and chip production lines.
He told me to specialize in microcircuit structure and manufacturing processes and to think boldly — planning for 0.005 microns, that's 5 nanometers.
But that touches deep into quantum physics..."
Yang Yiwen glared at him, "Speak human language."
Tang Wenjie chuckled, "It's okay if you don't understand. I just recently crossed the language barrier. After accessing foreign materials, I realized how outdated domestic knowledge is..."
"So?"
"So, Xiaoshan warned me: store all knowledge in my brain, secure all research results myself. Don't rush.
Don't let anyone get a handle on you.
Don't end up achieving success only to be unable to return home."
Yang Yiwen was stunned again. Thinking of what Su Yuanshan had told her before, she sighed softly, reached out, and grabbed Tang Wenjie's large hand.
Smiling, she said, "Then just listen to him. You know he's always right."
Tang Wenjie nodded, then suddenly laughed, "Yeah, but why is he rushing us to get married? Does he think if we don't marry soon, we'll break up?"
"Bullshit!"
"Yeah, I think he's talking nonsense too."
"...I meant you're talking nonsense!"
"Xiaoding, have some tea. Make yourself at home," Zhang Xiuyun said warmly.
Originally, she had planned to pick up her son herself today.
But Su Yuanshan said he would bring Xi Xiaoding directly home, so she dropped the idea and instead busied herself preparing the house.
This was Xi Xiaoding's first time visiting. As the lady of the house, she naturally made sure everything was just right.
However, with her mindset now, she no longer saw housework as a chore but as a form of peaceful enjoyment.
After all, what could be better than a husband and son both excelling, with no worries for generations?
"Thank you, Auntie," Xi Xiaoding quickly stood up.
"It's fine, sit down," Zhang Xiuyun wiped her hands on her apron and smiled toward Li Gaoliang.
"Old Li, your daughter is home, isn't she? Call her down for dinner."
"Forget it. One mouth to feed is enough," Li Gaoliang joked.
Everyone laughed. Zhang Xiuyun returned to the kitchen.
Today, welcoming back Su Yuanshan and Xi Xiaoding was kept low-key. Only Su Xinghe and Professor Li Gaoliang were at the airport.
Su Xinghe originally wanted to go alone to represent both Yuanchip and the university, but Principal Zhou insisted on sending another big shot to show their respect for talent.
Indeed, Xi Xiaoding's return was a big deal.
He was appointed associate professor with no teaching responsibilities, a master's supervisor, and granted special project funding — all arranged within a week of his formal application.
The only request the university made was that he immediately accept four recommended graduate students.
Normally, if following the official process, missing the spring recruitment would mean waiting another year to take on graduate students.
But there was no way they would let a key figure like Xi Xiaoding sit idle.
After all, he had led the development of Yuanchip's EDA and Xinghai's CRM. Wasting such talent would be criminal.
Su Yuanshan brought him home today also to let his father and Li Gaoliang, representing the university, discuss formal matters.
"Dr. Xi, would you like to review the students' profiles?" Li Gaoliang asked, pulling a folder from his briefcase.
"Sure, but if the university is recommending them, I trust their quality," Xi Xiaoding said politely.
He knew reviewing them was just a formality.
With Su Xinghe around, the university would never assign underachievers to him — these were practically pre-selected for Yuanchip's future needs.
Li Gaoliang handed him the profiles and smiled, "Your dorm room is ready. Xiaoshan's mother handles logistics, so you can talk to her directly if you need anything.
As for your office, Xiaoshan will take you to pick one tomorrow."
"Okay."
"Uncle Li, I might not have time tomorrow," Su Yuanshan said, flipping open his planner and smiling wryly. "You'll have to come with me to visit Principal Zhou."
Li Gaoliang was surprised, "What's going on?"
"Dad, Uncle Li, do you know about Zhang Rujin?"
Both nodded immediately.
As semiconductor veterans, of course, they knew.
And when they connected it with Xinghai's recent collaboration with Texas Instruments, their eyes lit up.
Li Gaoliang couldn't help but exclaim, "You're building a wafer fab?!"
At that moment, Xi Xiaoding put down the student profiles and smiled, "Xiaoshan met Zhang Rujin at TI's headquarters last time.
He convinced Zhang to agree to recruit talent from the mainland to Singapore."
"Brilliant!" Su Xinghe exclaimed, slamming his fist into his palm.
Li Gaoliang was stunned at first but quickly realized the enormous significance.
"Good job! Fantastic job! If this succeeds, it's as good as building our own wafer fab," Li Gaoliang praised excitedly.
Su Yuanshan smiled, "Exactly. Right now, we only have five hundred million dollars.
If we blindly invested in a fab, sure, it could be done — but then our tech park plans would be scrapped.
And compared to importing fabs, nurturing foundational talent and research is far more critical."
He continued, "For example, Huajing's chip line is now in trial production — but yields are catastrophically low.
Only about 500 chips per month — can you believe that?"
In the previous timeline, even after successful setup and production, Huajing's yields were so bad that they had to beg Zhang Rujin for help.
Even then, after barely three months, Zhang was forced back to Taiwan.
And yet, in just those few months, Huajing's yields improved enough for commercialization.
That was how critical talent and technical expertise were.
In the previous timeline, out of the 300 engineers Zhang recruited to Singapore, fewer than a third eventually returned.
Su Yuanshan didn't want a repeat of that.
This time, he would personally intervene, ensuring the majority were drawn from the University of Electronic Science and Technology.
When Yuanchip eventually opened its own fab, it would be filled with their own alumni — impossible for them to refuse the call.
However, having missed the main graduation season, he would need Principal Zhou's help.
If that didn't work, he was ready to personally recruit under Yuanchip's name, then "export" them abroad as "labor exports."
One way or another, he had to secure these people.
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