Chapter 145 - The Design Center
"I have to confess something," Su Yuanshan said, smiling calmly as he looked at Chen Jing and Tian Yaoming, who had very different expressions. "I was woken up at four in the morning by a call from Howard. Although the initial excitement has worn off a bit, I still feel... if I don't wake you guys up too, it wouldn't be fair."
Tian Yaoming burst out laughing. As head of the communications department, and after having been under enormous pressure recently, he would have been thrilled to be the one getting woken up with such good news.
Chen Jing, on the other hand, was a little speechless. She certainly knew it was fantastic news, but waking her up at five in the morning felt a bit excessive — especially since there wasn't much she could actually do right now.
"Sister Jing, to be specific, Yuanchip and Xinghai are technically two separate companies. Even though we succeeded together in development, we still need to divide the achievements and set up cross-licensing agreements. I'll have to trouble you with that," Su Yuanshan said.
Chen Jing nodded, "Who's going to oversee the whole device design then? The sooner the design is finalized, the sooner we can start preparing materials."
"That's what I was about to get to," Su Yuanshan said, looking at Tian Yaoming. "We need to establish an independent mobile division. This department won't be responsible for low-level technology development — it will focus solely on mobile phone design, manufacturing, and sales. Your team will remain as the Mobile Communications R&D Center, focusing on protocol development and baseband chip R&D."
Tian Yaoming nodded. He had long known that the Tech Park would eventually become a pure R&D center — or more accurately, a technology output center. To put it even more bluntly, the Tech Park was essentially the 'Yuanchip Academy' model.
At the Tech Park, Yuanchip poured massive funds into R&D across different fields, and once breakthroughs were achieved, specialized teams would immediately commercialize the results. BB pagers, VCDs, and YX CPUs had all followed this path.
"It's just that right now, we're a bit short on manpower," Su Yuanshan continued, "and frankly, I'm a bit traumatized by you guys always throwing surprises at me. So even though forming the mobile division now feels rushed, it's fine — we still need to modify the factories and assembly lines anyway. Even if everything goes smoothly, mass production won't start before the end of the year."
"So for the mobile division, can you find someone who knows both business and technology to take charge?"
Tian Yaoming nodded, "That person would have to leave R&D, right?"
"Yes. And they must have excellent coordination and market development skills."
"That... might be tricky. You know my team is almost entirely technical people. They're not stupid, but managing a factory and doing R&D are two completely different things."
Hearing Tian Yaoming's hesitation, Su Yuanshan smiled bitterly. Yuanchip was almost entirely a research-driven company — they severely lacked people with a pioneering spirit for market expansion or administrative management skills.
After thinking it over, Su Yuanshan gritted his teeth, "Forget it. I'll bring Senior Brother Wang Rui over. You're okay with that, right?"
Tian Yaoming was stunned, then chuckled, "Why would I object?"
Su Yuanshan and Chen Jing exchanged a knowing look and both smiled. Tian Yaoming, ever the pure techie, hadn't even realized that by offering him the choice, Su Yuanshan was actually showing respect for his contributions.
But there was a good reason for Su Yuanshan's decision. In the future, the mobile division would undoubtedly become Yuanchip's largest division — and possibly without rival. Assigning his own senior brother to head it was the safest move. After all, Wang Rui had already proven his ability by turning the VCD business into a cash cow.
"Good. No objections then," Su Yuanshan said with a smile. "And you should also spin off a separate communications equipment division, managed directly by a relevant head — by the way, how's the base station project going?"
"We'll have it set up within a month," Tian Yaoming said confidently. "After all, we have full access to GSM standards, and we can easily license the related IP."
He hesitated slightly, then added, "But the current team leader is Li Yinan... can he handle a full division?"
"Li Yinan?" Su Yuanshan paused, then shook his head. "No, keep him on research. Find someone else to lead the division."
"Got it."
"Alright then. I'll contact Xinghai at nine."
After seeing them out, Su Yuanshan calmed himself, opened WPS, and began drafting a paper.
On the Importance and Urgency of Wireless Mobile Communication Networks
"...As a developing country, we have no need to follow the Western path step-by-step from landline phones to analog mobile phones to digital mobile phones..."
Su Yuanshan rapidly tapped away using Wubi input method, writing the article. He wanted to try pushing the country to accelerate its base station construction.
The next day, Su Yuanshan, Chen Jing, Tian Yaoming, and their respective secretaries set off for the Special Economic Zone. Chen Jing and Tian Yaoming would continue to Hong Kong to sign the necessary agreements with Carly and Howard — as the old saying goes, even brothers must keep clear accounts. Even though Yuanchip and Xinghai were known as sister companies, clear boundaries had to be maintained.
Meanwhile, Su Yuanshan stayed in the SEZ to personally oversee the establishment of the mobile division.
After seeing them through customs, Wang Rui picked up Su Yuanshan in an Audi and drove him to the newly relocated VCD office.
"Xiaoshan, are you sure you want me to lead the mobile division?"
"Yes. VCD is on track now; production is stable, and it's just a matter of scaling up. You just need to pick a good successor," Su Yuanshan said with a smile. "I really don't have anyone else for mobile."
Wang Rui thought for a moment, then made up his mind. "Alright. Actually, after things stabilized at the VCD division, I spent some time at the design center. Just from a gut feeling, I can tell — these new phones will definitely replace the old 'brick' mobile phones."
"Exactly. Mobile phones are the future. Forget about pagers — once phone prices come down, pagers will vanish without a trace," Su Yuanshan chuckled. "Just this morning, Wang Chaoxin called me. He's already sensing the crisis and asked how much longer pagers can remain profitable."
Wang Rui raised an eyebrow. "How much longer?"
"Four to five years, at most."
"...That must be tough for him."
"A little. But he's already shifting focus — moving into full systems and testing services. Even if pagers disappear, Zhongxin will survive. Plus, they still have Yuanzhong Microelectronics."
Su Yuanshan laughed and stood up, "Enough about that. Let's go check out the phone designs."
After getting schooled by Sony during the VCD development, Yuanchip had recruited more than a dozen designers. However, most were mold and industrial design specialists — not real mobile phone designers.
Thus, about a month ago, after Tian Yaoming and Howard bet everything on the final tape-out, a team from the communications department had been sent to work closely with the design center, offering technical input and support.
And yet...
As soon as they stepped into the design center, Su Yuanshan was greeted by the sound of a fierce argument.
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