Chapter 163 Securing the Land
"Shanghai's development is really fast..."
Standing by the window on the thirty-fifth floor of the Hilton Hotel, Chen Jing gazed out at the glittering lights of the Bund and marveled, "It's only been a little over a year, and so many new buildings have sprung up."
"If a region's development is judged solely by its real estate, it's easy to fall into a misunderstanding," Su Yuanshan said lazily. He had drunk a bit with Li Mingliu and the managers of Yuanxin's branch office that evening, and now he was a little tipsy. He smiled, "Real estate only shows the speed of urbanization."
"Mmm, I know," Chen Jing turned around, seeing Su Yuanshan lying on the sofa rubbing his temples. She chuckled and said, "We are a great nation; we need industrialization and must build core industries."
Su Yuanshan kept his eyes closed, smiling lazily, "Hehe, you understand me."
"You and your old tunes," Chen Jing teased, walking over to sit at the coffee table across from him.
She picked up the teapot, filled Su Yuanshan's cup, and poured one for herself, lightly blowing on the foam.
After taking a sip, she frowned slightly and said in a low voice, "But there's still no word from TI. At least, I haven't received anything. Should we be a bit safer and reach out to Japan?"
Chen Jing knew that since the Japanese Emperor's visit last year, and especially after the Japanese Prime Minister's first public acknowledgment and apology in August this year, relations between China and Japan had become exceptionally close, with a lot of Japanese investment flooding in.
—"Because of our past acts of aggression and colonial rule, we have caused unbearable pain and sorrow. We express our deep reflection and heartfelt apologies."
"The Japanese route should be the last resort. Their tech is mainly for memory chips… but I'm not building memory! I'm building CPUs! Without the accumulated process knowledge for CPUs, I'll have to develop everything from scratch until the end of time," Su Yuanshan laughed.
"TI should be close to finalizing things now. The equipment is already confirmed as not an issue. As for the processes… we'll have to see what they're willing to license. I estimate they'll sacrifice either the eight-inch or the 0.5-micron process."
Although 12-inch silicon wafers were already being researched, the mainstream and mature market technology was still at eight inches.
TI, for strategic reasons, would likely abandon one level of their tech.
Judging by the current pace of process technology, by the time Yuanxin's fab was up and running, the mainstream would be at eight inches and 0.35 microns, heading towards 0.25 microns.
Thus, Yuanxin would only be about one or two generations behind—acceptable.
This way, TI could satisfy both internal and external stakeholders.
Chen Jing nodded. She always had confidence in Su Yuanshan.
Su Yuanshan raised his teacup and finished it in one gulp.
"I'm going to rest—Sister Jing, tomorrow it's all on you."
"Goodnight."
...
The next day, Chen Jing and the branch office manager went to meet with government officials, while Su Yuanshan stayed at Yuanzhong.
Just as Li Mingliu had said, because there had been no domestic foundation for CPU technology—and no one had seriously attempted independent CPU development before Yuanxin—the progress was slow.
Moreover, cache memory technology was still tightly controlled by Intel and AMD.
Su Yuanshan couldn't do much about it. His role was CPU architecture design—the "chief architect of the skyscraper," so to speak.
Cache technology was more like the "logistics and materials system" of the skyscraper—an entirely different field.
Thus, all he could offer for now was moral support.
That evening, Chen Jing returned.
"Tomorrow, you're coming with me. Apparently, a senior leader specially flew back from Beijing to meet you," Chen Jing said, smiling at Su Yuanshan's figure standing by the window.
"Hehe..." Su Yuanshan squinted at the brightly lit Bund and smiled. "Since the leader wants to see me, I'll go, of course. But Sister Jing, you should still lead the meeting tomorrow."
Chen Jing hesitated for a few seconds, then shook her head and smiled. "No need. My identity is a bit sensitive. You should handle it."
Su Yuanshan grinned, "It's precisely because your identity is special that it's perfect... It shows our united front work is outstanding."
Chen Jing was briefly stunned, then gave him a playful glare, puffing out her cheeks.
Seeing her reaction, Su Yuanshan quickly raised his hand in surrender. "Alright, alright, I admit defeat.
By the way, Sister Jing, why don't you just settle down in the mainland?"
"Why?"
"What's so good about that little island? It's small, cramped, and there's no future to be seen."
Chen Jing was both amused and exasperated, "You rascal! Stop badmouthing my hometown!"
"Okay, okay, I take it back," Su Yuanshan said, smiling innocently.
Though in his heart he thought: give it another twenty years—there really won't be a future there.
...
The next day, Su Yuanshan, now dressed sharply thanks to Chen Jing's efforts, accompanied her to the government building.
The one receiving them was Director Zhang, a government official responsible specifically for land acquisitions. (Some minor changes made.)
"Little Su, President Chen, welcome!"
"Hello, Director Zhang."
Su Yuanshan bowed slightly and shook hands with Director Zhang, feeling the man's broad, powerful hand.
It reminded Su Yuanshan of Zhang's background—an outstanding mechanical engineering graduate who started from the factory floor, became an engineer, and eventually moved into industrial management before his current post.
"Don't be so formal, Little Su," Director Zhang said with a warm smile after they sat down. "Having Yuanxin here is a blessing for us."
"Not at all! Director Zhang, you're the guardian of the land. We hope you won't find us too much trouble."
After a few pleasantries, they quickly moved to business.
"So, you're asking for 150 hectares?" Director Zhang said with a slight smile.
"Yes," Su Yuanshan replied without hesitation.
"That's quite a lot. I heard your plan in the provincial capital only involved about a thousand mu. Plus, you're building residential buildings there..." Director Zhang looked at him meaningfully.
Su Yuanshan and Chen Jing exchanged glances.
They instantly understood what the Shanghai side was worried about.
Out of the 150 hectares Yuanxin requested—around 2,250 mu—a substantial portion was indeed earmarked for residential development.
And according to Yuanxin's plan, those residential areas were absolutely necessary—because they needed to house a large number of researchers and technical staff.
Thinking carefully, Su Yuanshan replied cautiously,
"Director, can I understand that your concern is that we might use the residential area for commercial real estate development in the future?"
Director Zhang smiled slightly, "I'm an engineer, you're a tech guy too. We tech folks like to speak directly—yes, that's the concern. Also, 150 hectares is truly a lot. Even if you're building eight chip production lines, you wouldn't need that much space."
Su Yuanshan licked his lips and shook his head with a smile.
"The situation is like this, Director.
The only reason Yuanxin plans to build residential areas is to ensure that the technical personnel who devote themselves to research don't have to worry about housing, food, or basic needs."
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