Chapter 346: The IDM Path
And afterward, Fujio truly lived up to his title as the father of flash memory. Even under an unreliable owner like Toshiba, he pressed on and developed NAND flash, greatly reducing the manufacturing cost of flash memory.
However, Toshiba rewarded Fujio with only a few hundred US dollars—note, just a few hundred, without any extra zeros—and then gave him an idle position to send him on his way. Fujio was furious and simply resigned, going to teach at a university…
This kind of "discard the bow once the birds are gone" mentality soon made Toshiba taste bitter consequences.
Clearly, whether it was NOR flash or NAND flash, both were invented by Toshiba, yet in the long river of future history, the company failed to create even the slightest ripple…
It even went so far, for the sake of face, that for a long time Toshiba did not acknowledge that NOR flash was its own invention, instead claiming it was invented by Intel.
It was not until 1997, when the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) awarded Fujio a Special Contribution Award, that Toshiba finally changed its tune.
This made Fujio extremely indignant, and he immediately sued Toshiba, demanding one billion yen in compensation…
Therefore, when Texas Instruments learned that Yuanxin had bypassed Toshiba's NAND patents, there was only one word in their minds.
—Refreshing!
…
"I've submitted our demands to headquarters." Zhang Rujin knew very well why Su Yuanshan had come to Shanghai this time, and after a bit of small talk, he quickly got to the point.
"And then?"
"There hasn't been a concrete response." Zhang Rujin put on his glasses, his expression instantly turning serious. After a few seconds of silence, he said softly, "Although headquarters has high expectations for the Shanghai wafer fab, the real profit centers are still the several fabs in the West—over there the technology is mature and the industrial chain is complete."
"Mm…" Su Yuanshan nodded.
He could understand Texas Instruments' mindset.
On one hand, the 0.5-micron process was the most advanced process at present. Whoever mastered it held the key to wealth. Even without restrictions on technology exports, it was understandable that Texas Instruments would treasure it and keep it to itself.
After all, in the Shanghai wafer fab, Texas Instruments held less than 40 percent of the shares.
On the other hand, Texas Instruments was also worried that once Shanghai mastered the process, it would gradually break free of "control." After all, even during the so-called "Sino–US honeymoon period," the technologies and equipment exported from the West to the mainland lagged one or two generations behind, or were even outright second-hand…
As for setting the precedent of transferring the most advanced technology—whether it could be done or not was one thing, but Texas Instruments definitely did not want to be the one to do it.
"Then what about our in-house R&D progress?" Su Yuanshan did not press further. He knew that in this matter, Old Zhang really did not have much influence.
"In-house R&D… will have to wait until the wafer fab is up and running. And…" Zhang Rujin licked his lips and said in a low voice, "the process technology we currently have is not complete."
Su Yuanshan let out a soft sigh.
Zhang Rujin said apologetically, "Mainly because the 0.5-micron process is currently the most advanced technology, and it hasn't yet been deployed at other fabs—especially not on the island or in Singapore."
"Mm… it's fine. I'll arrange a meeting with Mr. Vincenti later."
"Mr. Vincenti speaks very highly of you," Zhang Rujin said, looking at Su Yuanshan. "But he can't make the decision on this matter either."
Su Yuanshan chuckled. "It's fine. This isn't something they get to decide anyway."
Zhang Rujin was slightly taken aback. "What method are you planning to use?"
"Bundling it onto the ride," Su Yuanshan pursed his lips, then broke into a grin.
…
Zhang Rujin stubbornly refused to return to the hotel and insisted on going back to the wafer fab. Su Yuanshan had no choice but to comply, sending him back to the fab dormitory and not bothering him further, letting him adjust to the time difference first.
After that, Su Yuanshan met with Chen Jianguo, who had just returned from a business trip. He did not mention Chen Jianguo's progress at all; instead, he showed quite a bit of concern for Zhou Xingbo—this time, Zhou Xingbo had accompanied Chen Jianguo on the trip to learn chemical vapor deposition technology.
After all, the preparation of graphene also required chemical vapor deposition. As the saying goes, when one path doesn't work, another lights up.
"Zhou Xingbo is pretty good," Chen Jianguo said cheerfully as he poured Su Yuanshan a cup of hot water. "His comprehension is solid. Staying with Old Lü is a bit of a waste of his talent."
Su Yuanshan glanced toward the door before saying, "What kind of teacher produces what kind of student. Old Lü loafed around for so many years—Zhou Xingbo… I thought he was a bit of a loafer too, which is why I sent him over to you for some immersion, to let him see what real scientific research looks like. If even that doesn't rub off on him, then I'll just randomly find a paper and let him be listed as second author, just to give Old Lü an explanation."
"Pfft… Old Lü isn't a loafer anymore, okay? After all, he taught a genius like you…" Chen Jianguo laughed as he spoke. "Damn it, even I don't believe what I just said."
Su Yuanshan burst out laughing.
His physics really was genuinely self-taught—this was also why, within Yuanxin and the Institute of Electronics Technology, anyone who truly knew his background held him in deep admiration.
"Oh right, Sister-in-law Yiwen is back. How about we go to Blue Note tonight to get together?"
"Mm, sounds good." Chen Jianguo nodded. "She's probably going to register the marriage with Wenjie soon, right?"
"No idea. Probably have to wait until Senior Brother Wenjie graduates."
"That's at least another two years," Chen Jianguo sighed. "When Wenjie comes back, he'll be a foreign-returned elite… that dead fat guy sends every email in English, saying it's to train our foreign language skills… why doesn't he send you emails in English too?"
"That's because my English doesn't need training."
"…"
That night, when Su Yuanshan returned to the hotel, it was already close to midnight.
After entering the living room, he took out his phone and began dialing Vincenti's office number.
"If my clock isn't wrong, Su, it should be the middle of the night on your end, right?" Vincenti's voice on the phone sounded slightly distorted.
"Yes." Su Yuanshan sat on the sofa, holding the phone in his left hand and a pen in his right, lightly sketching notes in a notebook. "Mr. Vincenti, although I don't think discussing a transaction over the phone is particularly appropriate, this happens to express how seriously I take the demands I'm about to raise."
As he spoke, Su Yuanshan smiled. "I wouldn't be calling you in the middle of the night just to chat for fun, right?"
There was a silent chuckle on the other end of the line. "Please, go on."
"Deyuan Semiconductor is a joint enterprise between our two sides. As for its future, whether it's Yuanxin or Texas Instruments, both bear responsibility."
"Yes."
Su Yuanshan narrowed his eyes and said softly, "Deyuan Semiconductor will shoulder the important task of enabling Yuanxin to move toward IDM (Integrated Device Manufacturing, vertically integrated from design to packaging). You wouldn't disagree, would you?"
After a few seconds of silence, the reply came. "Yes."
"So, the process technology of Deyuan Semiconductor is very important to Yuanxin, correct?"
There was another few seconds of silence on the other end.
"Su, I can understand how you feel."
The corner of Su Yuanshan's mouth curled up as he said softly, "If your side disregards Deyuan Semiconductor's future, then Deyuan Semiconductor will have no choice but to accelerate its in-house process R&D."
A cautious voice came from the other end. "Yes… we also hope so."
"Heh, since you don't care about Deyuan's future, I assume you also wouldn't mind Deyuan diluting its equity in order to speed up process R&D, right?"
"Yes… Oh! NO!"
(End of Chapter)
Chapter 347 You Are Prejudice
Su Yuanshan's thinking was simple.
He was determined to push forward with the process technology. If Texas Instruments (TI) wouldn't transfer their technology, then he would throw money at the problem—even if it meant burning cash recklessly.
Either Yuanxin would spend it alone, or TI would have to burn it alongside them.
"Su, why are you in such a hurry?"
On the phone, Vincent sighed. "Bringing a wafer fab to maturity takes time. It's not prejudice against the mainland, but we all believe that even with the factory in Shanghai, it will take at least another one to two years before it can properly master existing processes and technologies. Only then, whether for self-developed or transferred technologies, would the Shanghai fab have the technical foundation."
"If we move the 0.5-micron process over now, the fab might not be able to handle it for a long time..."
Su Yuanshan listened silently, then responded lightly, "Makes sense."
Vincent chuckled. "Isn't your motto 'take it slow'? Why are you suddenly so insistent on rushing the process line?"
"Because, Mr. Vincent, you are prejudiced against the mainland," Su Yuanshan said softly, his voice calm but carrying undeniable sharpness.
"All your reasons are based on the assumption that Yuanxin will fail, that Deyuan will fail. But are you so sure... that Yuanxin will fail?"
"When have you seen me fail?"
That one sentence left Vincent speechless.
Indeed. You could argue that mainland China's technical and human resources still lagged far behind Silicon Valley.
But you couldn't say that Su Yuanshan was incapable.
"Mr. Vincent, I believe the partnership between TI and Yuanxin, and the founding of Deyuan Semiconductor, are meant to jointly face future challenges.
It's not just a simple business transaction," Su Yuanshan said, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"I don't care how other mainland joint ventures operate, but Deyuan's establishment in Shanghai doesn't carry any political mission.
I simply believe Shanghai has the potential to grow.
This isn't TI doing Yuanxin a favor.
This is TI achieving a strategic foothold in China at minimal cost."
"Thus, our cooperation must be based on the belief that the mainland's semiconductor environment and market will continue improving.
If you still believe Deyuan Semiconductor is incapable or unworthy of mastering advanced process technologies, then we've already lost that foundation."
...
At TI headquarters in Dallas, Vincent lit a cigarette with a sharp snap.
Standing by the window, he frowned at the weak winter sunlight.
Su Yuanshan's unprecedented toughness had unsettled him slightly, but not overly so.
As TI's Chief Operating Officer, Vincent was used to dealing with tough negotiators—including government officials.
Normally, even Yuanxin wouldn't warrant much concern.
But Su Yuanshan... was different.
Vincent understood why. Over the past year, both Yuanxin and Starsea had grown at an astonishing rate.
As the founder and actual controller of these two soon-to-be giants, Su Yuanshan had earned the right to be tough.
With Starsea approaching its IPO, TI's stock price had surged by three billion dollars—thanks in large part to Starsea's success.
And that wasn't even counting the value of TI's equity stake after Starsea's formal listing.
Moreover, TI handled the fabrication of many of Starsea's and Yuanxin's most cutting-edge chip designs.
Vincent knew all too well the technical prowess hidden behind their designs.
"My goal is to defeat Intel.
If Yuanxin can't do it, Starsea will," Su Yuanshan had said.
There was no need for further interpretation.
The meaning was clear: if Deyuan couldn't support Yuanxin's integrated device manufacturing (IDM) ambitions, Starsea would simply build its own fab—with no restrictions on technology, equipment, or talent.
After all, Starsea was a bona fide American company.
After a long silence, Vincent stubbed out his cigarette and left his office.
...
"Three CPUs: one for you guys, one I'm keeping for display, and one for Meijie," Su Yuanshan said as he took the CPUs from Gao Xiaodi's reluctant hands.
Seeing Gao's hesitation, Su Yuanshan laughed. "Relax. These belong to Claude's team, not you. Why so sentimental?"
"I'm just worried about frying them by overclocking," Gao said honestly.
"Don't even think about it. They're for memorabilia now," Su Yuanshan said, stuffing the CPUs into his briefcase. "I'm waiting on your tape-out results."
"Then wish me luck," Gao grinned.
"Engineers don't believe in luck," Su Yuanshan teased as he walked off with Li Mingliu and Zhou Xiaohui.
Yang Yiwen had already returned to Beijing. She'd spent so much time in Silicon Valley that she rarely had the chance to come home, and this trip was mostly a casual family visit.
Today was Su Yuanshan's official inspection of the wafer fab, and Li Mingliu accompanied him throughout.
At the fab, they met up with Zhang Rujin and the management team. After touring the production floor and several labs, and having lunch at the factory cafeteria, they gathered in Zhang's office.
"Vincent should be coming by before the end of the month," Su Yuanshan said, cradling a coffee cup specially prepared by Zhang. "By then, the central government's semiconductor support policies should be announced too."
Because of confidentiality, there was a lot Su Yuanshan couldn't tell Vincent directly—especially not over the phone.
Yes, he had been tough yesterday, but every word he spoke was logically sound.
TI couldn't expect to suck up all of Yuanxin's and Starsea's 0.5-micron designs just to fatten themselves up.
Consider the designs Su Yuanshan controlled:
Two CPU architectures, Starsea's GPU project, Yuanxin's YX CPU architecture, NAND flash chips...
Combined, they could easily feed TI's 0.5-micron production lines to bursting.
Yet Deyuan Semiconductor—their supposed joint child—wouldn't get a single bite?
Even if you took that case to heaven itself, TI would still be in the wrong.
"Mm," Zhang Rujin nodded firmly.
The more he worked with Su Yuanshan, the more he realized how unfathomable the young man's capabilities were.
Zhang smiled, then gestured toward the adjacent room. "And we'll need to keep them here too."
The adjacent office housed a TI process team sent to help establish Yuanxin's CPU and chip fabrication capabilities.
"Of course," Su Yuanshan said. "We'll need even more top-tier—and even fanatically dedicated—engineers moving forward."
He took a sip of coffee and looked at Zhang Rujin.
"Uncle Zhang, I bet you'll have to go home for the New Year this time, huh?"
Last year, when the fab was still being built, Zhang had been out in the muddy construction site day after day, spending even the Lunar New Year there with only Li Mingliu for company.
This year, with operations ramping up, it was time for him to visit home.
Zhang smiled knowingly. "I'll do my best to bring some more talent back with me."
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Chapter 348 Problems at the Internet Center
The bigger the empire Su Yuanshan was building, the more acutely he felt the shortage of talent.
Currently, Deyuan Semiconductor's wafer fab under construction had three eight-inch production lines and over two thousand employees. Out of these two thousand, aside from the group that Zhang Rujin had poached from around the world, only the team repatriated from Singapore came as a complete unit—with experienced personnel barely totaling over five hundred.
In other words, Deyuan was still fundamentally relying on a "veterans training rookies" model.
Of course, despite being a facility that produced some of the most sophisticated components in the world, a wafer fab operated much like any factory—it ran on the master-apprentice system.
Without strong leadership and training, even after construction was completed, it would take time for such a fab to build real production capacity, let alone master the more advanced 0.5-micron processes.
It was clear that, from a technical perspective, Vincent's concerns weren't entirely unfounded.
But Su Yuanshan couldn't wait.
He knew too well just how terrifyingly profitable a wafer fab with cutting-edge processes could be—it would practically be a money-printing machine.
Thus, six months earlier, he had asked Zhang Rujin to reach out to certain talents from Taiwan, people like Cai Lixing and Liang Mengsong.
But Zhang Rujin had been too busy, and besides... recruiting from TSMC, Zhang Zhongmou's old empire, wasn't something you could rush—it required impeccable timing.
The Lunar New Year was traditionally a perfect season for career moves.
...
The next day, Su Yuanshan flew to the Special Economic Zone.
Seated in Duan Yongping's Mercedes, they headed straight for the industrial park.
Along the way, Duan didn't talk much about his own mobile phone business. Instead, he focused on the broader topic of factory consolidation.
"Main issue is money," Duan said, sitting in the back with Su Yuanshan. "Our budget is running a little over. The urgency of the relocations and renovations caught us off guard. Even though our budgeting team is pretty professional, no one predicted how overheated the SEZ economy would get in the second half of the year.
We had to make compromises to keep the schedule on track—and also to leave a good impression with the locals."
"Mm, no problem," Su Yuanshan said casually.
By now, he rarely reviewed financial reports personally—he left that to Zhou Xiaohui.
He knew they were spending fast, but as Chen Jing put it, it was still within a manageable range.
"Not just the SEZ—everywhere is hot right now... the country's been printing money like crazy," Su Yuanshan joked.
"If they keep it up next year, inflation's going to explode," Duan chuckled. "These past three years, every year they've printed over a hundred billion..."
"Yeah, but I'm guessing they'll cool it down next year," Su Yuanshan mused.
He knew that historically, China's monetary expansion during these years was extreme.
From 60 billion yuan in 1991 to a sudden leap to 120 billion in 1992, followed by around 150 billion in both '93 and '94—then a sharp contraction back to 60 billion by 1995.
The immediate result of all that printing was inflation—and local economies getting overheated, just like now.
And once the economy overheated, consolidation projects like Yuanxin's faced rising costs and greedy opportunists at every corner.
"People still remember the disaster of hyperinflation during the Republican era," Duan said with a laugh. "My family still has billions of old legal tender notes stashed somewhere. If those were exchangeable at face value, I'd have retired already."
Su Yuanshan gave him a side-eye.
"Really? A few billion yuan and you'd seriously consider retiring?"
"Hehe, just kidding," Duan grinned.
Earlier this month, Duan had been promoted to Vice President and had chaired the latest monthly meeting.
To be honest, it wasn't until he personally reviewed all the departmental reports and budgets that he truly felt the "sweetness" of power.
Due to Yuanxin's unique corporate structure, outsiders knew very little about its real operations, scale, or internal development. Even as head of the mobile communications division, Duan only knew his own department's details.
For everything else, he had to rely on internal reports and guesswork.
But after hosting the meeting and reading through reports from all departments—from VCDs to CPUs to the newly launched Zhongxin division—he was stunned.
During previous meetings, Chen Jing never talked about revenue or budgets openly; she just casually flipped through files and asked about progress.
Duan had assumed those meetings were just formalities, much like those at Subor in the old days.
Only after hosting one himself did he realize:
Every page of those reports was filled with industry-shaking numbers. Every document carried a weight that made his heart race.
So, retirement?
Try working another thirty years first!
...
"This time, I'm not here for your division," Su Yuanshan said, changing the subject. "I'm here for the Internet Center."
"Mm, well... our relationship with them isn't exactly warm," Duan admitted cautiously.
"Maybe it's just that they're in internet tech, and we're in manufacturing. No common ground."
"And that's exactly the problem," Su Yuanshan said with a smile.
When he had sent Pony and Ding Lei to the SEZ, it wasn't just because of the location's proximity to the HK Internet Exchange.
There was another reason: the culture of internet companies didn't really mesh with Yuanxin's manufacturing-rooted ethos.
Ever since the EDA division had been spun off, Yuanxin's headquarters had no dedicated programming team left—
Not counting the YXLAB under Xi Xiaoding's Pandora Lab.
The remaining heavyweight teams were all hardware-focused: CPU design, chipsets, basebands...
Even the operating system team was a second-tier division under Tian Yaoming.
As a result, although Yuanxin's tech park had been one of China's earliest adopters of the internet, ironically, it didn't really fit into internet culture anymore.
A few months ago, Ding Lei had requested to spin off and operate independently.
His reason sounded reasonable: he feared Yuanxin couldn't afford to subsidize their internet ambitions indefinitely.
Or rather, he feared Yuanxin wouldn't support their big dreams.
Su Yuanshan's attitude at the time had been simple:
If it wants to rain, let it rain. If a daughter wants to marry, let her marry.
But he had given them a grace period: wait until after the New Year to revisit the idea.
Now, with the year drawing to a close, it was time to sit down and discuss the future of the Internet Center—
And more importantly, how it would tie into cooperation with Sony.
Su Yuanshan wanted to bring Sony on board, leveraging its dominance in audio-visual products and music licensing.
First, he would establish a foothold in the West for future MP3 products.
Then... maybe even create a China-Japan version of Netflix.
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Chapter 349 Vertical Procurement
Su Yuanshan followed Duan Yongping back to the temporary coordination command center, established specifically for the integration of the industrial park.
Initially, Duan Yongping was the person in charge of this command center, but due to certain factors—mainly because he was an "outsider"—even with Jiang Qingchuan's full technical cooperation, some of the work had not gone very smoothly.
However, once Duan was promoted to Vice President, all those obstacles vanished overnight.
Undoubtedly, in the eyes of those who loved playing "office politics" or "factory politics," Duan's early promotion over Jiang was a clear signal—upper management was firmly backing Duan Yongping.
"Senior Brother," Su Yuanshan greeted with a smile as he entered the room and saw Jiang Qingchuan deep in discussion with several engineers.
Jiang looked up from the blueprints in front of him. As the chief engineer of the command center, he had been running himself ragged for months coordinating workflows and production processes, and he was visibly thinner.
Still, upon seeing Su Yuanshan, his weary face broke into a genuine smile.
"I've been too busy to come pick you up."
"Hehe, don't mention it," Su Yuanshan said, clapping him warmly on the shoulder before exchanging greetings with the other engineers.
Only after that did he stroll over to the large model of the industrial park.
"This model looks great," Su Yuanshan remarked as he examined the detailed mock-up.
Just like the model of Yuanxin's main tech park, this one clearly outlined Phase I, II, and III of the industrial zone. In addition to factory buildings, the plans included a large number of centralized residential apartments and a research center covering nearly 300 acres.
"One office building in the R&D center is already operational," Duan Yongping explained, pointing with a small stick. "Currently, our command center is housed here.
Once the factories are completed, the command center will be dissolved, and the building will be repurposed as the factory's administrative offices."
"Mm, no need to rush," Su Yuanshan said. "Unlike CPU designs where speed is critical, in manufacturing, time is on our side.
But remember—this factory is massive. Logistics and raw material management will be absolutely key."
He noticed Duan's secretary pulling out a notebook to jot things down and waved it off. "No need to take notes. I'm just talking off the top of my head."
Still, Duan smiled and said, "Better to record it anyway."
"Fine, up to you," Su Yuanshan chuckled, then continued,
"There's an official-sounding phrase I need to say:
A company like Yuanxin, having seized the right timing, location, and people, and securing such abundant resources, must set a good example as it grows."
"Only by setting the right example can we positively influence the entire industrial chain and create a healthy ecosystem.
And besides, we can't take all the profits for ourselves. We must help bring up other businesses too. That's why I really like Duan's vertical procurement plan."
Duan quickly made some modest, self-effacing remarks.
The engineers present smiled politely as well, but many cast furtive glances at Jiang Qingchuan.
—It was obvious. Su Yuanshan's open praise of Duan Yongping right in front of Jiang seemed a little... pointed.
"There's no need for false modesty," Su Yuanshan said seriously.
"Vertical procurement truly does minimize technical misunderstandings, maximize profit margins, and promote specialization in the supply chain."
Under the current industrial integration project, Jiang Qingchuan focused primarily on technical integration, while Duan Yongping was tasked with reorganizing departments and reforming supply chains.
The vertical procurement system was Duan's brainchild:
In simple terms, moving forward, Yuanxin's industrial park would deal directly with a network of tightly bound suppliers—small factories dedicated solely to producing parts for Yuanxin.
In other words, it would be modeled after the future supply chain of Apple Inc.
It was this very plan that made both Su Yuanshan and Chen Jing double down on promoting Duan Yongping.
As they circled the model, Su Yuanshan casually chatted while waiting for Chen Daohua's arrival—the real reason for his visit.
Before long, Chen Daohua arrived at the office.
Meijie's factory was also part of the integration, and in the new plan, it was designated as the industrial park's high-tech flagship, responsible for developing future technical talent.
Meijie's design center had already moved into the main office building—though it still kept its old "Meijie (SEZ)" sign.
After a few words with Jiang Qingchuan and Duan Yongping, Su Yuanshan followed Chen Daohua over to the Meijie Design Center.
Following Su Yuanshan's advice months ago, Chen Daohua had gradually relocated Meijie's core design operations to the SEZ.
Now, aside from a few essential departments, most of Meijie's design brainpower was based here.
Of course, they didn't shut down their island facilities entirely—you never put all your eggs in one basket.
But all new investment was focused on the SEZ site.
In short, the entire future of Meijie was tied to the success of the industrial park.
These days, Chen Daohua practically lived at the factory.
...
"Brother Chen, how's the graphics card shipment volume lately?" Su Yuanshan asked as they rode in a small park shuttle reserved for internal use.
"Pretty good," Chen Daohua said, grinning. "I thought you were going to ask about motherboards."
"You guys are already dominant in motherboards. No need to ask."
"Haha! But speaking of graphics cards... are you really sure about the GPU path? Aren't you afraid of making enemies?" Chen Daohua looked at Su Yuanshan seriously.
"VOODOO 3D accelerator cards succeeded because they complement existing graphics card vendors—they don't compete directly.
But once Starsea launches a GPU that combines 2D and 3D acceleration, we'll be going head-to-head with every graphics card company out there."
Su Yuanshan just smiled and countered with a question: "Brother Chen, do you think the GPU concept is advanced or backward?"
"Of course it's advanced," Chen Daohua said firmly.
"Technically, economically—integrating functions is better than the current two-card setup."
"Exactly. And users aren't stupid.
I know you're worried about alienating customers who already bought 2D cards, but there's a huge crowd waiting for better tech."
Su Yuanshan's reasoning was simple and brutal.
Of course, he understood that Chen Daohua knew this deep down.
But even for seasoned veterans like Chen, in an era when technology was advancing faster than anyone could predict, it was natural to hesitate before taking a big leap.
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Chapter 350 Jiang Qingchuan's Standing
Yet despite Su Yuanshan's reassuring words, Chen Daohua still looked visibly uneasy. He furrowed his brow, hesitated a moment, then asked directly:
"I heard that once Starsea's GPU chip design is finalized, it'll be offered as a chipset to all board manufacturers?"
Su Yuanshan blinked—he wasn't sure where Chen had gotten that information, but it didn't matter. What he'd "heard" was indeed true, and Su Yuanshan had no intention of denying it.
With the massive success of Quake in the West and a steady stream of emerging 3D games, Voodoo accelerator cards had rapidly opened up the market. If all went according to plan, the coming year would witness an explosion in demand for 3D accelerators.
Right now, all Voodoo accelerator cores were produced and sold exclusively by Meijie. Chen Daohua could clearly see that next year, 3D accelerator cards might even outperform motherboards in terms of profitability.
But if Starsea shifted to a chipset-supply model, Meijie would no longer be the exclusive partner for Voodoo accelerator cards...
"Yeah... It's the only way we can complete rapid iteration in the graphics card sector," Su Yuanshan said.
"And while we might earn a little less this way, it helps us build out a full industrial chain, diversify products, and ideally choke off any future rivals before they grow."
"In other words, you're going to be the Intel of graphics cards," Chen said flatly.
Su Yuanshan nodded. "Something like that."
Seeing Su Yuanshan admit it so bluntly, Chen Daohua knew there wasn't much room for negotiation.
He also understood: Starsea was about to go public. It was now a full-spectrum tech conglomerate with chips, GPUs, software, internet services, and mobile manufacturing.
And companies like that had a name—tech giants.
And giants made decisions based solely on what aligned with their long-term strategic interests.
"Brother Chen, in the overall assembly supply chain, while board design and manufacturing do rank above final assembly, they're still a notch below chip design and fabrication," Su Yuanshan said seriously. "I'm not devaluing Meijie—but that's just how this industry works: chips rule."
Chen Daohua sighed and then laughed. "Looks like the only way forward is to refine our technology and win the market."
"Exactly. And Meijie has a lot of strengths."
The shuttle stopped in front of the office building. As they got out and continued walking, Su Yuanshan kept chatting:
"Pure board manufacturers have proven their value in the supply chain—especially with the rise of the DIY market, where product variety is key.
As the industry pyramid solidifies, if companies don't diversify, then the only thing left to fight over is their rank within the pyramid."
Chen walked in silence, absorbing every word. Then he paused. "When you say diversify, you mean notebooks and tablets?"
"Yes. Compared to desktops, notebooks and tablets are more integrated and better at showcasing technical advantages. More importantly, LCD panels are about to hit a major tech breakthrough—which lines up perfectly with those products." Su Yuanshan smiled. "Also, I'll admit it selfishly: it makes it easier for us to push our operating system."
Chen Daohua chuckled.
Thanks to Chen Jing, he was well aware of Yuanxin's ambitions. Few outsiders knew Yuanxin had been quietly developing a mobile-focused OS, laying the groundwork for future dominance in the mobile market.
With tablets and laptops running YX-architecture CPUs and a proprietary OS, Yuanxin could form a complete mobile ecosystem.
"Then next year we'll establish a tablet design center," Chen Daohua said.
"Good. By then, our baseband integration chip should be complete. I'll assign a team here specifically to optimize for mobile chips."
They chatted while entering the design center.
Su Yuanshan visited the notebook design group, which was already well underway, and then dropped by the board lab. Meijie was handling a major portion of USBIF's speed-enhancement protocol designs.
After all, USB ultimately had to be implemented on motherboards.
Su Yuanshan had always had big plans for USB—it was simple, effective, and ubiquitous.
And with Yuanxin set to release USB flash drives and MP3 players by the end of next year, USB would certainly spread faster and with fewer rivals than in his previous life.
...
Later, Su Yuanshan and Zhou Xiaohui got out of the car near a small lake about 100 meters from the temporary command center.
"This looks more like a fish pond than a lake," Su Yuanshan remarked, standing on the concrete path by the water, gazing at the vast fields around them.
The industrial park was so massive that many areas still resembled countryside.
"It probably is a fish pond—maybe even a small reservoir during the farming season," Zhou Xiaohui replied. "Might be some fish in there. Want me to find a rod so you can cast a line?"
"What time is it?"
"4:10 p.m.," Zhou checked her watch. "Director Duan and Director Jiang won't finish until six, so you'd have almost two hours to fish."
"Forget it. No need to bother anyone. Let's just walk around and explore," Su Yuanshan said, strolling onto a narrow dirt path that wound through the fields.
More than anything, he wanted to relax and talk with Zhou Xiaohui.
"This much land, integrating five factions and twenty-eight factories... Xiaohui Jie, don't you think Old Duan's a genius?"
Walking ahead, Su Yuanshan's voice drifted back.
Zhou Xiaohui smiled faintly. "Didn't you already praise him? I think Director Duan has a lot we can learn from. He's clearly very capable."
"Right. He's one of the rare people who made a successful jump from technical to commercial work. That's rare in China today," Su Yuanshan said.
"But the integrated company is still tech-driven, so I'm sure some people are quietly siding with Director Jiang, feeling like he's getting sidelined."
Zhou Xiaohui watched his back and replied softly, "Some of those engineers today definitely had that vibe."
Su Yuanshan laughed. "They don't get it."
Zhou Xiaohui smiled too.
They didn't understand—but she did.
More importantly, both Jiang Qingchuan and Duan Yongping understood too. That's why the two of them were cooperating so smoothly on this massive integration.
In other companies, rank and title often explained everything.
But at Yuanxin, it was different. There was a founding team. There were "party roles."
And as Su Yuanshan's senior brother, Jiang Qingchuan's "party role" was not just high—it was supreme.
More importantly, since this was a tech-centric factory, Jiang would inevitably be the one in charge once integration was complete.
So... what was there to fight for?
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