Chapter 123 - Money Is Not Everything
Chengguang Institute.
The conference room was filled with smoke.
For the first time, as a seasoned researcher, Zheng Zhenchuan slammed the table in front of the leadership.
Facing the silent leaders, his face flushed red as he shouted,
"Five hundred million! Director Wang, at least five hundred million! And if there are breakthroughs, there's no ceiling!"
"Old Zheng, calm down."
Director Wang stubbed out his cigarette and smiled kindly,
"Even if there's a lot of money involved, it's still capitalist money... Doesn't it make you feel uneasy to accept it?"
Zheng Zhenchuan froze for a moment, then sneered,
"Capitalist? Fine. Then let's talk about capitalism today!"
"Capital came into this world dripping from head to foot, from every pore, with blood and filth.
Pursuing profit is its instinct and nature.
Am I wrong? Isn't that what old Karl said?"
"Old Zheng, calm down," someone said again.
Zheng Zhenchuan took several deep breaths.
"I'm not being emotional. I'm stating facts.
Tell me — what right does Chengguang Institute have to deserve a capitalist investing five hundred million?
If a capitalist really wanted to make money, wouldn't they buy Nikon or Canon?
If they wanted to invest, wouldn't they pour it into ASML?
ASML already achieved 0.5-micron nodes!"
At this point, Deputy Director Zhou chimed in slowly,
"Then I'm curious. Why would he want to invest?
What's his motive?"
"Motive?" Zheng Zhenchuan laughed again,
"His motive... He said, if our generation doesn't push forward with lithography now, then no one in China will be left to do it in the future.
If someday foreigners stop selling to us, we'll be stuck buying their overpriced chips."
"We still have a noose around our necks, leaders!
Don't think just because we can finally breathe a little that we're free!
As scientists, our duty is to break through blockades and challenge limits."
After speaking, Zheng Zhenchuan gulped down a mouthful of tea and added,
"And by the way, that's what the capitalist said, not me — don't forget, his father is a hot candidate for the Academician title this year.
And he himself is a genius in integrated circuits!
If you don't believe it, go ask around in Silicon Valley — see how magical the 'Wonder Kid' really is."
"He's not even twenty yet and can already think that far ahead.
And we, half-buried in the ground already, can't even match a kid?"
After finishing, Zheng Zhenchuan tightly closed his mouth.
The conference room fell silent again.
A long while later, Director Wang let out a heavy sigh,
"Old Zheng, even if we agree, the higher-ups might not.
His conditions are too harsh.
If we set a precedent, won't it allow capital to hijack academia freely?"
Zheng Zhenchuan sighed deeply.
He knew very well — the high-sounding excuses weren't the real reason.
The real issue was... five hundred million was just too much.
Their entire team — plus the optical source team at Changguang Institute — barely totaled two hundred people.
Yet they were being offered a budget of at least 550 million.
Consider this: last year, the entire Chinese Academy of Sciences had a total budget under five hundred million!
In fact, nationwide R&D investment for the whole year had barely reached 10 billion yuan — and that included CAS, universities, and enterprises combined.
(Note: The R&D to GDP ratio at that time was around 0.5–0.6%. Today it's over 2%.)
How could this not provoke jealousy?
Since ancient times, people didn't mind scarcity — they minded inequality.
Everyone was struggling to build "atomic bombs" with scraps —
why should you get "atomic bomb" funding while the rest of us sell tea eggs?
After several seconds of silence, Zheng Zhenchuan said softly,
"Director Wang, if the decision is no,
then I'll ask Old Zhao to resign and take the team with us."
"Absurd!"
"It's not absurd. It's thoroughly considered," Zheng Zhenchuan exhaled slowly, smiling calmly.
"I'm almost fifty.
If I don't gamble now, when will I?"
"China's large population and backward situation have created an illusion —
even among ourselves — that ordinary people are dirt poor."
"Actually," Su Yuanshan said with a smile, sitting comfortably at home with his dusty-faced uncle,
"even when a big ship rots, there are still thousands of nails left."
"Only by entering the market personally can you see what the real market looks like."
Zhang Ke nodded enthusiastically, laughing loudly,
"Exactly!
But I still feel like this year's money is ridiculously easy to make.
Everyone's pockets seem to be overflowing with cash.
Is it because of the 'Spring Breeze' policy?"
Su Yuanshan laughed,
"It's because after the Spring Breeze, the amount of currency in circulation has increased."
Zhang Ke blinked,
"You mean the government printed money?"
Su Yuanshan nodded with a smile,
"Quite a lot, actually.
So, Uncle, when you do your cost calculations, be sure to factor in inflation —
otherwise, you'll show a profit on paper but end up losing in reality."
Zhang Ke nodded heavily,
"I'll write that down in my notebook immediately.
Quick, tell me, what else should I watch out for when running a shopping mall?"
Su Yuanshan chuckled.
This year, riding his boldness and strong cash flow, Uncle Zhang had rapidly built a chain of nationwide appliance malls centered around the provincial capital and radiating into the country's most developed cities.
By this month, he had already surpassed Jiamei.
With the TV drama Springtime's Story airing and popularizing the concept of VCDs, and thanks to their brother companies' production capacity being immediately allocated to him, Zhang Ke had sold two hundred thousand VCD units in just two weeks — consuming almost half of the factory's output.
"There's nothing special you need to watch for —
just don't get greedy," Su Yuanshan said seriously.
"We're doing real industry and commerce —
not playing with capital."
Zhang Ke nodded,
"I get it.
Right now, our cash flow is incredible.
It feels like opening a new store is like planting a money tree.
I never would've dared dream of this before..."
"You have to dare to dream," Professor Su Xinghe said, looking up from his documents with a smile,
"Otherwise, you're no better than a paramecium."
Over the past six months, Professor Su Xinghe's hair had gotten even whiter, but his spirit was stronger than ever.
As his son would say — Professor Su was enjoying a springtime of academic rejuvenation.
Zhang Ke chuckled,
"Brother, I heard you're in the running for Academician this year?"
"Forget it, let's not talk about baseless rumors," Su Xinghe waved his hand and looked at his son.
"As for UMC — you're just going to sign the agreement, right?"
Su Yuanshan shook his head with a smile,
"No.
With the current consensus between the island and the mainland, we can go even bigger —
use this momentum to persuade UMC to jointly build a wafer fab here.
But that'll involve negotiating with the government."
Su Xinghe thought for a moment and nodded.
He knew his son didn't like dealing with officials — and frankly, he didn't want his young son dragged into politics either.
"Alright.
Have them send over an itinerary.
We'll set the specifications and arrange things properly."
"Got it."
After dinner, inevitably, the conversation shifted back to the lithography machine project.
Neither Su Xinghe nor Zhang Ke opposed Su Yuanshan's decision to invest five hundred million into lithography.
However, they doubted whether the Chinese Academy of Sciences would accept his stringent collaboration model.
Five hundred million yuan — ten times the government's annual semiconductor research budget.
In theory, any project that burned money like lithography development would be desperate for such private support.
But when faced with that much money, human greed inevitably awakened.
Professor Su Xinghe looked at his son, frowning,
"In some people's eyes, that five hundred million is nothing but a fat piece of meat."
"Let them think what they want," Su Yuanshan said calmly.
"If it comes to that, I'll offer lifetime contracts, housing benefits, and retirement plans.
If I plant a phoenix tree, I refuse to believe the golden phoenixes won't come."
He was completely unfazed.
Su Xinghe shook his head and laughed bitterly,
"You think too simply.
Money isn't everything."
Su Yuanshan smiled faintly,
"Still, sometimes you have to force a negotiation.
Otherwise, the rich will always be seen as fat sheep to be slaughtered."
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