Chapter 315: The Little Brother's Thoughts
"Mm, but you need to pay attention—your family's major shareholder should not be thinking about any crooked ideas…" Su Yuanshan smiled and said. "Don't let it turn into them waving a hand and approving a loan of two or three hundred million as 'support' or something like that. Have them dispel that notion as early as possible. If they really want to support you, then do it directly through increasing their shareholding."
"Uh…" Wang Dongsheng did not expect Su Yuanshan to actually refuse a loan. He thought for a moment and then said, "Actually, it mainly depends on whether we can persuade the government and the relevant departments of the ministries. If we can persuade them, we can also bring the government in to invest. The capital's government still has money."
"Yes, so pay attention…" Su Yuanshan narrowed his eyes and said softly, "No matter what the government's attitude is, the day after tomorrow we must tell the Japanese side that the government has this intention—that the government intends to take an equity stake."
"And then, to the government, we need to say that the Japanese side is not very keen on the government taking a stake… because it involves a lot of high-end technology, and the other side is still somewhat apprehensive."
"Then we'll look at the attitudes of both sides before making a decision. In short, we need to obtain from the Japanese side the cooperation agreement that is most beneficial to us and most beneficial to the country. At the same time, we also need to obtain from the government the policies that are most conducive to the development of the enterprise."
As Su Yuanshan said this, he smiled. "I really don't understand this kind of thing. After President Chen comes over tomorrow, I'll have President Chen get in touch with you."
"President Shan is being modest."
Wang Dongsheng gently exhaled and looked deeply at Su Yuanshan. In his heart, he admired this young man immensely, and he finally understood why his "old colleague" had warned him so seriously back then—telling him never to underestimate or belittle Su Yuanshan. Not only was he a technical genius, he was also extremely capable when it came to grasping business opportunities.
"President Shan." Seeing that Su Yuanshan had finished his explanations and seemed ready to end the conversation, Wang Dongsheng thought for a moment and finally, emboldened by the alcohol, summoned the courage to ask in a low voice, "Although… I know I shouldn't ask, I still want to ask."
"Hm? Go ahead."
"Why BOE?" Wang Dongsheng's eyes were exceptionally bright as he stared at Su Yuanshan and asked. "Although I'm very grateful that Yuanxin is allowing BOE to enter this field, I still…"
"Heh, because only you have the technical reserves, and you have vision and determination." Su Yuanshan thought to himself that they were the type to stick to one path to the very end, the future pride of domestic manufacturing… if not you, then who?
"In this world, business can never be exhausted." Su Yuanshan narrowed his eyes, looking out the window, his gaze suddenly becoming a little unfocused. "In the future, the market will become more and more specialized and more and more segmented. What Yuanxin can do is, after seeing hope in a certain field, invite and help more talented people in that field to develop together."
Wang Dongsheng subconsciously found it a little hard to believe. He opened his mouth, but in the end said nothing.
Su Yuanshan withdrew his gaze and laughed. "When it comes to running a business, some people pursue wealth, some pursue achievement, the realization of self-worth. What does President Wang pursue?"
"Achievement." Wang Dongsheng answered almost without thinking.
Su Yuanshan nodded. "I'm the same as President Wang, but also a little different. What I pursue is breakthroughs and realization in technology, and… satisfaction."
Wang Dongsheng froze for a moment.
Satisfaction?
Isn't that just another way of describing a sense of achievement?
"Oh right, investing in an LCD panel production line should be around six hundred million US dollars now. You obviously can't come up with that much money… but you can contribute land, and you can provide personnel." Su Yuanshan thought for a moment and said, "And Yuanxin is also very poor this year. We've spent too much on infrastructure and R&D investment, so… we still need to persuade the Japanese side as much as possible, strive to have the government take an equity stake, then our side achieves 51% controlling interest, and the chairman's position goes to the Japanese side."
"Then, in terms of corporate management, I'll do my best to let you handle the day-to-day management…"
Wang Dongsheng knew that this was Su Yuanshan giving him a guarantee. He took a deep breath imperceptibly. "Then what about Yuanxin?"
"Just like I said this afternoon, Yuanxin will provide peripheral chips, application directions, and related designs. Yuanxin will not participate in daily operations and management. Even in the future, Yuanxin can exit its shareholding." Su Yuanshan stared at Wang Dongsheng and said seriously, "I will never forget the days when even microcontrollers were restricted from being imported. So… President Wang, you must seize this opportunity. It doesn't matter who the capital belongs to, it doesn't matter who the profits go to, but the technology must stay!"
These words from Su Yuanshan were filled with heartfelt sincerity. Under the influence of alcohol, Wang Dongsheng was deeply moved. He took another deep breath and laughed loudly. "Yes! The technology must stay! President Shan, rest assured. I, Old Wang, can still fight for another ten or twenty years. If in ten or twenty years it really becomes what you say, that LCD panels are one of the basic components of all home appliances, then… BOE will definitely have a place!"
Su Yuanshan smiled and nodded, extending his hand. "Mm, I believe it."
…
Pulling open the car door, Su Yuanshan watched Wang Dongsheng get into the car. Afterward, together with Zhou Xiaohui, he slowly walked back toward the siheyuan.
Earlier, when Su Yuanshan and Wang Dongsheng were having a "private talk in the car," Zhou Xiaohui chose to call the driver and leave together—of course, she didn't really need to avoid it, but in this kind of situation, one still had to consider Wang Dongsheng's face and emotions to some extent. Having no third person present was the best.
"Wang Dongsheng is also a ruthless guy." With his hands in his pockets, Su Yuanshan walked slowly along the temporarily repaired road. "I estimate he'll bring the government in as a shareholder."
"The government as a shareholder? Would the Japanese side have objections?" Zhou Xiaohui blinked. "Although Japan and we are on pretty good terms right now, this kind of business cooperation between enterprises… shouldn't it be better to avoid involving the government if possible?"
"There should be some objections, but not too big." Su Yuanshan smiled. "Japan's thinking is a bit different from the West."
"Hm? How so?"
"The West believes more in the free market—at least that's what they shout. And since the West is the boss leading the blockade against us, companies over there always have more considerations."
"But the Japanese side is different. Japan may be a little brother who listens to the West, but which little brother doesn't harbor thoughts of doing small moves behind the boss's back? Some even steal the boss's wife! Don't you think so?"
Zhou Xiaohui stopped walking, half laughing and half exasperated. "That analogy of yours…"
"Heh, isn't it quite fitting?"
"I won't comment."
"That's because you haven't seen… uh… forget it." Su Yuanshan almost blurted out Crazy Stone…
"Back during the Cold War, Japan secretly sold its most advanced milling machines to the Soviets, almost driving the Americans crazy. Besides, they're like us, all within the Confucian cultural sphere… they know that business involving the government is especially easy to do."
"So they'll definitely accept government capital participation."
"But now, I'm a bit worried about whether the government will see this step coming…" Su Yuanshan narrowed his eyes and looked up at the sky.
(End of Chapter)
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Chapter 316 Look Further Ahead
Capital Hotel.
Sony and Yuanxin had already interacted multiple times, and Ken Kutaragi himself had visited China several times. Naturally, he had formed his own standards and opinions about Yuanxin.
Say what you would, Yuanxin, though frugal to the bone—with a near Puritan lifestyle embraced throughout the company—was exceptionally generous when it came to hosting clients.
This was one of the reasons why Ken Kutaragi liked Yuanxin.
It was a young, vibrant company that hadn't yet fallen into the decadent, lavish habits that often plagued established corporations.
And perhaps it was precisely this spirit that allowed Yuanxin to seize opportunity after opportunity and rise so rapidly in the information age.
To be frank, Ken Kutaragi even felt a bit envious of Yuanxin.
"Ken-san, since you have a deeper understanding of the mainland market," Junichi Akita said as he entered Ken Kutaragi's hotel room and sat on the sofa, "do you believe that the mainland will develop as Su Yuanshan claims—that within twenty years, it will become the second-largest consumer market in the world?
Is he trying to deceive us, or does he genuinely have faith?"
Although Akita prided himself on being a technical specialist, that didn't mean he was clueless about politics and administration.
With Ken Kutaragi's stunning comeback on the PlayStation project, SCE (Sony Computer Entertainment) had risen sharply in prestige within the entire Sony Group.
More importantly, SCE could synergize with all of Sony's core businesses.
Inside Sony, many were now pinning their hopes on Ken Kutaragi, believing he could lead Sony to a new golden era.
Akita was no exception.
But his optimism about Ken Kutaragi was also tied to Yuanxin.
Undeniably, ever since cooperating with Yuanxin, Sony had become the first major Japanese company to "bet big" on China.
Given Sony's current relationship with Yuanxin, if Yuanxin rose, and if the mainland rose, then Sony stood to reap immense rewards in the future.
Thus, whoever promoted policies favoring ties with the mainland—such as Ken Kutaragi—was the natural choice to lead Sony.
Still, Akita harbored a nagging unease over Su Yuanshan's wildly optimistic predictions.
After all, Su Yuanshan had boldly said that within twenty years, the mainland would become the second-largest global consumer market.
That would mean its GDP would also rise to the second spot.
And as for first place... well, it certainly wouldn't be Japan.
Ken Kutaragi had been casually jotting down notes in a notebook.
Upon hearing Akita's question, he slowly looked up, gazing seriously at him.
After a few seconds of silence, he said slowly, "From a national standpoint, of course we don't want the mainland to rise again."
"Exactly," Akita nodded.
Then he caught something. "Wait—you said 'rise again'?"
"Yes..." Kutaragi set down his pen and sighed lightly.
"Akita-kun, your East Asian history is lacking."
"…"
"For the past two thousand years, the Middle Kingdom has always been the hegemon of East Asia, and at times, even the dominant influence across all of Asia and parts of the world."
"I... I know," Akita said with some reluctance. "Their geography is too advantageous.
They had early civilizational development."
"Is geography better than America's?" Ken Kutaragi smiled faintly.
"Last month, when I came to China for a software expo, I stayed at Yuanxin's guesthouse.
During that time, Su Yuanshan and I had many long conversations—about our country's future, the future of the mainland, and the future of the world."
"I must admit, I was convinced by his vision and understanding.
If he had been a seasoned international relations scholar, I might have argued. But he's just a twenty-year-old."
Kutaragi squinted slightly, speaking softly:
"He said we made a grave cognitive mistake—that we believed we had become advanced merely because we adopted Western technology early, enabling us to industrialize."
"Meanwhile, during that same period, the Qing Dynasty foolishly rejected Western advancements...
leading the world—including us—to absurdly think that the Chinese were backward, barbaric, and incapable of enlightenment."
Akita was stunned for a long while before his eyes lit up.
"Albert Einstein said something like that."
"Yes, but that was a mistake," Kutaragi sighed and smiled.
"Su Yuanshan, at just twenty years old, independently published a paper in Nature."
Hearing the word Nature, Akita felt a sour taste in his mouth.
"He said, whether it's the West or our country, the fundamental reason we industrialized and modernized first wasn't superiority—it was access to knowledge and technology.
And knowledge and technology can be learned—or even self-developed once the right direction is known."
"He also said that if you want to predict a country's future, look at its education investment.
The mainland has implemented nine years of compulsory education, is continuously expanding university enrollments, and actively encourages studying abroad."
"Anyone with overseas experience is highly valued when they return."
"This shows," Kutaragi said, looking earnestly at Akita,
"that this nation is doing everything it can to catch up with the civilized world."
"A country of 1.2 billion people," he added softly,
"just as Nixon once said:
There is no justification for excluding a fifth of humanity from the civilized world."
[Author's Note: The quote attributed to Einstein and Nixon is roughly correct. Some of these views come from Professor Jin Canrong, whose ideas the author partially agrees with, especially when he challenged the Japanese directly.]
"So," Ken Kutaragi continued with a smile, "a world-class enterprise must have world-class vision."
"I believe in Su Yuanshan's words.
Though watching him rise so fast is hard to accept emotionally."
"…Is that your view?" Akita asked seriously.
"And does it mean you'll continue pushing for deeper cooperation with the mainland?"
"Yes," Kutaragi nodded without hesitation.
"And I'll push even harder."
He thought of Su Yuanshan's concerns about undercurrents beneath the honeymoon period between China and Japan, and said softly:
"If you study the mainland carefully, you'll realize—
both the government and businesses there act like real people.
They remember favors."
Akita fell silent for a few seconds, then his eyes brightened.
"Did Yuanxin agree to exchange battery technology?"
Kutaragi smiled and nodded.
"Yes. We're even jointly establishing a laboratory for deeper cooperation—and...
Su Yuanshan welcomed us to join his graphene laboratory."
Akita clenched his fist tightly.
Thanks to the earlier hype around carbon nanotubes, graphene's discovery had immediately caused a frenzy in scientific circles.
But who could possibly understand it better than the one who had discovered it—Su Yuanshan himself?
"Akita-san," Ken Kutaragi said,
"you must learn to look further ahead."
It was a phrase Su Yuanshan often repeated.
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Chapter 317 Sell, Sell, Sell
With the basic communications network now established and operations more streamlined, many matters at Yuanxin could be handled via email, eliminating the need to constantly stay at headquarters. If something truly required a signature, they could go to President Xi. If even that wasn't possible, they could find Professor Su Xinghe.
Waiting for Chen Jing, Su Yuanshan didn't accompany the Sony representatives further; they also needed some private time to discuss matters internally. Besides, he was genuinely busy—otherwise, he wouldn't have called Chen Jing over in the first place. When Chen Jing arrived, she didn't come alone; she brought her entire secretary team with her. Su Yuanshan sat in the rosewood chair of Chen Jing's office and said with an apologetic smile, "Jing Jie, I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you. I have to attend several academic conferences."
"It's fine. Let me look through the materials," Chen Jing replied without even lifting her head. Ever since Su Yuanshan had mentioned the LCD panel project last month, she had already started preparing related information, mainly focusing on financing and financial planning. "Currently, total investment is around $700 million. Under the most pessimistic projections, we estimate we'll need to provide at least $300 million ourselves," she said, frowning slightly as she tapped her pen on the desk. She looked at Su Yuanshan seriously. "You're really daring, you know that? If the new phones we're launching at the end of the month don't meet sales expectations and can't drive first-generation Vidoo sales, we might not even make it through the year."
"It's fine, no panic," Su Yuanshan said with a grin. "We'll still celebrate the New Year. As long as the phones don't lose money—even if they do lose money, as long as we hold out for another six months, it'll be fine." Hearing that, Chen Jing glared at him fiercely. She trusted Su Yuanshan, sure, but this was blatant optimism. Currently, the mobile division was becoming Yuanxin's main revenue source; it had already surpassed VCD profits. "You're not seriously thinking the CPU launch next year will immediately turn things around, right?" she asked sharply.
"Of course not. I'm prepared for the CPU division to lose money for two years," Su Yuanshan replied. Chen Jing stared at him, nearly choking. "Haha, seriously, Jing Jie," Su Yuanshan said, laughing as he shook his head. "If we're already committed to smashing our pots and selling our iron to pursue this, then we'll smash and sell all the way. Next year, Xinghai Venture Capital can start selling shares. Plus, Xinghai Hi-Tech will probably go public too, so I'll be able to cash out by then."
Chen Jing took a deep breath. She hadn't even thought of that. Right now, although Yuanxin was nominally still Su Xinghe's private company, everyone knew it was quietly transitioning toward a collective ownership model to accommodate international partnerships. However, Starsea Hi-Tech, Starsea Ventures, and Starsea Trading were all under Su Yuanshan's control. "This isn't good," Chen Jing said, biting her lip and glaring at him. "I've seen loss-making tech firms before, sure. But I've never seen one so brazenly eating subsidies to stay alive."
"And you didn't tell anyone else about this, right?" she asked. "Nope," Su Yuanshan answered. "Good. Don't mention it again. If a company knows it can always count on someone to bail it out no matter what, where's the incentive to fight?" Chen Jing said, sighing again. "But you—sigh!"
Su Yuanshan just grinned. He understood Chen Jing's perspective. As Yuanxin's de facto and official head, she had to think conservatively and long-term. But Su Yuanshan's thinking was different. He had decided from the beginning: even if it meant bleeding money, even if it meant selling off assets, he would keep the core businesses alive—no matter what. The wafer fab, lithium batteries, LCD panels, and in the future even electric vehicles and drones—he intended to push them ahead of schedule.
Why? Because even a small delay would dramatically increase the difficulty for domestic companies to break into international markets. But if they moved early, even slightly, they could create technological and patent barriers first and leverage cost advantages to establish monopolies. Besides, what were two or three hundred million dollars compared to what he was mentally preparing for?
Su Yuanshan's real expectation was that after the year 2000, Yuanxin would burn through at least a billion dollars in losses per year. What would he do then? Simple: sell, sell, sell! He had already instructed Qin Si to invest aggressively in internet companies ahead of the coming bubble. At one point, he had even obsessed over tracking down every early IPO website he could remember from his past life—each time he found one, he would immediately email Qin Si to invest. If worst came to worst, he could even intervene in the Asian Financial Crisis to make profits.
As someone who deeply understood the history of semiconductors, the internet, and financial crises, Su Yuanshan had countless ways to make money. Right now, he didn't need money. He lacked only time and opportunity.
Su Yuanshan stood up and said, "Anyway, I'll leave it to you, Jing Jie. I'll be next door. If you have trouble understanding any technical documents, just call for me. And tonight, Wang Dongsheng will come by to meet with you. You two can discuss things in more detail then."
"Alright. You're not around tonight?" Chen Jing asked curiously.
Su Yuanshan sighed. "I have to attend a dinner party."
"Pfft... Fine, go then. Just don't drink too much."
Back in his room, which doubled as his office, Su Yuanshan saw Zhou Xiaohui sitting at a huge desk preparing materials for him. "You really should've gotten a graduate student to help you," Zhou Xiaohui said, shaking her head. "I'm terrible at science."
Su Yuanshan smiled and booted up his laptop. "No worries. I'll handle it." Zhou Xiaohui unplugged the telephone line from her laptop and plugged it into Su Yuanshan's RJ11 port. After the familiar screech of the modem connecting, Su Yuanshan opened the 163 web directory and sighed, "Still no real search engines yet. We're stuck relying on indexed pages—it's just not reliable."
Zhou Xiaohui blinked. She recalled that Su Yuanshan often talked about "search engines" and asked, "Is that the project Yezi is working on?"
"Mm, exactly. She's working on the core algorithms for a search engine," Su Yuanshan said, opening the web directory while waiting for the page to load. "With crawler bots and hyperlink analysis, we'll soon be able to find any information we want. That's when the internet will truly become a universe of infinite knowledge."
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Chapter 318 This Is My Domain
In his previous life, Su Yuanshan had received an offer from Columbia University right after completing his undergraduate degree. After finishing his master's and doctorate, he worked directly in the industry and never had the chance to experience the academic research community back home. Most of what he knew about the 1990s domestic research scene came from hearsay—his father, Professor Su Xinghe, had burned out early after his mother's misappropriation of funds scandal and never witnessed the mid-90s academic boom.
Now, however, the circles Su Yuanshan moved in were entirely different. With Yuanxin's rise and influence, and thanks to the success of Yuanxin's model of blending education, industry, and research, domestic investment in education and research had surged. The research atmosphere in the country was now far richer and more vibrant than anything Su Yuanshan had heard of in his previous life. Yet one thing hadn't changed: the dinner banquets.
Outside the restaurant, Su Yuanshan had just gotten out of the car when he saw He Chunhua standing at the door—an older graduate student from Peking University who had supervised his experiments during his exchange program last year. "Hello, Senior Brother," Su Yuanshan greeted first. He Chunhua quickly stepped down the stairs, both hands reaching out for a firm handshake. "It's been a while."
Su Yuanshan smiled playfully, "Well, that's your fault. Three months ago when I was in Shanghai, I heard you were doing experiments there. Then you got your data and bolted without waiting two more days to catch up with me!"
He Chunhua laughed heartily. "That was the old man pushing hard. Blame him, not me!"
"I wouldn't dare," Su Yuanshan chuckled as he waved to Zhou Xiaohui before heading into the hall with He Chunhua.
Of course, Zhou Xiaohui had to follow. She knew how these dinners went—less about eating and more about drinking—and no matter how high Su Yuanshan's status was, in front of these academic big shots, he was still a junior. Not that she would join the dinner; she'd find a place nearby to wait with the driver, just in case Su Yuanshan needed help later.
"Senior Brother, your defense is next year, right? How's the dissertation coming along?" Su Yuanshan asked as they walked.
"Almost done," He Chunhua nodded. "As long as the defense committee doesn't make things difficult, it should go smoothly."
Then he smiled and added, "Actually, I owe you a thank you... these days, only Yuanxin has a full physical vapor deposition setup we can use."
Su Yuanshan had always been the type to build good relationships wherever he went—a rare combination of genius without arrogance, strong ability, and genuine warmth. It would take a fool to treat him coldly. After spending half a year at Peking University, Su Yuanshan had built strong friendships across the lab. Even after leaving, he kept in touch and offered help whenever he could.
"Senior Brother, if you really want to thank me, help me drink a little tonight—you know I can't hold my liquor," Su Yuanshan said with a grin.
He Chunhua burst out laughing. He knew from past gatherings that Su Yuanshan's alcohol tolerance was almost nonexistent. "Don't worry, I'll cover for you. And honestly, tonight's dinner is more about chatting. No one's going to force you to drink."
"You said it yourself..." Su Yuanshan grinned as they entered the private dining room.
Inside, Su Yuanshan first greeted Professor Li Chungang, then, under He Chunhua's introductions, met several others.
It was clear that tonight was basically a gathering of Peking University's physics researchers.
When it came time to sit, Su Yuanshan insisted on sitting with He Chunhua, maintaining a posture of humility as a junior. This pleased the professors greatly. As promised, it was truly a dinner, not a drinking contest—the wine served was red wine, paired with Chinese food.
Red wine was manageable for Su Yuanshan.
"Xiao Su, you must know what tonight's topic is," Professor Li Chungang, who had served nominally as Su Yuanshan's mentor for a semester and had strong ties to Professor Li Gaoliang, began. He naturally assumed the role of discussion leader. "We've all carefully read your paper. We've even seen your email responses. Frankly, we're all very pleased that you discovered a new material. And having it recognized by a top journal is quite an achievement."
"Professor Li flatters me," Su Yuanshan replied humbly. "Peeling off graphene was mostly luck. The real value lies in analyzing its properties, exploring applications, and developing scalable production methods."
"Indeed. But in terms of experimental equipment and funding..." Professor Li paused, locking eyes with Su Yuanshan, "we've analyzed the situation. Currently, it seems that graphene can only be used for research.
Which means... in our country, where funding is already stretched thin, it'll be hard to divert any more for this field."
"And as for private enterprises, very few are willing to invest in research without immediate returns like Yuanxin does," a young professor said with a smile.
Su Yuanshan quickly responded modestly, "Professor Wang overestimates us. Yuanxin mainly invests heavily because we believe these fields have promising futures."
Wang Xin, barely in his thirties, had just returned from a postdoctoral stint at the University of Pittsburgh and had been granted a full professorship at Peking University. Su Yuanshan remembered him—he would eventually become a major figure in applied physics, especially in bio-optics. Though he was back early compared to his original timeline, it remained to be seen if that would affect his future achievements.
In any case, just being present here meant everyone in the room was someone important at Peking University—except perhaps He Chunhua, who had been pulled along to accompany Su Yuanshan.
Wang Xin smiled and said nothing further.
He had originally planned to stay abroad longer, hoping to secure a tenure-track position, which would have made him eligible for citizenship.
But as China's reforms deepened and slogans like "Revitalize the nation through science and education" were backed by real action, he couldn't resist the pull. The more time he spent abroad, the more he felt the ceilings closing in on him. And Yuanxin's existence had only made the mainland seem more attractive.
He had considered joining Yuanxin directly, trusting that his new LED technologies and patents would find a home there.
But in the end, Peking University's offer was too generous, and he had concerns about Yuanxin's "Electronics Institute clique" connections.
In China, after all, personal relationships mattered a lot.
Su Yuanshan didn't know about any of this.
Even if he did, he wouldn't have been able to do much.
Yuanxin had grown out of the Electronics Institute's graduate programs, and many key research positions were held by those early recruits—it was inevitable.
Fortunately, Yuanxin operated on both research and enterprise tracks, and the business management side remained free of factionalism.
Professor Li Chungang then asked, "So how much is Yuanxin planning to invest in graphene?"
Su Yuanshan realized they were getting straight to the point—just like President Zhou.
And frankly, he appreciated it.
He smiled and gave the same answer he had given Zhou:
"Yuanxin will establish an open laboratory. Any research group is welcome to join. As long as the research aligns with Yuanxin's objectives—whether short-term or long-term—we'll fund it directly."
Hearing such a clear and direct commitment, the professors couldn't hide their excitement.
Yes, the government was increasing research budgets by about 20% next year.
But with such a low baseline, even a 20% boost barely made a dent.
Compared to what Yuanxin was offering, it was night and day.
Moreover, while government-funded research now demanded strict accountability, with unspent funds having to be returned at year-end, Yuanxin's approach was straightforward: if you had a good project, you got the money, no strings attached.
Su Yuanshan saw their reactions and smiled. "We'll also raise the standards for the lab."
"What standards?" Professor Li asked immediately.
"Administrative status within Yuanxin... or something else?"
"The lab standards—and entry requirements," Su Yuanshan said calmly. "Since we aim to establish a corporate postdoc station, participation will require at least a PhD candidate."
He felt a bit guilty saying that—after all, the Electronics Institute lab accepted master's students.
But he made no apologies internally. Peking University's Physics Department had far more resources and prestige.
Higher standards were only fair.
To his surprise, none of the professors objected.
They even nodded in agreement.
Only Wang Xin looked a bit awkward—he had just returned and needed to train a batch of master's students before recruiting PhDs.
"Given the domestic situation, only PhD students can realistically tackle such cutting-edge topics," Professor Li agreed.
"And it'll make it easier for me to seek advice," Su Yuanshan joked.
Everyone laughed—then suddenly remembered he was still officially an undergraduate student.
...
After that, the tone shifted.
Since Su Yuanshan had agreed to set up the lab, the professors stopped holding back and began testing him—asking questions about graphene, applied physics, and everything an undergraduate should know.
At first, they were being polite.
Later, it was pure curiosity: just how deep did Su Yuanshan's knowledge go?
Was he truly a genius?
Su Yuanshan felt a momentary impulse to just play dumb and get it over with.
But it passed quickly.
He wasn't here to show off, but he also had no reason to hide his knowledge from real experts.
So, he began gently steering the conversation toward semiconductor physics.
There, he was truly number one.
Not just among these professors, but across all of China at that moment.
Even if… there was a semiconductor professor sitting right there.
Naturally, he drank a bit more wine too.
...
Later, He Chunhua supported a slightly tipsy Su Yuanshan out to the door.
Seeing the young man struggling to stay composed, he felt a complex mix of emotions.
"Senior Brother," Su Yuanshan said with a crooked smile, "I'll head back first. Help me see the professors off, okay?"
"Got it. Rest well. See you tomorrow."
Su Yuanshan left, supported discreetly by Zhou Xiaohui and the driver.
He Chunhua watched them go, sighed deeply, then turned back into the private room.
Ordinarily, everyone would have gone to the door to see Su Yuanshan off.
But not tonight.
Tonight, they stayed behind—because they needed time.
Time to digest the shock Su Yuanshan had given them.
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Chapter 319 Closeness and Distance
He Chunhua returned to the private room to find that the food and drinks had already been cleared away, replaced by fresh tea, fruit, and light snacks. None of the professors had left; no one spoke. They all quietly sipped their tea. When He Chunhua came back, Professor Li Chungang motioned for him to close the door and asked, "You saw him off to the car, right?"
"Yes, I watched him get in. Don't worry, Professor. I know he's a treasure," He Chunhua said with a chuckle, but he soon noticed that none of the others were smiling. Professor Yang Junguo, who specialized in semiconductor physics, lit a cigarette with a snap.
The room filled with smoke before Professor Yang finally broke the silence. "Incredible," he said bitterly, looking at Professor Li. "Director Li, I have no complaints about the University of Electronic Science and Technology, but they started with radio engineering. Sure, they're strong in that field, no argument. But in semiconductors..." He hesitated, then continued, "Professor Su Xinghe is impressive, but his success was largely due to the right direction and good funding. That's what brought results."
Yang's comment was blunt and hinted at a broader point: he didn't hold the Electronics Institute in high regard. He even implied that Su Xinghe's achievements relied more on financial backing than on extraordinary talent.
"But Su Yuanshan—he's on another level," Yang Junguo said, taking a deep drag from his cigarette until it burned down to the filter, then lighting another from the stub. "If it were Su Xinghe here tonight talking, I'd be impressed, sure—but Su Yuanshan is only twenty years old!"
"No wonder Yuanxin rose so fast," Professor Wang Xin sighed, waving away some of the smoke. "And let's not forget, there's also Xinghai Hi-Tech in Silicon Valley... part of the same lineage."
"I heard it's being run by Dr. Xi Xiaoding?" Professor Li glanced at his student. He knew He Chunhua had maintained contact with Yuanxin after guiding Su Yuanshan in his early experiments.
"Yes. Dr. Xi had an IBM offer, but returned home when his father passed away. Then, lured by a brilliant recruitment ad from Yuanxin, he went to check it out, only to be completely won over by Su Yuanshan."
"What kind of recruitment ad?" Professor Li asked curiously.
"I heard it was a set of advanced programming challenges," He Chunhua said with a smile. "And the slogan was something like, 'Dare to work with the best programmers.'"
Yang Junguo was startled. "Wait, so he's also a programmer?"
"Not just a programmer, but an outstanding one," He Chunhua said, recalling the time he'd asked Su Yuanshan to help him with some code. "He won the grand prize in the first programming contest, too."
Professor Wang Xin caught onto something and asked, "Wasn't he just a teenager back then?"
"Yes... still in high school."
Silence fell over the room again.
"A real genius," Professor Li finally sighed.
As someone specializing in applied physics, he could tell that Su Yuanshan's grasp of the subject had long surpassed the undergraduate level. No one would question it if someone said he had the knowledge of a master's graduate.
But that wasn't the key point. What had truly stunned everyone was his mastery of semiconductor physics.
It had been clear during the dinner: when the conversation shifted to semiconductors, Su Yuanshan grew even more confident. He rattled off technical terms and data effortlessly.
When the discussion moved into chip architecture and wafer fabrication processes, even some of the specialized terminology left a few people struggling to follow.
But judging from Professor Yang's face, everyone could tell: Su Yuanshan wasn't making things up—he was legitimately pushing Yang into deep thought.
That was no small feat.
"Chunhua, your dissertation is almost done, right?" Professor Li said seriously. "Go back with Su Yuanshan. Whether you want to do postdoctoral research, join Yuanxin, or return here later, we'll decide next year. This is an opportunity. Grab it."
Su Yuanshan had barely gotten out of the car when the cold night air hit him, and he immediately squatted down and vomited. Zhou Xiaohui rushed over, heart aching for him. Thankfully, there was bottled water in the car; she handed it to him so he could rinse his mouth, then patted him on the back, scolding, "Didn't you say you wouldn't get drunk tonight?"
"I only threw up because my body couldn't take it—my mind is clear," Su Yuanshan said after rinsing his mouth, wiping his lips, and waving her off.
"Stubborn duck," Zhou Xiaohui grumbled.
"I mean it. I feel much better now," Su Yuanshan said, taking a deep breath and standing up, only for his stomach to churn again.
Three minutes later, he finally managed to straighten up properly. "All good now. My legs are just a little wobbly."
"Yeah, right," Zhou Xiaohui muttered, grabbing his arm. She waved off the driver, signaling that she could handle it herself.
"No need to help, Xiaohui Jie. I'm really fine," Su Yuanshan said, breaking free and narrowing his eyes sharply, forcing out a few tears. After wiping them away, he stuffed his hands into his pockets and slowly made his way toward the courtyard thirty meters away.
Zhou Xiaohui, both worried and annoyed, hurried to catch up with him.
Su Yuanshan hadn't lied—after vomiting, his head was clear.
In fact, he had been clear-headed the entire time; his body just couldn't handle the alcohol.
Tonight, he had miscalculated. Red wine, with its delayed effect, had sneaked up on him.
Because he had been so excited—wanting to casually but deliberately spread his reputation as a "genius" throughout the academic circle during the dinner—he drank without realizing how much he was consuming.
By the second half of the night, when the conversations had shifted into his areas of expertise, he could clearly feel it:
His goal was achieved.
At least, Professor Yang Junguo was convinced.
And once a technical expert is convinced, they're convinced.
Technology speaks for itself. Knowledge speaks for itself. Achievements speak for themselves.
"Xiaohui Jie, it's a pity you didn't see it tonight. I—tongue-fought a whole room full of professors," Su Yuanshan said proudly, laughing.
"They were trying to figure me out."
"You? Figure out what?" Zhou Xiaohui scoffed. "They just needed to ask around Yuanxin to know.
What's the point of getting you drunk?
Did they think you'd spill your secrets drunk?"
Su Yuanshan blinked, realizing she thought he had been deliberately targeted with alcohol.
"No, no," he explained. "It was red wine. We were chatting, and I drank too much without noticing."
"And there's another speech tomorrow?" he asked, suddenly remembering.
"It's today," Zhou Xiaohui said helplessly. "This afternoon at 2:30, at Peking University's lecture hall."
"Today?" Su Yuanshan smacked his forehead. "I thought it was tomorrow. Alright, when we get back, let's review my outline..."
The next morning, Su Yuanshan slept until ten.
After washing up, he found out that Chen Jing had already left to inspect BOE's facilities.
Even though Su Yuanshan had visited once, Chen Jing's rigor demanded a personal assessment before she made any final decisions—
Even though she knew Su Yuanshan was staking everything on this project, if BOE wasn't solid, she would still advise caution or insist on better terms.
"Morning, Xiaohui Jie," Su Yuanshan said as he wandered into the courtyard, spotting Zhou Xiaohui carrying breakfast.
"Morning," she said, shaking her head, half laughing. "I went to buy you breakfast."
"Perfect," Su Yuanshan said, delighted at the sight of soy milk and fried dough sticks.
After last night's mess, he was starving.
"You remember you have to give a speech later, right?" Zhou Xiaohui reminded him.
"Is it today or tomorrow?" Su Yuanshan blinked. "Today at 2:30?"
"Exactly. And you remember your speech draft, right?"
"I think... I didn't write one?" he said uncertainly. "But it's okay, I can speak off an outline."
Then he snapped his fingers. "Wait, didn't we prepare an outline last night?"
"Yes," Zhou Xiaohui said, handing him a printed draft. Then she watched him silently.
Su Yuanshan looked confused, but when he skimmed through the document, he immediately spit out his soy milk.
"This... this definitely isn't what I said!"
The draft started off fine—introducing the discovery of graphene, experimental design, and so on.
But halfway through, it veered wildly into his thoughts about studying abroad, dating, marriage customs, feminism...
"This is what you said!" Zhou Xiaohui said, laughing and scolding him.
"You were drunk and rambling like an old man!"
"Ugh..."
Su Yuanshan scratched his head. "Well, as long as I didn't say anything indecent..."
"You didn't. Just very naggy. Like an old uncle," Zhou Xiaohui said with a giggle.
"If it weren't for your young face, I would've thought it was my dad talking."
"..."
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Chapter 320 Not Enough Effort
Introducing new shareholders to BOE? Wang Dongsheng was a little suspicious—because Su Yuanshan had never mentioned this, not even in the emails they exchanged or during their two face-to-face meetings. Su Yuanshan's suggestion to Wang Dongsheng had been simple: if BOE could contribute not just factories and workers but also money, that would be ideal—because all contributions would be converted into equity. If not, it didn't matter; Yuanxin would fully support Wang Dongsheng in managing the joint venture.
For Wang Dongsheng, who didn't want to "drag Yuanxin down," BOE investing real money would certainly give them more say and make it easier for Yuanxin to support him. Thus, Wang Dongsheng had also considered approaching the government. But that had its complications: first, it was unclear whether the government would be willing to invest, and second, it depended on their appetite—whether they would invest directly in BOE or insist on joining the current China-Japan partnership. Of course, Su Yuanshan's opinion was that no matter the government's attitude, they had to tell the Japanese side that the government wanted to join the partnership.
Now that Chen Jing mentioned bringing in a new shareholder, it was clear that this investor was meant for BOE. "May I ask where the capital is from?" Wang Dongsheng asked, quickly regaining his composure.
"Well, technically it's Western capital—Starsea Venture Capital," Chen Jing said.
"Starsea Venture Capital?" Wang Dongsheng chewed on the name for a moment before freezing. "You mean... the one in Silicon Valley?"
"Yes. It's considered a sister company to Yuanxin," Chen Jing replied with a smile. "President Su and I thought about it. Your biggest problem right now is that your bottom line is too weak—you have a long history and technical foundation, but the long years of losses have dragged your valuation way down."
"Currently, nearly half of your shares have been converted into debt-equity swaps."
Hearing this, Wang Dongsheng first smiled bitterly, then sighed heavily.
During BOE's restructuring, after years of financial losses and talent drain, the value of the former Factory 774 had indeed plummeted, just as Chen Jing described.
The only upside was that employees could complete the stock reform with minimal personal cost.
However, this also meant that bank debts were now extremely "valuable."
Without Yuanxin leading this cooperation, Wang Dongsheng's original plan had been to first stabilize operations, then aim for a stock market listing to dilute the banks' stakes while securing funds for R&D and production expansion.
Yuanxin's intervention had dramatically accelerated BOE's timeline, which also exposed more fundamental issues.
After that long sigh, Wang Dongsheng took a deep breath. Having worked in finance for years, he quickly understood what Chen Jing meant.
"Thank you, President Chen. And please thank President Su for me," Wang Dongsheng said sincerely.
Chen Jing nodded with a smile. "No need for thanks. A company that's moving toward future industries deserves the right value and status in the capital market."
Introducing Starsea Venture Capital to BOE was actually an idea that came to Chen Jing yesterday when she and Su Yuanshan were reviewing BOE's ownership structure.
She immediately ran it by Su Yuanshan, and they had agreed on it almost instantly.
BOE's biggest problem now was being "undervalued."
But if they could bring in an outsider—an overseas investor—especially at a time when BOE was starting partnerships with Yuanxin, Sony, and Fujitsu, it would artificially boost the company's valuation.
That, in turn, would pressure the banks: they would either have to inject more capital to maintain their stakes or accept dilution.
Of course, achieving this would still require proper procedures, including shareholder meetings.
But with Wang Dongsheng's record—successfully completing the restructuring, turning a profit, and now securing heavyweight partnerships—he had enough clout to push it through.
Regardless of the outcome, just having "foreign capital interest" would give BOE a massive boost in confidence.
As for Su Yuanshan, whether Starsea ultimately invested or not, it was a win-win for him either way.
...
At 1:30 p.m., Su Yuanshan arrived punctually at the School of Physics.
On the way to the lecture hall, streams of students headed the same direction.
It wasn't hard to tell—they were all going to hear his "lecture."
"Suddenly feeling a little embarrassed," Su Yuanshan muttered under his breath as he rounded a corner.
Zhou Xiaohui, who usually dressed more maturely when accompanying Su Yuanshan to factories, had dressed more casually for today's visit to campus.
She actually looked a bit like a senior student herself—only a bit, though.
After all, years of working in administration, and now being promoted to an executive role, meant her professional aura was impossible to hide.
Meanwhile, Su Yuanshan looked every bit the student.
When he muttered about feeling embarrassed, Zhou Xiaohui laughed and teased, "You're not getting stage fright, are you?"
"A little bit, actually," Su Yuanshan admitted sheepishly.
"I don't believe you," Zhou Xiaohui said.
Everyone at Yuanxin knew Su Yuanshan was famous for speaking off-the-cuff.
At company meetings, he could talk for fifteen minutes about a single point without any notes.
Even at the Yuanxin annual meeting, facing a sea of people, he had never flinched.
"You don't understand," Su Yuanshan said with a wry smile. "Today's audience is the smartest group in the country..."
"Great, now you've made me nervous too," Zhou Xiaohui said, pursing her lips slightly.
Although Yuanxin forbade academic discrimination internally, it couldn't erase people's internal insecurities.
Especially someone like Zhou Xiaohui, who had only a junior college degree when she first became Su Yuanshan's secretary.
If she were just a regular secretary, even a vocational school background would have sufficed.
But Zhou Xiaohui was different—she was the soul figure bridging Yuanxin's research and business sides.
Her job required not just administrative skills but also technical understanding and a grasp of investment and finance, especially since she managed overseas operations for Su Yuanshan.
Recently, she had even established her own office, preparing to step into the role of Chairman's Assistant.
She had come to realize just how important having a good brain really was.
"You're not dumb," Su Yuanshan said, glancing at her and smiling. "You just didn't study seriously back then.
A lot of people think they lack talent when they don't succeed, but really, they just haven't worked hard enough to even test their talent."
"Well said!" a voice suddenly cut in.
Su Yuanshan looked up and saw He Chunhua walking out of the faculty offices, smiling broadly.
"But even so, in front of true talent, hard work matters much less.
Just look at you—I could never catch up even if I worked my fingers to the bone," He Chunhua said.
Su Yuanshan quickly replied, "Senior Brother, you're joking.
Anyway, should we head straight to the lecture hall?"
"Straight there.
Unfortunately, a lot of non-physics students sneaked in.
No idea if they'll even understand anything," He Chunhua said, waving them forward.
"Professor Li and the others are already waiting for you in the hall."
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