Today, the sea was calm.

The weather was clear, the color a clean, bright blue.

Looking into the distance, near the west coast of Hong Kong Island, some people were sailing yachts and speedboats. Su Yehao stood at the bow of his boat, hands behind his back, envying those who had the leisure to play in the water.

Unlike him.

His home was next to Big Wave Bay, a famous surfing spot in Hong Kong, and he could see the sea from his balcony at any time, but he had never gone to the sea to play on a small sailboat.

His surfboard was also lying in the storage room, unused since he bought it.

The name Big Wave Bay sounded exaggerated.

In fact, if there wasn't a typhoon, the waves were relatively gentle, suitable for beginners who were just getting into surfing. There were many people there during the summer holidays, and they liked to run to Su Yehao's door to check in, admiring the so-called "No. 1 mansion in Hong Kong."

Su Yehao had accompanied Nong Qingying and failed to surf a few times in Hawaii, and almost choked on water. He had almost blacklisted the sport.

At the moment, he was considering whether he should change his yacht design, which was currently out for tender, and design a super hybrid sailboat. It seemed more interesting than an ordinary super yacht.

However, such a large sailboat seemed a bit impractical.

After all, as long as you were willing to spend money, you could get supplies anywhere. Anyway, he never planned to travel long distances, and he wouldn't need sails most of the time.

His family circumstances were what they were, so he wouldn't run out of fuel...

Then he thought about Mr. Ni's matter, and Su Yehao sighed.

He knew what the other party was thinking. He had already talked about it during a meal in Si Jiucheng before the Spring Festival this year.

Assisting the domestic development of computer chips and operating systems sounded pretty good.

It was a pity.

Ideals were full, but reality was harsh.

The wafer foundry project hadn't even officially started, and he was already considering giving up control of Huangzuan (Yellow Diamond) computers and Heizuan (Black Diamond) mobile phones in the future, only retaining some equity.

The wafer foundry model was not yet the mainstream in the chip market. In the eyes of Europe and the United States, it was equivalent to finding a worker, earning hard money for manufacturing. It wouldn't easily attract attention, so he had some confidence in overtaking on the bend.

But if he followed Mr. Ni's idea and went to poke Intel or Microsoft's ass, trying to touch the foundation of American technological monopoly.

Su Yehao was worried that even the chip supply for Huangzuan computers would become a problem, and he might suffer all-round suppression from the Americans, even affecting his business in Silicon Valley.

Even if he really withstood the pressure and developed the product.

At that time, he was afraid that he would return to the situation of Huawei in his previous life - clearly having the technology but unable to produce it.

As for the domestic operating system.

The system itself was not difficult. The real trouble was how to build a mature software ecosystem around the system.

Now everyone was happily using Microsoft's Windows, and the technology was mature... and it might not even cost money.

How easy was it to find another way?

Therefore.

Su Yehao was a little afraid of meeting Mr. Ni at the moment, worrying that if the other party made some impossible demands, both sides would be embarrassed.

Lost in thought, time passed quickly.

When the yacht docked at the Central Pier, an armored Rolls-Royce Silver Spur was already waiting on the shore. Su Yehao got straight into the car and asked Ni Qianli's driver to go to the hi Garden Hotel.

It was very close, only three intersections away.

The temperature was high in mid-August.

The signature open-air restaurant on the top floor of the hotel had been doing poorly recently. When he arrived at the hotel, Su Yehao asked someone to contact Mr. Ni and asked him to meet in the coffee shop on the first floor.

…

After meeting with Academician Ni Danan.

Su Yehao greeted him with a smile, taking the initiative to shake hands.

Seeing the document in the other party's hand, he glanced at the words on it, thinking that it was as he expected, and said with a wry smile:

"What should come, finally came. Let's make a deal, Mr. Ni, how about showing me this document in five to ten years? At that time, even if you ask me for 10 billion in start-up capital, I promise to nod on the spot. Now, with our small arms and legs, we really can't fight those giants. There's a term in the online game world called 'wretched development,' which is very suitable for our situation."

Since the beginning of this year, they had met frequently, and the two sides had discussed the topic of R&D investment direction more than once.

There were definitely differences.

However, Mr. Ni had a good impression of Su Yehao. At this time, he replied with a smile, "You are still young and don't understand the feelings of us old people. Seeing that the soil is buried up to my neck, if I don't hurry up now, it's hard to say whether I'll still be around in five to ten years."

"Don't say that. Looking at your spirit, you seem healthier than me. Living to be a hundred years old is not a problem."

As soon as Su Yehao finished speaking, he took the lead in expressing his position:

"Recently, I have thought deeply about the overall environment. The idea of ​​trying to master lithography machines and foundries first must be correct. Mastering production technology is the only way to gain the initiative. Look at the Qualcomm pdQ mobile phone I just acquired. It can already receive emails at any time. The future is the era of smart mobile terminals. We can't just stare at computer equipment. The market for other microchips and operating systems will probably be even bigger than computers."

Mr. Ni looked at him, sighed, and said:

"You're afraid that I'll ask for something, aren't you? No one knows what the future will hold. I only know that if we are slow now, it will be even more difficult to catch up in the future. Chip production technology has been stuck for several years. We finally have a chance to wait for us. If we don't hurry up at this time, the technological gap will only widen."

"We can take a small loss in the short term. My vision is longer-term. We absolutely agree on the idea of ​​helping the mainland's high-tech industry."

After speaking, Su Yehao was worried that he would disappoint the old man, so he added, "Otherwise, how about this? I'll think of a way to secretly provide you with a sum of money to set up a small chip research team first. The more low-key, the better. To avoid the wafer foundry not receiving orders and delaying development, the importance of chips exceeds the operating system. Two hundred million Hong Kong dollars a year, continue to invest in you for five years, is that enough?"

Hearing this.

Mr. Ni immediately became energetic and asked, "What are the requirements?"

"The requirement is to first develop low-to-mid-end products for home appliances, and it must not be known that it has anything to do with me. It is best to find an agent to stand up for me in the open."

Su Yehao smiled bitterly in his heart.

He was originally prepared to refuse. Faced with the old man's enthusiasm, he still softened in the end.

He dared to promise to secretly provide research and development funds because he was betting that the United States now valued Japan, South Korea, Treasure Island, and other places, and was somewhat lax about the mainland.

In fact, with the mainland's current level of technology, it was indeed impossible to develop cutting-edge computer CPUs. Talents and technology were lacking in everything.

Even if Su Yehao provided funds, there was still no hope of bypassing Western patent barriers for the time being. He could only say that he would make preparations first and cultivate some talents to avoid the entire domestic chip research and development industry from being completely destroyed.

Seeing that Su Yehao agreed to two hundred million a year for five consecutive years, Mr. Ni smiled so much that he couldn't close his mouth.

"I understand what you mean. You're worried that if the news of your research and development gets out, Intel and the others won't sell chips or give you processing orders, right? Japan's semiconductor industry was ruined by the United States. It's right to be careful. Then let's first study low-to-mid-end products. This part of the market is larger."

"Don't you understand everything?"

It was Su Yehao's turn to sigh again, and said:

"No matter what you research at that time, you must declare to the outside world that it is low-to-mid-end, and even if it succeeds, you have to say it failed. In addition, the research institute should be located in Hong Kong. Even if the news leaks out, it will at least sound less noticeable. It will be convenient for you to recruit people..."