"Elder Ni, did you need something from me?" As the national finals of Warcraft 3 were about to begin, Huang He arrived at the network base in Cao County and met his chief engineer, Grandpa Ni.
"Who is this..." Ni Guangnan saw the woman behind Huang He.
"Hu Jing, my new secretary!" Huang He explained.
"Little Huang, you are good at everything, but you have one bad habit!" Ni Guangnan sighed, then shook his head. "It's just that you have too many women around you?"
"..." Hu Jing behind him blushed on the spot, while Huang He showed an embarrassed smile. "Elder Ni, you misunderstood. She is my secretary, not just any woman."
"Do you take me for a fool? You wouldn't be able to resist such a beautiful young girl as your secretary. Why don't you choose a man as your secretary? Based on my years of experience, male secretaries are actually much more capable than female secretaries!" Ni Guangnan continued. Huang He became even more embarrassed, and Hu Jing simply said excuse me and left under the pretense of using the restroom.
"Teacher, look, you scared the girl away!" Huang He said with a wry smile.
"Uh... I really shouldn't have said these things in front of her. I will apologize to her when she comes back later!" Ni Guangnan sighed again. "Little Huang, I've seen countless such situations around me, and I've never advised anyone. But for you, I have to advise you!"
"Beautiful women are indeed irresistible, and your status dictates that countless beautiful women will surround you. But you must understand that the higher your position, the more dangerous women become."
"Let's not even talk about the physical effects. The most important thing is that they will become a knife, ready to take your life at a critical moment," Ni Guangnan said.
"Teacher, Hu Jing is not like that! I've investigated their backgrounds, and they are very safe!" Huang He said.
"I'm not saying they will betray you, but they will become a knife in the hands of your enemies. In the future, even if just one photo of you holding hands is taken, you will immediately become the target of public criticism, and all the image you've built will collapse instantly. Even the entire Jiangnan Group could collapse because of just one photo. Do you believe that?" Ni Guangnan asked.
"This..." Huang He scratched his head. Although he didn't want to admit it, it was the truth. The simplest example was the past scandals in the entertainment industry. In less than half a year, how many so-called superstars had their careers ruined due to women, and were even imprisoned.
"So, Little Huang, I remind you to respect yourself and give no one any opportunities. The bigger Jiangnan Group grows, the more enemies you will have. Anything you do will become a weapon for your enemies to attack you, and women are the best weapons!"
"I really don't want to say these things to you, nor is it something that someone who works with chips should say. But my last dream in life is now pinned on this Jiangnan Group of yours. I don't want you to fail, because that would mean my dream fails as well," Ni Guangnan said sincerely.
"What the teacher says is right, I will surely be able to hold on," Huang He said sincerely.
"Take my advice, find a good woman and get married soon, stabilize your family, and have a few children. That way, you'll be less likely to make mistakes!" Ni Guangnan said, and then as if remembering something, he added, "I remember that Zhou Zhiruo, from last time, seemed to be your girlfriend!"
"No, her name is Leng Zhiruo, not Zhou Zhiruo!" Huang He said with a wry smile.
"Cough, cough, my apologies. I was a big fan of Jin Yong back in the day!" Ni Guangnan laughed heartily. "I've met that young lady. She's a very dignified girl. You marrying her would be an excellent match. She will help your career reach new heights."
"Yes, Teacher. Actually, Zhiruo and I are at the stage of discussing marriage. We expect to get married within a year or two!" Huang He said.
"That's good. Settle down soon. She's a good girl!" Ni Guangnan praised her again, then asked, "By the way, where is she now? Why didn't she come with you?"
"Oh, she went to France. She left this morning!" Huang He replied.
"Went to France?" Ni Guangnan was taken aback. "I remember you two just returned from the United States. Why are you going abroad again?"
"There have been some changes in certain matters, and I had to go to France. Originally, she and I were going together this morning, but your call made me have to come see you today, so I let her go to France first. I'll go tomorrow!" Huang He said with a wry smile.
"So, it's my fault for disturbing the two of you!" Ni Guangnan looked a bit embarrassed. "But you must help us figure out this matter, otherwise, although your server production base is almost built, it cannot start operations at all."
"Are there any problems with the chips?" Huang He asked curiously. Ni Guangnan hadn't explained clearly on the phone, only mentioning chip issues.
It was also only when he formally heard the word "chip" that Huang He rushed over. Chips had always been of utmost importance to Huang He, and there could be absolutely no mistakes.
"There are no problems with the chips. The problem is that we can't buy lithography machines!" Ni Guangnan said, his face clouded with gloom.
"Can't buy lithography machines? That can't be right. I remember our demand is only for 200-nanometer lithography machines. Such machines are considered terminal level in the market and are not within the scope of restrictions. As long as we are willing to spend money, there should be no reason why we can't buy them!" Huang He asked in surprise.
As a server manufacturer, chips were a problem that had to be solved.
There were two ways to obtain chips: self-research or purchasing chips produced by others.
When Huang He founded this server factory, his true goal was only one: to advance China's chip industry by 10 years starting from 2002. Therefore, from the beginning, Huang He chose the path of self-researching chips, which was why Ni Guangnan was attracted to him.
The self-research chip project was progressing smoothly. Ni Guangnan had already designed a complete set of chips with an architecture for Jiangnan's own servers. The next step was to produce the chips themselves, and the most important equipment for chip production was the lithography machine.
Due to prior consideration of the Paris Agreement and limitations in research capabilities, the chips developed this time were designed based on the production standards of 200-nanometer lithography machines.
Since lithography machines of 200 nanometers and above were within the restricted sales scope, Huang He could still purchase them on the international market if he was willing to pay.
However, he never expected that there would be problems with the purchase of lithography machines.
"Actually, we had already reached an agreement with the Dutch company ASML. They were going to sell us 10 units of 200-nanometer lithography machines at a price of $10 million per unit."
"But just as we were about to sign the contract, ASML suddenly went back on their word, saying they couldn't meet our requirements, and if we insisted on purchasing them, the delivery time would be delayed until around 2005!" Ni Guangnan sighed.
"2005? That's too late!" Huang He's expression instantly turned livid. The original agreement was for the delivery of 10 lithography machines before June 2003. Now, with a two-year delay, all plans would be disrupted.
More importantly, the price of lithography machines increased year by year. When the 200-nanometer lithography machines first came out, they were valued at $80 million each.
After more than ten years, they were now only $10 million per unit. If it was delayed by another two years, the price would likely be halved.
If Huang He remembered correctly, 2004 would be a year of seismic development for lithography machines, and in that year, the prices of all traditional lithography machines would be directly halved.
"Did you find out the reason why ASML did this?" Huang He asked.
"I've reported this matter to the higher-ups. They told me that it seems TSMC from Taiwan is behind this!" Ni Guangnan said in a low voice. "Five days before we signed the contract, a group of people from Taiwan suddenly contacted ASML. After that, their attitude towards us changed completely. Although we don't know what these people were there for or what they discussed, according to analysis, it is precisely because of these people from TSMC that our cooperation has changed."
At this time, the research project of Jiangnan Optoelectronics had already been registered at the national level and received full support. Therefore, having some special intelligence sources was very normal.
"TSMC?" Huang He frowned. "Could it be that TSMC got wind of this beforehand and wanted to suppress us as a competitor, so they found a way to make ASML delay our delivery time?"
If that were the case, the situation would be very tricky. Given TSMC's capabilities in the entire industry, Jiangnan Optoelectronics would have a very difficult time for a period in the future.
"It's unlikely. First of all, our project is absolutely confidential. There are no registrations with the industrial and commercial departments, and the entire base is strictly guarded. Very few people in China know that we are developing chips. Everyone's attention should be focused on the Hanxin group, and they shouldn't notice us."
"Secondly, ASML would not do such a thing. It's not something a normal company would do to suppress a smaller buyer at the request of a large buyer. Otherwise, after this large buyer eliminates all the small sellers, it will become the sole buyer, and the entire market will become a buyer's market. ASML, if they have a normal mind, would not do such a thing, unless ASML has something in their hands that forces them to change their minds!" Ni Guangnan said. It was unexpected that Elder Ni had such business acumen to analyze these matters.
"Do you have any more information about this TSMC delegation?" Huang He asked.
"There is no more information. We only know that the head of this delegation is the deputy chief engineer of TSMC, and the entire team seems to be a technical team, not an administrative or commercial team. This is also why I believe TSMC did not put pressure on ASML, because I find it hard to believe that a technical team would be responsible for such matters!" Ni Guangnan said.
"Do you have the list of this team?"
"Yes!" Ni Guangnan handed the list to Huang He, and Huang He immediately found a very inconspicuous name on the list.
"Lin Benjian?" Huang He licked his lips, then said with a wry smile, "I can probably guess the reason."