Starting From the Chip in 1991

Chapter 45 Look Forward, Don't Just Stare at the Rice Bowl

At the guesthouse of the Ministry of Machinery and Electronics, Su Yuanshan stood under the showerhead, letting the hot water run over him, washing away the exhaustion of the journey. He had stayed in Silicon Valley for three days, during which he not only helped interview employees but also helped set up the network and, together with Xi Xiaoding and the enthusiastic Howard, built an open forum. The forum's main function for now was to allow Yuanxin EDA users to exchange practical tools, like the small tool Su Yuanshan had developed that allowed Yuanxin EDA to directly load Protel files. Of course, because EDA development involved highly confidential engineering, all small tools had to be open-source. In Su Yuanshan's plan, Yuanxin would control the core, professional parts of the EDA, but open certain interfaces so users could develop their own practical add-ons. Sometimes these grassroots inventions could achieve miraculous results and kill off any company trying to focus solely on niche functions—never underestimate the capabilities of power users and their spirit of sharing. For example, just this month, the first version of Linux had been released, started by Linus Torvalds, then collectively built brick by brick by countless contributors. Linus's famous quote, "Talk is cheap, show me the code," truly showed his brilliance. As for Xinghai's operations and expansion, Su Yuanshan left behind three million dollars and gave them a maximum three-month payment period. This meant that as long as cash flow existed, Xinghai Technology could continue developing healthily.

After his shower, Su Yuanshan changed into fresh clothes, lay on the bed with his eyes closed for a while, then picked up his notebook to revise his speech. Before long, Professor Li Gaoliang knocked on his door. "Xiaoshan, is the speech ready?" Professor Li handed over two oranges as he entered and peeled one to hand to Su Yuanshan. "Thanks, Uncle Li, almost done." Su Yuanshan looked up and noticed the slight awkwardness in Professor Li's eyes. Smiling mischievously, he said, "Uncle Li, want to take a peek at my notes?" Professor Li chuckled, rubbing his shiny bald head. "Then let's have a look." Su Yuanshan handed over the pages and popped an orange slice into his mouth, teasing, "When will we finally stop needing pre-approved speeches? That'll truly be the beginning of real openness." Professor Li grinned sheepishly. "It's just to keep everyone in sync, especially since your speech focuses on Silicon Valley. It would be bad if someone asked questions and we were caught off-guard." Su Yuanshan nodded with a smile.

Yuanxin's last-day performance at the exhibition had caused a sensation. A no-name startup from China had stolen the spotlight, attracting nearly a hundred semiconductor companies. That alone was enough to make the entire delegation stand a little taller during the following days. Yuanxin was also the only company that had developed an overseas market during the expo and could expect significant foreign exchange revenue. So, of course, everyone now wanted to listen to what Yuanxin had to say. Su Yuanshan was also eager to convey some of his thoughts and ideas—sometimes actions may seem futile, but not acting was a guarantee of failure.

Professor Li read through the pages carefully, his expression gradually growing serious. Finally, he sighed and said, "Xiaoshan, you're thinking too far ahead." In his speech, Su Yuanshan had used examples of Silicon Valley's company formation efficiency, supportive infrastructure, capital investment, and regional planning to argue that Silicon Valley's success was no accident—it was the result of a policy-driven, technology-backed, university-anchored, venture-capital-fueled ecosystem that created the perfect soil for high-tech innovation. He further cited Stanford University's partnership with Silicon Valley as an example, explaining the "industry-university-research" model, going into much more depth and clarity than the "National Industry-University-Research Cooperative Education Association" recently founded in Shanghai. He even proposed that Yuanxin was already trying to follow this path with UESTC and urged greater investment in education, suggesting that schools be given more resources and stronger ties to industries, creating advanced technologies that companies could commercialize—returning profits to the universities.

"Not too far ahead," Su Yuanshan shook his head. "When we're lagging behind, if we don't look farther ahead, how can we ever catch up? Look at our EDA—if we only catered to the current market without thinking ahead, even if we succeeded, we'd have no competitiveness." Professor Li smiled bitterly and shook his head. "But the country is poor. There are still so many starving people. Where would the money for education come from? Do you know how much funding UESTC got this year?" Su Yuanshan pursed his lips, stayed silent for a few seconds, then smiled faintly. "Uncle Li, you watched me grow up. Please don't get upset at what I'm about to say." "You brat," Professor Li tapped him lightly on the head, "say it."

"Whether the country is poor or the people are starving—that's not your concern." Su Yuanshan stared seriously at him. "You're the department head at UESTC. Your duty isn't to worry about the nation's poverty. Your duty is to make the department the best. As a scientist, your job is to push technological progress. Short on funds? Then keep demanding them! Cry, shout, do whatever it takes to get it! You leave concerns about feeding the population to those whose job it is to worry about that." "If all scientists only stared at the people's rice bowls, we'd never have gotten two bombs and one satellite!" (China's nuclear weapons and space program.)

Su Yuanshan dared speak this way because he knew Li Gaoliang had ambition too. Even at 47 years old and balding, he would, over the next decade, drive UESTC's Electronic Science and Technology discipline to become the best in the nation. Professor Li stayed silent, then slowly his eyes lit up. He nodded firmly. "You're right. It was my own narrow-mindedness."

Su Yuanshan grinned. "That's too perfunctory, Uncle Li." "Brat, polish up your notes. Tomorrow morning get them printed. At noon there's a reception at the ministry, and in the afternoon, the report meeting. Prepare yourself." "Got it! We'll make sure we don't embarrass UESTC!"

**

The turnout at the report meeting was larger than expected.

Besides officials from the Ministry of Machinery and Electronics, other ministries' leaders and experts were present.

Only Yuanxin and Langchao were allowed to send corporate representatives—after all, Yuanxin was a private company; they needed at least one state enterprise to balance appearances.

Everyone's speech notes had already been sent to the leaders in advance, so the afternoon wasn't just a reading session; it was more like summarizing and answering questions, with a surprisingly relaxed atmosphere.

Director Yu gave the opening report first.

Then came the Langchao representative, who, when he tried to start reading his prepared speech, was interrupted by a leader:

"Just get to the point."

The meaning couldn't be clearer: stop wasting time.

The poor guy smiled bitterly and summed it up bluntly:

"We need more government support."

...

Finally, all eyes turned to Su Yuanshan.

A bespectacled leader in his fifties smiled and said,

"Xiao Su, we've already read your speech several times. No need to repeat it.

I have a few questions—can your answers represent Yuanxin's official stance?"

Su Yuanshan straightened his posture and nodded seriously.

"I regularly discuss these matters with my father, my uncle, and Dr. Xi. In the semiconductor field, our views are unified."

"You're very impressive for your age," the leader praised, then leaned forward and asked seriously:

"You said Silicon Valley's success can be replicated.

As a private company, how do you view the current state of China's semiconductor and software industries?

From a policy and environment perspective, what changes do you think are needed to, in your words, 'incubate more Yuanxins'?"

Su Yuanshan's eyelids twitched slightly.

Inwardly, he cursed—

What a huge question!

They were really treating him like the Miracle Kid now.

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