Starting From the Chip in 1991

Chapter 56 Good Luck at the Start of the Year

The single phrase "what if they stop selling to us" left Uncle Zhang Ke speechless.

Although he was nominally Yuanchip's second-in-command, deep down, he was a pure businessman. It was hard for him to comprehend the idea that business could simply be... stopped. Especially now, when the northern empire had collapsed, COCOM sanctions were falling apart, and as long as China didn't take a wrong turn, it seemed impossible for the West to refuse trade. After all, motors were neither weapons nor cutting-edge strategic equipment.

But Su Xinghe understood his son's underlying meaning.

He had personally experienced both the era of technological blockade and the so-called honeymoon period with the West.

He also deeply agreed with the view Su Yuanshan had presented in previous reports:

Even Japan — their supposed "son" — had been brutally pressed down by the Americans in the semiconductor industry, forced to sign the Semiconductor Agreement, and watch helplessly as its domestic semiconductor companies declined rapidly.

The conclusion was obvious:

If the technology wasn't in your own hands, you would always be under someone else's thumb.

"It all comes down to comprehensive backwardness," Su Yuanshan withdrew his gaze from the window and lightly bit his lip.

"Precision components, precision manufacturing equipment, fine materials — these three aspects spiral upward and restrict each other.

After industrializing for so many years, the West has built up layer upon layer of accumulated advantage, like a mountain we can't climb."

"So that's why you insist on gripping one or two key points tightly and never letting go," Su Xinghe said, smiling with both pride and sorrow at his son.

"And it's the right strategy," Su Xinghe added.

"Take the microcontroller as an example. As long as we persist with improving the UESTC91 architecture and move forward with a 16-bit microcontroller, we'll naturally cultivate a generation of talents in embedded systems."

"This is an opportunity."

"Unlike the West, where systems are fragmented and scattered, we can push a whole generation to unify around one architecture.

If we accumulate experience in embedded systems and PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) control before they reach the ceiling of automation technology —

then, even in the field of precision machinery, we'll eventually have something to negotiate with."

"And besides, Yuanchip's RISC architecture can also drive the development of 32-bit embedded systems."

Su Yuanshan listened carefully, his heart full of pride.

He was truly happy. His father's vision had grown broader and sharper.

After all, even the most sophisticated electric motors were ultimately driven by control chips — and if push came to shove, Chinese laboratories could grind out something usable.

But the real gap lay in the manufacturing precision.

That was where the West guarded its advantage most fiercely.

They knew full well that Chinese ingenuity could easily copy what they saw — so they kept the machines that could make the machines under strict embargo.

Uncle Zhang Ke could only smile bitterly:

"Alright, alright, you two are getting too deep for me."

Father and son exchanged a glance — and both laughed heartily.

...

The next day, Uncle Zhang Ke's family returned to Grandpa's house for New Year celebrations.

Before leaving, Su Yuanshan reminded his uncle again and again to find a scriptwriter quickly for the planned TV drama.

He also told him to get ready — because when the spring breeze blew through Beijing, private companies would finally be allowed to open their own paging stations.

On New Year's Day, Su Xinghe took Su Yuanshan upstairs to visit Professor Li Gaoliang's home.

Seeing Su Yuanshan, Professor Li was so delighted he immediately called his daughter, Li Xiao, out to greet them.

Li Xiao, who was about two years older than Su Yuanshan, used to drag him around as a kid.

Last year, she had been admitted to Peking University.

As soon as they met, Su Yuanshan teased her:

"You traitor, betraying Electronics Tech to join Peking University!"

Everyone laughed heartily.

For the next few days, Su Yuanshan stayed at home, either reading quietly or lazily sprawling on the sofa, daydreaming.

Until the last days of the holiday, when Qin Weimin returned early from his hometown, carrying a big sack full of homemade sausages and local specialties to visit his mentor.

"Senior Brother... wow, you're still lugging around this stuff even though you're a Ph.D. student?"

Su Yuanshan joked as he flipped through the sack: "Aren't you from the city?"

"My relatives sent it," Qin Weimin laughed.

"And since you don't have any poor relatives, I thought I'd bring it all here."

Su Xinghe laughed and scolded him jokingly:

"You little rascal, are you suggesting I'm out of touch with the masses?"

"I wouldn't dare," Qin Weimin said respectfully as he handed a teacup to his teacher and made one for himself.

Su Xinghe squinted at his prized disciple with amusement:

"So, there are still two days of vacation — why come back early?"

"I wanted to finish the instruction set during the break," Qin Weimin said, pulling out a floppy disk, a little embarrassed.

"I just don't know if there are any problems with it."

Su Yuanshan immediately stood up.

"Come on, let's check it out!"

"Let's go!" Qin Weimin echoed eagerly.

Clearly, he had rushed back because he couldn't wait to show Su Yuanshan his work.

Entering the study, Su Yuanshan booted up the computer, loaded the EDA tool, and opened the project files.

Su Xinghe and Qin Weimin stood behind him, holding their breath as they watched the screen.

After a careful review of the code and design structure, Su Yuanshan exhaled slowly:

"Excellent, Senior Brother. My computer's a bit slow, but once we're back at the company, I'll run a full simulation. If there are no errors, we can immediately proceed to tape-out!"

Qin Weimin finally let out a long breath of relief, clenching his fist tightly in joy.

"As expected, Senior Brother is still the champion," Su Yuanshan said with a big grin, looking at Qin Weimin, who hadn't even gained weight over the holidays.

Qin Weimin patted Su Yuanshan on the shoulder and turned to look at Su Xinghe:

"Teacher, does this mean our bet is even?"

"Good!" Su Xinghe laughed heartily, remembering their bet.

He pulled his son and his disciple into a warm, jubilant embrace.

...

Two days later, Yuanchip officially resumed work after the New Year break.

As the nominal chairman — even though his personal office on the ninth floor had been turned into a meeting room —

Su Xinghe naturally had to show up to give a short opening speech.

The speech was simple and to the point:

pure encouragement, no meaningless warnings or scolding.

After the meeting, the staff returned to their offices and workstations.

Su Xinghe stayed behind in the technical workshop to personally witness the successful simulation of the YX01 architecture before he finally left with satisfaction.

Su Yuanshan also returned to his office.

Turning on the computer, he connected to the university's mail server.

Three new emails from Xi Xiaoding were waiting for him.

The first was a standard New Year's greeting.

The second announced that he was preparing to set up a Yuanchip branch office in Europe to handle business expansion there.

The third — and most exciting — revealed that the cordless phone chip had completed development.

Its specs were superb:

50 meters range, strong penetration, excellent anti-interference capabilities,

and, thanks to Yuanchip's guidance in both chip design and PCB design, the size was smaller than a mobile phone.

Because cordless phones didn't require long standby times, they could be made much lighter and more convenient.

For rich Westerners living in large houses, it would be the perfect gadget!

And if things went well, they could present it at the International Broadcasting Exhibition in Las Vegas in April.

After reading the emails, Su Yuanshan smiled and shut down his inbox.

Right at that moment, Zhou Xiaohui walked in, her face beaming:

"Xiao Su General Manager, good news! The Siamese company has decided — their engineers will come next week."

Su Yuanshan curled his fingers and couldn't hold back his grin:

"Good luck to start the year, Sister Xiaohui!"

Zhou Xiaohui smiled back:

"A very auspicious beginning!"

Su Yuanshan winked and joked:

"Then tonight we celebrate — let's eat chicken!"

(End of Chapter 56)

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