Chapter 1606: Still Need to Prepare

When Wu Minghan found Zhou Xue at the restaurant door, the latter was talking in a low voice with several industry partners.

He waited patiently until the conversation came to an end before taking a few steps forward, lowering his voice, and briefly explaining Chang Haonan's request for a visit.

A barely perceptible look of astonishment flashed across Zhou Xue's face, and then he returned to normal.

He motioned to Wu Minghan to wait for a moment, turned around and briefly apologized to his friends, then took Wu Minghan to a quieter corner.

"Academician Chang wants to come and see the production line?" Zhou Xue confirmed with a cautious tone.

"Yes, in the next few days, the sooner the better." Wu Minghan nodded, "He emphasized that he wanted to see the 'most realistic' state, not just a cursory look."

Finally, he added with a hint of apology:

"The situation was so sudden and Academician Chang asked right in front of me, so I just agreed."

Huaxin International played a significant role in helping Wu Minghan pass the selection as an academician last year.

So you still have to be polite when it’s time to be polite.

"You made the right promise."

Zhou Xue waved his hand almost without thinking:

"Academician Chang is very important in the system of the Commission of Industry and Construction." He paused and lowered his voice. "In a sense, the restructuring of the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense was carried out around integrating him and the cutting-edge scientific and technological forces he represented... No one can afford to offend such a big shot. If he makes a request, we can't refuse it."

Then he paced left and right for a few steps, then looked up at Wu Minghan: "However, the production line is the core of the core after all, and the process and safety regulations cannot be broken... Has Academician Chang specified the accompanying personnel?"

"From what he said, it should be just him..." Wu Minghan recalled, "Of course, it should also include necessary guards and the like, but in short, the scale will not be large."

"Yes." Zhou Xue quickly took out his notebook and wrote it down. "Also, did he reveal anything? For example, why is he suddenly so interested in the manufacturing process? This seems to deviate from his usual research field."

Wu Minghan pondered: "He mentioned that Torch Group and Torch-CB Ferrari are planning smart manufacturing and industrial Internet of Things, and need high-specification chip supply... But this is definitely an excuse."

Zhou Xue is not a professional technician, but he has some basic knowledge after working in the industry for many years. He nodded to show that he agreed with the other party's judgment.

"If I must say..." Wu Minghan frowned slightly, "It may be that the Torch Laboratory has made a breakthrough in some key materials, and this material has a potential connection with our semiconductor manufacturing, especially the lithography process."

"Materials?" Zhou Xuebi paused for a moment. "If that's the case, what do you think will be the impact on us?"

"There's so much room for imagination here..." Wu Minghan curled his lips, "It could be photoresist, it could be mask material...but there's no specific information, these are just guesses."

Zhou Xue nodded thoughtfully and closed the book:

"Understood. You go back first, I will handle this matter and give you an answer as soon as possible."

After seeing Wu Minghan off, Zhou Xue glanced at the restaurant’s sign and suddenly lost his appetite.

He turned around and walked quickly back to his hotel room.

Close the door, lock it, and open the laptop, all in one go.

Soon, an impromptu core-level video conference was initiated.

On the screen, the portraits of Chairman Xu Zhijian, CEO Zhao Junhua and two other key directors lit up one after another.

Two others were on business trips and were unable to attend the meeting.

Fortunately, the number of people has exceeded the two-thirds threshold required for decision-making, and all the key players are there.

Zhou Xue went straight to the point.

"... Academician Chang Haonan, the chief consultant of the Industrial and Construction Commission and the Aviation Power Group, has just proposed through Academician Wu Minghan that he hopes to visit the production line of our Tianjin base in the near future..."

He repeated what Wu Minghan had just reported as quickly as possible:

"Academician Wu has verbally agreed on behalf of the company and said that Academician Chang hopes to see the most realistic production situation rather than a performance. Considering the special status of Academician Chang and the sudden request, I need to ask you to review it urgently."

At this point, he glanced across the screen and suddenly realized that one of the directors was Singaporean and might not be very familiar with the domestic personnel situation.

Therefore, he emphasized: "Academician Chang Haonan has a great status and influence. To some extent, he can even represent the scientific and technological will and strategic resources within the framework of the Industrial Construction Committee. He took the initiative to ask to go deep into our core manufacturing areas. This signal itself is very significant."

There was a brief silence on the other end of the video.

Chairman Xu Zhijian spoke first, his voice steady and powerful: "Academician Chang's name is important. He personally named the production line, which in itself is a kind of attention, or even a signal. In principle, I agree to give full reception and open all necessary areas. Chairman Zhou, you did the right thing."

Then he looked at the other directors, "What do you think?"

"agree."

"Seconded."

Several others quickly expressed their opinions.

In this matter, no normal person would make a different choice, so there is naturally no disagreement.

But soon, CEO Zhao Junhua frowned and said in a cautious tone: "There is no problem in opening all areas, but the status... does it include the multiple exposure experimental area we are working on?"

"I mean, the yield rate there is extremely low, the scrapped wafers are piled up, and there are many embarrassing and failed cases of equipment debugging..."

He didn't finish his words, but his worry was obvious -

They are worried about affecting the company's image and even the allocation of resources in the future.

Zhou Xue immediately responded: "Mr. Zhao, I don't think now is the time to worry about 'image'."

A director agreed:

"Our main competitor in the IC foundry field is not in China... at least not in the mainland, so the purpose of Academician Chang's visit is probably not to rate us. If we hide it, we may miss some key opportunities..."

"..."

Their meaning was clear:

Huaxin International is now a leader in the industry. Even on an international scale, it only has a few competitors such as Samsung, TSMC, Intel, and UMC Semiconductor.

Therefore, no matter what Chang Haonan ultimately brings, information, resources, or some disruptive technological path, they will inevitably be the most direct beneficiaries and collaborators, and there is no need to worry about any image issues.

In fact, the other party has no choice.

Zhao Junhua was not particularly determined to begin with, and his previous concerns were more out of professional instinct.

After hearing this analysis, his frown gradually relaxed:

"Then... I have no objection to this either."

"Okay!" Xu Zhijian nodded. "Then I propose that Old Zhou be responsible for immediately coordinating with the Tianjin base and making full preparations to receive Academician Chang."

Although it is a proposal, for matters like this where consensus has already been reached, the chairman’s proposal is basically the decision.

Therefore, everyone nodded in agreement.

Keeping this in mind, Xu Zhijian continued to give more detailed instructions:

"Requirements: First, strictly enforce safety regulations; second, carefully plan the tour route, which should not only demonstrate our mature mass production capabilities and technical reserves, but also never avoid any current bottlenecks; third, organize the strongest technical team to accompany the tour, ready to answer any in-depth technical questions that Academician Chang may raise. I will be in charge of the site, and Academician Wu will accompany you throughout the technical process..."

Zhou Xue suddenly interrupted: "Academician Chang's meaning is not to mobilize too many people, and the tour can be organized by the place of visit."

Xu Zhijian was stunned for a moment, then smiled and followed suit: "Then Lao Zhao and I will not show up, and let Huang Wei from the Tianjin base be in charge of the scene..."

"..."

The resolution was quickly confirmed by all.

The giant ship of Huaxin International began to slowly adjust its course due to an unexpected visit request from Chang Haonan.