Starting From the Chip in 1991

Chapter 65 The Old Masters

There was no doubt that NEC was a giant multinational corporation. It had held the throne in the semiconductor world for nearly a decade, and the only ones qualified to be considered its rivals were domestic peers like Sony and Hitachi. However, with Microsoft and Intel forming a strategic partnership this year and the birth of the Pentium, NEC would soon be dethroned, visibly aging at a pace even laymen could see. Even though they had smelled the crisis early and started surveying opportunities back home last year, forming a joint venture with Shougang to create Shougang NEC to expand their market, the widespread economic downturn in China over the past few years had left them directionless. In the end, they chose to double down on investments in the West in a desperate gamble.

But as far as China was concerned, NEC and the entire Japanese semiconductor industry had never truly given up. The "flying geese" model was widely accepted in Japan from academia to industry — with Japan leading the formation, they would drive the economic development of the entire East Asian region and thereby enhance their own economic and political status. Based on this strategy, Japan's support and investment in China only increased year after year. A few years later, when Project 909 launched, NEC's cooperation with Huahong would proceed at an unprecedented speed, offering not just technology but also employee training, manufacturing orders, and even management support to ensure profitability.

Yet even such frenzied efforts to carve out new markets couldn't save NEC from its eventual downfall — nor could they stop the collapse of Japan's semiconductor industry as a whole. And at the root of it all, the explanation boiled down to one simple sentence: their rich daddy abandoned them.

But right now, standing in front of Su Yuanshan, Tang Ze Yinan was still the embodiment of the "Old Masters" — the dominant force from the previous era. Even though Su Yuanshan could already foresee NEC's future decline, he still had to compliment Tang skillfully.

Hearing Su Yuanshan's praise, Tang Ze Yinan bowed slightly with a reserved smile — after all, he knew full well that Su Yuanshan had already made a name for himself in Las Vegas. Su Yuanshan returned the bow politely.

Soon after, Tang Ze Yinan's expression turned serious: "However, I am only responsible for cooperation and negotiations regarding the EDA software. If your company has other requirements, they will need to be discussed with different departments within our company."

"We definitely will," Su Yuanshan said, still smiling. "But I hope you can help convey our wishes internally."

"I will make sure your request is delivered..."

...

That evening, at the farewell banquet, Su Xinghe, Zhang Ke, and a few other so-called "alcohol tanks" took turns drinking with the NEC representatives. It wasn't long before the four Japanese guests were completely drunk — it was their first time in China, their first encounter with baijiu, and they foolishly assumed it was like sake, downing it in one gulp.

After the Japanese team stumbled away, Su Xinghe and the others, already a bit tipsy themselves, followed Su Yuanshan's suggestion and moved downstairs to the teahouse to sober up a bit while also holding a small meeting.

"Xiaoshan, I noticed that earlier you were chatting with that guy named Higashi Taira Kiyoshi in English," Su Xinghe said while blowing the tea leaves floating on his cup. He looked up at his son: "Do you think that man's opinion is important?"

Su Yuanshan, who had stayed completely sober all night, smiled: "Not really. We just have similar perspectives, so we got along well."

Everyone around the table instantly perked up, leaning in with curiosity: "What kind of perspective?"

Su Yuanshan chuckled as he looked around the table: "This afternoon, when I praised their meticulousness, Tang Ze Yinan lit up with happiness — tell me honestly, don't you all think of the Japanese as particularly meticulous?"

Everyone exchanged embarrassed looks under his gaze.

"Their emphasis on craftsmanship is fine — in fields like manual labor and service industries, it's absolutely admirable. But if you bring that same obsessive meticulousness into the semiconductor industry, it stops being an advantage. It becomes dithering."

A faint smirk played on Su Yuanshan's lips: "The root cause is simple: too many people, too little land, too much free time. With nothing better to do, they over-polish everything. I even heard this ridiculous story in a magazine about them drinking toilet water just to prove cleanliness..."

Su Yuanshan wasn't making these criticisms lightly.

When building clean rooms, even after meeting inspection standards, Japanese engineers would still wipe every surface with alcohol-dipped cloths. In contrast, Korean engineers would simply install the machines once test results were acceptable — even if they were slightly off — and then fine-tune the environment afterward. A completely different approach.

Similarly, in the field of IC design, NEC only approached Yuanchip so late because their own IC designers insisted on finishing their old work before switching to new tools. Even then, many were reluctant, because for them, mastering an EDA tool was part of their personal skillset, almost a family heirloom, and changing tools was akin to betraying their lineage.

Moreover, the typical mindset in Japan favored self-reliance — doing everything in-house, building big and comprehensive systems. This meant their fabs rarely took external orders. As a result, they could afford to move at a glacial pace.

Su Xinghe slapped his son's shoulder and laughed: "That's a pretty novel way of putting it."

Su Yuanshan grinned, his eyes sparkling: "The semiconductor industry is a race against time. I thought about it — they'll definitely agree to help us, and they'll build the best clean room they can. I estimate that by next year, it'll be finished — and by then, Chengguang Institute's photolithography machine should also be ready. Once we add an etching machine, an ion implantation machine, and so on, we'll have a fully functional pilot production line."

Everyone's spirits lifted immediately.

Having their own pilot line meant they could fabricate chips anytime they wanted — or even reverse engineer if necessary.

But Jiang Wanchao shook his head and chuckled: "I just worry that Chengguang's photolithography machine won't be ready next year. Or even if they finish it, it might not meet production standards. I heard from Qu Hui that the big problem is with the servo motors."

"That's their headache to solve," Su Yuanshan said, frowning slightly again. "As for domestic motors..." He sighed. "Electronics Tech has a mechatronics department. Almost every technical university does. Why hasn't anyone invested seriously in motor technology?"

Su Xinghe laughed and shook his head: "I know the reason — it's mainly the materials."

"Actually, it's about money," interrupted Tang Wenjie, who had drunk the most tonight and was now sprawled on the sofa. "I have a classmate from Tsinghua University who specializes in materials. According to him, producing advanced materials is all about throwing massive amounts of money at it. Year-round research might only yield a few worthwhile experiments. The rest of the time, you're just studying foreign textbooks."

Su Yuanshan nodded thoughtfully without saying anything more.

The group continued chatting until their drunkenness wore off. Then Su Yuanshan and his father took a taxi home.

Three days later, the NEC team departed without waiting for Yuanchip to prepare a training group. After all, the Yuanchip team they sent over would not only handle training but also be tasked with helping Yuanchip break into the Japanese market — so selection had to be extra careful.

On that same day, the government announced the complete liberalization of private paging networks.

Over in Jiangyin, Wang Chaoxin's and several other executives' cell phones were completely overwhelmed with calls. It got so bad that Wang had to hide at home and call Su Yuanshan from a landline.

"Brother! Guess how many pagers we stockpiled?"

"I'm not guessing," Su Yuanshan said, laughing as he gestured for the director sitting across from him — who had just finished filming the hit show The Story of the Editorial Department — to wait a moment. "Brother, I'm busy building a factory, buying land, and making a movie. You have to help me raise some cash."

(End of Chapter 65)

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