Chapter 462: What’s the Use of You?

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

Zhou Jilong took a deep breath and said, “Boss, most of the patents for the 5nm lithography machine we’ve been researching have already been registered by someone else!”

Zhou Chao’s face immediately turned grim, and his gaze became icy.

“Tell me, what happened.”

His cold tone sent shivers down the spines of everyone present. Xu Yu glanced at Zhou Jilong and thought, “You brought this upon yourself. Let’s see how this unfolds.”

“Boss, I investigated, and it turns out the patents for the 511m lithography machine were registered as early as March, and the owner is the Chinese Academy of Sciences!” Zhou Jilong lowered his head as he spoke, avoiding eye contact with Zhou Chao.

Inwardly, he cursed himself, “Why did I talk so much? I should have just explained the situation directly. I’m in for a scolding later!”

Zhou Chao, who had been ready to unleash his anger, was left dumbfounded when he heard that the patents belonged to the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It had been almost half a year, and he had no idea about it.

“The Chinese Academy of Sciences? Professor Lan, do you know about this?” Zhou Chao turned to Lan Ling, who was sitting composedly beside him.

“Boss, I only found out recently as well. 1 called my friend at the Chinese Academy of Sciences to inquire, and they said Professor Jiang personally handled the patents for the lithography machine. That’s why… we assumed you were aware.” Lan Ling’s eyes briefly flashed with a hint of amusement, but no one noticed.

All the executives present were aware to some extent of their boss’s connections with higher-ups, but they had never imagined that their boss would be unaware of this situation. Otherwise, Zhou Jilong wouldn’t have dared to report it this way.

!!..

Zhou Jilong was now filled with regret, realizing that he had made a grave mistake by not informing their boss earlier.

Zhou Chao’s face remained expressionless, but he was internally berating himself, “If you wanted to register a patent, you should have told me, Old Master. I had no idea about this, and now I’m stuck in this mess.”

“Let’s put the patent matter aside for now. Continue, Lao Zhou,” Zhou Chao decided to investigate the situation later and focused on the current issue.

Zhou Jilong, relieved that he wasn’t scolded, picked up his tea cup and took a sip before continuing, “Boss, currently, our research institute and several professors are short on manpower, especially in technical expertise. As you know, we lack talent in this area, and many tasks are being handled directly by the professors themselves. Both Professor Chai and Professor Xiong worked late into the night during a critical project phase, and they exhausted themselves. I was thinking of recruiting… um, hiring some people.”

Zhou Chao, now nervous about Chai Lao and Xiong Lao, asked, “Are Chai Lao and Xiong Lao okay? Where are they now, and do they have any health issues?” Lan Ling quickly added, “Boss, they’re both fine, just fatigued from working late nights. There wasn’t anyone else who could handle the critical tasks, so they had to do it themselves.”

Zhou Chao, filled with anger, directed a stern look at Xu Yu and Zhou Jilong. He said with irritation, “Is this how you lead? You both knew we were short-staffed, Xu Yu, didn’t you think of recruiting people? And you, Zhou Jilong, as the project manager, when this situation arose, you didn’t intervene or inform me promptly. What good are you if you can’t handle such matters? Thankfully, nothing happened to them. If anything had gone wrong, I would have dealt with you!”

Zhou Chao couldn’t believe that so much had happened in Canghai in such a short time. His anger started to well up within him.

“Boss, don’t blame Lao Zhou too much. It’s mainly those two old men being stubborn. They insisted on waiting for results before feeling reassured. We couldn’t persuade them otherwise, so we had to let them continue their research. You know, Boss, the success of research projects is the greatest affirmation of our efforts.” Lan Ling quickly spoke up to explain.

Zhou Chao’s anger began to subside a bit after hearing Lan Ling’s words.

“Where are Chai Lao and Xiong Lao now?” Zhou Chao asked Xu Yu, who was standing nearby.

“Don’t worry, Boss. I’ve arranged for them to stay in a countryside estate. They have a professional medical team and a top-notch chef attending to them.” “Good!” Zhou Chao nodded in approval. Xu Yu had handled this matter quite well, but there were still several issues to address.

“Professor Lan, has the lithography machine been manufactured?”

“The first-generation machine has been manufactured, but there are still some minor issues. It should be resolved within the next two weeks.”

Upon hearing that the first-generation machine had been manufactured, Zhou Chao’s face lit up with joy. He stood up from the sofa.

“Let’s go, we need to see it!” he exclaimed and headed towards the exit.

Seeing Zhou Chao walking outside, Zhou Jilong sighed deeply.

“Don’t just sit there; you’re going to get scolded again,” Xu Yu patted Zhou Jilong’s shoulder and said.

With a wry smile, Zhou Jilong stood up and hurried to catch up with the group.

The group left the office building and, under Xu Yu’s guidance, headed towards Phase Two.

Canghai Phase Two was divided into four areas: A, B, C, and D. The first three areas were dedicated to experimental projects. Currently, Area A was responsible for the lithography machine project under Lan Ling’s supervision, Area B was handling machine tool development under Chai Lao, and Area C was managed by Zhou Jilong for chip research. Area D served as the living quarters, housing dormitories, cafeterias, and a gym. However, there were very few people in these areas compared to the bustling wafer factory. As they walked, Zhou Chao noticed the scarcity of individuals around.

“Xu Yu!”

“Boss, I’m here.”

“The shortage of personnel that we discussed earlier, you need to implement it as soon as possible. You’re now the top person in charge at Canghai, and you should make decisions when necessary. Don’t always rely on seeking approval for everything; by the time you get approval, the food will be cold. You need to take the initiative!”

“Boss, you have no idea how anxious I’ve been lately. Just the thought of 10 billion US dollars lying in the company’s account makes me feel fearful. Ever since this fund arrived, I haven’t had a peaceful sleep.”

Zhou Chao stopped in his tracks and looked at him with a serious expression. “This amount of money is nothing. As Canghai Technology grows, the money will only increase. Everyone here is progressing, and I don’t want you to fall behind.”

This was both a warning and advice. If Xu Yu couldn’t fully carry the banner of Canghai Technology, a transfer was waiting for him.

A sword’s edge is sharpened by honing, and the plum blossom fragrance comes from enduring the bitter cold. Xu Yu was personally chosen by Zhou Chao, and he believed that Xu Yu would become someone who could stand on his own. However, he needed more experience and refinement.

Xu Yu had made a remarkable journey from a high-level manager to someone who could easily oversee billions of dollars in funds. It had taken less than a year for him to reach this position. The psychological transformation was undoubtedly a process that required time. However, time waits for no one, and it was only through constant motivation and pressure that he could undergo this transformation as quickly as possible.

“By the way, didn’t they send a team from higher up? Why haven’t we seen them?” Zhou Chao suddenly remembered the team sent by higher authorities. They had walked quite a distance but hadn’t encountered them.

“Boss, they are responsible for nighttime security.”

“Do we have anyone else on night duty with them?”

Zhou Chao’s question left Xu Yu momentarily stunned, and Zhou Chao could tell from his expression that they didn’t.

“Starting today, we’ll assign our personnel to key positions for nighttime duty as well.”

“Yes, Boss!”

They soon arrived at Area A, under Lan Ling’s jurisdiction. Along the way, they passed through four security checks, including facial recognition, fingerprint, and retinal scans, before entering the experimental area.

“Boss, that’s the first-generation machine we’ve developed!” Lan Ling pointed inside the glass enclosure.

Zhou Chao followed Lan Ling’s pointing hand and saw a large silver box in the middle. Several researchers were busy adjusting and conducting experiments, while others were constantly recording relevant information.

“If we achieve mass production, how many lithography machines can we produce in a month?”

Lan Ling contemplated for a moment before answering, “Boss, considering our current manpower, we can produce approximately two machines per month. However, extensive debugging and testing will be required before they can be put into use.”

“Alright.” Zhou Chao rubbed his chin, deep in thought.

“Xu Yu, Lao Zhou, your next task is to recruit people, especially technically proficient individuals. It would be best to directly approach companies in China, especially SMIC. Money is not an issue; you understand what I mean. Additionally, I want to see top-notch talent in the semiconductor industry next time. If you can’t handle it, combined with today’s incident, you’ll be held accountable!”

To be honest, Zhou Chao was somewhat disappointed. He had thought that he would see a complete lithography machine during this visit, but it turned out to be a semi-finished product. However, the finished product would be ready later this month.

After spending half an hour in the laboratory, Zhou Chao left and took a stroll in Area Two. He noticed that it had improved considerably compared to Area One, appearing more spacious and impressive.

“I’ve seen enough here. I should go visit Chai Lao and Xiong Lao.” As one of the pillars of the company, Zhou Chao wanted to show his support.

Lin Wu quickly called Wang Feng to bring the car over.

Guanhucun was located in Longgang District of Peng City, facing Dapeng Bay with Chek Lap Kok Country Park on the opposite side. However, very few tourists came to this area, so the pace of life was quite slow.

Soon, the car stopped in front of an estate’s gate.

As they entered, they saw Da Wu reclining on a sun lounger, with a chilled beverage and a fruit platter beside him.

Seeing Da Wu’s leisurely appearance, Lin Wu walked up and kicked him without hesitation, sending Da Wu tumbling off the chair onto the ground.

“Who’s there?” After uttering a cry, Da Wu quickly turned his head to see who had kicked him.

“Brother Wu, Boss!” Da Wu quickly recognized the person who had kicked him and the faces of the others behind him, his face turning several shades paler.

Zhou Chao paid no attention and directly asked, “Where are Chai Lao and Xiong Lao?”

“Boss, Xiong Lao and Chai Lao are playing chess inside.”

Zhou Chao nodded and walked towards the entrance without minding Da Wu, who was still on the ground. Only Lin Wu stayed behind.

After Zhou Chao and the others entered, Lin Wu looked sternly at Da Wu, who had his head lowered. “Run around the village for an hour!”

“Yes!” Da Wu responded solemnly and then ran outside..