Reborn in the red age

More than two months have passed since the last presentation in the video game department's conference room.

Under the leadership of Sun Kangmei, all members of the GPU R&D department worked day and night to overcome all difficulties and successfully completed the design of the GPU chip.

The 3D graphics accelerator card, which is the graphics card's other auxiliary chips and integrated circuits, have already been designed and are just waiting for the final integration and optimization after the core GPU chip design is completed.

Then the physical layout will be produced, and after the tape-out test is passed, the graphics card can be mass-produced.

(The physical layout is the construction drawing of the integrated circuit)
The graphics card designed and developed by Huaxin, each GPU contains a vertex processing unit, a pixel processing engine contains 4 pixel pipeline units, adopts a single GPU design, a frequency of 140MHz, a bandwidth of 256bit, and a video memory of 32MB.

The performance of this graphics card is quite powerful for this era. It has gone beyond the scope of graphics accelerator cards and is a true graphics card.

Huaxin will replace NVIDIA and become the world's first chip manufacturer to develop GPU.

"I never expected it. I really never expected it. It's been less than a year, right? And they've actually developed the GPU. They've completed the mission ahead of schedule. It's true that the younger generation is pushing the older generation forward. You can't deny your age."

"Xiao Sun has really won honor for us Chinese. The successful development of this GPU means that we have taken a significant step forward in the chip field. The voice of us Chinese will also be heard in the international chip industry."

At the graphics card seminar, looking at the data after the graphics card simulation test, a group of predecessors including Academician Wang repeatedly praised Sun Kangmei who was sitting in the middle seat.

The praise from a group of seniors in the industry was too much for Sun Kangmei, who was already in his middle age, to bear. He kept saying that he was not worthy of the praise and that it was just luck.

"Alright, alright, professors, please stop praising the Anti-American Movement. If you continue to praise it, he will find a hole in the ground to hide in." Li Qingfeng, who was sitting in the main seat, smiled and tried to smooth things over: "Although we have achieved a phased victory now, there is still a long way to go. If the finished product is not produced, it will not be considered a final success."

As he spoke, Qingfeng Li looked at Xu Yuanming: "Old Xu, the simulation test has been completed. When can the tape-out production test begin?"

"We are already doing the data handover. After the factory receives the data, we will immediately start arranging the tape-out production. We can start the tape-out production within a week," Xu Yuanming said with a smile.

Although Huaxin's current 0.8-micron production line is no longer the most advanced production process in the world, it is still the mainstream chip production process in the world. There is no problem in using it to produce Huaxin's independently designed GPU chips.

The speed of chip technology upgrade is really too fast. The 0.8-micron production line that was purchased at a high price has only been purchased for a few years, but it is already facing the problem of becoming outdated. In less than two years, it will be kicked out of the international advanced team.

As early as 1994, the 600-nanometer chip production process had been commercialized by the world's leading semiconductor companies, and Lemon's ally Intel used it in its own CPU production last year.

This year, the technology has directly transitioned from 600 nanometers to the more advanced 350 nanometers, and the 600 nanometer production process has been directly abandoned. This shows that making chips really involves burning huge amounts of money.

Unfortunately, by the end of 1995, the United States had already been secretly preparing to formulate the Wassenaar Arrangement. Huaxin no longer had the opportunity to take advantage of loopholes and would have to rely on its own efforts in the future.

Li Qingfeng collected his thoughts and said in a firm tone: "Don't be afraid to spend money on the test of the tape-out. Don't think about fixing the defects in the design all at once. Correct them once you find them, until you produce a product that fully meets your expectations."

"It will cost a lot of money to go through this again and again," said Xie Wanmin, secretary of the party group, frowning.

"Don't think too much about money. Isn't that what the company has so much money in its account for? You can't keep it all for dividends, right?"

Listening to what Qingfeng Li said, Xie Wanmin's already frowned brows deepened.

As the party group secretary of Huaxin, Xie Wanmin, in addition to carrying out party organization-related work in Huaxin, is also responsible for supervising how Huaxin spends money.

After all, Huaxin has state shares. Although not much, it is still 10%. For every 100 yuan spent by Huaxin, there are 10 yuan from the state.

Xie Wanmin has a very clear understanding of the costs of wafer production.

Wafer production is a waste of money. Each wafer production costs two million RMB. If the test fails, everything has to be started over again and all the previous preparations will be invalidated. The two million will disappear without a trace without a splash.

According to what Li Qingfeng said, if the tape-out production goes on for ten times, wouldn't the 20 million be wasted?
Li Qingfeng can throw away his money however he wants, and Xie Wanmin has no right to interfere. However, the two million belongs to the country, and Xie Wanmin has the obligation and responsibility to help the country save it.

"Teacher Li, I know that chip research and development requires a lot of money, but we can't squander it without restraint. We must be extremely cautious," Xie Wanmin said earnestly.

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the conference room turned their eyes to Xie Wanmin. Li Qingfeng frowned and looked at him without saying a word.

Everyone was aware of Xie Wanmin's responsibilities and knew what he meant by this, which was simply to save money for the country.

Facing everyone's strange looks, Xie Wanmin gritted his teeth and gave his own suggestions: "Can we first organize a team of experts to conduct a more in-depth and comprehensive evaluation and optimization of the current design plan to minimize the risk of tape-out failure and increase the probability of a single tape-out success?"

"Simulation data and actual production are two different things. No one knows what will go wrong until the production line is turned on. This is a necessary expense for the company."

"Even so, we cannot completely pin our hopes on subsequent adjustments. Every failure in tape-out testing is not only a loss of money, but also a waste of time."

Before he could finish his words, Li Qingfeng interrupted him with a wave of his hand: "Not going to the production line to find problems based on simulation data is a real waste of time. This expense is inevitable. Secretary Xie, there is no need to say more."

"Okay then." Xie Wanmin wanted to persuade him again, but after seeing Li Qingfeng's eyes, he immediately shut his mouth and stopped persuading him.

Anyway, I have fulfilled my responsibilities. It was Li Qingfeng who did not accept my proposal. The whole process was recorded in the meeting minutes. If the expenses are reviewed later, it cannot be blamed on me.

Without Xie Wanmin as an obstacle, the subsequent discussions went smoothly and the specific process was quickly discussed.

After the meeting, Xie Wanmin caught up with Li Qingfeng and sincerely apologized to Li Qingfeng for his remarks at the meeting, saying something like it was his duty and he had no choice.

It is still very comfortable to work at Huaxin. Although the power is not as great as before, the salary is high. I get 6,000 yuan a month from Huaxin, and I also get a lot of subsidies of various kinds. I live a much more comfortable life than my colleagues.

The current position is a pretty good retirement position for Xie Wanmin, who has no ambition. He doesn't want to offend Li Qingfeng and be driven out of Huaxin by Li Qingfeng. Li Qingfeng has no opinion on Xie Wanmin. He is a good person. He doesn't cause so many troubles and doesn't try to seize power. If someone else comes, who knows what he will do in Huaxin.

Therefore, Li Qingfeng expressed his understanding generously and accepted the other party's apology.

After Xie Wanmin left, Ni Guangnan, who followed Li Qingfeng back, said with emotion: "Hey, in the semiconductor industry, the difference between China and foreign countries is still quite large. The country still needs to send a large number of students abroad."

"We really need to send people. If we send out ten people and three of them come back, it's a profit. Now I regret that I only sent out a hundred people. Now I think we should have sent out a thousand." Li Qingfeng nodded and agreed.

"Haha, that makes sense. It's a pity that the remaining seven all stayed in America and contributed to their development."

He Guangqin, who went to study in England, echoed Ni Guangnan's words and said: "We can't blame them for this. After all, everyone wants a better life. Not only in the mainland, but even in Hong Kong, many international students stay in the United States and Europe after graduation."

"In Europe and the United States, even an ordinary worker or waiter can enjoy a relatively comfortable life, with complete household appliances at home and a car for transportation. This is unimaginable in Hong Kong, let alone the mainland."

"That's true. For ordinary workers in our country, it's good enough to have a motorcycle, let alone a car."

Li Qingfeng did not join in the conversation between the two, nor did he say anything to encourage them, because there was no need to, and it would be useless to say anything.

In 1995, there was a huge gap between various industries in China and those abroad. At that time, no one in China believed that the country would become the world's second largest economy after the United States in the future.

Not to mention ordinary people, even the topic of discussion in the country is whether our country's economy can surpass Japan in 40 years.

Now tell them that in 20 or 30 years, China will become the world's largest country in terms of car ownership, production and sales. Every household will have a car. During rush hour, the roads will be so congested that you can't move, and the streets will be filled with parked cars. In order to ease the pressure on urban traffic, the country will even impose travel restrictions.

They will just think you are joking and won't believe it at all.

After the meeting, Li Qingfeng, who wanted to go home directly after get off work, was stopped by He Guangqin: "Teacher Li, the design drawings of the employee collective housing, including our staff dormitory, have been sent to you. Would you like to take a look?"

"What's so good about this thing? I'm not studying architecture, and I can't understand it. It's enough if other people have looked at it. As long as it meets our requirements, it will be approved directly." Li Qingfeng waved his hand, too lazy to look at the thing.

"The other leaders have already seen it, and they are quite satisfied with the drawings. However, everyone still hopes that you can make the final decision. After all, this concerns the living environment of the employees for a long time in the future, and your opinion is very important," He Guangqin explained patiently.

Qingfeng Li sighed helplessly: "Okay, then I'll just take a quick look."

As he spoke, Qingfeng Li picked up his packed briefcase and followed He Guangqin to a small meeting room outside to look at the design drawings spread out on the table.

After a quick glance, I found that the houses planned on the drawings were arranged in an orderly manner, and the green areas were also reasonably distributed. The overall look was relatively neat, which was very consistent with the design concept at that time.

Li Qingfeng was about to nod and sign the document to go home after get off work, but he stopped in his tracks when he saw the blueprint of the staff dormitory out of the corner of his eye.

Li Qingfeng took out the blueprint of the staff dormitory and frowned at the design that resembled an apartment building in later generations. "How was this designed? Why do I see the shadow of a tube building from it?"

"Oh, this is the current standard layout of staff dormitories. This is the blueprint of single dormitories for grass-roots employees. The design of small standard rooms can save more land." He Guangqin took a look and began to explain to Li Qingfeng.

“How many rooms are there on each floor of this thing?”

"28"

"."

After a moment of silence, Qingfeng Li asked calmly, "Why not build 36 households?"

"There's no need. The land the government allocated to us is sufficient to build 28 households. We can also build a huge fountain garden and lawn inside the community," said He Guangqin.

Li Qingfeng nodded without comment, put down the drawing in his hand, and looked at the housing drawings for team leaders and above.

Every time he looked at a house type, Li Qingfeng's heart sank a little. Not to mention the 200-square-meter four-bedroom with one elevator per unit, why on earth were there also garden houses?

Well, the class distinction has even spread to the dormitory.

Rubbing his brows, Qingfeng Li said speechlessly: "There are 28 rooms on one floor, and there are 24 floors in a building. Haven't you considered the crowded problem of the elevator?"

"We are equipped with four elevators, which can fully meet the needs of elevators. This is how it is designed in Hong Kong."

"Come on, you don't consider the actual situation at all. All the people living here are our employees, and they all have the same working hours. Do you think they will all go out at the same time in the morning? With so many people going out at the same time, how long will it take for the elevator to arrive?"

As he spoke, Li Qingfeng rolled up the blueprint and threw it directly into the trash can, slamming the table in anger.

"The leaders live in large four-bedroom and garden houses with one unit per floor, while the grassroots employees live in tube-shaped buildings with seven units per floor. Great, this design is really good. No wonder the company's leaders have no objection to this design. It turns out that this is the reason."

Seeing that Li Qingfeng was really angry and furious, He Guangqin did not dare to try to persuade him and just lowered his head, waiting to be scolded.

Seeing He Guangqin lying down and being scolded, Li Qingfeng opened his mouth but did not vent his anger on him.

With a cold snort, he suppressed his anger and instructed: "Leave the design drawings of the collective housing, and send back all the designs of the dormitories. I only have one request about the design of the dormitories."

"Fair, fair, and damn fair" (End of this chapter)