In 1978, I was admitted to Harbin Institute of Technology

Chapter 354 With such a good research environment, how dare we rest? The competition among the big shots is related to Xie Wei?
“Uncle Yu, let the leaders worry about these issues. We need to consider bringing the microcomputers to market… Only when there are more users will the functional requirements increase, and then specialized software development companies will emerge to provide support… We need to build our own computer ecosystem…”

If we were to introduce a microcomputer to the market now, there wouldn't be many users.

However, these users are all very crucial—research institutes and universities, which not only research advanced technologies but also have the responsibility of cultivating talent.

"Building an ecosystem?"

Yu Guofeng frowned at Xie Wei, his face full of confusion, "These microcomputers are all used for scientific research..."

"Are you familiar with the development of microcomputers in the US market?"

Xie Wei did not explain directly, but instead asked Yu Guofeng if he was aware of the current development of commercial microcomputers in the world.

“I didn’t know before, but I know now.”

Yu Guofeng began to speak.

With the reform and opening up, a large number of Chinese students were sent to the United States to study. In terms of non-core academic journals, the blockade was not so severe, and the students and scholars sent abroad would also send back what they learned.

In this respect, domestic news is not as delayed.

"You don't mean you're thinking of selling microcomputers to individual users in order to expand market demand, like you do in the US market, do you?"

Seeing Xie Wei's expression, Yu Guofeng was stunned for a moment, then looked at Xie Wei with a face full of shock.

The latter did not explain, but simply smiled and nodded.

"Let's give up on that idea for now. There's simply no market for this in China! How much do Americans earn? What's the average income in our country? A microcomputer costs 30,000 to 40,000 yuan. Even with our income, we'd have to save for six or seven years to buy one, and that's without eating or drinking."

Yu Guofeng became anxious.

Xie Wei's ideas are terrifying. Not to mention individual users, there aren't many institutions in China that can afford to buy a microcomputer for scientific research for tens of thousands of yuan.

"Not now. It's an indisputable fact that microcomputers are currently expensive."

Xie Wei hadn't expected Yu Guofeng to be so resistant to this matter, so he could only patiently explain.

The supporting infrastructure is lagging behind, especially in the design of various chips that support more user functions. China simply cannot compete with the European and American markets. The R&D investment is huge. The development of any microcomputer is not a small amount of money, but there are not many market orders.

"Once our microcomputers hit the market, the blockade imposed by foreign countries in this area will be lifted. Even if they only sell microcomputers that are slightly more advanced than ours, and at a lower price, it will be difficult for us to recoup our R&D costs... In the domestic market, it will be difficult for research institutions and universities to afford tens of thousands of yuan to purchase a microcomputer, let alone individuals..."

Yu Guofeng's concerns are not unfounded.

Even among those with ten thousand yuan in assets, very few can afford a personal microcomputer.

Besides, what would someone with 10,000 yuan need a microcomputer for?
They don't need to make money.

"With the development of supporting industries and technological advancements, costs will decrease significantly; on the other hand, with the continuous advancement of reform and opening up and the rapid development of the domestic economy, everyone's income will also increase rapidly..."

"Besides our school, how much have salaries increased at other schools and research institutions?"

Yu Guofeng's words immediately silenced Xie Weigan.

He's being too idealistic.

China's residents' income is far lower than that of Europe and the United States.

Putting aside other things, even taxi drivers from Hong Kong in the 1980s and 1990s could use their pocket money to find a "partner" in mainland China.

"We need to develop in this direction. If microcomputers are only for scientific research, the market size is too small. If the functions are not comprehensive, let alone the domestic market, there is not much hope for the international market..."

Initially, Xie Wei developed microcomputers with the intention of launching them on a large scale in the international market.

However, just as the program-controlled switch was launched, international telecommunications giants rushed into China, suppressing domestically produced program-controlled switches by lowering prices and establishing joint venture factories. This made Xie Wei realize that in the more important field of computers in the future, the West could not stand idly by and watch China's technology develop rapidly.

Export?

In the European and American markets, any issue affecting national security could cripple domestically produced personal computers.

The bankruptcy of Wang Laboratories, once IBM's biggest competitor, is the most obvious example—Western white people will not allow China to master advanced computer technology, not even Chinese-owned computer companies!

Without the development of more feature-rich microcomputers, the domestic computer industry cannot thrive.

"You've brought a group of the nation's top computer hardware experts to the university, and now all the projects have started. It's certain that the pressure on R&D funding is immense... Xie Wei, the more this is the case, the less you should rush things. If you make the wrong decision, it will have disastrous consequences."

Yu Guofeng reminded Xie Wei, "The needs of domestic research institutions are not something we can meet in the short term..."

"I didn't say now. But we need to plan ahead for ten or even twenty years from now..."

Xie Wei was speechless.

He didn't say that he would launch a personal computer now.

"Have you calculated how much funding this will require? Even with Huafeng partnering with Factory 14, the university is still responsible for all hardware and software development. The annual R&D budget for computers already exceeds 6000 million... According to your plan, given that the market performance of the computers launched by Huafeng is not ideal..."

Yu Guofeng sighed.

Xie Wei values ​​computers; he is well aware of that.

After Xie Wei initially persuaded him and the entire Department of Electronic Engineering and the Department of Computer Science to produce the HZ-80 chip, it became clear that manual design was no longer sufficient to further improve the chip's performance.

Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT) assembled a team of highly skilled personnel to design software specifically for chip design.

To date, Xie Wei's goal of integrating 68000 transistors into the central data processor has not yet been achieved!

The software and hardware support are both inadequate.

Otherwise, the university wouldn't be so desperate to poach the already limited number of integrated circuit experts from major research institutes across the country.

How is the design work on the HZ-8068 chip progressing?

Xie Wei lit a cigarette and only spoke after finishing it.

"The basic design work has been completed. We've been inspecting it for almost three months, and each inspection has revealed various problems... At present, if we can complete the tape-out within six months to a year, the progress will be very fast... Even if Director Huang's team arrives and starts to get involved in the design work of HZ-8068, the progress won't be too fast. You can go and take a look."

Yu Guofeng's explanation wasn't because Xie Wei didn't believe him.

He did not want Xie Wei to shift all of the school's focus to computer-related technology research and development. If the funds could not be recovered and the funding from higher authorities was only a drop in the bucket for the Harbin Institute of Technology project, the investment would not be able to be recovered in the short term, which would be a huge disaster.

Xie Wei did not object.

After Mr. Huang and the others arrived at the school, he was busy with various things and did not have much contact with these big shots.

"How did you come?"

Instead of being pleased by Xie Wei's sudden appearance in the lab, the young Mr. Huang looked displeased. "Wait a minute, I need to finish checking these circuit designs..."

Mr. Huang from the lab didn't have the charm of a woman in her early forties at all: his hair was messy, his eyes were bloodshot, and his face looked haggard...

After saying a few words, Mr. Huang went back to work, completely ignoring the arrival of Xie Wei and Yu Guofeng.

"How long has it been since Professor Xie took a break?" Xie Wei quietly left the lab and grabbed a passing graduate student from the Department of Electrical Engineering who looked somewhat familiar but whose name he couldn't recall, and asked.

The graduate student he grabbed stumbled and almost fell.

Fortunately, Yu Guofeng, who was standing nearby, reacted quickly and caught him.

"Resting? Ever since Professor Huang came to the university and entered the lab, she's been in the lab... even during the Chinese New Year. If it weren't for the lab's rule against eating in there, she probably would have eaten there too..."

Xie Wei then noticed that the student he had pulled had an oily face, bloodshot eyes, and a haggard appearance.

There are already a few gray hairs behind my temples.

"Go do your thing first."

Seeing Xie Wei in a daze, Yu Guofeng sighed.

"It's from staying up all night... After Professor Huang and Ni Guangnan arrived at the university and learned about the progress and technology of integrated circuits, they immediately threw themselves into their work... They never went to the dormitories arranged for them by the university... They were almost always in the laboratory, resting for a while when they were tired, and then continuing to work after waking up... Even forcing them to rest wouldn't work..."

Yu Guofeng greatly admired Xie Wei's eye for talent recruitment.

All the recruited technical leaders learned that the university not only did not make things difficult for their research funding applications, but also provided them with as much funding as they asked for. Even the most advanced domestic equipment was provided to them as quickly as possible, without any consideration for procurement costs.

They also provided full support in terms of materials.

Such a favorable research environment is like a fertile ground for an old farmer to find, with an ample supply of all kinds of farming tools and fertilizers for these experts who are determined to develop more advanced integrated circuit technology for the country.

How could I bear to rest?

"What about that senior brother from earlier?"

"You still have the nerve to ask?"

Yu Guofeng glared at Xie Wei, "Ever since you joined the experimental class and started working on projects while studying, and even getting the students in the experimental class involved, the working hours in the school's labs have been getting longer than before... Although not many from the class of '78 stayed at the school, each class after '79 has been more ruthless than the last... Before Professor Huang and his team arrived, the lab staff could guarantee an average of 6 hours of rest... Now... less than four..."

what?
Xie Wei never expected this outcome.

This has nothing to do with me!

"This can't go on like this."

"You know it won't work?"

Yu Guofeng looked at Xie Wei with annoyance, "You yourself work and study until you're sleepy every day before going to sleep, and then continue working after you wake up, right?"

"..."

Xie Wei wanted to say that he was different.

After all, his mind was filled with too many different things, and he wasn't a top expert in every field. His only hope was to prepare all the basics as soon as possible.

"If the professors aren't taking a break, who among the students is willing to? If Xie Rou hadn't gone to the Institute of Mathematical Sciences, the situation would be even worse..."

How come this has something to do with Xie Rou again?

Xie Wei looked at Yu Guofeng speechlessly. Xie Rou was at school and had always been in Fang Pengju's rocket artillery team. She rarely had any contact with other teams at the school.

"Xie Rou often says: 'My brother says this thing is so simple, even someone without a brain can understand it...'"

……

Xie Wei really wanted to thank Xie Rou at that moment.

This girl did it on purpose!
They attack others, and they drag themselves down with them.

She used to say, "My brother told me not to talk to idiots," which became a psychological shadow for the top students in the Class of '78.

So, even someone without a brain would understand that they're referring to level 79?

"And then there's the class of '80. Although Xie Rou isn't a lecturer, she's sometimes called upon by Liang Hongbin and the others to help out with classes... You can't imagine the despair of a group of genius students, whose average age is over 20, who are usually called geniuses, who scored high enough to get in but still had to pass a monstrous entrance test, being stared at by girls much younger than them with the same look they're having at their wits' end..."

Yu Guofeng's next sentence was delivered almost without pause.

Xie Wei didn't know how to answer.

If it weren't for his own extensive knowledge, which was largely outside Xie Rou's area of ​​expertise, he could have understood the way Xie Rou looked at an idiot.

"Therefore, this is also one of the reasons why the school agreed to let her go to the Institute of Mathematical Sciences."

"..."

“Everyone knows we're far behind international standards, so we dare not rest; we just want to close the gap as much as possible. And you, although you rarely make demands, always give the impression of being very anxious…”

This time, Yu Guofeng talked to Xie Wei more than ever before.

He knew that Factory 122's actions had frightened the composed Xie Wei. Once the funding from the university-enterprise office was lost, the university's research projects would be severely affected.

Yu Guofeng is well aware of how huge the future market for computers will be.

But if we have to compete with the West on this, it will only allow the West to figure out our secrets.

"With such excellent research conditions, funding is readily available, and all the necessary support is provided. There's nothing to worry about, so how could we dare to rest too much? Xie Wei, we're lagging far behind the international standards..."

Faced with Xie Wei's reminder, Ni Guangnan seriously told him not to worry about his rest time.

After saying that, he pushed Xie Wei out of the laboratory.

Xie Wei coming to see him is a waste of his time.

"The university must come up with a policy. Scientific research is not a war of attrition!"

After being pushed out by Professor Ni, Xie Wei gritted his teeth and said.

These are all future academicians and members of the academic division!
Don't collapse from exhaustion at your research post, or you'll have nowhere to turn to cry.

"Do you think it will work? Back then, your Class of '78 was working so hard that the school stipulated that the labs had to close at 10:30 pm... Now, at least three similar regulations have been issued."

Yu Guofeng sighed.

They were all big shots, and nobody cared about the school's rules.

"You're responsible for the mess you created. I was planning to talk to you about it even if you hadn't come to me."

How come it's something I caused myself?

The big shots are engaged in fierce competition among themselves.

However, Xie Wei also clearly realized that continuing would cause problems, and he understood what Yu Guofeng meant by telling him all this: the actions of Factory 122 had really made him panic!
It's not that I'm worried about the partners causing trouble, but rather about interference from above!
(End of this chapter)