Siheyuan, Shazhu: I have both parents in this life

Chapter 320 Let's see who's more ruthless

The time when He Yuzhu's goods were supposed to arrive at the port was instead met with bad news from Chen Sheng's phone call.

"Boss, your first batch of goods has been detained at Long Beach Port. Customs said it was for suspected violation of import and export control regulations. The person in charge of that shell company has been taken away for questioning. Fortunately, the quarantine measures at Dongda University are in good order, so we haven't been implicated yet."

Do you know why?

"Customs said someone reported AMD."

Where is the whistleblower?

"Anonymous."

Did this shipment violate import/export controls?

"No, but customs won't return the goods to us so quickly. What will happen to our orders?"

“I understand. I’ll figure out the goods. Your priority now is to take the North American security team to sift through AMD’s internal affairs and reassure our customers.”

"Yes, boss!"

After hanging up the phone, He Yuzhu's face was gloomy. They had to resort to such tactics; it seemed their opponent was truly desperate. However, this move was indeed very effective. If they couldn't deliver to AMD, they would face huge compensation payments, and the company's reputation would be severely damaged. It would be as if the company had died before it even got off the ground.

He Yuzhu picked up another phone on the table and dialed Bai Yifeng's number.

"Old Bai."

"boss!"

"Send a team of absolutely reliable people to North America as quickly as possible to help Chen Sheng screen all the companies in North America and catch all the rats hiding in them."

"Is it serious? Should I go there myself?"

“It’s serious. It will be difficult to get things done with your face. You’d better send someone with a European face or someone of mixed race.”

"Understood, I'll make arrangements right away."

"Wait, book me a plane ticket to Canada as soon as possible, using Sakata's passport."

"it is good."

Half an hour later, Bai Yifeng called back to tell He Yuzhu that the plane ticket had been booked for that evening.

He Yuzhu called Xiaoman again.

"Xiaoman, there's been a bit of a situation in North America, I need to go there. Please tell them back home, don't let them worry."

"Brother Zhu, is this a big deal?"

"It's not a big problem, just a bit troublesome. I'll be back as soon as possible."

"Okay, things are different over there than in Hong Kong, so be careful."

"Don't worry, I'll be back soon."

In the afternoon, an ordinary family car drove out of the underground parking lot of the Yellow River Building. The car stopped at a certain place, He Yuzhu got out, took a taxi to the airport, and the car was driven back to the Yellow River Building by someone else who came over.

More than 20 hours later, He Yuzhu's plane landed in Quebec City, and he got into a car that had come to pick him up.

"Boss, would you like to go and rest first?"

Is the car ready?

"Ready, boss. Five trucks, and security personnel are all in place."

Is the driver trustworthy?

“They’re all our own people, and they all have driver’s licenses.”

"Where is the warehouse? Take me there directly."

"Ok."

Upon arriving at the warehouse, He Yuzhu dismissed the person who was supposed to pick him up and then released five containers. Two hours later, he called someone to come and pick him up and haul the goods.

"Boss, these goods might have some trouble getting through customs. The person in charge of shipping checked the packing list."

"What trouble? The procedures were completed upon arrival in port, and the taxes were paid."

"There's no trouble here in Maple Leaf, but I'm worried about North America."

"What exactly happened?"

"It seems like they're cracking down on these things quite strictly now."

"Is there any other solution?"

"Yes, go to British Columbia, via the Peace Arch border crossing, but it's a bit far."

"Hiss, more than three thousand kilometers, and you're telling me that's a bit much?" He Yuzhu said irritably.

“All of us can drive; we all have driver’s licenses.”

"This shipment is very important, you know that?"

"We know, we will definitely deliver it."

"Then be careful on your journey."

"It's the boss."

After the convoy drove away, He Yuzhu asked the person who picked him up, "Do we have any in British Columbia?"

"No, boss. We mainly contacted people in New York before, this place is closer."

"Then let's build one; we'll definitely need it in the future."

"Yes, but we are short-staffed."

"Find Lao Bai and ask him to help you coordinate."

"clear."

"Book me a plane ticket to San Francisco." He Yuzhu handed his passport to the man.

"Okay, boss, but don't you need to take a break?"

"No need, I'm in a hurry," He Yuzhu said.

A few hours later, He Yuzhu flew to San Francisco.

After getting off the plane, He Yuzhu took a taxi directly to Chen Sheng's team's office. Chen Sheng was not based at AMD; their office was located in San Francisco, which is easily accessible.

When they arrived at the office, Chen Sheng and his men were indeed not there; only the staff who remained were from Hong Kong.

The people who stayed behind rushed up to He Yuzhu as soon as they saw him: "Boss, what brings you here? Why didn't you tell me beforehand so I could have picked you up!"

"Are you the only one left behind?"

"Yes, Mr. Chen took a group of people to Silicon Valley."

How can I contact him?

"Please wait a moment, let me try making a phone call first."

They said they were only fighting one person, but they actually fought several before finally finding Chen Sheng.

"Boss, you've come in person!" Chen Sheng was still under pressure, as the incident occurred after he took over the case, and the truth was still unclear.

"Well, things here are quite serious, so I think it's better if I come over."

"I'm sorry, boss, we haven't found out which part of the process went wrong yet."

"Will production be affected?"

"No, but people's hearts are a little unsettled."

"It's normal. It's no wonder everyone panics when something goes wrong with the company. Once they're caught, the money will have been earned back, and everything will be fine."

"Yes."

"Have Lao Bai's men arrived yet?" He Yuzhu asked.

"Just arrived, and already started working," Chen Sheng said.

"I understand. The goods are already on their way, traveling by land from Canada. It might take a few days longer, but it should be ready to fulfill the order. Keep production running smoothly and reassure your employees."

After hanging up the phone, He Yuzhu instructed the remaining staff, "Take good care of the house. I'm leaving now."

"Boss, you're not familiar with this area, so you don't need me to follow you?"

"No need, it's not like I don't speak English." He Yuzhu waved his hand and left.

After leaving, He Yuzhu found a hotel and checked in. After resting, he went out, rented a car, and then went to Santa Clara.

After arriving, he wandered around outside Intel headquarters for a whole day, then pretended to be a repairman to get a roster, and then followed a few people.

It took him several days to find out where their laboratory was, and then He Yuzhu got a large box of 5.25-inch floppy disks for backup.

He went into the lab that night, and the next day He Yuzhu called Singapore and asked Dr. Peterson to take two technicians back to North America.

"Boss, what's the matter that's so urgent?"

"Regarding patents, I have some information here that I need you professionals to verify."

"Okay, then I'll take the people with that expertise with me."

He Yuzhu had been missing for several days, and Chen Sheng was quite worried because people in Hong Kong had asked him about it.

He finally breathed a sigh of relief when He Yuzhu contacted him again.

"Boss, you've finally shown up!"

"So, any progress on your end?"

"Not yet, it's been kept very secret."

"Aren't your methods a bit too lenient? We're not law enforcement; suspicion is enough. Does evidence even matter?"

"No, boss, the suspects are all key people at AMD. If they just disappear or something else happens, it'll be hard to explain." "Then keep a close eye on them. I have some things to take care of here. If all goes well, you'll have results from your end soon."

"Do you need my help?"

"No need. By the way, has the goods arrived?"

"We've arrived! We've arrived! We're already working overtime to produce the orders."

"Okay, don't exploit your subordinates too much. This isn't Hong Kong or the mainland. Don't let them cause trouble."

"I know!"

Dr. Peterson and his team were almost driven mad by the massive amount of data provided by He Yuzhu.

Those floppy disks contained not only technical details of Intel's current products, but also several design drafts, architecture diagrams, and laboratory test data for the next generation and even the generation after that of processors.

"My God, this is simply..." a young technician muttered to himself, his hands trembling as he looked at the information on the screen.

Dr. Peterson, being older, quickly recovered from his shock and quietly approached He Yuzhu, rationally asking, "Boss, is the source of these things reliable? What if this gets out?"

He Yuzhu said calmly, "Doctor, you don't need to worry about their origin, unless you leak it out."

"No, no, I sealed the first file as soon as I opened it. I won't let anyone who tells anyone get away with it."

"That would be best!" He Yuzhu nodded.

"I'll talk to them later, boss, don't worry!"

"Furthermore, now is not the time for you to delve into new technologies. You only have one task now. That is to find, as quickly as possible, all the evidence that can prove that Intel has infringed on our AMD (Huanghe holds through AMD) patents. This is related to our semiconductor layout in North America."

"Understood! But boss, you'll need to help us get some equipment and tools, as well as some samples."

"I've already contacted the local authorities. You can look at the information first."

“Okay.” Dr. Peterson nodded emphatically, and upon returning, he instructed his team to change the research direction of the data. “Jason, you’re in charge of comparing the architecture diagrams! Mike, you analyze their code and compare it with the core algorithms we’ve patented!”

The next day, Peterson and his team moved to a small lab. There are just too many labs in Silicon Valley, so renting a secluded one doesn't take much effort.

Then the samples were delivered, and the laboratory entered a period of intense activity.

Finally, on the fifth day, Dr. Peterson, with bloodshot eyes, walked up to He Yuzhu with a thick report in hand, and said excitedly, "Boss, we found it! And not just once! Intel has at least three key points in their subsequent improved designs of the 8086/8088, as well as the draft of the 80286 currently under development, that highly overlap with our registered patents, or even directly copied them! Especially in the microinstruction sequence for handling floating-point operations and memory management! It seems we are still ahead. Before, without comparison, I really wasn't sure what the next generation would be like. Now I can go back and study the next generation with peace of mind."

He Yuzhu took the report, quickly glanced through it, and asked, "Can this teach Intel a lesson?"

"Of course, if the court supports us, we can even ask them to withdraw the relevant products that have already been sold."

"Okay, you guys keep looking. I'm going out for a bit." He Yuzhu grabbed the documents and left the lab.

On Monday, during a hearing in the California District Court regarding Intel's patent infringement lawsuit against AMD, AMD's legal team suddenly launched a counterattack.

AMD's lead counsel submitted new evidence in court, filing a countersuit against Intel, accusing Intel of seriously infringing on several of AMD's fundamental patents related to processor architecture.

This is a very common occurrence, and California district courts frequently encounter similar situations. However, AMD's past submissions have not been very effective; otherwise, they wouldn't have been nearly bankrupted by Intel in the first place.

Intel's people questioned the evidence, but after they saw it, their faces turned extremely ugly. These things were originally very well hidden, and could only be discovered by dismantling their equipment without damage. But the other party found them just like that.

The court needed time to verify the evidence, so the court adjourned that day to await the next hearing.

But things were much more lively downstairs in the courtroom. Intel held an internal meeting and started investigating. They did everything Chen Sheng had done at AMD.

Then, AMD made a move, because someone from Intel contacted a high-ranking executive there, asking him to verify the source of the information.

The result was predictable: the carrot led to the mud, and it turned out that this high-ranking official not only had himself under him, but also a group of people. This is why Chen Sheng was unable to find the person; they were all lying, so of course they couldn't be found.

These individuals were quickly apprehended, and the following day, headlines appeared in the media such as, "Shocking News: A Computer Giant Actually Sent Industrial Spies! To Steal Patents and Then Countersue Others!"

The article details several key technical points that AMD accused them of. Although it uses a lot of technical jargon, the core meaning is clear: the industry leader used underhanded means to steal the technology of newcomers.

Following this, professional magazines such as Computerworld also followed up with reports and began to analyze in depth the technological origins and conflicts between the two companies' processors, as well as the areas where they will clash in the future.

Such reports lacked substantial evidence, so they didn't cause much harm. However, after the court hearing resumed, Intel was somewhat dumbfounded. This time, the court supported AMD, and they will face a large amount of compensation and the discontinuation of some technologies, which is equivalent to prohibiting them from shipping.

AMD even demanded that Intel recall all sold products that included these technologies, which Intel naturally refused to do, as that would result in huge losses for Intel.

The courtroom debate was intense, but in the end, the judge only ordered Intel to pay damages and dismissed their lawsuit. He also stated that any subsequent products wanting to use the technology should purchase the patent.

Intel's stock price plummeted as the judge's gavel struck.

AMD's, on the other hand, has been rising steadily.

Then, IBM came to negotiate with AMD, wanting to buy chips and other products. They were not directly rejected, but AMD made a request that annoyed IBM: sharing of minicomputer (server) technology.

With things settled in Southern California, He Yuzhu instructed Lao Bai to arrange for a security company to be registered and a communication network to be set up in Southern California. The rest could be left to Chen Sheng and his team.

He Yuzhu flew to New York with 1,000 AMD 1981-2 units, and then had Dongda place a batch of orders according to the list given by Lao Zhao, using the name of a trading company.

He spent half a month in New York, having his men go to many bookstores to buy all the science and technology books they could find. After receiving the semiconductor components, He Yuzhu flew to Singapore. Dr. Peterson returned with his men after winning the case, but he didn't let them take the documents with them, in case they were intercepted.

Upon arriving in Singapore, He Yuzhu made a copy of all the materials and gave it to Dr. Peterson. He also instructed the laboratory's security supervisor before returning to Hong Kong with the copied materials.

Upon returning to Hong Kong, He Yuzhu immediately convened a meeting with his core team.

In the conference room, He Yuzhu began by saying, "Although we have won the lawsuit in North America for the time being, the real competition has only just begun. Technological barriers and patent wars will only become more and more intense."

"I will strengthen security in all the laboratories," Bai Yifeng said.

“Simply strengthening the team is not enough; we are now conducting background checks on the core R&D personnel again.”

"Yes, boss."

"There's one more thing: you all need to train successors for me, including Lingyi and me in the future."

"Well, boss, you don't need to, do you?"

“Why not? Who can guarantee they’ll live to be a hundred?” He Yuzhu said.

There was no response from the crowd. He Yuzhu continued, "I don't object to your children joining the group. If they have the ability, they can climb the ladder. I'm happy for them. But if I find out that someone is abusing their power for personal gain, you won't want to know my methods."

"Yes!" the crowd shouted.

"We should learn from what happened in North America. We don't have a strong backer right now, so we can only rely on ourselves."

Some people understood, while others did not, and He Yuzhu did not provide a specific explanation.

"Then let's talk about the second thing. Lao Gu, you need to arrange for someone to start opening up the car sales channels in the mainland. I think other countries will soon be able to enter the market. We need to seize the market. No one has a better advantage than us. If Yang Tao can handle it, then hand it over to him."

"Understood," Gu Yuanheng replied.

"Xingyao, we can start contacting the mainland for crude oil. We can also discuss building oil storage facilities and refineries if they want to."

"Yes."

"If He Yushui can't take over Xiaoman Communications, then you should start evaluating the next general manager."

"Ok."

"Ah Lang, you're not needed to be stationed in the mainland anymore, are you?"

"No need, just check on it periodically."

"Real estate development in Hong Kong needs to be accelerated."

"I will come up with a plan."

“Yu Xin may not be in charge of the port business when he comes back. See who can take over,” He Yuzhu said.

"I will select a few candidates, but the boss will need your final decision."

“Okay,” He Yuzhu said.

"Alright, you all go ahead and get busy. Lingyi, please stay behind."

"Yes."

After everyone had left, He Yuzhu asked, "Xiaoman, how is Rhein Electronics doing now?"

"The initial steps were sorted out, and the union was also taken care of, because according to our plan, we were expanding production."

"What about the communications lab?"

"Now we're just waiting for the LCD screens from the peninsula. The English display issue has been resolved, but the Chinese display will have to wait a bit longer."

"Please urge them on the peninsula side, and also tell the lab to hurry up. Once this is resolved, there are even bigger projects to work on."

"Ok."

"There's one more thing. You frequently contact education and cultural institutions in mainland China. Could you perhaps get in touch with Harbin Institute of Technology and the National University of Defense Technology?"

"let me try!"

"Xiaoman, if you can't do it, let Siyu come back to help you. She hasn't achieved much as a lawyer."

"I'll talk to her about this when I have time."

"You'd better hurry, otherwise there will be more and more things to deal with later, will you be able to handle it?"

"understood."

"Let Yuxin learn from you for a while when he comes back."

"I can't teach the third brother."

"Alright, you don't need to be modest. Do you think I don't know his skill level?"

"By the way, Xiaohui is doing quite well in retail, you know that, right?" Xiaoman said.

"I saw it in the report, so what?"

"It's nothing, I thought you hadn't noticed."

"I'm not that careless, am I? I don't even know how well my subordinates are doing."