Those Years When I Was Forced to Top the Forbes List

Chapter 358 The Whistleblower and Huang: A Three-Year Scheme
"Mr. Chen, please don't misunderstand. I only said that Hutchison Whampoa would participate in the auction, not that Hutchison Whampoa reported it."

Secretary Jin explained over the phone.

Chen Xuebing's heart sank as he thought of something, but he still insisted, "Secretary Jin, you don't need to say anything. You only just found out about this news? They're going to participate in the auction. What else could it be but Hutchison Whampoa?"

"This news did indeed just come from the city, but it wasn't a recent report. The city received the report at the very beginning of the land announcement period. After several days of discussion, they felt that continuing might have a negative social impact, so they decided to cancel the negotiated transfer. During this period, it's normal that Hutchison Whampoa, as a strong bidder, received inquiries from the city. Do you have any other competitors?"

Secretary Jin gave a hint.

"No, no, no." Chen Xuebing shook the cigar in his hand, took a puff, his expression had softened, but his tone was still firm: "They're the ones who reported him. He wants to compete in this way. Fine, I'll play along."

"Mr. Chen, what's wrong?"

Secretary Jin was quite overwhelmed.

He intentionally leaked the news of this land transfer agreement to Hutchison Whampoa, with the aim of getting Hutchison Whampoa to compete for the high plot ratio. The district took the opportunity to make demands, requiring them to develop the land within a specified period.

However, after he investigated, he learned that the transfer agreement was not something Huang had reported to the city authorities, but rather a company from the north.

Moreover, it was not an anonymous report, but a report made under one's real name.

This company is quite influential. It has invested in banks in Sichuan and directly approached city leaders. It also produced a professional analysis report, which concluded that the negotiated transfer price was far lower than the expected increase in auction prices during the same period, and the plot ratio was much higher than that of the land auctioned last year. However, the land was transferred at last year's auction price, which must have involved the transfer of benefits. Seeing the aggressive approach of the other party, the city could not insist and suggested changing the negotiated transfer to an auction.

Hutchison Wong only joined while the opportunity was present, hoping to take advantage of the situation.

However, this information involves the whistleblower's confidentiality mechanism, so he couldn't reveal it openly.

This Mr. Chen isn't stupid. Last time we met, he felt the other party was very intelligent. Now that he's given him a hint, why is he still clinging to Huang?
"Secretary Jin, please stop talking. Let's have an auction, but give me some time. Let's move the auction to the beginning of next month! I'll gather the funds and compete with them!"

Chen Xuebing spoke with absolute certainty.

Upon hearing this, Secretary Jin didn't really want to offer any further advice.

They mobilized funds to compete.

If Gu An puts all his effort into competing with Hutchison Whampoa for this land, it might just become another new record-breaking land price!
The district will have more funds next year.

"Okay, Mr. Chen! The district will definitely cooperate with you regarding the timeline! Thank you for your understanding, but the district also has its difficulties!"

Secretary Jin feigned regret, but inwardly he was overjoyed.

"it is good!"

Chen Xuebing hung up the phone, and the atmosphere in the private room had already exploded.

Hutchison Whampoa, Li Ka-shing.

When the business owners present discussed this name in the past, they were no different from ordinary people. Even without paying their respects, no one would deny that this was a figure of the highest caliber.

If you happen to bump into someone on some occasion and exchange a few words, that's enough to brag about for a lifetime.

Competing with someone like that who reports on you?
Such an exciting interaction is something I never even dared to imagine.

"Mr. Chen, are you going to compete with Hutchison Whampoa?" Ye Yuanxi stood up and asked with a serious expression.

"They're the ones competing with me," Chen Xuebing corrected with a smile. "Hutchison Whampoa reported our land deal in Chengdu and wants to auction it off. Well, let them bid!"

These words stunned everyone present once again. Chow Yun-fat looked puzzled, as if he wanted to say something, but remained tight-lipped.

A local tycoon, Mr. Wu, didn't mince words and came over, saying, "Mr. Chen, a few years ago, Li Ka-shing acquired that piece of land in Chengdu. I heard it went through 69 rounds of bidding, and the final price doubled. Even Mr. Fan of Jianchuan Group, who brought out his entire fortune, couldn't beat Hutchison Whampoa! They used their power to intimidate others when they acquired the land!"

Chen Xuebing smiled and glanced around at the entire room.

"What, does everyone think I can't outshoot them?"

No one spoke.

"Hahaha!" Chen Xuebing laughed loudly, "Don't worry, everyone! Our Gu'an will become a top-tier real estate company nationwide, leading everyone to develop across the country. If you're afraid of a mere Hutchison Whampoa, then you might as well give up! This is the mainland, not Hong Kong. If a dragon comes, you have to coil up; if a tiger comes, you have to lie down! I will definitely take this land! Alright, you guys continue playing! Those who need to talk, talk to Manager Bai. I have something to do, so I'll be leaving now! Manager Bai, take good care of everyone!"

Mr. Chen's figure disappeared abruptly at the door, leaving behind a long silence.

"Tsk tsk tsk." Mr. Gong, slightly tipsy, held a cigar and exclaimed repeatedly, "Mr. Chen has guts, guts! I'm definitely going to be Gu'an's supplier! Manager Bai, I'll come to you tomorrow to revise my quote!"

The others nodded in agreement, and President Chen's image continued to rise.

Guest room floor.

Chen Xuebing took off his coat, leisurely turned on the TV, and started watching the first episode of "Love Through Time" on Jiangsu Satellite TV.

Ren Ying went downstairs to the car to get Chen Xuebing a set of pajamas. When she came in, she saw Chen Xuebing watching TV, and was surprised to see him watching such a mindless drama.

Aren't you worried?

"Why would I panic? Ah," Chen Xuebing yawned. "Luckily, Secretary Jin called in time, otherwise this drinking party would have been really difficult to get through. We drank water in the afternoon, but the alcohol in the evening was real. Everyone was toasting me one after another, and they were all watching me drink. I couldn't stand it! Hey—do you think there's any scientific basis for this thing about thirteen beads lined up in a straight line that can make someone travel back in time?"

This question left Ren Ying bewildered once again.

She glanced at the TV before realizing she was referring to a drama series, and remained speechless for several seconds. Then she placed the pajamas she was holding on the chaise longue beside Chen Xuebing's bed and said:
"I've only heard of wormholes! According to general relativity, Einstein's field equations allow for spacetime curvature caused by extreme mass, but a black hole-level mass is required to form a traversable wormhole, and planetary mass simply doesn't reach that threshold."

"Oh?" Chen Xuebing raised an eyebrow and teased, "You, a liberal arts student, know about this?"

Ren Ying: "."

"Alright, alright, I'm not teasing you anymore." Chen Xuebing laughed. "Go to the private room and help Bai Ning out. We need to settle the supplier bills tonight. She can't handle it all by herself. Don't worry about bidding with Huang. This is a good thing. We can use this battle to boost our suppliers' confidence."

Ren Ying looked even more worried upon hearing this: "You're not going to compete by offering a higher price, are you?"

Chen Xuebing waved his hand: "High price? Low price."

"Oh." Seeing that he didn't say anything, Ren Ying could only turn around and leave.

After the door closed, Chen Xuebing raised his eyebrows and exhaled a breath of stale air.

Having drunk a little alcohol, my hormones were kicking in, and I even thought of teasing Ren Ying because she looked quite pretty.

For the rich, the cost of indulging their desires in this way is too low; once their minds are relaxed, many things happen.

If you're not careful, you might leave something behind, and the subsequent costs can be very high.

Chen Xuebing still has a strong sense of crisis, and Cheng Danting always brings safety equipment whenever she comes to see him.

He considered himself a gentleman in terms of restraint of desires, and lived a simple life. Apart from having high requirements for the hotels he stayed in, he had never deliberately pursued anything, and he had only had three women.

No, there are two; Yang Qingyue doesn't count.

No. There's only one right now.

Oh shit.

He seemed to have gone a bit too far with himself. He took out his phone and, without hesitation for three seconds, dialed Xin Mengzhen.

The person who made his heart race was someone he once looked up to and feared, but now that he's in that position, what is there to hesitate about?

It took almost half a minute for the other end to answer.

"Hello? Why are you calling so late?"

The soft, quiet voice rang out, but it triggered a series of crazy images in Chen Xuebing's mind.

"I missed you. What are you doing?" Chen Xuebing asked with a smile in the tone of an old man.

Xin Mengzhen hesitated for several seconds, feeling a bit abrupt, before saying irritably, "On a blind date."

"you dare."

"Oh? Mr. Chen's business has grown now, so he's become more assertive. Why wouldn't I dare to speak up?" Xin Mengzhen laughed.

Chen Xuebing glared at her and said, "You're not even 20 years old yet, what kind of blind date are you going on? Who would go on a blind date with you? That's illegal!"

Xin Mengzhen chuckled: "Next May, I'll be 20."

“I’ll grant you the certificate,” he said without hesitation. “If you come to Sichuan now, I can grant it to you ahead of time.”

"Are you at the hotel?" Xin Mengzhen guessed.

"Hmm." Chen Xuebing sensed a trap in the question and immediately added, "I'm constantly on the move and don't have a place to stay. Where would I stay if not in a hotel?"

"Are you taking a bath?" Xin Mengzhen's voice softened, seemingly with a hint of temptation.

She knew that Chen Xuebing liked to do *that* while taking a bath.

"You can soak it if you have a cough." Upon hearing this, Chen Xuebing couldn't control his lust and gave himself away.

Xin Mengzhen's tone changed instantly, and she said, word by word:

"You scoundrel! I knew you weren't kind-hearted!"

The phone hangs up.

Chen Xuebing looked at the lit-up phone, cleared his throat, and dialed again, this time with a much more normal tone.

"I've been drinking, I've had too much, and I acted impulsively just now."

"You didn't drink too much. If you did, you would just sleep and wouldn't make phone calls."

"You know me best," Chen Xuebing said with a shameless smile.

"Understanding" is indeed a very powerful word for middle-aged men, capable of evoking a sense of warmth in their hearts.

On the other end of the phone, Xin Mengzhen bit her lip. Her calm words were as usual, but the emotions that had been dormant seemed to be stirred by a cool breeze.

But then she remembered Yang Qingyue and quickly changed the subject:

When do you plan to invest in Arm?

When the topic came up, Chen Xuebing's romantic feelings vanished instantly.

"Once I'm done with this busy period, I plan to settle things in Sichuan and go there during the Chinese New Year."

"I checked, and Arm China only has sales and marketing functions; it doesn't have the right to conduct independent research and development. If you want to achieve your goal, you'll need to gradually acquire technology licenses after the acquisition. Have you thought about your negotiation strategy?"

"The company's team is still preparing."

"You need to have a Plan B, right? We can't let them get to us. MIPS or x86?"

“Neither is a good choice.” Chen Xuebing shook his head. “X86 is too complex, MIPS is too stupid. Our mobile phone system is developed specifically for the Arm architecture. There is no other choice. In fact, Arm should also know that we are also a platform for them to demonstrate their value. Cooperation is beneficial to both parties. Reaching a cooperation agreement is just the preliminary work. The main process of negotiation should be how both parties can jointly deal with the British government's control. The real problem is…”

"What is it?"

Chen Xuebing sighed, "The road to chip manufacturing is long and arduous..."

If it weren't for this, he wouldn't be like this now, trying to make a quick buck from everything he can get his hands on.

The investment required for chip manufacturing is enormous.

The 3G fund was indeed set up for investment in chip manufacturing. The money earned in the stock market over the next year might be enough to tide it over, but it certainly won't last long.

Moreover, the fund cannot pour money into chips indefinitely; it also needs to consider the return on investment.

Funding is one aspect, and investment methods are another.

His current advantage is that Dutch lithography machines are not yet the only option.

He now has more and more sources of information and his understanding of high-end fields such as chip manufacturing is gradually deepening. According to the information he recently received, Canon's ArF dry lithography machine can now stably manufacture 90nm, and Nikon has also developed the NSR-S609B immersion lithography machine, which can theoretically achieve 55nm through violent double exposure and resolution enhancement technology.

However, compared to ASML's immersion technology, the yield is too low, less than 40%, which is not worth producing at all.

ASML's immersion lithography machine can compress the usable resolution by about 1.5 times, theoretically reaching 38nm. TSMC can now stably manufacture 65nm with a yield of over 90%.

Japan is currently engaging in unorthodox practices, focusing on pushing the limits through multiple exposure technology, while Asmayer is pursuing orthodox practices, increasing the basic manufacturing process by enhancing the magnification capabilities of microscopes and altering the physical rules of lithography machines.

However, both methods have technical limitations, and the two sides are currently evenly matched, and have not yet reached the point where there is a generational gap in manufacturing processes.

ASML has achieved an engineering breakthrough in EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet) lithography machines, with the first pre-production machine, NXE:3100, already on the market. However, its stability is extremely poor, with an average of 6 downtimes per day, making it unproductive.

The real table-flipping will only happen when EUV lithography machines are in mass production.

As long as the table isn't overturned, even if there's only a one-generation difference, and as long as there's still competition in lithography machines, China's chip manufacturing can still find loopholes and get a piece of the action.

As long as China's chip manufacturing industry remains competitive, external pressure will not be too great.

This issue is exactly the same as BOE's panel business; the bargaining power and position are completely different between monopolies and non-monopolies.

Three more years.

“These are problems that the country needs to solve. You don’t need to put the pressure on yourself.” Xin Mengzhen seemed to sense Chen Xuebing’s pressure and gently comforted him. “If there’s anything I can do to help you, just tell me.”

you help me?
Chen Xuebing smiled and said, "Sure, I want to get a good night's sleep now. Keep me company and don't hang up."

There was no response from the other end, and the call was still going on.

Chen Xuebing placed his phone on the bedside table and fell soundly asleep.

(End of this chapter)