After breaking up with my boyfriend, I made a fortune and rose rapidly in my career.

"Ready."

These three words stayed quietly in the memo for a whole week.

Wednesday afternoon at 2 PM, Provincial Government Conference Room 4.

The conference table was oval-shaped and could seat thirty people; twenty-two were seated today. The heads of the Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology, the Provincial Department of Science and Technology, and the Provincial Development and Reform Commission each occupied one side, while the chairmen of the three leading enterprises squeezed onto the right. Further inside were people from the Provincial Department of Finance and the Provincial State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.

Chen Pingfang sat near the door, and was the lowest-ranking person at the table.

Before Governor Zhou even arrived, people in the meeting room were already whispering among themselves.

Sitting to Chen Pingfang's left was Fang Zhiyuan, the executive vice mayor of Guangling City. He was in his early fifties, with his hair neatly combed and a Party badge pinned to his suit lapel. He glanced at Chen Pingfang and moved his name tag closer to himself.

"Director Chen from the Chipfire Center?"

"Chen Pingfang."

"I heard your photoresist project is going quite well." Fang Zhiyuan picked up his teacup and took a slow sip. "However, for photoresist, the raw materials are all sourced from Guangling. Without our chemical support, your lab data is just data."

Chen Ping turned to the first page of his notebook and didn't reply.

Fang Zhiyuan added, "Of course, cooperation is easy to discuss, but we need to clarify the division of benefits."

The door opened.

Governor Zhou walked in, followed by two secretaries. Everyone sat up straight at the same time.

"Everyone's here, good." Governor Zhou sat down in the head seat and glanced around the table. "Today's meeting agenda is simple: how to structure the province's semiconductor industry chain and how to integrate resources so that everyone doesn't operate independently."

He paused for a moment and pushed the teacup aside.

"First, let's hear from Comrade Chen Pingfang of the Core Spark Center. He will have fifteen minutes to speak."

Chen Ping stood up.

He didn't open the PowerPoint presentation, nor did he take out his prepared speech. All he pulled from his briefcase were Song Yue's three-page report and his own hardcover notebook.

"Distinguished leaders and comrades, I will not report on achievements, but will go straight to the problems."

The meeting room fell silent.

"Jiangdong Province's semiconductor industry is currently scattered across seven cities, each with its own advantages, but there is no standardized interface between them. Chemical raw materials from Guangling cannot enter the production lines in Nanzhou because the purity standards are different. Precision equipment from Jiaxing is sold to other provinces because there are no suitable purchasing entities within the province. The logistics channels in Donghu handle conventional goods and do not have special transportation regulations for chips."

Chen Ping pushed the notebook onto the table and opened the handwritten framework diagram.

"This is not a problem of ability, it's a problem of structure."

The deputy director of the Finance Department raised his hand. "Director Chen, I've seen your Chipfire's output figures from last year. The photoresist project is still in the experimental stage. Isn't it a bit premature to talk about a province-wide layout at this time?"

Chen Ping pushed the three-page report over.

"Page 2, EUV light source power stability test data. Continuous 720 hours, fluctuation rate within 0.3 percent."

The deputy director picked it up and flipped through it, but didn't say anything.

"What does this mean? I'll explain it in one sentence," Chen Ping said, retracting the report. "The best commercially available EUV light source in China has a volatility of 1.2%. Our experimental data has reached the technical level of similar products from ASML in the Netherlands."

Fang Zhiyuan from Guangling put down his teacup.

"This data... is lab data; mass production is a different matter."

"That's another matter." Chen Pingfang turned to him. "So I'm not here today to ask for money, nor to ask for policies."

Governor Zhou's teacup stopped in mid-air.

"I have a proposal to make." Chen Pingfang turned to the second page of his notebook. "Technology Standards Alliance."

"The chip output technology standard is not the technology itself. We tell Guangling what purity and batch stability the photoresist raw materials need; we tell Jiacheng what interface specifications the supporting equipment needs; and we tell Donghu what temperature control and anti-static standards are needed for chip transportation."

"Each city upgrades its industries according to this standard, and the province does not need to allocate funds uniformly. Enterprises connect according to market rules. What does Xinhuo do? Xinhuo provides certification. Enterprises that meet the standards can enter the alliance procurement system and get priority in receiving orders from Xinhuo and its downstream customers."

No one spoke in the meeting room.

Chen Ping continued speaking.

"For this alliance, the province doesn't need to set up new agencies or allocate special funds. All it needs is a document recognizing that Chipfire's technical standards have provincial-level validity. The rest will be handled by the market."

Fang Zhiyuan tapped his fingers twice on the table and then stopped.

He wanted to find fault, but couldn't.

The most ingenious aspect of this plan is that it's not about cutting the cake, but about making it bigger. With Guangling joining the alliance, the chemical industry gains a new outlet; with Jiaxing joining, precision equipment gains stable customers within the province; and with Donghu joining, once logistics standards are established, it can gain the standard-setting power in national chip transportation.

No one can say that this plan is not beneficial to them.

The representative from Jiaxing spoke first. "How is the standard certification cycle calculated?"

"The first version is completed in six months, and it is iterated once a year."

Who pays for the certification fee?

"Enterprises pay out of pocket, and the amount is tiered according to size. The lowest tier is for small and medium-sized enterprises, with a maximum of 30,000 yuan per year."

The director of the Science and Technology Department put down his notebook and leaned back in his chair. "Director Chen, the leadership of this alliance rests with Chipfire, and the technical standards are also set by Chipfire. What if Chipfire's standards favor its own interests? What will happen to the other companies?"

Chen Ping nodded. "That's a good question. That's why the Alliance Council is composed of representatives nominated by each city, and revisions to the standards require a two-thirds majority vote from the council members. Corefire only has one vote, just like the other members."

The director stared at him for three seconds, then reopened his notebook and wrote something down.

When he finished speaking, Chen Ping closed his notebook and sat down in his seat.

He did not add any concluding remarks, nor did he express his hope for everyone's support.

After he finished speaking, he sat down.

The meeting room was silent for about ten seconds.

Governor Zhou made the first move.

He put the teacup back on the table, clapped his hands together three times.

The applause started at the head of the table and spread to the entire table.

"The province supports this standard alliance." Governor Zhou surveyed the room, his tone steady, but each word deliberate. "Comrade Chen Pingfang will lead the formation of a preparatory group, which will produce its charter within three months."

When the meeting ended, everyone in the corridor headed towards the elevator.

Chen Ping stuffed the notebook and the report back into his briefcase and was about to follow when someone called him from behind.

"Secretary Chen."

The title made him pause for a moment. The public announcement period had just ended, and the official appointment had not yet been made, yet this person was already being called "Secretary Chen."

He turned around.

A middle-aged man stood in the corridor, wearing a dark blue suit without any badges, but his posture and demeanor were clearly different from those of officials at the bureau level. That composure was something he had cultivated over a long period of time at higher levels.

"Hello, I'm from the Organization Department of the Provincial Party Committee."

The man smiled slightly and took two steps forward.

"A leader would like to speak with you privately."