Special forces soldier demobilization: Starting from the county government compound, a meteoric rise

At Beijing Capital International Airport, a Gulfstream private jet bearing the blue globe logo slowly landed on the VIP tarmac.

The gangway was lowered.

Several blond, blue-eyed foreigners in suits came down. The man in the lead was in his forties, with a slicked-back hairstyle and an arrogance that seemed to emanate from his very being.

Thomas, President of M Group Greater China, is also the chief foreign negotiator for the "Zeus" multi-billion dollar chip joint venture project.

In this high-stakes gamble concerning the future technological lifeline of China, the M Group holds the most crucial patent for the lithography machine's light source. This is tantamount to holding the throat of the entire Chinese semiconductor industry. Therefore, Thomas has every reason to be arrogant.

"Welcome, welcome! Mr. Thomas, you must be tired from your journey!"

On the tarmac, Zhao Ruihu and his entourage had already gone to greet them. His face was beaming with an almost overflowing enthusiasm, and he held Thomas's hands tightly, bending slightly at the waist, his posture extremely humble.

"Deputy Director Zhao, it's a pleasure to see you again." Thomas said in broken Chinese, only politely touching Zhao Ruihu's finger before withdrawing it. "I hope this trip to Beijing will be more enjoyable than the last one in Ningzhou."

When Ningzhou was mentioned, a barely perceptible ruthlessness flashed in Zhao Ruihu's eyes.

The farce in Ningzhou not only landed his younger brother Zhao Ruilong in jail, but also caused severe losses to the Zhao family's businesses in the south. And the mastermind behind it all, that plague-ridden Liu Ming, is now his boss!

But it's okay.

Zhao Ruihu looked at the team in front of him, which represented the world's most advanced technological power, and sneered inwardly.

Liu Ming, you're good at investigating moles, but when it comes to real projects involving hundreds of billions of international capital, what can a greenhorn like you, who only talks the talk, do to compete with me?

As long as I firmly grasp this billion-dollar "Zeus Project" and facilitate this joint venture, then I, Zhao Ruihu, will be the number one hero in introducing core technology to the country! At that time, not only will Liu Ming be deterred, but even Elder Lin will have to consider the international repercussions if he wants to touch me!

"Mr. Thomas, rest assured, I will take full responsibility for this reception, and I will absolutely ensure your satisfaction." Zhao Ruihu led the way while enthusiastically introducing the upcoming itinerary.

……

National Development and Reform Commission, High-Tech Industry Department, VIP Meeting Room No. 1.

The place has been completely transformed, with flowers, fruit platters, and the finest Wuyi Mountain Da Hong Pao tea, all demonstrating the extreme importance attached to this negotiation.

"Director Zhao, what about Director Liu..." A newly promoted section chief hesitated before leaning close to Zhao Ruihu's ear, "Such a large foreign investment negotiation meeting, isn't it against protocol not to notify the top leader?"

"Rules are rules, but people are flexible!" Zhao Ruihu glared and reprimanded in a low voice, "I've been handling this project all along. What does Liu Ming know about the ins and outs? If he comes and gives nonsensical instructions, and angers Mr. Thomas into withdrawing his investment, are you going to take responsibility for that?"

The section chief was speechless and could only retreat meekly.

Zhao Ruihu straightened his tie, took a deep breath, put on an extremely professional smile, and pushed open the conference room door.

Negotiations have officially begun.

Thomas leaned back in his leather chair, toying with an expensive Montblanc pen in his hand. Behind him sat a row of M Group's technical executives and legal counsel, exuding an air of authority.

"Mr. Zhao, our M Group is very sincere."

Thomas didn't use Chinese; instead, he switched directly to English at a very fast pace. He knew that Zhao Ruihu's English level was only at the level of everyday communication, and for this kind of purely business and technical negotiation, the other party had to rely on a translator.

And this is the first step he took to establish a psychological advantage.

"But regarding the core architecture licensing of the EUV light source, our

board has some new concerns. We need to reassess the risk multiplier in the

joint venture agreement. Specifically, the EPI (Epitaxy) process and the ALD

(Atomic Layer Deposition) parameter sharing.」

(However, our board has some new concerns regarding the licensing of the core architecture of the EUV light source. We need to reassess the risk multiplier in the joint venture agreement. Specifically, this involves the sharing of parameters for epitaxial processes and atomic layer deposition.)

Thomas spoke at length, then looked at Zhao Ruihu with a leisurely air.

Zhao Ruihu's smile froze for a moment.

He really didn't understand.

What is EPI? What is ALD? These damn technical abbreviations were like a book of incomprehensible texts, making him dizzy and disoriented.

He subconsciously turned to look at the young translator who had been temporarily borrowed from the ministry's translation office. He was a recent graduate, and at that moment he was sweating profusely as he flipped through a dictionary.

"What...what did he say?" Zhao Ruihu asked in a low voice, his tone somewhat impatient.

"Mr. Zhao... Mr. Thomas said they have concerns about licensing the light source and need to reassess the risks," the translator stammered. "He mentioned two process parameters... I think they're called... epitaxy and deposition..."

This translation is too rough.

It is simply not enough to support a business negotiation worth hundreds of billions.

Cold sweat broke out on Zhao Ruihu's forehead. He cleared his throat, trying to fudge the situation with his broken English: "Mr. Thomas, we can talk about money. Money..."

is no problem. But we need the technology

"Quickly." (Mr. Thomas, we can talk about money; money is not a problem, but we need to get the technology as soon as possible.)

As soon as those words were spoken...

Not only Thomas, but even the executives of the M Group behind him couldn't help but let out a few extremely grating sneers.

That's so amateurish. That's so unsophisticated.

This is like a nouveau riche throwing money at a top scientist—it's not only vulgar but also ridiculous.

"Money?"

Thomas raised an eyebrow, his contempt for Thomas now completely undisguised.

"Mr. Zhao, this is not a fish market. We are talking about the crown jewel of

human technology. If you don't even understand the basic principles of

lithography diffraction, how can we trust you to manage this

hundred-billion-dollar project?”

(Mr. Zhao, this isn't a vegetable market. We're talking about the crown jewel of human technology. If you don't even understand the basic principles of photolithography and diffraction, how can we trust you to manage this multi-billion dollar project?)

Thomas spoke at an extremely fast pace, bombarding Zhao Ruihu with a barrage of advanced vocabulary and technical terms.

Zhao Ruihu was completely stunned. His mouth was agape, his face flushed red, but he couldn't utter a single syllable. All he could see was Thomas's mocking face and the arrogant, condescending air of the Western elite in Thomas's eyes.

He wanted to argue, he wanted to get angry. But he couldn't understand what the other person was saying at all!

The immense sense of humiliation stemming from this ignorance made this deputy director, who usually wielded considerable influence within the ministry, feel like a naked clown, firmly nailed to the pillar of shame.

"It seems that our meeting today was a mistake."

Thomas stood up and coldly straightened his suit.

"M Group will not hand over its core technology to an outsider who doesn't even understand basic terminology. If this is the sincerity of the National Development and Reform Commission of China, then I don't see any need to continue this joint venture project."

After saying that, he turned around and was about to leave with his team.

Zhao Ruihu panicked. If this project failed in his hands, not only would he fail to gain any credit, but he would also become the scapegoat of the entire ministry! At that point, forget about promotion; Liu Ming would definitely seize the opportunity to crush him!

"Wait! Mr. Thomas! Please wait!"

Zhao Ruihu was so anxious that he blurted out Chinglish and even reached out to tug at Thomas's sleeve.

At this extremely embarrassing moment, when the dignity of the Dragon Kingdom was almost completely lost.

"Bang."

The heavy mahogany door of the conference room was pushed open from the outside, neither too hard nor too soft.

"The diffraction limit you mentioned is just a theoretical constraint under the

Rayleigh criterion. However, based on the non-linear optical properties of your

latest EUV light source, the actual numerical aperture (NA) can be optimized

to 0.33, which makes your so-called 'technical barrier' merely a pricing trick."

(The diffraction limit you mentioned is merely a theoretical constraint under the Rayleigh criterion. However, based on the nonlinear optical characteristics of your latest EUV light source, the actual numerical aperture can be optimized to 0.33. This makes your so-called "technological barrier" nothing more than a trick to inflate prices.)

A fluent English speech with an extremely pure Oxford accent, interspersed with a large number of top-level physics and semiconductor engineering terms.

Like a thunderclap from a clear sky, it exploded throughout the entire conference room.