17: Chapter 17 One isn't enough, what about ten?

"So, since it's impossible for anyone else to have manufactured it, there's only one answer: it was made in our secret base. We're only selling the Photolithography Machine for the sake of Xia Kingdom's technological progress... and as you can see, I have more than one here!"

Li Qingquan had actually noticed long ago that there were ten units in the courtyard. Although the others hadn't been uncovered, they appeared to be identical in shape...

However, Li Qingquan still found it hard to believe that Gao Yuan could manufacture a Photolithography Machine. There were only a handful of companies in the world capable of producing high-precision Photolithography Machines...

But if it wasn't manufactured by Gao Yuan or his team, then who made it?

There was no answer...

But the fact remained that the Photolithography Machine belonged to Gao Yuan, so he could only default to assuming Gao Yuan was the manufacturer.

"President Gao, you know Xiawei's situation. Although we've made breakthroughs in chips, our production capacity is low, and our performance still lags behind foreign technology. If we had enough high-performance chips, Xiawei's equipment and phones would be everywhere in the world! This Photolithography Machine's efficiency should be very high, but one unit is far from enough for Xiawei's needs..."

"If one isn't enough, how about ten?"

"All ten for Xiawei?"

"If you need them, there can be more... a hundred? A thousand?"

Li Qingquan was stunned, his face quickly filling with ecstasy...

"There are really that many?"

Gao Yuan nodded. "Quantity isn't an issue. Let's talk price. How much do you think this Photolithography Machine is worth?"

"The most advanced Photolithography Machines on the market currently sell for around one billion. But as you know, even if we offered ten billion, no one would sell to us! Truth be told, your machine is much stronger than Yuandian's technology in both efficiency and precision. According to my estimation, it should be worth around three billion..."

Gao Yuan nodded.

"Alright, I'll sell them to Xiawei for 2 billion each. How does that sound? But can you make the final call on the price?"

Li Qingquan looked embarrassed. "President Gao, wait a moment. I'll report this to the company boss immediately! Two billion is definitely a fair price!"

Li Qingquan went outside to make the call...

Inside the room...

Zhang Baiyi looked at Gao Yuan. "Old Gao, you're not going to scam Xiawei, are you?"

"What are you thinking? How could I scam them? I'm providing help when they need it most... Actually, I've calculated that ten units are enough for Xiawei's own use. Ten units would be 20 billion. Isn't 20 billion worth it to solve such a massive problem? Xiawei has lost far more than 20 billion due to the supply cut."

"That makes sense, but I still can't believe you could actually manufacture a Photolithography Machine here..."

"Back then, our ancestors manufactured firearms in caves too..."

Zhang Baiyi was left speechless!

"But that's different!"

"How is it different? Firearms back then were considered high-end precision industry too!"

As they were speaking, Li Qingquan returned...

He looked at Gao Yuan. "President Gao, our President of the Strategy Department, President Qin, will come in person tomorrow to negotiate!"

Gao Yuan remained calm. "Very well."

The Photolithography Machine was in his hands. If Xiawei didn't want it or tried to lowball him, Gao Yuan would simply sell it to Xiaxin International, or to phone manufacturers like Dami or Xiaxing!

In short, Gao Yuan was determined to raise his first pot of gold through this method.

After that... things would be easy.

That night...

The three men stayed in the Gao Family's old courtyard. Early the next morning...

Gao Yuan was woken up by the sound of a car horn outside.

Li Qingquan went to the door to bring in Xiawei's President of the Strategy Department. The two spoke for a while at the entrance. Although Gao Yuan didn't hear what was said, he could roughly guess...

After hearing Li Qingquan's report last night, Qin Danian couldn't sleep at all. He simply decided not to sleep and had his driver set off immediately...

After a six-hundred-kilometer journey, they arrived in Muza at past eight in the morning!

At this time, Gao Yuan and Zhang Baiyi had washed their faces and brushed their teeth under the service of Dandan and Meimei...

Zhang Baiyi said happily, "Old Gao, life at your place is like that of an immortal. You have a research team and beautiful subordinates. By the way, where is your team?"

"They went to the secret base to rest, of course. My backyard can't hold them... You only saw ten yesterday, but in fact, this team has hundreds or even thousands of people..."

"Impressive... President Zhang's personal charm is truly great, to have such an incredible team follow you into mountain caves!"

"Do you want to go?"

Gao Yuan asked.

"No thanks, I'll just stay at the front and help out. When it comes to R&D, I'm useless!"

Zhang Baiyi didn't pry too much into the mysterious research base Gao Yuan mentioned. Just imagine, a team that could create Constant Temperature Clothing and Photolithography Machines—how incredible must they be...

Fortunately, this team was in Gao Yuan's hands...

As the two walked out, Qin Danian and Li Qingquan had just entered the courtyard...

Qin Danian asked somewhat urgently, "Where is the Photolithography Machine?"

Li Qingquan naturally knew where it was, but Gao Yuan was the host here, so he looked at Gao Yuan...

"President Qin, there's no rush for work. You haven't had breakfast yet, right? Dandan, go prepare breakfast for four..."

Qin Danian waved his hand. "No rush for breakfast. I've truly never seen a 3nm process Photolithography Machine... Let's talk business first!"

"Haha, President Qin is quite the workaholic. Director Li, didn't you test it yesterday? Take President Qin to see it!"

Qin Danian went to the backyard and was also in disbelief when he saw the Photolithography Machine just sitting in the courtyard. Such a precious thing, just left outside? Weren't they afraid it would be stolen?

Weren't they afraid of the wind, rain, and sun?

"Qingquan, this is it? And these are?"

Li Qingquan's expression was fervent. "That's right, this is it, and there are ten units in total here! They're absolutely a generation ahead of the most advanced Western Photolithography Machines! President Qin, you have a technical background, come and see..."

Qin Danian leaned in, while Li Qingquan explained from the side...

This look lasted for a full two hours.

Gao Yuan and Zhang Baiyi were in the front, discussing where to build the base once they got the money...

Gao Yuan's requirement was simple: it had to be in Muza. For certain mysterious reasons, he had to have a massive base here!

However, Zhang Baiyi wanted to go to the vicinity of Qinjing. Qinjing was the economic and political center of Xia Kingdom, with the most cutting-edge technology and the fastest information... all kinds of supporting facilities were complete. If they stayed in Muza, just transportation alone would be an issue!

The two argued back and forth until finally, Gao Yuan made the final decision...

"My team is here... they won't leave! And here, they already have complete manufacturing equipment!"

Zhang Baiyi was stunned for a moment and, as expected, stopped arguing...

Compared to the mysterious team behind Gao Yuan, other problems were insignificant.

And as long as they maintained their lead, this place would be the center of technology! The eyes of the entire world would be focused on Muza...

Having established the basic strategy, Zhang Baiyi raised another question...

"Old Gao, what's our company's name? And what position are you going to give me?"

"Global Technology?"

"Too cliché..."

"Future Technology?"

"Too cliché..."

"Black Fish Technology?" Gao Yuan said.

Zhang Baiyi was about to reject it out of habit when he suddenly heard the name...