293: Chapter 293 Imported Lithography Machines Through Substitution

"Pleasure doing business with you."

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name: Read good Taiwan books, choose the best.]

Liang Mengsong shook Zhao Yang's hand and said this earnestly.

Over the next two months, Zhao Yang pushed forward several things simultaneously. On one hand, there was Liang Mengsong's lawsuit, which progressed quickly after the legal team from Peking University Law School took over.

The non-compete clause itself had several obvious loopholes, such as the scope being too broad and the duration exceeding the legal limit. The lawyers seized these points and put the opposition on the defensive in court. Ultimately, the two parties reached an out-of-court settlement, and Liang Mengsong regained his freedom.

On the other hand, Zhao Yang had Shin-chan register a chip company in Singapore. The company's name was NovaSilicon, registered in the Jurong Industrial Estate, with a local Singaporean agent arranged by Shin-chan through a multi-layered nested structure as the legal representative.

The company's equity structure was designed to be extremely complex. On the surface, it had no direct connection to Zhao Yang or Spark Technology, but if one followed the investment chain up three levels, the ultimate control still rested in Zhao Yang's hands.

After registering the company in Singapore, Zhao Yang had Shin-chan place an order to purchase a batch of DUV lithography machines under the name of NovaSilicon.

This order mixed two specifications: some were low-end models for mature processes, while others were high-end models capable of supporting 28nm or even more advanced nodes. Export controls for low-end DUV lithography machines were relatively loose, and the approval process went quickly.

The high-end ones required stricter end-use statements and end-User certifications. Shin-chan was meticulous when preparing these materials. In the documents submitted to the export control departments of the Netherlands and the United States, NovaSilicon was described as an emerging semiconductor company specializing in mature process foundry services for the Southeast Asian consumer electronics market. All procurement needs centered around the core idea of "supporting the construction of local wafer fabs in Singapore."

"Master, the approval has passed."

Late one night two weeks later, Shin-chan popped this message onto Zhao Yang's computer screen.

Zhao Yang looked at the scanned copies of the stamped export licenses on the screen, and the weight on his heart was halfway lifted. Next was the most critical part: the re-planning of the equipment transportation route.

After the high-end DUV lithography machines were loaded in the Netherlands, according to the normal logistics route, they should travel through the Strait of Malacca to the Port of Singapore, and then be transported into the factory space NovaSilicon had rented in the Jurong Industrial Estate.

However, Shin-chan performed an extremely precise tampering of the logistics bills at the cargo transit node. The high-end lithography machines were quietly swapped with another set of labels and shipping documents at a certain transit port, and their final destination changed from Singapore to mainland Dragon Country.

Meanwhile, a batch of low-end lithography machines that were originally supposed to be shipped to the mainland was diverted to Singapore. The entire operation was executed seamlessly within the underlying data of the logistics system. Customs declarations, port unloading records, and shipping company manifests—the data at every stage cross-referenced perfectly, without a single slip-up.

Zhao Yang sat in front of his computer, watching Shin-chan execute the plan step by step, almost calling it off several times. It wasn't because of any issues with the strategy, but because the process itself was nerve-wracking. Every data tampering and every label replacement was like walking a tightrope.

But Shin-chan's operation was indeed clean. It left no traces at any critical nodes, and all modified data aligned perfectly with the physical records upstream and downstream. Only after all the equipment had cleared customs and been transported into a temporary warehouse on the mainland did Zhao Yang truly breathe a sigh of relief.

He leaned back in his chair, looking at the final confirmation report sent by Shin-chan, and remained silent for a few seconds.

"This kind of operation would be absolutely impossible a few years from now."

This was indeed the truth. At this point in time, although export controls on lithography machines already existed, the regulatory traceability was far less stringent than it would be a few years later.

In a few years, export controls would become an airtight net. End-User certification would require on-site inspections, equipment flow would be tracked throughout the entire process, and there would even be specialized intelligence agencies monitoring the whereabouts of every high-end lithography machine. By then, attempting the same thing would cost several orders of magnitude more, and the success rate would be much lower. This current window was the only opportunity.

Once the equipment issue was resolved, Zhao Yang didn't invest much more energy into the chip project. Liang Mengsong took the baton and began handling the remaining work.

It was mainly about the factory site.

Zhao Yang didn't meddle much, only mentioning Changcheng to Liang Mengsong because Changcheng had offered good conditions, and the environment and conditions there were quite decent.

It was worth going for an inspection.

Other than that, Zhao Yang didn't say much more on the matter.

Although he was the boss, he never interfered in specific affairs. His instructions to Liang Mengsong were simple: regarding technical matters, you are the top person in charge and don't need to report everything, but send a weekly progress brief to my email. Liang Mengsong naturally had no objections!

For someone like him, Zhao Yang's absolute trust moved him deeply, making him feel that he hadn't put his faith in the wrong person.

Zhao Yang refocused his energy on school.

After the New Year, the weather in Yanjing hadn't warmed up yet. The plane trees on the Yanlin University campus were still bare, and several piles of unthawed snow from before the New Year remained on the roadside lawns. The corridors of the School of Life Sciences, however, were livelier than outside. The annual holiday had just ended, and students were trickling back.

Gu Qing returned on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Zhao Yang was organizing sample data from before the New Year at his lab bench when he heard footsteps at the door and looked up. Gu Qing was wearing a camel-colored down jacket and her usual gray cashmere scarf, her face slightly flushed from the wind outside. She walked over to Zhao Yang's lab bench.

"Back so early?"

"My mom said that staying at home all I do is eat, so she told me to hurry back." Gu Qing took off her scarf and glanced at the data spreadsheet on Zhao Yang's computer screen.

"Is the data for the stress-treated samples from before the New Year finished?"

"Almost. I'm just missing a few rehydration control data points, which Li Xin will fill in when he gets back."

Gu Qing nodded and went to her spot to pack her things. After a while, everyone in the lab had arrived. Li Xin was the last to come in, and as soon as he entered, he began complaining to Zhou Ting about how the Spring Festival trains were packed like sardines.

He had stood all the way from his hometown to Yanjing, and his legs were still numb. Zhou Ting asked why he didn't buy a ticket earlier, and Li Xin said he tried two weeks in advance, but they were already gone. After a bit of bickering, the atmosphere in the lab immediately livened up.

In the afternoon, Professor Gu Ming sent a notice in the group chat, asking everyone to come to the meeting room at three o'clock for the first group meeting of the new semester.

At exactly three o'clock, everyone was seated in the meeting room. Professor Gu Ming walked in carrying his thermos and sat at the head of the long table. He scanned the people present and, after confirming everyone was there, he spoke.

"The work arrangements for this semester are mainly divided into two tracks."

Professor Gu Ming flipped through the notes in front of him.