80: Early planning for the chip industry

Li Xiuwu arranged for Golden Culture to allocate funds, put away his phone, and shook his head.

Two hundred thousand was enough to drive a man to tears, and this was Ning Hao.

He returned to the classroom; Liu Yifei looked over with an inquisitive gaze, and Li Xiuwu shook his head.

Liu Yifei withdrew her gaze and closed the book in her hand.

"I'm going to a directing class later. If you leave early, let me know, and I'll have my mom come pick me up."

She had already finished reading all the acting books and felt her acting skills were decent, so she began studying cinematography, lighting, and directing to improve her acting from different angles.

"Okay." Li Xiuwu nodded. Lately, he had been taking leave frequently to handle company matters and meet people, so he couldn't attend classes with Liu Yifei every day.

"Now I know what a genius is." After Liu Yifei left, Zhu Yawen sat down next to Li Xiuwu.

Some people are so gifted that others are afraid to approach them.

Liu Yifei's image was already outstanding enough, but since last year, she had suddenly displayed exceptional learning abilities. Not to mention her acting skills improving by leaps and bounds, she was learning all kinds of theoretical knowledge at a rapid pace and was now auditing directing classes.

Li Xiuwu was equally remarkable. Although he often took leave, he hadn't fallen behind in his acting courses at all. His acting skills were in a league of their own among his classmates, and the teachers didn't even care whether he showed up for class.

"Being able to get into the Beijing Film Academy already makes one a favored child of heaven," Li Xiuwu said with a smile.

Zhu Yawen shook his head. He used to think he was a genius, but after meeting Li Xiuwu and Liu Yifei, he felt like he wasn't even a talent.

"Our company is investing in a TV series. How about I recommend a role for you?"

Zhu Yawen had fended off Jiang Yiyan for Li Xiuwu a few times, and Li Xiuwu felt it was only right to give something back at the appropriate time.

Zhu Yawen paused, and then his face lit up with joy and excitement.

"Great, thank you in advance."

"Don't tell anyone," Li Xiuwu told him.

At Li Xiuwu's reminder, Zhu Yawen immediately restrained his expression and looked around cautiously.

All his classmates were his competitors. This role could be given to him, but other male students in the class were equally capable; no one was significantly better than the others.

After class ended, Zhu Yawen acted as usual, discussing where to go for dinner with everyone and dragging Jiang Yiyan along so she wouldn't have time to look for Li Xiuwu.

The acting department only had one class this afternoon. After Li Xiuwu finished, his phone vibrated; it was a thank-you text from Ning Hao.

Li Xiuwu smiled. He sent a message to Liu Yifei and quickly received a reply.

"I still have two more classes. If you have things to do, you can leave first." This little girl was obsessed with directing classes; did she want to be a director in the future?

Li Xiuwu didn't wait for her. He sent a message and drove away.

In a quiet and elegant teahouse, Li Xiuwu sat in a private room, eyes closed, considering the matters he needed to handle recently.

Lin Qian sat by the door, glanced at the eyes-closed Li Xiuwu, and didn't make a sound.

He had been involved in the work during this period and knew what Li Xiuwu was doing.

Knock, knock.

A knock sounded at the door. Lin Qian stood up and opened a crack.

Pan Lei's voice came through: "Chief Qiu is here."

Lin Qian opened the door: "Please come in, Chief Qiu. The boss is waiting for you."

"Thank you." Qiu Wanjun nodded to Lin Qian and stepped into the private room.

The moment he stepped into the room, Li Xiuwu opened his eyes.

"Please sit, Chief Qiu," Li Xiuwu said, pointing to the seat opposite him.

The door to the private room was closed again, with Pan Lei standing outside.

Qiu Wanjun sat down. Lin Qian came over to pour him tea before returning to his seat by the door.

Qiu Wanjun took a sip of tea and said, "The date for the land auction has been set for the 7th of next month."

"Lately, there have been some fluctuations in land prices; some people want to drive the price down."

He was a bit reluctant to auction the land; keeping it in hand was like having a money-making machine.

"It must be auctioned," Li Xiuwu gave a firm answer.

"I understand." Qiu Wanjun nodded and stopped mentioning it, moving on to another matter.

"I've already met the person you asked me to contact. Although he's embroiled in lawsuits, he hasn't given up."

"Did you mention the conditions we can offer?" Li Xiuwu looked at Qiu Wanjun.

The person being invited this time was extremely important.

"I did, but the other party is very firm regarding his work and beliefs."

Li Xiuwu tapped his fingers on the table. Some people really couldn't be won over with money.

"Set up an appointment for me; I'll meet him in person," he said.

"Regardless of whether we can recruit this person, the plan remains unchanged. Continue contacting the people on the list. If foreign companies can offer triple the salary, so can we."

2004 was a very important year for domestic chips.

SMIC and Hua Hong were simultaneously targeted by major overseas companies for talent poaching. The wage gap between the mainland and overseas became a significant bargaining chip.

These were the last batch of chip technical talents trained domestically. They had extensive experience but, limited by domestic realities, their salaries were generally lower than those of overseas companies.

"According to the people my team has contacted so far, most have promised that as long as the salary is comparable to overseas, they are willing to stay," Qiu Wanjun replied.

"We will offer the same salaries as overseas. Whatever they can give, we can give," Li Xiuwu said decisively.

"I've got it." Qiu Wanjun nodded. He was good at negotiating, and with the conditions Li Xiuwu provided being no worse than those overseas, he had successfully recruited quite a few people.

"Were there any troubles during the negotiations?" Li Xiuwu asked him.

"Some people have doubts about us because of the decision to move westward due to costs," Qiu Wanjun said, explaining the problems encountered during the negotiations.

"Where our company is built will also play a very important role in the negotiation results."

Li Xiuwu nodded. This was another major matter in the chip industry, or one could say a significant fluctuation in the high-tech industry.

Many companies had to move to the western inland regions because of the high costs in Shanghai.

Some people didn't want to leave the big cities for the relatively backward west. Faced with high-salary poaching from overseas companies, they ultimately chose to go abroad.

"Let's keep it in Shanghai. Once the land auction is over, I'll personally visit Shanghai," Li Xiuwu said decisively. Such a metropolis was better at retaining talent.

"Alright. In that case, I can retain at least seventy percent of the people on the list you gave me," Qiu Wanjun judged.

"Seventy percent is quite a lot; it's enough to support at least one research lab," a smile appeared on Li Xiuwu's face.

Not everyone wants to stay in the country. Some are bent on going abroad, and when overseas companies come with high salaries, they can't wait to leave. For such people, even if domestic salaries were higher than overseas, they couldn't be kept.

Just as some people firmly stay in the country even when offered triple the salary abroad, different people hold different beliefs in their hearts.

"Contact these people in the country as much as possible. Once you've finished with them, go and contact the Chinese employees at those overseas chip companies.

I believe there will always be some people with convictions who are willing to return."