93: Chapter 93 Hope was clearly in sight, yet failure followed time and time again!

Loongson International.

Storage Chip Project Research Lab.

A group of researchers in work uniforms were busily working. In the corner of the lab was an office separated by transparent glass; two people were currently talking, the atmosphere somewhat solemn.

"How is it? Has the high-k dielectric material been produced?"

Mr. Shi asked with a heavy tone, looking at the R&D Director, Tang Manager.

Since reaching a strategic cooperation with Fanmi, Lei Jun had brought some breakthroughs in core technical directions, and their lab's R&D progress had indeed seen significant breakthroughs.

Everyone had been very excited during this period, but as technology broke through, more difficulties followed one after another. Even with the R&D direction set by Zhou Fan, it was unavoidable!

And now, they had encountered a major problem: the synthesis of high-k dielectric materials!

"Still no progress. We've tried many times, but the reaction of the hafnium-based oxide has never reached the expected results; it's far from the direction Fanmi gave us!"

"I suspect there might be a problem with the synthesis formula, or perhaps it's related to the dosage..."

Tang Manager also frowned deeply, a trace of exhaustion in his voice; he clearly hadn't had a good rest for a long time.

But what made him feel most uncomfortable wasn't physical fatigue, but rather knowing that they needed to use hafnium-based oxide to replace traditional silicon dioxide to synthesize high-k materials, yet the experiments failed time and again, without exception.

This feeling of not being able to find the reason was too powerless. With their existing technical accumulation, it was too difficult to attempt a leapfrog breakthrough directly; this was the helplessness of being technologically backward.

He was almost certain that if this data from Fanmi were handed to a top foreign storage chip company, they would definitely be able to quickly achieve the leap from LPDDR1 to LPDDR2 standards.

It was like building a wooden house; you've been given the final rendering of the house and some techniques for laying the foundation, but you lack the techniques for building the beams and walls. This resulted in problems every time the construction was finished, and the final result could never be achieved.

The problem they were facing now was just like that—clearly seeing hope, yet feeling that actual realization was out of reach.

"At the current rate, how long will it take you to meet Fanmi's requirements and develop a sample with qualified parameters?"

Mr. Shi frowned, his tone becoming even more solemn as he asked again.

"If it's at the current rate, maybe two years..." Tang Manager fell silent for a moment, unable to give a clear answer.

"That won't do, it's too long!" Mr. Shi rubbed his forehead, starting to feel a bit of a headache.

The contract he signed with Fanmi Technology was to achieve a technological breakthrough within a year and develop the memory technology Fanmi needed.

If they breached the contract, it would definitely have a huge impact on future cooperation. Not only that, although those technologically leading foreign storage chip companies hadn't released any news, they were certainly also working hard to develop second-generation memory technology.

What they lacked most now was time!

Whoever could set the standard for second-generation memory technology would inevitably become the focus of global attention.

This was almost an imaginable outcome!

Whether Loongson International's storage chip business could grow and expand from this depended on whether they could stay ahead of everyone this time!

"President Shi, how about we call Lei Jun again and have their chief technology officer come to guide us? Maybe there will be unexpected gains?"

Tang Manager suggested tentatively.

He actually felt somewhat helpless in his heart. After all, Loongson International was a leading enterprise in the domestic semiconductor chip field. Now, not only did they have to rely on a newcomer like Fanmi to provide the direction for technical breakthroughs, but when they encountered problems, they even had to ask for their technical officer's guidance... it was truly embarrassing!

"Do you think it'll work?"

"You've also seen how much this information has helped our technical breakthroughs. The person who produced this information naturally has the ability to guide us!"

"...Fine, I'll make another call!"

Mr. Shi gritted his teeth. Everything was for the company and for the technical breakthrough; it wasn't shameful!

...

Qianjiang Village.

Zhou Fan's home was a three-story small building.

In the early years, people in the suburbs liked to build houses one by one; some built as few as two floors, while others built as many as five or six. Zhou Fan's three-story building was neither too many nor too few floors.

But because it had been a long time, the original white-painted walls had already started peeling off, and many places were turning yellow, perhaps due to humidity, making it look not very aesthetic from the outside.

When Zhou Fan returned home, he saw Zhou Changlin wearing old clothes and a hat, repairing the outer wall of their house.

Those old clothes were already covered in white lime, and his face was inevitably stained with some dust and mud, looking a bit disheveled.

"Mom, why didn't you hire a few people to work on this outer wall together?" Zhou Fan couldn't help but ask, looking at his elderly father working on the ladder.

"It's not much work. Your dad and I both felt there was no need to spend that money!" Lin Cuilan smiled, looking Zhou Fan over, and couldn't help but mutter, "Have you lost weight?"

"Mom, I'm talking to you about the house. There should be several hundred thousand on the card I gave you last time. Wouldn't it be faster if you took some money out to fix it?" Zhou Fan frowned.

"No need. Your dad can finish this bit of work in two or three days. He'd be working outside anyway, so he might as well work at home. Every little bit saved helps."

"I'm saving all that money for you. In the future, when you get married and start a family, everything will cost money. Your company looks like it's developing well now, but we have to be prepared just in case..."

Lin Cuilan's tone was serious, and her expression was solemn. She had recently heard a lot about Fang Min's company being targeted and had been very worried in her heart. So they hadn't touched a penny of the money Zhou Fan brought back, just in case they needed it for an emergency later.

She knew that as parents, they couldn't help Zhou Fan much now, so they could only leave more leeway in these matters and think ahead for him.

"You guys... you really don't need to save this little bit of money!" Zhou Fan was somewhat helpless, but seeing the persistent look in Lin Cuilan's eyes, he could only shake his head.

He sighed, then stood up and walked toward Zhou Changlin.

"Dad, come down and rest. I'll do it for a while!" Zhou Fan shouted to Zhou Changlin on the ladder.

"What do you know how to do? Just stay down there and keep your mom company. Don't cause trouble!"

Zhou Changlin replied from above, glancing down at Zhou Fan and speaking with feigned disdain.

"I really do know how..."

Just as Zhou Fan spoke, a familiar black SUV drove over from not far away and stopped by the roadside.

"Zhou Fan, Loongson Group called again. Do you have time today?"

Lei Jun greeted Zhou Changlin and his wife, then asked Zhou Fan.

"I..." He looked up at Zhou Changlin, his eyes showing some helplessness.

"Go on, go take care of your business. I can handle this myself!" Zhou Changlin said quickly.

Zhou Fan thought for a moment and shook his head slightly: "Alright then, I'll have someone find some craftsmen to come over later!"

"No need..." Zhou Changlin wanted to speak further but was cut off by Lei Jun.

"I'll arrange it. Lin Shuang has been free these past few days; I'll have her find a construction team to come over!"

With Lei Jun's powers of observation, he naturally guessed the situation at a glance and spoke up quickly.

"Alright, help me out with that." Zhou Fan didn't refuse, knowing that if he tried to do it himself, his parents would definitely be unwilling, and besides, he didn't have the time.

"You guys..." Zhou Changlin looked at Zhou Fan and Lei Jun as they turned and left, feeling somewhat helpless, but there was a trace of gratification in his eyes.

Then he let out a heavy sigh!

Their thoughts were actually very simple: they couldn't help Zhou Fan with other things, so they could only try their best not to let him be distracted by matters at home.

But looking at it now, they still hadn't managed that...