You're Still Young, You Don't Understand! (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

Rao Huiling thought Luo Yao would state the price he had calculated long ago, but now, his idea was to let all chip companies in China use Pangu.

This dream, this spirit, reminded Rao Huiling of a saying.

"When the youth are strong, the nation is strong!"

She seemed to see a light behind Luo Yao.

It was the light people had longed for in the long, dark night!

Those who were once lost, oppressed, and misunderstood would soon gather under this light!

"This is no problem, I'll call the CFO to confirm," Rao Huiling said, regaining her composure. She knew that things needed to be done step by step, and Pangu EDA had to be rolled out first.

Zheng Mengrong had actually calculated the profit margin and costs long ago. When Rao Huiling called to ask, Zheng Mengrong immediately told her.

"Ask Luo Yao if a selling price of 50% of Synopsys is acceptable."

After hanging up, Rao Huiling told Luo Yao about it, and he said it was perfectly fine.

The cheaper the price, the more people would use it, and the more system points he would get.

The profit far exceeded the cost, so it wasn't a loss.

Rao Huiling and Luo Yao returned to the drawing room and saw Yu Bei and Director Lin chatting enthusiastically.

"Manager Rao is back, we were waiting for you. Have you decided on the Pangu fee?" Zhao Pei wasn't usually this direct, but now that she had found hope, she had become anxious.

"It's decided, the selling price is 50% of Synopsys."

"50%?!"

"Manager Rao, are you kidding us?" Zhao Pei and Director Lin looked at Rao Huiling in disbelief.

"The developer said he hopes that Chinese chip companies can use domestically produced EDA as soon as possible, so he doesn't plan to charge a high price."

Zhao Pei said joyfully, "This developer really cares about us!"

"Manager Rao, since that's the case, let's sign the annual framework cooperation agreement!"

Rao Huiling nodded and then began drafting the agreement with Zhao Pei.

Rao Huiling had actually prepared the cooperation agreement long ago; at this point, she just needed to go through it line by line with Zhao Pei.

Before reviewing the agreement, Zhao Pei asked the draftsman, Little Li, to call the Shuijidian factory about their production schedule to see if they could meet the deadline.

After a while, Little Li found Zhao Pei.

"Manager Zhao, Shuijidian said they won't accept our order."

Zhao Pei was discussing the agreement with Rao Huiling when she heard this and was stunned.

However, Rao Huiling, Yu Bei, and Luo Yao all knew the reason for Shuijidian's refusal.

"Why won't they accept it? Is it because of the schedule? We can actually wait." Zhao Pei frantically thought of countermeasures.

Little Li shook his head.

"They said they only accept engineering drawings designed with the three major EDA software from Synopsys, and not designs from other software."

Zhao Pei became completely flustered. She murmured, "How could this happen? Even Shuijidian won't help us."

"It's normal for Shuijidian not to help. They have deep cooperation with the three major software companies, why would they help us?"

"The most crucial thing now is to establish our own industry chain and find people willing to cooperate," Luo Yao said, reminding Zhao Pei when he saw her panic. He inexplicably thought of his mother, Sun Xiulan, who had encountered a similar situation.

Zhao Pei gave a wry smile. "You're young, you don't understand. If even Shuijidian is unwilling to cooperate with us, the chances of other factories accepting the order are very slim."

"No, he understands!" Director Lin said, seeing that everything that was happening was something Luo Yao had told him before. He couldn't help but feel regretful.

If he had listened to Luo Yao earlier, the situation today would have been much better.

When some things are not planned in advance, the consequence is to be beaten.

You have to do whatever others say, and you can't find any leverage to resist.

Fortunately, they now had Pangu EDA, and there was still hope.

"This young man predicted all of this before. It's my fault for not taking it seriously. How about this, I'll contact the Science and Technology Commission to arrange a meeting with people from the semiconductor industry to put together a production line for you."

"I believe that when they see Pangu EDA, they will definitely have confidence!"

Luo Yao thought for a moment and understood why Director Lin was so excited.

Dongtou Group, as an investor, had invested in many domestic semiconductor industries.

San Hua was likely one of them.

The more companies like San Hua lost money, the more Dongtou also suffered losses.

That's why Director Lin was so eager to assemble a production line for San Hua.

But the actual situation would definitely not be so ideal.

He thought for a moment, walked to Rao Huiling's side, and whispered a few words to her.

"Are you sure about this?" Rao Huiling asked, a little surprised.

"Yes, you'll have to negotiate this," Luo Yao said, his face still expressionless. He spoke with such composure, as if he were discussing what to eat for dinner.

No one, except Rao Huiling, knew the significance of Luo Yao's words at that moment.

"Alright, I'll call headquarters. They'll send someone over to negotiate. It looks like we're stuck here for now."

"Okay." Luo Yao nodded.

Director Lin was already on the phone.

"Hello, Director Sun. We need to gather semiconductor professionals for a major event. We need your help."

"Are you aware that Huaji has released Pangu EDA software? Yes? That's good. We're planning to promote it to our industry peers and hope the Sci-Tech Innovation Committee can send a representative."

"Hello, Xiao He? Help me draft a proposal for an event. The theme is 'The Semiconductor Industry at a Crossroads.' Send it to me in three hours."

"Director Zhang, are you free tomorrow for a meeting related to our semiconductor industry? Yes, tomorrow. Come to Fuzhou. It's not far from you."

"Hello, Director Feng. Let's get together tomorrow to discuss the development of our industry! It's been too long since we last met. You must come this time!"

Director Lin made calls without pause, each one sent out from Fuzhou, like a sapling desperately trying to extend a thousand branches to grow.

Almost all Chinese semiconductor manufacturers received Director Lin's calls. Some were puzzled by the sudden contact, while others anticipated what he would say.

These individuals initially intended to decline, but subsequent calls compelled them to attend.

Since the meeting was scheduled for the next day, there was no time for material preparation or venue setup. Director Lin disregarded these details, had a few banners made, and hung them in the conference room of Sanhua Company.

The next morning, people from the semiconductor industry began arriving at Sanhua.

Those who hadn't met in person for a long time naturally exchanged greetings upon entering the conference room.

"Director Lin probably called us here today because of Synopsys. You've all heard about it, right? Sanhua's Synopsys has been disabled. Do you think Director Lin wants us to secretly help Sanhua with their designs and then have them fabricated by a foundry?"

"No way, won't Synopsys find out if we do that?"

"If they find out, Synopsys will probably disable our accounts too!"

"What if Director Lin asks you personally?"

"Even if he asks, I can't. We have thousands of people in our factory. Do they not need to eat?"

"Exactly. This is crucial production equipment. We can't joke around with this!"

As they were murmuring amongst themselves, Director Lin arrived with people from Huaji, accompanying a middle-aged man.

"Director Sun, I'm so honored that you could come in person. Please, have a seat. I'll say a few words on stage first."

After Director Sun nodded, Director Lin had his secretary hand him a microphone.

"We're all in the same industry, so I'll be direct. We're gathered here today primarily to address the issue of giants like Synopsys holding us back."

"As everyone knows, Sanhua filed a complaint against Synopsys for price monopolization, and now their software has been disabled. Both Director Zhao and I find this overbearing approach unacceptable..."

"Director Lin, don't you think about why they disabled Sanhua's software but not ours? Isn't it because Sanhua offended Synopsys?"

"My suggestion is to quickly apologize to their sales representative, give them some gifts, and express our apologies to Synopsys headquarters. Then this matter can be put to rest!"

"That's right. Your factory also has hundreds of employees. You should deal with this quickly!"

Before Director Lin could speak, the people below started chattering. For them, making money was the most important thing; face and pride were secondary.

Director Lin was a bit annoyed but couldn't say anything too harsh. Rebuilding the semiconductor industry depended on these people, and he couldn't afford to offend anyone.

"Hello everyone, I am Rao Huiling, Technical President of Laboratory 012 at Huaji." Seeing Director Lin struggling to continue, Rao Huiling took the microphone.

"Director Lin's point is something we deeply resonate with. EDA software, as the top-tier industry in the chip supply chain, impacts the development of the entire chip industry. Such crucial tools are controlled by foreign companies, and the risks involved are something everyone here should understand."

"The Sanhua incident has sounded the alarm for us. If we continue to cooperate with companies like Synopsys, the next Sanhua could very well be one of you."

After Rao Huiling finished speaking, the conference room fell silent for a few seconds.

"Director Rao, Huaji is a large and prosperous company. What do you have to fear? Does Synopsys dare to stop cooperating with you?"

Rao Huiling sighed slightly and said, "This is precisely what we are worried about. Currently, Huaji's mobile business has captured market share from Apple Company. If this continues, who knows if we will be the next to be restricted?"

"The more business we have, the greater the impact. Therefore, we need to plan for this issue proactively."

After speaking, Rao Huiling glanced at Luo Yao, fearing he might have fallen asleep again.

As expected, he had.

Rao Huiling signaled Yu Bei to wake Luo Yao before continuing:

"Director Rao, are you perhaps planning to develop an EDA in-house? While the idea is good, most of us don't have much data."

"Unless you seek cooperation with Shuijidian. As the world's largest foundry, they must have the most comprehensive data."

"Exactly. If you truly want to develop EDA, go to them. It's not very meaningful to tell us, as our ability to help is limited."

Rao Huiling straightened up and declared firmly to them, "Our EDA has already been developed."