Do They Not Read Books? (Please Keep Reading)

Do They Not Read Books? (Please Keep Reading)

Sergei glanced at Luo Yao and asked tentatively, "Then can I drink?"

Luo Yao looked at Sergei expressionlessly. "Sergei, I believe you can finish your work without drinking."

"Alcohol will only make your hands shake while coding. Anyone who sees it will think you have Parkinson's."

Parkinson's?!

Sergei, who had never been described that way before, was so angry he laughed. This guy had actually said that a genius like him looked like he had Parkinson's.

Damn it! This boss was toxic!

"Then, boss, can I spray on a little perfume? Just a little?" Edra had always liked perfume. Because of Luo Yao's orders, she had not used any at Shannon Laboratory, but this time they were going out. She thought she should be allowed to use it, right?

Luo Yao fell silent for a few seconds before slowly saying, "For everyone else's noses, you'd better not. Besides, that particular perfume doesn't suit you."

Edra froze where she stood, then shot Luo Yao an angry glare.

Fuck! She just wanted to wear some perfume to boost her personal charm. What bad intentions could she possibly have?!

And he had actually said that about her!

Whoever wanted this boss could have him!

"Edra, the boss didn't mean to criticize you," Wu Tianming said when he saw that she was upset. "We're going to work out of town, somewhere unfamiliar. We need to leave a good impression on people."

"Out there, people won't indulge us the way Huaji does."

"The boss was only worried that people might say something about you, which is why he brought it up. He didn't mean anything else by it." Wu Tianming had nearly run out of excuses, but fortunately, these geniuses were simple-minded. They were the type who would be fine after a little comforting.

"Fine, then I'll listen to the boss this time." Edra knew what mattered and understood that Wu Tianming was right.

When working outside, she really did need to pay attention to her image.

After arranging their respective duties, Luo Yao ended the meeting. He then called his mother and told Sun Xiulan that he would not be going home for a while.

"Not coming home at all? Yao'er, why is your work so busy?"

Luo Yao said seriously, "There's a lot to do. Don't worry, Mom. I'll take care of myself."

"Oh, please. I believe everything else you say, Yao'er, but I absolutely do not believe that you can take care of yourself."

Luo Yao: ...

"Whenever you get busy, you forget to eat. How about this? Take a picture every day and show me what you eat for every meal."

Luo Yao did not really want to do it, but to put Sun Xiulan at ease, he could only agree.

So, the next morning, at Fuzhou Airport.

When Rao Huiling saw Luo Yao holding up his Nokia 5310XM to photograph his breakfast, she could not help asking, "Luo Yao, why did you suddenly think of taking pictures?"

"My mom asked me to. She said she wants to check whether I'm eating." Luo Yao spoke as he checked the photo.

So that was why.

But didn't the Nokia 5310XM only have a two-megapixel camera?

How was he supposed to take a decent picture with that?

Unable to watch any longer, Rao Huiling hurriedly said, "Why don't you use my phone to take the picture and send it to your mom? She'll be able to see it more clearly."

Luo Yao had originally thought it did not matter whether the photo was clear, but when Rao Huiling said his mother would be able to see it better, he borrowed her phone and took the picture.

"Thank you."

When Luo Yao returned the phone, Rao Huiling heard him say thank you for the first time.

He really was just a child.

Rao Huiling smiled with rare gentleness.

"Oh? What's got President Rao so happy? I hardly ever see you smile." Yu Bei had just returned after putting away his tray and immediately caught the smile on Rao Huiling's face.

"It's nothing. Have the arrangements in Haizhou all been made? Have Boss Liu and General Manager Zhao arrived already?" Rao Huiling immediately returned to work mode upon seeing Yu Bei.

"They've arrived. Boss Liu said he's looking forward to us getting there soon."

"Good, I understand. Luo Yao, when we get there, you don't need to do anything. Just watch your people operate."

Luo Yao did not notice what Rao Huiling had said. His mind was already rapidly estimating the problems they might encounter on site.

Even as Rao Huiling led him onto the plane, he continued simulating the situation in his head, right up until their plane landed in Haizhou.

As soon as they arrived in Haizhou, a car arranged by Boss Liu came to pick them up and take them to the factory.

The factory they were visiting today was a wafer fab.

Huaji's other engineers had gone to assist at the other factories, such as the packaging and testing plants.

At the airport, they ran into the Shannon Laboratory team, who had been waiting for them. The moment Rao Huiling saw the eight people from the laboratory, she sensed that the group was different.

She was not familiar with Wu Tianming or Wang Ye, but she knew the usual styles of the other six geniuses.

They were all rather unruly.

The sort who would never stand if they could sit, and even when standing, they would be slouching crookedly.

But now, everyone standing before her was ramrod straight.

"Edra, what's going on with you all? Why are you standing so straight?" Rao Huiling finally could not hold it in any longer and asked.

"The boss told us to develop stronger self-management awareness and uphold our image."

"That's right, we absolutely can't bring shame to Huaji!" Wang Ye added from the side.

Stronger self-management awareness?

Rao Huiling was speechless. She had sent Luo Yao to manage the team, yet he had turned into a hands-off boss.

Still.

Things were not so bad now. Everyone had indeed performed well.

"Alright, let's hurry to the factory. Boss Liu is already waiting for us," Rao Huiling urged.

The car quickly carried them to the factory.

As soon as they entered, Boss Liu exchanged a few pleasantries before having them put on protective suits and enter the production area.

"What we manufacture here are 12-inch silicon wafers. At present, there are only three companies in Hua Nation capable of independently producing semiconductor-grade monocrystalline silicon. The other wafer fabs all use photovoltaic-grade monocrystalline silicon—the kind used to make solar cells."

"Silicon may be everywhere, but silicon wafers are different. They're extremely valuable. We rely on imports for most of them; what we produce ourselves is nowhere near enough."

As he spoke, Boss Liu led them over to the production line, where they saw silicon wafers being polished.

"Producing 12-inch silicon wafers is far more difficult than producing 8-inch ones. As far as I know, you're the only ones in Hua Nation making 12-inch wafers. Is your yield rate high?"

Faced with Luo Yao's question, Boss Liu awkwardly admitted that it was indeed not high.

"It's happened several times—they cracked on their own inside the lithography machine." The mere thought of it humiliated Boss Liu, but there was nothing he could do.

A qualified wafer manufacturing engineer not only needed to be familiar with the materials, equipment, and processes they were responsible for, but also with every step before and after their own stage. Without at least five years of experience, there was simply no way to operate those imported machines.

Domestic silicon wafer output had always been low, and its yield rate was even less comparable to that of foreign manufacturers.

That was also why domestic wafers were so scarce and insufficient. Quite a few wafers cracked before they had even spent a minute inside the lithography machine.

"If it really doesn't work, then let's use imported wafers this time. I still have some stock here. Sanhua Plant has already been shut down for several days, and I can see that General Manager Zhao is anxious too," Boss Liu said helplessly as he looked at Zhao Pei, whose face was full of worry.

Rao Huiling knew this was not the time to sympathize with Boss Liu, so she spoke for Zhao Pei. "Thank you, Boss Liu. Then let's begin now. We brought the chip engineering files with us. How about we calibrate the machine first and see whether Pangu EDA can be adapted to it?"

"No problem. Go ahead and calibrate it."

"The machine I have here is a 14nm lithography machine from AS Company."

"You didn't purchase a 7nm lithography machine?"

"We did, but AS Company still hasn't shipped it. This 14nm lithography machine should work, right?"

Zhao Pei answered, "It will. The chips we're producing are 19nm, so it's more than sufficient."

After hearing that, Luo Yao knew it was time for his people to step in. He said to Sergei, "Sergei, go calibrate it."

Sergei stepped forward, took the computer, and immediately immersed himself in the operation.

Boss Liu had the chip engineers assist him.

Very soon, the lithography machine started up and began the photomask process.

Ring ring—

As everyone watched the lithography machine, Zhao Pei's phone suddenly rang.

"Hello, we're all in Haizhou right now."

"What did you say?!" Zhao Pei did not know what she had heard, but her voice suddenly rose sharply.

"Alright, think of something first. I'm hanging up."

Seeing Zhao Pei's anxious expression, Rao Huiling's heart sank. "General Manager Zhao, what happened?"

"This is bad. Meishang Group filed a complaint with the Chouguo Business Group, claiming that our technology for mass-producing dynamic random-access memory integrated circuits originated from them. The business group wants to ban our products!"

"All of our products?"

"All of them. Aside from Chouguo, places like Wanyin Island and Country K will also ban our products."

"At least two-thirds of this order will be voided."

"But there's no evidence for this. What right do they have to impose such restrictions?" Yu Bei asked with a frown.

"One of the silicon wafer manufacturers that previously worked with us testified against us in order to protect themselves."

After Zhao Pei finished speaking, she could no longer hold herself up. Her legs gave way, and she sank into a nearby chair.

At a loss, she stared blankly at the floor ahead of her.

"How could General Manager Zhao possibly steal their technology? Those bastards are spouting nothing but nonsense!" Boss Liu cursed loudly from the side. Turning to Rao Huiling, he asked, "President Rao, what do we do now? Not only did someone give false testimony, but now we've lost the orders too. They're trying to kill us!"

Rao Huiling had already calmed down from her initial shock.

Meishang was definitely acting on Synopsys's behalf. Sanhua Company had not signed the agreement according to Synopsys's plan, which had made Synopsys feel threatened.

They believed Sanhua was beyond their control.

So they had sought out Meishang, Sanhua's former competitor.

What a vicious scheme!

It was truly difficult to break out of a situation like this!

"Have they never read a book? Don't they know the saying, 'Put yourself in a desperate situation, and only then can you survive'?"

"Since they want us dead, we'll insist on staying alive." Luo Yao had actually anticipated this situation long ago, so he did not panic.

Going along with it did not necessarily mean survival, and going against it did not necessarily mean death. Then we'll fight to the end!