Scientists who revitalized the country (10): Crying while laughing

The emergence of carbon-based chips had completely reversed China’s predicament of having no chips available. It overturned the world chessboard and rewritten the rules of the game, making those who once laughed the loudest no longer able to smile.

The executive who had been laughing without blinking his eyes not long ago, now sat at the press conference with a pale face, like a bereaved dog, unable to utter a word.

Having lost the highest technological frontier in the semiconductor industry, what they had lost was certainly not China’s annual revenue of hundreds of billions of dollars in imports and exports of chips, nor the collapse of assets of just a few groups, but the rewriting of the semiconductor ecosystem composed of countless countries united together!

The impact behind this was earth-shaking.

“We must stop China from continuing to act arrogantly!” In the office of the Minister of Science and Technology of E Country, a director of a major semiconductor manufacturer said angrily: “China’s carbon-based chips are being sold all over the world. This monopoly has violated the provisions of the monopoly law. They must hand over the patents and share this technology with the world!”

The director of the Science and Technology Department leaned back in his office chair impatiently and asked the director in front of him, “Do you have the ability to make China give up their technology? Otherwise, think of a way for me and tell me how to pry this treasure that spits out gold from their mouths?”

The director shouted, “You can unite with several major countries to exclude them like before! Refuse to buy carbon-based chips! It’s ridiculous that a great country like E wants to buy chips from a backward place like China! Don’t you feel ashamed?!”

The director of the Science and Technology Department sneered and pointed at the director in front of him: “Don’t think I don’t know what you are up to. You don’t want your chips to fail to sell and you don’t want your group’s interests to suffer, so you have to drag everyone down with you!”

“So what! The hundreds of billions of dollars we donate to the government every year are not for charity. If we fail, the entire country will never be able to stand up again in the semiconductor industry! Only we can defeat that damn carbon-based chip! Only us!” The director roared, “You have benefited so much from us, you have an obligation to come up with a reliable plan at this time!”

Their group had put all their efforts into silicon-based chips, not just chips, but also the subsequent research and development of chips, the production and research of mobile phones, computers, and any high-tech equipment around chips. Now they had all become waste! If this matter was not handled properly, the entire group would be ruined and there would be no future at all!

The director of the Science and Technology Department slammed the table in annoyance: “You don’t have to tell us, we are also trying to find a solution, but now the whole world is rushing to buy Chinese chips. If we don’t buy them, our technology will lag far behind the rest of the world! You expect us not to buy them, and you also want other countries not to buy them, ha! Do you think everyone is a fool?! They hope that we don’t buy them, give up our quota, and then take this opportunity to step on our heads!”

No matter how reluctant they were, they had to fly to China to sign the contract as soon as possible, find ways to purchase a large number of carbon-based chips, and then replace the country’s latest technology from silicon-based chips to carbon-based as soon as possible.

A minister said irritably: “China is no longer as weak as it was in the past. They are rising like a rocket! Don’t you see that they are becoming more and more powerful in diplomacy? We have used so many means in recent years but have not been able to make them surrender. You actually expect to scare them with verbal threats! If you are so powerful, then you should take this position!”

The director was so angry that he groaned. The minister continued, “After you buy the chips, you should study the manufacturing process of the chips as soon as possible and try to master this technology! China is so stupid that it is willing to sell the chips unconditionally. We should make good use of this opportunity! Let them never be arrogant again!”

The director rolled his eyes and said, “That’s a carbon-based chip! Even if you ask all the Nobel Prize winners in the world to come here, they may not be able to come up with something that only exists in theory!”

“Then go and learn!” The minister said bluntly: “Send a large number of experts to exchange ideas and become their OEM factories. Do what China did to master carbon-based chips!”

“You actually want us to be a contract manufacturer?! We are the best semiconductor group in the world!!” The director was furious.

“It was the best semiconductor group in the past! Now that silicon-based chips have become a thing of the past, we must become the loyal supporters of carbon-based chips and seize the front row of the new track! Otherwise, will we still have a say in the world in the future?!” The minister said angrily, “Don’t cry to me here about your pitiful self-esteem. This is how China came step by step. They have been a world power for thousands of years, and they have been able to swallow their anger and chase after us for so long in recent years. You have only been the number one in the world for a few decades. Why should you not let go of your dignity?”

The director gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. After a long while, he could only accept this cruel reality and warned the director of the department: “You are raising a tiger to harm yourself! You are cutting your own flesh to feed your opponent!”

“Enough! Shut up! I know the dangers here better than you do!”

While China was manufacturing chips for other countries, it was also accumulating more experience. All these experiences were provided to them by others with money, so they had nothing to lose! Moreover, they could use this money and experience to invest in the next round of research and development and improvement, further expand their own advantages, and ensure that their leading position would not be threatened, forming a very good virtuous circle.

In contrast, the research and development in E Country had come to a complete standstill. As one side gained while the other lost, the gap between the two sides would only get bigger and bigger, and they would never catch up.

This used to be the advantage of E Country and their source of pride, but now it has completely become the advantage of China! 

But E Country had no choice but to grit its teeth and spend a huge amount of money to buy it, otherwise it would lose even more miserably in international competitions.

The Minister said: “We have the most and best talents from all over the world, who can help us quickly narrow the gap. When it comes to researching new technologies, we are never afraid of anyone!”

The director said bitterly, “Come on, do you think China has no talents? The achievements China has made in the past year are the result of their continuous efforts over the past few decades! Those people can work without food or drink for the sake of their motherland! And what do we have? You expect a group of people who come to us because of money and benefits to work hard for us? Have you forgotten Si Qi? The world’s best mathematician who solved eight world-class problems!”

The Director of the Science and Technology Department froze, and the director continued to taunt him, “I can’t believe that Si Qi came to our country. You let him go back to China and fight against us. I really don’t know what your investigation department is for!”

These words were like a sharp knife, stabbing into the most vulnerable part of the minister’s heart, making his face turn pale and blue. 

After the director left with a sour face, the minister immediately picked up the phone and said maliciously to his subordinate on the other end of the phone: “I remember that the one who deliberately let Si Qi run away was his classmate, a guy named Qian?”

“Maybe it wasn’t intentional? Ha! Ridiculous! I’m 100% sure this was his conspiracy! He let a dozen students stay to divert our attention from Si Qi, and he deceived us for so long that we cultivated him as our own!”

“I don’t care that he changed his nationality and is now a citizen of our E Country. That must be his trick! He wants us to let down our guard against him!”

The minister slammed his fist on the table and gritted his teeth, saying, “It’s better to be a citizen of E Country! We are not as gentle to our people as China is! I want him to feel how reasonable our law enforcement procedures in E Country are!”

“Get him out of the institute right now! Let him know that fooling us will cost him his blood!”

Less than ten minutes after the order was issued, Qian Lu, who was leisurely savoring the sweet aroma of coffee in the institute’s office, was suddenly forcibly lifted up from his chair by a group of fully armed soldiers.

“Hey! What are you doing? Let’s talk it over!” Qian Lu shouted in panic.

“We have nothing to say to you, a yellow monkey.” The strong man punched Qian Lu in the abdomen with all his strength, causing him to bend over and spit out blood. Then countless people rushed forward, punching and kicking him as he fell to the ground, and slapping him hard by the hair.

A tooth was knocked out and Qian Lu screamed and begged for mercy, repeatedly saying “Why”, “I am your compatriot”, “Police! Call the police!” However, his colleagues standing outside with their arms folded on their shoulders pointed at Qian Lu with a smile on their faces and laughed.

He was surrounded and beaten by dozens of people for nearly half an hour. No one came to help him. The security personnel threw him to the side of the road and spat at him several times.

“That’s not true. This is where the most advanced ideas and the most egalitarian thoughts come from… I’m not wrong… I’m not wrong…”

After half an hour of beating, Qian Lu had realized something, but he dared not admit it. He got up slowly from the ground in a daze, his head was dizzy and he seemed to have a concussion. At this moment, he was dizzy and could not see the scene in front of him clearly.

He blinked hard to widen his bruised eyelids as much as possible, then took out his cell phone with great difficulty, wanting to ask his classmates for help.

However, the phone seemed to be broken. The address book could not be opened no matter what. It even opened the network uncontrollably, and various texts and videos popped up automatically.

Qian Lu was a little dazed, looking at the screen. The next second, he was struck by lightning, his face turned pale and he trembled as he read the contents on the screen.

The screen clearly described the historical records of China’s invasion by other countries, showing how foreigners bullied the Chinese, how they insulted the Chinese as second-class citizens, and how they trampled on Chinese soil and killed countless Chinese.

Photos, information, and even videos, each one was so bloody and horrifying.

These were clearly things taught in class, and Qian Lu clearly understood them better than anyone else, but he turned a blind eye to them, and his mind was filled with only thoughts of throwing himself into the arms of the enemy so that he could live a better life.

The content on the phone kept jumping, with lines of text and pictures, all of which deeply stimulated his nerves.

His face turned pale and he no longer had the courage to face all this. He raised his hand in despair and smashed the phone to the ground, breaking it into pieces. Then he stood up by holding on to the wall and walked breathlessly towards his rented house step by step.

But when he got there, he found that his landlord had thrown all his books and clothes onto the street with a gloomy look on his face. The things were trampled by the shoes of passers-by, leaving footprints one by one, and even traces of being run over by car tires.

Qian Lu’s eyes went dark, and he rushed forward in anger to stop him: “Stop! Why did you throw my things out?”

“I don’t want to rent the house to you, what’s the problem?” The landlord, who was tall and strong, as strong as three Qian Lu’s, pushed Qian Lu and made him stagger back.

“The government found me and said you were a spy sent from abroad. Get out of here, you damn bastard, or I’ll beat you to death!”

The landlord raised his thigh-like arms and punched Qian Lu in the head.

Qian Lu was so scared that he jumped back, and was so angry that he was fuming. He roared, “Bullshit! I am obviously from E Country! I have helped E Country retain so many talents, and I have done so many bad things for E Country. I have always been targeting my own country! If I really am a spy, I am also a spy from E Country!”

The landlord kicked Qian Lu in the body, knocking him over, but he narrowly avoided falling under the wheels of a passing car.

“Shut up, you damn bastard! you wouldn’t do that!”

“I really did it!!” Qian Lu yelled in grievance.

“Then you have to move out of my house. I don’t accept scumbags here! I don’t accept traitors!” The landlord said with disdain: “You can even betray the motherland that raised you, how can you prove that you won’t betray a second time!”

Qian Lu listened to these words and looked at the mess of supplies on the ground, and he felt dizzy.

He searched the ground with a livid face, but couldn’t find anything valuable. He asked, “Where’s my money?”

The landlord rolled his eyes and said, “Of course it was collected. Who knows if it was your activity fund?”

Qian Lu’s body swayed, and he clenched his fists and shouted, “Then give me back my rent!”

The landlord sneered and said, “You’re dreaming! If the next tenant knew what you do, he would definitely be disgusted and not want to stay here. You must compensate me for this loss.”

Qian Lu was so angry that he yelled, “There is no such ridiculous provision in the law! I will call the police and have you put in jail!”

“Haha!” The landlord laughed out loud at Qian Lu’s words and mocked, “You’re already on our country’s blacklist, and you still expect the law to protect you? I tell you, even if I beat you up here, no one will care whether you live or die! There will be no police to help you!”

Qian Lu felt chilled to the bone after hearing this. He looked at the arrogant landlord opposite him, and a feeling of helplessness weighed on his heart, making it almost hard for him to breathe.

His fists loosened and tightened, and suddenly, he took a deep breath, raised his head abruptly, and said to the landlord: “I am Chinese!”

The landlord opposite him changed his expression subtly.

Qian Lu said fiercely: “Refund my rent immediately, otherwise I will contact the Chinese embassy and ask them to seek justice for me!”

The landlord was suddenly speechless: “…………”

Qian Lu urged loudly: “Hurry up!”

The landlord didn’t know that Qian Lu had changed his nationality. Thinking about China’s consistent protective behavior in the international arena, the landlord spat at Qian Lu unwillingly, took out a few crumpled coins from his pocket, threw them on the ground, and said to Qian Lu: “Get out!”

Qian Lu looked at the coins in silence, and then looked at the mess around him with a frenzy, and suddenly lost all his strength. He knelt on the ground exhausted, holding his head and crying.

Some classmates came here after hearing the news, but they just watched him cry silently and didn’t think of coming over to help him.

Suddenly someone said, “Let’s go back.”

Another person frowned and said, “Where to go back to? China? It would be too embarrassing to go back now…”

“It’s shameful that you can’t even be strong as a human being.” The man who spoke said in a cold tone: “You have also seen what happened to Qian Lu. We will never make it here and will always be discriminated against. The future of China will never be worse than that of E Country. It may even have the potential to surpass E Country. Going back is the wisest choice.”

Everyone was silent for a long time, and finally sighed.

“That’s true.”

“If we had known this would happen, we should have followed Si Qi back from the beginning.”

“It was this bastard Qian Lu who deceived us and tricked us into staying here.”

“Let’s go, don’t worry about him. If we still have contact with him after we go back, we will never be able to clear ourselves of the guilt even if we jump into the Yellow River.”

Qian Lu watched the group of people turn around and leave, then sat on the ground in a daze and helplessness.

People were coming and going around, but no one stopped for him.

It was as if he had been abandoned by the whole world.

He covered his eyes, and laughed with his shoulders shaking. He laughed at his own stupidity, his own absurdity, and the fact that everything he did was so ridiculous.

He started to cry while laughing.