Chapter 320

Jack Kirby felt a bit overwhelmed.

He valued Zhang Wanhe, this East Asian with yellow skin and black eyes, who had strong work ability, even to say he was his right-hand man; after a few more years of work, he could stand on his own.

But now, he wants to resign over such a ridiculous reason?

"William, what you said today is a bit over the top..."

"I didn't say wrong, everyone calls those people yellow-skinned monkeys, so where am I wrong?"

"Fine, then I resign!" Zhang Wanhe stood up and strode forward.

He clearly remembered that since arriving in Taiwan, his father had constantly reminisced about the past, about life on the mainland, leaves returning to their roots; his father very much wanted to go back to the mainland to see.

And his mother had the same desire; although cross-strait relations are not good now, he is already an overseas Chinese with American citizenship, and with his current status he can completely go to the East.

Before, the mainland had no stage for him to display his talents; the mainland's semiconductor technology was indeed backward! Now, the mainland finally has a first-rate semiconductor industry, and he should return!

In the office.

Jack Kirby spoke earnestly, with harsh words out of concern.

"Zhang, is it because you've seen the mainland's semiconductor industry developing that you want to go back?"

William's words were merely a spark; Zhang Wanhe's true reason for wanting to return is that he already has a stage there!

Zhang Wanhe remained silent; after all, his disagreement with William was minor, and if they talked it out it would be fine, but he used this as an excuse to resign, which many could see.

"You, after all, didn't grow up there; you've been in Taiwan since childhood and later went to the US. Someone like you, even if you return, may not be given important posts, but instead face various doubts and even exclusion. In the 60s and 70s, quite a few overseas Chinese who returned were..."

Jack Kirby continued: "Your best choice now is to stay at Texas Instruments, wait until you get the Loongson No. 1 processor, see if its performance matches their claims; at the same time, you can send your resume over there to see if they're willing to take you, and if they are, it's not too late to go later."

Zhang Wanhe fell silent.

Now, it was indeed a momentary impulse on his part… but he knew that returning to the mainland had always been what his parents most looked forward to.

His father was a metallurgical engineer; his mother taught in Taiwan; when he was young, he listened to his father talk about mainland stories and his mother explain the Records of the Grand Historian; to him, his roots were in the mainland!

Zhang Wanhe lowered his gaze to his chest, where a beating heart pulsed, flowing with the blood of the descendants of Yan and Huang!

Can't wait any longer!

"I... want to go back home to have a look."

"Sure, I'll give you a half-month leave; after half a month, I hope you can appear here with a completely new look!"

Zhang Wanhe walked out; Jack Kirby didn't know this would be the last time he saw Zhang Wanhe, for that outstanding engineer boarded a civilian aircraft to the mainland that very night!

East, Capital.

"Dad, Mom, I'm back with San Shui!"

"Coming back is good, coming back is good." Chu Guilan laughed as she came out: "The food is ready; after we eat, let's go live with San Shui."

What does that mean?

Chu Miaomiao felt a bit wronged; I just came home, and you want to drive me away?

"The distance isn't far either; if you drive, you'll get there in half an hour."

Back when we were in the capital and got married, we even received a sports car as a wedding gift! But even a sports car would take half an hour to get there...

"Has my dad's factory already been built?" Chu Miaomiao exclaimed excitedly, no need to go to the suburbs; there's a factory and family housing near the Third Ring Road in the capital, which would be much more convenient.

"Yeah, your dad's factory." Zhang Wanhe gave his daughter a glance, calling someone else "dad" with such familiarity!

"Dad, these are the local specialties I brought back from Ha Cheng, plus ginseng from Changbai Mountain..." Qin Miao hurried to comfort his father-in-law.

After eating and drinking our fill, we went to the Qingshan-Benz heavy truck plant, and indeed it had already been built! Equipment was being installed; it should start production after the year. Such a massive factory was unprecedented before; Qin Jianhua, together with his old brothers, was still busy.

Two blocks of family housing had been built, exactly according to Qin Miao's design from Ha Gong Da; moving into the new house felt like returning to his home at Ha Gong Da, with hardly any difference.

Chu Miaomiao was very satisfied, tidying up the house; Qin Miao went out to work with his father; that evening the family ate together, lively and bustling, Qin Jianhua was extremely excited, chattering nonstop.

Lying in the familiar yet unfamiliar new house, Chu Miaomiao felt full of happiness.

The next day.

The phone ringing woke Qin Miao from his sweet dream; he answered groggily, and upon hearing the voice on the other end, he instantly woke up.

"What, Zhang Wanhe from Texas Instruments? Okay, I'll go to the airport to pick him up right away! What, he just boarded the plane? Fine, then call me before the plane arrives!"

Qin Miao could no longer sleep, excitedly pacing back and forth.

"San Shui, what... is going on?"

"An overseas Chinese returning home has come to join our Ha Gong Da microelectronics center; this is a talent! We must keep him!"

"San Shui, is this person reliable?"

"Of course!"

Others may not know, but Qin Miao is clear: Zhang Wanhe possesses a heart of patriotic loyalty, forming a stark contrast with Liu Zhonglie's American conscience.

Zhang Wanhe, a master of factory construction, during his twenty years at Texas Instruments, left his footprint in many countries, building one wafer fab after another.

"Just when his career was at its peak, his father asked: 'You've built so many semiconductor fabs in the US, on the island, and in Singapore; when will you go to the mainland to build a fab?'"

Just that one sentence changed his life; in 1997 he retired from Texas Instruments and began planning to build a fab on the mainland.

He first established Shida in Taiwan, building two wafer fabs; a few years later, TSMC acquired it, and although he had originally planned to build his third fab on the mainland, he had to start from scratch, leaving Shida for the mainland, wandering through many cities, yet he faced much skepticism and was even considered a swindler.

A semiconductor fab that even the whole nation couldn't produce—how could you build it with no money and no people?

"Finally, Jiang Shangzhou of Modu sent an invitation to build a fab in Modu!"

"No equipment—he sought guarantees from American church organizations; no funds—he brought in investments like Goldman Sachs; no talent—he relied on his own charm to recruit over four hundred engineers!"

"Thus SMIC was founded; before he could catch his breath, TSMC launched a patent lawsuit, the litigation lasted six years, costing two hundred million, and Zhang Wanhe resigned, bringing it to an end."

"But Zhang Wanhe still didn't give up! Although he left SMIC, he didn't leave the East, nor the semiconductor industry!"

"His life was filled with love for his country and dedication to his career!"

"The road of the East's semiconductor industry is full of thorns, and Zhang Wanhe is the one who clears the path! Many state-supported projects have failed, but only his industry has risen!"

"If such a person is unreliable, who else could be trusted? Those who constantly shout that technology knows no borders are traitors; Qin Miao only wishes he could kill them all as soon as possible!"