[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-reborn-starting-from-1993":3,"chapter-reborn-starting-from-1993-reborn-starting-from-1993-chapter-60":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Reborn Starting from 1993",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2357044,4611,"Chapter 60: Chapter Fifty-Nine: Cow Dung Chip","reborn-starting-from-1993-chapter-60",60,"\u003Cp>\"Giant Group will invest 500 million yuan to officially enter the health supplement industry!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Giant's CEO Shi claims health supplements will be one of Giant Group's most important industries, and the group will complete its IPO next year!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Foreign-brand computers are storming the market, causing domestic computer brands' market share to drop to 22%!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Multiple domestic computer brands have announced partnerships with overseas brands: Great Wall is now distributing IBM computers, Fangzheng is distributing DEC computers, Sitong is distributing Compaq, and Dell, HP, Apple, and many other brands have all signed agency agreements with domestic distributors!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside a Beijing company developing color printing, Wang Jizhi flipped through several newspapers; the reports were nearly identical—domestic tech companies, facing the aggressive foreign firms, were either avoiding conflict and shifting to other fields, or choosing to join them by abandoning their own brands and becoming agents for foreign computer brands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This wasn't just true of the computer industry—it was even worse in other sectors; whenever foreign brands entered a field, domestic brands were immediately crushed, often surrendering the market outright.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nokia and Siemens seized control of China’s telecommunications industry, driving domestic telecom brands into retreat; only Huajia Factory still persisted in independent R&D of telecom equipment, while all other once-prominent domestic telecom giants now looked utterly incompetent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boeing, Ford, General Motors, Toyota, Honda, Sony, Kodak, and other giants in aircraft, automobiles, motorcycles, cameras, and televisions also entered China, delivering a devastating blow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Procter & Gamble, Whirlpool, and S.C. Johnson entered China, using various tactics to defeat or sideline domestic brands like Snowflake, Water Lily, and Meijiajing, rapidly seizing the market.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the soft drink industry, the trend was even more obvious: Coca-Cola and PepsiCo crushed domestic brands like Tianfu Cola, Beibingyang, Asian Soda, Bawangsi Soda, and Laoshan Cola, leaving almost no domestic soda on the market.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since last year, foreign brands have been aggressively attacking the domestic market, and this year the trend has become even clearer; across electronics, home appliances, automobiles, beverages, and food, very few domestic companies dared to resist the onslaught.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under these circumstances, it’s no wonder Li Dongling High-Tech’s victory over Silver Mink mouse in America caused such a sensation—while every other brand was fleeing, Li Dongling High-Tech stood firm with Silver Mink as its sword, and now it was pouring massive funds into R&D, making it stand out starkly in China’s tech industry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After flipping through several newspapers, Wang Jizhi sighed. He was one of the most respected figures in China’s tech industry, formerly chief engineer at Sitong Group, where he led the team that developed the 2401 printer—a cash cow for Sitong, and among the most advanced products of its kind in Japan at the time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Jizhi also recruited a top technical expert for Sitong named Qiu Bojun, who later joined a company called Jinshan; in the future, Qiu Bojun would become the mentor of the man famous for shouting “Are you OK?” Just like academia, the tech industry has its own lineage and circles!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But before Sitong went public, Wang Jizhi clashed with management over salary and R&D funding; he was fiery-tempered, intolerant of corruption, and despised the politics of faction-building and gift-giving, ultimately resigning with not a single share of Sitong stock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at today’s news, Wang Jizhi shook his head—he felt China’s current tech companies were worse than when he faced Japanese firms back then; back then, he still dared to lead his team in developing printers to fight Japanese products, even though Sitong barely supported him, giving him less than 0.3% of revenue for R&D, yet he still made it happen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But what about these companies now? They won’t even fight—they just run away. It made him shake his head in disbelief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as he was about to put down the newspaper, a notice in the Beijing Daily caught his eye—it was marked as reprinted from the “Hanxi Provincial Newspaper.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Li Dongling High-Tech invests 15 million yuan to establish a joint laboratory with Hanxi Jiaotong University, pledging to allocate 5% of annual profits to R&D...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the sight of these words, Wang Jizhi’s spirits lifted. He’d heard of Li Dongling High-Tech before—he knew they’d fought Microsoft—but he hadn’t paid attention then. Now, seeing them invest so heavily in R&D, he finally remembered their name.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many domestic tech companies earned far more than Li Dongling High-Tech, but Wang Jizhi had never seen one so bold as to pour such massive funds into R&D.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at the news, Wang Jizhi felt both intrigued and helpless—he was now co-founding a company, but since leaving Sitong, he’d realized he was suited for R&D, not management.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d started or partnered in two or three companies, but all ended in acrimony; his career since Sitong had been like a rollercoaster—up, then down, down, down...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at the news, Wang Jizhi truly felt that if Li Dongling High-Tech’s joint lab was developing printers, he’d shut down his current company and join them immediately. But he didn’t know what Li Dongling High-Tech was actually doing—what would he find if he went? He hesitated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only Wang Jizhi noticed this news. In another Beijing tech company, a thin, fifty-something man, selected as one of China’s first academic academicians and holding the title of Chief Engineer, slammed his desk upon reading about Li Dongling High-Tech’s joint lab.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In today’s Chinese tech industry, Li Dongling High-Tech’s bold R&D investment stirred envy in Academician Ni.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking of his own situation, he sighed again—his company was now split into two factions over whether to develop chips, but most executives sided with the opposition, leaving him powerless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Driven by prior buzz, news of Li Dongling High-Tech’s joint lab was quickly reported and reprinted by media outlets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Li Dongling High-Tech’s spending—building labs, pouring money into R&D—sparked heated debate across the tech industry and beyond.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some accused Li Dongling High-Tech of seeking fame for its own sake: while every other tech firm bought foreign tech or assembled imported parts, Li Dongling High-Tech alone was doing R&D, spending so much money on technology that might still lag behind the West—what was the point? Wasn’t this just vanity?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I believe China’s tech industry shouldn’t isolate itself—it should open its eyes to the world. The globe is one whole, with each region assigned different roles; under this system, everyone profits.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve heard of companies trying independent R&D, but I must say: autonomous development is not suitable for China’s current situation. What matters most now is survival—not chasing bizarre R&D projects!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you can buy something for one yuan, why spend ten, fifty, or more to develop it? I just don’t understand!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Tian’an, CEO of Tiancheng Trading, China’s largest electronic import-export company, dismissed Li Dongling High-Tech’s joint lab in a media interview, showing clear contempt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He thought Li Dongling High-Tech had gotten a little fame and started acting foolishly—why waste money on R&D? Wouldn’t it be better to use that cash to buy cars, houses, invest in stocks, real estate, or futures? Throwing money into the bottomless pit of R&D? You’ll end up with nothing!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Tian’an’s trading company primarily imported computer components from overseas and sold them to domestic manufacturers and distributors, earning massive profits over the years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the Silver Mink mouse made him deeply uneasy—since its arrival, all his imported mice, including Logitech’s, sat unsold in warehouses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The small losses didn’t bother him, but he feared that if all Chinese tech firms started developing their own products, who would buy his imported components? This was madness! He despised Li Dongling High-Tech’s joint lab and wanted to condemn it fiercely—he’d even like to tear it down!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While media still debated whether Li Dongling High-Tech’s joint lab was necessary, Li Dongling arrived at the lab’s entrance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Dongling High-Tech had purchased land near Hanxi Jiaotong University to build a R&D center and joint lab, but since construction would take time, they temporarily rented a three-story building on campus for the lab.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Entering the lab grounds and pushing open the door, Li Dongling saw Han Qianyi and Liu Youguo directing teachers and students as they cleaned rooms and moved equipment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the early stage, Li Dongling High-Tech provided funding, while Hanxi Jiaotong University provided personnel for joint product development and experiments.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is the first project entrusted to the joint lab by Li Dongling High-Tech. I hope we can develop it as soon as possible—this will determine how much funding the joint lab receives next year!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Entering an office, Li Dongling handed Han Qianyi the design drawings for the electronic pet device he’d worked on all night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Youguo leaned in; both he and Han Qianyi stared at the motherboard chip design and grimaced. “Cow dung chip?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The electronic pet device’s structure was simple: plastic casing, screen, buttons, internal motherboard, and coin battery. The only technically challenging part was the core motherboard and chip.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The motherboard and chip Li Dongling planned for the electronic pet device was the cow dung chip—its greatest feature? Cheapness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That black blob in the middle of a motherboard? That’s a bonder chip—or cow dung chip. It had no aesthetic value, no industrial design—it was all about short R&D cycles, low technical barriers, simple manufacturing, and low cost. You’d find it in digital watches, calculators, electronic toys.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This chip will be used in a new Li Dongling High-Tech product. I want the joint lab to develop it as soon as possible,” Li Dongling told Han Qianyi and Liu Youguo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“One month!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Youguo thought for a moment. “At most one month—I’ll get my team to finish it. But funding must be adequate!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll also get other technical staff from the institute and university to help with the R&D!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Han Qianyi added. This was their first collaboration, and the future of the joint lab depended on it—he had to take it seriously. In this era, companies willing to spend big on R&D like Li Dongling High-Tech were truly rare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If the R&D succeeds and the new product performs well, Li Dongling High-Tech will award bonuses to Hanxi Jiaotong’s R&D personnel and make a donation to the university!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Dongling wanted to pull Hanxi Jiaotong onto Li Dongling High-Tech’s wagon—to show them that helping develop good products meant substantial rewards for both the university and its researchers, creating a true community of shared interests.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No amount of talk was as convincing as real money. Once Hanxi Jiaotong saw that researchers earned bonuses and the university received donations for working with Li Dongling High-Tech, they’d fight to help—no one turns down their own money!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At Li Dongling High-Tech’s electronics park, with multiple construction teams working day and night, the basic structure of the temporary factory had begun to emerge—it would be operational soon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, various production equipment and assembly lines were continuously arriving at the park, ready to be installed once the temporary factory was complete.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To the right side of the park entrance, a large sign reading “Hiring” drew a long line of people waiting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Former technician Song Yajun from the old Xicheng Wireless Factory No. 1, nicknamed “Old Ox,” peered inside hesitantly, unsure whether to enter.\u003C\u002Fp>",1849,"2026-06-21T04:42:08.057Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","5c21e55dfa72222171a047ac33f40350891de570abc15e15903ba179deebffbf","reborn-starting-from-1993-chapter-61","reborn-starting-from-1993-chapter-59",989,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Freborn-starting-from-1993-cover.jpg"]