Life 1984

March 1991, the first day of the Hannover Electronics Show.

Sihai Group spent a lot of money to rent the best large booth, and with the support of a large number of advertisements, more foreign businessmen came to the booth than before.

Several Japanese people walked into the booth, walked directly to the lithography machine, and started chatting in Japanese.

Michiko was assigned to the company's exhibition team and came to Germany with the team this time. She heard those people speaking Japanese and stepped forward to receive them.

"Is this a photolithography machine produced by the Chinese?" asked a middle-aged man with a mustache.

"Yes, this is a photolithography machine independently developed by Sihai Group."

"Sihai Group? The company that produces CCA and ink tank printers?"

"Yes. The original resolution of Sihai lithography machine reaches 400 nanometers. This technology is leading in the world."

Mustache said to the people around him: "Is Sihai Group so powerful? Can the Chinese actually produce their own photolithography machines? This is impossible!"

A fat man said: "President, the photolithography machine is right in front of us, can we not believe it? The Chinese technology is developing very fast. They can develop CCA that does not contain heavy metal ions, and they can also produce ink tank printers. , it’s not surprising that we have developed a photolithography machine now.”

Mustache looked at the flyer of the lithography machine and asked with a serious face: "How much does this machine cost?"

Michiko probably guessed who these people were, and said: "Sir, do you need to purchase it? Our photolithography machine can be shipped from one unit."

She deliberately avoided talking about the selling price.

The mustache asked closely: "Excuse me, madam, how much does this machine cost?"

Li Yunhai heard this and felt that most of these Japanese people were traveling together.

If they were from Nikon, then Michiko should know them.

Since Michiko didn't know him and he was from Toyo, he could only be from Canon.

In particular, the two products they mentioned, CCA and ink tank printers, are Canon's strongest competitive products.

Li Yunhai walked over and said with a smile: "2 million units!"

He cleverly concealed the currency unit.

2 million units is not fake.

But what currency unit is behind the 2 million units?

Is it RMB? Yen or USD?

Even if it is RMB, it can also be Yuan, Mao, or even cents.

The difference between 2 million RMB and 2 million US dollars is huge.

Sure enough, Mustache took it for granted that it was US dollars, nodded, turned and left.

Michiko looked at their leaving figures and said, "Mr. Li, they may be from Canon."

Li Yunhai nodded: "I guess so. Here, you may also meet people from Nikon."

Michiko said: "It's okay, I've been leaving my job for so long. I'm not afraid of them."

While talking, someone else came to the lithography machine.

It seems that the advertising of lithography machines has worked, attracting many customers to visit and learn more.

Looking around the world, there are only a handful of countries and companies that can produce lithography machines.

Sihai Group not only produces, but also claims to be the world's most advanced 400 nanometer resolution.

No matter who you are, as long as you know a little bit about the development and technology of photolithography machines, you can't help but run over to see what happens.

This time several Westerners came.

Li Yunfang also came to Hannover this time.

She took the initiative to say hello and asked: "Hello, are you British?"

"No! We are Americans!" The foreigners said proudly, as if being mistaken for British people was a humiliation for them.

Westerners are a general term, and it is difficult to tell whether they are American, British, French, German, Italian, or people from other countries.

Just like Asians are similar to Westerners.

We are both Westerners, but there are differences between high and low. Of course Americans feel that they are superior to others. If you say that they are from other countries, they will probably be unhappy.

If you are Chinese and are mistaken for Asians outside, many people will be unhappy.

A foreigner with a hooked nose pointed at the lithography machine and asked, "You produced this yourself? Do you have such superb technology?"

Li Yunfang said: "Sir, this is produced by our company."

A man with a wide chin next to him chuckled and said, "Are more than half of the parts imported from Japan or Europe and the United States?"

Li Yunfang said: "No, all the parts in this machine are produced domestically. The raw materials for each component are also purchased domestically."

The hooked nose asked: "Can I see the chips produced by this photolithography machine?"

It is impossible to demonstrate the operation on site. We can only show customers the samples produced in the past.

Li Yunfang took out the product produced by her own photolithography machine, handed it to the aquiline nose to look at, and said: "Our company's Blue Ocean PC is equipped with the 386 chip produced by ourselves. You can turn it on and experience it."

Aquiline Nose looked at it carefully, and then experienced Blue Ocean PC.

The faces of several people gradually became solemn, and they asked about the price of the lithography machine.

Li Yunfang also followed the example of her elder brother, saying that it would cost 2 million units.

The other party also took it for granted that it was 2 million US dollars per unit, nodded and left.

Li Yunfang smiled and said: "Brother, they must be traveling together. You can tell at a glance."

Li Yunhai hummed: "They are from the American GCA company. The backpacks they carry have the GCA logo on them."

Shen Xiulan said: "Why are the people who come to see the lithography machine all from the same industry?"

Li Yunhai said: "This is not unusual. In every booth, there are always colleagues asking for prices. This is enough to show that our lithography machines have attracted the attention of the world."

Shen Xiulan said: "Yunhai, then we can advertise in foreign media."

Li Yunhai said: "This kind of product doesn't need to be advertised too much, because ordinary people don't need it. We just need to let the world know that we Chinese can also manufacture the most advanced lithography machines. If you want to understand, think Purchasers will naturally try their best to contact us because there are only a few companies in the world that can produce photolithography machines. Just like large aircraft manufacturers, they rarely advertise aggressively. This is the same reason."

There were a lot of people going there, and they couldn't chat for a few words, so they had to go to receive the guests separately.

In Sihai Group's exhibition hall, the lithography machine is the most eye-catching, attracting countless attention.

Many people come over to take a look and ask questions out of curiosity, and there is no need to purchase.

But Li Yunhai and the others did not know whether the other party was a potential customer, so they could only recommend and introduce everyone equally.

In the face of potential customers, Li Yunhai's quotations are much more honest.

The price quoted for each Sihai lithography machine is US$5000 million.

Such a price is very competitive in the global lithography machine market.

Many foreign businessmen have not placed orders yet, but will leave the contact information of Sihai Group and contact them again when they are really needed.

Sihai Group has invited MJ to be the spokesperson of Alienware for three consecutive years. After several years of publicity, Alienware has become synonymous with personalization and high performance.

Li Yunhai gradually adjusted the selling price of Alienware computers.

It’s not a price reduction, it’s a price increase!

He wants to build the Alienware computer into a high-end product.

High quality, high performance, high price.

Sihai Group's products cannot always dominate the world with cost-effectiveness.

The Alien brand is a brand new attempt.

With the launch of the 486 chip, the price of the Alienware computer rose from the original US$4599 to US$4999, widening the gap with the Longteng PC.

Computers and printers from Sihai Group are still the best-selling products.

On the first day of the electronics show, the company received an order worth US$3000 million.

The sales volume of photolithography machines is zero.

This was also what Li Yunhai expected.

After get off work, Li Yunhai invited his colleagues to have dinner and then moved around freely.

Li Yunhai made an appointment with Shen Xiulan, and the two went for a walk along the Rhine River.

"Yunhai, is Yue Hua pursuing Yunfang?" Shen Xiulan said.

"Yes? It seems so." Li Yunhai said, "How do you know? Yunfang told you, right?"

"Last night, Yue Hua called and chatted with Yun Fang for a long time. It is estimated that the international long-distance call bill cost several hundred yuan!"

"Young people don't know how difficult it is to make money. Now Lin Zhi's long-distance phone calls with me don't last more than three minutes. As time goes by, she starts to worry about money."

"You are the eldest brother, like a father. You can help Yunfang make the decision. If they are really in love, it is better to get them married as soon as possible."

"Marriage? My sister is still young!"

"You are young now, but you will not be young in a few years. A woman's youth is very short-lived. You also know that there is no perfect woman in the world. Even a woman like Lin Zhi, after getting married, you will find that she has many flaws. Some of the shortcomings are even intolerable to you. But when you are in love, you ignore all her shortcomings. Once you get married and have children, you can only tolerate all her shortcomings."

"Makes sense."

"Yunfang is not a perfect woman. Let her marry Yue Hua before she exposes her shortcomings. Only in this way will the marriage be stronger."

"This? I'll ask her later! Or you can ask her for me? Let's see what her attitude is towards Yue Hua!"

"Well, I'll ask her tonight."

Unknowingly, I walked to the door of the tavern again.

The two looked at each other, smiled, and walked in.

Li Yunhai ordered a bottle of foreign wine and drank with Shen Xiulan while chatting.

Outside the window is a beautiful view of the Rhine River.

"Yunhai, look, it's snowing!" Shen Xiulan smiled in surprise, "We have been here so many times, and this is the first time we see snow! It's March now, and there's still snow here!"

Li Yunhai said: “The winter in Germany is very long, so it’s not surprising to see snow in March.”

Thousands of snowflakes sprinkled to the earth, fell into the river and disappeared immediately.

Pedestrians put their hats on their heads, put their hands in their pockets, and rushed to their destinations leisurely.

Li Yunhai and Shen Xiulan were not in a hurry. They listened to the melodious music and drank a bottle of wine before leaving.

The snow is getting heavier and heavier, and there are already snowflakes on the leaves. A few nameless flowers that bloomed early by the river shivered in the cold wind.

Li Yunhai hugged Shen Xiulan back to the hotel.

As soon as the two entered the hotel courtyard, Shen Xiulan saw people sitting by the window of the cafe on one side.

"Unkai, look! Michiko!"

"Yeah! It's her!"

"The person sitting with her seems to be from Japan, right? Have you been to our booth today?"

"People from Canon!"

"Yes, that's them. Yunhai, don't the Toyo people want to bribe her?"

"Not really."

"Why not? She can betray Nikon and work in our company, or she may betray us again and return to the arms of the Japanese! Don't expect a woman to be very loyal."

"Aren't women loyal? You are very loyal to me."

"Talk about someone else! She is an Oriental woman. Oriental women are very realistic. What can't they do for money?"

"Then what do you think we should do? Go directly over and say hello to them? Listen to what they talk about?"

"That's okay! Just go over there and I'll go back to the room first."

"Hey!" Li Yunhai said with a smile, "Isn't that good? Maybe they just met by chance and wanted to chat casually?"

"Then why not have a chance encounter with them?"

"it is good!"

Li Yunhai walked towards the cafe.

It was quiet in the cafe.

There were many people inside, but everyone consciously lowered their voices when speaking, and no one shouted.

Li Yunhai walked to Michiko and smiled slightly: "What a coincidence!"

Michiko stood up and smiled: "Hello, Mr. Li. It's snowing outside."

She gently reached out her hand and patted the snowflakes off Li Yunhai's head.

Li Yunhai looked into her eyes, shook his body, and shook off the snow all over his body.

Michiko smiled brightly and said, "Mr. Li, I was drinking coffee here and met them. They are from Canon and they are asking me about the lithography machine."

They were speaking in Chinese, and those Japanese people might not understand, and they looked confused and confused.

Li Yunhai snorted and asked, "What is their purpose?"

Michiko said: "They asked very carefully, and I said I didn't know. I'm just a small employee in the company and don't understand specific technologies."

Li Yunhai sat down with her and said in Japanese to the mustache opposite her: "If you have anything you want to ask, you can ask me."

Mustache asked: "Who are you from Sihai Group? Do you know the technology of photolithography machines?"

Li Yunhai said: "I am the boss of Sihai Group, which is equivalent to the president of your company."

Mustache's expression changed slightly, he looked at Li Yunhai again and said, "Are you the boss of Sihai Group? Li Yunhai?"

Li Yunhai nodded slowly: "Yes, I am Li Yunhai."

Mustache stood up, placed his hands straight on the seam of his trousers, then bowed and saluted Li Yunhai, stretched out his hands: "Mr. Li, I have long admired your name. You are the Chinese entrepreneur I admire most."

"Please sit down and talk!" Li Yunhai made a gesture to sit down without shaking hands with them.

Mustache did not feel embarrassed, sat down and said: "Mr. Li, my name is Hashimoto Jiro. I want to know how you developed the lithography machine? As far as I know, your country's lithography machine technology, You have always been about two generations behind us. How come you have surpassed our technology in just a few years? Our current resolution is only 500 nanometers!"

Li Yunhai said: "Invest! Invest time, invest money, invest wisdom! The reason why my country's lithography machine technology lagged behind in the past was because of poverty and no funds to invest in this area. Our Sihai Group has money and has invested billions in it. We conducted research on the RMB. The emperor paid off and we finally came up with the research.”

Mustache said: "Incredible! Do you really want to sell your lithography machine for US$2 million per unit? Is your cost too high?"

Li Yunhai laughed loudly and did not answer.

Mustache chatted for a few words, then said goodbye to his companions and left.

Michiko said: "Mr. Li, I'm worried about one thing. Will they join forces with other photolithography machine manufacturers to suppress our products?"

Li Yunhai said: "I know. Whether we are worried or not, this day will definitely come."

Michiko said: "Mr. Li, if they really suppress us, what will we do?"

"There is no countermeasure." Li Yunhai said seriously, "As a company, we cannot be enemies of the whole world. If the East and the West join forces, we can only give up foreign markets. Or we can develop unique technologies that they do not have as soon as possible and defeat them in turn. .”

After returning to the hotel room, Li Yunhai talked to Lin Zhi on the phone and asked about her physical condition.

Lin Zhi said that I would go for a prenatal check-up on the weekend, and Lin Xin would be with me, so you can rest assured, and asked how is the business?

Li Yunhai said that other businesses are going well, but he has not yet sold a single photolithography machine.

Lin Zhi said you don't have to worry. As you said before, we mainly focus on conquering this technology and not using it ourselves.

Li Yunhai hummed and asked, "Have you received any replies from domestic companies that have said they want to purchase our lithography machines?"

Lin Zhi said: "We have been tracking, and currently only five companies have clearly signed purchase contracts with us and put down deposits. The others still need to be considered."

After the two chatted, Li Yunhai went to take a shower.

At eleven o'clock, Shen Xiulan came over.

Li Yunhai hugged her to the bedroom.

Shen Xiulan said: "I asked Yunfang, and she said she didn't particularly like Yue Hua and wanted to see him again."

Li Yunhai said: "Never mind her business, she is such a big person and can handle her emotions well."

He hugged Shen Xiulan, placed her on top of him, and kissed her passionately.

It's windy and snowy outside, but it's warm as spring inside.

When I woke up, it was broad daylight, and the sky and the earth were covered with white snow.

Li Yunhai and Shen Xiulan stood in front of the window, looking at the snowy scene outside, kissing happily.

The snow in Hannover did not hinder the enthusiasm of foreign businessmen.

There were even more people visiting the exhibition today than yesterday.

Li Yunhai is personally responsible for the explanation and promotion of lithography machines.

In the morning, he received more than a dozen foreign businessmen, but they all just took a look, got to know each other and then left.

Having participated in so many exhibitions, Li Yunhai has long been immune. Even if he cannot sell a single photolithography machine at this electronics exhibition, Li Yunhai will not be discouraged.

For such an expensive machine and a new type of machine, everyone needs to go through an acceptance process.

In the past ten years, Nikon and Canon emerged, defeated the American GCA company and Philips, and became the dominant players in the lithography machine industry, selling more than 3000 lithography machines.

The counterattack of Toyo Lithography Machine has not been smooth sailing, and it also experienced setbacks at the beginning.

Li Yunhai is looking for an opportunity. As long as he can find one or two foreign manufacturers to cooperate, his own photolithography machines can open up the market.

However, today's market is very different from before.

In the past, Intel relaxed its authorization, many factories could produce chips, and the demand for lithography machines was relatively large.

Since Intel tightened authorization, not many manufacturers can obtain authorization for 286 and 386 chips. The global demand for lithography machines has concentrated on the leading semiconductor factories.

Whoever can win Intel's order will win the future.

Of course Li Yunhai also has this ambition. Unfortunately, the Americans did not give him a chance and banned the entry of Sihai lithography machines.

As a result, Sihai Lithography Machine has lost the most important market in the world.

Li Yunhai is not sure whether he can sell photolithography machines during his trip to Germany.

But one thing is for sure. Through the Hannover Electronics Show, the news that the Chinese have successfully developed lithography machines will definitely spread around the world.

While Li Yunhai was deep in thought, several foreign businessmen came and stood in front of the lithography machine, talking about it.

"Is this the lithography machine of Sihai Group?" A tall, thin Caucasian man asked in a very arrogant tone with his arms crossed.

Li Yunhai said: "Yes, sir, what company do you belong to? Do you have any demand for photolithography machine products?"

The tall man showed a sarcastic expression: "Can the Chinese also produce photolithography machines? How dare they sell them at exhibitions? Aren't the Chinese manufacturing only cheap socks and clothes that can only be sold on street stalls?"

Li Yunhai said: "Our country is very big and there are many Chinese people. We can produce both cheap textile products and high-precision semiconductor products. Which country are you from?"

The tall man chuckled and said, "I'm French!"

Li Yunhai said: "Oh, France? It seems that it doesn't have its own photolithography machine manufacturer, right?"

The tall man said: "We don't have one, so I don't believe you can make it. It's absolutely impossible."

Li Yunhai said: "Whatever you have, we all have. What we have, you may not have."

The tall man said: "Impossible! Absolutely impossible."

Li Yunhai said: "By the way, there is something that we really don't have, and we will never learn it."

The tall man laughed and said: "That's right, you will never learn what we have!"

Li Yunhai said: "That is, once you are beaten, you surrender so quickly! It is beyond the reach of all countries in the world."

The tall man was stunned, his white face turned red.

Li Yunhai said: "I believe we will never learn this."

The tall man shrugged: "What's the big deal about talking?"

Li Yunhai said: "Then what kind of battle are you going to fight? Your naval battles are very powerful, right? In the Battle of Coastal Defense in 1946, our country annihilated more than 30 of your troops at the cost of 3000 people, achieving a record of 1 to 100. Such a result makes many countries unbelievable. Maybe you can’t believe it either?”

The tall man was stunned, biting his lip, and couldn't speak for a long time.

A short fat man standing next to him laughed and said: "Don't mention the past. How do you sell this lithography machine? Is it as cheap as the socks on the street stall?"

Li Yunhai said: "Our photolithography machine costs 2 million! I guess you can't afford it!"

The short fat man's eyes widened and he shouted: "2 million US dollars? Are you crazy? Nikon's lithography machines are not so expensive! ASML's are not so expensive either! You are crazy about money! "

Li Yunhai said: "Can't afford it? Please give in, we have to receive other businessmen." (End of Chapter)