889 I Have Half

“Academician Lu, what are you doing here, my friend? If you told us you were coming, we would have prepared to give you a tour!”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Lu Zhou looked at the factory manager and said, “I don’t want to disturb your work. I mean, look at the group of people behind you, I already feel bad for intruding.”

Lu Zhou obviously wasn’t going to tell him that the real reason he was here was that he decided to go back to his hometown early this year, mainly because of the annoying people visiting his office.

“Don’t worry about me, just let this guy give me a tour of the factory.”

Lu Zhou patted Huang Guangming’s shoulder, who then forced a smile on his face.

Meng Zhongbiao finally noticed the person standing next to Lu Zhou. He didn’t recognize Huang Guangming but could tell that Huang Guangming was a factory staff member.

“Okay then… Then, will you please take care of Academician Lu. Give him a tour of the factory,” Meng Zhongbiao said as he gave Huang Guangming a friendly smile. Meng Zhongbiao secretly looked at his assistant, who was standing next to him.

His assistant quickly knew what was going on. He took out his phone and took a photo of Huang Guangming. He then sent the photo to the factory Wechat group and sent a message.

[Who is this? I need details!]

“Okay, yes, sir!”

Huang Guangming didn’t notice the assistant’s movements. He nodded at the factory’s “big name”.

Based on Huang Guangming’s years of experience in the field, he could tell that Factory Manager Meng was Lu Zhou’s acquaintance. Huang Guangming was just glad his bonus was safe.

After all, when it came to the computer chip industry, other than the manager or the deputy manager, most of the staff members were doing repetitive work. The only difference was that the staff members were stuck in cubicles, while the assembly line workers were on the front-line.

His salary was enough to pay off his mortgage and car lease, but without his monthly bonus, he would have to eat sleep as his dinner this month.

After the leadership team walked away, Huang Guangming sighed a breath of relief before thanking Lu Zhou solemnly.

“Thanks, bro! Thanks to you, my bonus is still safe.”

Lu Zhou smiled and said, “Stop slacking off at work. I can save you this time, but what about next time?”

“I told you, I’m not slacking off, I’m just taking a cigarette break… It’s not like I can stay in the office for eight hours a day.” Huang Guangming rubbed his head and said, “I’m a hard worker…”

“Forget about it, give me a tour inside.” Lu Zhou looked at the large factory and grinned as he said, “I heard HiSilicon used to be supplied by TSMC. They finally have their own factory now, so I’m curious what it looks like inside.”

“Actually, it’s nothing special, just come with me… What about this guy?” Huang Guangming said as he pointed toward Wang Peng.

Wang Peng: “I am responsible for Academician Lu’s safety. Just pretend like I don’t exist.”

Huang Guangming nodded and said: “… Okay then.”

The three people walked into the spacious factory.

Lu Zhou followed Huang Guangming’s footsteps and looked around the factory building. He visited various processing stations and learned about the production process.

Lu Zhou stared at the empty chip processing area, paused for a moment, then spoke.

“How come there’s no equipment here… No workers either.”

“Because the most important… Because the technology is still a secret,” Huang Guangming said. He nearly spoke out loud about the carbon-based transistors, but fortunately, he stopped himself. He then said, “I can’t tell you the specifics since it’s a state secret… Hope you understand.”

“It’s fine, I get it.”

Lu Zhou smiled and nodded his head.

Looks like Guangming is quite a professional; he won’t even reveal secrets to me.

Too bad he doesn’t know that I’m the one who set the guidelines on keeping carbon-based transistors a secret.

Huang Guangming started to speak a little more cautiously.

“I heard you worked in nuclear fusion, then aerospace. How do you have connections in semiconductors?”

“Connections?” Lu Zhou frowned and said, “Not really, I don’t really know a lot of people in the semiconductor field…”

Wang Zhengfei was one of them, but Lu Zhou wasn’t that close to him. Other than that, Professor Wu Tianqun, the head of the carbon-based transistor project, was the only other one.

These were the only two.

“Okay, fine, forget about it…” Huang Guangming glanced at Lu Zhou in disbelief. “If you’re not friends with the factory manager, why would he let you in?”

“Oh, that’s what you’re talking about. I actually don’t know him; I don’t even know his name.” Lu Zhou smiled awkwardly and said, “But I do have half of… HiSilicon’s shares.”

Huang Guangming: “???”

…

On the other hand, at the manager’s office for the production and research center.

Meng Zhongbiao sat in front of his desk and picked up his vacuum flask. He glanced at his assistant.

His assistant knew what the manager wanted, so he looked at his phone and spoke.

“I did some research. That technician’s name is Huang Guangming, and his resume is quite satisfactory. Nothing particularly amazing, but no bad records. He studied at Jin Ling University, and he was Academician Lu’s… roommate.”

“Room-roommate?!” Factory Manager Meng paused for a second and said, “They’re in the same class?”

The assistant nodded.

“Academician Lu is in Jin Ling University’s class of 2013… They didn’t graduate at the same time, but they were in the same class.”

Same class?!

How come one of them is an academician, and the other is…

Meng Zhongbiao contemplated for a second and said, “Um… Invite Huang Guangming to my office.”

The assistant nodded.

“Yes, sir.”

The fact that the manager used the word “invite” instead of “bring” was quite telling.

After the assistant found Huang Guangming, he politely brought the technician to the manager’s office, then closed the office door and left.

The atmosphere in the office was quiet.

Huang Guangming stared at Manager Meng, who was sitting behind his desk. He was a little confused.

If Lu Zhou told him that he had East Asia Energy’s shares, he would believe him. But Huawei’s HiSilicon… He thought Huawei maintained total control over HiSilicon?

It’s not about making money…

If he were the Huawei CEO, even if it meant losing billions, he would never sell HiSilicon’s shares and let other people stick their hands into the pie. Not to mention, even if Huawei wouldn’t lose billions, they were still competitive in the fields of security monitoring and automation.

However, Lu Zhou didn’t explain anything to him. Lu Zhou just asked him to finish the tour, then they bid their farewells.

When he got back to his cubicle, he was immediately called into his boss’ office…

Huang Guangming stared at Manager Meng and asked, “Manager Meng?”

No response.

The manager didn’t even acknowledge him.

Huang Guangming didn’t dare to speak again.

They quietly sat there as the clock on the wall slowly ticked by. After a minute, Meng Zhongbiao finally nodded.

This kid is a bit goofy, but he’s a good student. But he does come in a dime a dozen, but…

He does have training value.

I guess I’ll promote him to safety officer, then deputy safety director, then maybe management…

Of course, he might not be fit for the job.

I’m giving him the opportunity, but if he doesn’t perform well, I’m sure Academician Lu won’t want a team dragger.

While Factory Manager Meng was contemplating, Huang Guangming got the chills. Factory Manager Meng’s arrogant smile gave Huang Guangming goosebumps.

The f*ck, this guy isn’t interested in me, right?

I don’t swing that way!

While he was hesitating on what to say, Factory Manager Meng finally said, “From now on, you’ll be responsible for the safety of the research and production center.”

Huang Guangming: “…?”