Rebirth: Controlled Nuclear Fusion

Part 138：A 50% Discount Available

Upon hearing the news that Jiang Fan had developed the 7nm chip, the high-ranking leaders of Dragon Country refrained from announcing it immediately. Instead, they held a private meeting with Ren Zhengfei, the representative of domestic mobile phone manufacturers. Upon learning the news, Ren Zhengfei was overwhelmed with excitement; he never imagined that Dragon Country had actually succeeded in developing a chip. At last, his company had been saved!

When Ren Zhengfei was informed that the state had decided to entrust the production rights of the chip to Huawai Technology, he was moved to tears.
"We chose Huawai Technology after careful consideration. I hope you won't let down the expectations of our country," they said.
"Thank you, I will certainly not disappoint the country," Ren Zhengfei replied earnestly.

The government had evaluated five domestic tech companies for the chip production license, and although Huawai's strength was only moderate, Jiang Fan had nominated them. After review, the government agreed, noting that despite Huawai's average economic standing, Ren Zhengfei's patriotism and the presence of a competent research team at Huawai made them a strong candidate.

With the government's support, Huawai quickly secured the production machinery for the chip. Under Jiang Fan's guidance, the first batch of 7nm chips was soon produced, named "Dragon Core."

To express his gratitude, Ren Zhengfei gave Jiang Fan 10% equity in Huawai Technology. With the "Dragon Core" chip now in production, industries connected to chips—such as mobile phones, computers, and televisions—immediately saw a revival. Furthermore, the government set chip prices far below the former costs of imported foreign chips—at only one-fifth of the price. As a result, the operational costs of all related businesses plummeted.

Meanwhile, Foster, still unaware of the situation, waited for Dragon Country to reach out to him. Instead, he was stunned by the news that Dragon Country had indeed developed a 7nm chip. Upon seeing the global announcement, he was initially skeptical, dismissing it as fake news. It was simply impossible, he thought. A 7nm chip?

Had they developed a 17nm chip, he might have believed it. But a 7nm chip, without first mastering 17nm or 11nm as a foundation, was unimaginable. Then, he saw advertisements for custom-made chips by a company called Huawai Technology, which forced him to confront the uncomfortable truth: Dragon Country had indeed developed a 7nm chip.

Panic surged within him. Up until now, only the Beautiful Country had been capable of producing 7nm chips. They controlled the prices at will. But now, with Dragon Country's announcement, they had shattered the monopoly. This would drastically reduce the Beautiful Country chip exports and erode their price control. The export revenue from chips was a critical source of the Beautiful Country national income.

Foster now realized the gravity of the situation and urgently convened a crisis meeting. As he pondered whether to invite Bernie, he recalled something Bernie often said:
"Dragon Country is like a slumbering beast; don't provoke it, let it sleep..."
Now, he was beginning to understand the true meaning behind those words and decided to invite Bernie after all.

...

Meanwhile, Dragon Country's mobile phone industry was experiencing a boom. After the announcement of the domestic chip, The Beautiful Country mobile OS companies immediately lifted their sanctions on Dragon Country. They certainly didn't want to replicate the mistakes of chip manufacturers who received minimal government subsidies and had their exports to Dragon Country severely restricted. Now, they wouldn't be needed at all, for Dragon Country had its own "Dragon Core" chip, and they would no longer rely on foreign chips.

It was estimated that those chip manufacturers would lose at least 300 billion every year. With domestic phones now utilizing their own country's chips, the cost of each phone dropped by 30%. The true extent of the profits previously made by the Beautiful Country was now apparent.

In gratitude for the country's intervention and salvation, domestic phone brands began offering phones at cost price to the public. These phones were snapped up almost instantly. Previously, many had compared domestic phones unfavorably with foreign brands, but after a brief period of the foreign phones being unavailable, it became clear that domestic phones were far more affordable and desirable. Now, online reviews were overwhelmingly positive.

Netizen 1: "Finally bought a phone today, it's domestic, and it feels just right!"
Netizen 2: "Seeing affordable domestic brands like Xiaomi, Huawai, and Meizu, I'm so happy to finally afford a phone!"
Netizen 3: "I used to criticize domestic phones, but after this event, I owe them a sincere apology!"
Netizen 4: "Domestic phones at a thousand yuan perform just as well as foreign brands priced over 6000 yuan. Isn't that great?"
Netizen 5: "The foreign brands raised their prices the moment domestic phones were pulled from shelves. They've only been out to exploit our money! Let's all reject foreign brands from now on!"
Netizen 6: "I've smashed my Apple phone, from now on, I'm only supporting domestic brands!"
Netizen 7: "I've deleted my Apple account, 12,000 yuan for a phone? Forget it! Apple can go to hell!"
Netizen 8: "@Netizen 7, have you checked Apple's website? They've reduced the price to 6500 yuan, but they've added 5500 yuan! Forget Apple, they're not welcome in Dragon Country!"

...

Lei Jun, the owner of Xiaomi, couldn't help but smile as he read the online comments. He turned to the other phone manufacturers and said, "We really must thank the country and the scientists who developed 'Dragon Core.' Without them, we wouldn't have had a chance to sit here today. Ha-ha..."
"Who exactly is the scientist behind the chip?" someone asked.
"That's a national secret. We won't be able to contact them," said another.
"By the way, where's Brother Ren from Huawai? Why isn't he here?"
"He's a busy man now, dealing with the chip matters," someone else replied.

Just then, Lei Jun's phone rang. It was GaoTong, the Beautiful Country chip company. He answered with speakerphone on.
"Hello, Mr. Lei. I apologize for not supplying you with chips earlier. That was the government's decision, and we had no choice. As compensation, we are now offering a 50% discount on chips ordered from our company in the future."