FWF Chapter 87 Scroll
Chapter 87 Scroll
"Mr. Su, you're in the drone industry, aren't you?" Huang Zhihua's voice wasn't loud, but every word was barbed. "I respect your achievements in flight control. Your flight control is indeed excellent. But flight control is software. Semiconductor technology is hardware. The two are not on the same track. Your expertise in flight control cannot be directly transferred to MEMS technology."
He paused for a moment.
"Moreover—I've heard that you didn't do the flight control system alone. A lot of the work was done by your team. But when it comes to external publicity, all the credit goes to you. This is a common practice among young entrepreneurs these days. I understand. But in front of those who truly work on the craft—the value of this kind of publicity is diminished."
Su Chen breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this. He finally understood the source of Huang Zhihua's hostility.
"Engineer Huang," Su Chen's tone remained unchanged, "the flight control system was developed by my team and me. Public recognition of achievements is another matter, which we won't discuss today. But I want to tell you something—for the past four months, I've spent two hours every day learning MEMS processes. From semiconductor process fundamentals to temperature control in deep hardening processes to stress relief on MEMS wafers. I'm not just making empty boasts."
"Ha." Huang Zhihua chuckled. "You've only studied MEMS technology for four months—and you're here to mentor us? The youngest process engineer on our team has been in this industry for six years."
"I didn't say I was coming to give you guidance. I said I could help you solve the low-temperature drift problem."
Huang Zhihua turned to Zhao Jiancheng.
"Mr. Zhao, are you even listening? This drone company owner claims he can learn to solve process problems for micro-sensors in just four months. This is an insult to our entire team."
Zhao Jiancheng did not immediately respond. He was looking at Su Chen.
Su Chen's expression was calm—a calmness that made Zhao Jiancheng somewhat uncomfortable. He had seen too many young people boasting in business settings, their expressions usually carrying an undisguised arrogance. Su Chen was different. Su Chen's calmness was the calmness of someone who clearly knew what they held in their hands.
"President Su," Zhao Jiancheng began, "if you can truly help us solve the problem of low-temperature drift—what conditions can we agree to?"
Su Chen nodded.
"Two conditions."
"You said."
"First, for Hongyuan's orders for sensor devices over the next two years, provided the unit price difference does not exceed 20%, Weigan will be given priority in supplying them."
This condition is commercially reasonable. Zhao Jiancheng narrowed his eyes and nodded.
"Secondly, the core patents and process know-how resulting from this process improvement will be shared by both parties according to their respective contributions. The specific allocation plan will be negotiated by the technical teams of both parties. Hongyuan will not impose any rigid requirements."
Zhao Jiancheng thought for two seconds.
"Agreed in principle. However, the determination of contribution requires the joint signatures of both parties' technical committees."
"Can."
Huang Zhihua could no longer hold back. He suddenly stood up.
"Enough! Mr. Zhao, are you really serious about agreeing to these two conditions? Do you know how much it costs to complete a trial production run of MEMS technology? Running a complete process verification batch on this production line costs 800,000 yuan per run. 800,000 yuan, do you understand? And that doesn't even include equipment usage and other hidden costs."
Su Chen slowly spoke as he finished speaking.
What if I cover the costs of pilot production?
The meeting room fell silent once again.
Huang Zhihua's reaction this time was not anger—it was confusion.
"You're paying for it yourself?"
"Yes. I will pay in full for the first three rounds of trial production. 800,000 per round, 2.4 million for three rounds. If there are no substantial improvements in temperature drift within the three rounds, we will consider this cooperation invalid, and I will not recover the fees I have paid."
"Aren't you afraid we'll go through the motions?" Huang Zhihua lowered his voice, but his hostility didn't lessen. "Go through all the formalities, and the money's spent and that's it?"
"I will send an engineer to be on-site to supervise the entire process," Su Chen said, his tone unchanged.
Huang Zhihua stared at him for a few seconds. Then a smile appeared on his lips—a smile tinged with provocation.
"Mr. Zhao, if Mr. Su really intends to do this—I have one condition."
Zhao Jiancheng glanced at him.
"We at Microsensing have an internal process capability exam every year. It has 150 questions, covering everything from semiconductor fundamentals to temperature control in deep hardening processes and core aspects of MEMS wafer fabrication. This is our benchmark for selecting core process engineers. I scored 94 this year. General Manager Zhao scored 88. Mr. Lin Shiming—" Huang Zhihua nodded to the old man, "Mr. Lin doesn't take this exam every year, but the team generally agrees he can get a perfect score."
"What do you mean?" Zhao Jiancheng asked.
"Didn't Mr. Su say he studied MEMS technology for four months? Let him take this test. The passing score is 60. If he doesn't get 60—this collaboration ends here. We don't owe him anything, and he doesn't owe us anything."
Lin Shiming raised his head at this moment. He hadn't said a word since the start of the meeting.
"Engineer Huang," the old man's voice was a little hoarse, but his words were clear, "Mr. Su is a guest. It's not the spirit of a process engineer to use internal exam questions to make things difficult for a guest. Even General Manager Zhao only scored 88 on this test—you're deliberately trying to embarrass the guest."
"Teacher Lin—"
"This isn't a matter of craftsmanship. It's a matter of how you treat people." Lin Shiming waved his hand. "I disagree."
The atmosphere in the meeting room became tense.
Su Chen spoke at this moment.
"Can."
Everyone looked at him.
"What?" Huang Zhihua thought he had misheard.
"I said okay. I'll do Engineer Huang's test. But I have one small request—not just 60 points. I want to get over 88 points, on par with General Manager Zhao. If I get below 88, I'll consider it a loss."
Huang Zhihua stared at him for five seconds. Then he slowly nodded.
"Okay. I'll go prepare now. It starts at nine o'clock tomorrow morning. Four hours. You are not allowed to bring any materials into the examination room."
Zhao Jiancheng looked at Su Chen. He wanted to say something but didn't speak.
Lin Shiming sighed and said nothing more. He simply poured himself a cup of tea and put the teapot back in its place.
After the meeting, Su Chen and Zhao Jiancheng sat alone in the small meeting room downstairs for a while.
"Mr. Su, Engineer Huang's attitude today was very inappropriate. I apologize on behalf of the company. You didn't actually need to answer that question—I could have just rejected it."
"No need to pressure him," Su Chen said. "Engineer Huang isn't trying to make things difficult for me. He's worried about Weigan. Eight years of working for a company, and now a drone company owner is offering to 'help you solve your process problems'—his hostility is a way of taking responsibility for the company. I'll finish the test paper tomorrow. If his hostility is still there, that's a different story. If it's gone, then this cooperation will be more secure than before we signed the contract."
Zhao Jiancheng looked at him.
Are you confident?
"I'm not absolutely certain," Su Chen said honestly, "but I'm about 80% sure."
Why 80%?
"Because what I've learned over the past four months—while not completely overlapping with what Engineer Huang is going to test—has a high degree of overlap."
Zhao Jiancheng didn't ask any more questions. He got up and saw Su Chen to the door.
"Tomorrow morning at nine o'clock, in the small conference room on the third floor."
"I'll be there at nine o'clock."
Su Chen stepped out of the Weigan building at 4:30 PM. The wind in Wuxi at the end of November was already quite cold. He zipped his coat up to his chin.
He didn't go back to the hotel immediately. He found a coffee shop nearby and sat there for two hours. Not to review—he wanted to mentally process all the people he had met that day.
Zhao Jiancheng has a broad vision and a solid technical foundation, but he will compromise in front of veteran employees like Huang Zhihua.
Huang Zhihua—technically proficient, and the most senior employee in the company. His hostility wasn't directed at Su Chen personally, but at the very act of an "outsider parachuting in to provide guidance." If this kind of engineer could truly be won over, he would be MicroSense's greatest asset.
Lin Shiming—a key figure. Seventy-two years old, from Bosch Munich. Su Chen had observed the old man during the meeting—Lin Shiming had been watching Su Chen from the moment Huang Zhihua began his provocation. He had been watching him the whole time. This watching wasn't hostile; it was the instinct of a senior engineer assessing a younger person.
Su Chen estimated that Huang Zhihua would make tomorrow's test very difficult, even more difficult than the internal exam for Micro-Sensitive. Huang Zhihua would choose to add more to his strongest areas.
But that's okay. The things Su Chen learned for two hours every day during these four months—not the conceptual knowledge from books, but the practical knowledge he accumulated by disassembling Bosch's IMU layer by layer from its outer shell to its MEMS structure in the virtual disassembly lab and going through every temperature parameter of the deep hardening process.
If tomorrow's test is on concepts, he won't get 88 points.
But if it's a test on craftsmanship—he's confident.
He finished his coffee and stood up. The wind outside had picked up. He tightened his scarf again and headed back to the hotel.