Chapter 442 Technology Exchange

When Lao Sun pushed the door open, He Yuzhu was gazing intently at the sunset over the Gobi Desert. He didn't turn around, and Lao Sun didn't say anything either. He placed a negotiation record on the table and turned to leave.

"What did the Japanese say?"

Old Sun stopped in his tracks. "They're trying to lower the price. Eight million, that's 30% lower than our quote. They say China's seawater desalination membrane technology hasn't been proven on the international market, it's too risky, and it's only worth this price."

He Yuzhu turned around. The setting sun shone from behind him, burying his face in shadow, so Lao Sun couldn't see his expression. "When will the Saudi delegation arrive in Beijing?"

"The 15th of next month."

"Then we won't wait any longer. Notify the Japanese side that if they don't sign the contract within three days, we'll sign with Saudi Arabia." He Yuzhu walked back to the table, picked up the record, flipped through it, and paused his finger on the line "Energy consumption: 6 degrees per ton of fresh water." "Change the energy consumption data to eight degrees and print it in the contract."

Old Sun's hand froze in mid-air. "Change it to an octave? Isn't that two degrees higher than it actually is?"

"Just write octaves. If they ask, just say China's testing standards are different from international standards. Were West Germans and French people also here?"

"They've arrived. They're all staying at the Jingxi Hotel."

He Yuzhu closed the notebook. "I'll go see them tomorrow."

In the conference room of the Jingxi Hotel, the crystal chandelier shone brightly. He Yuzhu sat at one end of a long table, opposite Hans Schmidt, a bald man in his fifties from the West German company Siemens, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and a large agate ring on his finger. The translator sat beside him, holding a folder, sweat beading on his forehead.

"Mr. He, we'll offer twelve million to buy the complete microwave communications production line." Schmidt's Chinese was heavily accented, and the sentences sounded like they were being squeezed out of his throat. "But we need the manufacturing technology for the core components, not just individual parts."

He Yuzhu didn't reply, but picked up his teacup and took a sip. The tea leaves slowly unfurled in the hot water, sinking to the bottom. He set the cup down, the bottom tapping softly on the table. "I can give you the complete blueprints, but I'll only sell the core components as individual parts. You can take them back and assemble them yourself; the cost will be 15% higher than importing the whole machine. I've calculated it."

Schmidt's face darkened. "Mr. He, we are in talks with RCA in the United States, and their offer is lower than yours."

"Then go find RCA." He Yuzhu stood up, making a move to leave.

Schmidt reached out to stop him. "Mr. He, let's talk this out."

He Yuzhu didn't sit down, looking down at him. "RCA's microwave communication equipment operates at temperatures between -10°C and 40°C, while ours ranges from -30°C to 50°C. You know better than I what equipment the Siberian oil fields need. Twelve million for spare parts, plus assembly blueprints. We'll sell to you exclusively in Europe for the next three years. Accept it or sign; otherwise, I'll find the French."

Schmidt took off his glasses, wiped the lenses, put them back on, and stared at He Yuzhu for several seconds. "What about energy consumption data? How many bits does your equipment transmit per kilowatt-hour?"

He Yuzhu pulled a sheet of paper from the folder and pushed it over. "0.5 gigabit per kilowatt-hour. This is our test data."

Schmidt took the paper and frowned as he looked at it for a long time. "This consumes twenty percent more energy than the RCA."

"RCA's equipment can't operate in the Siberian winter. No matter how low the energy consumption, it's just scrap metal if it's unusable." He Yuzhu placed his pen on the contract. "Sign it or not?"

Schmidt gritted his teeth and picked up his pen.

As I walked out of the Siemens conference room, Old Sun greeted me in the corridor. "Director He, the French are waiting next door. Their conditions are rather harsh—they require that the penicillin fermentation process not be sold to other countries for five years."

He Yuzhu stood by the window in the corridor, watching the traffic flow on Chang'an Avenue below. A trolleybus came from the east, its overhead wires scraping against the power lines, sending up a string of blue sparks. "A five-year exclusivity period is acceptable, but the price will double. Twelve million. Furthermore, they can only be sold in Europe and North America, not in Southeast Asia."

Will they agree?

"Yes. The European penicillin market is worth 200 million a year. If they get our technology, their costs can be reduced by 40%, and all their competitors will die. Buying a five-year exclusive for 12 million is too cheap for them." He Yuzhu turned around, "Tell the French that we'll sign a five-year contract. If they want to renew after five years, we'll talk again."

In the last meeting room, the Japanese had been waiting for almost two hours. Ichiro Yamamoto, the representative from Mitsubishi, sat ramrod straight, four cups of cold tea in front of him, untouched. Upon seeing He Yuzhu enter, he stood up and bowed.

"Mr. He, eight million for a seawater desalination membrane—it's a price we'll have a hard time explaining to headquarters." Yamamoto spoke fluent Chinese, his voice low but each word firm. "Your technology is indeed advanced, but we've taken on the risk of its first application."

He Yuzhu didn't sit down, but leaned against the doorframe. "Mr. Yamamoto, the Saudis offered ten million, but I didn't sell. Because the Saudis are old friends of ours, the price is negotiable. But it's different for you. Eight million, sign if you want, or I'll leave."

Yamamoto's expression changed slightly, but he quickly regained his composure. "Mr. He, we also want to buy lithography machines. Four of them, at the 90-nanometer level."

"A 90-nanometer lithography machine costs five million each, four machines cost twenty million. This is the final price for the last year. Next year we will stop producing 90-nanometer machines and will only produce 45-nanometer machines. We will not export them."

Yamamoto's eyelid twitched. "What about the energy consumption data?"

Each wafer consumes three kilowatt-hours of electricity.

"It's 20 percent higher than we heard."

He Yuzhu smiled, a very faint smile. "Heard? Heard from whom? The Dutch? They sold you 90-nanometer lithography machines for 15 million each, and their energy consumption is 50% higher than ours. You thought it was too expensive, that's why you came to us. Now that we've given you a price, you're complaining about the energy consumption. Mr. Yamamoto, you understand that cheap machines consume more electricity, and energy-efficient machines are more expensive."

Yamamoto remained silent for a long time. He picked up a glass of now-cold tea, took a sip, and swallowed it with a frown. "Mr. He, we need to discuss this internally."

"There's a meeting room available next door. You have one hour." He Yuzhu glanced at his watch. "I'm going back to Jiuquan in an hour. If we can't sign, we'll have to talk in Jiuquan next time."

He Yuzhu sat on the sofa in the lounge, and Old Sun brought him a cup of hot tea. "Director He, aren't you afraid the talks will fall apart if you pressure them like this?"

"It won't collapse. Japanese appliance factories are waiting for lithography machine expansion, the Dutch have an 18-month wait, while ours can be delivered in three months. The energy consumption is a bit higher, so they pay more in electricity bills, but the machines are two-thirds cheaper, so they still make a profit." He Yuzhu blew on his tea and took a sip. "The West Germans signed?"

"Signed. Twelve million, for parts and blueprints. The French also signed, twelve million, a five-year monopoly, no entry into Southeast Asia."

He Yuzhu nodded, leaned back on the sofa, and closed his eyes. Hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor, growing louder as they approached. The door opened, and Yamamoto stood in the doorway, a somewhat unnatural smile on his face.

"Mr. He, we'll sign. Seawater desalination membranes: eight million; four lithography machines: twenty million. Total: twenty-eight million."

He Yuzhu opened his eyes, stood up, and extended his hand. Yamamoto grasped it, his palms sweaty.

"It's a pleasure working with you," He Yuzhu said.

Yamamoto bowed. "Nice to meet you."

It was late at night when they returned to Jiuquan. He Yuzhu was flipping through the three contracts in his office, while Lao Sun was organizing the attachments beside him. The desk lamp cast their shadows on the wall, dark and indistinct.

"Director He, the three contracts total forty-two million. That should last us a while."

"Forty-two million, still one hundred and ninety-nine billion fifty-eight million short of two hundred billion." He Yuzhu put the contract into the safe, actually transferring it into the system space. "The road ahead is long."

Old Sun hesitated, then pulled a document from his briefcase. "Director He, there's one more thing. Sun Xiuying brought a report this afternoon saying that the animal experiments on Huayuan No. 3 are complete."

He Yuzhu took the report and opened it. The rats' bone density increased by 41%, muscle endurance by 57%, and hypoxia resistance doubled. The data was impressive. He turned to the last page and saw a line of small handwriting by Sun Xiuying: "Director He, there's something you need to know. Three rats in the high-dose group had persistently elevated liver enzymes after stopping the drug. Although they weren't within the pathological range, long-term risks cannot be ruled out. Please decide whether the human trials should proceed as scheduled."

He Yuzhu stared at that line of text for a long time. He closed the report, picked up the red telephone on the table, and dialed Sun Xiuying's number. The phone rang several times before someone answered.

"Xiuying, it's me. The human trials are proceeding as planned. However, the first batch of volunteers has been reduced to five, and we'll start with a low dose. You'll monitor the liver enzymes throughout the process, and have your blood drawn once a week."

Sun Xiuying's voice came through the receiver, tinged with hesitation. "Director He, what if—"

"There's no 'what if'. Back then, Huayuan-1 was also navigating uncharted waters. You'll never know the depth of the water until you take this step. Get ready, it starts next week."

After hanging up the phone, He Yuzhu leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. Old Sun packed up his documents, quietly closed the door, and left.

Outside the window, the wind on the Gobi Desert picked up again. Sand grains pelted the glass, rustling like countless tiny insects crawling. He Yuzhu opened his eyes, walked to the window, and drew back the curtains. In the distance, the red warning lights on the launch tower flashed in the darkness, like a distant heartbeat.

He turned around, turned off the light, and walked out of the office.

The motion-activated lights in the corridor turned on. He didn't go to the garage, but walked along the corridor to the end and pushed open the iron door leading to the roof.

A biting wind swept in, chilling him like a knife cutting his face. He stood on the rooftop, gazing at the southern sky. There was nothing there, only stars. But he knew that at the far end of that direction, at the American Antarctic base, bio-warriors were running through the icy wilderness.

They ran incredibly fast, abnormally fast. But no matter how fast they ran, they couldn't outrun the light. And the light would soon bend in the hands of the Chinese.