Chapter 578 - 576: A Way to Make Money

Chapter 578: Chapter 576: A Way to Make Money

"Ms. Han, you’re right, we can’t back down. But the external pressures are too great!" Professor Xu sighed. "When you called me earlier, I was in a meeting with my superiors, explaining these very things. To be honest, a lot of people understand this, but our research funding is so limited, and our R&D doesn’t turn a profit, so..."

Hearing this, Han Xiaorui smiled. "Professor Xu, I can assure you, you don’t need to worry about funding. As long as you can keep the R&D team together and secure more technology patents, we can figure out the rest as we go."

Professor Xu was taken aback. He knew that most of his department’s research funding was provided by Ye Feng of Shencheng, and in return, they shared the patent rights to their discoveries.

But after so many years and so much investment without seeing any profit, it was essentially like throwing money down the drain.

"Mr. Ye isn’t here, Ms. Han. For a matter this significant, it’s best to discuss it after you two have conferred. On my end, I’ll do my best to apply to the higher-ups and fight for our case."

Han Xiaorui understood Professor Xu’s concern. The amount was simply too enormous for private individuals to cover all the R&D costs alone.

Sometimes, the development process is very long; it isn’t something that can be done in a day or two.

It would be absolutely impossible without the state’s investment.

After all, some components required special customization. They were produced in small batches, which wasn’t profitable for the manufacturing units, so obtaining them often required an executive order from the government.

In short, it was an incredibly expensive and draining undertaking.

Han Xiaorui could hear the lack of confidence in his voice. ’Perhaps even Professor Xu himself realizes the R&D team might not be salvageable.’

"I was abroad once and saw in a magazine that chips can be used to control airplanes, rockets, and even other large-scale equipment. Without our own chips, we can never achieve true self-reliance."

"It’s a terrifying prospect to have that technology in the hands of others. Honestly, the funding is the easy part. The real challenge is figuring out how to keep these teams of experts from being disbanded."

"Setting aside Ye Feng’s income, I personally own an ornamental fish farm and have my hauls from ocean fishing. I can guarantee an annual contribution of one hundred million in funds."

"The government may be cutting its funding, but we have to get policy support. We need them to encourage domestic companies to purchase our lithography machines instead of buying exclusively from overseas. We truly cannot be dependent on others for something like this."

"If our airplanes, cargo ships, rockets, and even our future space station all use foreign chips, it’s like putting the control button in someone else’s hands. The power is theirs, and we won’t be able to use our own technology when we need it most."

Professor Xu nodded. "Ms. Han, research in this industry absolutely burns through money. You and Mr. Ye have supported us so generously. On behalf of all our researchers, I thank you."

"Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Let’s work together to save these research projects. Also, I was thinking of assigning some personnel to develop things like memory sticks. If we can produce them ourselves, we won’t have to rely on imports and could even generate some income."

Han Xiaorui nodded. "Professor Xu, we’ll be counting on you then. As private investors, Ye Feng and I will give you our full support."

She understood all too well the importance of the semiconductor industry; it was the foundation of the future.

In the past, Hua Country had been deceived, ripped off, sanctioned, and blockaded in its efforts to catch up. The struggle had been immense.

The price it had paid was far beyond anything one could imagine.

In her previous life, Han Xiaorui had studied liberal arts. Moreover, the superpower she’d awakened was the Water Ability, so she had absolutely no idea how to contribute to this field technically.

She couldn’t help in any other way, so her only option was to provide funding in exchange for joint ownership of the patents.

To an outsider, the amount she and Ye Feng invested annually seemed like an astronomical sum.

But compared to the capital required for R&D in this industry, it was nowhere near enough. Their contribution was just a drop in the bucket.

The in-depth conversation with Professor Xu served to put his mind at ease.

After the New Year, fifty million would be transferred into a dedicated account for Professor Xu’s department, with the funds earmarked for that specific use.

Receiving this commitment from Han Xiaorui gave Professor Xu a much-needed boost of confidence.

This money would at least allow them to last for another six months.

Seeing private citizens like Han Xiaorui and Ye Feng take such initiative, Professor Xu felt he couldn’t allow himself to be discouraged.

They walked along a small path on campus, where patches of snow still lingered on the sides.

Ye Ling sighed emotionally. "Sister-in-law, do you and my brother really think this is worth it?"

Han Xiaorui paused. "Why do you ask that?"

Ye Ling gave a small smile. "With this much money, you and my brother could be living in extreme luxury. You wouldn’t have to work so hard."

Han Xiaorui blinked. "I think my life is wonderful as it is. We have our daily meals, our family is healthy, and our careers are developing steadily. As for money... I’ll admit it’s a good thing, but it isn’t everything to your brother and me. One has to do something meaningful with their life. Besides," she added, "once this industry is established, the profits will be insane. We’ll be raking it in hand over fist."

Ye Ling gave a bitter smile. "But I’m pessimistic. I keep thinking your investment will go up in smoke. You and my brother could even be dragged into bankruptcy because of this."

Han Xiaorui burst out laughing. "Bankruptcy? What’s there to be afraid of? I can still sell my ornamental fish, and I can still go fishing. Besides, the family owns so many commercial properties. Even if we went bankrupt, we’d still be able to live comfortably."

Hearing his sister-in-law’s hearty laugh, Ye Ling smiled too. "That’s true. I really admire you and my brother. I’ve seen so many people become insufferably arrogant after making a bit of money. But you two don’t flaunt your wealth. Instead, you put everything you earn toward something meaningful."

"You have to do something meaningful and challenging in life, or else what’s the point?" Han Xiaorui said with a smile. "Just you wait. We should be able to save this team."

’As long as we don’t run out of money, it should be possible.’

It was already dark by the time they got home.

Ye Chen was playing cards with the four children. Their faces were covered with little paper strips.

Even Ye Chen’s face had some stuck to it.

Han Xiaorui asked curiously, "Ye Chen, how can you be losing this badly at cards? One, two, three... seven paper strips?"

Ye Chen grimaced. "We’re playing Bluff. They just keep looking at me with these completely sincere eyes, and then when I challenge them... I lose."

After watching a few rounds, Han Xiaorui figured it out.

Pingping and An’an looked so incredibly sincere that even when they were bluffing, everyone believed they were telling the truth.

"Not bad. You all keep playing," Han Xiaorui said with a laugh. "I’m going to chat with Aunt Wang." She headed to the kitchen to help out.

In truth, with the nanny and Sister Lian there to help, Han Xiaorui and Wang Liwen weren’t really needed.

They just stood by the doorway, sorting vegetables and chatting.

The news was playing on the television, and a particular story came on.

A large amount of porcelain and gold had been salvaged from the seabed.

Han Xiaorui had just been worrying about money. ’Since making money through normal means is too slow and brings in too little,’ she thought, ’I’ll just have to use some abnormal ones.’

’Time to go scoop up some gold and silver from the ocean.’

’The ocean is generous, so I won’t hold back.’