Chapter 290 The Land of Rise and Fall
Su Yuanshan had always intended to make significant use of Li Mingliu—he had envisioned him leading the future X86 team from the start. Otherwise, he wouldn't have sent him to the SEZ to handle high-speed cache work.
But now, during the very period when Li was representing the CPU team in strategic talks with Claude about the next-generation architecture, he suddenly wanted to leave the CPU team.
Even if Su Yuanshan supported him, he needed a reason.
Li didn't respond immediately. Instead, he stood by the lakeside, pulled out a cigarette, and handed one to Su Yuanshan.
"Just hold it for appearance's sake."
Su Yuanshan chuckled helplessly and took the cigarette, letting it hang loosely between his fingers.
Li lit his own, took a deep drag, then looked out over the lake and said slowly, "I quoted you earlier—about human limits. Back then, I thought you were full of shit… like you were looking down on me."
Su Yuanshan laughed. "I was just stating facts, alright?"
"Yeah," Li sighed. "It's only in the past six months that I really started to feel it. The broader the field, the more breakthroughs you want to chase, and the more your mind starts losing focus… It's a damn mess."
"On the other hand, Gao Xiaodi is different. To be honest, back in my team, Old Gao only ranked third or fourth in terms of ability—he wasn't even as strong as Xiao Shouping."
Su Yuanshan smiled. "Brother Xiao's pretty capable. A well-rounded guy. He's now set up his own design team on the VCD side, and the DVD decoding chip is nearly done."
"Yeah… Xiao's great. Reminds me a little of myself," Li said, giving a rare compliment to a former subordinate. "But in the last two years, Gao has grown fast—especially in architecture. While discussing architecture with them these days, I was shocked to realize... when it comes to system design, I can't beat him anymore."
Su Yuanshan didn't reply right away. He knew Gao had always had a talent for architecture and microcode, and under Su's own guidance these past two years, his growth had been rapid.
Of course, he couldn't just say that out loud.
"Everyone has their strengths," Su Yuanshan offered with a smile. "You're best at the actual implementation and technical problem-solving in integrated circuits. That's why I had you lead the cache project."
Li took another deep drag and said candidly, "Still, in a team, the chief architect is the soul of CPU design. If you were heading the CPU team, I'd have no problem managing two or three groups at once. But with the current setup, I can't lead Old Gao."
Su Yuanshan said nothing.
The chief architect needed enough authority and presence to coordinate the entire team's work.
If Li Mingliu was only in charge of cache but was still the team's official head, that would hurt the team more than help.
"So," Li said seriously, "since you believe the future belongs to flash memory, I've decided to leave the CPU team and dedicate myself to flash development."
That settled it. Su Yuanshan nodded. "Alright.
When you get back, set up a Memory Division.
Start three groups: one for cache, one for RAM, and one for flash.
You personally lead the flash team."
"Also, once the new tech park is officially launched, you'll take full responsibility for its research direction."
Li paused, visibly caught off guard, then gave a self-deprecating smile. "I wasn't asking for a promotion."
Su Yuanshan smiled back. "When I sent you over there, it was always with the intention that you'd manage the tech park. You didn't guess?"
Li smiled shyly. "I had an inkling. That's why I've always prioritized the big picture."
"Yeah… putting the big picture first. Since you said that, I guess I can't be lazy either."
"You've already been lazy for too long!"
Though Li had decided to step away from the CPU team and build the Memory Division from scratch, during his remaining days at Yuanxin he remained actively involved in discussions around next-generation CPU architecture.
And true to his word, Su Yuanshan stopped being lazy too.
He began joining daily discussions with Li Mingliu, Gao Xiaodi, and Claude.
—To be precise, he began guiding them all toward what would eventually become the Tualatin architecture.
...
On the 27th, Su Yuanshan and Zhou Xiaohui boarded a plane to the capital.
Before leaving, he had met with Kutaragi Ken again.
Sony's senior leadership was very receptive to the proposed cooperation with Yuanxin.
But the specifics of that collaboration still required further negotiation.
Upon landing, Su Yuanshan and Zhou Xiaohui moved into a siheyuan surrounded by construction sites.
The courtyard residence had been renovated, and the rooms—once stripped bare in preparation for demolition—were now furnished, all thanks to Zhu Yuanxin, a Central Academy of Fine Arts graduate who had carefully chosen and arranged the furniture.
"Now this is more like it!" Su Yuanshan said contentedly as he leaned back in a carved wooden armchair. "This is exactly how a siheyuan should feel."
"Heh, siheyuan are all about preserving that sense of antiquity. Without the old furniture, it loses its soul," Zhu Yuanxin said, pointing to the bed nearby. "Redwood. Guess how much it cost?"
"Damn... luxury goods?" Su Yuanshan was shocked. "How much did you spend on this?"
"Well... I wouldn't call it a luxury exactly."
"Oh…" Su Yuanshan realized the context.
It was still the 1990s — these antique-style pieces hadn't yet been inflated to the outrageous prices of the future.
"The renovation was pretty simple. We avoided unnecessary secondary remodeling. With buildings like this, it's best to leave the layout untouched," Zhu explained, pointing to the room's eaves. "We used special techniques to restore them — kept everything as authentically antique as possible."
"Yeah, not bad.
Though I doubt this place is all that old.
'Antique' might be a bit of a stretch."
"Haha! President Shan…" Zhu laughed. "You're right. This place only dates back to the Qing dynasty.
In our country, with such a long history, anything short of a thousand years barely qualifies as 'ancient.'"
After chatting a bit more, Zhu left to show Zhou Xiaohui the neighboring room.
After a night in the siheyuan, the next day Su Yuanshan and Zhou Xiaohui headed straight to Jiuxianqiao.
Along the way, the rows of rundown factories gave him a lot to reflect on.
Jiuxianqiao had been the capital's first industrial zone after the founding of the Republic, one of the most important zones in the First Five-Year Plan.
It had witnessed the special relationship between China and its northern neighbor during that unique historical period.
It had also witnessed the birth of domestic industry — and…
Its decline.
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