Chapter 146: Boss Huang is taking rather large strides, isn't he?

"Chairman, are you out of your mind!" Although he desperately wanted to ask this question, Chen Shoufu managed to swallow the words back down his throat.

An entrepreneur who sold mystery boxes and developed software suddenly announced that he was going to manufacture servers simply because he could not buy them—such an erratic and bizarre decision left Chen Shoufu utterly speechless. Apart from insanity, no other explanation seemed to fit.

Yet, upon second thought, Chen Shoufu reflected on Chairman Huang's entire history of building his fortune. He had jumped from selling leather goods to selling mystery boxes, and then from mystery boxes to software development. Every single time, it had been an utterly wild and erratic leap, yet every single time, he had managed to ride the crest of the era's waves. Even now, his ventures were soaring high and expanding vigorously.

Therefore, Chairman Huang wanting to build servers did not seem entirely inconceivable after all. Upon further reflection, it might not even be completely impossible.

"Chairman, how do you plan to go about this? Do you have any ideas in mind?" Chen Shoufu asked with curiosity.

"Well, I don't have a clue yet!" Huang He shook his head. "My idea just popped up while we were chatting earlier. How could I possibly have a plan yet?"

"Uh..." Chen Shoufu closed his mouth. He decided it was best to stay quiet, lest Chairman Huang ask him for his ideas next.

"But I wouldn't say I have no thoughts at all. At the very least, I clearly understand one thing: professional matters should be left to the professionals. Professor Chen, I remember you graduated from the computer science department in university. Your understanding of servers must be much better than mine. Do you have any thoughts?" Huang He smiled.

"As expected, even if I don't speak up, this burden still falls on my shoulders!" Chen Shoufu sighed inwardly before replying, "Chairman, although I did study computer science, I don't know much about servers. I wouldn't call myself a professional. You should find someone with more specialized expertise."

"Oh!" Huang He glanced sideways at Chen Shoufu, then nodded and said, "Very well. Then tell me, who are these more specialized people I should look for?"

"I can put you in touch with my former professor. He is a leading authority in the computer science department at Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications. He has conducted extensive research on servers and chips, and he's an absolute heavyweight in the industry. He should be able to help you!" Chen Shoufu immediately pushed his professor forward to take the blame.

"Good, we'll find your professor!" Huang He slapped his thigh in delight. Without letting Chen Shoufu pack a single thing, Huang He immediately had him board an evening flight, bringing along Leng Zhiwen, who had just finished school, and flew straight to Beijing.

Chen Shoufu's professor turned out to be remarkably enthusiastic. As soon as he received Chen Shoufu's call and learned that someone wanted to venture into the server industry, he readily agreed to meet the very next day.

"If you want to build servers, it can be said to be easy; but if you call it difficult, it is extraordinarily difficult!" Those were the very first words the industry titan uttered when they met.

"I am all ears," Huang He said sincerely, bowing his head slightly.

"To say it's easy is because a server is actually simpler than a personal computer. Unlike a PC—which requires not only a chip, but also various complex control components on the motherboard, RAM, hard drives, graphics cards, output devices, input devices, and so on—a server simply needs a chip, a basic motherboard, and matching memory or storage devices depending on its intended use."

"From a technical standpoint, a server is not difficult at all. I could draw up a complete set of server blueprints for you right now!" the authority stated.

"Then where does the difficulty lie?" Huang He asked earnestly.

"The difficulty lies in the chips!" The expert sighed. "A server, to put it bluntly, is a platform for conducting heavy computations and data interaction. It doesn't demand much from software, but its hardware requirements are extremely high—especially for the processing chip, which is the CPU, and the storage modules, meaning the hard drives. Those standards are exceptionally stringent."

"As everyone knows, our domestic chip industry is extremely weak, or rather, practically nonexistent. All chips and storage devices must be imported from abroad. If you want to build servers, you'll end up like Inspur in Shandong: designing the architecture domestically, then importing chips and storage units from overseas, and assembling them together to produce a server."

"This process is extremely simple. You don't even need to consult me; I could casually pick a few of my students, and they could cobble one together for you!"

"If that's the case, why is the quality of domestically produced servers so terrible and prone to failure?" Huang He asked with curiosity.

"First of all, it's a matter of incompatibility. Their chips are purchased externally, and their understanding of those chips is insufficient. It's akin to constructing a Chinese body and transplanting a foreigner's heart into it. While it can barely manage to stay alive, engaging in strenuous exercise is out of the question, and its lifespan won't be very long either."

"Then why can't we make the body match better?" Huang He asked, puzzled.

"To match a foreigner's heart, you must build a foreigner's body. In other words, you have to heavily import foreign components so that they can perfectly integrate with the chip."

"However, if all these components are imported, the production cost will be even higher than the import price of finished foreign products. Who would buy domestic servers then? Therefore, all components that can be localized must be localized. But domestic manufacturing technologies vary unevenly, and the resulting bodies naturally turn out weak and fragile."

"Aside from that, domestic production management and quality standards truly make me ashamed. I often find stray drops of solder joints inside domestic servers, and sometimes even a few loose screws rolling around inside."

"Just recently, our school bought a domestic server. The moment it was powered on, it burned out. We later discovered that during assembly, a screw had been trapped beneath the motherboard, and that very screw happened to bridge two solder joints, causing a direct short circuit that burned out the entire motherboard."

"I see!" Huang He nodded with a wry smile. True to his reputation, the expert was no fraud; Huang He now understood the core issues.

"Chairman Huang, I am glad you have the ambition to build servers, because domestic private entrepreneurs who dare to challenge high-tech industries like you are far too few. I admire you!"

"At the same time, however, I do not advise you to enter this industry. Because if you do, you will either end up recreating another Inspur, or lose your shirt and end up completely bankrupt. No matter how you look at it, neither outcome is a good one!" The expert sighed.

"Professor, your words have given me a wealth of insight. But why do you think whatever I eventually manufacture would just be goods on par with Inspur? Why couldn't I produce servers that are of qualified quality while also being more suitably priced for the Chinese market?" Huang He asked.

"It's very simple—it boils down to the two points I just mentioned!" The expert shook his head. "The core of a server, plain and simple, lies in the chip. Unless you can independently design a chip, then build the entire server platform around that proprietary chip while exercising strict quality control over every stage of production, you will still just be another Inspur!"

"Chips?" Huang He licked his lips. Actually, even without the expert telling him, he was well aware of how insurmountable the chip industry seemed for China at the present time. After all, even into the year 2021, China as a whole remained plagued by chip bottlenecks, and Huawei had its throat choked by them. The undeniable fact was that the domestic chip industry lagged behind the international standard by two decades.

All of this told Huang He that diving into chip development right now was essentially marching to his doom.

Let alone the fact that Huang He's motivation for getting into chips was absurdly trivial—merely to build servers for his own company.

It was far more realistic to honestly purchase foreign servers instead.

"However, Chairman Huang, if you truly want to make servers, you can actually wait a bit longer. Perhaps things will change next year!" Sensing that Huang He looked somewhat discouraged, the expert added.

"Oh, what kind of changes will happen next year?" Huang He asked.

"Well, it's like this. Doesn't our country have the 863 Program? One of its components is a specialized scientific research initiative dedicated to chip breakthroughs, hosted by the Ministry of Information Industry. Word has it that it has already entered the final breakthrough stage, and the project leaders have indicated that we might see their first-generation products coming out as early as next year. While they won't reach top international standards, they can achieve a medium-to-high level, which should at least be sufficient for building servers!" the expert said.

"There is such a thing!" A look of pleasant surprise instantly appeared on Huang He's face. It seemed that what he had seen online in his past life was false after all—China had not completely abandoned chip research prior to 2020.

"Professor, who is this project leader, and where are they conducting their research? I was wondering if I might be able to pay them a visit and learn more about the specifics!" Huang He asked eagerly.

"Oh, he is a very young talent named Chen Jin. He just returned from the United States last year. Previously, he was a specialist at both IBM and Motorola. This year, he joined Shanghai Jiao Tong University and established a dedicated laboratory to research large-scale DSP chips. If you are interested, you can go to Shanghai to find him. However, the most I can do is make a phone call to introduce you; whether he is willing to see you or not is entirely up to him. I wouldn't be able to help beyond that, as we aren't particularly close either," the expert said. Huang He hurriedly expressed his gratitude. Before leaving, he even wanted to leave behind some tokens of appreciation, but the expert refused them all and had them returned.

"Chairman, you surely don't want to go right now..." Emerging from his professor's home and seeing Huang He's eager, itching-to-go expression, Chen Shoufu asked with immediate panic.

"Old Chen, bear with me a little. Let's fly to Shanghai today, and we can meet this Professor Chen as early as tomorrow!" Huang He said cheerfully.