Those who made their living at sea, men and women alike, were not soft-spoken pushovers. They battled the crashing waves, looking past life and death with absolute fearlessness. After all, didn’t they work so incredibly hard just to give their families a better life? Now that Fatty Wang was actually trying to scheme against her, there was no way Liang Xiaoyu would swallow her anger or suffer in silence.

Fatty Wang’s face twitched. He smiled sheepishly. “Sister-in-law Xiao Yu, don’t be mad. Honestly, I didn’t want to lend it to him either. Old Man Cai was crying and kneeling; I just couldn’t say no.

“Since Old Man Cai has completely lost the ability to repay the debt, I’ll consider myself out of luck and ask for your forgiveness. I won’t dare do this again.”

Liang Xiaoyu nodded. “You’d better not! We live in a great era with plenty of opportunities to make money, yet you’re still resorting to these crooked schemes. President Han told me to warn you: behave yourself in Jinshan Bay. Loan sharking, prostitution, gambling, and drugs are absolutely not allowed here.”

If it had only been Liang Xiaoyu saying this, Fatty Wang might not have cared, but he didn’t dare ignore Han Xiaorui’s words. Although Han Xiaorui kept a very low profile, everyone knew that the most profitable enterprises in Jinshan Bay all belonged to her. That amounted to nearly two thousand employees. Moreover, both Jinshan Bay and White Crane Village completely submitted to Han Xiaorui’s authority. A single word from her could mobilize all the local people. As someone from the criminal underworld, Fatty Wang knew better than to clash head-on with her.

“Thank you for the reminder, Sister-in-law Xiao Yu,” Fatty Wang said with a sheepish grin before taking his men and leaving.

Liang Xiaoyu made no effort to hide her hatred for Old Man Cai. She only had one daughter; if anything ever happened to her child, she would go insane.

Old Man Cai cried, whimpering and mumbling incoherently.

Looking at him with cold eyes, Liang Xiaoyu instructed a boatman, “Help me load him onto the tricycle so I can take him to the nursing home. His mistress ran off and abandoned him, but we can’t just leave him to die.”

Hearing this, not a single person in the crowd spoke up in Old Man Cai’s defense. His actions had crossed the ultimate bottom line for both Liang Xiaoyu and Granny Cai.

After the fees were paid and the paperwork was filed, Old Man Cai was settled into the nursing home. The caretakers would clean him up and feed him. Of course, it would never be as comfortable as home, nor would the care be as devoted as that from family.

When Cai Xueqin returned from his business trip and learned of the major incident that had occurred, he fell into utter silence. He acted as though nothing had happened, never once mentioning his father. Cai Wennan used to have a soft spot for Old Man Cai, but now she had completely given up on him too. Since even his blood relatives no longer felt any affection for him, Granny Cai and Liang Xiaoyu certainly weren’t going to care either.

Although the incident had passed, the issue of public security in Jinshan Bay was put on the agenda. Following Officer Li’s application, a new police station was established. Because Jinshan Bay was developing faster than other areas and experiencing a larger influx of people, it was necessary to strengthen security management.

That evening, Ye Feng was smoking in the courtyard.

“Why are you suddenly smoking?” Han Xiaorui asked. Knowing that smoking made a person thirsty, she poured him a cup of tea.

Ye Feng’s eyes burned with anger. “After the GPS on our cargo ship was shut off at sea, it couldn’t find its way home.”

Han Xiaorui chuckled upon hearing this. “Do you feel humiliated? Does it feel like someone is strangling our lifeline?”

Ye Feng nodded. “Yes! Right now, the entire country is furious!”

Han Xiaorui smiled again. “It’s certainly not a good thing, but it also shows us that if we lack our own technology, the other side will inevitably have us by the throat.

“If we remain obedient, quietly serving as their manufacturer of cheap industrial goods and forever living at the mercy of Europe and America, we might only ever get a few scraps from their tables.

“The moment we step out of line, they’ll seize us by the throat! They won’t sell us the crucial components we desperately need! Our planes will become unmaintainable, our medical equipment will fail to operate, and our heavy machinery will grind to a halt…”

Ye Feng’s expression was grave as he nodded. “Yes! That’s the consensus! We also know that foreign powers don’t want us to become strong; they merely want us to remain their cheap labor.

“Back then, we went through unimaginable hardships to achieve national independence. If we were to surrender now, what would be the point of it all?”

Han Xiaorui nodded in deep agreement. “Since we can see this, the top decision-makers can see it even more clearly!

“Besides, I believe our semiconductor and lithography industries will also receive national support! Faced with this incident, those who clamor that ‘it’s better to buy than to build’ won’t be able to cover up the truth, even if they had a thousand mouths.”

Ye Feng paused slightly before slapping his thigh. “Right! Whether it’s aerospace or any other industry, especially high-tech ones, none will be able to function without chips in the future. Therefore, our lithography machines and chip production will inevitably be pushed forward.

“Xiao Rui, I’m packing my bags right now. I need to make a trip to Beijing. We must make everyone realize the gravity of this situation. If we use someone else’s lithography machines, they can hit a switch to disable them at any time.

“If we use their chips, they can manipulate them from the backend! When that happens, we’ll be under their control in every aspect! We must ramp up our research now, while the gap between our country and others isn’t too large yet. Whatever we develop, I’ll patent it!”

Han Xiaorui hesitated slightly. “What if others see this technology and steal it to use for themselves?”

Ye Feng smiled. “If they don’t use our technology, fine. But if they do, then we can use theirs!

“This world is actually just one massive, makeshift circus! For some things, we can’t just sit back and wait for doom, nor can we isolate ourselves. I’m not afraid of them using it; I’m afraid of them not using it.”

Han Xiaorui smiled. “That’s true! I’ll help you pack. Make a call and book your flight! Since you weren’t home during the New Year, I went to meet Professor Xu personally.

“At the time, he was extremely worried, even thinking they wouldn’t make it through the year. It was only after I transferred the funding promptly that they were able to continue up to now. With this opportunity, I’m sure Professor Xu will also fight hard for it.”

Ye Feng nodded. “Yes!”

Ye Feng called to book a flight for seven o’clock the next morning, while Han Xiaorui packed his luggage. Furthermore, she called Ye Zheng and Wang Liwen to let them know Ye Feng was coming.

Ye Zheng was in Beijing at the time and fully understood why Ye Feng was making the trip. They had been discussing it too, and everyone knew that developing high technology brooked no delay. If they didn’t develop it, they could never catch up, and sooner or later, they would inevitably be brought to their knees!

As long as the nation stood firm, no matter how difficult chips and lithography machines were, there would surely be a breakthrough. It was just that the price to pay would be steep—requiring a staggering amount of capital.

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