Chapter 241 The Godfather of Lithography Machine

Inside the Long March canteen, Justin Yifu Lin looked at the small restaurant in front of him with some surprise.

“I didn’t expect there would be a small restaurant like this outside Peking University.”

After he came here, he always ate in the cafeteria.

Because of his special status, not many people communicate with him.

No one told him about this small restaurant outside the school, so he naturally had no idea about it.

"This is the sixth canteen for our students. The good thing is that you don't need a meal ticket, you just pay for it."

"As for the downside, what you eat depends entirely on what ingredients are available at the restaurant. If you have any dietary restrictions or something you don't like to eat, let me know in advance."

Li Changhe said to Lin Yifu with a smile.

"No, it's good to have something to eat, it can improve our lives!"

Lin Yifu said with a smile.

When he came here, he actually didn't bring much money with him. He didn't have much money after he got here, and he mainly relied on the subsidies given to him by the state.

Although he had some preferential treatment in the subsidies, to be frank, the country had limited supplies these days, and he also ate in the cafeteria normally.

In the past few months, the food has been a bit dry. Now that I can eat something good, I naturally feel good.

Li Changhe is a regular customer here. He ordered a few meat dishes and asked for a few steamed buns.

"You are in the south, so you should eat mainly rice. You can try our noodles."

Li Changhe recommended it to Lin Yifu and then started chatting with him.

There wasn't actually much for the two of them to talk about, after all, they weren't very familiar with each other, and some of the topics were sensitive.

However, it has always been a Chinese tradition to get closer over the dinner table. By the end of the meal, the two people had become relatively familiar with each other.

"By the way, Senior Lin, I want to ask you about someone. Do you know him?"

At the end of the meal, Li Changhe asked Lin Yifu with a smile.

Lin Yifu was a little surprised when he heard this. Li Changhe was asking him about someone?
Who are you asking?
People from the other side of the strait?

"Do you want to ask the people over there?"

Lin Yifu asked curiously.

Could it be that Li Changhe has relatives there?

Lin Yifu thought subconsciously.

Because of the war that year, many families on both sides were separated and were asking each other for news at this time.

"The person I want to ask is Lin Benjian. I wonder if Senior Lin knows him!"

"He should have been a Chinese in Annan."

Li Changhe asked with a smile.

Who is Lin Benjian?
This person is a great contributor to TSMC, the godfather of the future lithography machine field, and a key figure in ASML's defeat of the Japanese lithography machine giants to become the world's leading lithography machine company.

Li Changhe didn't understand the technology, but he had looked up information in the book in his previous life and found that there were several tracks in the field of lithography machines.

The immersion method proposed by Lin Benjian led ASML to a new track that was different from its original direction of lithography machines, and thus it became the unique new leader in the global lithography field.

TSMC has thus become closely tied to ASML and has gradually become a super giant in the chip industry.

As the chip field is the future direction of world development, Li Changhe will definitely get involved.

However, in this era, it is actually not cost-effective to directly enter the lithography machine industry.

First of all, at least before the explosion of Internet technology, the scope of use of chips was very narrow.

The chip industry in the 1980s was mainly focused on home computers and game consoles.

However, home computers were mainly used for business purposes at that time, and individual household purchases were not large, so the entire market had not yet expanded.

Not to mention the lithography machine, which is the upstream of the upstream of the chip. Technology is important, but the market is really that big.

The real explosion in chip production capacity had to wait until the rise of mobile phones and the Internet.

Mobile phone chips, combined with computers and the Internet, have been rolled out around the world, ushering in the information age, with industries including automobiles all entering this industry.

That was the era of explosive growth for the chip industry.

So, Li Changhe is not in a hurry actually, but that does not prevent him from making arrangements in advance.

ASML's predecessor was a lithography group under the Philips Group, but the survival environment of this group was not good. Before the merger with Lin Benjian's technology, it was on the verge of bankruptcy.

However, the other party has a patented technology reserve, which seems to be ultraviolet light technology.

In short, Li Changhe remembered that the combination of ASML's technology and Lin Benjian's immersion method became the most advanced lithography machine technology.

Li Changhe’s first choice was to get involved in ASML’s track, intercept Lin Benjian, and then set up a company similar to TSMC, cooperate with ASML, and then slowly transform his own technology.

However, this plan is not safe, because Lin Benjian has no attitude towards the mainland, so he may not have any patriotic sentiments.

Even if Li Changhe uses a fake identity to recruit him, there is no guarantee that he will follow Li Changhe's plan in the future.

So in addition to this, Li Changhe also has a backup plan, which is to set up a research institute to study Lin Benjian's academic work.

To put it bluntly, they just kept an eye on the papers and research directions published by Lin Benjian, and directly sent people to imitate them and follow his research direction.

If he cannot enter the ASML track in the end, Li Changhe will consider cooperating with other semiconductor giants.

Of course, Li Changhe is not in a hurry about this matter and needs to plan it slowly.

The semiconductor field will face great risks in the future, especially when the world situation becomes confrontational. Once this high-tech field is discovered to be related to us by the other side of the ocean, it will inevitably be strongly suppressed.

To put it bluntly, if Li Changhe had built a company like "Far Ahead" ten or twenty years in advance, his fate would have been no different from Alstom's, and he would have been dismembered by the other party.

Because the country's fight against the United States to protect the company is also based on national strength. When the national strength does not reach that level, it is powerless to protect.

Therefore, in this industry, Li Changhe must survive and develop step by step.

But no matter what, Li Changhe must find Lin Benjian first.

It’s hard for him to approach European and American companies, so is it really hard to approach a Chinese scientist?

As long as you have yellow skin, he has a way.

In fact, when he asked Lin Yifu, he also asked with random thoughts.

After all, this is a top student, and he remembers that Lin Benjian was also a top student there. The age difference is not too big, and they both have the surname Lin, so they might know each other.

What Li Changhe didn't expect was that Lin Yifu really knew it.

"Changhe, I do know the person you are talking about."

"Of course, I just know him, I don't know him."

"Why, are you related to him?"

Lin Yifu asked curiously again.

Li Changhe shook his head: "I didn't. I heard about this person from a friend in Hong Kong Island before. I thought you were from the same place, so I asked casually."

“Have you ever been to Hong Kong Island?”

"No wonder Teacher Zhang asked me to live with you."

"Strictly speaking, this Lin Benjian is my senior!"

"I first studied at T University, and this Lin Benjian you mentioned is one of the outstanding alumni of T University."

"The year I was admitted to T University, he had already graduated with a doctorate in the United States and then returned to school to give a speech."

"As far as I know, he should be in the United States now, but I don't know what he is doing specifically."

"After all, I was only 19 when I listened to his speech, and now I am 27!"

Lin Yifu only knew this person, but could not provide Li Changhe with more information.

"It's okay, this is enough. It's like a clue. I just need to tell my friends in Hong Kong." "I didn't expect that you are 52 years old this year. Does that mean you were born in ?"

Li Changhe continued to ask with a smile.

"Yes, what's wrong?"

Lin Yifu asked with some curiosity.

Li Changhe smiled and said, "It's nothing, it's just a coincidence. My wife was also born in 1952."

"Your wife, so you are already married?"

Lin Yifu was a little surprised, but then his face became a little gloomy.

At this time, he also thought of his wife. He was twenty-seven years old, also married, and had a smart son.

"and many more!"

At this moment, Lin Yifu suddenly looked at Li Changhe, and a glimmer of hope flashed in his eyes.

"Changhe, you just said that you have friends in Hong Kong Island, right?"

"Yes! What's wrong?"

Li Changhe nodded.

"So, are they. Are they trustworthy?"

Lin Yifu hesitated for a moment and asked Li Changhe hesitantly.

It is said in school that Li Changhe is a loyal and good person, so I think he will help me, right?
“Is it trustworthy?”

"Do you want them to help you pass the message home?"

At this moment, Li Changhe immediately guessed what Lin Yifu was thinking.

I think at his age, he must be married, maybe with a wife and children.

"Yes, my wife and son are over there. I hinted to her when I came here."

Lin Yifu said to Li Changhe somewhat dejectedly.

"hint?"

"Yes, I told her that if I disappeared, you might have to wait in the cold kiln for eighteen years like Wang Baochuan did."

"That is to say, you made up your mind to come here at that time!"

"Correct!"

"But you're still worried about them, so you want my friends in Hong Kong to help you get some information?"

"Actually, I got some news from them after I came here. There are no safety issues at the moment."

To put it bluntly, the reason why Lin Yifu can stay here with peace of mind is that his family must have been informed of the news by his superiors.

But this did not stop Lin Yifu from being concerned.

"That's right. I just don't know the details!"

Lin Yifu said somewhat helplessly.

Apart from anything else, the family is no longer having him as the main earner, and his wife has to raise their son alone, so the situation is not good.

Of course, the Lin family's financial situation is actually quite good, and with his father and brother around, if they can help, his wife will definitely have no worries about food and clothing.

But it is undeniable that he still wants to know more accurate news about his family.

However, he couldn't keep asking the higher-ups about this sort of thing, and the intelligence department couldn't keep investigating just for this sort of thing.

So, after learning that Li Changhe had friends in Hong Kong Island, Lin Yifu began to have some ideas.

After listening to it, Li Changhe neither agreed nor refused.

"It's not a big deal, but you have a special status, so I have to report it to the school first."

"Because you know, this kind of thing may lead to the disclosure of your identity over there."

"So, I can't promise you right away!"

Li Changhe must report this matter because he doesn't know whether Lin Yifu's identity is important or not.

If the higher-ups demand absolute confidentiality, then there's nothing he can do about it, after all, the country is the priority.

But if it wasn't so secretive, Li Changhe thought it would be okay to help him.

Because this person also represents a social relationship on the island, Li Changhe helped him, and if he needs anything there in the future, he can also rely on the power of the Lin family.

For example, he asked about the news about Lin Benjian just now.

Hearing Li Changhe's answer, Lin Yifu nodded: "Sure, that's no problem."

"In fact, I am not an important person."

"I didn't bring any confidential information with me. I just wanted to return to the mainland."

Lin Yifu finished his speech and explained to Li Changhe somewhat awkwardly.

Li Changhe smiled and nodded: "I think that's why Teacher Zhang is so fond of you."

“This is the purest way to love the motherland.”

"By the way, I have something else to explain to you. I hope you don't misunderstand."

"Just recently, I may not live in the dormitory every day. It's not to avoid you, but I have some things to deal with at home."

"In fact, before this, I hadn't lived in the dormitory for a while."

"Teacher Dong let me live with you for this reason."

"I'm always away from the dormitory, so the student union always finds me when they check the dorms. This is too unreasonable."

Li Changhe explained to Lin Yifu with a smile.

Lin Yifu nodded and said, "I understand. Just do what you have to do first. In fact, I am very happy to chat with you today."

He came here with great enthusiasm, but the people around him were often polite yet distant to him, which actually made him a little depressed.

He now understood why the teacher arranged for Li Changhe to come here, as this person had such a good reputation.

Although it was the first day they met, Li Changhe did not feel wary of him and they got along very naturally.

When chatting with him, I would not ask sensitive questions in a roundabout way, and I would even ask him about things.

Just like Lin Benjian, if it were someone else, they would never ask, because this would only prove that they have connections over there.

But Li Changhe didn't care. He asked directly and also told others about his connections in Hong Kong Island.

After staying here for a few months, Lin Yifu realized that this was actually a kind of trust and a risk.

This also touched his heart.

Of course, if Li Changhe knew what he was thinking, it would only tell him that he was overthinking.

He revealed this because he was not afraid at all. Besides, he had a clear plan for the future and these things would not have any impact on him.

"Come on, let's go back. We have classes in the afternoon."

Li Changhe is still an undergraduate student, not a graduate student like Lin Yifu, who has regular classes.

"it is good!"

After the two returned to school, during the afternoon break, Li Changhe went to Dong Wenjun's office again and told him about Lin Yifu's request.

Dong Wenjun did not respond directly, but said that he would report it to his superiors and asked Li Changhe to go back first.

And it took another week to publish this report.

(End of this chapter)