Chapter 31

In the center of the Suwa Basin lies Lake Suwa, the largest lake in Nagano Prefecture. By the lakeside, there is a geyser that has the highest spout in all of Japan, erupting every hour to a height of 40-50 meters.

On the eastern and northern sides of Lake Suwa, there are numerous hot springs. On the eastern side, the Kamakura-kan in Shimo-Suwa Onsen has the largest hot spring bath in Japan, known as the Sennin Onsen. On the northern side, there are many small, tranquil wooden hot spring houses in Shimo-Suwa Onsen.

The next day, Li Xuan and his team did not receive any further notice from Epson to continue negotiations. However, Mr. Hase, the head of the External Affairs Department, was already waiting at the hotel early in the morning. He conveyed the apologies of Seiko Epson's President, Mr. Yasukawa.

At the same time, Mr. Hase also brought an invitation to dinner from Mr. Kanshin Hattori, a board member of Seiko Epson Corporation. The Hattori family is the founding family of Seiko Epson and the largest shareholder of the company.

The dinner hosted by Mr. Kanshin Hattori was held at a private hot spring villa belonging to the Hattori family by Lake Suwa. When Li Xuan arrived by car, it was already dusk. As he got out of the car, the first thing he saw was an ancient wooden gate.

Seeing Li Xuan get out of the car, a middle-aged couple dressed in traditional kimonos, who had been waiting on the side, bowed to him with a smile.

Noticing Li Xuan's curious expression, Mr. Hase, who was half a step behind, explained, "This is Satoru Kusakari, the manager of the hot spring house, and his wife. According to the rules of the hot spring house, the owner and his wife must personally welcome guests to show respect."

Satoru Kusakari led Li Xuan inside, walking up a stone path through a courtyard. He bowed and lifted the curtain of a room. Li Xuan entered first, and the room was about 40-50 square meters in size, with two long tables on either side.

A young man in a dark suit was kneeling by one of the long tables. When he saw Li Xuan enter, he stood up, bowed, and said in English, "Mr. Li Xuan, I am Kanshin Hattori. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

Kanshin Hattori was a man in his thirties, wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses and a warm smile. Seeing the guest arrive, he signaled for the food to be served.

A beautiful young woman in a kimono began to serve the dishes. The first dish served was salmon salad, made from the finest fresh salmon marinated in sauce, which was both delicious and fragrant.

Another young woman sitting quietly poured a glass of genuine clear sake for Li Xuan. Genuine clear sake is the best sake in Nagano Prefecture, with a history of over 300 years, brewed using Suwa spring water, and has a subtle fruity aroma.

Japanese cuisine is famous for being "food for the eyes," with each dish looking beautiful but served in small portions, which can be a torture for food lovers. Fortunately, Li Xuan's attention was not on the food.

"Do you have any thoughts on the future development of the semiconductor industry?"

After the initial pleasantries, the two gradually got to the point. Kanshin Hattori did not ask about the video game console but instead inquired about the semiconductor industry.

Before his rebirth, the semiconductor industry was already a massive industry with a total value of nearly $350 billion, with Intel alone generating $50 billion in annual revenue. How could he not be optimistic about it?

Of course, Li Xuan couldn't answer like that. After a moment's thought, he said, "We are in an era of transformation, and information electronics are increasingly entering people's daily lives. Semiconductors are the foundation of modern electronics, and I am very optimistic about their development.

In the past, we used chips in radios and televisions, but now the PC industry is emerging. PC stands for Personal Computer, and new-generation tech companies like Apple are simplifying large computers, which were previously limited to military and scientific research, into small household appliances, bringing them into our daily lives.

On the Apple II, you can easily create a company's financial statements using spreadsheet software, and you can modify them at will. Once done, you can print them out using an Epson printer connected to the computer!

As personal PCs become more sophisticated, in five or ten years, they may become as common as televisions, and that will be the explosive growth period for the semiconductor industry! However, as you know, the beginning is always the most challenging.

Compared to the still immature PC market, I am more optimistic about the rapidly expanding video game console market. Large arcade machines are quickly replacing old pinball machines and other game devices, appearing in bars, convenience stores, grocery stores, and movie theater lobbies, becoming a new attraction for people.

Many specialized arcade game halls have already appeared on the streets of Japanese cities. Even though these game halls are small, with stale air and a mix of tobacco and sweat odors, they still can't stop the enthusiastic players. The crowds include students just out of school, disheveled unemployed people, and even well-dressed white-collar workers. This is a sunrise industry that attracts men aged 15 to 45!"

"Mr. Li, your words have been very enlightening!" Kanshin Hattori nodded in gratitude. "To be honest, I studied electrical engineering at a university in the United States, and I was the one who promoted the establishment of the wafer factory under our company!

However, compared to large companies like Hitachi, Toshiba, and NEC, our new factory's technology and management are still far behind, with a low yield rate, leading to high costs. The price of our self-produced chips is not cheaper than those purchased externally!"

Li Xuan smiled. The semiconductor industry is also known as the "half-failure industry." Many wafer factories have not even reached their maximum capacity before going bankrupt due to excessive losses.

"Have you considered entering the video game console industry? In my view, your company's industrial structure is very suitable for producing arcade machines. Moreover, the number of chips required for an arcade machine is much greater than that for a printer, which could help alleviate the difficulties faced by your wafer factory!" Li Xuan suddenly said.

"But our company has never made games!" Kanshin Hattori said with some reservation, but the fleeting smile in his eyes was caught by Li Xuan's seemingly casual glance.

"Have you tried the two games I brought?" Li Xuan raised his glass to the other side and asked with a calm smile.

"The games 'Hong Kong Blocks' and 'Tank Battle' are very exciting and have caused a sensation within Epson. I played them this afternoon and spent two hours without realizing it, still feeling unsatisfied!" Kanshin Hattori gave a thumbs up and praised, "Would you be willing to transfer the rights to these two games to Epson for distribution?"

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