Chapter 96

"Tell me, by bringing such a beautiful secretary, weren't you secretly planning something naughty?" Zhong Chuhong said with a playful scowl, staring at Li Xuan.

"How could I? The administrative department of the company arranged this for me; I really didn't know beforehand!" Li Xuan felt that bringing Zhuang Erjing to the set today was indeed a bit unwise. Which woman would be happy to see her boyfriend surrounded by other beautiful women?

"Really? Why don't I call Ya Ya to verify?" Zhong Chuhong said with a teasing look.

"An upright person has nothing to fear. There's a car phone in the car; you can call now!" Li Xuan said firmly, believing that Cao Jingya, with her intelligence, would definitely not cause him trouble.

"I don't have the energy to deal with your frivolous thoughts. Men are all bad, and they turn bad when they have money!" Zhong Chuhong turned her head to look out the window.

Li Xuan knew she was just throwing a tantrum, so he pulled her into his arms and kissed her, ignoring her struggles.

"There are still people around!" After a passionate French kiss, Zhong Chuhong became much gentler, leaning quietly against his chest and speaking softly.

"Fan Shen always keeps his eyes on the road when he's driving. Just pretend he's not here!" Li Xuan smiled, glancing at Chen Fanshen, who was driving in the front seat.

Zhong Chuhong gave her boyfriend a playful glare and sneakily glanced at Chen Fanshen, noticing that he was indeed focused on the road, completely ignoring their intimate moment.

"You said we're going to a banquet tonight?" Zhong Chuhong noticed the car turning into Lion Rock Tunnel, heading towards Sha Tin. "I haven't even prepared my evening gown yet!"

"Don't worry, I've already had a pink evening gown custom-made for you by a private designer in Sha Tin. We can pick it up on the way!" Li Xuan said with a mischievous smile. "I haven't slept in the dorm for a long time. How about staying at the school tonight?"

Zhong Chuhong couldn't help but recall the last time in his dorm when he had bullied her so much that she felt weak all over. A wave of shyness washed over her, and she quickly changed the subject.

"How many days have you seriously attended classes this semester? You study for three days and take a break for two. Do you even have the right to call yourself a student? How come CUHK hasn't expelled you yet!"

"My dear, I'm a genius with an IQ over 200. I don't need to attend classes; I just need to take the final exams, and I can get an A in every subject. Do you believe I can win a top scholarship this semester?" Li Xuan said with a laugh.

He had indeed spent less time at school this semester. He had even submitted a withdrawal application, but it was rejected. President Ma had even called him to his office for a serious talk, hoping he would find time to complete his studies.

The university would also try to accommodate him, allowing him to exempt from some minor courses. For those he couldn't exempt, he didn't need to attend every class, just to study according to the syllabus provided by the teachers before the final exams.

CUHK, after all, was a university founded less than twenty years ago, with few notable alumni. It couldn't be as strict as Harvard or Stanford in the United States. It was rare to have a student like Li Xuan with a bright future, and they were unwilling to let him drop out halfway.

The banquet tonight was held in the CUHK auditorium, hosted by the CUHK Board of Directors for a delegation of university presidents from mainland China organized by the Ministry of Education. At the banquet, it was easy to distinguish between Hong Kong and mainland guests: the former wore suits, while the latter wore Zhongshan suits.

"President Wang, you're too modest. Your university's strength in the field of electronics is among the best in mainland China!" Professor Zhao Weiming was talking to a thin but spirited old man. Seeing Li Xuan and his girlfriend walk up, he smiled and waved at him.

"This is my student, also the owner of Hong Kong Oriental Electronics. The Oriental Electronics Laboratory and Oriental Semiconductor Laboratory you mentioned earlier were funded by Oriental Electronics!" Zhao Weiming introduced Li Xuan to the man.

"Ai Xuan, this is President Wang Jiagang from Rongcheng Telecommunications Engineering College!" Zhao Weiming looked at the surprise in Wang Jiagang's eyes, feeling a sense of pride. He could teach this special student very little, but he was undoubtedly his teacher.

"President Wang, hello. This is my girlfriend, Zhong Chuhong. You can call her Ah Hong!" Li Xuan immediately bowed and greeted him.

Rongcheng Telecommunications Engineering College, now known as Rongcheng University of Electronic Science and Technology, was still using its old name in 1980. Although it ranked outside the top 30-40 in the overall ranking of Chinese universities in the future, it was undoubtedly the leader in the field of electronic science, surpassing Tsinghua, Peking, and Shanghai Jiao Tong Universities.

"Your university truly produces outstanding talents. Li Xuan is still a student, yet he has already founded a large company. That's quite impressive!" Wang Jiagang sincerely praised.

During the visit of the mainland university presidents to Hong Kong, Oriental Electronics formally signed a tripartite cooperation agreement with CUHK and HKU. The original electronic and semiconductor laboratories established by Oriental Electronics and CUHK would now be co-built by the three parties. Oriental Electronics also made an additional donation of 15 million Hong Kong dollars to each university for the expansion of their electronics departments.

15 million Hong Kong dollars, at the current exchange rate, was equivalent to nearly 60 million RMB. Such a large sum, more than the entire annual budget of Rongcheng Telecommunications Engineering College, couldn't help but leave a deep impression on Wang Jiagang.

"President Wang, you're too kind!" Li Xuan said humbly. "I wonder how long the mainland delegation will stay in Hong Kong. If your schedule isn't too tight, I welcome you to visit Oriental Electronics!"

In the future, there were three universities in China named University of Electronic Science and Technology: Rongcheng University of Electronic Science and Technology, Chang'an University of Electronic Science and Technology, and Linzhou University of Electronic Science and Technology. The first two were the cradles of electronic science talent in mainland China.

In the future, Rongcheng University of Electronic Science and Technology was Intel's territory. Intel began building a research and development center and a wafer factory in 2003, investing over 2 billion US dollars in Rongcheng over a decade. Before Li Xuan's rebirth, Samsung had also started building a flash memory chip factory in Chang'an, with an initial investment of 7 billion US dollars.

Why did Intel and Samsung choose Rongcheng and Chang'an, respectively? Apart from the preferential policies provided by the local governments to attract foreign investment, the two universities of electronic science and technology could continuously provide high-quality and cost-effective research personnel, which was a crucial factor in the decision-making of these semiconductor giants.

However, Samsung's main business at the time was still selling televisions and washing machines, and it hadn't yet entered the semiconductor industry. Intel was also limited to the United States and hadn't yet begun its global expansion.

China was a vast and unfamiliar place with a large population and land area but was still poor and backward. However, Li Xuan knew clearly that this country would create an economic miracle over the next thirty years.

The limited area and population of Hong Kong, with only five to six million people, restricted its future development potential. It could only serve as the headquarters of Oriental Electronics but not as its true foundation. Therefore, Li Xuan had previously set up a research center in Taiwan and was now preparing to establish a research and development center in Silicon Valley. He would not let go of the vast talent pool on the mainland.