When Zhou Mengdie stood before Yi Anguo and told him that he could go to the Shangri-La Hotel in an hour to meet Zhang Jing for a private chat, Yi Anguo was truly surprised and delighted. At the same time, he gained a new appreciation for his young assistant.

It doesn't matter if a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice. No matter what method his assistant used, as long as it achieved the goal, it was a good method!

Yi Anguo happily patted her on the head, but quickly feeling it was inappropriate, he retracted his hand and said with a smile, "Not bad! Well done. I'm very optimistic about you. Keep up the good work!"

Yi Anguo brought Yang Hai and Zhou Mengdie along and drove to the Shangri-La Hotel to meet Zhang Jing. The hotel where Zhang Jing was staying wasn't far, and they arrived quickly.

Although Zhang Jing had said to meet in an hour, Yi Anguo chose to arrive early and wait in the lobby to show his sincerity and respect. An hour later, Zhang Jing and his inspection team returned to the Shangri-La Hotel as expected. Upon seeing them enter, Yi Anguo took the initiative to approach them.

"Mr. Zhang, hello. I am Yi Anguo. I'm very pleased that you're willing to take the time to meet with me privately," Yi Anguo said, extending his hand.

Although Zhang Jing had never met Yi Anguo, he saw Zhou Mengdie standing behind him and immediately understood what was going on.

"Hello, Mr. Yi!" Zhang Jing also extended his hand, and they shook.

Zhang Jing had intended to let go after a brief shake, but to his surprise, Yi Anguo held on firmly, unwilling to release his grip immediately.

"You're too kind, Mr. Zhang. Just call me Anguo. I'm not worthy of being called 'Mister' by you," Yi Anguo said modestly.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jing couldn't help but feel a growing fondness and interest in Yi Anguo, thinking he was a very interesting young man.

"Why do you call me 'Mister,' yet say you are not worthy of being called that by others?"

"Not just anyone is qualified to be respectfully addressed as 'Mister,' but you, Mr. Zhang, are truly deserving of the title from everyone," Yi Anguo said, voluntarily releasing Zhang Jing's hand. "You're not doing all this for personal gain or for money. You're a true gentleman and a role model that every one of our countrymen should learn from."

"Your extravagant praise makes me feel unworthy!" Zhang Jing exclaimed, growing a bit emotional at Yi Anguo's assessment.

The two went into Zhang Jing's business suite, and the more they talked, the more they found common ground.

Although Yi Anguo didn't know much about technology and wasn't highly educated, he had read some news and materials about semiconductor chip technology and lithography machines before his rebirth. He intentionally brought up topics he knew Zhang Jing would be interested in, and Zhang Jing found the conversation increasingly engaging. They had a lot in common!

"Sir, if I may speak frankly, having only one Center International in our country is far from enough," Yi Anguo began, revealing the purpose of his visit. "We must establish several more enterprises like it to shoulder the heavy burden of our nation's technological development. Moreover, facing external pressure, Center International seems hesitant and has been forced to make compromises on many fronts."

"Especially you, sir. I fear that in the end, when pushed to the limit, you will have no choice but to leave Center International and find another path."

Zhang Jing fell silent. He was currently facing an international lawsuit, sued in an American court by a competitor from Taiwan. The last time, a Taiwanese competitor had also sued him for technology theft, and they even had one of Zhang Jing's subordinates at Center International write a confession.

Naturally, they lost the case. Center International was ordered to pay the other party 175 million US dollars. Even more humiliating, the other party was granted the right to inspect their technology at any time to check for infringement. In reality, the rival company was the one pulling the strings behind the scenes; their ultimate goal was to wrest control of Center International from Zhang Jing.

However, winning the lawsuit apparently wasn't enough. They were determined to achieve their goal and wouldn't stop until they had forced Zhang Jing out and taken over Center International. So, they repeated their old tricks and sued Zhang Jing in a U.S. court once more. This time, it wouldn't be a simple matter of paying some money.

After a long silence, Zhang Jing asked Yi Anguo, "Since you know so much about the situation, are you still willing to invest a fortune in research? Aren't you afraid of losing everything in the end?"

"Furthermore, getting into this field requires no small sum of money. We're talking billions of US dollars at every turn, and you have to bear enormous risks. If you succeed, that's one thing, but if you fail, you'll find it very hard to get back on your feet."

"Additionally, scientific progress is endless. Our country is already twenty-some years behind in technology. Even if you make money, you'll have to constantly reinvest it into research. High-tech R&D is a bottomless pit; no matter how much capital you have, it's never enough."

"Our country struggles with this even with its full support, let alone a single individual like you."

"I know you might have some money—perhaps a few billion Hong Kong dollars or RMB. But converted to US dollars, that's only a few hundred million. That amount is practically negligible when invested in high-end technological research and development."

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