Chapter 273 A Timely Lifeline
Mr. Su Yuanshan,
Your manuscript has been reviewed by the editor and qualified reviewers. We all believe the manuscript presents quite impressive ideas, but revisions and additions are necessary before it can be published in the journal.
Please carefully consider the key points raised in the reviewers' comments, which are attached below. If you choose to submit a revised version, please include a response to the reviewers' comments and address all criticisms in the revised paper.
An unmodified manuscript is generally deemed insufficient and may result in a prolonged re-review process.
...
Reading this "familiar" response, Su Yuanshan let out a long breath.
Getting feedback within a week, and from both the editor and peer reviewers, meant that aside from the help of the internet's rapid rise, his paper truly had "substance." The editor must have been impressed enough to fast-track it through initial screening and straight to expert review.
The requested revisions mostly concerned tightening up some data accuracy and clarifying certain references he had cited.
Minor issues.
"Looks like it's not so easy to sneak through with a lightweight paper these days," Su Yuanshan chuckled to himself.
Fortunately, no one questioned why a third-year physics undergraduate was writing at such a high level, nor did anyone comment on how his manuscript formatting looked almost professionally typeset — frankly, even he felt his own paper looked like a ghostwritten submission.
Setting aside the revision for now, he opened the other emails.
The next ones were from Qin Si and Carly.
Qin Si updated him on her work, mentioning she was planning a short trip back to China to scout promising investment opportunities.
Xinghai Ventures was only now beginning to return its focus to the domestic market, in line with their original plans. Up to this point, China had offered little beyond Yuanxin itself for tech-focused investment, making it more sensible to concentrate efforts in Silicon Valley.
But now, with the domestic software sector — especially the gaming industry — booming, the timing was finally right.
As for supporting the gaming industry, Yuanxin could only lend a hand in a cooperative way; real capital investment had to come from pure investment firms like Xinghai.
Besides that, Qin Si would also coordinate with Davidson, the actual head of the newly founded Custom Publishing Company, to negotiate distribution partnerships with Chinese companies.
In short, she was coming back strictly for business.
Carly's email was different — she said she wouldn't be coming this year.
The mobile phone sales were going strong, and she needed to stay focused on expanding into the European market.
Instead, she would be sending Chen Haoming, Howard, and Claude.
Seeing this arrangement, Su Yuanshan couldn't help but feel touched by Carly's thoughtfulness.
Chen Haoming was the CTO and mainly handled software; it made perfect sense for him to return to China, especially since Qin Si would be there too.
Claude, of course, needed no explanation — he was the head of Cyrix and now the leader of the CPU project team. After the chip had been taped out, it was only natural for him to take a business trip to China and discuss future architectural directions with Yuanxin's team.
As for Howard, he would be coming specifically to push forward the collaboration between Qin Weimin and Tian Yaoming on integrating baseband chips.
After closing the emails, Su Yuanshan let out a long breath.
He got up and walked over to Zhou Xiaohui, who was organizing some documents. "No paperwork for me to sign today?"
Zhou Xiaohui smiled. "Technically, there's nothing that requires your signature anymore."
"Haha! Perfect. I'm heading over to Pandora Lab then," Su Yuanshan said with a laugh, pulling open the door and quickly heading for the elevator.
Indeed, ever since they implemented Xinghai's standardized workflow software, Yuanxin's administrative structure had become increasingly streamlined. Officially, Su Yuanshan's title was still Assistant Chairman.
In theory, his responsibilities were the same as Zhou Xiaohui's.
Of course, in practice, it wasn't the same at all — he was like Yuanxin's living seal, stamping wherever he was needed, and wherever he stamped, it counted.
...
"Senior Brother Tang, we didn't get a proper chance to treat you last time. Let's make up for it today."
Sitting in Xi Xiaoding's office, Su Yuanshan smiled at Tang Jun, who had returned from IBM just a week ago. "Let's hit Jiangdu Tower tonight."
"Heh, better not," Tang Jun replied, chuckling.
Although barely in his early thirties, Tang had spent five or six years working on DSP chips at IBM — a true veteran of the field.
His decision to return to China had been heavily influenced by Xi Xiaoding's persuasive efforts, knowing that Xi, his junior, never exaggerated.
Over the past few days, aside from preparing his own laboratory, Tang had engaged in deep technical discussions with Qin Weimin, Tian Yaoming, and others. The more he learned, the more awed — even shocked — he became.
Current mobile phones relied heavily on DSP chips, which used a Harvard architecture separating program and data, with specialized hardware multipliers, extensive pipelining, and unique DSP instructions for efficient digital signal processing.
But Yuanxin had taken a different approach: using their simplified instruction set YX architecture, they had "hacked" together a low-power processor suitable for mobile phones, offering not just signal processing but also additional computing capabilities.
That was why Yuanxin's phones could immediately support built-in mini-games and even operate with an actual lightweight OS.
Of course, it also explained why Yuanxin shipped extra batteries and a modified universal charger —
because the power consumption was indeed a bit higher.
But that wasn't even the most shocking part.
The real game-changer was Yuanxin's next move — integrating the baseband directly into the processor.
Meaning they could potentially build a phone no larger than a matchbox.
Only now did Tang truly understand why Xi Xiaoding had been so excited, and why Xinghai — born from the same lineage — had risen to such prominence in Silicon Valley.
In Silicon Valley, Xinghai was already being called the "second Wang Laboratories," a reference to the legendary computer company that had once dominated the digital computing world — the greatest achievement by Chinese engineers abroad.
"I had some discussions with Dr. Qin and Dr. Tang about several ongoing projects," Tang Jun said, handing a document to Su Yuanshan. "Here's my preliminary proposal. Take a look."
"Thanks for your effort, Senior Brother Tang," Su Yuanshan said politely, accepting the file.
At just one glance, he couldn't help slapping his thigh lightly in excitement.
Design Proposal for a Specialized DPS Chip for Mobile Base Stations
He gets it!
This guy really gets it!
Right now, all of Yuanxin's base stations were using modified YX architecture chips — relying on the high frequency and structural advantages of the YX01 processor to handle digital signal processing.
But this method had inevitable downsides: higher power consumption and greater heat generation, leading to potential interference.
For now, it was manageable, because the number of terminals and the coverage area were limited.
But realistically, it wasn't sustainable.
Professional tasks required professional chips.
Yuanxin urgently needed a dedicated digital signal processor for its base stations.
And Tang Jun's proposal — it was truly a lifeline delivered in their time of need.
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