Zhang Zhipeng hurriedly carried his things to meet with Dong Haoming.

When Dong Haoming saw him, his mood was visibly excellent.

He glanced at the large bags Zhang Zhipeng was carrying and, with a wide smile, said, "You bought so much! You’re finally back! Director Zhao has already reported to the higher-ups, and they’ve requested that the construction of the Longxin Chip Company be expedited! Also, you've been awarded the Special Military Research Prize—congratulations! Come on, let's go talk with Director Zhao in detail!"

After putting down the local specialties he had brought, Zhang Zhipeng followed Dong Haoming to see Zhao Bingkun.

Upon seeing Zhang Zhipeng, Zhao Bingkun smiled and said, "Congratulations! Your research achievements have received significant recognition from the top! You’ll be awarded the Special Military Research Prize, and it will be announced nationwide! Additionally, you'll personally receive a cash reward of 100,000 yuan!"

Zhang Zhipeng was delighted, not only because of the award and the 100,000 yuan bonus, but also because his work had been fully recognized. He felt a deep sense of pride and joy that his research could contribute to the country’s strength.

"Thank you, Director Zhao, and thank you, Principal Dong!" Zhang Zhipeng said with a smile.

Zhao Bingkun laughed, "Why thank me? You deserve the reward! If anything, I should be thanking you—you’ve helped me a great deal this time."

Then, shifting the conversation, he said, "However, because this achievement is so significant, the details cannot be disclosed to the public. We need to keep this information confidential, so I hope you understand."

Zhang Zhipeng nodded, "I understand."

"We can't be too high-profile right now; we need to keep our opponents off guard."

Zhao Bingkun smiled, "Exactly!"

"Now that we’ve discussed the rewards, let’s talk about establishing the Longxin company. If you're certain you want to take full responsibility, can you get it built and ready for mass production within six months?"

"You’ll have to give a military pledge for this!"

"If you fail to deliver, there will be consequences!"

With a serious expression, Zhang Zhipeng nodded, "I'm willing to give a military pledge!"

"I’ve thought it through. The issue of the plant is actually easy to solve. There are quite a few underperforming state-owned factories in Chang'an City that are currently idle."

"We can take over an existing one and convert the plant into a clean room. That should be sufficient."

"As for talent, Chang'an has many prestigious universities, so there’s no shortage of talent."

"But because Chang'an is in the western region, wages are relatively low, and the income is not ideal, so most graduates from top schools don’t stay."

"My idea is to attract graduates from prestigious universities to join Longxin with high salaries."

"Chip production is different from other types of manufacturing—it requires at least engineering-level high-level talent."

"We must significantly improve compensation for talent!"

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"In a market economy, we can’t just talk about spiritual rewards and dedication; material incentives are necessary as well."

Zhao Bingkun nodded approvingly, "Your thinking is correct!"

"What do you think would be appropriate for talent compensation?"

Dong Haoming, who was standing nearby, said, "But we can’t set it too high, or it might cause dissatisfaction. Right now, full professors at universities only earn five to six hundred yuan a month."

Zhang Zhipeng smiled, "Yes, the salary for senior intellectuals is indeed a bit too low."

"Currently, ordinary employees hired by foreign companies are already earning over a thousand yuan."

"However, I firmly believe that the state has recognized this issue."

"In the following decade, our salaries will definitely continue to rise rapidly."

In fact, domestic wages increased most rapidly after 2000, and by around 2014, a monthly salary of 3,000 yuan had become very common. Zhang Zhipeng thought it would be best to first agree with Dong Haoming’s statement, so his following remarks wouldn’t seem too confrontational.

Zhang Zhipeng first agreed with Dong Haoming, then smiled and said, "Principal, the main issue is that chips are very critical and have great significance for the country’s development."

"In this situation, if we want to attract enough high-level talent, we need to offer higher material incentives."

"My idea is to start key university undergraduates joining Longxin at a base salary of 300 yuan, with a monthly performance bonus of 100 yuan."

"For master’s degree holders, the base salary would be 400 yuan, with a monthly performance bonus of 150 yuan."

"For doctoral degree holders, the base salary would be 500 yuan, with a monthly performance bonus of 200 yuan."

Currently, university teaching assistants earn just over 100 yuan at the start, lecturers make over 200, and associate professors earn just over 300.

So, the salary Zhang Zhipeng proposed would be very attractive to graduates of top universities.

Dong Haoming sighed and said, "I understand. It’s really tough for intellectuals right now."

"In society today, even starting a small business is better than working a regular job. This has led to the rise of the idea that knowledge is useless."

"But Xiao Zhang, have you thought about who will bear the cost of the high salary you've set?"

"Will it be your Longxin company? Or will it be covered by the state finances?"

Zhang Zhipeng replied, "We'll follow a market-driven mechanism! Of course, Longxin will raise the funds itself."

"And then, when we sell our products to the national defense and other government departments, as well as key industries, we should be allowed to secure sufficient profits."

At present, in Huaxia, the personal computer market is just beginning. Personal computers are too expensive, so most of them are purchased through government procurement, with very few private purchases.

In the end, everyone is essentially doing business with the state.

As for the Longxin and EDD-DRAM memory modules that Zhang Zhipeng is working on, due to confidentiality, they can only be sold to the state.

However, Zhang Zhipeng is thinking that, in at most ten years, when the country's third-generation and fourth-generation fighter jets are in mass production and being widely deployed, when the nation has a strong fleet of warships sailing the oceans, and when the navy, air force, and rocket force have truly grown strong, he will be able to confidently start his own computer brand. In fact, it wouldn't be too late to start at that point.

At this moment, Zhao Bingkun smiled and said, "I support Comrade Xiao Zhang's idea!"

"Since Longxin is now under Comrade Zhang Zhipeng's full control, the salary and benefits should be decided by him."

"We buy a CPU from abroad, and those bastards charge us two to three thousand U.S. dollars!"

"And it may not even work well!"

"We waste at least billions of U.S. dollars on this every year! That's the hard-earned money of the people!"

"If we produce our own CPUs and memory, the price will definitely drop significantly! Wouldn't that save us precious foreign exchange?"

Zhang Zhipeng laughed, "Director Zhao, we're really being taken for a ride!"

"In my lab, the cost to handcraft a CPU is only six to seven thousand RMB!"

"If we mass-produce them, I estimate the cost could drop to a few hundred RMB per CPU. In that case, even if Longxin sells them to you for two thousand RMB each, you'd still be saving a lot!"