Time slipped away quickly.

A few hours passed in the blink of an eye.

It was night.

After informing his daughter, Ye Youyou, about the upcoming business trip, Ye Chen, carrying the luggage prepared by Chen Yinuo, embarked on his first business trip since his rebirth.

Similarly, this was also his first time leaving Jiangzhou after his rebirth.

With Wang Meng as the driver, they first went to the location sent by Tong Zhen to pick up this figure who would later be recorded in textbooks.

Then, amidst cheerful conversation, they headed straight for the airport.

Several hours later, they arrived in the imperial capital, Beijing.

As soon as they exited the airport, they were received by a driver arranged by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and taken to their designated hotel for their stay in Beijing.

"Mr. Tong, the reception service from the CAS is truly impeccable, even providing a driver?" Ye Chen joked in the car.

"Of course. You have to understand that the issue of high-end lithography machines has been a major concern for the CAS and top government officials! Now that they see a glimmer of hope for breaking through the barriers, how could they not take it seriously? Not to mention a driver, I estimate we'll even have bodyguards protecting us in secret later!" Tong Zhen said half-jokingly.

"If I can enjoy this kind of treatment, then I'm truly benefiting from your association, Mr. Tong!" Ye Chen replied.

"Mr. Ye, let's change how we address each other. Please don't keep calling me 'Mr. Tong.' It's both formal and awkward. Just call me Lao Tong or Tong Zhen directly, but please, please don't call me 'Tong Gong' (literally 'Tong Worker'). Although those of us in this industry are often referred to as 'this worker' or 'that engineer' in China, my surname makes it uncomfortable for me to hear people call me 'Tong Gong'!" Tong Zhen said with a hearty laugh.

"Alright, Lao Tong!"

Amidst the conversation, after nearly an hour of stop-and-go traffic, they arrived at the hotel arranged by the CAS.

Due to the late hour, Ye Chen had no interest in sightseeing.

After sending a WeChat video to his wife and children to let them know he had arrived safely, he took a shower and went to sleep.

The night passed uneventfully.

The next day, after a simple yet high-end buffet breakfast at the hotel, at around nine o'clock, Tong Zhen took Ye Chen to the CAS.

The CAS, a place considered sacred by hundreds of millions of Chinese people, stirred up Ye Chen's thoughts.

In his previous life, he had spent vast sums of money donating to support the CAS's research and development efforts.

Because of this, he enjoyed a significant reputation within the CAS and was frequently invited to various events.

The CAS at this time didn't look much different from its later form in his previous life.

However, it seemed to lack some of the solemnity and sacredness of its later years.

As soon as Ye Chen and Tong Zhen got out of the car, a large group of people immediately came to greet them.

In addition to some staff members from the CAS, even some high-level leaders made an appearance.

"Xiao Tong, we've been waiting for this for more than a decade!"

As soon as Tong Zhen got out of the car, several elderly men quickly approached him.

They patted Tong Zhen's shoulder with great emotion.

"Elder Qi, Elder He, Elder Zhou, after more than a decade, you all haven't aged much!" Tong Zhen said with a joyful smile, filled with mixed emotions.

Then, without further ado, he introduced Ye Chen to them, "Elder Qi, Elder He, Elder Zhou, this is Mr. Ye Chen. I believe you all know the situation, so I won't elaborate!"

He then introduced the others to Ye Chen, "Mr. Ye, these are Elder Qi, Elder He, and Elder Zhou. As the saying goes, 'An old person in the family is like a treasure.' They are the treasures of the CAS!"

Following Tong Zhen's introduction, Ye Chen extended his hand politely.

He shook hands with each of them.

"Elder Qi!"

"Elder He!"

"Elder Zhou!"

"Xiao Ye, thank you, thank you. You've helped us solve a major problem!"

The contemporary veterans of the CAS were not at all pretentious and held Ye Chen's hands warmly, "Come on, this is not a good place to talk. Let's go inside!"

And so, the nouveau riche that outsiders could never have imagined was ushered into the highest of honors in his first half of life, personally received by the high-level leaders of the CAS.

Inside the CAS meeting room, after Ye Chen was led in, the doors closed.

It remained closed for an entire morning.

Lunch was also taken at the CAS.

After lunch, the doors of the CAS meeting room closed again.

They didn't open until dusk.

Relatively speaking, regarding the investment in Tong Zhen's research and development of lithography machines, the cooperation with the CAS, the acquisition of the semiconductor company, and various arrangements after the acquisition, etc., all the details were displayed according to the prepared plans.

Ye Chen had no objections to any of it and had no reason to worry that the CAS would take advantage of him.

Therefore, he immediately reached an agreement with the CAS.

No one could have imagined, not even the United States or ASML, that the rise of China's semiconductor industry had begun under such circumstances.

And the pilot standing at the forefront of China's semiconductor industry's rise was actually an out-and-out nouveau riche!

A nouveau riche who, just a few months ago, was penniless, trapped in the darkest moment of his life, and labeled as social scum!

Although all of this seemed extremely absurd and unbelievable, what was unknown was that the question of whether to allow Ye Chen and Tong Zhen to cooperate on the lithography machine had been a topic of discussion among the high-level leaders of the CAS for three whole days!

Similarly, all of Ye Chen's personal information and files, even including what he did when he was three years old, were thoroughly investigated by relevant departments.

After considering countless aspects and various discussions, a decision was finally made after much deliberation.

After all, the matter of high-end lithography machines was indeed too important!

Moreover, if it weren't for Tong Zhen's overly sensitive identity and the fact that the government and the CAS couldn't openly come forward, it probably wouldn't have been Ye Chen's turn to get involved in the matter between Tong Zhen and the lithography machine.

In the final analysis, it was because of the sanctions and threats issued by the United States through ASML that Ye Chen became the only choice!

However, Ye Chen was completely unaware of all this.

But even if he knew, there was nothing to say, because it was obvious.

If Tong Zhen's identity had been completely clean and aboveboard, how could such a god-like talent have come to his side?

Therefore, he had this self-awareness.

During this trip to the CAS, he initially thought it would take at least two or three days to finalize various matters with the CAS.

But he didn't expect that the cooperation process with the CAS would be completed in just one day.

Next was the acquisition of the semiconductor company.

Due to the strong private promotion by high-level government officials, the acquisition process of the semiconductor company, which had been rooted in Beijing for more than a decade and whose equity structure included a CAS background but was still facing bankruptcy liquidation, was accelerated with the secret joint intervention of various relevant departments.

No, it couldn't even be said to be accelerated, but rather a complete and utter miracle!

With all green lights and various exceptional procedures, in just a few days, Ye Chen acquired the semiconductor company for 700 million yuan.

And completed the renaming of the company.

Tenglong Technology Research and Development Co., Ltd.!