Reborn in 2012, building a new energy empire

For dinner, we chose a popular Hangzhou-style restaurant located outside the west gate of the school.

The store is small, and the decoration is a simple modern Chinese style.

Wooden tables and chairs, warm yellow pendant lights, and several ink paintings hanging on the wall.

The two chose a small, semi-open private room on the inner side, with the bamboo curtain half-rolled up, ensuring privacy without being too enclosed.

Lin Miaomiao gently pushed the menu in front of Jiang Haoran, her tone natural and considerate, reflecting her good upbringing: "It's my treat today. Don't be shy, just order what you like."

Jiang Haoran took the menu, his gaze quickly sweeping over the familiar dish names. Almost without thinking, he rattled off a few dishes: "Longjing Shrimp, West Lake Fish in Vinegar Sauce, Osmanthus-Scented Lotus Root with Sticky Rice, plus a stir-fried seasonal vegetable dish and Song Sao Fish Soup. Is that enough?"

"That's enough." Lin Miaomiao nodded, a clear look of surprise flashing in her eyes, which then turned into a faint, genuine smile on her lips. "The dishes you ordered... are quite special."

What's special is that these dishes perfectly capture her favorite tastes that she rarely mentions to others—light, slightly sweet, emphasizing the original flavor of the ingredients, and disliking heavy, oily sauces.

She doesn't even like eating fish, but she has a special fondness for the sweet and sour West Lake Vinegar Fish, a fact that even her parents often forget.

This unexpected and almost magical connection instantly amplified the subtle sense of joy in her heart, like a piece of candy slowly dissolving in warm water.

"I used to eat this often, and I'm used to these combinations." Jiang Haoran closed the menu and confirmed the names of the dishes with the waiter who was waiting next to him.

He spoke as casually as if he were discussing the weather, as if it were just a very casual order.

Only he himself knows how many memories of dining together are contained in this "before".

In their long acquaintance in their past life, he had long since learned her taste preferences, which dishes she would eat more of and which she would only touch politely, and these preferences had become an instinct that did not require him to recall.

While waiting for the food, Lin Miaomiao picked up the white porcelain teapot, and poured the emerald green Longjing tea into the cup in a gentle arc, its fragrance rising with the steam.

She gently pushed the first cup of tea towards Jiang Haoran, her movements natural and fluid, conveying an unintentional thoughtfulness.

Jiang Haoran thanked him and accepted the teacup, feeling its warm, smooth texture on his fingertips.

He watched as she lowered her eyes and focused on pouring tea for herself. The warm yellow light cast a soft shadow on her delicate profile, and her long eyelashes formed small fan shapes on her eyelids.

The scene was so familiar that it softened his heart, evoking a warmth that transcended time and space. Yet, because of the setting of this "first" formal meal together, it was veiled by a layer of freshness and a slightly heart-pounding feeling.

Lin Miaomiao looked up, meeting his calm gaze that hadn't quite returned. She pursed her lips slightly, as if to dispel the silent tension in the air, and spoke first, choosing the safest topic: "I heard you mention before that you've been busy with an investment project lately?"

She asked casually, not wanting to appear to be prying into someone's privacy.

"What investment project? It's not that high-end." Jiang Haoran smiled, his tone perfectly understated.

"I majored in finance and stumbled upon an opportunity that I thought was pretty good. I just wanted to use what I learned to earn some tuition and living expenses."

His tone was calm, without the boasting often seen in young people, nor the hypocrisy of deliberately hiding his shortcomings.

Jiang Haoran spoke casually, as if the cooperation agreement involving tens of millions of yuan that he had just signed that morning was just an ordinary investment.

It wasn't that he was deliberately hiding it, but in his view, his current capital accumulation was far from being an "achievement" that he could openly present to her and be proud of.

A clear voice echoed in his heart: one day, he would be strong enough to stand beside her as an equal, not to flaunt his wealth, but to say with composure, "I now have the ability to realize our dreams."

Lin Miaomiao nodded as if she understood, without asking for details. She simply raised her teacup and smiled cleanly, "Then I wish you a successful investment and lots of money."

"Thank you for your kind words." Jiang Haoran also raised his glass and gently clinked it with his.

After a round of tea, Lin Miaomiao steered the conversation towards a field she was familiar with, her eyes showing a mixture of probing and genuine interest: "From your perspective, what are your thoughts on the current state of the photovoltaic industry? Which technological route do you think will be the mainstream in the future?"

This is a problem that has been troubling the industry and her company as well. She really wants to hear what this guy, who always brings her unexpected insights, has to say.

"To be honest, the entire industry is indeed in a rather difficult stage right now, with considerable pressure both internally and externally." He set a pragmatic tone from the outset, avoiding any blind optimism.

"For upstream polysilicon, the key is to look at the supply and demand pattern and cost curve. Whoever can lower the cost will survive the price war. In the midstream silicon wafer and solar cell segments, it's a race against time regarding technology shifts and capacity cycles. The debate between polycrystalline and monocrystalline technologies is far from over. As for downstream power plants, policies, subsidy levels, and the final return on investment are the key factors determining whether demand can be released."

He spoke in a very straightforward manner, without piling up complicated financial model jargon, but rather using the simple logic of the industrial chain to explain it.

Then, he paused slightly, his gaze becoming more focused: "However, if I were to personally choose a breakthrough that is particularly noteworthy at this stage, I would vote for the silicon wafer segment."

"Oh? Why?" Lin Miaomiao leaned forward slightly.

"Slicing technology. If a key breakthrough can be achieved in this area, the impact will be systemic." Jiang Haoran's tone became confident. "This means that the cost of monocrystalline silicon wafers will drop a notch, and this will be passed on to downstream industries, where the cost of solar cells and modules will also decrease."

"This will be a powerful boost to the grid parity process for the entire photovoltaic industry. For end users, the cost per kilowatt-hour could drop by several percentage points, which is the most disruptive force."

Lin Miaomiao listened quietly, her focused gaze gradually turning into surprise, and even a hint of admiration.

"Where did you learn all this from?" she couldn't help but ask, her curiosity completely overriding her initial test-taking mentality.

"Read more, learn more, and communicate more," Jiang Haoran replied candidly. "I read professional industry reports and cutting-edge technical papers. Also, to be honest, my family owns a small factory in the photovoltaic industry chain, and I have to keep up with the industry situation to make a living."

He cleverly attributed much of the information from his past life to a vague "family business" background, which both explained the source of the knowledge and did not seem abrupt.

"Especially in a typical technology-driven industry like photovoltaics, information updates very quickly, so working in isolation is definitely not going to work."

Lin Miaomiao nodded thoughtfully.

Then, the dishes started to arrive one after another.

Longjing shrimp has an elegant color, with each shrimp plump and tender, carrying a subtle tea aroma.

West Lake Vinegar Fish is beautifully presented, with a glossy sauce and an enticing sweet and sour aroma. Osmanthus-scented Sticky Rice Lotus Root is soft, sweet, and fragrant with the delightful scent of osmanthus.