Reborn in 2012, building a new energy empire

Two days later, in the afternoon, Jiang Haoran found the old apartment building according to the address given by Bai Xiwei.

The hallway was dimly lit, the walls were peeling, and the air was thick with a faint musty smell and a stuffy, stagnant feeling. He knocked on the peeling paint on the wooden door at the far end of the third floor.

There was a rustling sound from inside the door, and after a moment, the door opened.

The person who opened the door was a man who looked to be in his early forties, but was extremely thin and slightly hunched over. He was wearing a faded plaid shirt with worn-out, frayed cuffs.

What's most striking is his face—his skin is rough and dull, covered with freckles of varying shades and countless dark red dots that haven't completely faded, like marks left by repeated mosquito bites in a humid environment.

He wore a pair of cheap plastic-framed glasses, and the eyes behind the lenses were somewhat cloudy, with a slightly dull gaze, but occasionally a sharp glint would flash in them when he turned his head.

The room was filled with the simple, savory aroma of cooked noodles.

"Hello Dr. Gu, I'm Jiang Haoran. I was introduced by Aunt Bai (Bai Xiwei's mother)." Jiang Haoran extended his hand proactively.

Gu Qiushi was stunned for a moment before slowly extending her hand to shake his.

"Please come in." His voice was hoarse, as if he hadn't spoken much in a long time.

The room was small and cramped, less than 20 square meters, with a single iron-framed bed, a desk piled with things, and a simple cloth wardrobe as the only furniture.

The desk and floor were piled high with thick English technical documents, printed patent files, and notebooks filled with formulas and data.

A hand-drawn technology roadmap of the photovoltaic industry is posted on the wall, covered with dense markings and lines in different colored pens.

An aluminum pot sits on a small electric stove, containing clear broth noodles with a few vegetable leaves floating on top.

"The conditions are simple, please excuse the poor quality." Gu Qiushi moved the documents on the only chair to the bed, gesturing for Jiang Haoran to sit down, while he himself sat sideways on the edge of the bed.

Jiang Haoran sat down, his gaze sweeping over the charts on the wall and the documents scattered across the table. He got straight to the point: "Dr. Gu, Aunt Bai briefly mentioned your situation. If you don't mind, could you talk about your work experience at First Solar Energy, especially those related to technology?"

Gu Qiushi raised his eyelids and sized up the young Jiang Haoran, his eyes showing more wariness than enthusiasm: "There's nothing to talk about. After graduating with my doctorate, I joined the company and worked in the single crystal furnace R&D department for five years, doing thermal field simulation and process optimization."

"Later... I was not a good fit for the group and was transferred to the so-called cutting-edge research center, which was basically just sitting on the sidelines." His tone was flat, even somewhat self-deprecatingly indifferent.

"What are you researching when you're sitting on the sidelines?" Jiang Haoran asked directly.

Gu Qiushi remained silent for a few seconds, seemingly judging the other party's intentions, before finally speaking: "We focused on studying the technological roadmaps of foreign photovoltaic companies. NDK and Asahi Kongo from Japan, and Meyer Burger from Switzerland—their technological evolution logic, patent portfolios, and supply chain relationships."

He pointed to the hand-drawn picture on the wall, "It's all here."

Jiang Haoran took out a document from his bag, which was a list of technical issues about diamond wire cutting that he had compiled over the past few days.

"Our company has recently been paying close attention to silicon wafer cutting technology. We would like to understand where the bottlenecks are in this cutting-edge technology of diamond wire cutting, and what the technical routes are like abroad."

Gu Qiushi took the paper, glanced at it, and his previously somewhat dazed eyes instantly sharpened.

"In the silicon wafer cutting process, the replacement of traditional slurry cutting with diamond wire is an inevitable trend. This is currently the key point that can directly bring about cost reduction."

He pushed up his glasses, picked up a pen, and wrote on a piece of paper as he spoke: "The core of diamond wire lies in three aspects: the steel wire matrix, the diamond micro powder, and the bonding process."

"What's the difficulty?" Jiang Haoran asked the core question.

He spoke slowly but clearly, “My previous company did not conduct in-depth research, but made some progress in the steel wire matrix. Among our foreign counterparts, Japanese manufacturers have the highest technical level. They can achieve the ultimate synergy in these three aspects.”

The steel wire matrix material, the quality of the diamond micron powder, and the electroplating bonding process are three interconnected links. The Japanese advantage lies in their decades-long accumulated process data database and their ability to coordinate across the entire chain. He paused, "The current problem in China is that the various links are disconnected, failing to form a cohesive force. Materials, processes, and equipment are all handled independently."

Jiang Haoran nodded, took out the prepared list of technical questions from his bag, and pushed it in front of Gu Qiushi. "I'd like to hear your thoughts on these specific issues."

Gu Qiushi took the paper, quickly scanned it, and his eyes lit up completely. Every question hit the nail on the head.

He picked up a pen and quickly scribbled in the blank space on the paper, speaking at a steady pace but with extremely clear logic: "The core of the steel wire matrix is ​​the drawing process and impurity control. Domestic products have poor uniformity, which leads to large tension fluctuations during cutting..."

High-quality diamond micron powder is monopolized by three Japanese companies, while domestically produced micron powder has a wide particle size distribution and contains many impurities, which directly affects the cutting life and stability of the wire saw.

The most troublesome part is the electroplating process. The formula, current density, temperature field, and fluid field make it a complex electrochemical systems engineering project that requires the accumulation of a large amount of experimental data...

He spoke for nearly forty minutes, covering topics from materials science to process control, from the technological barriers of foreign giants to possible breakthroughs in China. Jiang Haoran listened attentively, occasionally asking about a specific detail.

The down-on-his-luck man in front of me immediately displayed an immersive focus and professional depth once he entered the field of technology. The data, mechanisms, and bottlenecks seemed to be engraved in his mind.

After more than an hour of technical discussion, Jiang Haoran had no more doubts about the professional competence of the down-on-his-luck man in front of him.

"Dr. Gu," Jiang Haoran sat up straight, his tone becoming serious, "If I were to invite you to join my company to work on a truly meaningful project to domestically produce diamond wire, what qualifications would you require? Or what are your own requirements?"

Gu Qiushi stiffened slightly, raised his head, and carefully examined Jiang Haoran through his glasses, seemingly judging the young man's sincerity and strength.

"Then I'll get straight to the point," Gu Qiushi finally spoke, his voice dry but clear. "First, my annual salary cannot be less than 500,000, and there will be additional pay if there are future achievements. This price is a sign of respect for my knowledge and experience, not a bargain."

He paused, his eyes sharpening: "Secondly, the company I want to join must be one that genuinely loves photovoltaics and is willing to invest heavily in R&D over the long term, not one that just wants to make quick money and hype up concepts. If it's just a hobby, it won't last long."

He hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice, "Third... if possible, when the time is right in the future, I hope to use the company's resources to help me bring my daughter back. You may have heard about this situation."

Silence filled the small room, broken only by the occasional soft bubbling from the aluminum pot on the electric stove.