Building a Sci-Fi Empire: Starting with Cold Nuclear Fusion

The next day, at nine o'clock in the morning.

At home, Chen Yuan bought a lot of good food and wine early in the morning.

Zhang Shulin will arrive here later with Tang Zhiping, the leading expert in cochlear implant technology in China.

Chen Yuan naturally wanted to treat him well, so he got up early to buy groceries.

Last night, he used quantum computing to simulate several different fully implantable cochlear implant designs.

Some of these are difficult to manufacture with current technology.

Even if it were possible, it would take a lot of time.

Because it requires a lot of technological innovation.

Chen Yuan hoped that A Yu could enjoy the new cochlear implant he had developed as soon as possible, so he finally chose two designs that were most likely to be realized in a short period of time, and prepared to let Tang Zhiping see whether they were possible.

He certainly knew that the technology "upgraded" from quantum computing was fine.

The reason for showing it to Tang Zhiping was to find out how long it would take to manufacture it with current technology.

At this moment, Chen Yuan was waiting for someone while reading the message that A Yu had just sent him.

Ayu: "Pinecone, good morning! My colleagues and I are going to Zhouzhuang Ancient Town today. Are you up yet?"

Chen Yuan is typing.

Suddenly, thump, thump-thump.

There was a knock on the door.

Immediately afterwards, Zhang Shulin's voice came from outside the door, "Xiao Chen, are you home?"

Chen Yuan quickly put his phone aside and called out, "Yes, Professor Zhang, please wait a moment, I'll be right there to open the door."

He walked quickly over and opened the door.

Click, the door opened.

Two figures came into view.

Zhang Shulin, dressed in a Zhongshan suit, goes without saying.

Another man, in his forties or fifties, was not very tall.

He was about 1.65 meters tall and very thin, but he looked very energetic.

Chen Yuan quickly greeted them, "Professor Zhang, Mr. Tang, hello."

Zhang Shulin said, "Good morning, Xiao Chen."

Tang Zhiping, carrying a bulging briefcase, nodded slightly in response and said, "Hello."

Chen Yuan invited the two in and sat them on the sofa in the living room. He also opened a tea gift box given by Zhao Peng and brewed a cup of tea for Zhang Shulin and Tang Zhiping respectively.

"Hmm, this tea is quite good."

"The texture is like... pre-Qingming Longjing tea?"

Zhang Shulin and Tang Zhiping both seemed to enjoy drinking tea; they only took a sip, yet they could still guess whether it was pre-Qingming Longjing tea.

Chen Yuan, sitting to the side, smiled and said, "It's pre-Qingming Longjing tea. If you two like it, I have some more here. I'll bring one box back for each of you later?"

Zhang Shulin said without any politeness, "Hehe, then I'll accept it without hesitation. Little Tang, don't refuse either, it's just a kind gesture from Little Chen."

Tang Zhiping knew, of course, that Zhang Shulin was trying to make a good impression on Chen Yuan in this way, and since he and Zhang Shulin were close friends, he naturally wouldn't refuse such a kind offer.

So he smiled and said, "Then I'll thank you, Xiao Chen."

Chen Yuan exchanged a few polite words and chatted with the two for a short while.

Finally, Zhang Shulin, acting as the introducer, steered the conversation in the right direction, "Xiao Tang, Xiao Chen is very interested in cochlear implant technology. Could you talk to him about it in detail?"

"Okay, Professor Zhang." Tang Zhiping looked at Chen Yuan and said, "Have you looked at the cochlear implant design drawings and related information I gave you last night?"

Chen Yuan nodded and said, "I've read them all."

This time he was smarter; he only said he had finished reading it, without indicating that he remembered all the content.

Tang Zhiping didn't think much of it and simply explained: "Since you've seen it, you should know that a cochlear implant is a product that integrates electronic technology, computer technology, phonetics, electrophysiology, materials science, and ear microsurgery. It involves many knowledge points."

Chen Yuan agreed, saying, "Indeed, this bionic ear technology is very complex. I spent the whole night looking at the materials, and I still only have a vague understanding of it."

Tang Zhiping chuckled and said, "You managed to understand a little bit of that information after just one night, which is already quite talented. The cochlear implant researchers in our unit have all worked in the field for several years before they could get started. Because cochlear implant technology is complex, the research and development costs are also high. Back then, our unit spent 190 million yuan and five years developing it, which filled the gap and shortcomings in domestic cochlear implant technology. By the way, the American company Envoy-Medical is currently developing a new generation of fully implantable cochlear implants, with an estimated research and development cost of 30 to 40 million US dollars."

At this point, he remarked with emotion, "That's why developing new cochlear implant technology is really not easy."

Zhang Shulin wholeheartedly agreed, saying, "Yes, especially fully implantable cochlear implants, which are extremely time-consuming and labor-intensive to develop."

Both of them were tech-savvy, and they couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness when they talked about this.

Chen Yuan echoed his sentiments with two sentences.

Afterwards, Tang Zhiping put aside his emotions and carefully taught Chen Yuan about cochlear implants.

To be honest, before yesterday, Chen Yuan really knew nothing about cochlear implant technology.

However, with the help of his skills in quantum reconstruction and quantum computing from the field of quantum physics, he has become very proficient in cochlear implant technology.

The reason he listens to Tang Zhiping's explanation like a good boy is entirely out of respect.

They came all the way from Zhejiang, with good intentions.

If Chen Yuan acts like a hillbilly, then he really has no manners at all.

This explanation took almost the entire morning, and the key point is that it only covered a small part.

Around noon, Chen Yuan said, "Professor Zhang, Teacher Tang, why don't you sit here for a while? I'll go cook lunch for you now."

Zhang Shulin rubbed his stomach and said, "I'm a little hungry too. Do you want me to help you?"

Chen Yuan waved his hand and said, "No need, I bought a lot of cooked food this morning, and a few hot dishes will be ready soon. You two can sit and rest for a while... Oh, by the way, Professor Tang, last night I had some inspiration based on the cochlear implant design drawings and related knowledge you provided, so I tried to imitate and design two cochlear implant designs. Could you please take a look and see how they turn out?"

"Oh?" Tang Zhiping became interested. "You're trying to imitate the design based on existing cochlear implant design drawings? Okay, let me take a look. After I've looked at it, I'll give you some suggestions, and then you can try to improve it."

Chen Yuan quickly replied, "Okay, thank you, Teacher Tang."

Taking the opportunity, Zhang Shulin praised Tang Zhiping, saying, "In the field of cochlear implants, if you can get guidance from Xiao Tang, I dare not say you'll avoid ten years of detours, but at least you'll avoid three years of detours."

Tang Zhiping humbly replied, "You flatter me, you flatter me."

Chen Yuan thanked him again before going into the bedroom to get his laptop.

He placed the computer in front of Tang Zhiping and Zhang Shulin, and then opened the design drawings and a series of writings he had made about how to manufacture it.

For example, materials and technology.

Then, Chen Yuan pointed to the kitchen and said, "I'll go cook first, Teacher Tang, could you please keep an eye on things for me?"

Before Tang Zhiping could even look at the computer screen, he waved his hand and said, "No need to be so polite. Go cook. I'll give you my opinion when we eat after I've finished reading it."

Chen Yuan responded and turned to go into the kitchen.

At this moment, Zhang Shulin said with a smile, "Let's take a look at what Xiao Chen's imitation of the cochlear implant design looks like."

"Okay, sure."

Tang Zhiping didn't think much of it and looked at the computer screen.

In his view, Chen Yuan had just come into contact with and understood cochlear implant technology, and the so-called imitation of the design drawings should not be very technically advanced, so he could finish reading it quickly.

However, when Tang Zhiping's gaze fell on the computer screen, he was stunned.

Zhang Shulin didn't know much about cochlear implant technology. Although he saw the content on the computer screen, he didn't notice anything unusual. Instead, he pointed at it and said with a smile, "Xiao Chen seems quite confident. These two design drawings both look like fully implantable cochlear implants. I wonder if they'll actually work?"

Tang Zhiping didn't reply at all, but stared intently at the design diagram of the fully implantable cochlear implant above.

The more he looked, the more alarmed he became, and the more interesting his expression became, even his eyes were shining!

Hearing no response, Zhang Shulin turned his head in confusion. "Xiao Tang, you..."

He only got halfway through his sentence before he saw Tang Zhiping's astonished expression.

Zhang Shulin realized something was amiss and quickly asked, "Xiao Tang, what's wrong? Is Xiao Chen's cochlear implant technology... alright?"

"good?"

Tang Zhiping finally woke up and gave Zhang Shulin a strange look.

He couldn't help but sigh, "It's more than just passable, it's absolutely exquisite!"