Rebirth of Hong Kong Island, leading the technology war

Chapter 600 A chance encounter with Lu Shulei at the Guangzhou-Shenzhen border; Ali's AI chip encounters a bottleneck.

Catherine nodded, her expression grave, and said, "So we can't take this lightly. If we're careless, something unpredictable could happen."

“You’re right,” Hu Jiangshan said thoughtfully. “Since the other side can mobilize experts, their purpose is probably not simple. We must take this matter seriously and not let it go unchecked.”

"So, how does Mr. Hu plan to deal with this?" Catherine asked with concern.

Hu Jiangshan gave a wry smile: "To be honest, I don't have any clue right now. I can only think about it for now and take some precautions. By the way, Catherine, you need to be more careful too. They're quite bold. They even dared to eavesdrop on you. They're not ordinary people."

“Yes, Mr. Hu.” Catherine nodded solemnly. “I have already instructed the security personnel to strengthen the precautions, so they should no longer have any chance to take advantage of us.”

"That's good." Hu Jiangshan was slightly relieved, but then he thought of something and frowned slightly.

On his recent visits to the resort, Hu Jiangshan has always had the feeling that he is being watched.

At first, Hu Jiangshan thought he was being paranoid, but now he realized that it was probably not a misperception. Someone was indeed observing him in secret, and might even have been following him all along.

Thinking of this, Hu Jiangshan couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine.

This is definitely not a good sign. If the other party really has something up their sleeve, he will probably have a hard time dealing with it now that he is completely unprepared.

But then Hu Jiangshan thought again, if the other party really wanted to harm him, they would have already taken action.

It seems they still have some concerns, or are waiting for a better opportunity, or have other plans.

Even so, Hu Jiangshan still had to plan ahead.

Those mysterious figures may not want to threaten Hu Jiangshan's personal safety now, but that doesn't mean they won't have such thoughts in the future.

The key issue is that we have no idea who the other party is or what they want to do.

The enemy is in the dark while we are in the light; we are at a great disadvantage.

However, Hu Jiangshan didn't really have a good way to prevent it. He couldn't just hire a bunch of bodyguards to follow him around all the time like Catherine did.

While hiring bodyguards wasn't out of the question, Hu Jiangshan really disliked that feeling. It was too unprivate, with several "tails" following him everywhere he went, which was not the lifestyle he wanted.

"Mr. Hu, what are you thinking about?" Catherine noticed his unusual expression and asked with concern, "Are you worried about your safety?"

Hu Jiangshan smiled, trying to lighten the mood: "I'm not too worried for now. If they really wanted to do something, they would have done it already. I'm just wondering if the security on Tenglong Island should be strengthened?"

Catherine smiled slightly: "That is necessary. After all, I come here often and I don't want to be constantly monitored, without any privacy even when doing private things."

Hu Jiangshan was amused by her words: "Oh? So what kind of private things do you want to do?"

"We don't know yet." Catherine smiled meaningfully, making Hu Jiangshan's heart itch with curiosity.

To be fair, this blonde, blue-eyed beauty does have a unique charm.

Hu Jiangshan and Catherine chatted about work over tea, and the atmosphere gradually relaxed.

About an hour later, Hu Jiangshan got up to say goodbye.

If it weren't for his dinner appointment with Feng Hua that evening, Hu Jiangshan would have been happy to spend more time chatting with Catherine.

Oh well, Catherine's a regular here anyway.

The next morning, Hu Jiangshan woke up in that large villa facing the sea.

Sunlight streamed into the room through the floor-to-ceiling windows, and the sea shimmered on the surface.

After a simple breakfast, Hu Jiangshan drove the Haima yacht back to Hong Kong Island.

After resting at his home on Hong Kong Island for a day, Hu Jiangshan set off early the next morning, preparing to cross the Futian Port to Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

Hu Jiangshan hadn't been to Guangzhou or Shenzhen for quite some time, and he couldn't help but feel a little excited.

Yesterday, Hu Jiangshan and Wang Chengdong made an appointment to meet up in Guangzhou and Shenzhen for lunch today, to have a meal and chat.

The flow of people at Futian Port was not too large today. Hu Jiangshan only queued for more than 20 minutes before successfully entering the country.

Hu Jiangshan planned to take a taxi to the place he had arranged to meet Wang Chengdong.

It was quite a distance from the border, at least a half-hour walk, and the weather was particularly hot today. Hu Jiangshan didn't want to walk for so long under the blazing sun.

Just then, several middle-aged men surrounded them and started talking all at once.

"Sir, where are you going? I have a car here."

"Sir, please take my car. My car is great; I just bought a new energy vehicle!"

"Sir, come with me. They're no good. Their skills are lacking!"

"Hey Lao Li, what makes you think I'm bad at the game? Are you just bored and looking for trouble?"

"That's right, don't push your luck and cause trouble!"

"No, your skills are just not good to begin with..."

Taking advantage of a lull in their argument, Hu Jiangshan quickly slipped to the side.

These people are all unlicensed taxi drivers. At this time, unlicensed taxi drivers can be seen everywhere, whether at border crossings, train stations, or bus stations.

Although relevant departments carried out rectification a few years later, it is almost impossible to completely eliminate it.

To be honest, hiring a black cab wouldn't be entirely out of the question, but Hu Jiangshan felt it wasn't quite right, and the safety couldn't be guaranteed.

The unlicensed taxi drivers in Guangzhou and Shenzhen are notorious for their reckless driving style, and given Hu Jiangshan's current wealth, it's really not worth taking that risk.

As the saying goes, "A wise man does not stand under a dangerous wall," and we should still heed the wisdom of the ancients.

Hu Jiangshan couldn't help but sigh. If only he could drive directly from Hong Kong Island, it would be so much more convenient. He could do anything without any obstacles and wouldn't have to worry about these trivial matters.

Hu Jiangshan stood by the roadside, trying to flag down a legitimate taxi, but after waving for a long time, not a single car stopped.

It's really hard to hail a taxi in Guangzhou and Shenzhen. There are too many people waiting for taxis at the border, and relatively few empty taxis. Hu Jiangshan stood there for more than ten minutes but still couldn't get a taxi.

Just as Hu Jiangshan was about to walk forward and try his luck in another place, a black Cadillac slowly drove up and unexpectedly stopped beside him.

Hu Jiangshan was stunned for a moment, wondering if this was also an unlicensed taxi.
But then I thought, it seems unlikely that I would drive a Cadillac as an unlicensed taxi.

In this era, Cadillac is still considered a top-tier second-tier luxury brand, with a hefty price tag.

At that moment, the rear window slowly rolled down, revealing a delicate face.

Hu Jiangshan was stunned at first, then recognized the other person. It was Lu Shulei!

In his previous life, Hu Jiangshan had some interactions with Lu Shulei, but he was already quite old at that time, and they were just acquaintances without developing any special feelings for each other.

However, it must be admitted that Lu Shulei is a very beautiful woman who exudes a unique professional charm.

Lu Shulei is now quite accomplished, having become a senior executive in the Ali AI department at a young age, playing an important role.

Hu Jiangshan and Lu Shulei had met briefly at the robot launch event of Zhiyuan Technology last time and exchanged a few words. He never expected to meet again here today.

"Mr. Hu, don't you recognize me?" Lu Shulei asked with a smile.

Hu Jiangshan smiled and said, "Of course I know you, President Lu. What a coincidence, we meet again." "Did you just come from Hong Kong Island, Mr. Hu?" Lu Shulei asked.

"Yes, I just came from Hong Kong Island and I'm trying to hail a taxi here." Hu Jiangshan shook his head helplessly. "It's really hard to get a taxi in Guangzhou and Shenzhen."

"Where are you going? How about we give you a ride?" Lu Shulei offered enthusiastically.

Hu Jiangshan quickly waved his hand: "No need, no need, I can take a taxi myself."

“It’s really hard to get a taxi here,” Lu Shulei insisted. “The weather is so hot now, it would be a waste if you got heatstroke. Anyway, we’re not in a hurry, so as long as it’s not too far, I can give you a ride.”

Hu Jiangshan thought for a moment. Since Lu Shulei didn't mind, it would seem pretentious for him to refuse again, so he agreed: "Alright then, thank you for your trouble."

"Mr. Hu, would you mind sitting in the passenger seat?" Lu Shulei asked.

"Of course I don't mind. The passenger seat offers a good view and is very comfortable," Hu Jiangshan said, opening the car door and getting into the passenger seat.

The driver, a young man, politely nodded to Hu Jiangshan.

Hu Jiangshan glanced back at the back seat. Besides Lu Shulei, there was a man around forty years old, who was probably Lu Shulei's colleague at Ali.

Lu Shulei then introduced, "This is my colleague Song Guoyuan, who is also a senior executive in Alibaba's AI department."

Song Guoyuan nodded to Hu Jiangshan but didn't say anything more. Hu Jiangshan politely returned the smile and then told the driver the destination.

That is, Wansheng Plaza, where he arranged to meet Wang Chengdong at a Starbucks.

After starting the car, Hu Jiangshan casually asked, "Mr. Lu, are you here in Guangzhou and Shenzhen on a business trip?"

Lu Shulei nodded: "Yes, we're here to handle some work-related matters."

Hu Jiangshan smiled and didn't press the matter further.

Although Alibaba Group is still at its peak at this time, it has already shown signs of decline.

Pinduoduo, a rising star in the e-commerce industry, is constantly seizing market share that originally belonged to Alibaba.

However, Alibaba's e-commerce business has little to do with its AI department, which is currently still in the research and development stage.

About ten minutes later, the car arrived at Wansheng Plaza.

Before getting out of the car, Hu Jiangshan thanked Lu Shulei again: "Thank you so much, President Lu."

Lu Shulei glanced at Wansheng Plaza and said with a smile, "It's quite a coincidence that the place we're going to isn't far from here, is it, Lao Song?"

Song Guoyuan nodded in agreement: "Yes, it's nearby."

Hu Jiangshan's heart skipped a beat, and he invited, "If you're not in a hurry, how about I treat you to a cup of coffee? I have an appointment with a friend in an hour."

Lu Shulei hesitated slightly: "We..."

“Anyway, we’re not in a hurry,” Song Guoyuan interjected. “Why don’t we rest here for a bit? I’m getting a little dizzy from the car ride.”

Seeing this, Lu Shulei nodded in agreement: "Alright then, let's sit for a while. But Mr. Hu, you don't need to pay for the coffee."

“That won’t do,” Hu Jiangshan insisted. “You went out of your way to bring me here, so it’s only right that you buy me a cup of coffee.”

Lu Shulei didn't refuse anymore, after all, it was just a cup of coffee, nothing serious.

After the driver parked the car in the underground parking lot, the four of them took the elevator to the Starbucks on the first floor.

Hu Jiangshan ordered a few cups of coffee and some desserts. When the waiter brought the food, Lu Shulei was clearly taken aback.

Hu Jiangshan deliberately pushed a mango pudding in front of Lu Shulei.

What surprised Lu Shulei was not Hu Jiangshan's thoughtfulness, but that she really liked mango pudding and would order it every time she came to Starbucks.

It was purely coincidental, but it surprised her.

Lu Shulei certainly wouldn't have imagined that Hu Jiangshan actually knew about her preference, even though that was in her previous life.

Hu Jiangshan guessed that Lu Shulei in this life would not change this habit, so he took it upon himself to order this dessert.

Seeing Lu Shulei's delighted expression, he felt that the decision was worthwhile.

"Thank you, Mr. Hu," Lu Shulei said with a smile.

"You're welcome," Hu Jiangshan replied gently.

Lu Shulei naturally didn't think that Hu Jiangshan had specifically investigated her preferences, since in her opinion, the two had only met once and weren't that familiar with each other yet.

While drinking coffee, Hu Jiangshan casually asked, "President Lu, you're so busy, yet you still came on a business trip. There must be something important going on, right?"

Lu Shulei sighed softly: "It is indeed very important. We are looking for alternatives to AI chips and have already visited several companies in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, but we haven't found a suitable one yet."

"An alternative to AI chips?" Hu Jiangshan asked thoughtfully. "Doesn't Alibaba design its own chips?"

Lu Shulei nodded: "We did design the chip, but we can't mass-produce it for now."

Song Guoyuan added, "There are some problems with the contract manufacturer. Due to production capacity issues, scheduling is very troublesome."

Hu Jiangshan immediately understood the key point: "Are you having TSMC in Taiwan manufacture your products?"

Lu Shulei and Song Guoyuan exchanged a surprised look.

"It seems Mr. Hu is quite knowledgeable in this area," Lu Shulei said meaningfully.

Hu Jiangshan smiled slightly, thinking that this was to be expected, after all, he was in the chip industry.

However, Hu Jiangshan wouldn't deliberately reveal these things, lest he scare them.

In fact, Jiangshan Group's semiconductor business is currently still under strict secrecy and will remain so for a long time to come.

If the semiconductor production lines on the two islands are exposed, it will be a huge problem, and Hu Jiangshan might actually face personal threats.

Lu Shulei sighed: "If we can't find a replacement for the chip, our project will be greatly delayed."

Song Guoyuan gave a wry smile: "You're right, it's really worrying."

Based on his past life's experience, Hu Jiangshan knew that Ali's later artificial intelligence department was quite strong, and the open-source big model they developed was the most widely used on the entire planet.

Although the AI ​​chip developed by Ali is not a general-purpose AI chip, it is still quite impressive.

However, due to chip issues, Ali's large-scale AI model will likely be delayed by several years before it becomes significant, at least much later than OPENAI from the United States.

Hu Jiangshan suddenly thought, if we give Ali Group enough AI chips now, could we develop a large AI model ahead of schedule?

That's still quite possible.

In this kind of business, seizing the initiative is extremely important.

Moreover, Chinese people have a natural advantage in artificial intelligence technology.

(End of this chapter)