After coming to Neon for so long, Shirakawa Kaede hasn't been to Kyushu for a good visit, and the southernmost point he arrived at is only the Shikoku region.

On the one hand, it is because of the busy work and the leisure to travel around the country.

In addition, when he thinks of Kyushu here, there will always be a sense of gain and loss in his heart.

But after the carnival of the golden age, the baptism of the bubble age, or as he grew older, he is now able to face everything calmly in his heart.

Now, taking the opportunity of this visit to Fujitsu's wafer fab, Shirakawa Kaede is ready to shake hands and make peace with that past.

"Shirakawa-san, our process is still at the world-class level of about 0.6 microns.

This technology is undoubtedly more than the process of the United States and the stick country, it is no exaggeration to say that although our market share has declined, but the technology has always been at the forefront of the world. ”

When Mitsuyoshi Matsuka introduced the fab, his face and tone were still full of pride.

However, Shirakawa Kaede, who knows what situation Neon Semiconductor is facing, knows that this is more like the last afterglow sprinkled at the end of the hero.

The research and development of next-generation process equipment may be less than half of the neon semiconductor manufacturers who are really doing it.

"Mazuka-san, is there any progress in Fujitsu's breakthrough in the 0.35 micron process?"

"Uh," Matsuka's tone paused slightly, "Because of the general environment, Fujitsu's R&D investment has also been affected to a certain extent. ”

"In the follow-up R&D investment in the manufacturing process, SIC can afford half of the cost.

The development is also carried out jointly by both parties, and finally the technology is shared between the two parties. ”

Shirakawa Kaede didn't talk nonsense, and took over half of the task when he came up.

Technology development is lagging behind step by step, and SIC has no relevant experience, so Fujitsu needs to move forward with it at this time.

And hearing that Shirakawa Kaede was willing to take the initiative to share the development costs, Mazuka Daoyi was also busy nodding and agreeing.

"That's great, because with SIC helping us with technology, we're sure to stay ahead of the curve."

With the promise of Shirakawa Kaede, the big benefactor, the next introduction of Fujitsu by Matsuka Daoyi is much more detailed.

In fact, if it weren't for the fact that neon semiconductor manufacturers had not yet entered a desperate situation, Shirakawa Kaede would have wanted to directly poach Fujitsu's technical team.

SIC doesn't plan to enter the wafer processing space on a large scale, but like Intel, it's reassuring to have its own processing plant.

Because they involve certain technical secrets, and a wafer factory that is completely controlled by itself will virtually improve the SIC's ability to resist risks.

Shirakawa Kaede's plan is for SIC to have a one-stop supply chain from design to production and sales, which can be small but necessary.

After walking around Fujitsu's fab here, Shirakawa Kaede left by car to prepare for Fukuoka City.

There will be a professional team to dock the follow-up, and he no longer needs to ask in person.

Fukuoka, the gateway city of Kyushu.

As soon as I entered the area, Kaede Shirakawa felt that it had a completely different atmosphere from Tokyo.

Comfortable, comfortable, and laid-back, this is Shirakawa Kaede's first impression of it.

People here even walk at a much slower pace than people in Tokyo, and you can stop and chat for more than half an hour when you meet acquaintances on the street.

It's unthinkable in Tokyo, where people will say hello to their friends and then leave in a hurry.

However, the appearance of Fukuoka completely broke Shirakawa Kaede's perception of the neon social animal atmosphere, and it turned out that there is a slow-paced, welcoming city with a beautiful environment in Neon.

Outside Fukuoka City Junior High School, Kaede Shirakawa was sitting in the car quietly looking at the quiet and bustling school.

It is said to be quiet because you can hear your footsteps quietly both on campus and on the surrounding roads.

It is said that it is noisy, but from the teaching buildings, there are bursts of reading sounds from time to time.

Whether it's English recitation, or musical chorus, the young voices are intertwined and blended.

Then it reverberates back and forth in the quiet campus, forming a wonderful scene of harmony between stillness and movement.

Jingle bell~

Suddenly, the crisp ringing of the bell overshadowed the sound of footsteps and reading, and spread to every corner of the campus.

As if receiving a signal, the sound of neat reading immediately fell silent.

The car door had been opened, and Shirakawa Kaede, who was standing on the side of the road, seemed to be able to feel the excitement in the classrooms.

Sure enough, within ten seconds, the classrooms in the teaching building exploded one by one.

Countless running and shouting figures swarmed out of the front and back doors of the classroom.

From the school bell ringing to the running figures up and down the school building, it didn't take more than a minute.

This is the vitality of youth, looking at this scene, Shirakawa Kaede sighed.

"Shirakawa-san~" At this time, Kojima, who got off the car, held two photos in his hand and was about to hand them to him.

Bai Chuanfeng waved his hand without looking back, and their figures had already been imprinted in his mind.

Although he had never actually met in person, Shirakawa Kaede knew that he could "see" them.

Sure enough, at the gate of the rushing campus, he saw them at a glance in the dense crowd.

Hum~, the discussion of the crowd, the chatter of the students, slowly moved away from Shirakawa Kaede.

In his mind, in his field of vision, there were only two figures that were getting closer and closer.

"Who's going to pick us up today, grandpa or mom?"

"I don't know, it's best not to come, so we can go to the game hall and play around before going home."

"Eh, that's what you're talking about~"

The two teenagers laughed and couldn't wait to desert halfway, but just as they were about to run, they noticed a tall figure in front of them.

"Eh, uncle, what's the matter with you?"

The two teenagers looked at the strange uncle who suddenly appeared in front of them with some vigilance.

However, this is very close to the school gate, and if the signs are not right, they are ready to turn back and let the school's security uncle come out.

Listening to them call themselves uncle, he looked at himself vigilantly.

While Bai Chuanfeng couldn't cry or laugh, he was a little disappointed, after all, he missed too much.

"Now, may I ask your names? I know the elders of your family~"

"Huh?" The eyes of the two teenagers were a little puzzled.

Know the elders of your own family? How come they haven't seen it?

However, Shirakawa Kaede's face made them let down their vigilance a little.

Because of that sense of familiarity, there is always something inexplicable.

If they look in the mirror at this moment, they will see where that familiarity comes from.

The eyes, in particular, were as different from the small, flat, slender eyes of the neon man as they were.

The double eyelids and the bright eyes are the common denominator of the large, two, small and three people standing on the side of the road.

No, to be precise, there are many things in common, eyes, nose, face.

Because of the proximity to the school and the familiarity, the teenager on the left volunteered to answer.

"I'm Kaede, he's Hiiragi."

Kaede Ichi, Hiiragi II., for some reason, when I heard this name, Shirakawa Kaede's heart seemed to be pinched hard.

"Good name, good boy~" His lips trembled slightly, trying to make his smile more amiable.

Seeing them staring at themselves with big eyes and still looking at themselves with a puzzled expression, Shirakawa Kaede hurriedly took out a wooden box from his arms as if he had just remembered.

"Now, let's give you a gift when we meet for the first time."

Saying that, Bai Chuanfeng took out the long-cherished Hetian jade pendant, and the warm luster shone in the sunlight, making the word "Chuan" in the ancient style shine.

The two looked at him in a daze, and Shirakawa Feng comforted him gently.

"Don't worry, your mother won't blame you."

The boy named Kaede tilted his head, then smiled and said, "Then I'll ask my mother~"

Saying that, he immediately looked behind Shirakawa Kaede and asked in a loud voice, "Mom, can we accept this uncle's gift?" ”

Shirakawa Kaede's body shook, extremely complicated emotions rose in his heart, and he slowly turned around.

There, not far behind her, a woman in an apricot-colored coat was smiling and nodding her head.

"Thank you, uncle~"

Shirakawa Kaede felt a lightness in his hand, and when he came back to his senses, the two pairs of jade pendants had already reached the hands of Kaede and Hiiragi.

"It's so pretty~"

"This is mine~"

"Stupid, didn't you notice it all?"

"Nonsense, obviously the Chinese characters on them are different, and the patterns are also some different."

However, at this moment, the quarrel between the two teenagers could not affect Bai Chuan Feng in the slightest.

He slowly got up and turned to the figure behind him, although more than ten years had passed, the years did not seem to have left a mark on her face.

The slender figure, fair skin, and smiling expression are just as they were when they were separated.

He stopped slightly in front of her, and a thousand words turned into a simple greeting.

"Long time no see, Kobayashi~"

"Shirakawa-kun, it still hasn't changed~"

The two looked at each other and smiled, and the wind lingered around them with the laughter of a teenager for a long time.

Life is a sea of seas, mountains and rivers, but Erer.

In '95, NHK is preparing a special documentary feature on the unemployment situation in the country.

They went to a children's institution in Tokyo, where many students' families were struggling financially.

A new middle school student, his father has just passed away, and his mother can't afford to support him, so he has to entrust him to an institution.

"When Dad was here, it was an ordinary family, and as soon as Dad died, the whole family was scattered. If it could be the same as an ordinary family, it would be so ordinary. ”

At a temporary recruitment site, Nami, a new graduate, looked at the camera with a bitter smile.

"Graduating from school and entering society is like falling from a shining place into darkness."

In front of a building in Tokyo, Mr. Koyama, who used a cardboard box to build a rectangular description of his body, had a numb expression.

"It's really difficult, no matter how hard you work, you still can't get a peaceful life, and you have no expectations for the future."

"When I was a child, I wished I could be reincarnated to live another life, but I couldn't realize it if I thought about it, and I would only feel sad."

In front of a dilapidated wooden house in the countryside of Aomori, a man in his fifties and sixties with a white towel on his head looks gloomy when he faces the camera.

"I feel ashamed and sad.

It's really sad that I can't eat with my own hands~"

The farmer used to make a living from farming, but later sold his land and chose to work in a big city.

Now that he has no land and no job, the odd jobs he does in the lumber mill are not enough to feed their family.

Mr. Kitayama, who is 80 years old, gets up at four or five o'clock every day to pick up empty cans in the park, and his 75-year-old wife also helps him carry his bags to collect them together.

"We don't have any old age, in order to live without causing trouble to our children, we won't spend our children's money until we die, we have to try to live on our own."

Although they have the willingness, ability and necessity to work, they do not get the work they deserve.

The busier the poorer, the poorer the poorer.

"A normal society, a hopeful society. It should be, you should be rewarded for your efforts.

But the dilemma that many young people face today is that no matter how hard they try, they can't get the results they want.

If your efforts don't pay off, you'll be depressed. In other words, I obviously didn't do anything wrong, but I just couldn't.

If things like this accumulate step by step, they will become social problems. ”

——

End of text~

(End of chapter)