A nation's industrial development begins with junior engineers.

"Air division switch?"

"Yeah, it's not that difficult. Actually, I wanted to go with a programmable logic controller (PLC), but that'll have to wait. I don't like space division, and there seems to be a time division one too. Hmm, time division is a bit more complicated. How about we just grit our teeth and go with a digital one? Anyway, time division is kind of neither here nor there; at best, it's just a prerequisite technology for digital..."

"Follow the numbers, we'll work on programmable control!"

"Stop! Wait a moment, Uncle Wang!" Minister Wang took a small handful of soybeans out of his pocket. "You eat these first, I'll go get two people!"

Jiang Xia ate soybeans with a grin. Actually, even if Lao Wang hadn't dragged him here today, he would have found an excuse to visit the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications later.

After all, setting up a computer network isn't as simple as just running a telephone line.

In particular, he also wanted to unite the major research institutes across the country and set up a BBS for fun!

Old Wang rubbed his buttocks, grabbed a few soybeans, and threw them into his mouth.

"You brat, why didn't you say what this old man was interested in earlier? Now I've gotten a beating first..."

"Tsk, Old Wang. I was scared too. If I had told you earlier, Uncle Wang might have even asked me to become his sworn brother."

"Hmm? Anyway, I'm already a young master, so having another nephew doesn't seem like such a bad thing?"

"Can you act like a human being?" Old Wang grumbled as he lay on the table and began rummaging through Jiang Xia's pockets.

After lighting a cigarette for himself, he said, "Hey, how come those foreigners are so smart! All that talk about space division and time division, did you learn it from their books?"

You mean this one?

Jiang Xia pulled out a journal and waved it at Wang Kui.

"The mathematical theory of communication?"

"Yes! This was brought to me by Teacher Xiaoqin. If you're talking about clever foreigners, Shannon should be one of them, right?"

Claude Elwood Shannon, the bald-headed mathematician, was indeed a brilliant and talented individual. The foundation of information theory is built upon his Shannon theorem.

Putting nationality aside, Jiang Xia felt that calling this person a "big boss" was perfectly acceptable.

"Hey, are you following in the footsteps of those foreigners too? Are we going to fall behind them?" Old Wang looked up at the ceiling, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

Uh, Jiang Xia counted on his fingers, and wow, it really was pretty much what Old Wang said. He'd been running around doing this for so long, and aside from the cleverly used laser, it seemed like he hadn't actually gotten ahead of them in anything…

Even the most dazzling firecrackers and sea snails were all improvements on existing products.

Even Big Yellow, the Bald Eagle has long since developed a transistor computer that is similar to Big Yellow.

Well, except for Dahuang's program, but programs are hard to explain.

This is a bit tricky. How can I persuade him?

Should we tell him that in later generations we have started using swarm drones, or that soldiers are training with robot dogs?

"The darkness will eventually pass! We will surely rise again!"

At the entrance, Uncle Wang from the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications led a group of people in.

One of them looked at Old Wang and said the above words with absolute certainty.

Upon seeing the newcomer, Old Wang immediately jumped off the table, stood at attention, and saluted.

Little Dai Mao was also very excited and exclaimed somewhat inappropriately, "What are you doing here? Do you remember me?"

"You wrote me a message. My name is Jiang Xia, and I live at..." As she spoke, Jiang Xia reached into her pocket to pull out the photo.

The old man clapped his hands and laughed.

"Hahaha! Alright, alright. I've heard your name a lot lately, you brat..."

……

After everyone took their seats, the small lounge quickly filled up.

"Come on, kid, let me test you. What does 'revival' mean?"

The old man sat at the head of the table, his gentle gaze fixed on Jiang Xia.

"Revival?" Jiang Xia repeated, then grinned after calming his excited emotions.

This term, which is familiar to everyone in later generations, unexpectedly appeared in this era, and it came from the mouth of this old man.

"As time flows and dynasties rise and fall, our Chinese civilization remains steadfast and has never been severed. Though foreign enemies have invaded, they have not changed our will; though disasters have struck frequently, they have not swayed our hearts. The classics, histories, philosophical works, and literary collections preserve the wisdom of a thousand years; our attire and etiquette showcase the grandeur of a great nation."

"it is good!"

The old man laughed heartily, "Wonderful! It's rare to see someone who usually only writes a few bad poems, but today they've actually shown some spirit. It seems you did take the article the leader gave you seriously!"

Hehe, that's for sure. In order to deal with the troubles that followed, Jiang Xia could practically recite that collection of poems by heart.

Seeing the somewhat bewildered Old Wang, Jiang Xia paused, then, recalling that joke from the internet in later years, decided to repeat it:

"For five thousand years, we have been at the table of powerful nations without ever leaving, but our opponents have changed time and again. As one of the four ancient civilizations, China is the only country with a continuous civilization spanning five thousand years without interruption. China is not rising, but rejuvenating!"

"it is good!"

Now that Old Wang understood, he immediately started snapping away like a seal.

The old man looked at Jiang Xia approvingly, "Not bad, you can be both refined and straightforward. No wonder they said you were cut out for political work. But thankfully, we didn't interfere. Alright, time is of the essence, so quickly tell us your suggestion about the switchboard!"

"Comrade Wang said you've come up with three solutions?"

Jiang Xia scratched his head: "Haha, there are indeed three types, but I suggest we work on the empty-score type first, and we can work on the others later..."

"Okay, let me first explain the basic differences between these types..."

Next, Jiang Xia briefly explained the advantages and disadvantages of these solutions. It wasn't that this guy was particularly knowledgeable; it was just that the information on the modem he bought was extremely comprehensive.

It also provides an introduction to the basic configurations of several types of switches.

Yes, don't forget that the little brat got "Detailed Explanation of TCP/IP Protocol Family". Since it's a family of protocols, it naturally includes connection protocols for devices such as printers.

The modem outputs the demodulated digital signal to the switch, which then distributes the signal to the various devices connected to it, such as computers, routers, and printers, enabling these devices to share the network connection and access the Internet.

You could say that the little brat saved up points and got this item now, which is a really good deal.

We can basically guarantee that we will be 30 years ahead of the rest of the world in the field of computer networks!

……

After hearing the introduction, everyone was actually quite confused, especially the people from the post office.

What's wrong with this kid's brain? If you're talking about space division switches, we can at least somewhat understand that, since those things divide the communication space into several independent areas or paths, achieving communication through the establishment of dedicated physical connections. During a call, a physical line is specifically allocated to a pair of users and is only released when the call ends—it's easy to understand.

But time-division switches divide time into several time slots?

How to draw the line?

Can I cut it with a knife?

"Okay, okay. This is giving me a headache. In short, time-division and digital communications are the future of communication! We'll definitely be working on them, but being the most advanced isn't necessarily the most important thing; what's suitable is best!"

"Then let's work on that air division switch first!"

The old man listened to Jiang Xia's speech with a smile. Although he didn't understand it, he still grasped the key points.

Jiang Xia secretly gave the old man a thumbs up!

It's important to understand that in the past, there was indeed a period when we blindly pursued technological advancement, pushing our standards to the limit based on advanced parameters.

The result? A complete mess...

Of course, there are also some who act like big shots, putting together a bunch of PowerPoint presentations to fool the world.

However, this project should help cool down those superficial things. Haven't you seen others say that what's suitable is best?

"Alright, this matter is now in your hands. This little guy will provide the ideas, and you guys will do the work!"

After the old man finished speaking, he stroked Jiang Xia's tuft of hair: "Don't even think about shirking your responsibilities and pushing everything onto this kid."

"Like I said before, you need to get more rest. If you're not healthy, you won't be able to make any greater contributions!"

"I'm leaving now, waiting to hear your victory horns!"