A nation's industrial development begins with junior engineers.

"Jiang Xia, a 16x16 array is good, but with so many printing needles, its fault tolerance must be very low, right?"

Several experts discussed the blueprints for a while, praising the unprecedented idea of ​​printing, but also raising questions.

"Just use one column, print a little bit, then use a stepper motor to move the paper forward, and print multiple times." As he spoke, Jiang Xia took out a few pencils, held them together in his hand, and gave a practical demonstration.

It's worth noting that early printers only had 7 pins, and later at most 9. But current integrated circuit control is still a bit lacking, so let's just go for 16 pins per line. After all, it's just printing Chinese characters; as long as they're displayed correctly, that's fine.

As Jiang Xia explained, he grabbed a piece of toilet paper and vigorously rubbed his face.

After struggling for ages, I realized, damn it, this engine oil and carbon powder just won't come off! My skin's red, but my face's still so black.

"Ah! This has potential!"

"Yes! Combined with computer text formatting, this printer further expands the functionality of computers!"

"Hmm? What do you mean by that? I was just thinking that with a printer, everyone wouldn't have to crowd around a small screen to look at the data..."

"Hey! You guys haven't caught up with Junior Brother's train of thought yet!" Senior Brother Yungui looked at the other big shots: "Don't forget that our computers can use magnetic tape for storage. A tiny tape has 2MB of capacity; imagine how many files it can store!"

“Especially for some classified documents, we can transcribe them into digital format, and the communications officer can carry the tape with him. Isn’t that safer than carrying a paper copy? After all, only our computer can read the data on it! Once we arrive at the destination, we can print out the data from the tape and hand it over to the relevant personnel…”

Everyone closed their eyes and thought about it, and wow, it really is quite beautiful!

"Let's do it!" Minister Wang of the Fourth Ministry of Machine Building made the final decision after listening to everyone's comments. This veteran official's eyes reddened when he recalled the dangers of transmitting telegrams in the past.

The Minister of Foreign Trade's eyes lit up upon hearing this: "Can we use Russian? If we can catch up with this round of export negotiations, my room for maneuver will be much greater..."

Is it Russian?

No problem! At most, we'll just need to create a Slavic-style character set. Russian isn't as complex as Chinese; they only need nine printer needles to meet the requirements!

"Let's do it!" The Minister of Foreign Trade pulled at his collar, not caring that his once-neat tie was now askew. "With this, I'm confident I can squeeze some more money out of the north!"

"How long will it take to get it done?"

"It's hard to say. Jiangxia's drawings are more detailed. As for processing this part..." Dr. Lan Ying pondered and looked at Jiangxia.

Jiang Xia smiled and said, "No problem, just don't forget what my main job is..."

Dr. Lan Ying nodded, "Then only the control part remains. Let's split into groups! Each person will take charge of a portion of the content..."

"I'm in charge of digital circuits..."

"I'm responsible for splitting the data packets for the printed content..."

"I'm in charge of the corresponding attack program for the data packets..."

The experts quickly divided their research areas based on their areas of expertise.

Looking at the superior initiative of the bigwigs, Minister Wang of the Fourth Ministry of Machinery Industry smiled smugly. It's good to have many capable people under your command; you don't need to put much effort into projects.

If you provide the right support, everything will fall into place naturally.

Looking at Jiang Xia, who had shrunk back and was fiddling with his face after answering the question, Minister Wang was even more satisfied. That title of chief designer hadn't been earned for nothing; he was truly outwardly sharing his ideas!

The Fourth Ministry of Machine Building was presented with such a great gift as soon as it was established. Little one, I like you even more!

After calming himself down, Minister Wang picked up the project application form next to the blueprints.

Huh? When was this project proposal approved? I don't recall it.

Minister Wang frowned, thought carefully for a moment, and after confirming that he hadn't approved it, he continued reading without showing any emotion. Until the gleaming seal of the "First Ministry of Machinery" came into view.

How come the department that approved it is the Ministry of Machine Building? This is clearly the work of the Ministry of Machine Building!

The joy that the little idiot had felt at the newly established Fourth Ministry of Machine Building was instantly vanished.

"Xia Heizi, you son of a bitch, you actually dared to sign that!"

"You little brat, you too. Why are you bothering with the Ministry of Machine Building's stamp for electronics projects?"

"Huh?" Jiang Xia stopped wiping her face. "Minister Wang, I'm assigned to the First Ministry of Machine Building. Shouldn't I submit projects through the ministry itself? Didn't we have a document specifically prohibiting cross-departmental project applications?"

"Pah! I've never heard of such a document being issued!"

“Look, here you go…” Jiang Xia took out a document and handed it to Minister Wang.

Hey, it's an official document with a red header, and it's still in the standard downward document format. But why is there a specific recipient listed on the signature stamp? Ordinary downward documents usually only go as far as the unit.

Xia Heizi, you bastard, this document was sent specifically to this brat, wasn't it!

You're so possessive of your food that you've gone completely insane!

"Don't get angry, don't get angry. It's all a trick played by that old geezer Xia Heizi, it has nothing to do with the cute little idiot." Minister Wang calmly added his signature to the project proposal. He then spoke to Jiang Xia with a gentle smile:

"You're already the chief designer of our computer project, so we're family now. From now on, if you have any projects, just report them directly to your uncle. My office door is always open for you!"

That makes sense, doesn't it...?

Jiang Xia held a tissue and continued rubbing his half-black, half-white face.

……

After the matter was mostly settled, Jiang Xia bid farewell to everyone and pulled Old Wang, who was still gnawing on a fish, away.

Jiang Xia only plans to complete the mechanical part of this printer; he doesn't intend to delve into the specific technical aspects. After all, this thing is really simple; the difficult part is the control program.

Compared to this little dessert, the assembly of the wheeled excavator still awaits Jiang Xia's oversight.

The Ministry of Railways' gesture of delaying the departure by a day out of courtesy cannot be wasted. And most importantly, there's the centrifuge…

Jiang Xia was always very clear about the priorities of the matter.

As they approached the parking area, two black sedans blocked Jiang Xia's jeep. The bigwig from the outer department stretched out a finger from the window of one of the cars and beckoned to Jiang Xia.

A head popped out from the window of another car and beckoned to Old Wang...

Jiang Xia and Lao Wang exchanged a glance.

Jiang Xia's gaze was like a dart: Is this what you meant by "no problem"?

Old Wang lowered his head, looking ashamed: "It's all baseless, isn't it..."

Huh? It's just getting on a bus, why are they having so many internal monologues?

The reason is that the person in the other car is Old Li from the old lair.

This reclusive old man personally took action; well, the little ones can only pray for good luck!

"I told you not to wander around aimlessly! And pretend to be a living map! You'll be locked up in solitary confinement until you're nothing but a skeleton!"

"Pah! You think you can escape? I'll make sure you don't get away with it! Even as a ghost, I'll take you down with me!"

The two men kicked each other repeatedly before getting into the cars of the two big shots.

Before the car even moved, a scream came from Old Li's car, which gave Jiang Xia, who was in the other car, goosebumps.

"You little rascal, you've met some foreign guests? Tell me your thoughts..."

The head of the outer section tossed a pack of cigarettes to Jiang Xia, then leaned back wearily in his seat.

"They're all difficult to deal with, always asking for help. Where would we get so much money to support them?"

“Easy. Each member of the alliance will receive a ‘laser emitter,’ and they can then donate some food to us.” Jiang Xia glanced at the cigarette pack. Sigh, another white one.

"Let's show the French chickens over here and introduce them to Big Yellow. Since we've decided to export, let's be generous."

"However, could you take them to visit our factory when you have some free time?"

"Hmm? You have an idea?"

"Where there's a will, there's a way! Didn't the big boss already help me sell the leftovers? Why don't you come and try it once?"

"Good!" The boss of the outer section laughed silently. "Good, good, good. If I help you sell a pot, he becomes a chef; but if I help you sell something, what will people think of me?"

Hehe, that's hard to say. After all, all Jiang Xia wanted was to make a big toy for the other party to play with.

"But why did you set your sights on them?"

"A child holding gold is a devil; a statue of Wei Tuo standing by is a saint."

The head of the outer section pondered Jiang Xia's words: "You mean, they're here to find a backer? But haven't they been following the same route as the bald eagle? We're still a bit short of having a backer!"

"It's alright, it'll be over soon!"

The big boss was taken aback for a moment, then remembered that this kid had been deeply involved in certain things, and smiled with satisfaction.

"Yes, it'll be soon!"

"Alright, get out of the car! You have more to do than I do, and I, a nobody, can't afford to hold you back!" A nobody, huh? Look at you, you're practically panting with your tongue sticking out, you really are "idle"!

"Oh? I thought you were going to take me home!"

"Dream on! I can barely afford gas anymore!"

Jiang Xia, who had just been kicked in the backside, reluctantly shuffled out of the car. He'd missed out on the boss's ride—what a loss! However, the Outer Jiao Department was truly poor at this time, far from the arrogant and disdainful attitude of later generations. Although our Outer Jiao officials always maintained a dignified and unyielding demeanor, true confidence only comes from genuine strength.

Patting the footprints on his butt, he thought, "Hmm, why isn't Old Wang coming down yet?"

It's freezing! Ouch, that car seems to be making a lot of noise...

Just as Jiang Xia, with his shifty eyes, was about to approach and witness Old Wang's miserable state firsthand, Researcher Xiao Guan chased after him from behind, shouting and yelling.