A nation's industrial development begins with junior engineers.

"By the way, I heard you talking about car doors and stuff. Is the little guy working on cars again? What specifications are they? Is this a task assigned to him by the logistics department?"

The old man recalled the memo he had just read: "Was it the transport vehicle that Hong Dage requested? That 'four-wheeled' vehicle? Wasn't that something that was being researched by people in Quancheng?"

"No, it's a 'palace'~"

!

The old man twitched his lips. Jiang Xia's capricious and chaotic naming style was giving him a real headache. "What's this for? This name is a bit taboo..."

"Uh, a self-propelled mobile home based on a diesel engine? By the way, I came up with this name, although it was just something I said casually, but that kid picked up on what I was saying and decided on the name..." As he spoke, Mr. Yuan Jiu rummaged around on the table and found the overall design plan that was pressed at the bottom.

"Ha, this kid, why doesn't he live in a nice house and instead gets involved in this thing? But it seems Jiang Xia respects you a lot. You know, back then, the people from the First Ministry of Machine Building wanted to name the machine tool, but he rejected it by using the old man's handwriting..." The old man looked at the master plan.

"Haha, Cat House, huh? If you put it that way, then I'm truly honored!" Teacher Yuanjiu laughed heartily.

"Wow! This vehicle is really impressive! Hmm? What's inside this compartment? A bed? A flush toilet, and a bathroom!"

The old man put down the sketch, a hint of anger on his face.

"What is he trying to do? It really is a palace!"

"Boss, don't be angry. Xiao Jiang was planning to exchange it for foreign exchange! It's a million-dollar vehicle!" Teacher Yuan Jiu quickly explained.

"Millions? Dollars?"

The busy crowd stopped what they were doing, their eyes wide with shock as they stared at Teacher Yuan Jiu, their eyes filled with disbelief.

"Dollar, boss! Hehehe, if this really works out, I'll finally have the ammonia molecular clock I want!"

"Even if this car is beautiful... would anyone really be a sucker to spend this much money on it?" The old man frowned, rubbed his teeth, and inexplicably felt a toothache.

"Uh, what Comrade Jiang Xia said should be fairly reliable, right?"

"Come with me, let's go ask this kid what he's up to!" The old man flicked his sleeves and strode out, with Teacher Yuan Jiu quickly following behind.

After the two walked away, the small office became lively again.

"My God! A million! Am I dreaming?"

"Is it fake? How could it be..." Another voice was also full of doubt.

……

"Stop arguing! Look at who signed these blueprints! Think about what our only export product to our allies is! And think about the steamed buns you're eating today—they're all made from wheat we traded with them!"

Instead of wasting time doubting other people's thoughts, you should hurry up and do your job well!

Jiang Gong has even designed the mechanical drawings. Do you really think others can't do this little bit of 'centralized control' work? Look at that machining center we're still studying; the control logic it uses is so smooth and seamless. Do you really think they can't design control circuits?

An experienced researcher stood up and angrily rebuked them.

"Brother Peide, we were wrong..."

"Hmph! It's good that you know you're wrong! Let's continue, and don't delay Jiang Gong's work..." Seeing that everyone had admitted their mistakes, Peide nodded in satisfaction and sat back down in his seat.

Outside the small office, two figures carefully bent over and quietly slipped out from under the window. As they walked, the one lagging behind couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Haha, great, great. Peide has always been arrogant; it's rare to see him so inspired. This sets a good example."

The old man walking ahead smiled, his wrinkles smoothing out. "However, we still need to ask Jiang Xia what exactly this 'palace' is all about. A price tag of a million dollars is no small matter."

"Old Lu, you're an old comrade now, you should think about the international impact. You're just going to join that brat's nonsense without even a word!"

"Tsk, international influence? It's all about who has the bigger fist. Being able to intimidate people takes skill!"

The original wine master had long seen through the true colors of foreign politicians; what impact?

The greatest influence comes from becoming strong yourself!

Just like the ammonia molecular clock I've been longing for, it's not exactly a common item, but it's not rare either. Unfortunately, no one will sell it to me!

Without this clock, the accurate transmission and reception of signals from outer space would be impossible.

The old man paused, then sighed, "Oh dear, my back's giving me trouble. I need to squat down and rest. I should probably avoid doing things like eavesdropping in the future."

"Leader, Mr. Lu, what are you doing?"

The secretary, who had rushed back carrying a large wooden bucket of noodles, looked at the two big shots squatting and walking with some confusion.

"Looking for crickets..."

"what?"

"Yes! This cricket is too noisy, it's disturbing my student's train of thought..."

Crickets in the dead of winter?

The secretary was shrewd; she used the excuse that the noodles were getting soggy to distance herself from the two big shots.

……

"Hmph! It's all Jiang Xia's fault! If he doesn't give me a clear explanation, I won't let him get away with it!"

"Yes! That's right!"

The two elderly people helped each other to their feet and walked towards the confidential room.

"Hey, Lao Lu. If this really works out, what are you planning to trade for?"

"It's best to have a set of atomic clocks, oscilloscopes, stiffness testers, electron microscopes, etc. It's really difficult to do experiments without the right equipment."

"You have all of these in your labs abroad, right?"

"Um……"

The two were silent for a long time.

"I'm sorry. But it will happen! I promise!"

"Yes, I believe it. Isn't this walking on the right path?"

The two elderly people supported each other as they walked slowly forward.

"By the way, has that kid signed the project application form yet?"

"I glanced at it and it seemed like Minister Xia from the Ministry of Machine Building had approved it. Don't worry, sir, Xiao Jiang's process is clear and won't offend the audit team."

"Old Lu..."

"Eh!"

"You're an idiot!"

"Old Nie, even though you're the leader, I can still turn on you!"

"You're so stupid, you won't believe me. Xia Heizi is so possessive of his food. Do you think he'll buy manufacturing equipment when he gets money? You know, the conference this month decided to formulate the economic plan according to the order of agriculture, light industry, and heavy industry. Someone like Xia Heizi buys complete sets at once. How many coins will he have left to buy experimental equipment for you?"

"Damn it!" The usually refined former liquor teacher swore for the first time in front of her friends. "What do we do now!"

“Let’s bring the logistics department along. Little guy, please have your project stand out and combine it with the ‘Four Teams on Wheels’ project. Let’s have a three-department joint management!”

!

"Comrade Xia probably wouldn't want to, right? Leader, to be honest, Jiangxia has already completed most of this project, and automation control doesn't play such a crucial role..."

"You have to agree whether you want to or not. It's just wild punches. Do you think I can't swing them?"