A nation's industrial development begins with junior engineers.

Yes, due to the COCOM ban, we are unable to conduct trade with those Allied Powers.

However, not being able to trade doesn't mean you can't "exchange"!

The most primitive form of bartering involved tacitly agreeing to use certain places as intermediaries in order to procure urgently needed goods.

"This is the exchange list they provided..."

Jiang Xia quickly scanned the list. Hey, the French are really honest, with a pretty long list. Let's see what's on it.

"Agricultural Pairing Assistance Program!"

Wow, this is great, this is great. The French are quite capable in the modernization of agriculture, especially in their understanding of modern agricultural practices…

Hmm? This plan also specifies projects? Let me take a closer look at what those projects are~

"Grape cultivation and management for winemaking?"

"The brewing techniques for specialty wines?"

Hey, even the monkeys in my house can brew fruit wine, do you think I need your stuff?

Okay, don't be angry, let's continue reading.

"Cultural exchange program?"

"By leveraging the numerous opera houses in Paris, can we invite our artists to showcase the charm of this ancient country?"

This thing sounds impressive, but what's the point of showing off? Does getting a few compliments from "foreigners" make you an advanced and powerful nation? It's nothing!

Okay, the whole list is full of this kind of mysterious and esoteric stuff.

Another project is an art project to wrap the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Wow, wrap the Arc de Triomphe in silk? You French really do have an abundance of artistic talent...

Finally, perhaps feeling embarrassed, the French added a fighter jet project to the project.

Wow, this looks really sincere, but it's actually a huge trap.

The Mirage IIIV vertical takeoff and landing fighter jet is a product of this project.

But why is it called a huge pitfall?

In 1960, NATO proposed a plan to develop a supersonic vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) fighter jet, codenamed NBMR-3, with the aim of developing a supersonic VTOL fighter jet capable of reaching Mach 2.

France, a source of pride, responded to this plan by Dassault Group, which developed the Mirage IIIV vertical takeoff and landing fighter jet and built the technology demonstrator Balzac 5. However, due to excessive technical difficulty and cost issues, the project was ultimately abandoned.

See? They've given up!

Go to hell and try to fool those Indians. We're not falling for that!

Seeing Jiang Xia's displeasure, someone whispered:

"Comrade Xiao Jiang, we think the last fighter jet project is still very promising. We can learn a lot through this project..."

"It's impossible! Forget about it!"

"Uh~"

Before the man could ask why, Jiang Xia blurted out, "I don't know much about fighter jets. But most of the planes we're currently deploying are from Big Brother's side, right? These planes are fundamentally different from those in the West, not to mention the procedures for their use and maintenance..."

"Advanced fighter jets? We have them, don't we? We haven't even fully understood the more than ten tons of blueprints for the MiG-21 yet, why are you going around sucking up to others!"

"So this is all the projects France offered? Then I don't see anything worth negotiating..."

The young man who had just spoken seemed unconvinced and stood up, wanting to argue with Jiang Xia.

A middle-aged man next to him pushed him down, "Hehehe, young comrade's criticism is a bit sharp, but whether or not to discuss it still depends on the leader's opinion. Also, these projects were all carefully selected by our outer coking department..."

Oh, trying to intimidate me by bringing up your name? I don't believe these things can pass your minister's review. Well, if the French really do provide these projects, then they're really picking the best of the worst.

"Tch," Jiang Xia rolled his eyes at the young man.

That's Shuxin, whom Jiang Xia hasn't seen in a long time! He hadn't seen her since she left the steel rolling mill. He never expected that this circle would be so small, and they would run into each other here after all this time.

Then I looked at the man next to him, and he looked almost exactly like Shu Xin. Ah, case solved.

Huh? You dare glare at me!

Jiang Xia didn't back down and glared back straight at him.

However, as he glared back, he inadvertently glanced at the back of the document.

Huh? What's this?

There was a line of small print on the back of the document, and at first glance, I could only make out the word "aluminum".

Forgetting about arguing with the father and son, I picked up the document and examined it carefully. Damn it, you put this kind of technology last?

Wait, did the French pull this out too? Are they really that sincere?

Never mind all that, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The French way of thinking is always so abstract; since we've brought it out, let's give it a good try!

However, did the father and son in the outer section simply not understand it, or...?

"Boss! Change! Change! We'll change these three!"

"Oh?" The old man adjusted his glasses, picked up the document, and flipped to the back to read it carefully.

"Hmm? Why are the words for these items written so small?" The old man looked at them and became somewhat displeased.

"Boss, you see, they're asking to purchase the equipment separately. We felt that given the current situation, these projects weren't under consideration, so..." the middle-aged man said with a forced smile.

"Pah! You idiots!" Jiang Xia glared at the two clueless guys, his eyes blazing with daggers: "I'll stab you to death! I'll stab you to death!"

In the end, there were only three items in total.

One is the process flow and supporting equipment for "electrolytic aluminum" (the equipment will be purchased separately).

One is "Preparation process of polyethylene terephthalate fiber (PET)", (equipment to be purchased separately).

Let's leave aside electrolytic aluminum; China's future advantage of accounting for 60% of global aluminum production will begin here! Don't say we have a big electricity shortage right now; we can develop that gradually, but we can't do without it!

Another brand, PET, may be unfamiliar to you, but it is also commonly known as "Dacron"!

Hehehe, although no one wears clothes made of this material anymore, for now, with an average of three feet of cloth ration coupons per person per year, using this stuff to get by for a while is just right!

Moreover, Jiang Xia had been racking his brains about the printer ribbon issue not long ago and was thinking of trying his luck at the Ministry of Chemical Industry again. Unexpectedly, he received a pleasant surprise there.

Just what I wished for, you Gallic chickens, you're such good people. If the subsequent negotiations go smoothly, I'll get you "Big Yellow's" keyboard so you can stop playing with the paper tape machine, okay?

Jiang Xia laughed shamelessly.

The remaining topic is naturally the technology related to top-blown oxygen converters. I believe you, dear readers, have already learned about the importance of this technology to China's steel industry from other books.

For this technology, Jiangxia is willing to hand over the application layer technology of Telnet/SSH to them!

Okay, don't worry. Telnet/SSH is just a remote login protocol at the network interaction level; there are also FTP, HTTP, SMTP, and so on.

Even if the application layer is finished, there's still the transport layer, right? Besides that, there are security protocols, dynamic host configuration protocols, and even Ethernet protocols. We'll deal with them one by one!

Jiang Xia squinted, his smile sinister.

Well, don't blame him for having such a shameless thought.

He was mainly annoyed by certain actions of the Gallic people in later generations. His actions were merely a display of Murong Fu's unique skill.

Putting everything else aside, let's talk about the pride of France, Dassault Group.

In the 1980s, besides the Mirage series fighter jets and some business jets, this group was most famous for its aircraft development and design software.

Yes, it's the famous CATIA.

The manufacturer of our "Handsome Guy in the Sky" once used this design software to design the "handsome guy." The price was outrageously high.

It's expensive, but it's worth the price. These French folks are quite clever; they've created over ten versions of the same software, with prices ranging from high to low.

It seems very thoughtful, doesn't it? Buyers can choose according to different requirements.

But what if you buy a cheap, low-end version? And when you get home and use it, guess what?

Beyond the most basic aircraft structural design, you can't even design a single screw. Looking at the instructions hidden in the software, you realize, "Hey, the software doesn't support this level of precision."

If you want to meet this requirement, you'll have to pay more!

How much to add?

I don't know, but a chief engineer at the Northwest Aircraft Manufacturing Plant was almost driven mad with anger. Back then, when that old man heard that Dassault's Rafale's $300 billion sale plan had been snatched away by the Bald Eagle, he was so happy that he drank all day.

Compared to aircraft design software, their requirements for flight control design software are even more outrageous.

They actually require buyers to provide the design parameters of the relevant model in order to assess their eligibility to purchase. Ha! Buying something requires eligibility assessment?

They probably learned their luxury goods sales tactics from here.

If we already know the basic parameters, what's the point of designing a new aircraft?

See, the exploitative practices of established capitalist countries are blatantly obvious.

……

After Jiang Xia explained his plans and reasons to the people in the office, the young Shu Xin looked shocked:

"What! So that's what you think! Where does that leave our friendly nations?"

Jiang Xia didn't even want to lift his eyelids: "Idiot, the French snails must have gotten parasites from eating them."

Well, considering we've both eaten at the steel mill canteen, and your inexplicable enthusiasm for AIA, let's add fuel to the fire.

Jiang Xia touched it for a moment, then pulled out a book from his bag: "It taught me that!"

Everyone looked closely and saw the words: "On Protracted War".

……