A nation's industrial development begins with junior engineers.

Old Wang, standing to the side, shoveled the last bite of braised meat into his mouth, glanced at the "altar" with its swirling smoke and half a bowl of street food, and twitched his lips: "Although I don't know which deity you're trying to 'pay homage' to... but are you sure this etiquette... is okay, offering the commander's leftover braised meat as a sacrifice?"

He paused, then added, "Are you sure... that 'mentor' likes this kind of thing? Aren't you afraid he might come looking for you in the middle of the night and have a word with you?"

Jiang Xia waved his hand dismissively: "Sincerity is the key to success, it's true. Besides, this braised dish tastes authentic, and my mentor might actually like this down-to-earth kind of food."

"As for his expression, you know what your boss is planning, so his expression is probably even more interesting!"

Old Wang covered his face... His expression was truly remarkable.

All I want to say to the naval leaders right now is, next time you use the radio, make sure to close the car doors properly...

Meanwhile, someone else had a rather interesting expression.

The First Ministry of Machine Building in Beijing.

Minister Xia slammed the red secure radio microphone shut with a "click," almost as if smashing it.

Secretary-General Lin, who had been standing quietly to the side, handed over a cup of freshly brewed hot tea at the opportune moment. The emerald green tea leaves slowly unfurled in the cup.

"minister……"

Secretary Lin spoke cautiously, her voice hesitant: “Minister, please calm down. The construction on the naval front… is indeed a bottomless pit of long-term investment. What you just mentioned, the ‘big platform’ that our little rooster is thinking about, sounds like it’s probably going to be a resource-devouring behemoth in the future… Did you… agree a little too quickly just now?”

Minister Xia picked up his teacup, blew away the floating leaves, took a sip, and the anger on his face disappeared, replaced by a shrewd and calculating smile.

"Agree? Of course I agree." He put down his teacup and tapped his finger on the table. "Supporting national defense and aiding our naval brothers is the duty of our First Ministry of Machine Building! Is there anything wrong with that?"

As Secretary Lin listened, his brows furrowed slightly, as if he wanted to remind the minister that the price of this "obligation" might be a bit too high.

Although the First Ministry of Machine Building's current financial statements look very good thanks to the air fryer and the small powerhouse, no amount of money is enough for industry!

Minister Xia seemed to see through his thoughts. He suddenly turned around, a sly smile on his face, and said in a low voice, "However, Xiao Lin, I agreed to him in my personal capacity. I didn't say that I agreed on behalf of the First Ministry of Machine Building."

"Huh?" Secretary Lin was taken aback.

"Make a note of this," Minister Xia sat up straight, regaining his composure as a minister, but the smile in his eyes was hard to hide. "Next month, I'll keep half of my salary. Round it up and send it to that 'shameless old man' across the street! Just say it's a little support from an old comrade for his work, and tell him to be careful with his money and not mistreat the hard-working people, especially our 'little rooster'!"

Secretary Lin was taken aback at first, then his lips twitched uncontrollably. Looking at his minister's expression of "successful scheme" mixed with a hint of a triumphant prank, he finally managed to stammer out:

"Yes!"

Ha ha……

You city folks have so many tricks up your sleeves!

"However, we still need to get involved in this big platform thing. It's been a while since that kid came up with the idea..."

"Yes! Since the tractor platform concept was proposed, that kid hasn't submitted any similar platform ideas for a long time!"

The two nodded at the same time: "It's all because those weirdos took our little rooster away!"

Gee...

It must be said that the people involved did a good job of keeping things confidential. Little did they know that while Jiang Xia was out having fun, he had already discussed the platform concept in countless ways.

To put it simply, isn't the AWACS No. 2, which is currently undergoing test flights right above Minister Xia's head, a result of the digital defense platform?

……

Jiang Xia patted the dirt off his hands, leaned close to the Jeep window, took the headphones that still carried his body heat and a hint of tobacco smell, and cleared his throat.

"Minister Xia! Have you eaten?"

There was a moment of silence in the earpiece, followed by Minister Xia's familiar voice: "Eat my ass! You're full of anger!"

"That old bastard surnamed Xiao is driving me crazy! You've been following him wildly at the beach for so many days, haven't you gotten a little too wild? Have you been eating on time? The sea breeze is tough over there, don't just keep running around like a fool, wear more clothes!"

"I ate, I ate! I just had some locust flower cakes, they smelled so good!" Jiang Xia readily agreed, glancing at the naval bigwig who had given him the clothes, and decided to help him make amends.

"Minister, please calm down. Commander Xiao was just doing his job... well, his method was a bit rough. Your health is the most important thing. I'll bring you some dried shrimp from the seaside later; it makes a really delicious soup."

"Don't give me that!" Minister Xia's tone softened considerably, even carrying a hint of a smile. "Keep the seafood for yourself to cleanse your brain! I'm here to talk to you about something important, something urgent."

"Go ahead, I'm listening." Jiang Xia also stopped joking, leaning against the jeep's scorching metal, his eyes becoming focused.

The naval leader standing nearby also held his breath and leaned closer, pricking up his ears.

"The reason we urgently asked Lao Xiao to contact you this time is to formally announce and inform you. After repeated studies and reports, the Ministry has made a decision: In view of the increasingly urgent production needs of computers and core electronic equipment, the past model in which the research and development and small-batch production tasks were solely undertaken by the classified factories under the Institute of Computing Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences is no longer suitable for the latest development situation and requirements."

He paused, letting the weight of this bombshell settle, before speaking slowly and deliberately:

"Therefore, the ministry has decided to immediately begin planning and to build a professional, large-scale computer and key semiconductor device manufacturing plant as soon as possible!"

Despite having a premonition, Jiang Xia's heart still skipped a beat when he heard the exact decision to move towards large-scale industrialization.

A thought flashed through his mind like lightning, and he blurted it out almost without thinking, his voice filled with barely suppressed excitement:

"Minister! Is there... a breakthrough in the work at the IEC?"

"Hahaha!" Minister Xia laughed heartily on the other end of the phone, his laughter filled with triumphant joy. "Smoothly? That's not smooth at all! Our delegation was practically making a ruckus over there!"

"Let me tell you! That scene..."

Before he could even begin to speak, sounds from his own office came through the receiver first…

"dong dong dong"

A rather impolite knock on the door interrupted Minister Xia's conversation.

"Tsk." Minister Xia frowned visibly, covered the microphone, and whispered displeasedly to Secretary Lin beside him:

"Look what's going on. Didn't I tell you not to bother us?"

Chatting with Jiang Xia was a rare moment of rest for him amidst his hectic schedule; after all, this victory couldn't be announced openly yet...

Secretary Lin strode towards the door.

However, before he could open the door, the "thump-thump" sound not only didn't stop, but turned into an even more rapid "bang-bang" sound, so powerful that even Jiang Xia on the other end of the phone could vaguely hear it.

Immediately afterwards, a loud, energetic voice, tinged with anger, pierced through the door and faintly reached the receiver:

"Xia Heizi! Open the door! I know you're in there! Don't hide and stay silent!"

Minister Xia was startled and recognized the voice of the person who had come.

"Oh no, the debt collectors are here!"

He immediately spoke rapidly into the microphone: "Kid, you're still out there, right? Look, didn't the Institute of Computing Technology assign you two 'Big Yellow' second-generation prototypes? Use that one...!"

Before he could finish speaking, there was a muffled thud, and the office door seemed to have been forcibly pushed open.

Minister Xia only had time to hurriedly add half a sentence into the microphone: "Use 'Big Yellow' later!"

Communication was abruptly cut off.

Beside the jeep, Jiang Xia, holding his earpiece which was now only ringing with a busy signal, exchanged bewildered glances with the naval leader.

The naval leader touched his nose, somewhat pleased.

"Ha! You can't be too much like Xia Heizi, look what happened, trouble has come knocking on your door!"

“Uncle Xiao, please don’t say that in front of me… Minister Xia’s promised aid hasn’t arrived yet, has it…”

The naval leader remained silent.

"Can you forget what I said?"

"Hmm?" Jiang Xia raised an eyebrow.

"I'll buy you seaweed buns!"

"I want three!"

"make a deal!"