Reborn as Zhao Ruilong of Handong, I will defy fate.

The night was hazy.

Tianhai City was brightly lit.

A taxi pulled up in front of the Japanese restaurant.

"27 yuan, thank you."

"Here's 30, keep the change."

"Okay, thank you, boss! Do you need a receipt?"

"No need, I don't need reimbursement."

"Okay, boss, take it easy!"

The man got out of the car with his bag but didn't rush into the store.

It seemed to be their first time here; they even took out their phone to carefully confirm the house number.

The taxi driver flipped up the light on the dashboard, displaying the words "Vacant," and then skillfully drove off.

After confirming the house number, the man put away his phone and looked around.

Seeing that there was nothing unusual around him, he felt reassured and boldly pushed open the door to enter the Japanese restaurant.

"Hello sir, are you in your party?"

"No, a friend invited me to room 202!"

"Okay, please go upstairs this way, watch out for the steps!"

"Thank you!"

The man bowed and scraped.

He tucked his handbag under his arm and slowly made his way upstairs.

Upon arriving at the door of VIP room 202, the man gently knocked.

"Which one?"

"It's me, Hashimoto!"

The door opened quickly, and Watanabe Kameyu appeared in the doorway.

"Thank you for your hard work, Hashimoto-kun. Please come in!"

"Hi!"

Hashimoto Kōta bowed deeply.

Then he took off his shoes and went into the private room.

Watanabe Kame looked on warily, peering around cautiously.

After confirming that no one was following Hashimoto Kota, he hung the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door.

Then he stepped back into the private room, gently pulled the door shut and locked it, and even tried to tug on it to make sure it wouldn't budge.

The reason he was so cautious was, of course, because Hashimoto Kota was a high-ranking spy who had been carefully trained for many years.

Hashimoto Kōta, whose Chinese name is Dong Baiyu.

Born into an ordinary working-class family, her parents were state-owned enterprise workers.

Dong Baiyu, who graduated from the factory's affiliated school, did not follow in his parents' footsteps and go into the factory like others.

He was very talented in studying, and not only did he get into university, but after graduation he also successfully applied for a government-funded study abroad opportunity in Japan.

At that time, Japan was experiencing a period of rapid economic growth and technological advancement, and "Made in Japan" was synonymous with advanced and durable products.

In contrast.

The Dragon Kingdom, with its scarce resources, backward technology, and extremely inconvenient transportation, was truly impoverished, and the gap between the two countries was simply too great.

So, like many Chinese who come to Japan and don't want to return home, Dong Baiyu tries every means to stay in Japan, even if it means working illegally.

Therefore, Dong Baiyu, who originally wanted to become a member of the Sakura clan, was quickly bribed by the Special Intelligence Division. After some careful packaging, he returned to China and started working at Tianhai TV Station.

The reason he was assigned to work at the television station was, of course, because with his identity as a reporter and the backing of Tianhai Television, he could easily gather all sorts of intelligence.

As it turned out, the Special Intelligence Division's arrangement was correct.

After the period of silence and incubation, Dong Baiyu gradually collected and reported a lot of valuable intelligence.

The two most important pieces of intelligence earned Watanabe Kameyuki commendations from headquarters.

First, it allowed the people of Japan to know in advance that China and the United States had completed negotiations to join the WTO.

Secondly, after China implemented military reforms, Tianhai Shipyard began developing its first domestically built aircraft carrier.

Now, Watanabe Kameyu has personally come from Yanjing to Tianhai to meet with Dong Baiyu, of course, for a more important mission.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Watanabe Kameyuki got straight to the point.

Has the maiden flight date for China's domestically produced large passenger aircraft been confirmed?

"It's confirmed, the day after tomorrow morning, but we don't know the exact time of takeoff yet."

Will this aircraft, which is making its maiden flight, use imported engines to ensure safety?

"No, some people suggested using imported engines first, but Zhao Ruilong explicitly rejected that. He believes that the domestically developed turbofan engine is safe and reliable enough to be used for the maiden flight mission!"

"Tsk tsk, this guy has some nerve!"

Watanabe Kameyu picked up his teacup and took a sip of tea.

"Their independently developed engine has not yet completed all tests and obtained airworthiness certification, yet they dared to install it on the aircraft for its maiden flight."

"There will be many high-ranking officials and media at the maiden flight ceremony. What if there is a sudden malfunction and the plane cannot take off, or even a crash occurs in front of everyone? Can he bear the responsibility?"

Dong Baiyu chuckled and said, "Of course he deserves it. Have you forgotten who he is? He's Zhao Ruilong, Zhao Lichun's precious son!"

"Moreover, since the launch of the domestically produced large aircraft project, the vast majority of the funding has been provided by his Huilong Group."

"During the research and development phase, from the overall layout design to the development of various subsystems, he not only contributed money but also his efforts!"

"If he himself isn't afraid of losing face or the risks of the maiden flight, how can anyone else have the nerve to refuse?"

Watanabe Kameyu put down his teacup.

"He's really too bold and too confident!"

"Even though all the systems and equipment have undergone numerous tests and verifications to confirm that there are no major problems, this is the first time that we have assembled them into an airplane for flight."

"This is an airplane, not a car! If there's a problem with a part, a car being tested on the ground can be stopped at any time, but once an airplane is in the air, you can't just stop it whenever you want!"

Dong Baiyu gave an awkward smile.

"I guess it's just become a habit for him."

“From the development of MP3 music players, none of the technological products he has invested in and led have failed.”

“If every product is developed quickly and well, and then becomes a bestseller after being launched, even to the point of being in short supply, he must think that the large aircraft he led the development of is just as excellent, and there is no need to use imported aero engines.”

"But he didn't consider that a modern jet airliner has tens of thousands of parts, big and small, and its technical composition is far more complex than that of a new energy vehicle, a laptop computer, or a 3G mobile phone."

"Moreover, jet airliners have to carry hundreds of passengers into the sky, withstand the huge vibrations and impacts during takeoff and landing, and endure the complex environments of different airspaces, climates, and air pressures. There is no room for carelessness!"

"Our Japan has a strong aviation industry foundation, a large pool of outstanding scientific and technological talent, and has cooperated with Boeing in the United States for many years, participating in the production of many important components. Yet, we still dare not easily attempt to independently develop large aircraft. Zhao Ruilong is far too audacious..."

Listening to Dong Baiyu's complaints, Watanabe Kameyu frowned.

The claim that Zhao Ruilong is overly ambitious and arrogant makes a lot of sense when you think about it.

Many people, whether in business or in other things, easily develop path dependence once they achieve success.

They believe that past successes can be replicated indefinitely, and even if they are successfully replicated, it must be because some factors are wrong.

Like Zhao Ruilong...

They have developed one technological product after another, and many of them have been successful.

He became blindly confident and arrogant, thinking that developing jet aircraft was similar to developing electronic products and new energy vehicles, and that it was also very possible.

"Your speculation is actually quite possible!"

"He's gotten used to developing one project and succeeding with it, without ever experiencing failure. That makes him very prone to blind arrogance!"

"Moreover, he is extremely rich and powerful. The domestic large aircraft project is basically supported by him alone. Even if the people below have opinions, they certainly wouldn't dare to raise them."

"Just like in a company, whatever the boss says goes. How dare the management and employees say no to his face? Do they even want to keep their jobs?"

"If that's the case, I really hope that the maiden flight the day after tomorrow will result in a serious air disaster. Regardless of whether many people perish in the fire, it will be a heavy blow to China's aviation industry!"

"Of course!"

Dong Baiyu poured tea for Watanabe Kameyu and said, "If there is an accident on the maiden flight, then China's domestic large aircraft program will be a complete failure!"

"Even if we spare no expense and invest the nation's resources to save face for a great power, what good will it do? Even if we succeed, no one will dare to buy a ticket or ride in it!"

"For an aircraft developed for the civil aviation market, what's the point if it has excellent performance and stable quality if it can't be sold? Isn't it just a failed product?"

"That's right, that's right! Building airplanes isn't that simple! With his eagerness for quick success, he's bound to get into big trouble sooner or later!"

Watanabe Kameyu grinned from ear to ear and handed the menu to Dong Baiyu.

"Let's not talk about business for now. Order whatever you want to eat, it's on me today!"

"Then why are you so embarrassed?"

"Do we need to be so polite between us? Order whatever you want!"

"Okay, fine, since you've put it that way, then I won't stand on ceremony."

Dong Baiyu had a fawning smile on his face.

"You have made a great contribution to our Sakura Country, and I have also received recognition. It is only right that I treat you to a meal!"

After Watanabe Kameyu finished speaking, he picked up his teacup and sipped his tea.

On the surface, he was very warm and friendly to Dong Baiyu, but in reality, he despised him.

What is there to respect about a shameless scoundrel who doesn't even love his own country?

The reason why we were so polite to Dong Baiyu and even treated him to a meal was to make him work harder.

Just like promising Dong Baiyu that he could obtain citizenship in Japan if he performed well, that was nothing but empty promises.

It made him go to great lengths, disregarding shame and danger, to serve the country of cherry blossoms for a vague and unattainable goal.

As for China's domestically produced large aircraft project...

From Watanabe Kameyuki's personal perspective, he didn't think it needed to be taken too seriously.

Even if the maiden flight is successful the day after tomorrow, there will be countless test flight subjects to follow, and airworthiness certification must be obtained before mass production and commercial operation can begin. Even if everything goes exceptionally smoothly, it will still take at least two or three years.

Obtaining airworthiness certification doesn't mean everything is settled.

The supply chain needs to be adjusted, the production, assembly and delivery processes need to be improved, and it takes time to increase production capacity from small to large. Even if everything goes very smoothly, it will be difficult for COMAC to become a major player in China in less than two or three years.

Based on this calculation, if COMAC were to have a smooth run, even at the fastest pace, it would take until 2006 to obtain airworthiness certification, 2007 to deliver the first aircraft, 2008 to begin small-batch production and delivery, and around 2010 to achieve a stable annual production of over 100 aircraft.

By then, both Boeing and Airbus will have launched new models with better overall performance. With their years of accumulated reputation and strong technical capabilities, they will easily crush the industry 'newcomer' COMAC.

The most important thing is...

Based on Watanabe Kameyuki's understanding of the West, aerospace is a high-tech field that they regard as their exclusive domain, and they would not easily allow the Chinese to squeeze in and compete with them for jobs.

Therefore, no matter how advanced and reliable the domestically produced large aircraft developed by the Chinese people is, even if it uses parts supplied by Western companies, it still cannot pass airworthiness certification.

Without obtaining Western airworthiness certification, China's domestically produced large passenger aircraft is destined to be ignored in the global market. No airline in any country would dare to buy it, because it is estimated that no insurance company would be willing to underwrite it.