Canteen System Assistance Notes

Like the cafeteria, this system dubbed a "supermarket" has many local characteristics. It's like university supermarkets across the country were aggregated and integrated, and then a future draftsman who copied IKEA made a design plan and stuffed it into this drawing warehouse derived from the "Technology Laboratory" of Blind Battle 2. In the end, this strange collection was generated.

So where's my blue fire? Where's my little needle? Where's my mine?

You don’t have any of these, and you still have the nerve to call it a “technology laboratory”?

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There is no need to say much about the supermarket part. Apart from deleting fresh food, large appliances, furniture and other things that are not suitable for sale in school, and adding some strange internship and homework goods, it was added to the supply list of Zhongkong. By the way, it also came with three Jialing three-wheeled cargo motorcycles of different specifications, one is an electric-driven, 125cc small version and the other is a 300cc large version, as well as an 84-horsepower diesel Wuling light truck, which belong to the supermarket's delivery fleet.

Besides that, the Eighth Route Army still hadn't figured out the counters at the entrance of the supermarket. What were they for? What was in them? Although Liu Helian said these things were probably what every school would have, after all, no one present had attended the future university, so naturally they had no idea what was in these counters.

Fortunately, the Eighth Route Army had a strong learning ability, and with Liu Helian's remote guidance, they quickly started studying.

The "Electronic Supermarket" mainly sells counters such as memory cards, mobile hard drives, semiconductor radios, headphone and keyboard sets, network cables, switches and power banks. At certain times of the semester, when people need to hand in USB flash drives for homework, check exam schedules, or buy headphones for listening exercises, there will always be a lot of customers here.

The "supermarket bookstore," as the Chairman had said, wasn't a proper bookstore. The Eighth Route Army found only a large number of supplementary textbooks and past exam papers with answers, covering subjects ranging from literature, history, philosophy, to biology and chemistry. There were also photocopiers, typewriters, and even an automatic offset press for printing exam papers. Considering that many of the exam papers and supplementary textbooks contained valuable future information, the place was immediately sealed and all paperwork with writing removed, awaiting evaluation and analysis by the review team.

As for "after-sales maintenance", several soldiers searched the counter inside and out, but did not find the "mobile phone" that Liu Helian repeatedly mentioned, let alone the "computer". They only found some unnamed electronic parts, a soldering iron, a multimeter, a workbench with a large number of grid grooves, various hand tools, and a square box "with many buttons and knobs, a screen and a lot of wires."

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"We'll have to ask Comrade Li Qiang to research these things. I think they're related to electronic devices. I've seen them at a cell phone repair shop before... Never mind for now. Let's go check out the last window."

The name of the last counter is quite deceptive: internships are a mandatory part of university courses, especially in engineering. Compared to internships in liberal arts programs, which focus more on "experiential experience," internships in science and engineering programs always require production. A typical example is the small hammer internship in the School of Mechanical Engineering's metalworking course.

So are there lathes, steel bars and iron blocks here to make small hammers?

Liu Helian used his phone to switch the cafeteria's ordering interface to the supermarket's. He found the counter with no items displayed. He tried entering the keyword "metalworking internship" into the dialog box at the bottom of the interface.

If we can export lathes, steel bars, wire rods, etc., it will make a great contribution to the border area's still-unformed industrial construction.

But there was no change in the counter, no lathe, no metal bars, and no big machine that could empty a crystal mine in 64 seconds.

This didn’t work, so Liu He changed a set of keywords: “Surveying and Mapping Internship” and “Surveying and Mapping Examination”.

This was a serious internship. Every semester, students from the School of Surveying and Mapping would definitely use surveying instruments to survey the school's laboratory building several times! If the Eighth Route Army had a surveying instrument, the surveying work would definitely be much smoother - thus solving at least half of the artillery's major problem.

However, nothing happened at the counter, and the orange-painted surveying equipment and calibration poles did not appear at the counter.

He tested several keywords in succession, but still nothing appeared on this stubborn counter. The huge "trainee product" seemed to be mocking everyone present.

"Comrade Xiao Liu."

Doctor Fu, who had arrived with Li Qiang, spoke up: "Those machine tools, surveying instruments, and cars you've been wanting to make—are they all too big? How can they fit on such a small counter?"

He tapped his head and thought for a moment. "When I was at the Ashton Infirmary and Gospel Hospital, students would practice suturing patients' wounds. We'd practice with needles and cotton thread. What were we sewing? Pig skin. Haha, back then, every time we had practice, there was a dish of fried pig skin in our dinner. It was so sizzling and delicious."

"Back in your time, this was a must-have for medical students during their internships. It doesn't require much equipment, so why not give it a try?"

Liu He nodded over the caller app and retyped keywords like "suture internship" into the text box. Finally, the goods appeared on the empty counter—a whole box of packaged sterile non-absorbable sutures, a pile of needle holders, and matching curved scalp needles. Uh... there were also a lot of bananas and rubber blocks, and several hundred yuan was deducted from the account.

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After their initial success, subsequent attempts became more focused. Through continuous experimentation, Balu and Liu Helian discovered that the counter could handle small items used by students for internships, including sutures, circuit boards, capacitors, sensors, solder, accounting vouchers, carbon paper, geological hammers, and more, but was unable to accommodate larger equipment or instruments.

Even, Balu found 51, STM32 and hakerf development kits.

The criteria for determining the counters is still unclear - this also means that Eighth Route Army can find some inexplicable future gadgets in it, and there is a lot of room for development.

By this point, everyone had finally completed their exploration of this new "supermarket system." A ray of dawn shone in the eastern sky. Filled with intense curiosity, time flew by, and before they knew it, daybreak had arrived.

At this time, Li Qiang, who was squatting at the maintenance counter, suddenly shouted loudly:

"This thing..."

He pointed at the square box on the table and said, "This, this is an oscilloscope, right?"

Chapter 63: British Xiao Liu 1

Canteen System Assistance

By Forgotten Maple X

2406 words

2020-11-18 12: 00: 00

After ending the call, Liu Helian turned off his phone. From prolonged use, it was already a bit warm and the battery had drained considerably. So far, only his future eMule and the cafeteria's facilities could charge this futuristic device—at least with the supermarket, there would be power banks.

The use of the supermarket system can basically be handed over to the central government. Liu Helian has absolute confidence in his predecessors' ability to accept new things. He believes that when he completes this round of overseas work and returns to China, they should be able to use the entire system very well.

Let's finish the things at hand first. Liu Helian thought, opened the car door and got out.

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An interesting pattern in the distribution of Abie's (a pseudonym) overseas relationships is that they are closer to Europe than to the Americas. Simply put, within the sphere of influence of European countries, overseas communist organizations and overseas Chinese leaders are well-established. In contrast, in the "God-blessed land," overseas Chinese power leans more towards the southern part of the country, where communist organizations are less powerful.

This relationship was most evident in Wan Chai Island and further south in Southeast Asia, where the Red forces could even maintain good relations with the local colonial governors and ambassadors. Even when Zhou Gong and others were conducting activities in the white areas, local leaders would greet the police and ask them to secretly protect this elegant Communist Party member to prevent anyone from causing trouble for him.

This situation can truly be regarded as another manifestation of the "united front."

For this reason, Liu Helian did not need to continue to use Hammer's cover for his activities in the UK. Here, he received assistance from Rao Shiquan of the European branch and support from the European channels of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and was able to carry out corresponding activities.

However, compared to the United States, which had already recovered under Roosevelt's New Deal, Britain was in a much worse state. The skeleton of its once powerful colonial empire remained, but inside, only the splendid clothes and the emaciated body remained. In 1938, Britain's economy was in the process of gradual decline.

So, although still with the arrogance of a gentleman and colonialism, the British are still unwilling to offend Liu Helian, who has a certificate from the International Business Association and US dollars, especially when this guy comes to consume. It is hard for the British government to say, but several British companies that are short of food have already come together.

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In Britain, Liu Helian's primary objectives were to purchase military equipment, primarily aircraft, and to recruit workers. At this point, the only countries with sufficient aircraft production capacity, aside from the Soviet Union, were Britain and the United States. Following the central government's policy of "first establishing an aviation school, then developing an air force," Liu Helian needed to stock the newly established Border Region Air Force School with sufficient trainer aircraft.

A batch of PO2 and I153 aircraft had already arrived in Xinjiang from the Soviet Union, and the first batch of Eighth Route Army pilots were training there. However, primary trainers were always a necessity, and the border region's own aviation schools were still short of them. Liu Helian therefore set his sights on the renowned British primary trainer, the Tiger Moth, and the Anson, a twin-engine training aircraft. The former could form a primary trainer combination with the PO2, providing basic flight training for single-engine fighter and fighter pilots; while the Anson could provide advanced training for pilots of twin-engine aircraft such as transports and bombers. As for single-engine advanced training aircraft, Liu Helian planned to look for the US BC-1, or "T-6 Texan."

After all, this is World War II, and the operating techniques of twin-engine aircraft and single-engine aircraft are very different. It is still necessary to separate the training of these aircraft.

As for fighter jets, considering that the Soviet Union had already provided their main force: I153 and I16 aircraft, and the central government did not make too many demands, Liu Helian planned to buy fewer for the time being: Curtiss's "Hawk 75" was a good choice, but if he bought this aircraft, he would inevitably run into the forces of the Party and State Lady's faction and the Curtiss Consortium, causing a lot of trouble.

Besides, the Hawke 75M specially supplied by the preserved fruit is also a stupid thing.

After much consideration, Liu Helian decided to buy some "Hurricanes" as a temporary solution.

This aircraft, which was mass-produced in 1936, was not very popular in the UK. Although the Royal Air Force placed some orders, it was obviously more interested in the more advanced and complex Spitfire. The main focus was on urging Vickers-Supermarine to quickly expand the production of the Spitfire. As a result, Hawke still had excess production capacity.

After a brief discussion, Liu Helian placed an order for 45 Hurricane MK1s, in addition to the Tiger Moth and Anson trainer aircraft. Of these, 36 would be fighters, and the remaining 9 would be trainers of the same type and backup aircraft. However, he requested that Hawke Aircraft Company remove the 7.7mm machine guns from the wings and reserve 12.7mm machine gun positions. Furthermore, he requested that the engine exhaust pipes not be installed: the Hurricane fighter's exhaust pipe design had some inherent defects that would release deadly carbon monoxide into the cockpit, and some unlucky pilots would even become poisoned and comatose.

Based on future experience, he planned to install four American M2 aircraft machine guns in the Hurricane's large and thick wings. The Soviets had once installed two UBK machine guns and two Schwak cannons on this thing without encountering any obstacles; and the exhaust pipe design problem could be avoided by extending the exhaust pipe to the side of the cockpit - the only disadvantage of doing so was that the aircraft became a lot uglier.

These modifications could be completed by the newly established American joint venture, Skunk Aircraft Corporation. Liu Helian considered this a way to secure some orders for his own industry. When the war situation developed and the Hurricanes were no longer useful in air combat, they could still be used for their traditional role of ground attack. However, on the battlefields of East Asia, there seemed to be no armored targets that required the use of 40mm cannons.

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By the time the Air Force issue was resolved, it was already April, and Liu Helian's funds were practically depleted, with only a small amount remaining. Originally, his work was complete, and the tracking of orders, the organization of shipments, and the operation of the company could largely be handed over to Zhou Bin, Cheng Enshu, and the others. However, unwilling to rest on his laurels, he took the train back to London.

Rao Shiquan had already informed him via telegram that the acquisition of "House Hill" in south London had been completed. This was originally the site of a farm that mainly grew grass and vegetables and raised some dairy cows and sheep to supply the daily needs of the city of London. After contacting the real estate agent, the farmer did not haggle much about the sale of the land and rights.

"That's right, Commissioner Liu, why are you buying this land? Are you really going to build a manor?"

Rao Shiquan complained, "With so much money, why not use it to buy some clothes and medicine for our comrades back home? Why buy a piece of wasteland here where only grass will grow?"

In Rao Shiquan's view, although the land was near South London, it was as rural as it could be. As an investment, it had little potential for appreciation and no investment value. After purchasing the land, a group of men in work clothes and jeans drove into the area with a pile of construction materials and equipment, wandering around everywhere. The only neighbor nearby complained, saying these "American barbarians" were disturbing their evening peace and demanded compensation.

"Hmm... well, this secret can't be revealed for now."

Rao Shiquan, who had finally settled all the trivial matters, felt like he was about to fall apart. Looking at Liu Helian with a mysterious smile on his face, he finally gave up the idea of ​​arguing with this central commissioner.

Chapter 64: Journey to the Two Stars (1) Going North 1

Canteen System Assistance

By Forgotten Maple X

2521 words

2020-11-19 12: 00: 00

There has always been no shortage of foreigners in the border areas and anti-Japanese bases of the Eighth Route Army, from the American Edwin Snow who wrote "Over the Red Star", to the Canadian Louis Althusser who joined the Huinong Steel Consortium, to the American doctor George Hatem who was originally from Lebanon. These internationalist fighters also made selfless contributions to China's national independence and liberation.

However, among these people, there is an American who is well-known to everyone: Evans Fordyce Carlson.

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Back in 1937, with the Battle of Shanghai still raging, Evans Fordyce Carlson, commanding the US Navy, abandoned his plan to travel to Peking and instead took up a position as a military attaché in Beijing. There, under the command of Admiral Harry E. Yarnell of the US Far East Fleet, he joined the war as an observer, a war that was not the beginning of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

However, Carlson had last been in China nearly five years earlier, and he was at a loss as to where to begin with the vast task of "observing a war." Every day, he could only climb to the rooftops of several tall buildings in the concession and observe the war unfolding around him through a telescope.

This feeling of being in the middle of a war, yet knowing the war wouldn't affect the very land beneath his feet, struck Carlson as profoundly absurd. He knew he couldn't carry out his mission this way. Therefore, Carlson approached his friend, a military attaché in the Marine Corps, and asked him to contact the Nationalist general defending the area to obtain a pass—only with this "pass" could he leave the concession, pass through the defenses, and penetrate the corners of the battlefield for observation.

Soon, the pass was approved, and Carlson packed his bags and went deep behind the front line.

Under the electric lights of the International Settlement, he used his dip pen to record what he saw and heard during the past few days.

"I asked a soldier why he was fighting."

"He replied that it was for 'national self-salvation.' I then continued to ask him what the term meant. I wanted to know if he, as an ordinary soldier, could understand it."

"The soldier thought for a moment and then said slowly, 'If the enemy wants to occupy our homeland, then we must drive them out. We need to unite and work together to do this.'"

As a conscientious observer, Carlson has observed the war as comprehensively as possible from his own perspective.

"I met an English-speaking soldier who claimed to have studied in the US and returned to teach. But now that the army needed soldiers, he put down his chalk and took up a gun. 'Nationalism is awakening and gaining recognition from more and more people.'"

"Behind the front lines, these soldiers were resting between battles. I shared with them what I had seen and heard in the United States. They seemed quite curious about the fact that Americans didn't eat much rice. They were different from the soldiers of the Civil War ten years earlier. They knew more and were more energetic. Firing for pay wasn't their only reason for fighting. Instead, they were driven by an inner spiritual motivation."

"If the Japanese want to completely conquer such a people, it will inevitably be a long war that cannot be dragged on."

Having written this, Carlson paused and sighed to himself.

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"...However, the Chinese army was negligent in its deployment. Not only did they fail to guard against the Japanese flank landing, they also placed their troops in a positional battle, in which the Japanese excelled, fighting with a constant flow of small reinforcements... In this battle of firepower, the Japanese artillery and air force were making a difference. Although the defenders' resolve was formidable, this was not a long-term solution."

"I've seen the continuous influx of elite German-trained troops, but this still can't stop the Japanese. More and more new recruits are being added. They are enthusiastic, eager, and willing to bravely advance to defend the nation, but they lack combat skills and training. The vibrant faces I saw a few days ago have either collapsed on the brown earth of late autumn in the Magic City, or are lying in the backs of trucks covered with branches, being taken to overcrowded hospitals."

How long can they persist?

Carlson was a little confused. Emotionally, he hoped that these hardworking and brave people could resist the invaders' guns, but as an experienced officer, he knew that the winner of this battle would most likely be the Japanese.

Just today, he witnessed a group of more than 6,000 Nationalist troops who were besieged by the Japanese army in the old city on the concession side because of poor command and communication interruption, or perhaps because the Nationalist army had no corresponding plan in this great retreat.

The Japanese army slowly mobilized artillery, planes and tanks, and opened fire fiercely on the national troops who were compressed in a very small area. They had nowhere to disperse or maneuver and could only resist with all their strength. After an hour and a half, they all gave up resistance, threw away their guns, hid in the French Concession, and were then disarmed and arrested by the concession soldiers - just like the heroic but futile persistence of the battalion that was widely reported.

Carlson had seen those soldiers, silent, decadent, and even indifferent. They seemed to have lost their direction and motivation. The spirit of "national self-salvation" that drove them to be brave and fearless was like burnt ashes, with only a spark occasionally emerging under the influence of the wind, driving their skinny bodies. At the urging of the military police, they dragged their feet and headed towards the designated gathering place.

The soldiers of these ancient nations were not much less well-equipped than the Japanese. The German rifles they used were no less powerful than their own, and their 150mm heavy artillery was even superior. However, they lacked the ability to effectively employ these weapons, sound command, and excellent air support. Only their unwavering commitment to defending their homeland was enough to offset the Japanese advantage.

Can they hold on after losing such a brave and fearless spirit?

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"So, why not go to the north?"

Carlson's old friend, Edgar Snow, offered him advice. On the ship leaving the Magic City, the first American to penetrate deep into Communist-controlled territory, he suggested, "The leaders of the Eighth Route Army will welcome your arrival and will not refuse your inspection of their forces."

"Really? What kind of people are they? Are they really as described in your book?"

Carlson had read an early draft of Snow's new book, "Red Star Over China," and was struck by the many details. Among them, Snow's observations in communist-controlled areas, which were alien to this ancient country, piqued his interest the most. "Could you have done some artistic processing?" he asked.

"Impossible, they are special and unique."

Edgar Snow closed his eyes and spoke slowly, as if addressing a great and glorious being: "They are humble, serious, and idealistic people. Let's use the people here's habit of saving face as an analogy. They will do their best to solicit criticism of themselves, and will vigorously criticize themselves, and finally take concrete and effective actions to correct the problems pointed out by such criticism. In other words, they don't care about face, are keen to solve various problems, and regard shirking responsibility and procrastination as their greatest enemies.

"In their words, it's called 'seeking truth from facts.'"

To be honest, Carlson didn't really believe everything Snow said - it sounded too idealistic and unrealistic, but he had full faith in Edgar Snow's noble qualities.

In the north of this ancient land, in those areas marked on the map as Japanese-occupied areas, were there really idealists who deserved Snow's high praise? If there was only 50% truth to it, then they were also a remarkable group of people.

Carlson decided to go north to take a look.

Chapter 65: Journey to the Twin Stars (2) Heading West 1

Canteen System Assistance

By Forgotten Maple X

2369 words

2020-11-20 12: 00: 00

Coming out of the Xiepu River and going upstream along the Yangtze River, you will reach the city of Jinling.

Carlson arrived here on an overcrowded passenger ship, the capital of the Republic of China bathed in the shadow of war - it was estimated that soon it would no longer be the same.