Chapter 189

Back when I was at Ha Gong Da, working on the Truck Cannon, I had already met Zhu Lao; at that time, Zhu Lao even tried to recruit Qin Miao to Institute 201, but Qin Miao refused.

Now, meeting an old acquaintance in a foreign land, Zhu Lao smiled broadly: "San Shui, you've finally become known in our system over the past half year! I never expected to run into you in West Germany! What brings you here?"

"We plan to import a batch of diesel engines from MTU Company."

Zhu Lao's eyes lit up instantly: "Really? That's great! We're on the way—we just came from France and also planned to check out MTU Company's diesel engines. Let's go in and talk inside!"

Qin Miao didn't know if this was protagonist's halo, but it really coincided with historical events.

When the national gates opened and we looked at the world, we realized we had fallen behind!

Then what? Naturally we must strive to catch up; when our technology falls behind, importing is not shameful.

To solve the shortage of high-performance diesel engines for military and civilian use, in the 1980s, relevant departments of the East organized several delegations to conduct detailed inspections in Europe.

Take tank engines as an example: we had inspected the ANDS-1790 tank diesel engine from Britain's Ricardo Company and the CVl2TCA tank diesel engine from Guoluoluo Engine Company; this time we went to Britain first, then to France's Hababa Company to examine their diesel engines, with Germany as the final stop.

In 1889, Wilhelm Maybach founded the Heavy Engine Company—yes, that's the same name as the luxury car Maybach—and this gentleman was still the chief designer at Daimler Company; this company was the beginning of MTU Company.

After a series of changes, in 1969 the businesses of Daimler-Benz Company and MAN Engine Company merged, and the renowned MTU Company was thus born!

Naturally the most talked-about is the MB873 engine used on the Leopard 2 tank—the world's first tank engine to reach 1500 horsepower, fully demonstrating the advancement of German technology; just compare and see: the East's Type 59 tank had only 500 horsepower, upgraded to the Type 79, and its engine rose to just 580 horsepower.

Inside the hotel guest room.

Qin Miao had no fatigue left, and he expounded his plan at length.

"We currently plan to develop a multi-axle high-mobility off-road chassis, needing strong power support, so we decided to come to Germany to take a look; the MTU396 diesel engine has decent parameters and fits our needs..."

Chu Miaomiao brewed tea for everyone, feeling a bit nervous; we had said we'd come to inspect MTU, but after getting off the plane we've been playing around until now...

"That's right, MTU diesel engines are top-notch; we also plan to inspect their tank engines, and if the price is right, we'll introduce the technology and install it on our tanks, solving our power problem!" exclaimed Leader Zhao of the Fifth Machinery Department excitedly.

"Cough, cough, well..."

"What, you think MTU's engines aren't suitable for our tanks?" Leader Zhao immediately frowned.

"It fits on your Ha Gong Da chassis, but not on our tanks?" a young man spoke up.

"'Xiao Luo, how can you talk like that?' Leader Zhao then realized, scolding his secretary Luo Qiang behind him. He frowned, not because of Qin Miao's attitude, but because he was worried about the East's tank power, while his secretary had already begun personal attacks."

Qin Miao's face still wore a smile, but his gaze had grown deep with meaning.

"'Secretary Luo, I'm just a college student, naturally I don't understand anything; don't take offense—it seems you have high expectations for MTU's engines.'"

"'That's only natural!' Luo Qiang nodded: 'German industrial technology is number one in the world; they were the first to produce a tank engine with 1500 horsepower—is that still questionable? We went to Britain and saw the highest was only 1200 horsepower, displacement similar; as for France… France is far behind!'"

This guy is still a steadfast German fanboy!

"'German workers are trained from childhood in craftsmanship—you get it? This isn't something we can match; in WWII Germany produced all sorts of black tech… Forget it, you probably wouldn't understand anyway. In the East, do you know Qingdao? Qingdao's sewer system was built by the Germans, its quality is excellent, never waterlogged.'"

And these rumors actually exist now!

Only three percent of Qingdao's sewer system was built by the Germans; as for the claim that parts wrapped in oil paper stay as good as new when opened, that's pure nonsense.

As for German craftsmanship, look at today's emissions‑cheating scandals; in the new‑energy era, people still think they can make money just by tinkering like with gasoline cars, only to end up with unsold stock… The so‑called Industry 4.0 has become more like Industry 404.

In the 1980s, it wasn't because German technology was strong, but because we had just straightened things out and begun to develop; give us ten or twenty years and we'll catch up and surpass them!

Qin Miao yawned: "Everyone, I'm a bit sleepy—shall we meet tomorrow?"

Zhu Lao gave Qin Miao a serious look, unsure if he was moody or really tired, but it was clearly no longer time to keep chatting, so he nodded: "Alright, everyone, let's go; tomorrow we'll all go to MTU Company together!"

Watching everyone leave, Chu Miaomiao closed the door: "San Shui brother, don't lower yourself to their level; after all, not everyone takes pride in strong domestic goods, some people are just innately prone to foreign worship."

Qin Miao smiled: "No, I'm not angry; tomorrow I'll let them see the truth behind the halo of German technology! As for now… come on, let's go take a shower!"

Chu Miaomiao's face flushed, but she still followed behind.

The next day, early in the morning, everyone had breakfast and set off for the MTU Company headquarters by vehicle.

"Leader Zhao, look, the cars running on these streets outside are all fine vehicles; in our Capital you can only ride a Red Flag, high fuel consumption, weak power… your special car should have been replaced long ago." In the car, Luo Qiang kept talking at length, several times turning to look at Qin Miao.

In our country there are many people who don't know how to respect leaders, driving luxury cars while the leader...

"'Xiao Luo, don't talk nonsense!' Leader Zhao's face turned stern: 'What's wrong with the leader? The leader is a public servant of the people! When the people all have cars to drive, the leader pursuing enjoyment is never too late!'"

"'Okay, got it, Leader Zhao—you see, the Western world is developed, with small cars everywhere, while our country still relies on bicycles; if the East could also have every household own a small car, that would definitely be your achievement, Leader Zhao...'"

Qin Miao didn't speak; this guy still wants to swindle money from me to get a car for Leader Zhao? My money is all Ha Gong Da's! The money we earned with hard work—how can we just give it to you for free? Once this breach is opened, they'll treat us like Tang Sanzang's meat from now on!