Chapter 66

Following the proper procedure, such projects should be national-level; application, establishment, approval, inclusion in next year's fiscal budget…… Going through this whole process, who knows how many years it would take!

Take the double-star navigation system as an example; Old Chen and his team kept applying and conducting ground tests throughout the 1980s… It wasn't until 1993, when the Galaxy suffered a setback, that the project finally got underway the following year.

Even so, after BeiDou-1 came out, those lacking confidence continued to have all kinds of doubts about the BeiDou-2 project; only after the cooperation with Europe's Galileo was slapped in the face did they realize foreigners couldn't be relied upon, and then they wholeheartedly researched their own system.

By the time BeiDou-3 arrived, we finally built a world-class satellite navigation system; looking back at the rough road we've traveled, if we had started with independent R&D from the beginning, how much time could we have saved, how much useless work avoided!

Now, having been reborn, Qin Miao doesn't want to walk the old road again; that leaves only doing it himself, which brings the problem of lacking funds, but these…… pose no difficulty for Qin Miao!

Aerospace Department, meeting room.

"What did you say?" Director Tao widened his eyes: "You want to go abroad?"

"Yes." Qin Miao was very calm.

"You still want to go to war-torn Iraq?"

"Yes."

"Qin Miao, do you know how dangerous this is?" Director Tao's face full of worry: "There they're fighting; bullets don't have eyes!"

"I'm not going to the front lines; I'll just go to Baghdad to promote our products—even if we just get a deposit from users, that would be enough to fund our upcoming R&D; Dr. Bu'er doesn't have much left either, so we still have to get money from the wealthy in the Middle East."

"That's also not allowed, Qin Miao; we'll figure out the money issue another way. In short, you absolutely cannot go! Your life is more precious than that of everyone in our department combined!"

Qin Miao felt somewhat helpless.

The Iran-Iraq war had just broken out; now Iraq is attacking, Iran has been knocked for a loop, unable to recover at once, but Iraq's Capital is still quite safe.

In the coming years, our Eastern military industry has been sustained by these warring wealthy patrons; how can we now fear danger?

"Yeah, even if we really have to go, I'll go!" Zhou Ding spoke.

"Professor Zhou, do you know how to deal with Iraqis?"

Zhou Ding shook his head.

"Do you know the living habits of Iraqis?"

Zhou Ding shook his head again.

"Do you know the taboos of Iraqis?"

Zhou Ding said nothing.

Looking for technical talent, Ha Gong Da isn't lacking; when needed, even mushroom bombs can be homemade, as long as there are materials! But…… Ha Gong Da has no one who knows door-to-door sales!

Moreover, in dealing with foreigners, especially in persuading them to spend money on purchases, Qin Miao has already demonstrated his ability; therefore, Qin Miao is indeed the best candidate!

But……

Director Tao shook his head: "No, Qin Miao, even if you're proficient in these, we can't let you go!"

"Director Tao, my personal safety is nothing; our R&D project has a huge gap, and the higher-ups can't be relied upon…… I just need to make one trip, bring back tens of millions in orders, and our subsequent R&D expenses will be covered!"

Qin Miao also became anxious: "The nation's doors are open, and we've seen how huge the gap with the West is; what now? Of course we must seize the time to catch up, using every means to catch up! Letting our nation's technology catch up to world-advanced levels and then surpass them is the sacred mission history has entrusted to us!"

"Now we are walking a path no predecessor has walked; our courage must be greater, our steps bolder! We cannot fear danger, we cannot fear any obstacle; we must bring forth the spirit of the eight hundred brave soldiers of that year—this is tantamount to a second entrepreneurship……"

"Alas."

A sigh came from the doorway.

Qin Miao turned curiously and saw a thin-built person wearing a green military uniform, bearing an air of imposing dignity without anger.

A Confucian general in the military, Old Zhang!

To Old Zhang's left is the president of Ha Gong Da; to Old Zhang's right is Old Huang, whom we met before.

"After all, our nation's foundation is weak; now that the doors are open and we know our backwardness, if we want people to live well, we must prioritize economic development, so the military must endure; many project research funds are extremely scarce, to the point that we need Ha Gong Da students to risk their lives going abroad to sell……"

Old Zhang's feelings were mixed; he oversees military industry, yet now a student is worrying about research funding, he……

"Old Zhang, let me introduce you: this is Qin Miao; although only a freshman, he has already led Ha Gong Da in launching several research projects, each of great significance." President Liu said: "Qin Miao, hurry up and greet Old Zhang."

Toward this old general, Qin Miao was also very respectful; he stepped forward, bowed, and said: "Old Zhang, greetings!"

"Hmm, young man, you're impressive! I came to Ha Gong Da and first went to see the Truck Cannon being assembled; its design concept is novel, it can meet battlefield needs while greatly reducing procurement costs—it's a good plan!"

After the meeting of the Capital's aerospace department, Old Zhang's interest in Qin Miao grew ever greater; thus, taking advantage of his free time today, he finally decided to make an impromptu inspection, not informing anyone, bringing Old Huang and others, he went to Ha Cheng and headed straight for Ha Gong Da.

He first went to see the Truck Cannon, very satisfied; then he came to the Aerospace Department to find Qin Miao, and at the doorway he heard Qin Miao's passionate speech, feeling both moved and happy, with a tinge of guilt.

"Thank you for the praise, Old Zhang; that project was mainly handled by the Mechanical Department—I merely contributed a few small ideas."

I heard their report; they said the best approach is to launch a 36,000‑tonne vertical metal extruder, after which the work of manufacturing gun barrels will be greatly simplified; this idea is indeed good—Ha Gong Da can do preliminary research first, and when funds become available, you can design and build it, then hand it over to the Grassland No. 2 Machinery Factory for use.

The Grassland No. 1 Machinery Factory makes tanks, the No. 2 makes cannons; the traditional method wastes materials and delays time, this novel vertical metal extruder is truly a good solution!

"Oh."

Qin Miao knew that if we waited for state appropriations, who knows when it would be—maybe the Year of the Monkey and Horse?

"You…… not happy?"

"Alas, Old Zhang, I know your painstaking efforts, but the state has only so much funding; if we rely on state appropriations, who knows when the No. 2 Machinery Factory's vertical metal extruder could be built—maybe the Year of the Monkey and Horse……"

Everyone's faces changed; you little brat, you really dare to say that!

Old Zhang's expression fell: "Yeah, you're right!"

Beside him, Old Huang said: "Qin Miao, you're so smart, you must have some solution to the problem, right?"

"Hmm, as long as we sell our Truck Cannon, we'll have money!"