Chapter 68: with translation of chapter title

Old Zhang, we are following the higher-ups' arrangements; they have ordered us to hand over the relevant technology to a certain sister factory, and we have no objections. After all, merely having Harbin Institute of Technology be strong on its own doesn't count as strength; only when the majority of China's military-industrial enterprises have endured these hard times together can we usher in a new era of vigorous development.

The named entities are Zhang Lao (Old Zhang) and Ha Gong Da (Harbin Institute of Technology). 'Domestic' is not a name, and 'military-industrial enterprises' is a generic term. Therefore, we list Zhang Lao and Ha Gong Da.

That was well said! President Liu's anxious heart finally eased.

Named: President Liu (already in the glossary).

"Most of the military-industrial enterprises?"

No named.

Well, our country is now moving toward a market economy; this system means survival of the fittest. Some enterprises that lack ambition and only know how to beg for handouts are doomed to fail, while those that are enterprising, willing to burn their boats and pursue reform, will thrive in the market economy.

No named.

Old Zhang nodded: "Exactly, Qingshan Factory is a positive example, and there are indeed many enterprises that still cry and beg for handouts."

Named entities: Zhang Lao (Old Zhang) and Qingshan Factory. Although 'Qingshan' appears as part of Qingshan Factory, we have a separate entry for it in the glossary; since only Qingshan Factory appears here, we list only Qingshan Factory.

Qin Miao was astonished—even Old Zhang knows about Qingshan Factory's situation?

Named entities: Qin Miao, Zhang Lao (Old Zhang), and Qingshan Factory.

Some say Qingshan Factory only succeeded because it relied on stainless steel supplied by the military; I used to share that doubt, but now that I've seen you, I believe that even if Qingshan Factory doesn't make stainless steel pressure cookers, it will still produce other products—it will surely find a broad road to prosperity. Meanwhile, some people only know how to envy others and don't know how to work hard.

Named entity: Qingshan Factory.

Old Zhang's face turned serious: "Eating from the common pot too long breeds slackers; their 'lying flat' is built on others' hard work. Now that we're pursuing a market economy, we must eliminate these slackers! Harbin Institute of Technology has worked hard on its R&D; we cannot let it benefit those unenterprising factories. In the future, anyone wanting Harbin Institute of Technology's research results will have to follow market principles."

Named entities: Zhang Lao (Old Zhang) and Ha Gong Da (Harbin Institute of Technology).

Qin Miao's worries finally eased.

Named entity: Qin Miao.

His recent remarks were passionate, but they certainly weren't his genuine opinion; going forward, if Harbin Institute of Technology develops advanced equipment, other military factories will have to pay to obtain it.

Named entity: Ha Gong Da (Harbin Institute of Technology).

Now that we have Old Zhang's backing, we can finally charge them with confidence.

Named: Old Zhang (Zhang Lao).

Next, let's introduce the new project.

No named.

Sure, please have student Yang Can present the BeiDou navigation project to the leaders.

Named entities: Yang Can and BeiDou Navigation (which we will render as 'Big Dipper Navigation'). Also 'various leaders' is a generic term.

Me?

No named.

Yang Can's face went white again; Qin Miao, I... my legs gave out.

Named entities: Yang Can and Qin Miao.

"Qin Miao, you go ahead," said Old Huang.

Named entities: Qin Miao and Huang Lao (Old Huang).

All right, the project has entered the detailed R&D stage; among navigation satellites, the most crucial component is the space-borne atomic clock. Our Harbin Institute of Technology's nuclear physics department has taken on this task, aiming to develop a rubidium atomic clock with world‑leading performance.

Named entities: Ha Gong Da (Harbin Institute of Technology) and rubidium atomic clock.

The veteran aerospace staff were all astonished.

The term 'old aerospace personnel' is considered generic, not a proper name, so it is excluded.

"A rubidium atomic clock? No research institute in our country is working on one."

Named entity: rubidium atomic clock.

"Exactly, this will completely fill the domestic gap."

No named.

"This project is bound to be expensive."

No named.

"We at Harbin Institute of Technology know the nation is struggling, so we decided to self‑fund; thanks to Old Zhang for letting us produce truck cannons ourselves, we'll invest the earnings into R&D and try not to trouble our superiors."

Named entities: Ha Gong Da (Harbin Institute of Technology), Zhang Lao (Old Zhang), and truck cannon.

Old Zhang nodded, granting Harbin Institute of Technology this autonomy—much better than giving it to other factories.

Named entities: Zhang Lao (Old Zhang) and Ha Gong Da (Harbin Institute of Technology).

Those factories will spend whatever they earn; if they run out, they'll just keep asking for more.

No named.

"The satellite navigation system is vital to our military's modernization," Qin Miao remarked, and without delving into technical specifics, he launched into a vision of the future battlefield.

Named entity: Qin Miao.

"For instance, each of our tanks will carry a satellite navigation terminal, allowing headquarters to track every tank's exact position in real time and even to send direct commands to any tank via the system's messaging feature."

There are no named entities in this line (the term 'satellite navigation positioning terminal' is considered generic).

Everyone was astonished. There's no need for step‑by‑step relay; we can bypass the middle layers and command front‑line units directly.

No named.

"Our current command system is hierarchical; knock out one node and everything beneath it loses contact, and relaying orders level by level wastes time and misses opportunities."

No named.

The chief advantage of BeiDou over other navigation systems is its capacity to send short messages—though each may be only a few dozen characters, the utility is immense.

Named entity: BeiDou Navigation (rendered as 'Big Dipper Navigation').

When the Wenchuan earthquake struck, mobile towers fell and communications were severed; only the first brave paratroopers, equipped with BeiDou terminals, parachuted in and relayed the on‑ground situation, giving senior leaders firsthand information.

Named entities: Wenchuan Earthquake and BeiDou terminal (rendered as 'Big Dipper terminal').

Later BeiDou navigation continued to preserve this capability.

Named entity: BeiDou Navigation (rendered as 'Big Dipper Navigation').

Our armed forces are still essentially as they were in World War II, making them ill‑suited for modern high‑tech warfare; Qin Miao knows that some may dismiss his words as boasting, but in ten years they'll recognize how visionary he was.

Named entity: Qin Miao.

"Our air force's fighters carrying ordinary bombs are ineffective—often hundreds of bombs fail to destroy a large reservoir dam. By fitting satellite‑positioning terminals on the bombs, even with our current twenty‑meter precision we'd need only a few to destroy the target. Plus, pilots wouldn't have to aim; they could just drop the bombs and fly home."

Named entity: Air Force.

"Naval ships, dependent only on stars and sea charts, are limited to coastal waters; with a navigation system they can know their position in any weather and sail anywhere on the world's oceans."

Named entity: Navy.

"As for our ballistic missiles, there's no need to explain: to strike accurately you must know your own position precisely. For mobile ballistic missiles, continuous, precise positioning is essential—something only a satellite positioning system can deliver."

There are no named entities in this line (the term 'ballistic missile' is considered generic).

Old Zhang couldn't help but remark: 'Yes, as a great nation we must have our own satellite navigation system—its importance equals that of our missiles and atomic bombs! From now on, Harbin Institute of Technology should earn more and invest it in this major national defense project! The Red Flag‑2 missile upgrade project will also be assigned to Harbin Institute of Technology's school‑run factory, and the retired Red Flag‑2 missiles from the troops will be provided to you free of charge.'

Named entities: Zhang Lao (Old Zhang), Ha Gong Da (Harbin Institute of Technology), Red Flag‑2 missile, and Red Flag‑2.

That's all Old Zhang can manage; after all, the nation simply lacks the funds to support these projects.

Named entity: Zhang Lao (Old Zhang).

"Thank you, Old Zhang; on behalf of Harbin Institute of Technology, I thank the higher authorities for their support!" President Liu beamed.

Named entities: Zhang Lao (Old Zhang), Ha Gong Da (Harbin Institute of Technology), and President Liu.

On the side, Huang Lao wanted to ask, that twenty percent profit, do the superiors still want it? But… after thinking a moment, he still didn't bring it up, after all, Ha Gong Da making money is also for carrying out projects, much better than those leaders who think about building staff housing and buying small cars!