Chapter 776 - 739 Visit_2

Those Yankees are so eager precisely because for now, these cheap goods need to go through their hands to enter America, making it easy to intercept massive profits while also expanding the Chinese market."

Conna’s pupils shrank, he understood all too well the significance of what was happening. But in a flash, so many thoughts arose that all he could do was stamp his foot and let out:

"John should be put on an open-top car, this is betrayal! The vast majority of people would never agree!

No, why would they do this? They were still fiercely combating each other last year, it makes no sense."

Trock: "That’s something another team needs to figure out, I’m still looking for the reasons too, but we absolutely cannot allow this to become reality. If they make peace, what’s the point of NATO’s existence?

If America voluntarily relaxes its technology controls, that would be a disaster for all of Europe!"

Trock remembered the shock and anxiety of the Prime Minister when they met, almost unable to resist the urge to fly to John and grab him by the collar to demand an explanation.

The UK completely failed to comprehend such a move, taking the lead in rebellion was tantamount to a gang leader suddenly turning traitor and becoming an undercover agent—what does that make his followers?

If the most powerful high-tech, academic centers, and the mightiest industrial nation set aside their differences, what’s the point of other countries’ existence?

If their spears no longer point at each other, then who will they be aimed at?

The Prime Minister and the Queen were almost sleepless through the night, unable to imagine the horror if this were to become reality.

This same fear enveloped Trock and was transmitted to Conna, who also felt deeply scared. But then his body shuddered, and he said with a surprised voice:

"No, somebody is more anxious than us! It seems Russia is also completely in the dark, they must be the ones who are most scared!

Hahaha, yes, they’re also scouting for information!"

...

"World tension +50"

Lin Ju clicked the right mouse button, then uninstalled and removed the "Hearts of Iron IV" game he had been playing for just over ten minutes.

During these days of being forced to stay and work at the Aerospace Development Committee by Zhong Cheng, he even began goofing off and playing games. Strategy games like "Hearts of Iron", that one can pause at any time, were quite suitable.

But he was an undeniable Rookie. After going through the painful beginner tutorials, he’d come to a profound realization of how difficult it was to become a commander.

Forget commanding a nation, even the logistics and management of several thousand people were enough to exhaust all one’s energy—the ability to command at the level of transport battalion leader or battalion chief wasn’t too shabby.

"Mr. Lin!"

A voice came from outside the office. Lin Ju quickly exited to the desktop, then seriously stared at the document opened on the screen, and spoke in a muted voice:

"Come in!"

The secretary who came in looked puzzled at the computer case with its fan spinning wildly in the air-conditioned room. Then he reported:

"Mr. Lin, this is the document just put forward by the higher-ups, asking for comments."

The changes from the top these days could only be described as rapid, with all sorts of documents and reforms sprouting like bamboo shoots after a rainstorm in the wake of the civilization crisis and the space wars. Numerous vacancies awaited to be filled; every now and then, some overlooked loophole would be patched.

But even so, it was only a temporary stopgap, just a bit of preparation for the future when a true revolution would definitely be needed.

"Regarding the solicitation of opinions on the wide-scale application of artificial intelligence and the sensible arrangement of human resources?"

Lin Ju read through it quickly and found it was related to himself.

The prevailing opinion of the age was that automation would lead to a certain level of unemployment, especially with the advent of artificial intelligence replacing humans on a large scale—this career risk could not be ignored.

However, the space crisis had introduced a new variable:

Previously, the number of job positions was set; if new positions were not created in time, unemployment was inevitable.

Now, with economic growth slowing, the problem of unemployment had become particularly pronounced.

However, against the backdrop of a space crisis, the situation is entirely different:

Space construction can create a massive number of jobs, requiring countless resources, and will lead to a labor shortage rather than a surplus.

To build a bicycle, you need a steel tube factory, a screw factory, and a plating factory, then you can produce a decent bicycle.

Building a car requires a steel plant for the body, a dedicated supplier for screws and washers, an electrical equipment manufacturing plant, an instrumentation factory, a tire factory, and separate production for engines, gearboxes, and so on, significantly increasing the complexity.

If it is shipbuilding, not only more types of factories are needed but also on a larger scale, involving a higher number of people, with the supply chain touching upon millions of participants.

How many people would it take to build a space fleet, construct several spaceports, and prepare the materials needed for space warfare?

At least several hundred thousand workers would be directly employed, and the system would provide for tens of millions of people, almost encompassing all households.

Although this is something that won’t happen for at least ten years, it is never wrong to prepare early.

The technology sector’s craving for highly educated talents is endless, and in the future, to train someone to be a space engineer will definitely create more value than working on an assembly line screwing in bolts.

What Lin Ju has received is just a rough proposal, specifically highlighting Xin’an’s construction of an unmanned factory and the planned unmanned Ride-hailing project, presenting them as models for observing how deeply artificial intelligence can integrate into life.

After reading the document, Lin Ju fell silent for a moment, tapping on the desk, then said to his secretary:

"Have Xiao Wang (New Yuan’s secretary) come over, I need to ask him some questions."

...

On September 23rd, amidst great external interest and media buzz, the first "China-America Free Trade Delegation" arrived in the Capital, receiving a warm welcome from both official and multiple corporate hosts.

Representatives from Leitner Machinery Company left the Capital that night, taking New Yuan’s C810 flight to Rong City.

Ye Changsi personally took charge, organizing a multiparty negotiation with representatives from Leitner Machinery.

Strictly speaking, this cooperation was not much related to New Yuan—it was mainly to lead the negotiations that would see three domestic companies (private enterprises) interface with Leitner Machinery, gaining numerous technical authorizations as well as the transfer of precision processing equipment technology.

The venue was a resort in the suburbs of Rong City, with dozens of translators present, but now most eyes were focused on Ye Changsi.

"We want these technologies with servo motors, mechanical arm joints, and material patents," Ye Changsi said, adding some items to the technology catalog provided by the other party. These were relatively advanced products, but not the top of the line, falling into the higher-end category of the consumer market.

To be precise, they were suitable for use in humanoid robots.

New Yuan had already produced hundreds of humanoid robots, and although entirely self-manufactured, many aspects couldn’t circumvent existing patents, allowing them to be produced but not enter the market, while also not being mass-produced, resulting in relatively high costs.

Lin Ju, too, hoped to promote humanoid robots, and that meant lowering the technical specifications and outsourcing most of the parts to reliable suppliers.

Kevin, representative of Leitner Machinery Company, glanced at the list a few times, confirmed none of the products were particularly advanced, and immediately nodded in agreement:

"No problem, we’re willing to provide either the finished products or the technology. Anything else you need?"

Ye Changsi: "These will do for now, in addition, we’d like a customized batch of open-source processing equipment similar to what we previously discussed with you."

Kevin still nodded, this was the main event he was looking forward to, even if New Yuan drove a hard bargain, it was a significant order for his company.

"We can agree to the previously discussed terms, but I would like to remind you, these devices come without software or discounts, and will be quite challenging to use, of course, these are merely our suggestions."

"Thank you, that will be all."

Of course, New Yuan’s production capacity needed to be expanded too, as Base B, whether in size or output, was beginning to hit a bottleneck. Without any response from the System, the base could only expand on its own.

Producing high-end equipment oneself was possible, but it would involve high costs and distract from normal production, while supporting domestic manufacturers after overcoming technical challenges posed the issue of the technology upgrade cycle, taking too long to wait.

New Yuan’s choice was a dual strategy, slowly grinding technology and supporting domestic manufacturers on the one hand, and actively purchasing from abroad on the other. After all, New Yuan was no longer hindered by financial obstacles, if need be, Ye Changsi could just ask Lin Ju to reach out for funds.

These foreign suppliers would not neglect such a major client either, taking into account the time for factory floor arrangement and adjustments, it would actually take over half a year.