Scholars in the courtyard.

Chapter 2919: Streaming is only a temporary solution; open source is the only way to solve the root cause.

In the afternoon, Yang Xiaotao reorganized the steel plant's industrial restructuring into a report, and then called Zhou Lao from the Sixth Ministry of Machinery Industry, asking him to go to Chen Lao's place to discuss it together.

Old Zhou naturally understood Yang Xiaotao's meaning, and without hesitation, he hung up the phone and rushed to Old Chen's place.

When Yang Xiaotao arrived downstairs at Chen Lao's building, Zhou Lao was waiting outside.

"Old Zhou."

"Xiao Yang!"

Old Zhou looked somewhat apologetic, and Yang Xiaotao knew the reason without him having to explain.

Yang Xiaotao didn't dwell on it. He made a phone call to Old Zhou, and the two headed into the office building.

Old Zhou was somewhat uncertain and wondered what the purpose of his summons was.

Of course, the best outcome would be for the nine departments to reduce their resource support, something he had already considered a few days ago.

Even so, he was content.

Even if the Ninth Department reduces its resource support, it still has more resources available than the Sixth Department of Machine Building.

What more could he possibly want?

The two entered the office building. Yang Xiaotao was already familiar with the place. After asking Secretary Guo a few questions, he led Old Zhou into Old Chen's office.

Contrary to expectations, Mr. Chen has been quite relaxed these past two days.

They even have the leisure to tinker with potted plants.

"lead."

Yang Xiaotao went up and asked, and then Old Zhou came in and sat down to the side.

Old Chen glanced at the two men, then fixed his gaze on Yang Xiaotao, and guessed to some extent why Yang Xiaotao had come.

The three sat down, and Yang Xiaotao, without exchanging pleasantries, briefly explained the situation.

Old Chen nodded, and Old Zhou bowed his head.

They are in the wrong in this matter.

"Boss, we're planning to adjust the steel industry this time."

Yang Xiaotao revealed his ultimate goal, and then apologized to Old Zhou, saying, "In the next three months, our production capacity will prioritize meeting our own development needs."

"Normal supply will gradually resume in three months."

Old Zhou was still in shock when he heard Yang Xiaotao's explanation. He asked in even greater astonishment, "Xiao Yang, you... you don't plan to reduce the supply?"

Yang Xiaotao slowly shook his head after hearing this, "No."

"really?"

Old Zhou's eyes almost popped out, and even Old Chen looked at Yang Xiaotao with surprise.

In his view, changing the three-year task to five years would be better for both sides.

Yang Xiaotao's unwavering determination piqued his curiosity.

"really!"

As Yang Xiaotao solemnly and earnestly uttered those two words, Old Zhou felt a surge of warmth in his heart.

He couldn't help but reach out and pat Yang Xiaotao on the shoulder, "Xiao Yang, no doubt about it, from now on you're my brother."

Yang Xiaotao was both amused and exasperated, waving his hands repeatedly and saying, "It's not that bad, it's not that bad."

Old Chen glanced at the two of them, then looked solemnly at Yang Xiaotao, "Have you thought it through?"

"You need to understand that, given the current situation, your nine departments won't be able to hold out for much longer."

"Also, I've given you everything I could, so don't worry about this."

Old Chen was just giving a heads-up, so as not to covet the meager sum he had.

Old Zhou was worried again after hearing this, and then his gaze toward Old Chen became more resentful.

There's no other reason than that Old Chen has been hoarding money and supplies. If he had taken out all the money earned from the Ninth Division, things wouldn't be like this.

Unfortunately, this guy is a greedy creature; no one can get anything out of him.

But I really don't dare say that to their faces.

After listening to what Old Chen had to say, Yang Xiaotao immediately smiled and said, "Leader, I've figured this out."

"If this mission is postponed or shelved because of insufficient resources, then what's the point of having us revolutionary workers?"

"Isn't what we do simply solve problems?"

"When we were considering this issue before, we were thinking about how to save money, how to be frugal, and how to be thrifty."

"But the amount of water in the pool is fixed. No matter how much you conserve water, the amount of water in the pool will not increase, and its usefulness will not increase."

At this point, Yang Xiaotao looked at Old Zhou and said, "So, instead of trying to conserve water, we should think about making the pool bigger and holding more water."

Then he confidently added, "Cutting costs is only a temporary solution, while increasing revenue is the only way to address the root cause!"

When Mr. Zhou and Yang Xiaotao walked out of the office together, Mr. Zhou was still feeling dizzy.

How come this open-source thing suddenly came up in my head?

However, considering the sacrifices made by the Ninth Division this time, Old Zhou felt that his family had still gotten a great deal.

It's just the steel industry.

Gave it.

They gave it to the Nine Ministries to help them reorganize things, and the benefits still went to the Ministries themselves.

Moreover, with their own steel mills, they're fine for producing steel and building small cargo ships, but if you ask them to start a big project, their true colors will be immediately revealed.

He knew this perfectly well.

"Xiao Yang, no need for words of thanks."

"I, Lao Zhou, consider you my brother."

"Old Zhou, you're exaggerating. We're all doing this for the revolution, there's no need to make such a distinction."

Old Zhou smiled and nodded, "I'll have someone come over later so we can finalize things quickly and get started."

Yang Xiaotao nodded happily, "Don't worry, if this is done, steel production will at least double."

Old Zhou was even happier, "Great, we'll be waiting for your good news."

He got into the car and left. Yang Xiaotao came to the car, but before he could get in, he heard Secretary Guo's voice behind him.

"Minister Yang, wait a moment, wait a moment."

Yang Xiaotao stood in front of the car and waited for Secretary Guo to run over before smiling and saying, "What's wrong? Are you inviting me to stay for dinner?"

Secretary Guo smiled and said, "Minister Yang, Old Chen asked me to tell you."

"All other income from the nine departments can be retained in the future."

Yang Xiaotao was overjoyed, "Really?"

Secretary Guo smiled and said, "Really?"

"Haha."

"Please thank the leader for me."

After saying that, he got into the car and left.

Secretary Guo watched Yang Xiaotao's car drive away before returning to his office.

"Sir, I've already spoken to Commander Yang."

Old Chen nodded, "That's good. You can make up a copy of the document later, so that no one will find fault with it later."

Upon hearing this, Secretary Guo agreed, and then asked curiously, "Sir, what kind of results do you think Commander Yang and his team will achieve?"

Old Chen shook his head. "I don't know."

“The Ninth Department is currently working on many projects, but to solve the current predicament, it needs to produce something worthwhile.”

"Something decent?"

Secretary Guo mentally reviewed the nine current projects.

Something decent should at least be something that can be sold.

So these machine tools and engines can probably only be used domestically. As for those from overseas...
Could it be that game console?
Just as Secretary Guo was pondering this, Yang Xiaotao in the car was also hesitating about which one to upgrade.

That's right, the best way to solve the current predicament is to upgrade the sub-skills through the system.

Then, by utilizing the rewards from upgrading sub-skills, the project's 'incubation' can be accelerated, and results can be produced as soon as possible.

The Ninth Division has many projects now, but very few of them are truly helpful.

First is the computer, which can be quickly 'incubated'; however, to upgrade the sub-skill of computer proficiency to level three, 20,000 credits are required.

The system panel only shows about 11,000 points. Unless you design an excellent design, it will take at least a year to accumulate 20,000 credits in a short period of time.

The only skills that qualify for the 10,000 credit upgrade, besides the useless Driving Mastery, are Chemistry Mastery and Steelmaking Mastery.

Choose one of the two.

With his expertise in chemistry, Yang Xiaotao hopes to contribute to the development of new drugs.

Being proficient in steelmaking naturally leads to improvements in alloys and steelmaking techniques.

Both are possible.

But if he really had to make a choice, Yang Xiaotao would prefer the latter.

After all, the research on this new drug still requires a large number of clinical trials.

This will take quite a while, and Yang Xiaotao can't afford to wait.

Therefore, the best outcome would be to improve steelmaking proficiency and then reward the user, perhaps with some good alloy materials or new equipment blueprints.

However, there are many uncertainties here.

The car slowed down, Yang Xiaotao rested his arm on the car window, and then pondered silently, "If there really is no other way, then we can only ask for help from outside."

Thinking about the upcoming economic cooperation, I figured I could just take out a loan first. After all, the oil crisis would break out soon, and the dollar would depreciate.

With proper management, not only can the loan be paid off sooner, but you can also build an additional 'family business'!
This is something that needs careful planning.

Dengzhou.

As soon as the bell rang, a middle-aged teacher in a Zhongshan suit left the classroom, and a commotion immediately erupted from the room behind him.

"Good heavens, what are voltage, current, and resistance? Why is this so difficult!"

"Quiet down, I'm taking notes..."

"Why bother memorizing anything? Just start doing it!"

"Go ahead, you really don't know how you're going to die!"

"What do you mean?"

"Get out of my way, don't disturb my studies..."

"Hey, Brother Chen..."

The classroom was filled with playful banter, a group of seventeen or eighteen-year-olds brimming with youthful energy, yet also experiencing the pain of being showered with knowledge.

"Yan Jiekuang, did you understand?"

A little girl with big eyes sat to the side, dressed simply, but spoke loudly.

Both of them lived in the same alley and followed the same path as the Yang family.

The difference is that the girl wasn't selected last time because she had an older brother. Now her brother has gone to a branch factory under the Ninth Department and is considered an apprentice. As long as he doesn't cheat or shirk his duties and works diligently, he can't escape being a worker.

I heard that they're going to train electricians this time. It's not free, but if you pass the exam, you can become an electrician for the Ninth Department.

That's why her family contacted Ran Qiuye, and that's how they successfully registered and got this opportunity.

When the girl asked, Yan Jiekuang's eyes were filled with pain.

"No, I don't understand it at all."

"I understand a little about current and voltage, but I have absolutely no idea about electricity and power!"

As Yan Jiekuang spoke, he said with regret, "If I had another chance, I would definitely go to the Intermediate People's Court and listen carefully to what Teacher Ye had to say. He had said all these things before."

"Ugh!"

She sighed again, then looked disappointed. "Sigh, I wanted to ask you if you understood, please explain it to me again!"

Disappointed, the girl complained, "You guys don't know how lucky you are! There are so many talented people in that courtyard, so many people want to get in but can't, and you don't appreciate it, why don't you hurry up and seize the opportunity!"

"If only this were in our courtyard!"

As she spoke, the girl began to dream again. Putting everything else aside, if she could get along well with the Yang family's children, would she have to worry about not having friends in the future?

It just so happens that Duanwu is not old enough, otherwise someone would really come to propose marriage.

"Oh dear, I regret it so much now!"

As Yan Jiekuang spoke, he carefully packed his books and notes into his schoolbag, then looked distressed.

But in reality...

He knows everything the teacher says, and not only does he know it, he also understands its meaning.

These were things I learned, naturally, from listening to Professor Ye's lectures at the Central Academy of Fine Arts.

Although he hadn't attended many classes and had only heard bits and pieces, Master Ye's expertise was undeniable. With just a few pointers, he was able to grasp the concepts instantly.

The reason I said that just now was purely because of the bloodline of the Yan family deep in my bones.

You won't get poor from eating or dressing; it's not that you'll get poor from not planning ahead.

He needs to carefully plan ahead for this learning and exam opportunity.

If you were to reveal everything or teach others, wouldn't that be like creating an adversary for yourself?

This requires some planning.

This was his father's lifelong skill; he hadn't learned much of it, but it was enough for him.
Yan Jiekuang put the books away and, instead of going out to play, picked up the textbooks that had been given to him and continued reading.

This is what he learned from the most capable person in the institute.

If I follow my father's example, I'll probably only ever be a traditional courtyard house owner.

You can learn from that person; even if you can't achieve even a tenth of their level, you should be more than qualified to be a worker.

Becoming a worker and receiving worker benefits instantly makes life take off.

Then I'll find a girl from the city, someone pretty, at least prettier than Pan Ziyu Li.

Yan Jiekuang recalled the faces of several women he had seen, but he couldn't even think about finding someone like Ran Qiuye; he simply couldn't.

Someone like Qin Huairu, if she were to marry him, would probably die young.

Look at Jia Dongxu, look at Sha Zhu, one is dead, the other is in jail, they're not even human.

Then there's Qin Jingru and Yu Li...

Hmm, these two look pretty much the same!

As Yan Jiekuang thought to himself, he suddenly turned his head to look at the girl next to him. From the side, she was actually quite pretty!

His heart skipped a beat, then he put down his book and coughed lightly, "Wang Han, what don't you understand?"

Meanwhile, the middle-aged teacher who had left the lecture hall went to the office to pack his belongings and head to the nuclear power plant to continue working.

Today's class was arranged by the Ninth Department, and after he finished teaching the class, he would not only receive a subsidy of two yuan, but also a meal.

This is also a small 'perk' for the researchers of the Second Ministry of Machine Building.

Just as the middle-aged teacher stepped out of the room, he saw someone rushing over, looking somewhat nervous.

"Old Ding, do you have a class today?"

The middle-aged teacher couldn't help but tease Old Ding when he saw his glasses slip down from running.

Upon hearing this, Old Ding adjusted his glasses and, without bothering to reply, said directly, "Engineer Wang, stop talking."

"Hurry back and check, something's gone wrong."

Engineer Wang was taken aback, realizing the other party wasn't joking, and quickly asked, "What exactly happened?"

Old Ding hurriedly said, "We want to use the purchased generator set, so our nuclear reactor needs to be enlarged, which means the nickel-based alloy we used before won't meet the requirements."

"This means you need to go back and discuss it as soon as possible, and come up with a solution quickly, so as not to delay the mission."

Upon hearing this, Wang Gong's face also showed anxiety. "Let's go take a look first."

After saying that, he ran towards the nuclear power plant.