The train driver in the courtyard

Just when Li Aiguo was "compromising", "selling his body", "being extremely bold" and "licking honey on the edge of a knife" for the purpose of completing the mission.

However, something major happened in the United States that was enough to change the North American computer market.

International Shangye Machinery Company officially launched its flagship product 7068.

It uses about 14000 standard modular system cards and can process about 22.9 instructions per second.

The entire computer has about 30000 alloy-junction germanium transistors and 22000 germanium diodes. Due to its large size, a system weighs more than 23000 pounds.
That’s right, this kind of large-scale vacuum tube computer can no longer be measured in “units”.

After all, just a set of vacuum tube computers would take up nearly two hundred square meters of space.

The saying that the poor play with computers and the rich play with watches is completely untrue these days.

The price of 7608 is as high as US$813000 (currently about RMB 579.8 million).

Thomas Watson Jr. had high hopes for 7068, so after it was developed, he placed advertisements in major newspapers.

It is claimed to be the best vacuum tube computer in the world, ideal for performing complex tasks in fields such as aerospace engineering, weather forecasting and nuclear research.

A press conference was even held specifically for 7068.

At the press conference, the journalists were most curious about the fact that the storage system of 7068 used the super core memory independently developed by International Shangye Machine Corporation, with a storage capacity of up to 72K.

Wang Laboratories purchased the patent for the improved magnetic core memory from Hextech Technologies at a high price, which caused a sensation in North America at the time.

The capacity of the super core memory and the improved memory are exactly the same, which makes people suspect that there is something fishy going on.

What's more, International Shangye Machinery Company had the habit of "improving" other people's patents.

So the reporters questioned Thomas Watson Jr. on the spot.

However, Thomas Watson Jr. stated that the Super Core Memory was independently developed by International Business Machines Corporation over several years, and that International Business Machines Corporation owns all the patents.

If anyone objects to this, they can file a patent lawsuit against International Shangye Machinery Corporation.

Reporters and computer experts soon realized that the international Shangye Machine Company was at fault again. They felt that the Wang An computer, for which they had just paid a high price for the patent, had become a joke.

But what surprised them was that Wang An Computer seemed unaware of what International Shangye Machine Corporation was doing.

The legendary chairman did not release the news to the public, nor did he blame International Shangye Machinery Corporation.

Thomas Watson Jr. also noticed that Wang An's behavior was a little strange.

Although Wang An is an Oriental with a relatively introverted personality, the business world is like a battlefield. He has been in the business world for many years and has built a computer empire. How can he be a soft persimmon?

Thomas Watson Jr. has organized a team of lawyers and established good relationships with some congressmen. He is ready to launch an attack.

Now the enemy retreated without firing a shot.
Thomas Watson Jr. vaguely felt that something was wrong, but he didn't take it to heart.

Since the 7608 was launched on the market, it has received seven consecutive orders thanks to its excellent performance and Watson Sr.'s connections.

Two of the orders have been delivered, and five more 7608s will be delivered within a year.

Thomas Watson Jr. is now busy with two things every day. One is counting money. Each 7608 can bring at least hundreds of thousands of dollars in profit.

The second thing is to keep a close eye on the production tasks to ensure the smooth delivery of 7608.

Early that morning, Thomas Watson Jr. had just returned to his office after a meeting when he received a call from Langley.

"Hello, it's Uncle Jefferson. Thank you so much for asking someone to bring me some local specialties from the East. They taste great."

"Yes, yes, let's do as we agreed before. Since the mouse risked his life to bring us the local specialties, we should thank him."

"Don't worry, the beachfront villa has been completed and the construction workers are now renovating it. Once everything is done, I will invite you to go on vacation."

After hanging up the phone, the smile on Thomas Watson Jr.'s face disappeared instantly and turned gloomy.

According to Thomas Watson Jr.'s plan, this matter could be accomplished with just a few tens of thousands of dollars.

Who would have thought that people from Langley would say that the East was a dangerous place.

They originally sent the mice over there to collect intelligence or even to cause trouble.

Once mice are used for private work, it will easily lead to their exposure and attract the attention of Langley's senior management.

Thomas Watson Jr. was a businessman. How could he not understand the other party's intention? He had no choice but to add nearly $100,000.

"Greedy, so greedy." Thomas Watson Jr. couldn't help but curse.

As soon as he said this, he suddenly couldn't help laughing.

"If they weren't greedy, how could I have gotten the magnetic core memory patent from the East? This time I saved millions of dollars."

"Wang An, you are so stupid."

Lighting a cigar, Thomas Watson Jr. leaned back in his chair and smoked it comfortably. He put his feet on the desk and sat there in a leisurely and contented manner.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in!"

The assistant pushed the door open and came in. He looked panicked, with beads of sweat on his forehead. His eyes were full of anxiety and uneasiness, and his gaze was wandering.

"Chairman, something happened!"

Thomas Watson Jr. took a puff of his cigarette and asked calmly, "What happened?"

"Something happened at Fort Detrick!" Fred looked at Thomas Watson Jr. timidly and said in a low voice.

"Hasn't the computer been installed? How could something go wrong?"

Thomas Watson Jr. was furious when he heard this. He stood up from his chair and stared at Fred.

Fred shuddered with fear and stammered, "Because Fort Detrick is confidential, the person in charge of computer operations didn't explain it clearly over the phone, but just asked you to come over quickly."

He looked at Thomas Watson Jr. and added in a low voice: "Our vacuum tube computer may be fine. It's just that the people in charge of the computer are not professional enough."

"That's possible. We don't know what kind of classified research Fort Detrick is conducting. We wanted to send people to help them train operators, but they refused."

Thomas Watson Jr. breathed a sigh of relief.

He felt that he was too nervous.

7068 was produced under his nose, and the technologies used were reliable, so there was no possibility of problems.

"Yeah, that must be one of those stupid, bored Army dogs doing something stupid again! Let me make a call and find out what's going on."

Thomas Watson Jr. sat back in his chair, picked up the phone and dialed Fort Detrick.

After the call was connected, a roaring voice came from the other end: "Mr. Thomas Watson, fix your broken thing quickly. It has delayed Mr. Ishii's research plan. Uh. I didn't say anything just now."

The other party seemed to realize that he had leaked something and quickly shut his mouth.

Thomas Watson Jr. hadn't taken it seriously, but now he was shocked.

Ishii?

This thing sounds like the Japanese devils.

What are the Japanese researching in the base?
He actually leaked the secret over the phone. Old Thomas, who came from the Navy, was right. These soldiers are just stinky and stupid.

Cursing inwardly, Thomas Watson Jr. forced a smile into the microphone:
"I didn't hear anything."

"As you know, large computers are always mysterious and complicated, and it is easy for various small problems to occur. Don't worry, I will bring people over right away and ensure that your work will not be delayed."

After hanging up the phone, Thomas Watson Jr. brought several technicians to Fort Detrick, located outside Frederick, Maryland.

This was not the first time Thomas Watson Jr. came to Fort Detrick, but he felt uncomfortable every time.

The base was built as an experimental base in a deserted area. All entry and exit were subject to strict inspection. People coming and going in the base all wore white coats, and the air was filled with the smell of disinfectant.

This time, through the car window, Thomas Watson Jr. also saw the figures of several Japanese researchers.

This reminded him of some rumors circulating among senior American officials that research on biological and biochemical weapons had already begun in the 1940s.

After the Japanese were defeated, some people were very interested in their bacterial stuff, so a secret deal was reached.

They secretly brought a group of notorious Japanese researchers here to continue their research work.

Thomas Watson Jr. originally thought it was just a rumor.

After all, what the Japanese did was worse than that of beasts. How could we allow them to continue their research?

But now Thomas Watson Jr. had to give it some credit.

But these things have nothing to do with Thomas Watson Jr.

He is just a businessman, and in the eyes of a businessman, nothing is more important than money.

Not to mention researching biological and chemical weapons here, even if they use biological and chemical weapons against people all over the world.

As long as they are willing to pay, Thomas Watson Jr. will take on the transportation task without hesitation.

"Sir, you can go in." An old American soldier carefully inspected the vehicle and knocked on the window.

Thomas Watson Jr. stepped on the accelerator and the car drove into the biological experiment base filled with an ominous atmosphere.

Fort Detrick is strictly managed.

After getting off the car, Thomas Watson Jr. was taken directly to a small building in the corner.

Walking down the stairs of the small building, we arrived at a secret laboratory located dozens of meters underground.

The laboratory was divided into levels, and Thomas Watson Jr. was stopped by the soldiers just after he took a look at the experimental area.

"Sir, this is not an amusement park, please keep that in mind."

"Yes, yes," Thomas Watson Jr. murmured in his heart.

Are these guys not going to conduct biological experiments on our soil?

But at this time, Thomas Watson Jr. no longer had the mind to explore. He just wanted to quickly fix the computer problem and then go back to have a good drink.

He followed the soldiers all the way to the computer room on the lowest floor.

At this time, Team Leader John, who was in charge of running the computer, was explaining something to a Japanese soldier.

"Mr. Ishii, the computer didn't store the data. This is a very common thing. Please don't be angry."

“I can’t care less. All the anthrax experiment data we worked so hard to obtain has been lost.

It will take at least another month to get results. We don’t have that much time.”

Mr. Ishii was very small, like a child in front of the tall John, but he raised his hands and looked up and roared at John.

John's face gradually darkened, and he looked at him coldly and said, "Mr. Ishii, please be aware of your identity. Although you are a senior consultant in the base, your crime has been exempted.

But if we send you and your companions away, do you think those people in the East will spare you?"

After these words were spoken, Ishii, who was angry just now, became like a deflated ball and stood there without saying a word.

His already short stature looked even smaller, like a dirty and shameless rat.

Thomas Watson Jr. walked in at this time. The soldier in charge of the team was worried about the secret being leaked, so he immediately rushed over and took Ishii away.

"These damn Japs should have been forced to lose all their guns at the beginning!" John was still furious and slammed his fist heavily on the cabinet.

The cabinet made of fine steel made a dull sound.

It seems that the researchers here are really the legendary criminals. Those people in Washington are really bold. Thomas Watson Jr. looked at this scene thoughtfully.

He didn't know the situation inside the base, but he knew that the base was built by those people themselves, and even someone as powerful as Thomas couldn't touch it.

Thomas did not interrupt. After Ishii was taken away, he looked at John and asked, "Dear Mr. John, this is the most advanced computer in the world. Your punch may be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars."

John's emotions had just calmed down a little, but upon hearing this, he became furious again.

He pumped his fist at Thomas.

"Mr. Watson, your computer is garbage, rubbish that only deserves to be thrown into the garbage dump!" "Don't be so angry, we are here to solve the problem, not to argue, right? Dear Mr. John."

Thomas Watson Jr. suppressed his anger, looked at John and said, "Can you tell us what's wrong with the computer?"

"Of course, I can also make you admit that what you made is garbage!" John swore for a while, venting his anger, and then handed the computer operation log to Thomas Watson Jr.

"The effective storage of a computer is only 36K. Once the running program exceeds 36K or the stored data exceeds the limit, the computer program will report an error and will be unable to read or write."

The fault looked simple, but Thomas Watson Jr. frowned.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible. There is no way the storage will go wrong. We have read and written it repeatedly."

This kind of failure goes against common sense.

Thomas Watson Jr. realized the seriousness of the problem and immediately led people to use tools to dismantle the cabinet and then checked the computer's magnetic core memory.

There is nothing wrong with the magnetic core memory, and it is estimated that it can be read and written at least hundreds of thousands of times, which is enough to last until the computer is scrapped.

However, once connected to a computer for reading and writing, if the storage capacity exceeds 36K, the computer will feedback a program error code.

After several verifications, the same error occurred each time.

The light on the roof was dim. Beads of sweat broke out on Thomas Watson Jr.'s forehead, and a chill ran down his back.

Computers are mysterious and complex. When something goes wrong, the most frightening thing is not being able to find the cause of the problem.

After two days of investigation, a researcher came up with a strange idea.

"Perhaps the problem is not with the magnetic core memory, but with the magnetic recording device responsible for reading and writing the ring."

Thomas Watson Jr. shook his head: "Impossible. The computers we produced before also used magnetic input machines."

"But our computer uses 36K storage, this is 72K, and it also uses an array design, so both reading and writing are more difficult."

Thomas Watson Jr. slapped his forehead and said, "Damn it, how could we have overlooked this."

Generally speaking, once you find the problem, solving it becomes much easier.

In particular, the International Shangye Machinery Company has a huge technical reserve and the most advanced equipment in the world.

Thomas Watson Jr. assured Fort Detrick that the computer failure could be resolved within three days and would not delay the next biological experiment.

After returning to the company, Thomas Watson Jr. immediately organized the company's best technicians to design new reading and writing equipment.

What Thomas Watson Jr. didn't expect was that the design of the reading and writing equipment made little progress.

It’s not that the computer experts are not capable.

Instead, they experimented with countless methods and finally determined that the only technology that had the potential to achieve stable reading and writing was to use high magnetic pulses to read and write magnetic core memory.

In other words, high magnetic pulses are the only tool that can read and write to magnetic core memory arrays.

But people who work in computers don’t understand high magnetic pulses.

The advantages of the Americans came into play at this time.

Thomas Watson Jr. immediately contacted several laboratories engaged in pulse research, hoping to get technical support from them.

After figuring out the intentions of the International Shangye Machinery Company, the professors in those laboratories said that it would take at least two years to develop a high-magnetic pulse technology with a specific frequency and stable operation.

Two years? Thomas Watson Jr. almost collapsed after hearing the news.

If the customers of those computers knew that they would have to wait two years before they could use the most advanced computers in the world.

Before the clients could make a move, Thomas Watson Jr. had to jump off the building.

A professor who had been engaged in magnetic pulse research for many years pointed Thomas Watson Jr. in the right direction.

"High magnetic pulse technology is often used on railways. I heard that Dongda is a leader in this field. They even developed automatic railway signals using high magnetic pulse technology."

After receiving this information, it was like a thunderclap in Thomas Watson's ears, making his head buzz. He sat down on the chair and could not stand up again.

East Railway!

Li Aiguo from Qianmen Locomotive Depot!

Beijing Railway Research Institute!

Li Aiguo sold the technology to Wang An. When the technology was stolen, Wang An was not in a hurry.
These seemingly unrelated clues were connected together, and Thomas Watson Jr. came to an incredible conclusion.

"A trap! It's a trap set by the engine driver."

"He must have known that the array core memory requires high magnetic pulses to read and write, so he deliberately leaked the technology and tried to harm our International Shangye Machinery Company!"

"He is a cunning oriental man, and with the cooperation of Wang An, the old fox, I was caught off guard for the sake of the company's development and was fooled!"

"Damn the train driver!!!"

The most difficult thing in the world is to get someone to admit his mistakes. Once things reach a deadlock, some people will think it is someone else's problem.

After Thomas Watson Jr. realized that he had been cheated, he did not realize that the technology was "stolen" by someone he had sent back.

If he had not been greedy, he would not have been fooled at all, but would have blamed all the responsibility on the hateful train driver.

But it was too late for Thomas Watson Jr. to complain because the phone on the table was ringing.

The ringing of the telephone was like a whip that lashed Thomas Watson Jr., bringing him back to the real world.

Thomas Watson Jr. straightened his collar and picked up the phone.

The call was from Angry John.

Angry John was not angry at this time, but left a cold word and hung up the phone.

"Mr. Watson, the inferior, dirty, and low-quality vacuum tube computers provided by your company have caused a large-scale delay in the experimental tasks of our base.

If you don't fix this problem soon, I'm going to kick you in the ass with my dirty, smelly leather shoe and have you court-martialed.

If possible, you might even participate in our experimental research. Uh, be studied."

Listening to the beeping sound coming from the receiver, a chill ran from the soles of little Thomas Watson's feet to the back of his head.

Having dealt with these bases for many years, Thomas Watson Jr. knows better than most how terrifying these people are.

However, due to the lack of high-frequency magnetic pulse technology, it is impossible to solve the storage problem now.

Thomas Watson Jr. pondered for a long time, finally sighed, picked up the phone and called Wang Laboratories.

The person who answered the phone was Wang Hong.

Thomas Watson Jr. stated straightforwardly that he wanted to purchase seven magnetic pulse devices for reading and writing.

Wang Hong seemed very embarrassed and said that their equipment was ordered through Hextech Technology, and the quantity of equipment was limited, so they could not provide it to International Shangye Machinery Company.

Thomas Watson Jr. sighed and said, "Please tell Dr. Wang An that this time we, International Shangye Machinery Company, have given up. You can name a price."

After Wang Hong hung up the phone, he walked up to Dr. Wang An and repeated what the call had said.

"Father, things are just as Driver Li expected. International Shangye Machinery Company is now in a difficult situation. They want to buy our reading and writing equipment at a high price."

"This train driver is really amazing. He actually set up such a big plan at the beginning of the project." Dr. Wang An praised twice, looked at Wang Hong and asked: "Hong'er, how do you think we should deal with it?"

"We can sell the parts we bought from Hextech to International Shangye Machinery Company at a high price. Just this one deal will allow International Shangye Machinery Company to return the fat meat they bit off from us."

After saying that, Wang Hong looked at Dr. Wang An expectantly.

Dr. Wang An glanced at him calmly, tapped his fingers on the table twice, and said:

"Hong'er, Hextech is now our shareholder. Shouldn't we communicate with Hextech about major decisions in the company?"

"Father, Hextech Technology is in Hong Kong City and doesn't know the situation here. We can take advantage of this to make a lot of money. There is no need." Wang Hong saw that Dr. Wang An's face became serious, and he immediately shut his mouth and dared not say a word.

Dr. Wang An taught him, "I once taught you not to get into the bad habits here. We Orientals should value morality and not be like the people here who forget morality when they see profit!"

Wang Hong nodded: "Father, you are right."

"Go and talk to Hextech and ask for their advice. Also, don't attend the company dinner tonight. When you get home, copy the Tao Te Ching ten times."

"Yes"

Dr. Wang An looked at Wang Hong's leaving back and shook his head helplessly.

Wang An Company will definitely be handed over to the Wang family, but these children are unable to bear the burden.

But he still had enough time and was not in a hurry.

Thomas Watson Jr. was very anxious.

In addition to Fort Detrick, the laboratory at Harvard University also discovered the defects of 7608 and sent people to International Business Machine Corporation to demand that the problem be solved as soon as possible.

Otherwise they would have published what International Business Machines did in the magazine.

Harvard Laboratory has a very special status in the academic community. Once they come forward to accuse International Shangye Machinery Corporation, International Shangye Machinery Corporation will become infamous in the academic community.

In addition, several other companies that spent a lot of money to order 7608 seemed to have heard about Fengsheng and asked International Shangye Machinery Company to return the deposit and pay the penalty.

I opened the window and saw dark clouds and howling winds outside.

Thomas Watson Jr. felt as if the building was beginning to crumble.

At this time, the phone rang again.

Thomas Watson Jr. answered the phone.

The call was from Langley, and Uncle Jefferson had already got the key to the villa.

They held a party at their home and hoped that Thomas Watson Jr. would come to the party.

Thomas Watson Jr. was in no mood to attend the banquet at the moment and had planned to reject Wilson directly.

Suddenly, he seemed to have thought of something, and he stood there in a daze.

"Little Thomas, are you still there? What's wrong?"

Thomas Watson Jr. suppressed his nervousness and said in a trembling voice: "Uncle Wilson, the mouse you placed in the East may have been discovered by the Orientals!"

Since Li Aiguo had set up this plan early on, he would have anticipated that rats would appear in his house.

Once the rat is exposed, it is only a matter of time before it is caught.

Thomas Watson Jr. didn't care for a mouse.

but.

This mouse is not ordinary.

He took direct instructions from Wilson, acted on his own, and obtained technical information from the East.

If Langley knew about this.
Thomas Watson Jr. held the phone and looked at the roaring storm outside. His hand holding the phone trembled slightly and he dared not imagine any further.

He knew Langley's methods well, and if they were discovered, they would face severe punishment.
There was silence on the other end of the phone.

This silence was like a heavy shackle, making it hard for Thomas Watson to breathe.

Time passed slowly in silence, and every second seemed like endless torture.

After a long time, a voice was heard.

"I see."

This voice was full of helplessness, but it became the only hope for Thomas Watson Jr.

******
At this time, Li Aiguo was not aware of the situation on the American side. He and Zhang Caixia had already arrived at Songyuan Park in Songyuan.

(End of this chapter)