Siheyuan: I eat melons while doing scientific research

Chapter 1279 Triangular Fall, Snake's Full (4k)

However, Sha Zhu didn't dwell on it any longer. Gao Zhendong would definitely not hide what he could say, and there was no point in asking him about what he couldn't say.

"Hey, I went out to prepare a banquet for someone the other day and saw Liu Haizhong's kids. They looked pretty miserable." Sha Zhu chatted while he was busy.

It was inevitable that things would turn out badly. Given Liu Haizhong's status, his family couldn't even hold their heads high. Having their house taken away and having to find another place to live might not be a bad thing. Staying in the courtyard would likely cause psychological problems for the younger children. But really, it didn't make much difference. Under Liu Haizhong's belt, they already had psychological issues; a harmonious father-son relationship was just a formality.

Thanks to the large number of outsiders working at the Third Rolling Mill, Master He of the Third Rolling Mill, who has risen to fame and is well-known far and wide, is sought after by many ordinary families in Beijing with regular jobs to host banquets for weddings and funerals. As for private gatherings with only one or two tables, being able to invite Master He is a matter of prestige.

Master He has a heavy workload at the factory and many reception duties, so he can't be hired easily.

So even with five children, including He Yushui, plus Jia Zhangshi, the couple didn't live a bad life.

Both parents work and are key personnel in their respective positions. Sha Zhu can also earn some extra money by catering outside, so their lives are quite comfortable.

"What's there to say about that family? They deserve it!" Qin Huairu said dismissively as she prepared formula for her son.

Before Liu Haizhong's accident, Qin Huairu and he didn't get along. After that incident, she avoided him even more. And there was a very important reason: Qin Huairu knew that even before the accident, Chief Engineer Gao was very annoyed with Liu Haizhong, as evidenced by the fact that he broke both of Liu Haizhong's legs.

Taking all these factors into account, Qin Huairu naturally didn't have a pleasant expression when mentioning Liu Haizhong's family.

"I know, it's just that the little kids look quite pitiful," Sha Zhu said as he scooped fried meatballs out of the pot.

The meatballs were made by chopping tofu and Northeastern mushrooms, mixing them with minced meat, and forming them into balls. As soon as they came out of the pot, they were filled with fragrance. All the children in the house who could walk gathered around. Even Gao Zhendong couldn't resist reaching out and grabbing one to put in his mouth. It was so hot that he kept panting, but he couldn't bear to spit out the meatball.

When eating something scalding hot, most people would rather push the food around in their mouth with their tongue than spit it out.

As long as no part of my tongue is burning, it's not hot! My tongue is perfectly fine!
Lou Xiao'e quickly handed the man a glass of water and stopped the children, saying, "Wait, wait, it's hot. Let it cool down before you eat."

Qin Huairu's tone rose slightly upon hearing Sha Zhu's meaning: "What? You gave him something?"

"They gave us two steamed buns that we brought from the master's house. I must say, it seems like people can eat white flour steamed buns much more easily nowadays than before." Sha Zhu said halfway through, then, sensing something was wrong, he changed the subject.

"You... never mind, just give it to me then." Qin Huairu frowned, her tone trailing off halfway through. There were guests present, and she had to save face for her man.

Gao Zhendong was indifferent. He didn't think much of Liu Haizhong's family, even if Liu Haizhong weren't in that position. He wouldn't go so far as to kick someone when they're down, but he also had no intention of helping them. As for Sha Zhu, he gave it to him; that was his own business.

"Well, we won't run into each other again anyway. Come on, come on, let's get on the table, all the dishes are ready." Sha Zhu, knowing his place, didn't say anything more and turned to call everyone to sit down at the table.
-
In Gaul, on the Champs-Élysées, the president of Triangle Aircraft Company, accompanied by several people, arrived at the man's residence.

"Sir, we have arrived as you summoned us," the president of Triangle Aircraft said as he entered.

"Gentlemen, please sit down. I have some not-so-good news for you. Of course, it may not be so bad, depending on how we look at it." The man's expression was ambiguous, neither happy nor unhappy.

"Yes, sir." The group sat down.

"Then I'll be frank. Our people received a notification from Citibank that, given that we've used the JT-8D in areas that pose a threat to their security, they will terminate the supply of JT-8D engines and parts to us."

The news caused the president of Triangle Aircraft Company to immediately fall from grace, but among the people who came with him, some showed joy. What is poison to one is honey to another.

“How could they do this? We purchased the JT-8D engines for civilian use and they pose no threat to the security of any country.” Although he knew that these words were useless to the man in front of him, that the American wouldn’t hear them or that they wouldn’t change anything, he still couldn’t help but defend the purpose of the JT-8D.

The man shook his head: "You know your explanation is useless, isn't it? We all know exactly where this all started."

Everyone knows about the East, and everyone knows that Americans hate the East to the core. They lost the first war against the East, and now it seems they are losing the second.

“We know that, but even if they are not Easterners, but from other countries, they will not stand idly by while we continue to develop large passenger aircraft.” The president of Delta Air Lines was very clear about this.

"What are your thoughts and suggestions? For example, should we terminate our cooperation with the Easterners?" The man asked the question as if it were a casual inquiry.

This question made the president of Delta Air Lines think deeply. After a long while, he shook his head: "From a technical and profit perspective, I am unwilling to do this. Not long ago, our representatives cooperated with them to participate in their high-tech exhibition, which is mainly aimed at economic aid associations and third-world countries, and exhibited the passenger aircraft we cooperated on. The response was very good. I am sure that if this aircraft is successful, we can reach the break-even point and cover our design costs simply by the number of aircraft they sell."

The CEO of Triangle spoke sincerely, not out of morality, but because for them, profit was the most important thing. Now that they saw real profits beckoning them, it wouldn't be so easy to get them to give up.

"Yes, profit." The man nodded.

"Moreover, their involvement has significantly reduced our design costs. Their technical staff are highly capable yet very inexpensive. Furthermore, some of their advanced technologies are essential to us. If they were to withdraw now, the completed designs could be completely overturned," said the president of Triangle Aircraft Company.

"Complete upheaval?"

“Yes, their withdrawal will cause us to lose many excellent technologies, such as fly-by-wire control systems and the supply of very important structural materials, which will have a disruptive impact on the aircraft,” said the president of Delta.

As the saying goes, you're afraid before a fight and afraid after a fight, but you're not afraid during a fight. With the knife already down, the Triangle President found himself talking more and more smoothly, and his frustration began to slowly dissipate.

It's just an engine... And the more he talked, the happier the person who came with him became.

“But the engine has a decisive impact on the aircraft, doesn’t it?” the man asked.

It seems like my frustration is creeping back in.

“Yes, sir, the engine is crucial to the aircraft, but the engine is not in the hands of the Citizens,” said one of the Gauls who had come with them.

The man laughed: "Is that so? I am the president of Snake Corporation. What are your thoughts?"

Snake, a leading manufacturer of military aircraft engines in Gaul, is also a top player in civil aircraft engines.

If its reputation in the civil aviation industry is unfamiliar to the average person, then most would likely recognize it by another name: Sunwind, one of the developers and manufacturers of the LEAP-1 and CFM-56 engines. Snake was one of the predecessors of Sunwind Corporation.

Moreover, this thing is actually a Gallic state-owned enterprise, which is different from the Gallic state-owned enterprises that were dismantled and sold off.

"We can research civil aviation engines ourselves, sir," President Snake said with a smile. He was the one who laughed the most after hearing the bad news. Anyone sitting in his seat would be laughing; it was like a windfall.

"Are you sure? I know Snake has made great achievements in military aircraft engines, but the requirements for civil aircraft engines are completely different from those for military engines." I may not understand the technology, but I do understand a little bit about economics.

If those fuel-guzzling military aircraft were put on civilian aircraft, every single one of them would die.

“Yes, but we have some JT-8Ds on hand, and we also have some commercial aircraft from Citibank that we can ‘accelerate’ their engines to obsolescence.” President Snake emphasized the words “accelerate” to obsolescence.

The man didn't directly respond to his question, but instead turned to the CEO of Triangle: "Mr. CEO, what's the current status of our JT-8Ds? Are we getting enough?"

"The quantity already delivered is enough to manufacture a sufficient number of prototypes, but it may gradually become paralyzed. After all, we only have a portion of the parts delivered randomly, and we may soon be in a state of disassembly and repair due to the consumption of these parts."

After hearing his answer, the man turned to look at President Snake: "Sir, did you hear that? Do you have confidence?"

President Snake said, "Sir, we are preparing to develop the M53 engine for the next generation of fighter jets, based on engines such as the Atar. I think that with sufficient support, we can also develop a civil aviation engine, such as the M56 or M57, while developing the M53..."

He made up an M56 off the top of his head, but the M56 actually did exist, just much later.

"Can you keep up with the speed?"

“Hmm…I think I’ll be more confident if I need the help of an Easterner,” President Snake said, surprising everyone.

"Easterners?" The man raised an eyebrow. He wasn't against cooperating with Easterners on this matter; he understood the difference between splitting the profits in half and getting nothing at all. More importantly, this was a clever move to poach talent from the Americans.

He just didn't know why Snake's president valued Asians so much.

"Yes, sir, you should know that we used their multi-role fighter jets on the aircraft carrier."

"Yes, I know, and I also know that this fighter jet is excellent."

"Yes, it's excellent. Sir, we've studied the engines of this fighter jet; after all, it's our expertise." Modifying an aircraft's engine is quite troublesome, especially in terms of compatibility. Even if it's installed, it can severely degrade the aircraft's performance if not done properly. Therefore, when they acquired the Z-7 multi-role fighter jet, they imported the engines along with it. Anyway, the number isn't large, only a few dozen aircraft, so buying a few engines isn't a problem.

For Snake, whether these engines were good or bad, they were worth studying carefully. However, this study led them to discover something unexpected.

"Although it's clear that the technology of these engines comes from the MiG-19 engines supplied by Polar Bear, their engines are far superior to Polar Bear's original version. They use some materials that we don't have in key parts, such as turbine blades, which have a much higher temperature resistance than our existing materials. And there are some very good designs in areas such as the combustion chamber."

"You mean you want to obtain these materials?" the man asked.

"Moreover, sir, I sincerely hope that they can participate in the development of this engine. They have resources and excellent technology, which will greatly reduce our cost and schedule pressures. Moreover, the market they face is almost completely unrelated to the market we face, and at the same time, they themselves are a large market."

In the civilian market, as long as there is no market conflict, the two sides are almost natural partners. Combining the two markets will not result in any loss of profits and may even increase them. R&D expenses will be halved, progress will be greatly accelerated, and the other party's size can naturally guarantee R&D expenditures. Where else can you find such a good deal?

Of course, all of this is contingent on success.

The Snake Company president's words solidified the man's decision, while also bringing a smile to the face of the Triangle Company president. He didn't care whether the engine was split in half or not; his own passenger plane had already been split in half, so it wasn't a big deal.

He was pleased that if this succeeded, no matter what the Citibank did next, it wouldn't affect the progress of his plane.

However, it seems that the JT-8D is out of the question. The United States is such a large country that it would not go back on its word or change its policies frequently.

The president of Snake Company shared the same assessment, and was even quite pleased about it.

Citibank in the 21st century: That's not necessarily true. It's just that you were born early, otherwise I would definitely open your eyes to the world!
However, even if Citibank didn't ban the export of JT-8D, the man still wanted to do something: "Well, good! I will ask Mr. Sena, who is in charge of trade with the East, to contact you. You can communicate with him about the rest, and he will do his best to serve you, gentlemen."

(End of this chapter)