Siheyuan: I eat melons while doing scientific research

Chapter 1328 The good ones are useless, the bad ones are terrible (4k)

The caller was one of his business partners, John Bull.

Lou Shouxing, as a pioneer in high-tech product trade between the two sides under the current circumstances, has many partners in various countries of the Oceania Convention, and John Bull is one of the closest among them.

When dealing with them, one thing to be constantly aware of is that they might betray you at any time. However, you can rest assured that if they don't get enough benefits, they are unlikely to kill you.

The matter this partner was going to discuss was the kind that clearly wouldn't lead to him betraying himself, so Lou Shouxing was relatively at ease.

"Fiber optic? No, no, no, we don't deal in that. Yes, I'm sure of it."

When a company produces or distributes a large number of products, even the person in charge may not know exactly what products they have and has to ask their subordinates to verify them. Zhenxing Electric Technology is undoubtedly at this level, so the other party asked Lou Shouxing to confirm it carefully.

However, this pattern is an exception for Lou Shouxing, because the domestic products he represents are basically all closely related to his brother-in-law, which allows him to know exactly what he has without needing to verify anything.

The other party was clearly disappointed, but still said with a try-it-out attitude, "Mr. Lou, my friend in Gaul desperately needs this. I hope you can think of a way. All conditions are negotiable."

They only care about the product, not the technology. Even if the cost is high, it won't be too great, which is why they dare to make such a promise.

However, Lou Shouxing very keenly noticed the problem in his words.

Gaul? If they were Gauls under normal circumstances, they wouldn't need to go through all that trouble to get here. Gaul and the interior have excellent communication channels, the best, bar none, within the entire Oceania organization.

Now, a Gaul is seeking this thing through a John Bull merchant, which makes him think a lot, a lot. This is strange.

“If you really want my help, then I need you to tell me the truth. Mr. Thomas, I think things are a little more complicated than you just told me. In fact, there’s someone behind the Gauls, someone of similar status to you.”

If we compare this to a card game, then only a few countries can sit at the table and play. Some are already at the table, and some countries have their own tables. So there aren't many possibilities left.

Damn, this Asian is so shrewd! But considering he's the head of a huge and advanced high-tech company, this level of shrewdness seems to make sense.

“Dear Lou, here’s what I’m saying. I don’t know what’s behind this, but I can offer your opinion to the person who made the request and ask him for more details. If possible, please give me half a day.”

Lou Shouxing didn't care whether he actually went to ask the other party during that half-day or just made an excuse to show that he really didn't know anything. In any case, he could wait half a day.

“No problem, but you only have half a day, Mr. Thomas. I think you understand what I mean.” Lou Shouxing had no intention of being polite to the John Bull people. These people were all the same; they never learned their lesson, bullied the weak and feared the strong. If you were too nice to them, even if you gave them half of the company, they would most likely only thank God and not feel any gratitude towards you. Then they would start plotting to take the rest of your company.

"Thank you very much for your understanding and cooperation, Mr. Lou. I will take care of it right away."

Lou Shouxing wondered what benefits the Gaul behind the scenes had given this "century-old neighbor" to warrant such attention. He didn't care; he was only interested in what lay behind this matter.

Half a day later, the news brought by Mr. Thomas left Lou Shouxing somewhat stunned. He hadn't expected that although the matter wasn't complicated, it wasn't simple either. Three of the five great philanthropists had arrived. He wasn't wrong; the group hiding behind the scenes was indeed the American. However, he estimated that these American people didn't have much power, otherwise they wouldn't have gone around to Gaul, then through John, and finally to his place.

Hmm, that's interesting... The other party's eagerness to obtain this new type of optical fiber developed by their brother-in-law means they have a very strong demand for it. Considering the other party's resources, Lou Shouhang felt that this matter might be worth exploring further.

“Mr. Thomas, I understand, but you should know that this matter is extremely risky…” Lou Shouxing could lie without batting an eye.

In fact, based on his understanding of Gao Zhendong, there wasn't much risk in publishing something publicly. However, Lou Shouxing understood the principle that scarcity increases value, and if he didn't inflate the costs first, it would be difficult to negotiate business later.

“I understand, Mr. Lou. That’s why you were the only one I could think of.” Thomas clearly overestimated the seriousness of the matter and didn’t even try to negotiate. Of course, there’s another possibility: he was just a middleman, and his only goal was to get things done. He didn’t really care about the costs for either side, especially since the difficulty Lou Shouxing raised was quite reasonable.

Lou Shouxing knew that there was nothing he could say to the other party about this matter; he still needed to communicate with the person in charge.

"Here's what we'll do, Mr. Thomas. If they're sincere, please come to Hong Kong Island to find me. I'll communicate with them in person. As for how to protect your interests in front of them, I think you shouldn't worry about that, Mr. Thomas. I'm also willing to cooperate with you in this regard."

When Thomas heard the first half of Lou Shouxing's sentence, his heart skipped a beat. Oh no, he was going to be left out.

However, upon hearing the second half of the sentence, he felt relieved; Mr. Lou was indeed a man of principle. This is also the weakest point for brokers: both parties in the transaction may be beyond their control and could abandon them at any time. Especially when one party in the transaction possesses very strong power, the possibility of this hidden danger erupting increases dramatically.

Fortunately, Mr. Lou, who held absolute dominance in the entire transaction, was a man of principle. That's the good thing about dealing with Easterners; they care about face and are particular about things.

Although Thomas still doesn't know what the final deal will be.

"Okay, Mr. Lou, I'll pass on the message to them right away."

"About a month. I'll wait for them on Hong Kong Island a month from now." Forget about Macau. Right now, Lou Shouxing is still more active on Hong Kong Island.

This month was the time Lou Shouxing had calculated for himself to return to the mainland at Gao Zhendong's invitation, to finish the business, and then come back.

Furthermore, he already needed to discuss this matter with Gao Zhendong before making a further decision, and the arrival of the Citizens was of no use. Lou Shouxing was well aware that whether the matter succeeded or not depended on Gao Zhendong's opinion; if Gao Zhendong refused, then there was nothing to discuss.

As for whether the Citibank man's trip was in vain, Lou Shouxing didn't care. In business, there's no such thing as a 100% success rate.
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Gao Zhendong was unaware that Lou Shouxing was on his way back; he was receiving guests from the Bohai Sea coast.

He said he was familiar with these people, but he also said he wasn't.

He felt familiar with them because he had always known that there was a group of people in this place, quietly working hard for underwater capabilities. He felt unfamiliar with them because he had never seen these older men who came this time before.

"Hello, Chief Engineer Gao. I've heard so much about you. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Ever since those comrades who worked on the anechoic panels went back and started making "bang bang bang" noises in the lab every day, many of them had heard of the Third Factory. They might not know Gao Zhendong, but they knew about the Third Factory.

To outsiders, this is actually quite normal. What in the water doesn't need steel? Especially rolled thin plates; any ship, whether on or under water, needs them. So it's perfectly normal for them to go to the No. 3 rolling mill.

But only those in the industry know that their visits to the No. 3 rolling mill are somewhat related to the rolling of steel plates, but this connection is worth at most 50 cents; anything more is a completely different matter.

Gao Zhendong barely managed to hold back the words that almost slipped out: "You're celebrating too soon!" This joke was a bit too ahead of its time, and saying it now would probably scare the comrades.

"Hello comrades, hello comrades." He could only use a neutral way of saying it to welcome these comrades.

After everyone sat down, to Gao Zhendong's surprise, his comrades pulled out something, something he never expected them to do.

That was still a copy of "Laser".

"Committee Member Gao, we saw your work in the latest issue of 'Laser,' so we took the liberty of coming here. We have some technical questions we would like to ask for your guidance on."

Gao Zhendong was somewhat bewildered. Logically speaking, the possibility of using optical fibers on submarines is actually quite limited, and those few applications are something the comrades haven't considered yet.

But it was them who came looking for us.

But since we're already here, let's hear what our comrades have to say first. Gao Zhendong wouldn't dare to guarantee that he knows everything, and just because people in the previous life couldn't find an application direction doesn't mean that our comrades in this life can't come up with one.

"I wouldn't dare offer advice. Is there a problem?"

"Committee Member Gao, we know that in addition to your expertise in lasers, you have also made significant achievements in the research of underwater weapons. So this time, we want to work on the combination of fiber optics and guidance and seek your advice."

Others might not be of a high enough rank to know, but these comrades did. Gao Zhendong was quite skilled in torpedo guidance.

Gao Zhendong's response did not disappoint them.

"You want to use optical fibers for the wire guide of torpedoes?" Gao Zhendong immediately pointed out their idea.

The main problem is that this is too easy to guess. Guidance, fiber optics—it's just fiber optic cable guidance, right?

Although it was easy, the comrades were still very impressed with Gao Zhendong's quick reaction. Look, a top expert is a top expert.

"Yes, that's right. We came here today to consult you about what level of fiber optic transmission characteristics we need to achieve in order to reach our goals, and whether China currently has sufficient capabilities to manufacture this type of fiber optic cable."

Fiber optics is a new thing for them, so if they want to learn about it as quickly as possible, they should contact Gao Zhendong.

However, Gao Zhendong's next words immediately chilled their hearts.

"If that's the case, my suggestion is to hold off for now!"

Some of the comrades from the Naval Equipment Bureau also came along. When they heard Gao Zhendong's words, they were also taken aback. They knew Gao's style, as did the comrades of sufficient rank within the Naval Equipment Bureau.

Spend money where it's necessary, and save money where it's possible.

He must have his reasons. He wouldn't think he had to promote fiber optic technology everywhere just because he invented it. Chief Engineer Gao isn't that kind of person.

"Chief Engineer Gao, why can't we use optical fiber now?" The comrades from the Naval Equipment Bureau knew that Gao Zhendong would definitely give an explanation, so that they would not only know what to do but also why, and learn how to apply optical fiber.

Gao Zhendong laughed and said, "The superior performance is overflowing, while the weak performance is obvious."

"Superior performance? You mean bandwidth?" Clearly, the comrade who came this time was a bear in the forest—with a bear, the reaction to Gao Zhendong's words was very quick.

Gao Zhendong nodded and smiled, "That's right. Considering the current guidance principle of torpedoes, the target's speed, the torpedo's speed, and the control speed requirements, there are no high requirements for refreshing the guidance signal at the moment. With the bandwidth that optical fiber can provide, it's a bit too much and unnecessary."

Even the fastest torpedoes only go a few dozen knots. Except for supercavitating torpedoes, which are unguided, they all travel at this speed. The speed of a ship is also limited, so the maneuverability requirements for the torpedo body are not as high as those for missiles. Especially when the guidance source for wire-guided torpedoes is submarine sonar, the signal that needs to be transmitted between the two is extremely limited, and the refresh rate requirement is not high.

The limited quantity and low frequency render the biggest advantage of optical fiber—bandwidth—useless.

Gao Zhendong calculated the relevant parameters on the blackboard. When the comrades saw the required bandwidth in k and the available bandwidth in M, they were a little embarrassed, as it seemed a bit too large.

"Moreover, aside from its bandwidth advantage, optical fiber has other disadvantages under current conditions that cannot be ignored. In terms of mechanical properties, optical fiber is currently much inferior to electrical wires, and the mechanical properties of glass fiber are still significantly worse than those of metal wires. As a result, using optical fiber requires paying other costs to ensure mechanical performance."

This is what Gao Zhendong meant by "obvious weaknesses in performance".

(End of this chapter)