The Red Era, the Opening University Speech

Chapter 243: Envoy from the North
After staying in the slum for a day, Li Mu said goodbye to his reluctant family the next morning and returned to his research work.

A short rest is for a better start.

He is in a very good mental state now and he wishes he could stay in the laboratory for three days and three nights.

Of course, realizing this idea is more difficult than competing with Zhuge Liang!

There was no need to wait until the next day, Guo Mo could rush over and take him out of the laboratory to "question" him.

……

Came to the Semiconductor Research Institute.

I greeted the security guard, tasted the maltose in his hand, and then gave him a fruit cookie in return that Li Lan and Li Yu had given him last night.

He walked into the station with a smile on his face.

Wang Shoujue happened to come out for breakfast. Seeing his appearance, he smiled and said, "Not bad. Take a rest. You look more energetic."

"I did take a day off and I feel pretty good." Li Mu nodded in agreement with a smile.

He had been working so hard every day before and didn’t feel anything, but after a rare day of rest, he really felt that he was in much better condition.

Wang Shoujue continued, "Then you should rest more in the future, so that Dean Guo won't have to call you every day."

"It's not that easy. The work is so busy." Li Mu shook his head helplessly.

His current research work is essentially to convert and output the information in the chat page. He would not be able to tolerate it if he was lazy.

Then he asked, "By the way, how is the development of the software system for the lightweight pulse Doppler radar going?"

"I have to say that you are not only good at scientific research, but also good at selecting people. Hu Jianxia's performance is very good." Wang Shoujue praised with a smile, and then said:

"Director Jiang from the Radar Research Institute came over yesterday to discuss the follow-up research and development plans with us."

"The research will be mainly carried out in our semiconductor research institute in the early stage, but in the later stage, it will be transferred to other places for actual installation testing."

"Okay, no problem. I won't go over today. Thank you for your help." Li Mu breathed a sigh of relief and said to Wang Shoujue.

With the software design capabilities within the current Semiconductor Research Institute, it is not very difficult to complete the research and development of lightweight pulse Doppler radar.

As long as Wang Shoujue said it was okay, he had no plan to go over for the time being.

Of course, if it is tested later, he still wants to go and take a look, maybe he can even take a spin in the sky.

Airplanes are not uncommon, but that is a fighter jet!
Who doesn’t have a dream of flying a fighter jet?

Wang Shoujue said:

"Don't be polite, this is my job."

"But I heard that there was some trouble with the semiconductor camera."

"There is basically no research on photographic equipment in our country, and the technology you provide has basically no precedent to refer to. There are no major problems, but there are constant minor problems."

He is responsible for monitoring all research projects in the institute and has a full understanding of the situation of each research team.

Semiconductor cameras are completely different from all previous film cameras, so it was indeed difficult for them to research them.

It’s not that it can’t be solved, it just takes a very, very long time.

But what Xia State lacks most now is time.

Li Mu also understood this, and waved his hand as he walked, saying, "Have breakfast first, I'll go take a look."

"Why are you in such a hurry? Everyone is having breakfast now." Wang Shoujue grabbed him and dragged him to the cafeteria.

……

After finishing their meal, the two went to the semiconductor camera development team.

This group has two parts. One part is led by Huang Xinhua and focuses on the development of CMOS image sensors. The other part is led by Wu Xi and studies components such as lenses, memory cards, and batteries.

Such an arrangement naturally has a profound meaning. Huang Xinhua is the backbone of the institute's current integrated circuit research. Although he participates in the research and development, he cannot distract his attention too much.

Wu Xi, who was about to be transferred to the semiconductor group to help build a technical team, took on more research tasks.

……

Enter the laboratory.

At the door, Li Mu could hear the sound of Wu Xi pacing back and forth from time to time.

This is an old habit of the other party. When encountering any difficult problems in research, he can't help but wander around and think.

Doing so would obviously disturb others. Li Mu had reminded them several times, but apart from making their steps lighter and not walking in front of him, they still did not change.

He smiled and joked, "Team Leader Wu, what difficulties have you encountered?"

Hearing his voice, Wu Xi, who was thinking hard, suddenly brightened up his eyes and hurried forward and said:
“There is indeed a big problem.”

"In the process of researching the lens, we found that in order to achieve its mass production, we need high-precision processing equipment, optical testing instruments and professional heat treatment equipment."

"I'm afraid these are impossible to achieve with the current level of technology in the country!"

His tone was filled with anxiety.

In terms of camera photosensitive technology, they do have a huge lead over foreign countries.

Although we are lagging behind in the research of camera lenses, it is not difficult to make a breakthrough thanks to the experience accumulated from lithography machines.

But technological breakthroughs are far from enough. To achieve industrial mass production, long-term technological accumulation is needed.

The giants in the world's current photographic equipment market, whether Kodak or Canon, have all gone through decades or even hundreds of years of technological development.

It will be extremely difficult for Xia State to catch up.

After listening to this, Li Mu asked, "Can't the existing lathe, grinder, and polisher technologies meet the needs, or even come close?"

"No, with the current technology, the lenses we produce will probably lag behind those produced abroad by ten or twenty years." Wu Xi shook his head.

With such a huge gap, it's obviously not possible.

When semiconductor cameras are developed, they will definitely enter the high-end market first. Even if the lens cannot surpass others, at least it cannot lag behind, right? Otherwise, who would buy it?
They need a method that can achieve technological accumulation quickly!

Li Mu pondered for a moment, then looked at Wang Shoujue beside him and said:
"Since the current technical conditions are not up to the task, we can move forward. We can apply computers to the field of mechanical engineering and develop high-precision automated processing equipment such as CNC lathes and precision grinders."

"We also need to train a group of professional workers to engage in the production of lenses. The precision that humans can achieve is sometimes far greater than that of machines."

"In this way, with our huge advantage in computers and the help of professional engineers, the level of lenses will see a considerable improvement in a short period of time and should be able to meet current needs."

As long as the accuracy of automated production equipment is strictly controlled, the quality of the products can at least be guaranteed to reach an average level.

There is no way to achieve extremely high precision, it can only be achieved manually.

Just like the carving of the solid fuel of the D bomb's engine, it is all done manually, and no mistakes or errors are allowed, otherwise it will explode directly with a "bang!"

When Wang Shoujue and Wu Xi heard Li Mu's idea, they looked at each other and couldn't help showing a little surprise on their faces.

They were not surprised that Li Mu could come up with a solution, but they were surprised why he didn't come up with it in advance.

Looking at the expressions of the two, Li Mu knew what they were thinking without having to guess, and explained: "Automated production can certainly provide our country with many aspects of industrial level in a short period of time, but it will also bring a series of problems accordingly."

"The biggest problem is that it will affect employment and cause many workers to lose their job opportunities."

"Once automation is implemented on a large scale, not only will a large number of workers be laid off, but it will also reduce the employment opportunities for young people who come later."

After hearing this explanation, Wang Shoujue and Wu Xi suddenly understood what was going on.

"It is indeed not feasible to do it on a large scale, but I think it is okay to try it in some high-tech fields." Wang Shoujue thought for a while and said.

The employment issue is certainly important.

But the country’s industrial development is also a top priority.

Li Mu shook his head helplessly and sighed, "I'm afraid once I start this, I won't be able to take it back!"

The method of limiting the range is indeed desirable, but who can guarantee that the car can be braked?

Take semiconductors as an example. When the reform and opening up began, the domestic level was actually not much different from that of foreign countries.

However, because foreign machinery and equipment are cheaper than R&D funds, everyone is buying foreign equipment, leading to the decline of semiconductors.

Similarly, once automated equipment begins production and is put into use, other places will see the benefits, so wouldn’t they want it?

If there is a wave of layoffs at that time, not only may the problem of re-education not be solved, but the situation may become more serious and cause greater losses to the country.

Even if the factory does not lay off workers for the sake of stability, automated production will eventually result in a large number of workers having nothing to do, wasting a lot of labor.

"No matter what, we still have to trust the country. We should focus on technology, and as for how to use it, we will leave it to the higher-ups to decide." Wang Shoujue said seriously.

It is impossible to define whether science and technology are good or bad.

For example, the original intention of making the first big mushroom was to end World War II, accelerate the war process, and bring peace to the world.

But its very existence is a factor of unrest.

Automated production has both advantages and disadvantages, but hidden dangers are ultimately in the future. He believes that the authorities can make the most beneficial choice for the country.

Afterwards, Wang Shoujue said something to Li Mu, left quickly, and hurried to Wu Youxiang's office.

He reported to him Li Mu's idea of ​​using computers to develop automated equipment to achieve automated production of semiconductor camera lenses.

Li Mu did not stop Wang Shoujue.

Now that he has this technology, he has made certain preparations.

If there are no jobs, create them. Factories are not the only ones that can solve the employment problem.

The establishment of the semiconductor group allowed him to see another way out besides factories, that is, various service companies in the tertiary industry.

Although it is still public ownership in essence, it is a good start.

It is publicly owned now, and will later become a public-private partnership.

Of course, complete privatization is absolutely not feasible in the short term, and even if someone proposed it, Li Mu would push it back.

In that special era, even public-private partnerships might suffer, let alone complete privatization.

As long as the semiconductor industry prospers and develops and forms a huge industrial chain, it will be able to provide a large number of jobs for the country.

Even if it doesn't completely solve the employment tension problem that may arise in the future, it can at least provide a great relief.

Moreover, there will be a fairly long transition period from the traditional production mode to the automated production mode.

As long as we help the country's economy develop rapidly during this transition period and use the semiconductor industry to drive the development of the entire industry, the employment problem can be easily solved.

……

After sorting out his thoughts, Li Mu quickly left and headed for the Institute of Atomic Power.

At present, other problems are secondary, and the most important thing is to develop the magnetohydrodynamic thruster first.

Under the current international situation, Xia State needs powerful military weapons to deter those countries that are ready to make moves.

After arriving at the laboratory, there is no nonsense, just roll up your sleeves and get to work.

Although superconducting magnets now only require continuous experiments to obtain the best data results, there are no longer any technical difficulties.

But with his participation, the subsequent experimental process can be greatly shortened.

……

Li Mu was busy until around 6 o'clock in the evening, then he got up and went to the cafeteria to eat.

While he was eating, Zhang Guoying suddenly came to him and said, "Advisor Li, there's a call from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, asking you to come over."

"Now? Did you say what it was?" Li Mu looked puzzled.

The proposal was just submitted yesterday, so even if it was submitted sooner, it couldn't be because of this.

Zhang Guoying said: "I don't know, I just told you to go there as soon as possible."

Hearing this, Li Mu did not delay. After finishing the remaining food in the lunch box in a few bites, he immediately left the cafeteria.

Just as I was about to push my bicycle, I found Guan Jianmin driving in.

It seems that the matter is indeed a bit urgent.

He didn't ask any more questions and just opened the car door and got in.

……

Came to the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Hurrying through the door, Li Mu went straight to Guo Mo's office.

Before he could knock on the door, Guo Mo inside saw the figure, came out, and said, "Come on, come on, I have an opinion or something to ask you."

"Important matter?" Li Mu was pulled in. He glanced around the room and saw that Leader Qiu, Dong Huaxing and Gu Zheng were all there.

The gathering of the bosses from four departments is obviously no small matter.

Seeing that he looked a little nervous after coming in, Dong Huaxing stood up and said with a smile:
"Don't worry, it's good news."

"OM has reported that our game products have seen their sales rise to new heights after launching daily, weekly, and monthly rankings."

"Moreover, Big Brother has learned about the development of our semiconductor industry and has sent a special envoy, intending to make an exchange with us."

"Exchange, how do you exchange?" Li Mu's eyes lit up.

Big Brother has a lot of good technologies now. If some of them can be exchanged over, it will be of great benefit to the technological development of Xia Country.

Dong Huaxing knew what he was thinking when he saw it, so he said:
"Don't even think about the technology. Big Brother will never give it to us."

"What the envoy meant was that if we give them our technology, they would allow our products to enter the market there with restrictions."

(End of this chapter)