Courtyard House: Starting as a mediocre engineer

At Zhuang Zhongchen's request, Lou Xiao'e drew a very cute picture of the three-wheeled vehicle. It looked exceptionally adorable at first glance, and even Lou Xiao'e loved it dearly.

Then I reorganized the information again and made it into a very nice "PPT".

Of course, it's impossible to produce complete drawings and documentation. That would be an enormous amount of work.

For example, the blueprints for just one airplane could fill an entire train car. Although there are far fewer three-wheeled vehicles, they still weigh at least several hundred kilograms.

As you can see, the unit of measurement is no longer "one sheet of blueprint," but "how many kilograms of blueprint." The sheer volume of work involved is simply beyond the capacity of one person to complete.

So, it's relatively simple to handcraft a motor vehicle, but completing all the blueprints for a motor vehicle? That would require a huge team.

Since computers didn't exist in those days, everything had to be built up manually. Without teamwork, it would have been impossible to create any inventions or innovations.

You know what, this "technical consultant" title is actually quite useful. It makes it easy to organize meetings and find various enterprises and institutions to draw personnel to build your own team.

After finishing all that, Zhuang Zhongchen went home and lay in bed, where he once again thought of Sister Cheng.

In fact, some details can still be revealed through that special intelligence:

First, there is no time limit. In other words, if you cannot break this spy network, you will be unable to purchase new special intelligence in the future.

This is actually a form of punishment. If someone lies down and gives up, the system will effectively downgrade the intelligence center.

Secondly, a clue was provided—a pair of spies lived in Nanluoguxiang.

There are more than a dozen courtyard houses of varying sizes in Nanluoguxiang, housing over 100 households. That's a decent number, not too few, but not too many either; it should be enough to identify potential suspects.

Finally, there's the clue of "playing the role of a married couple." This clue contains a lot of information.

Without a doubt, the two spies were a man and a woman, around 3 or 40 years old. Since there was no need for them to go undercover before the founding of the People's Republic of China, they must have moved into Nanluoguxiang after the founding of the PRC.

Another factor is the "acting," which could very well mean they're a fake couple. Of course, it's also possible they're making it real.

Since they are a fake couple, there will be no elders living with them. They also generally won't have children, which helps them better conceal their identities.

But... a glamorous female spy? Living together for so long, maybe she just couldn't resist? So, there's also the possibility of having children.

After eliminating possibilities in this way, only a few households remain as suspects. For example, in my own courtyard house at No. 95, none of the households meet the criteria.

On the contrary, Sister Cheng's family seems to have a relatively high degree of compatibility?

Let's hold off for now; catching spies doesn't need to be rushed. Since there's no deadline, let's wait until we've finished with our main business...

……

A few days later, in a small room, an old man and a young man were drinking and eating meat. The old man was none other than Uncle Zhou from the editorial department.

"Old man, how's the lamb chop with cheek? This stuff is hard to find. I specially asked a friend at the restaurant for help."

"Hmm, you're pretty straightforward. When you offered to buy me drinks, I thought you were just saying it casually."

"Where? How could I be that kind of person?"

"That's you. Don't you always like to kick someone when they've served their purpose? I just rejected your manuscript, and you started yelling like a shrew."

"No, no, you're insulting me. Eat this lamb's eye meat."

"Speak! What do you need me for?"

"Huh? Old man, can't we just hit it off right away? What about trust between people?"

"Come on! Why are you being so attentive? Inviting this old man for drinks, are you after something else?"

"Cough cough cough."

Alright! Grandpa Zhou is a shrewd old man, so Zhuang Zhongchen cut to the chase: "Grandpa, it's like this. Do you have any connections in the military? Like, the kind that can get you in touch? I've designed an assault vehicle, a small armored vehicle, and I definitely need the military's support. This vehicle…"

"Hmm, I don't understand any of these scientific principles you're talking about. Are you suggesting I go to my old comrade-in-arms and ask him to pull some strings for me?"

"Sir, that's a very harsh thing to say. I just want a demonstration opportunity so that the military leaders can see this assault vehicle. As for whether they're willing to provide funding or support, that's definitely a decision for the military to make."

"Then why should I help you? Aren't you still engaging in unethical practices?"

"No, it's not. If it's for my personal gain, that's called unhealthy practices. But if I'm doing it for official business, that's called taking initiative."

"Bullshit! Is this where you put your initiative? You brat..."

"..."

Alright! Since it's a gathering, the more people involved, the better. Zhuang Zhongchen doesn't like to hog everything in this kind of situation. Therefore, the military is definitely a crucial element.

Besides, even kindergarten kids know that the military is known for its gullible and wealthy soldiers, making them prime targets for easy prey!

However, if we follow the proper procedures, it could take forever to get approval from the military.

Zhuang Zhongchen knew the army was full of fools and rich, but didn't the others know they were easy targets? With too many applicants for too few projects, everyone was scrambling for them, leaving his three-wheeled motorcycle with no advantage whatsoever.

In addition, Zhuang Zhongchen didn't know anyone in the military, so he could only try his luck with Grandpa Zhou.

Anyway, it doesn't cost any money to try it.

If you succeed, you'll be the most lovable people; if you're rejected, those silly soldiers are useless. Zhuang Zhongchen will find others to continue organizing the event.

But what I didn't expect was that Uncle Zhou really is a reliable person! After that meal, Uncle Zhou actually turned out to be quite dependable...

"Sir, this is the project filing form from the city's leading group, this is the letter of introduction, this is the introductory material, and this includes basic information about the prototype tricycle..."

"I understand. Since you were brought by Lao Zhou, there's no need to be polite. Is it one of those three-wheeled vehicles that often emit smoke from its exhaust treads on the street?"

"Yes! This is the prototype. But our assault vehicle will be greatly improved. Look, this is the exterior design."

"Wow? You drew a little tiger? This is pretty good, I really like it. Our army's propaganda department is probably full of useless people, their drawing and photography are so sloppy. I wonder how much straw they've got in their heads."

"Cough cough."

Zhuang Zhongchen chuckled awkwardly. It should be said that the aesthetic sense of the military commanders and soldiers is quite normal, but those in the propaganda department…?

And they're so unrepentant! They filmed large destroyers and transport ships like baby toy boats and toy airplanes? And aircraft carriers like ocean-going fishing vessels? It's not even as good as AFP's dark filter.

"Since we're already here, let's get together, old comrades. Kid, have a good drink with us today!"

"Yes, sir!"