Courtyard House: Starting in a Ceramics Factory

The mobilization meeting ended, and no one left.

At this moment, everyone's eyes were focused on the young man standing in front of the stage.

Li Feng didn't keep them waiting long. He then picked up a piece of chalk, turned around, and began to sketch a magnificent blueprint on the huge blackboard behind him.

"Comrades, what we are going to do is to create an unprecedented computer-automated control system."

"Many of you here are experts in the field of computer science, but our mission this time is not just to build a computer, but to make this computer the brain and nerve center of our industrial production line."

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly to every corner of the conference room.

"Let me give you an analogy." Li Feng drew a simple human figure on the blackboard. "We can think of the entire automation system as a person."

He tapped the humanoid figure's head with chalk: "The core computing and control unit that our first group is responsible for is this person's brain. It's responsible for thinking and issuing instructions. Professor Wang, your task is to make this brain work fast, accurately, and without making mistakes."

Professor Wang nodded solemnly, his eyes sparkling with excitement. The metaphor was simple and easy to understand, yet it hit the nail on the head.

“Second group, storage system group.” Li Feng moved the chalk to the abdomen of the humanoid figure. “This is the memory bank of this person. All the data we process, all the programs, must be stored here. Associate Professor Liu, you must ensure that our ‘brain’ can always find the information it needs, and that this information cannot be lost or confused.”

“The third group is the external device interface group. This is the human figure’s facial features and limbs.” Li Feng drew eyes, ears, hands and feet on the human figure. “The various sensors on the production line are our eyes and ears. They are responsible for collecting information on site, while the motors, valves, and robotic arms are our hands and feet. They are responsible for executing the brain’s commands. Your task is to establish a seamless neural network between the brain and the facial features and limbs.”

"The fourth group is the system software and compilation group. You are responsible for this person's soul and language. Without you, what we create is just an empty shell of a vegetable. You need to teach it how to think, how to understand our commands, and how to translate high-level instructions into machine language that it can understand."

"Finally, the fifth group, the power and environmental support group. You are the heart and circulatory system of this person. Without a stable and reliable power supply, without a suitable working environment, even the smartest brain and the strongest body are just a pile of scrap metal. You are the foundation and guarantee of all work!"

After he finished speaking, the entire conference room fell silent.

Everyone was stunned by Li Feng's vivid and precise metaphor.

What were once cold circuits, complex codes, and tedious logic gates in their minds now seemed to have come alive.

They are no longer dealing with a bunch of parts, but are working together to create a "steel giant" with thoughts, feelings, and the ability to act.

"My overall design concept is 'centralized control, hierarchical management'."

Li Feng didn't stop, continuing to draw complex logic diagrams on the blackboard. "The core processing unit uses high-speed transistor circuits, while the storage system uses a hybrid of magnetic cores and magnetic drums, balancing speed and capacity. The most crucial part is the interface..." He began to delve into the technical details, from the design of logic gate circuits to the allocation of clock synchronization signals, and then to the anti-interference strategy for the data bus. He explained things in a clear and concise manner, and some problems that had troubled everyone for a long time seemed to become clear under his explanation.

"Regarding the design of the instruction set, I prefer to adopt a reduced instruction set, although it places higher demands on the compiler team, it can significantly improve the computing efficiency of our 'brain'..."

"In the process of converting analog signals to digital signals, I recommend using the successive approximation method, which is highly accurate and relatively fast..."

Professor Wang and Professor Fei Wei listened attentively, jotting down notes frequently. They found that many of Li Feng's ideas were highly forward-thinking, and some were even bolder and more ingenious than the latest research they had seen in foreign journals.

Associate Professor Liu from the "Chief Engineer Li" storage system group raised his hand, then asked with some confusion, "You just mentioned that the read/write control circuit of the magnetic core memory is planned to use microprogram control. This idea is very novel, but... we currently lack high-speed read-only memory to store these microinstructions. How can this be achieved?"

This is a very professional and pointed question, and it is also a current technical bottleneck in the project.

All eyes were on Li Feng.

Li Feng smiled slightly, as if he had expected someone to ask this question. He picked up the chalk and quickly drew a circuit diagram on the blackboard: "Associate Professor Liu asked a very good question. My idea is that we can use a diode matrix to build a simple fixed read-only memory. Although the process is a bit complicated, it is technically feasible, stable and reliable, and the cost is low."

He explained the circuit principles as he drew.

Associate Professor Liu's eyes widened, his initial confusion turning to sudden realization, and finally to utter admiration. He slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Brilliant! How could I not have thought of that! Using the unidirectional conductivity of a diode to represent 0 and 1... this is simply a genius idea!"

A suppressed gasp of surprise rippled through the conference room.

Their group had been discussing this problem for several days without finding a suitable solution, but Li Feng solved it easily with just a diagram and a few words.

At this moment, Li Feng's image in everyone's mind had completely transformed from a "young leader with a powerful background" to an "unfathomable technical genius".

The lecture lasted a full three hours, and Li Feng barely drank a drop of water. When he put down the chalk, thunderous applause spontaneously erupted from the audience. This applause was heartfelt respect and admiration.

"Alright, comrades, the blueprint has been drawn up. The rest is up to us to turn it into reality!" Li Feng wiped the sweat from his forehead and scanned everyone with a sharp look in his eyes. "From now on, I hope you will forget about your units, ranks, and past honors. Here, we have only one identity: soldiers! A tough battle is before us, and I hope you can all put in all your energy and fight it with me!"

"Mission accomplished!" someone shouted, and immediately, a deafening roar of responses filled the conference room. (End of Chapter)