Rebirth in 1960, My Industrial Age

Chapter 409 Brother-in-law in Trouble, Major Breakthrough

Last year, China's GDP exceeded $700 billion, which not only convinced many people in China that this path was the right one, but also shocked the United States.

Their GDP is only $4.8 trillion, and that's when they consider themselves to be doing relatively well.

But what about the country across the ocean? They remember that just a few years ago, its GDP was only a few hundred billion dollars.

How come it has increased more than tenfold in just a few years?

Compared to them now, we are only about seven times worse.

Will we completely surpass them in a few years?
The bald eagle has begun a full-scale investigation in a state of tension, and has once again lowered its level of vigilance against the Russians.

This once-powerful nation can't even manage its own affairs; it's no longer worthy of being their adversary.

That powerful army couldn't even handle domestic issues.

Simply put, Russia is not the primary target; it possesses formidable military capabilities but its domestic economy is stagnant.

Furthermore, they have cut off most of Russia's economic and trade activities. If Russia cannot resolve its own problems, then it can only wait for its demise.

Most within the Bald Eagles organization are pessimistic about this former adversary, believing they cannot overcome this hurdle.

Indeed, this is true; not only is the United States poaching people from Russia, but China is also poaching people.

Zhou Xianzhe and Zhou Xianrui also had an additional task: to try to persuade and bring back any talented people they encountered from the Russians, but this was not their main task.

Their main focus is still on purchasing military technology from Russia; every single item they buy makes them incredibly profitable.

At the same time, they also cultivated good relations with Russian officials, which greatly helped their people operating there.

The two brothers, Zhou Xianzhe and Zhou Xianrui, were very adept at this kind of thing and suffered no losses whatsoever. Not long after the New Year, they set off.

After the factory construction project was completed in Northeast China, they headed all the way to the interior of Russia. There are several routes from China to Russia, but the one from Northeast China is the longest.

However, this is also the best place to establish connections. Once they transport the purchased supplies here, they can basically return to China without any risk, as no one on either side will interfere.

We bring back semi-finished industrial products from heavy factories in Russia, process them in China, and then sell them back. A semi-finished product worth five yuan can be sold for fifteen yuan.

There are quite a few heavy factories in Northeast China, and the products they process and produce can be sold out completely, without even needing to be transported to other places.

This is why the Zhou brothers, Zhou Xianzhe and Zhou Xianrui, were able to bridge the gap between the two sides and continuously bring back advanced Russian weapons technology to China.

Others, without the aforementioned connections, can only engage in minor, unsavory activities.

Otherwise, if they make any big moves, they will definitely be investigated.

In fact, the bald eagle's malice was so obvious that they had long been aware of it and had taken many precautions.

If a fight were to break out now, they would definitely have the confidence to refuse to admit defeat, but they would also be somewhat reluctant to fight.

They were developing rapidly, and fighting the Bald Eagle was a different matter than fighting the monkeys of South Vietnam.

If they go to war, it will essentially be a head-on clash between two of the world's top five countries.

Not to mention that they are unwilling, there are also many within the Bald Eagle organization who are unwilling to go to war.

Now is a great opportunity to make money. Are you going to ruin this opportunity and give it to the military industry?
impossible!
Therefore, even within the United States, there is no consensus on going to war with China; they can only resort to other minor punitive measures.

Zhou Fengnian usually knows a little about it, but he is mostly busy with projects.

As for international affairs, I would occasionally glance at internal publications to learn a little, and then I would leave them unattended.

Early this morning, Zhou Fengnian didn't even come to the Academy of Sciences; he went straight to find Tian Shaoxing.

He needs to get everything in order before he can focus on other things.

Inside the office, Zhou Fengnian pointed to an area on the map surrounding Jiucheng and said, "Let's go here. There are few residents and factories nearby, so Comrade Tian, ​​you'll need to pay more attention to security, as well as the construction of the laboratory."

"I know, Leader Zhou. This time we will find a military construction unit. They will ensure absolute confidentiality, and security arrangements have also been made."

Tian Shaoxing said, "Leader Zhou, we need to review the personnel arrangements. I'm sorry, but it's a necessary procedure."

“I understand. I wouldn’t feel at ease if you didn’t review it; after all, if it’s exposed, I’ll be the first to be affected.”

Zhou Fengnian smiled and said to Tian Shaoxing, "You must be even more cautious than I require. I will assess the researchers who need to be involved when the equipment manufacturing progress and schedule are halfway through."

Such an important project cannot be handled by Zhou Fengnian alone; he needs at least a dozen assistants to participate.

However, once they get involved, they will have to live in anonymity; they will only receive honors when China has the power to make it public.

Tian Shaoxing said, "I understand, Leader Zhou."

Zhou Fengnian then talked to Tian Shaoxing about many things related to the experimental research institute, and there were many things that Tian Shaoxing needed to handle.

Zhou Fengnian only knew that Tian Shaoxing came from the Security Bureau and could contact the military and the government. Having Tian Shaoxing handle many things would save a lot of time, even faster than if he made the calls himself.

Just as Zhou Fengnian finished his conversation, his cell phone rang in his briefcase. After taking it out and answering it, Zhou Fengnian heard his wife's voice.

"Fengnian, Chunhua and Weinan ran into some trouble. Where are you now? Is it convenient for you?"

Zhou Yan directly stated the purpose of her call, which surprised Zhou Fengnian slightly. He then gestured to Tian Shaoxing before coming out to answer the call.

"What happened to them?"

"I don't know. Chunhua is in my office right now, but she can't say for sure either. Wei Nan was found to have problems after driving to Lu City and is now being detained there."

"Who detained them? A staff member from the company?"

"Yes, they not only said they were going to impound the car, but also that Wei Nan had committed a crime and might be locked up."

"Wei Nan is so honest, what crime could he possibly commit? You don't need to worry about this."

Zhou Fengnian comforted her, saying, "I'll make a call and ask. Tell Chunhua not to worry."

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Fengnian was about to look up the phone number in Lu City. When he went to inspect the nuclear power plant, many people visited him, including Zhang Dingshan, the vice mayor who had accompanied him throughout the trip to Jiucheng.

However, after flipping through the contacts for a while, Zhou Fengnian suddenly remembered that all the phone numbers were stored with Qian Zhi; since most of the calls were for business purposes, if an urgent call came to him, it would likely be ignored.

Unless Zhou Fengnian happened to hear the phone ringing, it would be easier to reach Qian Zhi by calling him. Zhou Fengnian quickly dialed Qian Zhi's number and asked, "Qian Zhi, do you have Zhang Dingshan's phone number in Lu City? I remember he gave it to you last time. Find it and send it to me now."

"I understand, boss."

Qian Zhi then continued, "Boss, the Computer Research Institute is looking for you. It seems to be urgent. They say the fifth-generation fighter jet is about to be tested, and they hope you can go and take a look."

"That's fast. Send me your phone number first, and we'll talk about the rest when I get back."

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Fengnian thought back for a moment. Four years had passed since the development of the fourth-generation supercomputer, Shenzhou Zizhi.

It wasn't particularly fast; his plan for the computer research institute was for five years, and he had helped out on several occasions during that time.

Last year, they thought it would take them another six months to manufacture it, but they did it more than three months ahead of schedule. Zhou Fengnian guessed that they must not have rested during the Spring Festival and had been working overtime at the research institute to achieve the current progress.

While waiting for the call, Zhou Fengnian turned back to Tian Shaoxing and said that they would stop discussing things here for the day.

All the important things have been said; what follows will keep Tian Shaoxing busy for months to come.

Just as Zhou Fengnian left, Qian Zhi sent him Zhang Dingshan's phone number in Lu City. Zhou Fengnian dialed the number as soon as he got into the car.

A voice came quickly from the other end of the phone: "Hello, this is Zhang Dingshan."

Zhou Fengnian said, "Vice Mayor Zhang, I am Zhou Fengnian from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. I have previously visited Lu City for research."

"Vice Dean Zhou? Hello, hello, what can I do for you?"

Upon hearing that it was Zhou Fengnian, Zhang Dingshan's attitude immediately became respectful, and he quickly asked, "Is there a problem with the nuclear power plant? If so, I'll go and resolve it right now."

Zhou Fengnian said, "It's not that there's a problem with the nuclear power plant. It's a personal matter I have. A relative of mine, Song Weinan, who drives a freight truck, was detained in Lushi. It seems he committed some crime."
However, I'm not in Lu City, so I don't know the situation. Therefore, I'd like to ask Vice Mayor Zhang to help me inquire. If he really committed a crime, I'll go over and beat him up immediately!

"Your relative. I understand. Don't worry, Vice President Zhou, I'll go and inquire about it right away. I'll call you back once it's done."

"Don't worry, Vice Dean Zhou."

Zhang Dingshan almost patted his chest to assure him, and only after hanging up the phone did he breathe a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, he was persuaded to stay; otherwise, he really wouldn't have been able to handle Zhou Fengnian coming to Lu City.

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Dingshan immediately asked his secretary to investigate.

Before long, even before the end of the workday, Zhang Dingshan's secretary found out what had happened; after all, he was a local, so he could get information much faster.

Zhang Dingshan soon realized what a good thing had happened. Song Weinan, with his large number of trucks and low prices, was making it impossible for the local transportation companies to compete.

So they went to their relatives and caused trouble for Song Weinan, locking him up. They just didn't expect that Song Weinan had such a relative.

"What a fool!"

Zhang Dingshan originally wanted to call them directly and tell them to release the people immediately, but he stopped halfway through the call.

He suddenly realized that his relationship with the mayor was not very good. If he went to the mayor, although the mayor would release the man, he might not be severely punished.

So Zhang Dingshan got up and walked outside. He planned to talk to the squad leader about this matter. It would be fine if they were not at fault, but now it was Lu City's fault. If Zhou Fengnian came over, they would have no way to explain themselves.

If Zhou Fengnian said a few words to them, all their hard work in Lushi over the past ten years would be for nothing; after all, people come here to do business, but you, a local, can just lock them up.

------

After returning to the Academy of Sciences, Zhou Fengnian called Zhou Yan back. His fourth sister was still with her, and she only left after hearing Zhou Fengnian's call.

This matter should be fine to leave to Zhang Dingshan. If all else fails, he will have to call the leaders of Dongshan Province.

He had spoken to the leaders there, but they weren't really on good terms. However, he could still handle this small matter, and besides, Zhou Fengnian didn't believe Song Weinan could do anything bad.

His brother-in-law was honest his whole life. Even when he was bullied by his family, he never thought of doing anything. Even after the family was severed, he would sometimes secretly send money back home.

So it's highly likely that he was framed, and Zhou Fengnian was well aware of this.

Fortunately, he had the ability to protect his relatives; as long as he himself had not made any mistakes, he could use his power to help them.

The Zhou family has indeed developed very rapidly recently. In an era when the average annual income per capita was barely over a thousand, the combined annual income of all members of the Zhou family was probably over three hundred million.

Zhou Fengnian's second brother, Zhou Jia'an, also plans to enter the real estate industry. If he really gets involved, then they will be involved in everything from clothing and food to housing and transportation.

However, none of them committed any illegal or disruptive acts; they all rose to prominence by seizing opportunities. Zhou Weitian relied on his skills and service, while Zhou Jia'an relied on the reform and opening-up policy. No one said they couldn't sell those clothes.

His son is often targeted, not just by You Lijun, but also by many who hope Zhou Fengnian will suffer the same fate, probably including quite a few people from the White Eagle faction.

Unfortunately, since their family was in the right, no amount of maneuvering worked; Zhou Fengnian wasn't without power.

After making the call, Zhou Fengnian didn't rest much. After handling some matters, he rushed to the Computer Research Institute.

Upon arriving at the research institute, Zhou Fengnian soon saw the fifth-generation supercomputer, Shenzhou Son.

"Have you run the test?"

"The tests are complete, and there are no errors whatsoever. Boss, we've finally succeeded in developing it."

Everyone, from the director to the researchers, was excited when they talked about the news.

They have once again developed a supercomputer that is almost epoch-making. Compared with the fourth-generation Shenzhou supercomputer, the fifth-generation Shenzhou supercomputer has a computing speed that is a thousand times faster.

After more than four years, we have finally achieved a decent result.

"Excellent, truly excellent, you've done a great job."

After reviewing the test report, Zhou Fengnian smiled and said to everyone, "Now we've once again far surpassed other countries in the field of computers, and each of you deserves credit."

A commendation is certainly warranted, but Zhou Fengnian doesn't need to announce it publicly; this is no longer the era of material scarcity.

After a period of cheering and celebration, Zhou Fengnian also finished watching the fifth-generation Shenzhou Son supercomputer.

The computing speed has increased a thousandfold, which is extremely important for domestic scientific research experiments. Any major scientific research project that requires calculation will see a rapid improvement.

Then, when the research team was in high spirits, Zhou Fengnian called out the director and deputy director and said to them, "What do you think about promoting our achievement to the outside world in *Nine Cities?"
We announce to all countries in the world our significant breakthrough in the field of computing.

(End of this chapter)