The Grandmother in the Siheyuan

Chapter 369 A Fight Is Inevitable

Only after Rosamund Kwan was placed in the film crew did their family finally find peace.

Liu Hua started tinkering with a small gadget, a 3D printing device. It is said that the rapid advancement of China's aviation manufacturing technology is inseparable from the use of ultra-large 3D printing equipment.

As a tech geek and content creator, Liu Hua can actually hand-print a 3D printer. He had forgotten about it before, but he remembered it when he saw an article about 3D printing in a magazine the other day.

Although it's not as convenient now as it will be 30 years from now, when you can just buy electronic components on Taobao or Pinduoduo.

However, these electronic components are not too complicated for Liu Hua. He has a very professional electronics laboratory. If they can't be mass-produced, can't they be made by hand?
The three students are working hard on their theses. The supercomputer project is enough for them to write several good papers, and graduating with a master's degree is just a formality.

However, Liu Hua took in three more students this year. Liu Hua still adopted the laissez-faire approach. These three kids are just as pitiful as their senior classmates. Other graduate professors don't take them on, but their senior classmates do.

Liu Hua simply provided them with the venue and materials, and came to answer their questions once a week.

In the words of their senior brother, "You wanted to find a reliable sect to rely on, but you didn't expect our teacher to be so unreliable."

The three students discussed the topic their teacher had assigned them while watching him busily working on it. They were quite curious; this thing looked unremarkable, so why did the teacher have to do it himself? They knew that even the supercomputer teacher hadn't worked on it himself. Of course, they didn't know the truth; their senior told them.

The three were curious, but dared not go forward to ask. Liu Hua glanced at them out of the corner of his eye, thinking that this was also a test for them, to see if their thirst for knowledge could overcome everything.

The three of them pushed and shoved each other, but in the end, their thirst for knowledge really prevailed, and the three of them walked over together.

"Teacher, is what you're working on today also a computer? And since you had to do it yourself, it must be some kind of groundbreaking product, right?"

Liu Hua said with a smile, "Now it's time to test your knowledge. Do you know what stereolithography is, and what SLA-1 is?"

This question touched on a blind spot in the students' knowledge. In the early days of the internet, although there were local area networks, online resources were scarce. Moreover, computers were expensive, and not everyone had the opportunity to go online. Having never experienced the information revolution, how could they know the answer to Liu Hua's question?

The three people looked at each other and shook their heads decisively. One of them said, "This name sounds similar to lithography machine. Is it also for making chips?"

Liu Hua felt as if he had been hit hard on the head with a hammer. This touched on a blind spot in his knowledge. He didn't know that there was actually research in this area, but it was still very difficult.

With a forced smile, Liu Hua said seriously, "This is a very new topic, and I hope you can join us in researching it together."

The three of them were naturally more than willing. Their senior classmates joined the supercomputer project and were able to graduate smoothly, while the project they joined didn't even have a name, which sounded much more prestigious.

"What exactly is the purpose of a teacher?"

"This thing is called a 3D printer."

"Is it the printer that our school's industry-university cooperative produces?"

Liu Hua shook his head: "That kind of printer can only print on a flat surface, so it should be called a 2D printer. You should understand what a 3D printer means, right?"

They are all science and engineering talents who have studied physics and mathematics. It is impossible for them not to understand what 2D and 3D are.

"So, 2D printers can only print words and pictures, but this thing can print a real object?" "Does such a thing really exist?" A loud voice came from the laboratory doorway: "If such a wonderful thing really exists, we won't need to manufacture airplanes anymore; we can just print them out directly."

The person who came was Ma Shan. He approached Liu Hua, saw the 3D printer which was only the size of a shoebox, and then curled his lip and said disdainfully, "This little thing is so small? Our airplane's fuel injectors are bigger than this. It's useless."

"Will your child be able to fly a plane from birth?" Liu Hua asked back. "This is just a prototype. You have to let it develop further. Our plane is new, and it's not supersonic yet."

"Yes, we need to look at things from a developmental perspective, so you should study it carefully."

Liu Hua asked curiously, "What brings you here today?"

"I have some good news to tell you," Ma Shan said mysteriously. "Let's find a quiet place. Are these three kids your students?"

Liu Hua nodded, and Ma Shan smiled and said, "That's right, you are all the pride of heaven. Learn well from your teacher and contribute to the country in the future."

Liu Hua led him into his office, where Ma Shan said with a mixture of excitement and disappointment, "We've developed an active phased array radar."

Liu Hua was taken aback. The Americans only started using it in the late 1990s. His little butterfly wings had accidentally flapped too hard, and he had gotten ahead of the Americans.

"That's a good thing."

Ma Shan nodded: "We just did an experiment, and the passive phased array is worlds apart from it."

Liu Hua smiled and said, "Why do I feel like you're not very happy? This is a great thing for your Air Force, so why do you seem a little disappointed?"

"It's too expensive; even if we made it, we couldn't afford to use it."

"This living person can't be killed by holding in their pee." Liu Hua said nonchalantly, "We'll continue to study how to reduce costs and improve our capabilities. If all units can't afford it, then we'll use it in key units. If all else fails, we can export it to earn some money."

"No, active phased array radar is currently top secret and cannot be exported."

"I'm talking about phased arrays. I reckon that apart from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, no other country can probably make one. It has huge market potential."

Ma Shan blinked, his mind racing with calculations. After a while, he said, "This isn't our strong suit, so who would buy our radar?"

“Someone will buy it eventually,” Liu Hua said firmly.

There happened to be a globe next to Liu Hua's table. He casually turned the globe, and as it slowly rotated, Liu Hua pointed at a point on the globe with his finger.

"I don't know about other places, but this place definitely needs it."

Looking at the dots on the globe, Ma Shan was in a state of inner turmoil.

Liu Hua laughed and said, "What are you afraid of? The American oil tanker has sunk there. A war is inevitable. If you don't take this opportunity to make a fortune, someone else will have to take the money."

(End of this chapter)