Back in 1978, I was admitted to Northwestern Polytechnical University.

Chapter 110 Subcontractors must have the awareness of subcontractors!
Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, it's already the Lantern Festival.

"Hey, Liangzi, why are you dressed like this today?" When Tu Lao got up early in the morning, he saw Qin Liang wearing a patched-up shirt, deliberately not washing his face, and wearing a straw hat, dressing up as... a farmer.

“Stealing green leaves,” Qin Liang said.

"Having an affair?" Old Tu frowned immediately. Liangzi, you have a bright future ahead of you, don't make a mistake. Besides, dressed like that, are you going to see the village beauty?

"Stealing greens, stealing greens, that means stealing vegetables from the field! Old Tu, what are you thinking? How can you be so improper!"

The Lantern Festival in Chengdu is very lively, with people eating tangyuan (sweet rice balls), watching lantern shows, dragon dances, warding off diseases, solving lantern riddles, and setting off fireworks. However, these are all traditional activities, which Qin Liang is not interested in. He is only interested in the old traditions of the countryside.

Stealing greens means running to someone else's field to steal vegetables. Eating the stolen vegetables will bring you a year of cleanliness and peace!
At some point in later generations, stealing vegetables became a popular activity. Whether or not Qin Liang found inspiration in this custom, he was eager to try it out.

Old Tu blushed. Stealing green vegetables was indeed a custom of the past, but... in the years when collective agriculture was implemented, who would dare to steal them? They were asking for trouble... This custom will probably only revive this year, right?

"Ahem, stealing greens is something you do at night. If you go at this hour, are you expecting to get a beating from the farmers?" Old Tu said, somewhat speechless.

"What?" Stealing at night? Did you oversleep? Or did you get up too early?

"Liangzi, Lao Ba will be bringing people from Turbine Union Company over today to discuss the project of replacing the Super 7 fighter jet with the RB199 engine. Luckily you haven't gone back to Northwestern Polytechnical University yet. You absolutely must attend this meeting!"

"So fast?" Qin Liang's eyes widened. It seems that Old Baht is very interested in Super 7!
In the morning, at nine o'clock, in the conference room of Factory 132.

Jamal is extremely busy and cannot keep an eye on this project all the time. His assistant, Major General Sabil, has become the person in charge of the Super 7 project. After leaving the East last time, Sabil went to Europe without stopping to find the most suitable turbofan engine for Super 7.

Among European medium-thrust engines, the RB199 is the most outstanding. It is an afterburning three-rotor turbofan engine specifically developed for the Tornado fighter-bomber. Since the Tornado was jointly developed by several countries, the engine could not be kept by the British alone. Therefore, Rolls-Royce of the United Kingdom, MTU of Germany, and Fait Avio of Italy formed Turbine Consortium to jointly develop the RB199.
The company was founded in 1969, and the first RB199 engine did not begin ground testing until September 1971. It has been twenty years since it was put into mass production. This is a medium-thrust engine. Even Europeans need twenty years to refine it, which is enough to show how difficult it is to develop advanced aero engines.

"Ladies and gentlemen, our RB199 is the world's most advanced medium-thrust engine. It is only 3.6 meters long, 0.72 meters in diameter, and weighs 976 kilograms dry, yet its afterburning thrust can reach 73 kilonewtons, with a thrust-to-weight ratio exceeding 7!" Stefan, the negotiating representative from Turbine Union, proudly stated, "Of course, its most outstanding feature is its fuel efficiency! When mounted on a light fighter jet, it can achieve a maximum range of over 3,000 kilometers!"

Thanks to this fuel-efficient engine, the Tornado fighter-bomber has a ferry range of four to five thousand kilometers, and has even flown directly from Britain to the United States without needing to refuel in mid-air!
Now, when installed on the Super-7, it will be completely transformed. With a thrust of more than seven tons, it is greater than the WP-7 turbojet, and its fuel consumption is far superior to that of the WP-7!

"Yes, we are very satisfied with the performance of the RB199." Tu nodded. "Please provide us with detailed data on this engine, such as the intake flow rate, engine mounting location, etc. We will modify the engine compartment of the Super 7 as soon as possible to meet the requirements for installing the RB199."

The WP-7 turbojet is 4.6 meters long, one meter longer than the RB199, and 0.9 meters in diameter, also thicker. Therefore, the engine nacelle would need major modifications. However, with the computer-aided design from Northwestern Polytechnical University, the modifications wouldn't be difficult. "NO, NO, NO," Stefan shook his head repeatedly. "Mr. Tu, our RB199 is currently the most advanced medium-thrust engine in the world! So..."

He looked at Tu Lao, his face still arrogant: "All parameters of this engine are highly confidential. We cannot give you any information, otherwise we would be violating the relevant regulations of COCOM."

The faces of the Asians present all darkened.

“Mr. Tu, it’s like this,” Sabil quickly explained, “After some research in the European market, we believe the RB199 is the best engine for the Super 7. However, this engine only just went into production this year and is the most advanced model, so it can’t be exported. Therefore, we hope that you can provide the Europeans with the Super 7’s specifications so they can complete the component matching process…”

Tu Lao's face was terribly grim. What a joke! How much effort did we put into developing the Super 7, only to hand over our data to the Europeans?

“Mr. Sabil, our Super-7 is the best light fighter jet. This aircraft just made its maiden flight this year and is one of the most advanced models. Therefore, our Super-7 is a highly classified project in our country. We cannot give any information to foreigners, otherwise it would violate our country’s relevant regulations.”

Qin Liang's answer was forceful and resounding, and he even modified the other party's words to refute them. At this moment, looking at the foreigners' liver-colored faces, everyone finally felt a sense of relief.

Qin Liang looked at the person opposite him: "Mr. Sabil, we made it very clear last time that you can coordinate the engine and avionics, but... we at Dongfang are the main contractor, that's a basic principle! I'm very disappointed that you made this choice!"

You guys are none other than Buffett! You're our best buddies from the East! Is this how you treat your best buddies?

Sabil's face was also grim: "Yes, of course I remember, but... the RB199 is, after all, the most advanced medium-thrust engine in Europe, and our best option. They refuse to hand over the data to you..."

"The RB199 is indeed a good engine, but it is currently only installed on the Tornado, with orders for just over a thousand aircraft. The total production of this engine will not exceed two thousand units! Our Super 7, on the other hand, can sell at least a thousand aircraft, which will increase the orders for the RB199 by half!"

Qin Liang looked at the person opposite him: "If you don't hand over the data to us, then we won't use your engine! Since when did it become the turn of a subcontractor to make demands of the general contractor? Subcontractors should be aware of their role as subcontractors!"

In later generations, when RB199 is mentioned, there are still some people who regret that we didn't know its value back then and didn't import such a good thing.

In the 1970s and 80s, even a Spey engine couldn't be run smoothly, let alone such a highly complex three-rotor engine! The RB199 has a complex structure and advanced manufacturing process, which is beyond the current capabilities of the East. Even Qin Liang, the reborn individual, had a headache with it. Therefore, the RB199 was something that could be done or not.

If that's the case, how can we allow Westerners to ride roughshod over us?
　PS: The illustration is of the RB199 engine.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)