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

Chapter 262 Riding the wave of a storm, even a pig can fly!
Ooh ooh ooh...

The rooster's crow awakened the sleeping village.

chug chu...

The sound of tractors came from many courtyards in the village. Amidst plumes of black smoke, the tractors drove out of the courtyards and headed towards the brick factory behind the village.

As the sun climbed overhead, a truckload of bricks was already loaded. Niu Fu wiped the sweat from his brow, walked to the front of the tractor, turned on the hand throttle, pressed the depressurization button with his left hand, and turned the crank handle with his right.

After a few puffs, he released the decompression handle, pulled the crank handle hard, and the engine exhaust pipe emitted a plume of black smoke as it spun merrily.

He put the crank on the steering wheel, picked up his sheepskin coat from the seat and put it on, along with his dog-skin hat. Niu Fu then began another day of delivering bricks.

With a series of spitting sounds, the front wheel wobbled slightly twice amidst plumes of black smoke, and then the tractor drove away.

"Niu Fu, where are we going today?"

"Houyao Village is closer; I can make two trips there!"

Earning two cents per brick, a truckload of bricks worth two thousand yuan is forty yuan! Making two trips a day is eighty yuan. After deducting ten yuan for fuel and other expenses, you can earn seventy yuan a day, easily two thousand yuan a month, and become a ten-thousand-yuan household in half a year!

Their backward village used to earn only a few hundred yuan a year, but now, thanks to the brick factory, they have become a well-known wealthy village!
Normally, it's freezing cold in winter, and the brick blanks are hard to dry. So they built a special shed to dry the brick blanks before firing them. They couldn't finish this work all winter!
“Niu Fu, Cuihua from the next village…”

“My mother said that Cuihua is not pretty, and my Niu Fu’s wife must be the most beautiful in the whole village.”

In the past, it was said that a man would remain single if he didn't have a wife. Now, the village beauties from all around come to his door and let him choose. If they're not pretty, he won't accept them!
After saying this, Niu Fu drove his tractor away from the brick factory and onto the road to happiness.

Wait, what's in front of me?
When Niu Fu saw a 212 approaching, he guessed what was going on. He stopped his tractor, moved aside, and watched the vehicle pull up next to him.

"Brother Niu, busy?"

"Liangzi, it really is you back!"

"Um, Brother Niu, how many trips do you make in a day?"

"I'm not running anymore! I'm going back now, I need to visit your house!"

As Niu Fu spoke, he began to turn around.

"Brother Niu, delivering the bricks is the priority."

"No matter how important something is, can it be more important than giving you a welcome dinner?"

The small mountain village quickly became lively!

212 stopped at the village entrance. Yang Duo'er got out of the car and wanted to give the children who were watching to White Rabbit candy, just like last year. Unexpectedly, these little brats with snot bubbles on their noses were actually chewing something in their mouths!

There was candy, peanuts, melon seeds, and one more thing, chewing on a long strip of... beef jerky!

"Hey, Liangzi's back!"

"Old Qin, city life is indeed good. You look much better. If I didn't know you, I would have thought you were a cadre from the county!"

Listening to the villagers' words, Qin Liang was also filled with emotion. He greeted everyone and, with Yang Duo'er in tow, walked home familiarly.

then……

He then saw a brand-new brick house standing in front of his own house!

The main entrance consists of two vermilion doors with yellow copper nails, giving it an antique feel.

After opening the door, walk through the corridor and enter the courtyard.

Five spacious and bright main rooms and five south-facing rooms, with steel windows, the kind with double glazing.

The courtyard floor is also cement, clean and tidy, unlike last year when I had to clean the courtyard when I came back.

Pushing open the door to the main house and walking in, you are greeted by a large living room, which is a combination of two rooms. The roof has a welded steel beam, which makes the house appear quite spacious, much better than the cramped dormitories at Northwestern Polytechnical University.

The floor is terrazzo. Tiles weren't popular back then, and those colorful stones were worn smooth, making them look very beautiful underfoot.

Modular wardrobe, sofa...

"Dad, have we come to the wrong place? This doesn't seem to be our home, does it?" Qin Liang couldn't help but ask.

“Liangzi, last spring, when the brick factory opened its kilns, the first few batches of bricks were all delivered to your family. We built the south house first, moved everything from the main house to the south house, then demolished the main house and built the new one. Everything was decided by our village, without consulting you…”

Wang Jinshan, with a pipe in his mouth, chuckled and said, "I don't know if you'll like it or not. Actually, we were planning to build a two-story house for your family, but after looking at the feng shui, it's not good."

If a village is full of two-story houses, that's fine. But if only one family lives in a two-story house and all the houses around them are single-story, then that family... definitely won't have a good life!

The village could only build the best five rooms for Qin Liang's family under the existing conditions.

It's bigger and more spacious than before, and the entire courtyard has been paved. It's definitely the best house in the surrounding area.

"Thank you all, fellow villagers. How much did it cost? We..."

"Don't even mention money. If it weren't for you, our village would still be poor. You can probably tell how much our village has changed in the past year. There are more than 60 households in our village with more than 10,000 yuan in income! Now, not only in our county, but in the entire Bashang area, our village is the richest! The county is calling on everyone to learn from us!"

Qin Liang shook his head: "That's money everyone worked hard to earn. If it's for building a house for my family, then it has to be..."

"What do you mean, Liangzi? If you dare to give money, you're just making everyone unhappy!"

As Wang Jinshan spoke, his expression turned serious: "We must not forget those who dug the well when we drink the water. Our village is what it is today because of you. If we were to ask you for money, would we still be considered fellow villagers? Wouldn't people gossip about us behind our backs?"

"In that case, I... thank you all, fellow villagers. Please have lunch at my house today..."

"We'll definitely eat, but before we eat, we have to pay back all the money we owe you. If you dare to refuse, we won't eat!"

Qin Liang then noticed that every villager was carrying a large bag!

Niu Fu was the first to arrive. When he heard Wang Jinshan say that, he put his bag on the coffee table: "There's eight thousand yuan in here..."

"Wait!" Qin Liang quickly waved his hand: "This isn't Dongfanghong, this tractor isn't worth that much money! Don't charge me interest, everyone, or I won't take it! We're all neighbors, talking about interest is going too far!"

"No, no, this is certainly not interest. My family will be getting another one after spring..."

Both of them ended up with their faces covered in grime.

"Oh, okay." Qin Liang nodded and looked at Wang Jinshan: "How about this, the village collects all the money, then goes to the bank and transfers the money to my account. Tell me how many tractors you need, and I'll give you a call. We'll deliver them after the New Year."

"it is good."

This is something Qin Liang shouldn't have to worry about.

The village accountant immediately sat down on the sofa and started collecting money. Wang Jinshan helped out. During this break, Qin Liang went from the living room to the bedroom and looked at the furniture made by the carpenter. These furniture pieces had no brand names, but they were all made with the villagers' goodwill.

The room temperature is slowly rising; the heating has been turned on.

Qin Liang went to the kitchen again. His father and Yang Duo'er were left aside and not allowed to lift a finger. The village aunties were busy cooking and preparing dishes. Each household brought their own New Year's goods, and large chunks of pork were being chopped up endlessly.

At noon, four tables were set up in the living room, one in the bedroom and one in the kitchen, and three more in the south room. All the men in the village were present. As for the women and children, there was simply no room for them, so they all went home for lunch.

There's no way around it; the village still follows the old ways. Women and children don't sit at the table during meals. However, as life becomes more prosperous and the economy develops, these attitudes will surely change gradually. After all, it's only 81.

"Come on, let's raise our glasses together to toast the Qin family. Without you, our village wouldn't be where it is today!"

Qin Baomin also raised his glass: "The village helped my family build a house, contributing labor, money, and even money. I, Old Qin, toast to everyone!"

After downing a glass of wine, a blush appeared on Qin Baomin's face.

After three cups of wine, Qin Baomin had completely let loose.

"Come on, old buddy, you've gotten even fatter this year! Come on, have a drink!"

Yang Duo'er looked at Qin Liang with some concern. Qin Liang smiled and shook his head. "If Father is happy, let him drink to his heart's content!"

"Old Qin, I went to a meeting in the county a few days ago to receive commendation. The county said that it's not enough for just our village to be prosperous; we need to help more villages, and even the whole county, to become wealthy! You'd better give us some ideas!" "No problem, leave it to me, Liangzi! Liangzi will definitely lead more villages to prosperity and a better life!"

Now, the pressure instantly fell on Qin Liang.

In the 1980s, what could one do to get rich?

The answer is, you can get rich no matter what you do!
In this day and age, getting rich really only requires guts. Short on money? Bank people will come knocking on your door, actively trying to sell you loans! No collateral required!

When you're riding the wave of a trend, even a pig can fly!
Qin Liang pointed to the plate of food in front of him, which contained pork, cabbage, and potatoes stew.

"Take these potatoes, slice them, fry them, package them up, and sell them in the city. They'll be the kind of potato chips kids love! They can fetch many times the price of potatoes sold separately!"

A potato costs less than a dollar, but if you slice it, fry it in oil, and put it at KFC, it can sell for over ten dollars! Cough cough, that's the price in later times; in this era, the prices are even more outrageous.

If you make high-end instant noodles out of flour, they'll sell like hotcakes all over the country!

Factories in the city don't have this capability because they source raw materials from a planned economy. In our rural areas, we can just produce and sell our own products!

We can become rich simply by developing the agricultural product processing industry!
Everyone's eyes widened as they listened to Qin Liang's eloquent explanation of his business acumen for making money. Indeed, college students are different!
This meal lasted from noon until evening!

The room was warm and cozy. His father was drunk and fast asleep on the bed. Qin Liang, worried that something might happen to his father, stayed by his side and didn't return to his own room until midnight.

Lying on the bed, Yang Duo'er smiled at Qin Liang: "Brother Liang, I've warmed the bed for you. Brother Liang, today, those aunties kept asking us why we don't have a child yet. You'd better hurry up!"

Qin Liang was instantly excited and went straight to bed.

The next day, early in the morning.

When Yang Duo'er opened her eyes, she smelled the aroma of millet porridge.

"Come on, Duoduo, wake up. Dad has already made breakfast."

"Oh."

This kind of life is monotonous but fulfilling.

A few days later, on the second day of the Lunar New Year.

“Come on, Duoduo, we have to go back to the capital today to wish Mom a Happy New Year. Actually, Mom could have come to the village for the New Year, but…”

Snapped!
Qin Liang got slapped on the head: "You brat, what are you saying! This Spring Festival, we'll spend it at our house. Next time, we'll spend it in the capital with Duo Duo's mother. We'll take turns coming from both sides!"

It's inappropriate for a mother-in-law to spend the Lunar New Year at her son-in-law's house. But what about only children? Of course, they take turns!

"Okay. I understand, Dad."

"Bring all the New Year's goods!"

"Ah."

"Dad, you don't need that much."

"That won't do. Your mother has to try our local specialties from Bashang."

At the village entrance, bus 212 was already waiting. The two got in, and the bus left the village in the morning mist.

In the capital, Annie warmly welcomed the two into the house. This courtyard house was really nice to live in, and Annie was overjoyed. She was even more pleased with the things the two had brought back.

Although there were only three people, a large table of food was still prepared for lunch. The group ate, drank, and chatted. As for the father-in-law who was far away in the United States, he was left to spend the Spring Festival alone.

Jingle Bell……

Hearing the phone ring, Annie answered it and then called out, "Liangzi, it's for you."

"Hey! Old Lin, Happy New Year! What, you want to visit me in person? It's already afternoon, how about tomorrow?"

The second day of the Lunar New Year is the day for sons-in-law to visit their parents. It's not appropriate for me to go and wish Old Lin a Happy New Year on my own.

"Hey kid, hurry up and get over here, we have important business to attend to! The driver's already out to pick you up, get ready!"

So, on the second day of the Lunar New Year, Qin Liang went to Old Lin's house. However... to avoid being forced to drink by Old Lin, he brought Yang Duo'er along as well.

Then, Yang Duo'er was entertained by the women of Old Lin's family. In the study, Old Lin looked at Qin Liang and asked, "How big is the pit you dug for the Davids?"

"It's not very big, it's just..."

"Just what?"

"When air is taken in from the belly of the aircraft, a shock wave is generated at the lip of the air intake. This shock wave interacts with the shock wave generated by the canard, which leads to a significant increase in the aircraft's drag."

"Can that plane even fly at supersonic speeds?"

"That's possible, but it'll be a bit more strenuous to fly. It'll just sway slowly for about ten minutes. If the engine were more powerful, it could probably reach Mach 1.5."

Old Lin chuckled: "You rascal, you helped us back then with ulterior motives. Do our own J-9 fighters have this problem?"

"Of course not for the J-9. We use a mid-range coupled design, and the canards are positioned high, with a height difference between them and the main wing, to minimize the problems caused by the canard layout."

Professor Lin nodded: "The Davids have already come to protest, but fortunately Northwestern Polytechnical University is on winter break, and our key research and development departments are all guarded, so they can't find a target to protest against yet. Once you return to Northwestern Polytechnical University, they will come knocking on your door. Have you thought about how to deal with it then?"

"Of course." Qin Liang nodded. "Past cooperation is wiped clean. If they want us to help improve things, they'll have to spend money again. Moreover, they can't send anyone over; our own people have to make the improvements and then hand them over to them."

Spend more money!
"Won't this damage our relationship with the Davidians?"

“Those squid are not easy to deal with to begin with,” Qin Liang said. “Even if we help them, they won’t be grateful; they’ll just take it for granted. Besides, our clients are turning to the Arab world, which will inevitably put them on the opposite side. Since the relationship is going to sour sooner or later, why should we accommodate them?”

It's impossible to be friends with that group of people; it's just a normal exchange of interests!

Old Lin nodded: "Yes, whatever you do, our Air Force will fully support you. However... there have been some rumors from the United States recently."

"What's the news?"

"Almost all of our exported aircraft are equipped with the 8086 chip. It seems that the United States is going to introduce relevant laws to prevent the export of equipment with the 8086 chip in order to stop our military exports."

“We’re not using the 8086; we’re using our own chips. Just because they say it’s not allowed, does that mean we won’t export them? Their laws don’t apply to us!”

Qin Liang said confidently, "If they insist on going their own way, they are deliberately undermining the hard-won easing of tensions between us."

It seems that our aircraft exports have indeed pushed the Americans to their limits. The 1980s were a honeymoon period!

However, it's easy to guess that the people pushing this law were probably some politicians within their ranks who were hostile to the East. After all, in any era, there will always be a group of people who are dissatisfied with the East.

"Yes, we won't pay them any attention, but that could strain relations between us. Right now, our biggest task is to develop the economy, not to create international conflict. We need to try to ease tensions as much as possible..."

If we don't acknowledge it, and they pursue the matter, conflict will arise. Domestically, there's also a group of people who don't want to escalate the conflict...

Qin Liang had no right to meddle in the affairs of those important figures; he just needed to focus on his own work.

"Professor Lin, there's no need to worry about that. Northwestern Polytechnical University already has a chip R&D team. They are currently developing the Loongson-1 chip. Before we really have to compete with the United States, we will be able to switch to our own system. The performance of the 8086 is already outdated, and we didn't even consider it."

Old Lin nodded. Although Qin Liang was young, his proactive approach was reassuring. He had laid the groundwork for engines and avionics, ensuring that foreigners would not hold them hostage.

"Yes, we have a lot of confidence in Northwestern Polytechnical University, but... the Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls (COCOM) has also taken countermeasures; they won't be providing us with advanced chip manufacturing equipment..."

Qin Liang nodded: "It's better to rely on ourselves than on others. It's even better if they don't sell to us, then we can develop our own chip equipment. By the way... Tsinghua University has a team that specializes in researching lithography machines. Professor Lin, are you aware of that?"

"heard about it."

"Could you... take me to visit him?"

Having rejected Tsinghua University and opted for Northwestern Polytechnical University instead, Qin Liang is now afraid of being rejected if he goes alone...

(End of this chapter)