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

Chapter 28: The paper was published, and there was even a royalty!

"We're no worse than Tsinghua University!"

"That's right, we can get it working within three years!"

"Three years is too long!" Qin Liang shook his head: "Our aircraft department's project is in urgent need of it! Forget it, I think we should go to Tsinghua University. After all, Director Meng has mentioned that they had experience with the 8008 project a few years ago."

"Two years!"

"Two years, three years, is there a difference? Sigh, they said our computer science program was one of the earliest in the country, but I never expected..."

"One year!" The moment this voice rang out, everyone froze, turning to look at the speaker: Director Meng?
Director Meng looked at Qin Liang with a complicated expression.

"Qin Liang, you've been talked about like a legend in the aircraft engineering department, and I hardly believe it myself. Now, if you can get the 8086 chip out for us, our computer science major... no, our mathematics department, along with the electronics department, can work together to develop this computer in a year!"

Professor Liu, who was standing to the side, opened his eyes wide.

Old Meng, with your intelligence, can't you see that this kid is using reverse psychology?

However, given Lao Meng's arrogance, even if he knew Qin Liang was using reverse psychology, he would probably grit his teeth and accept it. After all, they were already dissatisfied with the old relic they had when they studied computer science. If they could get their hands on the 8086 chip, they would gain access to the world's most advanced computer technology!
For them, this project is very important, just like the improvement of the J-7 is to our aircraft system.

"Okay, then you all wait for my good news!"

"Alright! Get us this chip within a month. If it takes longer than a month... then you've been bragging!"

"No need for a month, half a month will be enough!"

"What? Great! You're really fearless, aren't you? Let's wait and see!"

After leaving the mathematics department, Professor Liu felt a chill run down his spine; he had almost been beaten up!
"Qin Liang, do you have any way to get foreign chips within half a month? This process takes at least six months!"

Reports are submitted, submitted layer by layer, and approved layer by layer. After approval, the documents are transferred to the banking department to wait for foreign exchange quotas. Once the quotas are available, the department responsible for international trade will make the purchases. This process goes through each level in a row, taking at least six months. In some cases, it can even take two or three years if someone holds the line.

Qin Liang smiled and said, "Professor Liu, do you remember our previous paper? Not only did it come with an award, but it should also have a royalty payment. When they contact us to send the payment, we'll ask them to convert it into chips..."

Professor Liu's eyes widened instantly.

Being able to publish a paper in China is already quite an achievement, let alone in an SCI journal? For many people, that's just a dream; it's simply impossible for it to become a reality. So... even Professor Liu forgot that there are royalties for publishing papers.

This is foreign exchange, precious foreign exchange! But...

"Qin Liang, are you sure that kind of chip can perform tens of thousands of calculations per second?"

"The 8086 is a 16-bit microprocessor with three clock speeds: 4.77 MHz, 8 MHz, and 10 MHz. The fastest of these can execute up to 2.5 million instructions per second, or 250 MIPS," Qin Liang explained briefly.

The huge server rack in the computer room couldn't even match the processing speed of a tiny chip! This is the result of technological development, this is the terrifying Moore's Law! Qin Liang in later years, although he had never personally handled a computer built with the 8086 chip, had worked on simulation systems before. However, due to time constraints and lack of energy, he simply used reverse psychology to get computer professionals to tinker with it.

Since they promised, they have to keep their word! This is also a rare opportunity for them to learn and grow!

Professor Liu nodded: "If we had a few more of these computers, we could write specialized computing programs and greatly speed things up. Unfortunately... it will still take another year..."

"Yes, there's no other way, we really have to wait. But... modifying the J-7 shouldn't be that quick either. Let's do the manual calculations first and get the preliminary data. Once we can produce the model and get the Air Force's approval, things will be much easier."

"Yes, that's right!" Professor Liu nodded again. "After we get back, we need to hurry..."

Just then, someone rode by on a bicycle. Seeing Professor Liu, they seemed to remember something: "Professor Liu, there's a letter for you at the mailroom, with some foreign characters on it..."

A letter from abroad? Professor Liu was instantly delighted: "Great, Mr. Zhang, thank you! Qin Liang, let's go to the mailroom!"

The envelope had about a dozen stamps, half of which were in English. In fact, the envelope showed obvious signs of having been opened and re-attached, clearly indicating that it had been inspected by relevant departments, but the method was rather crude.

"Sure enough, when it comes to peer review, AEROSPACE is still the fastest!" Qin Liang said as he opened the envelope.

Dear Professor Liu, Mr. Qin...

Qin Liang repeatedly told Professor Liu not to sign his name, but Professor Liu still included Qin Liang's name in the signature! He didn't mind the first salutation and continued reading.

Next comes the announcement that the paper has been published, and then...

"Wait, something's not right!" Qin Liang frowned. "They said they hope to come to Northwestern Polytechnical University and have a discussion with us!"

Professor Liu was also taken aback: "What? They're coming?"

An academic journal certainly wouldn't interview and hold discussions for every article it publishes. In fact, such discussions might not even happen once a year, let alone travel thousands of miles to the East. Keep in mind, the two sides haven't established diplomatic relations yet; they would have to transit through Hong Kong, and the procedures would be extremely complicated.

"Hmm, if I'm not mistaken... the person coming is probably one of our colleagues."

"Then we..." Professor Liu was anxious. This paper was written by Qin Liang, and he knew nothing about it!
“This is a rare opportunity,” Qin Liang said. “Professor Liu, do you have any acquaintances in the capital? Could you ask him to make an international call and tell them that when they come, they should bring fifty, no, one hundred 8086 processors, along with the matching chips. That’s our only request.”

What? Professor Liu was even more stunned. Foreigners are guests! We Easterners have always been warm and hospitable. How could someone specifically ask guests to bring us gifts? And a hundred yuan of that! How much money would that be! Not to mention the royalties for one paper, even ten or a hundred papers wouldn't be enough!

"Professor Liu, do you know anyone here? If not, I'll go find Professor Sha..."

"Yes, of course!" Professor Liu puffed out his chest. "I'll go to the post office right now!"

In those days, ordinary telephones could only make calls within the city. To make calls across cities, you had to go to the city post office; to make calls across provinces, you had to go to the provincial post office; and to make calls across countries... only the capital's General Post Office could do so!

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(End of this chapter)