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

Chapter 39 My gesture is OK, not three, and definitely not thirty!

Secretary Shen's face was as white as wax paper. What if they arrested these two foreigners next? Would she be arrested along with them?

Just then, Old Lin smiled and said, "The past is the past. We must look forward. In recent years, our relationship with the West has become better and better, and there has been more and more exchange between the two sides. Your journey from thousands of miles away to the East to exchange ideas fully demonstrates your friendship."

what does this mean?
Secretary Shen couldn't understand it. Was Old Master Lin making a big show of things but then letting them go easily?

"Today, you have seen the advanced technology that Dongfang has showcased, which is exactly what you urgently need. So, what follows is a closer collaboration. You provide the computers, and we will be responsible for research and development. Isn't this a perfectly normal collaboration? Since Qin Liang made this request on behalf of his teacher, why not just fulfill it?"

Qin Liang continued eating. The discussions between the important figures had nothing to do with him. Moreover, it was obvious that Old Master Lin already understood what he wanted, and the rest was up to him!
“Mr. Lin, the CDC7600 computer is no ordinary computer. Its processing speed is 40% of the CRE-1, and its performance ranks among the top five in the world. This kind of computer is also prohibited by COCOM. We cannot send it over and hand it over to you for your use…”

In the 1970s, the most dazzling computer was the Cray-1, which became a global sensation with its computing power of 100 million operations per second. However, computers from other companies were not much different!
TI's ASC, Goodyear's STARAN, and PEPE from Systems Development Corporation were all leaders of this era—a time of fierce competition among supercomputers! The CDC7600 was another shining example: its 40 million operations per second was truly astounding!
This kind of computer is impossible for the East to obtain!
"It's all to calculate the shape of the stealth aircraft for you. As you've seen, we in the East are very advanced in basic research. We just lack computing power, and you happen to need the calculation results. Let's follow Qin Liang's suggestion. This is a win-win situation. To hell with that damn COCOM!"

The translator at the dinner table glanced at Old Lin with some difficulty, only to be glared at by Old Lin: "Translate literally!"

Old Lin glanced at Qin Liang, who was eating, and thought, "Once Qin Liang has finished eating, I won't need you to translate anymore!"
The translator can only translate this passage verbatim.

“Mr. Lin, we definitely cannot give you the CDC7600. However, to show our sincerity, we can give you the System/370 first.” Smith shook his head.

Qin Liang's eyes lit up.

In reality, Qin Liang knew perfectly well that he had no access to Cray-1 or CDC7600. Even if he went to the United States, he would definitely write the program himself and hand it over to the Americans to run. They have always been very wary of Chinese people.

They demanded exorbitant prices before they could negotiate a lower price, and with Old Lin's veiled threats, these guys weren't going anywhere without some kind of benefit!
Finally, they compromised and promised to provide IBM with System/370!

In later years, many computer companies went bankrupt and went out of business, but IBM remained successful. Although it sold its personal computer business, its main business was servers!
Even today, IBM computers are still very powerful. In the 1960s, IBM's System/360 ushered in a new era: it packaged transistors onto circuit cards to create solid-state logic technology modules. With the System/370, it made extensive use of integrated circuits, not only being compatible with the previous 360 computer, but also adding virtual memory and multi-memory technology.

As for the most important metric for measuring a computer, the System/370's computing speed reached the level of millions of operations per second!
Old Lin didn't understand, so he looked at Qin Liang again.

Qin Liang made a circle with his thumb and forefinger, extending the remaining three fingers to form the OK sign commonly seen in later generations. However… he seemed to have forgotten that people in this era mainly learned Russian! Most of them didn't understand English, so how would they know the meaning of this gesture?
Old Lin understood. He looked at the other side and said, "Hmph, this kind of outdated computer simply can't meet our needs. However, you have your difficulties, so we'll just accept it for now. But..."

Smith and Stephen stared intently at Old Lin's expression. Although translation would take time, they could tell from Old Lin's expression that he had agreed. Wait, what did it mean when he held up three fingers?
"However, you'll have to give us thirty... ten units!" Cough cough... Qin Liang almost inhaled the piece of meat he had just eaten into his trachea!

Mr. Lin, that was an OK sign, not a request for three units, much less thirty!

IBM's mainframes are quite rare. Having one would greatly accelerate our R&D process. Thirty of them... we'd be laughing in our sleep!
Smith and Stephen were also stunned.

What do you mean?
In terms of processing speed, these thirty machines combined seem to be about the same speed as a CDC7600. However, computers are not simply a matter of addition; thirty mainframes cannot make a single supercomputer. Besides, do you know how much one of these machines costs? Several million US dollars!

In the US, having even one System/370 is considered a sign of high-level hardware. You don't even have one in the entire Eastern country, and now you want thirty more!

“No, that’s absolutely impossible!” Smith and Stephen said almost simultaneously, their voices filled with determination.

"Is that so? It seems we're destined not to be friends." Old Lin stood up. "Enjoy your meal slowly. From now on... we might only be able to eat cornbread and pickled vegetables every day!"

What do you mean?
"No, Mr. Lin, please wait a moment!" Secretary Shen was extremely anxious. If these two were arrested, he himself would not have a good end either!
"Gentlemen, money is just an external thing. Once you're gone, you have nothing! Which is more important, thirty computers or your lives?"

Qin Liang chuckled inwardly. If things were investigated later, Old Lin would have said nothing, and the villain would have been Secretary Shen, who was the one intimidating the friends from the West!
Smith and Stephen looked complicated. They wanted to say, "Our lives aren't worth thirty computers. You overestimate us!"
"A maximum of three units, that's our limit," Stephen said.

Relying on magazines is definitely not enough, but they have other channels. In particular, the designs shown by Asians, if refined to the point of practicality, are indeed worth tens of millions!
“However, we request to be involved in the design process!” Smith added.

Machines can be sent to the East, but they must be involved in order to learn design experience.

“Impossible. Even the CDC7600 can’t do it, let alone the S/370.” Qin Liang then looked up and said, “Because the machine’s performance is too poor, it may take more than five years to get a final result. Of course, we will still give you a progress report every month.”

"You don't know how to use it, you don't know how to program, and you don't know how to maintain the machine..."

"Programming? It's very simple, there's nothing you can't do. As for machine maintenance, as long as you don't send in substandard machines, there won't be any malfunctions. We trust IBM's technology!"

(End of this chapter)