Chapter 79

"Director Bai, this is — a complete upgrade from a bird gun to a cannon!"

Hu Wenhai had been busy with employee training and factory renovations over the past two days and hadn't paid much attention to the optoelectronic laboratory. When he stepped into the lab, which was located upstairs in the technical department building, he was startled by the scene before him.

The once slightly spacious laboratory had completely transformed. The thirty-two specially packaged boxes he had air-freighted from the United States were nowhere to be seen. Instead, the equipment they contained was now neatly arranged in the lab.

The addition of thirty-two cubic meters of equipment made the lab look more professional. However, what surprised Hu Wenhai the most was the people now working in the lab. When he assigned tasks a few days ago, only Bai Shi and two research dogs were in the lab. Now, the spacious lab was crowded with at least a dozen people in white coats.

"Hehe, President Hu is here." Bai Shi looked up, his unkempt appearance indicating he hadn't tidied up for a couple of days.

"Did you move the entire Optoelectronic Institute here?" Hu Wenhai was surprised but smiled in satisfaction. "Great job, Director Bai. I think it won't be long before you become the director of the institute!"

"Ah, President Hu, you misunderstood." Bai Shi blushed and said, "These people aren't from our company; they're borrowed from the Optoelectronic Institute!"

"Ah?" Hu Wenhai was taken aback and asked, "How can you borrow people?"

"These comrades are here to help. After completing this project, they will return to the Optoelectronic Institute."

As Hu Wenhai and Bai Shi were talking, a middle-aged man in his forties with black-rimmed glasses walked over. He sized up Hu Wenhai and said, "You must be President Hu. A young hero! I'm Yin Xiangqiong from the Optoelectronic Institute, specializing in laser atmospheric communication."

"Director Yin, hello." Hu Wenhai extended his hand and greeted him with a smile. "My mother mentioned you. You're one of the top experts at the Optoelectronic Institute!"

"Thank you." Yin Xiangqiong nodded lightly, surprisingly straightforward. "I heard about the project Bai Shi is working on, so I brought my team to help. I have a question: why does the laser from your yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) crystal have such excellent atmospheric transmission properties? This is quite unusual. I've conducted YAG experiments, but the efficiency of the laser from my crystal is far from what you've achieved."

Without hesitation, Hu Wenhai replied, "The reason is simple. This isn't just YAG; it's neodymium-doped YAG (Nd:YAG)! The neodymium enhances the ultra-short wave, improving the laser's directionality in the atmosphere!"

"Neodymium?" Yin Xiangqiong murmured. "So, it's using the properties of neodymium glass lasers. But I don't know the specific composition data..."

Hu Wenhai smiled but didn't speak. This crystal was used by Americans for laser guidance indicators, and the material details were kept secret. Similarly, if China had materials with military applications, they wouldn't be publicly disclosed. In fact, China's laser technology was not far behind the Americans. However, domestic laser research mainly focused on high-energy lasers, and atmospheric laser communication research was less emphasized due to the need for various Q-switching techniques and microelectronics.

After a moment, Yin Xiangqiong asked curiously, "President Hu, how did you incorporate neodymium into the YAG crystal? What is the neodymium doping ratio? What is the mechanism of neodymium's effect?"

Hu Wenhai shrugged and said helplessly, "Director Yin, I can't answer that. I got this crystal through connections in the United States, and the Americans didn't provide me with the specific data."

"Oh, I see." Yin Xiangqiong nodded, clearly not surprised.

"However, Director Yin, don't worry. We can experiment to find the right ratio and process. We know the specific elements, so we shouldn't have trouble figuring out the data."

"Ah, that's not so easy." Yin Xiangqiong shook his head and sighed. "YAG crystals are expensive. To determine the neodymium ratio, we need to conduct dozens of experiments, which will cost at least 20,000 to 30,000 yuan. Where can we find that kind of money?"

Hu Wenhai laughed and winked. "If Director Yin is willing to work for Xinke, I can allocate 50,000 yuan for this project. How about it?"

"Um..."

Yin Xiangqiong looked troubled. He wasn't worried about Hu Wenhai's ability to provide the money. Hu Wenhai's finances were managed by Xiao Yeqin, and no one knew exactly how much he had. From Xiao Yeqin's generous spending, 50,000 yuan was a mere drop in the bucket.

"I'll think about it..." Yin Xiangqiong's expression was genuinely conflicted.

Hu Wenhai didn't expect to win him over immediately. He turned to Bai Shi and asked, "Director Bai, have you completed the task I assigned you a few days ago?"

"Done!" Bai Shi, looking energized, proudly presented a device that resembled a projector.

"Thanks to Director Yin's help, the debugging and integration went smoothly. It can now achieve basic communication functions!"

"What about the receiver?" Hu Wenhai took the indicator from Bai Shi and examined it thoroughly. There wasn't much to see; the indicator was already fully enclosed in a military-green metal casing.

Despite this, Hu Wenhai was delighted. Laser-guided weapons were the most accessible form of precision-guided weapons. With this, the entire nature of warfare would change!

"The receiver is also done. We disassembled a TI industrial CCD measurement unit and added an infrared filter in front of it. The positioning effect is excellent!"

It was clear that Bai Shi was very satisfied with the result. How could he not be? The pattern recognition algorithm provided by Hu Wenhai was highly accurate in locating laser scattering points, which alone could generate at least ten research papers.

This wasn't surprising. The four-quadrant algorithm Hu Wenhai provided was used in photolithography machines for alignment, with a precision at least an order of magnitude higher than what was required for laser weapons.

In simple terms, pattern recognition algorithms teach computers the rules humans have summarized. In laser guidance, this means teaching the guidance head to identify the center of the laser reflection and align its aiming baseline with the reflection point.

Hu Wenhai was also pleased with how quickly Bai Shi had completed the task. He checked his watch and said, "Director Bai, please take this equipment. We're going out."

"Okay." Bai Shi nodded and packed the indicator and receiver. He then called Deng Renliang and Bai Rong, and they followed Hu Wenhai out.

Yin Xiangqiong watched Hu Wenhai leave, reaching out as if he wanted to say something but ultimately remained silent. After all, he was an outsider, and it wasn't his place to comment.

At the same runway where the 501 Factory's simulation machine was tested, Hu Shiwu and a group of old men were sitting on small stools, smoking and chatting.

The cold winter wind of Northeast China blew, but the old men, engrossed in their conversation, didn't seem to feel the cold. They seemed to enjoy it.

"Wow, the factory has really changed!" Hao Mingshan looked at the bustling Second Workshop and exclaimed, "Old Hu, your grandson is truly capable. I've never seen a workshop with such good conditions in my life!"

"Hehe, that's right." Hu Shiwu was extremely proud and said with a smile, "The Second Workshop is nothing. Have you heard about the Grumman factory in the United States that my son, Hu Jiefang, described? That's what I call high-end and sophisticated! Just wait a couple of years, and the 501 Factory will be just like the American factory!"

"Old Hu, you're just boasting. How can we compare to an American factory? I heard that all the workers there are college graduates. Can we match that?"

"Why not? Our workers may not have high education levels, but in a few years, they won't be any worse than the Americans! My son is now focusing on worker training. We're not dumber than the Americans, so why can't we train our workers to be as good as college graduates?"

"I think it's not necessarily better to have college graduates on the production line. They may have a lot of knowledge, but they're not as practical as those from technical schools."

"Wait, when did your son go to the United States? I haven't heard about it. What's the United States like? Tell us more!"

...

When Hu Wenhai, Bai Shi, Deng Renliang, and Bai Rong approached, they saw Hu Shiwu being the center of attention, recounting the American experiences he had learned from Hu Jiefang.

Originally, Hu Wenhai had taken Hu Jiefang to see the best of New York, and Hu Jiefang had described it with countless beautiful words. Now, after Hu Shiwu's retelling, the United States seemed like a paradise to the old men.

"Grandpas, if you think the United States is great, I can take you on a tour!" Hu Wenhai thought to himself that it might be a good time to visit Detroit, which was on the verge of bankruptcy. With these old men, scavenging for bargains could be a profitable venture.

"Oh, Wenhai is here!" Hu Shiwu stood up proudly and pointed to the equipment. "We've prepared everything you asked for. It will definitely work at 10,000 meters!"

...