Talent is most important

  He's struck gold! Lin Zhenhua exclaimed to himself in his heart. What's a NE555 chip worth? This kind of chip is sold for just over $1 on the US market, but with just this one chip, he was able to buy off a graduate from the 1962 class of Beihang University's Electronic Engineering department to work for him, and what's more, the guy claimed that no matter how complex the circuit was, he could design it. Lin Zhenhua really didn't know whether to feel happy or sad about this.

  He didn't doubt Wei Jingwen's level at all. University students in the 60s, every one of them was a talent, let alone Beihang, which is a cradle for talents everywhere. Just by looking at Wei Jingwen's focused expression when researching chips earlier, you can tell that he has never given up his profession over the years. A talent like this being buried in school, this is what's called wasting one's life.

  "Teacher Wei, don't you want to ask about the pay?" Lin Zhenhua asked.

  "What else do you want as payment?" Wei Jingwen retorted, "Didn't you promise to give me this 555 chip? This payment is more precious than any other! I only need this one chip and nothing else."

  "You're saying you just want the chip?"

  "That's right, just the chip, nothing else is taken."

  "Just one piece?"

  "Really... wait, you're saying you have more? Of course, you guys are developing products, so there must be more. Are you telling me I can get two?" Wei Jingwen asked in a disbelieving tone. He had originally thought that Lin Zhenhua giving him one chip was already very generous, but from what Lin Zhenhua said, it seemed like getting two was also possible. If he could get two 555 chips, how wonderful would that be? One for experimentation and one to display on his bookshelf...

  Lin Zhenhua burst out laughing and then asked: "Teacher Wei, are you saying that you only want the NE555 and don't want anything else?"

  "Yes, nothing else!"

  "Don't want Z80 either?"

  "You have a Z80!" Wei Jingwen grabbed Lin Zhenhua's hand, this bookish and weak scholar was actually able to grab Lin Zhenhua's hand, which had done manual labor before, with a painful force. "Comrade Lin, you wouldn't be cheating me, did your factory really get the Z80 chip?"

  "Yes." Lin Zhenhua nodded.

  "Can you take me to see it? I just need to take a look." Wei Jingwen said, and in order to strengthen Lin Zhenhua's confidence, he added another sentence: "You can rest assured, the control circuit you mentioned, I've got it covered. Don't say anything else, when it comes to circuits, no one in Fenghua County is more skilled than me."

  Then, Wei Jingwen, who had always regarded the office as his home, didn't wait for the students to finish school and hastily rode his bicycle with Lin Zhenhua to Hanhua Mechanical Factory. The night road of more than two kilometers, Wei Jingwen rode even faster than Lin Zhenhua, all the way, he excitedly asked Lin Zhenhua questions, like a child who was about to go to Disneyland with his parents. Lin Zhenhua also took the opportunity to tell Wei Jingwen about the affairs of his labor service company, but he firmly requested that Wei Jingwen not call him Manager Lin, and just call him Little Lin.

  Lin Zhenhua took Wei Jingwen to his home, had him sit down in his sister's room, then went into his own room and rummaged around for a bit. He took out two paper boxes containing integrated circuits that he had stored away, brought them over, and spread them out in front of Wei Jingwen, saying: "Teacher Wei, please take a look. These are some chips that a friend of mine brought back from abroad."

  Wei Jingwen nervously opened the paper box, afraid of accidentally damaging the contents. As soon as he opened it, a golden light flashed in his eyes - this was two whole boxes of integrated circuit chips! Wei Jingwen had only ever dreamed of but never seen Z80 chips before, and here there were ten pieces.

  "Are these all from your factory?" Wei Jingwen asked.

  "To be exact, it belongs to me personally."

  "How is this possible! Now the country's foreign exchange is so scarce, you can't possibly have foreign exchange to buy these chips. This Z80 chip, if I remember correctly, costs $25 per piece, and you have... 10 pieces here, a total of $250. How could a private individual like you possess such wealth!" Wei Jingwen asked excitedly, his tone not one of suspicion towards Lin Zhenhua's character or morals, but rather extreme astonishment, mixed with a hint of envy.

  Lin Zhenhua said, "Teacher Wei, it's not convenient for me to tell you how I got these chips. Let's just say that I have overseas connections and got them through my relatives abroad. Is this explanation reasonable?"

  "It's really rare, really rare." Wei Jingwen exclaimed repeatedly, "If others have overseas connections, the first thing they think of is a TV, tape recorder, and even ask their overseas relatives to help buy a refrigerator. But you can actually think of buying a batch of integrated circuit chips, it's really hard to come by. Now I understand why Lin Fanghua has made such great progress, because she has an extremely progressive brother."

  Lin Zhenhua hastily stopped him: "Teacher Wei, let's not be so exaggerated. Actually, I asked my friend to help me buy these chips and bring them in for re-production. You see, the automatic door control system we discussed at first, I hope to achieve it with a single NE555 chip. Do you think it's feasible? If not, using Z80 is also okay."

  "Using a Z80 to control a gate?" Wei Jingwen's face was filled with displeasure, and if it weren't for the sake of these chips, he would have probably lectured Lin Zhenhua sternly: "Comrade Lin, this is simply too wasteful! The Chairman has said before that waste is the greatest crime! Using precious integrated circuit chips like this is a crime in itself!"

  "We are also producing products for the country, how can it be considered a waste?" Lin Zhenhua said.

  "These functions can't be achieved with integrated circuits, ordinary components can fully achieve them. Let me design it, with components not exceeding 10 yuan, I can definitely achieve all the functions you mentioned." Wei Jingwen said.

  Lin Zhenhua shook his head: "Teacher Wei, I'm telling you, this circuit of mine must use integrated circuits. Using the Z80 might be a bit overkill, but the NE555 is definitely necessary. As for how to use it, that's up to you to decide."

  "And why is that?"

  "It's because this way can make it look high-end and sell for a good price." Lin Zhenhua said with a straight face, "If I use simulated circuits, then any other factory can also do it, they can lower the price to rock bottom, what profit can we still make?"

  "Money, money, money! That's all you care about!" Wei Jingwen was really angry. "Xiao Lin, do you know how much this integrated circuit can promote science and technology if used for experiments? But you, just to show off your high-end equipment, actually use it when there's no need, don't you think that technological progress is more important than making money?"

  Lin Zhenhua didn't find Wei Jingwen's words strange at all. In fact, over the next 30 years, the debate about whether to develop the economy or technology first has never stopped. Lin Zhenhua had also seen countless views on this aspect. After waiting for Wei Jingwen to finish his outburst, he slowly said: "Teacher Wei, I understand your feelings, but have you thought that if you don't have money, what can you use to develop technology? Don't you need money to do experiments? The simplest reason is that with two dollars, you can only buy a damaged 555 chip, but if you had the money, you could buy 100 perfect chips. How much more would that contribute to technology?"

  "But... you know, our country is short of foreign exchange, and this imported chip is something that can't be bought even with money." Wei Jingwen was somewhat moved by Lin Zhenhua's words, but he still found his own reasons.

  Lin Zhenhua said: "Teacher Wei, these two boxes of chip cores, I'll give them all to you. You can use them for whatever experiment you want. In addition, we will obtain more chips through other channels, so don't worry about it. I'm a production person, I know that only by making money can we sustain the continuous development of scientific research. If everyone goes into scientific research and no one is responsible for making money, then scientific research cannot develop either. Tell me frankly, can you accept such conditions? If you don't agree, then I'll have to ask someone else for help."

  This is simply a naked threat, on the one hand there are two boxes of chips, equivalent to a basket of red and tender carrots, on the other hand there is a big iron rod, if you don't do it, sorry, I'll take back these chips. Lin Zhenhua firmly believes that no one can resist this formation.

  "Al...!" Wei Jingwen stamped his foot, "Sigh, Xiao Lin, you've said it to this extent, do I still have a chance to refuse? Considering these two boxes of integrated circuits, I'll just go along with your foolishness."

  I'm going to pass out... Lin Zhenhua really felt like he was about to collapse, sending out two boxes of integrated circuits worth $700-$800 and getting such an evaluation in return. No choice, who let him be a talent? Talents are just like that when they speak, Lin Zhenhua comforted himself in his heart.

  "Teacher Wei, these two boxes of integrated circuits aren't being given to you for free. I hope to hire you as the Chief Electronics Engineer for our company, Hanhua Industrial Co., Ltd. From now on, please help us solve any problems related to electronics technology."

  "It goes without saying." Wei Jingwen said, "These two boxes of integrated circuits, if bought domestically, would cost several thousand yuan and still can't be found. I just took them for free, how is that possible? My monthly salary is 45 yuan, to earn 3000 yuan, it would take 66 months, which is five and a half years. Xiao Lin, from now on, all my spare time in the next five and a half years belongs to you, except for completing teaching tasks."

  Spent 3,000 yuan and hired for five and a half years, what a bargain! Lin Zhenhua thought to himself. However, he was not such an unscrupulous person after all, it's already hard enough to find a talented person, so why would he care about spending a bit more money?

  "Professor Wei, what I mean is that you don't have to sell all your spare time to me. You can still focus on your research and teaching. We just need your help in solving some electronic technology problems. In fact, our business focus is on mechanics, and the demand for electronics is not much at present. I'm giving you these components in the hope that you can develop new technologies. If your technology can be put into practical use, we hope to buy the right to use it, and then we'll continue to make money and provide you with experimental conditions. This is called industry-university-research integration, isn't it great?" Lin Zhenhua drew a big pie chart in front of Wei Jingwen.

  Wei Jingwen began to understand Lin Zhenhua's meaning, and had to say that the scene described by Lin Zhenhua was indeed very tempting. The idea of integrating production, learning, and research, although Wei Jingwen had not summarized it himself, was also something he had thought about in his mind. If conditions allowed, he too hoped to use his knowledge to earn some money, and then use that money to improve his own research conditions. However, due to the policies at the time, as well as constraints of his own personality, without Lin Zhenhua's push, he would absolutely not have taken this step.

  "Kobayashi, I found that you are indeed a very insightful person." Wei Jingwen praised, "The concept of industry-academia-research integration you mentioned is very inspiring. In fact, China is not without technology either, the key is that technology and production are disconnected, those who engage in technology cannot contact production, while those who engage in production do not understand technology, and finally all the money is earned by foreigners."

  "So it's settled then? You've agreed to be our Chief Engineer of Electronic Technology?"

  "Haha, I've already taken my salary in advance, can I still back out?"

  Lin Zhenhua said: "Teacher Wei, these two boxes of circuitry are not your salary, this is just a gift for your appointment. In the future, we will pay you 20 yuan labor fee every month..."

  "This I absolutely cannot have!" Wei Jingwen waved his hands repeatedly and said, "If I were to take it, that would be against the law."

  At that time, although there was no explicit provision, it was indeed a taboo for public officials to make money through part-time jobs. If they were accused of some crime, they would be in trouble. In 1981, an engineer at a state-owned enterprise in Wuhan designed two sets of drawings for a township enterprise and earned 600 yuan, but was reported by someone and sentenced to 300 days in prison the following year on charges of "using national technology for personal gain". Although this case has not happened yet, it can be imagined what the environment was like at that time, and Wei Jingwen's concerns are also very normal.

  However, such things are not without loopholes to exploit. In fact, the so-called "Sunday engineers" and other similar phenomena were everywhere, belonging to a kind of "public secret" that was openly ignored by both the people and the authorities. As long as you didn't earn too much money and didn't attract envy from others, generally nothing would happen. The engineer who was sentenced to prison was later acquitted due to personal intervention by central leaders. And as for the workers from Hanhua Machinery Factory going to township enterprises to "hunt wild chickens", no one would even bother about it.

  Lin Zhenhua understood Wei Jingwen's concerns and was also afraid that his own momentary mistake would harm this talented individual. After some thought, he said, "Teacher Wei, you don't have to pay us back, but when doing experiments, you must need some materials, right? How about this: our company can allocate 50 yuan for your experimental expenses every month. You can use it to buy experimental equipment, electronic components, or even books and materials. As long as you can provide the receipts, I can sign off on the reimbursement. What do you think?"

  "The experimental expenses can't be that high." Wei Jingwen said honestly.

  Lin Zhenhua said: "Teacher Wei, don't be so pedantic. This money is for you to use as you like, I won't ask any questions, just show me the receipt and I'll reimburse it. Don't you understand? Let's put it this way, if you go back home to visit your family, just write a travel expense report, including train tickets for your wife and kids, and I'll cover it all."

  This is already obvious everywhere, and in fact, it was also an open secret back then. For example, when cadres went on a business trip, as long as they could produce a ticket, they could claim reimbursement. As a result, many cadres who went on business trips would specially pick up discarded ticket stubs at bus stations, each worth only three or five cents, accumulate a few dollars, and then take them back to the unit for reimbursement. Everyone knew about such things, but no one would pursue them.

  Wei Jingwen's face flushed with embarrassment when Lin Zhenhua spoke so bluntly. He was also a ordinary man who had to make a living and support his family. He thought that if he could get a few hundred yuan from the experimental funds every month, his status at home would be greatly improved, and when he soldered circuits in the bedroom, his wife would no longer complain about the pungent smell of burning rosin.

  At this thought, Wei Jingwen muttered: "This...this goes against my principles as a human being."

  When Lin Zhenhua heard this sentence, he chuckled and knew that Wei Jingwen had already been moved.

  "Teacher Wei, if you feel uneasy about it, then help us develop a few new products so that we can earn back these investments. By then, it won't be you owing us, but rather us owing you." Lin Zhenhua said with a smile.

  "No problem, Xiaolin, just wait and see." Wei Jingwen said confidently.