A nation's industrial development begins with junior engineers.

Chapter 1083 Jack's Desire to Strive Forward

Jiang Xia flipped through the newspapers twice before reluctantly putting them back on the bulletin board. He looked up at the sky; the late August sun already carried a hint of autumn, not so scorching, but shining brightly on the walls of the gray brick building.

“Brother Wang,” he suddenly spoke up, “you know, after we beat up those two maids, what happened to the instructor and the others…?”

Old Wang was leaning against a pillar by the post office entrance, smoking. Hearing this, he thought for a moment and said, "I heard that they were rotated back to their posts later. When they left, the whole regiment treated the gyroplane squad to a drink, and they had a great time."

Jiang Xia nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

He knew some things didn't need too much detail. What would become of those blueprints after they left his hands, where and how they would be used—most of the time, he himself didn't know. But today, looking at these newspapers, at those vague yet subtly revealing reports, he suddenly had a strange feeling…

The lines he drew while staying up all night, the formulas he repeatedly adjusted with rudimentary equipment, and the things he and other meritorious members of the Republic painstakingly crafted are growing in some corner of this country in a form he has never seen before.

So Jiang Xia went to the red list on the side and searched for the names of those who had made meritorious contributions and received awards.

I didn't find many names, but I did see several honorary titles—all awarded to the military as a whole.

He'd seen titles like "Hard-Bone Sixth Company" before, but this one really caught his eye:

"High-altitude avalanche!"

Jiang Xia recalled the instructor's honest smile as he left, and remembered him saying, "We're going to guard the frontier. If we get into a fight, we'll need some tough weapons."

Now that team has its own name.

The tough stuff wasn't given for nothing.

Jiang Xia was engrossed in reading several old newspapers, his fingers occasionally tracing the paragraphs mentioning rocket launchers and thermobaric bombs, his eyes filled with pride and satisfaction.

For him, nothing is more joyful than having the technology he developed protect his country.

While Jiang Xia was basking in this belated joy and glory, across the ocean in Washington, Jack Adams, who had been thoroughly humiliated by his future wife and younger brother at the IEC conference, was experiencing a defeat that made him lose face.

Jack was dressed in a sharp black suit, with the IEC General Assembly Bald Eagle delegation badge still pinned to his cuff. However, the badge that once symbolized the glory of Bald Eagle technology now looked particularly glaring on him.

He had just finished his conversation with Dr. Witt when he rushed to the White House to report to the President on the details of the IEC conference, while also subtly mentioning his desire to act as an agent for China's "Big Yellow" computer.

The corridors of the White Palace are solemn and dignified, the marble floors are gleaming, and portraits of past presidents hang on the walls. An atmosphere of power and solemnity permeates the air, and every footstep echoes clearly.

Jack straightened his back, trying to maintain the last vestige of dignity of the Adams family. But when he walked to the reception area outside the leader's office and introduced himself and his purpose to the staff on duty, the contempt and perfunctory look in their eyes shattered his last bit of pride.

“Mr. Adams, please wait a moment. The President is holding an emergency meeting with members of the National Security Council to discuss some…very urgent Asian issues. The meeting may take a while.”

Jack nodded in understanding and turned to walk towards the rest area. This wasn't his first time at the White Palace, and he was familiar with the rhythm of the place.

But this time, the subtle sensations during the wait were different. He could feel the gazes directed at him by the staff around him.

It wasn't out of reverence for the "Adams" name, but rather a businesslike scrutiny, even implying a subtle, almost imperceptible, disregard for a "past-their-prime family."

Portraits of his great-grandfather and great-uncle hang in this building, but that glory belongs to the past.

Today, in Washington, a place where power and influence shift rapidly, the Adams family no longer wields the same absolute power they once did.

His appointment was postponed due to an "emergency meeting," which may indeed be of great importance, but it could also be a small indication of the decline in his family's influence and his own failure to enter the innermost circle.

The feeling of being slightly blocked by an invisible threshold did not anger him; instead, it was like a bucket of cold water, making his somewhat feverish mind even clearer.

Jack leaned back in the leather chair in the lounge, lost in thought:

The family's glory has faded; personal value needs to be reaffirmed. But the vibrant and ambitious technological concepts witnessed during the IEC trip, the machine named "Big Yellow" that displayed astonishing potential, and the gleam in the eyes of the Chinese people behind it…

All of this seems to point to a new path, different from the arduous climb through Washington's established power network.

"Perhaps, Witt is right?"

In the midst of an impending technological revolution, is finding a new foothold for oneself, and perhaps for one's family, the right path?

The seed that Dr. Witt planted in Jack's heart quietly sprouted in the somewhat deserted waiting in the white palace corridor.

"But... the current policy the President is implementing towards China is containment and isolation."

Jack closed his eyes, the current stalemate between the two countries clearly appearing in his mind:

Yes, the bald eagle now refuses to recognize the new China politically, always regarding it as a "heretic," and is unwilling to make any diplomatic compromises.

Not only did they impose a comprehensive economic embargo, cutting off all trade and technology, but they also attempted to economically strangle this nascent nation.

Militarily, it has built a crescent-shaped encirclement in Asia, layer upon layer of blockade, and is eyeing the region covetously.

In diplomacy, it also joined forces with a host of allies to obstruct China's restoration of its legitimate seat in the UN General Assembly, completely excluding it from the mainstream international stage.

“Doing business with China under these circumstances, especially the kind of business that could be groundbreaking, is incredibly difficult!” Jack murmured, his voice filled with frustration. “Once we’re discovered, forget about making Franklin money by acting as an agent for the ‘Big Yellow’ computer; the entire Adams family will probably be permanently branded as ‘traitors’ and never be able to recover.”

He pondered repeatedly, trying to find a way out of the impasse, but no matter how he thought about it, it seemed like he was trapped in a vicious cycle:

Could it be that, as Witt suggested, only by having another Grand Leader emerge in the family can this deadlock be broken by his own hands?

But he knew better than anyone that in the bald eagle's presidential election, he could do without anything but Franklin!

But where did Franklin come from? If all goes well, the big yellow computer that the Chinese distributors might just be the source.

To become a distributor of the Chinese-made Huangda computer, it is necessary to first break through the blockade.

Did the chicken or the egg come first?

Jack felt like his head was starting to smoke.