Chapter 99, Qi Silk and Lu Silk
The three-day "China-Central Asia Petrochemical Forum" held in Xijing City has come to an end. The parties involved in the forum reached a lot of consensus. Generally speaking, it was a very successful conference.
On the afternoon of the day when the "China-Central Asia Petrochemical Forum" came to a close, relevant personnel from relevant universities and research institutes in Xijing City received a notice: the fourth "JHSX" special training class had started.
One after another, low-key cars took the students participating in this special training class to a secret research institute in the Qinling Mountains.
At night, in the depths of the quiet Qinling Mountains, looking up at the starry sky, you really have a feeling of "picking stars with your hands", and the stars above your head seem very close to the people in the mountains.
But without a mobile phone and the internet, even though the night scenery is beautiful, I’ve seen enough and feel bored.
Although the fourth "JHSX" special training class will not start until tomorrow, the relevant departments have gathered the relevant students tonight.
Because the previous three special training classes almost had serious leaks, this fourth special training class is strictly closed.
At night, a group of professors from various universities and researchers from various research institutes in Xijing City gathered by the river to smoke and chat.
When a group of men get together, the topic is either women or current affairs.
Although everyone is in the academic circle and knows each other, they are not very familiar with each other. Talking about women together is very boundless, so they talk about current affairs together:
"That petrochemical forum just ended. I heard that we gave up a lot of things! We were at a great disadvantage!"
A bald middle-aged professor said: "You can't trust the news. The official media never mentions how much benefit they have gained in their reports. Instead, if they are slightly wronged, they will shout about it as if they are afraid that others don't know. If they give up something, they will shout about how much they have suffered."
Another young and middle-aged researcher nodded and said with a strong "Shaanxi noble accent": "I agree. I think this series of international cooperation in the petrochemical industry must be a big layout!"
"Now our Shaanxi Refining and Chemical Industry is transforming momentum, and a large amount of capital and advanced European and American technology are pouring in."
“I heard that after the new integrated refining is completed, the petrochemical plant will not only improve production and quality, but also reduce emissions and pollution by 80%!”
"In fact, the technologies in the petrochemical industry are already very mature. All you need is money!" added a young professor who was also talking.
"Alas." A professor who was worried about the future sighed and said, "I don't know whether it is good or bad. A lot of pollution remains in the country, but the goods are enjoyed by foreigners."
"Besides, we are just working for the manufacturing industry, while they control the higher-level service industry. In the end, we are just working for others, while they take the biggest piece of the 'cake'."
In the era of 2015, the international economic model recognized by the whole world is that the service industry is the highest level. If a country has a prosperous service industry, then it is a powerful country.
The manufacturing industry is heavily labeled as "developing". All countries want to relocate their manufacturing industries so that they can comfortably become bosses who only use their brains but not their hands.
It was not until two years later that a person who "knows everything" came to power and shouted "manufacturing returns to the United States" that everyone suddenly realized the truth.
A young professor expressed his opinion: "I think this is a good thing. After all, manufacturing is the foundation. Without manufacturing, who will the service industry serve?"
"The key is that the manufacturing industry provides a lot of jobs, while the service industry only provides a small number of elite jobs."
"It's 2015 now, and there are only so many college students. If things continue to develop like this, there will definitely be even more college students in another ten or eight years. Without the manufacturing industry, where will they find jobs?" Another middle-aged professor said, "That's what you say, but the entire petrochemical industry chain that runs through the world is settled in US dollars, which completely strengthens the hegemony of the US dollar. We are completely working for the United States! If they say they will harvest us, they can harvest us!"
A young military researcher who came to Xifei said with a strong domineering look in his eyes: "Behind hegemony is the military. For this, it depends on people like us!"
Another young professor changed the subject: "But the recent series of economic developments have cooled down the housing prices. I plan to move to Qujiang to buy a bigger house."
A middle-aged professor nodded and said, “Yes, now most of the private funds have been invested in the national light industrial upgrading brought about by Pinduoduo;”
"In addition, huge amounts of foreign capital have poured into the petrochemical industry to upgrade, so there is not enough money left to invest in real estate!"
An older professor looked at the starry sky, listened to everyone's opinions, and said, "I think this is a good thing. Don't think that the United States is so powerful and has harmonious international relations now."
"But I have a feeling that one day there will be an arrow, like the one Zhu Dan shot at the Emperor of Zhou during the Battle of Juge, that will be shot towards the beautiful country."
"The power of this arrow did not lie in the safety of the Zhou emperor, but in the meaning behind this arrow: the prestige of the Zhou emperor was destroyed, which opened up the first major chaos in Chinese history - the Spring and Autumn Period."
"Have you heard of Qi Wan and Lu Gao?"
After the old professor asked a question, he continued: "In order to defeat the State of Lu, Guan Zhong offered advice to Duke Huan of Qi, asking the King of Qi to take the lead in wearing clothes made of silk produced in Lu, encouraging the people of Qi to follow suit, and at the same time asking Qi merchants to import a large amount of Lu silk."
"When the people of Lu saw that it was profitable, they gave up growing grain and turned to producing silk."
"The purpose is to tempt the state of Lu to abandon agriculture."
"The people of Lu were fooled. Guan Zhong saw that the time was right and asked the King of Qi to forbid the people of Qi from wearing Lu silk. As a result, Lu's silk could not be sold, and grain production could not keep up. As a result, there was starvation in Lu. Three years later, Lu was forced to surrender to Qi."
"When our manufacturing industry has an absolute advantage, they don't have to do anything but exploit the fruits of our labor."
"But what if one day the relationship deteriorates? Or what if one day we no longer want them to exploit us?"
"So I think everyone is gambling now. The United States is betting that they can still harvest as usual, and we are betting that they can't harvest."
The old professor sighed and said, "The people above are always wise, just like this special training class. Who would have thought that there would be such a monstrous young math genius in the country!"
"If the mathematics of this evil genius really leads us in a new direction, we can completely control the new technological advantages and let Da Piaoliang follow us instead of us following them!"
When it comes to attending classes, even a group of professors and researchers who are teachers have some resistance. A middle-aged professor smiled and said, "Hahaha, yes, I'm already 45 and I still have to attend classes. I read a few pages of his paper and put it down. I can't understand it at all. I just came here to join in the fun and see this young genius!"
"Tsk!" The middle-aged professor's colleague from the same school directly exposed him: "Old Zhang, stop pretending, do you think I don't know?"
"You treasure that JHSX Handout like a treasure. You've almost torn it apart! And you're still pretending to be relaxed. What's going on? You want to confuse us and make us relax because you got first place in the exam!"
(End of this chapter)
