Chapter 40: Jiangcheng Machinery Factory's Explosion

Professor Tang carefully examined the drawings and indeed found some differences between Su Qiao's and Chen Xiao's designs. Su Qiao's design was a little more complicated, while Chen Xiao's appeared simpler and more reasonable.

However, Professor Tang couldn't shake off his confusion. If Chen Xiao had copied Su Qiao's design, then what about Chen Xiao's invention of a very high-tech visual operating system for CNC machines?

The panel members were also in an awkward position. Chen Xiao's circuit diagram was cleverly designed, and the experts couldn't determine the significance of the differences between the two drawings.

At that moment, Xiao Wang, a staff member in the office, came in to pour water for everyone. He had been listening to their conversation about Chen Xiao and Su Qiao and suddenly remembered something important.

Xiao Wang said, "Senior Luo, I remember receiving a letter for you from the doorman some time ago. The signature on the envelope was 'Chen Xiao.' Because my child's name is Wang Xiao, I still remember the name."

Luo Hai was stunned and asked, "Chen Xiao wrote me a letter? When did this happen?"

After thinking for a moment, Xiao Wang said, "It was a while back. I can't recall the exact date."

Luo Hai asked urgently, "Where did you put that letter?"

Xiao Wang replied, "I just put it on your desk with the newspapers as usual."

Luo Hai quickly went to his office to search for the letter. Among the many newspapers, he found an unopened letter with Chen Xiao's signature.

Luo Hai brought the letter back to the conference room and opened it in front of everyone. The letter contained Chen Xiao's thoughts about the country's technological progress and his desire to contribute to the development of CNC machine tools.

Then, Luo Hai revealed the circuit diagram from the letter. The experts closely examined the drawings and were surprised to find that it was hand-painted and exactly the same as the patent application Chen Xiao had submitted to ADLINK.

The postmark on the letter indicated that Chen Xiao's application was made earlier than Su Qiao's.

Based on this information, the experts were inclined to grant the patent to Chen Xiao. Wu Geng from Yenching University was particularly impressed by Chen Xiao's talent and advocated for his early admission.

However, Professor Tang felt embarrassed, realizing that they might have overlooked Chen Xiao's true potential.

Professor Tang said excitedly, "This situation is indeed strange. We cannot make a judgment based solely on the descriptions of two patent applications or a letter."

A member of the expert group suggested, "I think we should go to the scene and take a look. Isn't Su Qiao's patent application already submitted? We can visit the site and find the answer."

The panel agreed to conduct an on-site investigation, and the decision was left to the State Patent Office.

Zhang Bo said, "We will report this request to the higher authorities immediately. If there is no issue, we can set off to Jiangzhou and Jiangcheng in two days to investigate."

The State Patent Office prepared to go to Jiangzhou and Jiangcheng to conduct the investigation.

Meanwhile, at Jiangcheng Machinery Factory, Director Liu faced a significant challenge. The main boards of more than ten CNC machine tools had burned down, and he was determined to investigate the cause.

Furthermore, Director Liu received a message indicating that this batch of equipment had been burned once before, adding to the mystery surrounding the situation.