Scholars in the courtyard.

Chapter 2298 Tell them we are here

Ninth Ministry of Machine Building.

Yang Xiaotao is checking the production progress of the Baiju fighter jet in the workshop.

During this period before the New Year, Yang Xiaotao gave Wu Zhe the task of producing a Baiju fighter jet.

Wu Zhe did not disappoint and actively contacted various local factories. Now the production progress in various places is good, and it is expected that an aircraft will be delivered before the New Year.

"Director Yang, this has been promoted from the Machinery Factory to the Ninth Department in one go. The enthusiasm of the comrades is very high."

"Based on the current production progress and our current scale, the output can be doubled."

"At normal production speed, we can produce four to six aircraft a month."

"Our superiors have given us the task of producing fifty aircraft per year, which should be no problem."

Wu Zhe stood aside and spoke to Yang Xiaotao, feeling very happy.

During this period, he has entered into a completely new role, and this transformation has made him very satisfied.

Vice President of the Jiubu Research Institute.

Specially responsible for aircraft production.

At the same time, he will also preside over the subsequent development of the Baiju aircraft.

This kind of work makes his life fulfilling every day.

Yang Xiaotao looked at the completed plane and nodded secretly, "To be honest, I'm not worried about the task from my superiors."

"With our current level of machinery and the accumulation of experience, manufacturing will only become more and more familiar."

“Capacity will only get bigger.”

Wu Zhe nodded, Yang Xiaotao was right.

"But, Old Wu, there is something you need to pay attention to."

Yang Xiaotao started to give some advice, and Wu Zhe turned around in surprise, "Minister Yang, go ahead."

Yang Xiaotao took out a piece of paper from his pocket, which was a part of the information he had copied down from his superiors.

"Look, this is a tanker."

"Aerial refueling tanker?"

Wu Zhe took the paper, somewhat skeptical.

"Yes, an aerial refueling tanker is a large aircraft that refuels fighter jets."

Yang Xiaotao said this, walked aside with Wu Zhe, then lit a cigarette and talked about his thoughts.

"The strength of the Baiju fighter is its high speed, but its weakness is its low range. Even with auxiliary fuel tanks, it can only reach 1,500 kilometers."

"That's it. The time you can stay in the air can't exceed ten minutes."

“The range is too short, so we need this technology.”

Wu Zhe put out his cigarette and said, "So, we have to build this aerial refueling aircraft."

"We also need to install a refueling port on the Baiju fighter, right?"

Yang Xiaotao nodded, "I have other work to do here, so I'll leave this matter to you."

"Don't worry, Commander Yang. I will build the aerial refueling aircraft as soon as possible so that our Baiju can fly further."

Wu Zhe was filled with pride, and Yang Xiaotao was also happy.

At this time, Lou Xiao'e walked in from outside, "Director Yang, Secretary Li said that Commander Zhang is here, and asked you to come over."

"Mr. Zhang?"

Yang Xiaotao felt unhappy when he recalled how Mr. Zhang had cheated him out of twenty Baiju fighter planes.

These old guys are not honest at all.

"I gonna go see!"

After Yang Xiaotao finished speaking, he walked out, and then he saw Li Hongfeng walking towards the door behind Mr. Zhang, and Yang Xiaotao went forward to greet them.

"Hey, Yang Bu, tsk tsk, now that the name has been changed, it sounds quite smooth."

Although Mr. Zhang was speaking, his eyes were already on the plane not far away.

The sight of the unpainted fuselage made him itchy.

Before Yang Xiaotao could say anything polite, Mr. Zhang came up to the plane and said, "This must be Baiju, right? This is the first time I've seen a plane like this."

"It looks good. What's in here?"

"I'll go in and take a look."

Mr. Zhang spoke very quickly and moved swiftly, and he went up as soon as he finished speaking.

Yang Xiaotao was quick to act and grabbed Mr. Zhang's arm.

"Hey, Commander, you came here and said a lot, and then you're going up, but I haven't said a word yet."

"Besides, don't you see you're doing your homework?"

"What are you doing in there? You're just making things worse."

Now it was Yang Xiaotao's turn to start, and then Mr. Zhang stood there, not daring to talk back.

This scene surprised Li Hongfeng who came with him.

This person was also his former leader.

Just looking at the current situation, it’s better for me not to interrupt, and then I and Wu Zhe and the others stepped back a little and kept some distance.

After Yang Xiaotao finished speaking, Old Zhang's eyes were still on Baiju.

"Xiao Tao, we should have one of these planes."

Mr. Zhang looked at another plane being assembled in a warehouse not far away and asked quickly.

"What are you thinking about? This is a task for your superiors."

"Fifty planes will take at least a year and a half."

"Your twenty planes should be placed in the back row."

Yang Xiaotao folded his arms across his chest and spoke seriously.

"What, one and a half years? No, no, you guys should hurry up. We won't be able to catch up with anything in this year and a half."

Yang Xiaotao spread his hands and said, "There's nothing we can do. Our production capacity is limited. We can't even complete the tasks above."

At this point, Yang Xiaotao sighed again, "If there are still missions next year, your twenty aircraft will have to be postponed."

This time, Mr. Zhang no longer looked at the plane, but looked at Yang Xiaotao nervously, "Xiaotao, you promised me."

"Yes, I know. I will definitely do what I promised you."

Yang Xiaotao looked as if he remembered it, and then said helplessly, "But what happened between us is a private matter, and the task assigned by the superior is an official matter."

"We can't do this kind of thing that puts personal interests above public interest."

After Yang Xiaotao finished speaking, Mr. Zhang's face fell. According to Yang Xiaotao, given the nature of the purchasing department and the air index, let alone fifty planes, even five hundred planes would only be the minimum.

It will probably take some time for his twenty planes to be delivered.

"Xiao Tao, I'm not asking you to sacrifice your personal interests for your own, I just want you to help me."

"Don't worry, I won't let you help me for nothing. Just tell me if you need anything."

"Really?"

Yang Xiaotao's eyes widened, and Old Zhang's heart skipped a beat. Could this kid be waiting here?

"Really, I will help if I can."

Mr. Zhang said this through gritted teeth.

Yang Xiaotao then smiled and said, "Then I will ask the workshop to work overtime and strive to complete the task assigned by the superiors next year, and then I will make it for you in the free time."

"But this plane is not cheap. You have to reimburse the manpower and material resources."

"It's easy to talk about."

Mr. Zhang agreed immediately, and then looked at Yang Xiaotao, wanting to know what Yang Xiaotao wanted to do.

"Ahem." "Commander, our Ninth Machine Department has just been established, and its defense force is still a little, a little weak."

"So I want you to transfer a few people to help strengthen the security department."

When Mr. Zhang heard that they just wanted people and not money, it was easy to deal with.

"Just tell me directly. You just need people. There are many soldiers retiring every year. Just tell me how many you want and I'll find them for you."

"Uncle Zhang, we have very high requirements for the people we want, so forget about those who have stepped down."

Yang Xiaotao said with a smile, and Zhang Lao's face was serious, "How high?"

"Special Forces."

As soon as Yang Xiaotao said these three words, Mr. Zhang immediately shut up.

He is also trying to form a special operations team, and there are many good people in it.

Seeing that Mr. Zhang didn't say anything, Yang Xiaotao was not in a hurry. After all, this plane was a "private matter".

"I'll think about this when I get back, and then I'll decide how to divide it among the ten of you."

Zhang Lao finally spoke through gritted teeth, but Yang Xiaotao was surprised, "What? Ten?"

"Two planes for one change?"

As he spoke, he tilted his head to the side, and everyone could see that he was dissatisfied.

"Ten, just ten."

Mr. Zhang is no pushover either, he said this through gritting his teeth.

Seeing this, Yang Xiaotao knew that it was useless to say more, so he turned around and said, "We want good things."

"Of course, I'm sure you'll stick with me, Old Zhang."

Seeing this, Yang Xiaotao was satisfied. When the time comes, he will tell Lao Liang about it, and he will probably be very happy.

"By the way, Uncle Zhang, you came here today on purpose, you didn't come here just to look at this, did you?"

Yang Xiaotao asked about business matters, but everyone was busy and had no time to hang out.

"Speaking of this, I almost forgot, Xiao Tao."

Zhang Lao smiled and said, "Have you read the information file sent by the superior?"

"Look here, this plane is amazing."

Mr. Zhang nodded, and then asked, "Do you have any ideas?"

"idea?"

Yang Xiaotao narrowed his eyes, then took out a cigarette, and they both lit up.

He felt that there was still room for discussion with these ten people.

"What ideas can I have? I'm too busy with my own affairs."

But Mr. Zhang shook his head. "You'll know the problem after you've seen it. The range of the Baiju is still too short. It's only 1,500 kilometers, which is just enough to fly to Edo."

"Xiao Tao, you see the people over there have already built a refueling machine. Do you have any ideas?"

"The gas pump!"

Yang Xiaotao laughed.

Wu Zhe, who was not far away, heard what Mr. Zhang said and his face looked a little strange.

His intuition told him that Yang's troops were about to attack again.

Li Hongfeng saw Wu Zhe's expression change, so he asked in a low voice what was going on.

Wu Zhe lowered his voice and repeated what he had just said in Li Hongfeng's ear.

When the two looked at Yang Xiaotao and Mr. Zhang again, they did not know whether to laugh or cry.

Does this count as sending a sheep into the tiger's mouth?

"Ah, yes, it's the gas pump!"

Mr. Zhang didn't notice the curve of Yang Xiaotao's mouth, and continued to say, "Look, if this plane is going to Edo, it should at least fly a circle above it, but this distance is really not sustainable."

"But if we have this aerial refueling aircraft, the range will be increased by at least 500 kilometers. Let alone flying one circle, even flying seven or eight circles would be enough."

“So I think it’s necessary to make this air tanker.”

"How about you."

As Zhang Lao said this, Yang Xiaotao threw the cigarette butt at his feet and twisted it, then looked up, "Uncle Zhang, we really don't have the energy to fix this gas pump."

"Don't worry, it's just something I can research on the side. I'll leave it to you, as only the nine departments can do it."

"Don't flatter us, we are really in trouble. Look at the tasks, there are so many, there is no end in sight."

"Yes, you are indeed very busy, but this matter is also very important!"

Mr. Zhang said earnestly, "How about I apply for research funding for you?"

“This is not a question of funding.”

Yang Xiaotao looked like he had no shortage of money, and he was twisting his cigarette butt with his feet on the ground.

When Mr. Zhang heard what Yang Xiaotao said, he remembered the agreement they had made before and said, "Well, I'll help you with the funding issue. It's at least a little bit."

"In addition, I'll give you ten more people from the special forces team."

"What do you think?"

"Well, how can I feel good about that?"

Yang Xiaotao immediately smiled, then kindly took out a cigarette and lit it again.

"So, you agree to this?"

"You've already said this, and considering our relationship, if I refuse again, it would hurt our feelings."

Yang Xiaotao stepped forward and put his hand on Zhang Lao's shoulder. "Don't worry, Uncle Zhang. No matter how difficult it is here, we will allocate manpower to make this aerial refueling aircraft."

"Don't worry about that."

Mr. Zhang also smiled when he heard this. He didn't expect that it would be so easy to convince Yang Xiaotao.

As for the twenty good seedlings, he didn't care too much about them.

After all, everyone from the airborne troops is good.

The two of them kindly stepped forward to check on Baiju's production situation, and Yang Xiaotao was introducing it on the side.

Behind them, Li Hongfeng and Wu Zhe looked at each other and then smiled strangely.

After a few people sent Mr. Zhang out of the door, Yang Xiaotao asked a question that was in his mind.

"Uncle Zhang, let me ask you a question. Why are you so concerned about this matter?"

Mr. Zhang, who was about to get in the car, stopped and turned back to smile at Yang Xiaotao, "This."

"When we were fighting before, I was thinking, why do those guys dare to bully us?"

"Why can they fly over our heads and drop bombs?"

"At that time, I was looking forward to the day when our planes could fly over there and tell them we were here."

"This is probably my last wish in this life."

After saying that, Mr. Zhang got in the car and left the Ninth Department.

Yang Xiaotao stood at the door and watched the car disappear before turning around.

Behind him, Li Hongfeng and Wu Zhe stood there, looking touched.

"How's it going? Any questions?"

Yang Xiaotao asked calmly, but Wu Zhe nodded excitedly, "No problem."

Patting Wu Zhe on the shoulder, Yang Xiaotao walked back with his hands in his pockets, "Hurry up, don't let Mr. Zhang wait too long."

Li Hongfeng came to Wu Zhe and said, "Jiubu, you do what others can't do."

Wu Zhe nodded seriously, "Yes, this is the mission of our nine departments."