Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 471 Yanchuan Semiconductor Plant Commences Production, Southwest Associated University Performs Aerial Show

Following the factory construction conference, construction of the Yanchuan Semiconductor Plant began.

But a problem arose right from the start.

The technicians responsible for moving the equipment into the factory reported to Fang Wen.

"General Manager, no, those factory buildings can't be used."

Fang Wen asked in surprise, "Why not? Come on, let's go take a look."

He and the technicians went to the factory site provided by the county.

There are rows of adobe houses there, built specifically for this factory, and they are a common type of building in the area.

Fang Wen went into the factory to inspect it.

The newly built adobe house looks alright.

But his keen senses immediately made him realize that something was wrong.

Located on the Loess Plateau, northern Shaanxi has a dry climate. After a period of time, the building materials of adobe houses dry out and start to crumble.

He bent down and grabbed a handful of loose soil from the corner of the wall, the dust falling through his fingers.

He patted the adobe wall, and with a dull thud, more dust fell.

"Is dust a significant problem?"

The technician looked anxious: "In the sandy weather of northern Shaanxi, the dust particles are smaller than sesame seeds. We thought hanging curtains would be enough, but we didn't expect dust to accumulate inside. The circuit boards and equipment we brought were covered in dust overnight—General Manager, you said the factory must be kept clean to improve product qualification rates. These factory conditions are unacceptable."

Indeed, while a cleanroom is not required, the cleanliness of the factory space must still be ensured.

Fang Wen turned around, his leather boots kicking up dust as they stomped across the rammed earth.

He pulled down the hemp rope hanging from the beam and measured the roof ridge, which was four meters high.

"Go and summon the construction team and the county officials, and bring shovels and lime. Starting today, add a half-foot layer of blue bricks to the interior walls of all factory buildings, and seal the brick joints with a mixture of glutinous rice paste and lime. Lay three layers of tar paper on the ceiling, and hang straw curtains on the eaves."

This is the solution he came up with.

To expedite the project, work continued overnight.

The construction team and people organized by the county came to help.

Even the new factory workers who were still learning wanted to put aside their studies and join the factory renovation, but Fang Wen stopped them.

As night fell, lanterns were lit one by one, and everyone got to work through the night.

An experienced worker even suggested: "You can add rammed earth, mixing in crushed wheat straw during the ramming process! Sprinkle salt water after each layer is rammed!"

After five busy days and two more days of waiting.

Fang Wen and the technicians re-entered the renovated factory for inspection.

The thickened and renovated walls no longer collect dust, and the room has been divided into a workshop and a changing room. The workshop is covered with curtains to prevent dust from getting in.

In addition, to ensure ventilation, openings were made in the walls of the factory building, and bent ventilation openings with filters were installed, with exhaust fans used to ensure air circulation.

With these modifications, the factory finally passed inspection.

During these seven days, the training for the new factory workers was also completed.

Fortunately, Fang Wen arranged for them to participate in the equipment assembly process together.

After the equipment was installed, technicians from Taishan Airlines provided hands-on instruction on practical operating skills.

In this regard, due to Fang Wen's special requirements, all of Taishan's factories have the same standardized process flow, which makes it easier to achieve the inheritance of technology.

Not to mention, the workers in these new factories are all very smart people.

After learning through hands-on experience, they tried to work with the technicians on the entire production line.

Semiconductor casing molding passed inspection.

Circuit board winding, capacitor assembly, passed inspection.

The most difficult part is the environment for burning the basic circuits on the circuit board, as well as the assembly of semiconductor components.

After several trial and error attempts, I passed.

They completed the first batch of products and conducted testing and acceptance.

The yield rate reached 8%, which met Fang Wen's expectations.

These people are not satisfied with this. They are still studying and improving their skills, hoping to increase the success rate to 90% or even higher.

Therefore, Fang Wen stayed for two extra days to see the results, and to his surprise, they succeeded.

It can be said that the semiconductor plant was built in Yanchuan in just twenty days and achieved the same yield rate as the original plant in Taishan, which can be considered a successful completion.

Fang Wen then left Yanchuan County and prepared to return to Yan'an Airport to fly away.

A truck came out of the city, driven by Fang Wen, with Bai Yunfei and the convoy captain sitting beside him, while Gong Xiuneng stayed in the back of the truck.

A vehicle carrying oil tankers was coming from the west. Fang Wen stopped the car and let it go first.

He saw the words "Yanchang Petroleum Yongping Refinery" written on the oil tank.

Suddenly it dawned on me that there was oil here.

He had once considered building a petrochemical plant in the country to secure aviation fuel resources.

However, due to oil production constraints, Yangon was ultimately chosen.

With interest, he asked, "How much oil can Yanchang Petroleum produce now?"

Bai Yunfei couldn't answer this, but the team leader knew better.

The team leader replied, "We've been drilling new oil wells recently, and the old ones are also being repaired. The oil production is much higher than before. But it's still not enough. We only get less than 100 tons of gasoline a year, but we get more diesel."

Upon hearing that the output was so small, Fang Wen estimated that even if production were expanded, it would not be possible to increase oil production, and the input of manpower and resources would not be proportional to the output.

Let's stick to using the more affordable and readily available Persian Gulf crude oil, Burmese crude oil, and Shell crude oil from Southeast Asia.

These three crude oil supply sources provide a very large quantity of crude oil, which can meet the increasing gasoline demand in Taishan.

It is precisely this oil reserve that allows Fang Wen to not worry about running out of oil.

However, given the current situation, the Japanese offensive in China will soon slow down and shift its focus to Southeast Asia.

At that time, Fang Wen's oil supply would inevitably be affected.

Therefore, increasing crude oil reserves is essential.

With this in mind, Fang Wen made a decision: he would build a giant oil depot after returning home.

The funds used were precisely the huge loans from American financial groups that were already in the account.

As the truck carrying oil drums drove by, Fang Wen shook off his thoughts and drove out of the city.

He drove to Yan'an Airport, which is more than 60 kilometers away.

Three hours later, the car arrived at the airport. There, Fang Wen got out of the car, shook hands with Bai Yunfei and the head of the motorcade, and then had a farewell talk with Bai Yunfei.

"The semiconductor factory's shipments are settled weekly. I will arrange transport planes to deliver the materials and collect the finished products for shipment overseas."

"Will the Nationalist government cause trouble?" Bai Yunfei asked worriedly, after all, he knew about what had happened in Wuhan.

Fang Wen explained, "The semiconductor factory wasn't built in my name, but by Zhongxing Electric in the United States. Zhongxing Electric and the Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan Logistics Company share the same major American shareholder, and it has nothing to do with me. They should consider the consequences of intercepting American goods."

It turns out that Fang Wen had already dealt with the potential problems through capital operations. This way, the American company could build a factory in Yan'an, provide materials, and collect finished products, thus eliminating the possibility of those people causing trouble in secret.

At the same time, the Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan air routes can also be used for air logistics delivery.

Bai Yunfei was immediately relieved after hearing Fang Wen's explanation.

He and the car team leader watched Fang Wen and Gong Xiuneng board the Taishan first-generation fighter jet. A moment later, the plane took off and flew southwest.

Fang Wen piloted the Taishan first-generation fighter jet into the air.

Because it was designed as a trainer aircraft, Gong Xiu was able to sit in the rear cockpit.

This was Gong Xiuneng's first experience of high-speed flight.

As a healthy and strong Taoist martial artist, he believed he had the physical qualities to be a pilot.

However, when the plane reached a speed of 530 kilometers per hour, Gong Xiu experienced tinnitus and nausea.

Originally intending to persevere, he was afraid of making a fool of himself if he continued, so he could only say, "Commander, don't fly too fast, I can't take it."

Fang Wen then used his mechanical senses to observe the situation in the rear cabin. He was also somewhat surprised, not expecting that Gong Xiuneng would be unaccustomed to it.

Gong Xiuneng then reduced his speed to 460 km/h before recovering.

"Looks like you won't be able to fly a high-speed fighter jet," Fang Wen said regretfully.

Gong Xiuneng was quite open-minded about this. "It's okay if I can't open it, as long as I stay with the regimental commander and act as his bodyguard."

After such a long period of adjustment, Fang Wen genuinely felt that this bodyguard-like subordinate was quite good.

He then smiled and comforted her, "You can do it too. You're an expert in interrogation, good at close combat and firearms, and the best gunner on the gunship. Even if you can't fly high-speed fighter jets, you'll still be my best assistant."

His words made Gong Xiuneng extremely happy.

Fang Wen couldn't help but think of another thing: Gong Xiuneng, who was already thirty-two years old, was still a virgin.

He couldn't help but ask, "Are you practicing the 'Virginity Skill'? Does Taoism also have a 'Virginity Skill'? Isn't it a secret technique exclusive to Shaolin Temple?"

"What Shaolin Temple exclusive secret manual? Daoist and Buddhist schools all have the virginity technique. My master and I practiced it all." Gong Xiuneng revealed a secret: his master was also a virgin.

This is interesting. That carefree old Taoist priest is so old and has never been with a woman.

Fang Wen couldn't help but ask tactfully, "Are you planning to follow your master's example and practice virginity training forever?"

Gong Xiuneng said aggrievedly, "If I could, I wouldn't want to keep practicing the virginity-keeping technique. Commander, didn't you say you'd introduce me to someone? Why haven't I heard from you since?"

Fang Wen laughed and said, "I originally wanted to find you someone. Last time you and I took our family to the Philippines to catch a plane to the United States, I felt that you seemed to have something to do with my sixth sister."

Upon hearing this, Gong Xiuneng quickly explained, "No, Miss Liu is such a good person, I wouldn't dare to presume upon her."

"You really don't want to?" Fang Wen asked.

Gong Xiuneng did not answer the question immediately.

His hesitation revealed his attitude.

Fang Wen then bluntly stated it.

“My two older brothers are not very good, but at least they have their own families, so I don’t have to worry about them. My fourth sister’s family is also very happy, so I don’t have to worry about her either. It’s just my youngest sister, my sixth sister, who always makes me uneasy. She was cheated when she was young and was later sent to a girls’ school in Europe. As a result, she learned some Western ideas and became even more difficult to control. If this continues, I’m afraid she will become even worse in the future. I’ve talked to my father, and if he can find an easy-going husband, at least she won’t go astray in the future.”

Gong Xiuneng hesitated and asked, "But would Miss Liu be interested in me?"

"What's there to look down on? She was just an ordinary woman from a humble family, and deep down she's still a traditional Chinese woman. Of course, the key is that the two of you can be attracted to each other. It can't be one-sided; both of you have to be interested. How about this: when I go to America in a while, I'll arrange for you and Sixth Sister to meet formally. Then it'll be up to fate."

Fang Wen's words left Gong Xiu in a state of utter confusion, as if he had experienced a tremendous psychological upheaval, leaving him in a daze.

Fang Wen said nothing more and focused on piloting the plane.

The entire journey from Yan'an to Yangon is 2500 kilometers.

At this distance, the Taishan-1 can fly directly, as can the Taishan bomber, but can a high-speed fighter jet do it?
High-speed fighter jets are fast, and their fuel consumption is also astonishing.

Even with an auxiliary fuel tank, flying at an average speed of 460 km/h for 1500 km is already the limit.

Therefore, the plane landed at the Southwest Associated University's main playground on the shore of Kunming Lake to refuel.

Fang Wen specifically chose this location for landing, as it allows him to use the new domestically produced fighter jet for publicity, thereby attracting more intellectuals to join Taishan Aviation and contribute to the development of the military industry.

The school was also very cooperative with the landing.

On the large playground of the Southwest Associated University, long running track lines were drawn with white lime.

Engineering students waved triangular flags on both sides of the runway, excitedly guiding the fighter jets in the sky.

"It's here! That black dot in the clouds!" The physics students on the top of the clock tower suddenly screamed, and their telescopes all turned toward the northeastern horizon.

Principal Mei adjusted his round-framed glasses and nodded to the worker beside him who was holding a measuring tape: "The runway lines are a bit shallow; we'll spread another layer of lime powder. Our 800-meter dirt runway can't compare to the asphalt pavement of Kunming Airport."

Before the words were even finished, the male and female students from the Chemistry Department had already rushed over carrying buckets of lime, filling in the white lines on the ground to make them even clearer.

Fang Wen could see the situation clearly.

He used one hand to send a telegram, communicating with radio stations on the ground.

[The aerial display is about to begin. After the performance, please clear the area and land.]

In a room next to the playground, a teacher who received the radio signal explained the situation to the principal.

Immediately, amidst the broadcast, everyone looked up at the sky.

The airplanes in the sky began their performance.

To help students better understand the various flight maneuvers of fighter jets, Fang Wen started with the basic maneuvers.

Hovering, diving and pulling up, leaping.

Then came more complex rolls, somersaults, and Fang Wen's self-created loop flips.

After the performance, the playground was cleared out.

The first-generation aircraft descended, its fuselage brushing past the tops of towering ginkgo trees, the airflow from the flaps creating a gust of wind.

Amidst the excited cheers of the students, Fang Wen landed on the temporary running track on the playground.

After the plane came to a stop, the students and teachers, full of interest, entered the playground and surrounded the domestically produced fighter jet.

They have many questions they want to ask and hope that Fang Wen, the general manager of Taishan Airlines, can answer them.

Under the watchful eyes of the students, the airplane canopy opened, and Fang Wen stood up with a broad smile, waving to the students and teachers below.

In the cockpit behind him, Gong Xiuneng was pale and muttered, "This fighter jet is no man-made; it almost made me throw up my dinner from yesterday."

(End of this chapter)