A nation's industrial development begins with junior engineers.

"1,2,3,4,5"

Five GAZ trucks were lined up in a row, parked blatantly at the factory gate.

There's nothing strange about GAZ trucks; the factory has its own fleet of vehicles.

But the GAZ truck loaded with frozen mutton attracted attention.

When Jiang Xia arrived at the factory gate, an elderly man wearing black-rimmed glasses got out of the car. He looked a bit grumpy and spoke very concisely.

"The first one was delivered by the Ministry of Railways, and the second one was delivered by the Logistics Department."

After signing the delivery slip, the old man turned and left.

Several people squeezed into a small jeep. Just before leaving, the old man flashed a white paper package and said, "Kid, take out your design in a couple of days and let me see. If it's good, I'll give you one! If not…"

Before they could finish speaking, the group disappeared in a flash.

"What? You're not even going to take the car?"

"What are you thinking about! We have to drive back in a bit!" Wang Kui stood behind Jiang Xia again.

"But how did you offend that old man?"

"Uh, perhaps I said your marks aren't very attractive?"

"Ha, you reckless fool!" Wang Kui shrugged. "Good luck to you!"

Jiang Xia, who was secretly annoyed at himself for talking too much, was left behind. Wang Kui then directed the soldiers to drive the vehicle inside.

A whole ton of mutton—everyone would be happy to see that.

Upon hearing the news, the factory leaders hastily ended their meeting and gathered around to watch.

Finally, it was decided that the mutton would be stewed at noon, and an awards ceremony would be held after the meal. Any leftovers would be given to each of the current employees to take home two ounces.

Before each leader left, they wanted to pat Jiangxia's head, but they couldn't find him anywhere and had to give up.

Security Department Ammunition Depot.

Under the hammer and sickle banner, Wang Kui solemnly pinned a badge to Jiang Xia's chest.

"Second class merit?"

"Comrade Jiang Xia, for your courageous struggle, has salvaged immeasurable losses for our side. You are hereby awarded the Second Class Merit Citation as a reward!"

After speaking, Wang Kui stood at attention and saluted.

Li Changfu, who was watching, clapped his hands. After Jiang Xia finished admiring it, he took the badge off for him and put it back in his hand.

"Keep it safe, don't show it off in public. Things have been chaotic lately!"

"What a mess?" Jiang Xia's eyes darted around, and he wanted to take two of the "soda bottles" in the corner.

"Slap!" Wang Kui slapped away Jiang Xia's wandering little hands.

"Tsk! Stingy!"

"Pah! I'm afraid you'll mess yourself up. How about you join a militia team? Once you pass the training, I'll give you two, how about that?" Wang Kui crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.

"I'll participate then! I'll get up and go for a run tomorrow!"

Jiang Xia, fuming, stuffed the badge into his satchel and went to find the precious item that the logistics department had sent over.

Tungsten carbide alloy!

How could I not treasure it? Just thinking about how my three-axis linkage would become a reality with this thing makes me so excited!

Hmph, it's just a cricket "soda bottle". When the triaxial version comes out, I'm going to play with the "big bomb".

Men need to be explosive!

There's a little-known fact about advanced machine tools.

Can you believe that China developed CNC machine tools back in 59?

That was a milling machine, which took up quite a lot of space because it used electron tube technology.

The CNC system will malfunction whenever there is thunder or lightning, or when high-power electrical appliances are started or stopped near the machine tool.

But its emergence has had a huge impact.

Visitors flocked to see it, and watching the small metal piece transform into a five-pointed star in the blink of an eye was incredibly cool!

Unfortunately, this was done in a rather high-profile manner. Foreign technological blockades and domestic limitations made it a thing of the past before the reform and opening up.

Therefore, before CNC forming, three-axis machining is currently the ceiling for machine tools.

This is also the most suitable approach for the current situation: not aiming too high, but simply being down-to-earth.

With a master bed, boring machines, milling machines, gear hobbing machines—then they'll all come along, right? They'll line up in a row, turning bearings one minute and gears the next, making you all drool.

Just as Jiang Xia was wiping his drool, the loudspeaker blared again.

The loudspeaker introduced the glorious deeds of Jiang Xia and Li Tiejun, and specifically explained that the Ministry of Railways sent mutton to thank the two men. Only then did they announce that meat would be served at noon, and that workers could also take it home after get off work.

Finally, he mentioned that Jiangxia had been awarded the title of Advanced Worker. If anyone has any different opinions, they can raise them with the factory office.

For Jiangxia, who is able to get meat for everyone, let alone being named an advanced worker, he probably wouldn't object to being named one for another year.

It must be said that this person is a good writer.

Watching Jiangxia walk away, Li Changfu and Wang Kui exchanged a few words.

Seeing Wang Kui nodding and shaking his head, Li Changfu's face darkened.

Tsk, this is a big deal. The little brat might get targeted.

……

After enjoying the delicious mutton, the friends gathered together again.

As usual, break down the blueprints and assign tasks.

Those who have received the task should find the corresponding master craftsman to coordinate with. The only difference is that there are now many more master craftsmen who can take on the task.

For example, Master Qin's young apprentice has already started to skillfully manipulate conical wheels, and the apprentice that Liu Yongfu, an eighth-level welder, picked up has a beautiful fish-scale pattern making skill.

Several lathe operators were incredibly skilled at using the German heavy-duty lathes, and Ning Dawei was even able to precisely machine the pressure cooker body while simultaneously drawing a five-pointed star on the outer edge of the pot.

The improved skills of the craftsmen have given Jiangxia's hand-operated three-axis linkage machine tool a lot more confidence.

But this can't be rushed. After all, what Jiangxia wants to make is a mother bed. Since it's a mother bed, the important parts that come into contact with each other, such as the bed body and column, the spindle head and the spindle, the ball screw assembly and the assembly surface, need to be scraped and processed.

After all, to achieve high precision, the elimination of corresponding stress and the scraping of the guide rails both require time and step-by-step processing.

……

Before leaving get off work in the afternoon, at the steel rolling mill's employee activity center.

The air was filled with the sounds of gongs and drums, and the crackling of firecrackers.

Yeah, everything above is fake, scratch that.

The colorful flags are fluttering in the wind~

I forgot to take it down during the big meeting a while ago.

The director of the women's federation at the steel rolling mill somehow grabbed a few elderly women and had them dance the Yangko at the entrance of the activity center.

Amidst applause, Jiang Xia accepted the certificate that read "Advanced Worker".

Yang Youning was a decisive and efficient person. After announcing the resolution and handing out the certificates in a few quick steps, he waved his hand and said, "Now let's distribute the meat! Two ounces each!"

Boom~~

The applause was deafening, and the praise for Jiangxia and Tiejun seemed much more sincere.

"It's something that can pull things back!"

Well, that must be the highest praise from my coworkers!

Don't underestimate these two ounces of mutton. Nowadays, you need a minority ethnic certificate to buy beef and mutton. People in Beijing also like to have a bite of it when winter comes.

This gift has truly touched everyone's hearts.

Everyone is happy, everyone is happy.

Jiang Xia, carrying half a lamb leg, accepted a pile of receipts that Yang Youning handed him, and then rode home on "Torch" with his master.

When we arrived at the family building, several elderly men were having a shared meal.

A small jeep was parked nearby.

Upon seeing who it was, hey, isn't this our driver?

It has to be said that the Ministry of Railways really went all out; not only did they send meat to the factory, but they also specially sent an extra portion.

The glowing red charcoal fire and the pure white mutton soup created a vibrant and thriving atmosphere.

Except for Jiang Xia, who had a dark expression.

"Uncle Zheng? What's this weird-tasting thing called?"

"Cistanche deserticola, doesn't it look like that? You know, you are what you eat! I dug this up myself!"

The old men standing nearby grinned and laughed.

"Xiao Jiang is excellent, but he's too naive."

"Eat up! Eat it all, don't leave any!"

Xiao Jiang stared at the thing that was as thick as an arm after it had dried, and fell silent.