A nation's industrial development begins with junior engineers.

A white and blue cab-over truck stood quietly in front of Jiang Xia.

Unlike the large nose of the Jiefang truck, the Yellow River truck was designed from the ground up to resemble the cab structure of later trucks.

This results in the Yellow River truck having a large space behind the driver's cab, which can be used for rest.

Anyway, Jiang Xia had a pretty good first impression of the Yellow River Card.

"Jiang Gong, I contacted the Quancheng Pump Factory. Their factory manager said they have a batch of hydraulic pumps. Could you go take a look? And while you're at it, try out our Yellow River truck!"

Of course, that's no problem. Jiang Xia is also very interested in this factory that can produce hydraulic pumps. If they have the corresponding technical capabilities, they should also put free forging hydraulic presses on the agenda.

After all, the front beam of the Yellow River truck was hammered out by the craftsmen, one hammer blow at a time. Fortunately, they had a small electric furnace, which allowed them to forge components such as the axle housing and wheel hubs.

Once inside the car, I sat directly in the back seat and looked around the driver's cab. Some of the instruments were concentrated in front of the steering wheel. The glove box on the right side of the passenger seat didn't have an opening; instead, an iron handrail was welded onto it.

Um... why does this steering wheel feel a bit crooked?

Soon, the driver answered his question with his actions.

At a sharp turn, the driver stood up abruptly, like he was in a horse stance, his veins bulging on his hands, and started flailing his arms at the steering wheel, as if he were wrestling with it.

He was absolutely furious.

That wasn't all. After turning the corner, he kept turning the steering wheel back to its original position, while Director Liu held onto the passenger-side grab handle with one hand and reached out with the other to help turn the wheel.

"Haha, Engineer Jiang, it's understandable that the steering wheel of a heavy-duty truck is heavier than that of a Jiefang truck!"

Jiang Xia cautiously peeked out and looked at the position of the steering wheel. Well, it was completely off the center line of the driver's seat.

If Tie Jun were to drive it, would he break the steering wheel like in a comedy movie?

"Jiang Gong, Jiang Gong, there's a dirt road ahead, please hold on tight to the handrail!"

Jiang Xia looked around and thought, "Where are the armrests in the back row? Find one and show it to me!"

Factory Director Liu glanced back and said, "Oh dear, we probably forgot to put it back together after taking it apart yesterday. Please hold onto the chair for a bit."

The truck jolted, and Jiang Xia had a bad feeling.

"Director Liu, what is the travel of the suspension system on our Yellow River truck?"

"Huh? We're using leaf springs! Two of them! What's the travel stroke?"

Before Director Liu could finish his sentence, his voice was already shattered by the vibrations of the Yellow River truck.

"Director Liu! Put everything else aside, you absolutely must get your seatbelt installed when you get back!"

"Hey~~~~ whatever you say~~ is what I say!"

Factory Director Liu turned to look at Jiang Xia, his face wrinkled into a mass that jiggled as the truck moved forward, much like a bobblehead doll that a young lady would place in the driver's seat in later generations.

The marine diesel engine in the Yellow River truck is, to be fair, quite powerful; the vehicle is already traveling at 40 km/h.

The driver was alright; he held the steering wheel firmly and withstood all the bumps. The passenger side was also fine; the fixed handrail in front of him gave Director Liu the confidence to speak amidst the jolting.

As for Jiangxia, they could only accept their fate.

The burly man driving the jeep stared wide-eyed at the bouncing Yellow River truck ahead, exclaiming, "Holy crap, is that a bouncing vehicle?!"

Although his Jeep wasn't much better.

The Quancheng Pump Factory is quite far from the automobile factory, about an hour's drive away.

At first, Jiang Xia felt that the cab was quite warm, but it gradually got hotter and hotter.

This seat is burning my butt!

But thinking about it, it makes sense; the engine is right under your butt, it's no wonder it gets hot.

It's manageable in winter, but in summer it becomes: an egg cooker?

Fortunately, the pump factory was right in front of us. After talking with the factory engineers who had rushed over, we discovered that the design drawings they were using were the same ones from the First Ministry of Machinery Industry Research Institute.

This saves time; no modifications are needed, and the data can be used directly based on previous data.

I wanted to discuss the hydraulic pumps in more detail, but the other person just smiled and said, "This is a factory, not a research institute. Why bother with that? When there's a task, we start working; when there's no task, we raise fish. We won't lose a penny of our wages."

Hmm, that makes a lot of sense. Based on this theory, Jiang Xia, Factory Director Liu, and everyone in the car factory looked like fools.

If we don't see eye to eye, I'll leave!

Factory Director Liu angrily installed all the hydraulic pumps onto the Yellow River truck. After signing the order, the pump factory director flicked the receipt: "The remaining 15 pumps are all yours. Your car factory has no quota this year."

Factory Director Liu ignored him and kept his head down, moving the hydraulic pump. Before he knew it, a few drops of bright red blood appeared on the ground.

The pump factory manager noticed and rushed over to stop him, removing the hydraulic pump from his shoulder: "Old Liu! Your leg—"

Factory Director Liu said calmly, "They won't die!"

The pump factory director spat, "I owe you!" and then shouldered the hydraulic pump and strode toward the location of the Yellow River checkpoint.

There was no way around it; the Yellow River truck was a whole size bigger than a regular Jiefang truck, and it couldn't even get through the pump factory's gate.

Yes, the pump factory uses Nanjing Yuejin pumps, with a load capacity of two and a half tons.

It's not that I look down on it; even a small cannon can pull more. Its only advantage is that it runs faster than a small cannon.

Jiang Xia was panting heavily after making two trips. Taking advantage of a moment when no one was looking, she quickly stuffed a "powerful tonic" into her mouth. However, Jiang Xia had a feeling that the old strategist's prescription might be wrong; the side effects of using this tonic seemed rather serious.

It's really annoying that I have to wait a while before I can put on my pants every morning after getting up.

The pump factory director hoisted the hydraulic pump onto the truck bed with a thud, then raised an eyebrow at Jiang Xia: "Teacher, what kind of soldier are you?"

"Uh, from Beijing?"

"Tch, pampered young soldiers are just too delicate. Didn't you see your factory manager's legs are all blistered? Why don't you make a few more trips?"

Huh? Jiang Xia looked at Director Liu and saw the dark-skinned, thin man holding his right leg, fiddling with something.

"Hurry up! Just three more trips and we're done moving. Bring back some extra spare parts later, damn it, the car factory's bills have been hanging over us for a year..."

Shandong is known for its strong men; Jiangxia was lifted by the neck like a little chick.

The people in the jeep wanted to get out, but then slowed down, trying to hide themselves further inside the vehicle. Their sharp eyes darted to the crowd observing the Yellow River card.

"Hiss~~ Who is it?"

……

The pump factory director carried another hydraulic pump on Jiang Xia's shoulder. He himself carried one on his shoulder, held one in his right hand, and hugged another with his left hand, securing the pump on his shoulder as well. With his neck tilted to the side and his back bent, he ran very fast.

"Hurry! Teacher!"

"Uncle! That's impressive, you weigh almost 300 pounds!"

"This is nothing. I used to send my comrades off the battlefield like this back in the day. Pretty impressive, huh? Four in one go! Your factory manager was someone I brought down with me!"

"Look at my mouth, isn't it big!" The pump factory director grinned and gestured.

Yeah, it's really big. When you open your mouth wide like this, the corners of your mouth almost reach your ears.

"I was still holding your factory manager's leg in my mouth at the time, but unfortunately it couldn't be reattached. What a waste of all that raw meat I was chewing!"

"Damn it, not only do they not repay the debt of saving my life, but they're also acting like a debt collector all the time. Old Hu, can I borrow some steel? Old Hu, can I borrow a jack?"

"What do you think he's after all this time...?"

As he spoke, the burly man slammed the carriage down like he was throwing straws, making a loud banging sound.

"Are you a comrade-in-arms of Factory Director Liu?"

"I'm his grandfather!"