A nation's industrial development begins with junior engineers.

Following the crowd, we arrived at the cafeteria.

Sister Chunxia looked at the two of them, led them to sit aside, and then hurriedly left.

Although it's not at the same latitude as the steel rolling mill, the canteen's layout is basically the same: long benches and long tables. However, the tables have beautiful patterns, and you can faintly smell a fresh wood fragrance.

After everyone sat down, they looked at their coworkers who were queuing up at the window for food.

The workers stood in neat rows. Some people would look over curiously, while others would look on with slight envy, but they all maintained a basic level of quiet.

At that moment, three or five people strode in from the cafeteria entrance.

The leader had gray and black hair, a sallow complexion, and high cheekbones that protruded like two small hills, making his cheeks deeply sunken and his eye sockets sunken as well, while his two eyeballs bulged outwards.

The same was true for the people behind them.

"Comrades! Good evening!"

Sister Chunxia walked quickly a few steps, stood in front of everyone, and began to introduce herself.

"Comrades, this is our factory's Party Secretary Xie, along with several of our factory directors... They've come especially to welcome you all!"

Bang bang bang bang

Everyone who was sitting down stood up.

"Say a few words!"

When Secretary Xie spoke, he appeared to be a lean man, but I didn't know why his voice was so loud.

"Welcome everyone to our machinery factory. We've gathered you all here from all over the country because we have an important task for you. We hope you can overcome any difficulties and complete it successfully!"

"Can everyone do it!"

"can!"

"Good! This is the spirit of our revolutionary workers!"

"The conditions here are still a bit tough, so please be prepared. We will try our best to meet any needs you may have."

"If you can't meet my needs, please try your best to overcome them. If that still doesn't work, then let's talk about it."

Upon hearing this, everyone was taken aback: This Party Secretary has a rather straightforward temper.

"Alright, serve the food!"

Several young men with buzz cuts and wearing aprons, along with a master chef, brought the dishes over in no time.

How could it not be quick? There were only three dishes in total.

A plate of shredded delicacies, a plate of chunky radishes, and a small dish of peanuts.

Finally, each person received a large bowl containing a clump of slightly yellowish noodles, but with a luxurious garnish of chopped scallions on top.

Tsk, the conditions are indeed harsh.

If this banquet were held at the steel rolling mill, and Li Huaide were in charge of organizing it, every table would at least have a plate of roast duck, or at the very least, braised pork.

But where is this?

That can only mean that these are the things this factory can offer the best.

"Hehe, it really is ramen?"

As soon as Xiao Jiang saw the noodles, he started talking to himself, and the chef serving the dishes next to him looked rather displeased.

"Wow, it smells so good!"

"But shouldn't it be one clear, two white, three red, four green, and five yellow?"

Upon hearing this, the chef wearing a white apron next to him brightened up. After serving the noodles, he went back into the cafeteria and soon came out slowly with his hands behind his back.

He showed the small white jar in his hand to Jiang Xia. Jiang Xia approached, fanned the jar with his hand, and nodded vigorously after smelling the aroma.

The head chef quickly scooped a spoonful for Jiangxia with a small spoon.

The bright red chili oil mixed in the clear broth, exuding a rich and mellow flavor. Taking a big bite, the aroma of the chili oil shot straight up the throat to the top of the head, and Jiang Xia, who was originally a little listless, was jolted awake by the stimulation. This flavor is domineering!

With a hearty appetite, Jiang Xia gave the chef a thumbs up and, before she could even say a word, began stuffing noodles into her mouth.

"Little boy, we don't have enough ingredients right now. Next time you come, Uncle will give you a bowl of tender and authentic beef noodles!"

Watching Jiang Xia wolf down his food, the head chef said with a smile.

Jiang Xia had already eaten most of the noodles before he could finally speak to the chef:

"Uncle, the ramen smells so good, it has a really special flavor. Especially that spicy sauce, hey, why don't you get a spoonful for the others?"

"No, it's just a small can, something I saved up. This is beef noodles, you can't call it ramen anymore! You guys have eaten up two weeks' worth of rations for the Party Secretary and the others!"

Ah~~ this~~

Jiang Xia and Wang Kui looked at each other, their chopsticks feeling as heavy as a thousand pounds, too embarrassed to lift them any further.

Secretary Xie happened to walk up to Jiangxia's table, and upon hearing what the head chef said, he slapped him across the face.

"What are you rambling on about, comrade, eat up!"

"Don't worry, a factory has provided us with some rice. Life is getting better and better!"

Thinking about the half-carriage full of rice, Jiang Xia felt a little more confident.

We have a clear conscience; we brought supplies with us.

Jiang Xia lowered his head and continued to show off.

Jiang Xia and Wang Kui were the only two people at the table, so Secretary Xie took advantage of the empty space and sat down with several factory directors in charge.

The head chef also served them a large, empty bowl, which contained no noodles, only a small bowl of noodle soup.

Secretary Xie pulled a small bag out of his pocket, shook out a pile of brown, flour-like stuff, used noodle soup to form the dough into a lump, tore off a piece, stuffed it into his mouth, chewed it a few times, then swallowed it with some shredded radish.

Seeing Jiang Xia's curious gaze, Secretary Xie smiled frankly: "Good stuff, fried noodles made with sand rice. You're not high enough rank to eat this!"

Tsk, judging from your appearance, that argument is completely unconvincing, uncle.

"Jiang, I actually wanted to ask you for advice. I noticed a new machine that looks similar to a punch press. Is that a drilling machine?"

A middle-aged man with a wrinkled face but not old age, and a full head of white hair picked up a bowl of noodle soup to moisten his throat, and spoke hurriedly in the accent of Beijing.

"Yes! That's right. Vertical drilling machines have similar functions to horizontal ones, but countersinking is a bit easier, and they're faster for creating countersunk holes than horizontal ones."

"However, it must be leveled before use. If you need to process oversized workpieces, you must set up a reference platform, and the machine tool angles must also be..."

Jiang Xia finished the noodle soup and then continued.

The lecture was packed with useful information, and after listening for a while, the middle-aged man pulled out a red notebook and started taking notes.

"A bad pen is worse than a good memory, as my master always said. Hehe, Jiang, could you speak a little slower? I'm a technician at the factory, my surname is Liang."

"Okay, hmm, this part is wrong, it should be drawn like this..."

Just as the two of them were huddled together, writing and drawing.

A person stood up from the large table next to them and walked excitedly toward Jiangxia. Wang Kui looked up warily.

The newcomer was quite old and tall, and he was frowning as he stared intently at Jiang Xia. Hmm? No, not Jiang Xia, but the middle-aged man next to Jiang Xia?

Wang Kui spoke first: "Sir, what can I do for you? Secretary Xie is over here..."

Secretary Xie was still swallowing the clumps of fried noodles when Wang Kui's words made him roll his eyes.

Sister Chunxia sensed something was wrong and came over: "Master Liu, is there anything you need?"

The sound startled Jiang Xia and his companion, who were still discussing. The middle-aged man also frowned and looked at the person who was walking towards them.

As if suddenly remembering something, the middle-aged man's pupils dilated, and he abruptly stood up. His body trembled with excitement.

"Teacher, master!"

The middle-aged man's call sounded strange, as if it came from his stomach.

“San’er? Liang San’er!” Master Liu stretched out his hand tremblingly.

With a thud, the middle-aged man knelt down and hugged Master Liu's leg: "Master, it's me, it's San'er!"

Tears streamed down the deep lines on the middle-aged man's face and fell heavily to the ground.

Master Liu looked at the middle-aged man kneeling in front of him, whose hair was as white as his own, and gently stroked his head with trembling hands.

"Six years! I even folded an outer layer for you!"