A nation's industrial development begins with junior engineers.

"Funding?"

This professionally trained, respectable general gave a somewhat awkward smile.

Funding is certainly available. But isn't it all going to the big black fish? And there's that black fish nest they're digging in some place—it's not dirt they're digging, it's clearly a gold mine.

Other people's "gold mine" grows richer the more they dig, but his "gold mine" dwindles in value the more he digs.

And then there are his "Four Great Generals," whose resources are calculated in units of hundreds of thousands for each operation.

As a result, he usually doesn't dare to ask these guys to come out of retirement to patrol the coast, and he always borrows boats from fishermen.

A century-old navy—that's a phrase that's truly well-deserved.

"I'll take care of the funding. The main problem is that it's such a waste to just cancel your K-5 reverse engineering project like that! Could you change your approach and make it bigger? How about launching it from a ship platform?"

Huh? Are you going to make air-to-air missiles bigger and ship-launched?

Zhao Bin hesitated for a moment, then turned to look at his technician.

One of them thought for a moment, then slowly shook his head at Zhao Bin: "Factory Director, you've forgotten that the baseline behavior of our missile is guided by radar waves. And its air-launch condition is at an altitude of 2000 meters..."

"Our radar and such are a bit outdated."

"Even 'turquoise' isn't good enough at reflecting ground clutter, let alone on the sea surface. It would cause too much interference for guidance!"

"Furthermore, things like barometers need to be considered. If things go wrong, the missile might end up underwater..."

Another technician thought for a moment and then chimed in:

"Factory Director, enlarging the missile to size one isn't as simple as just stretching the dimensions. To put it bluntly, the warhead cover is a major challenge."

"The materials needed must be strong and aerodynamic, and also transparent. The warhead cover of our K-5 copy missile does not quite meet the application standards."

Hearing his family say this, Zhao Bin could only helplessly shrug.

"Boss, you've heard it too, that's the situation."

Looking at the pale-faced middle-aged man, Zhao Bin continued, "However, if you have the funds to invest, you can establish a project with the Logistics Department. Our Factory 331 is quite capable and will definitely be able to develop the missile you want!"

The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment, "Comrade, are you going to stay in Beijing for a few more days?"

Zhao Bin had long since lost all his spirits after being completely demoralized by that monstrous "Big Firecracker No. 1," and gave a bitter smile: "Boss, we can't stay any longer. Once things over there are settled, we'll head back to the factory as soon as possible. There's still a lot to do here..."

Hey, this guy's question... could it be... could there still be a chance? Could this seemingly unreliable middle-aged man really be going to entrust us with the task of developing ship-launched missiles?

Zhao Bin wondered, could this be a case of darkness in the east and light in the west?

The technicians behind him saw that their factory manager seemed somewhat interested in the proposal, and they became very anxious.

He reached out and pulled Zhao Bin to the back, and the other technicians seemed to understand what he was thinking.

They stepped forward and blocked their factory director's path. To ease the awkwardness, one of them even pulled out a crumpled pack of cigarettes and said to the naval officer, "Sir, would you like a smoke?"

"What are you doing?" Zhao Bin was interrupted and couldn't help but feel a little angry.

"Factory manager! Don't be delusional! That's the navy! A navy that's dirt poor! If he can pull out a single penny, I'll change my surname to yours!"

"Tsk, don't say that, we're all comrades..."

"Hey! If we hadn't gone and copied the K-5, you could have talked to him. But now! That funding hole from importing cold storage facilities is still there, gaping open, waiting for you to fill it!"

"The deputy factory manager was saying just the other day, if all else fails, let's start selling popsicles at 331, since the cold storage is quite large..."

"What? So fussy and childish. Don't forget, we're a factory that received commendation letters from old folks, selling popsicles and stuff..."

Zhao Bin paused, his face showing desolation.

Will it fetch a good price?

"what……"

……

The naval officer sighed again as he listened to the two men's words.

"These intellectuals, can't they stay away a little further away when they're talking badly?" It's only ten steps away; he's just seasick, not deaf.

"Comrades, how about this? You can stay in Beijing for a couple more days, and our navy will cover all your expenses! Maybe things will take a turn for the better in two days!"

Thinking about their discussion about selling popsicles, Comrade Haijun felt a sense of "we're all from poor families, the eldest brother doesn't criticize the second brother."

Then, he waved his hand, and several orderly soldiers ran out from behind him.

He enthusiastically accepted the small packages from Zhao Bin and his companions, and led them towards the guesthouse.

"Uh... okay. Boss, just two days, there's so much to do at the factory..."

Zhao Bin and his companions weren't stupid; they could clearly sense that their leader was a bit angry, so they had to take the opportunity to back down.

"Hey, where have we gotten to in terms of our turning point?"

The staff officer behind him snapped to attention: "Report! I don't know!"

"Hey, I don't know, why are you shouting so loudly! You brat, come back here..."

"Sir, I think you shouldn't be too fixated on this matter. Don't just listen to Old Wang's one-sided story and put your hopes on it." After some deliberation, the staff officer finally spoke his mind.

"They're just grasping at straws. Seeing those Green Frog ships darting around like that makes me furious! They went even further the other day, actually trying to sail into the Bohai Bay! If the 'Nanchang' had a little more reach, I'd make sure they never came back!"

As the naval comrade spoke, he recalled his conversation with Old Wang on the red fishing boat.

Yes, it can be said that Comrade Jin Guang personally brought Lao Wang back, although according to the original plan, Lao Wang should not have been the one to pick him up.

He personally went to the scene because the map of the Russian naval base in Vladivostok was extremely important.

Soldiers have simple thoughts; their greatest wish is to keep the enemy outside the country's borders.

As the naval base is currently the biggest threat to the Chinese navy, it is necessary to understand its basic deployment situation.

So our seasick naval comrades, in order to receive intelligence, endured their dizziness and spent half a month adrift at sea themselves.

It was on that ship that he learned about someone's extraordinary qualities from Old Wang.

Combining the Navy's own missile destroyer plan with the current grim reality of coastal defense, Comrade Jin Guang turned his attention to a certain little idiot who was still unaware of the situation.

Hmph, now that the Air Force has come up with a solution, they should at least think of one for the Navy too!

We do have prototypes of anti-ship missiles, it's just that nobody understands them.

You little brat, you ate my lobster!

As our ancestors said, "He who eats another's food is bound to do so," hehehe!

……

So, where is the "turning point" that the leaders by the sea mentioned?

I don't know either, but the little brat didn't get off at the Sijiucheng Station. The special train made several turns and headed towards some unknown platform.

"Hey, don't give me that 'never going home' thing again! Where did you get me this time?"

Old Wang tightened his grip on his new pet and looked around.

"You can rest assured, it's definitely in Beijing. But when did the railway get here? I didn't know."

As he spoke, he broke off a lobster claw and gave it to Jiang Xia.

Hmm, didn't the commander say he was waiting for the little brat in the office building? How did he end up here?

While helping the little brat break open the lobster claws, Old Wang secretly grumbled to himself.