A nation's industrial development begins with junior engineers.

The next day, under the reluctant gazes of the two factory managers, several large rolls of copper pipes that had just come off the cold rolling line, along with a friction welding machine the size of a lathe, were loaded onto the train that had been waiting for a long time.

Li Huaide opened his notebook and made another note about Factory 331. As he wrote, he suddenly remembered the project management resolution just issued by the Ministry of Machinery Industry, and his hand trembled.

Watching Jiang Xia stagger away, he shook his head again.

Forget it, let the older generation handle the work of filling in the gaps; let the younger generation do their best.

"Hey, this project wasn't submitted for approval. Yang Erlengzi, which project do you think we should merge it into?"

"Tch, just sign a memorandum. We can get it into the trial production of Project 301, right? By the way, it seems the Ministry of Machinery Industry wants to change our name..."

"Whether or not to change the name is up to the higher-ups, but shouldn't we be promoted at our level..."

The two exchanged a glance, and humphed!

Jiang Xia was unaware that the two factory directors were glaring at each other like fighting cocks again; all he wanted to do now was go home and sleep.

Jiang Xia felt like his brain was about to explode after using the scanner for so long, and the more he used it, the more terrifying a fact he discovered.

That is, his thoughts are slowly sliding toward the side of absolute reason.

Just like yesterday's conversation with Factory Director Zhao Bin, if it were in the past, Jiang Xia's behavior would definitely have been to drag his factory's master craftsmen out for another passionate, sleepless night.

We would never consider separating something like the "refrigeration system".

He noticed this trend from the beginning. So he would occasionally do something childish to remind himself: I'm still a perfectly good, unmarried young man!

Such actions include, but are not limited to, deliberately choosing nonsensical names or doing things that are obviously absurd.

However, the intense use of the scanner these past few days has suppressed that human emotion once again under the weight of absolute rationality.

Now, listening to the noise of the machines in the workshop, he can figure out the general problems with each machine without even turning on the scanner, as long as he pays attention.

Was the system upgraded? Or did I become the system myself?

Jiangxia felt a chill run down his spine upon closer examination.

No, no, if this continues, things might be done perfectly, but will I become a robot that only follows procedures and has no passion?

Jiang Xia kept his head down, pondering slowly. If things truly became absolutely rational, perhaps he could do more for this nascent nation.

But is it worth it?

"Hey! Engineer Jiang, you're off your early shift too! That's quite unusual..."

"Haha, Engineer Jiang, you should take a break too. You've been working non-stop these past few days, either in the new workshop or working on new machines. This can't go on; even the strongest person couldn't keep up!"

"By the way, Mr. Jiang, would you like to go fishing with us?"

As Jiang Xia walked to the door, many of his coworkers greeted him warmly.

Nowadays, steel rolling mills mostly operate on three shifts. The workers at the gate are all finishing their early shifts. Although everyone looks tired, their spirits are excellent.

Looking at the smiling faces, Jiang Xia, who was worried about becoming too rational, felt inexplicably cheerful.

He took out a few packs of cigarettes and started distributing them right at the factory gate.

"Hey, Jiang! The latest newspaper just came out here, do you have time to read it to us?"

An old craftsman pointed to the notice board by the door and laughed at Jiang Xia: "He went to a literacy class, but he still can't recognize all the characters. He just sees something about 'my country's First,' but what exactly is 'first in what'?"

"Hey! Old Liu, just wait for the broadcast to start, our Engineer Jiang was exhausted last night..."

"It's alright, it's alright, just reading an article won't hurt. Let me see what good news it is!"

Jiang Xia was also curious about what this "number one in China" meant. Could it be that the group of people at the foot of Tianshan Mountain had achieved something?

Upon closer inspection, hey, isn't this exactly what Factory Director Zhao Bin told me yesterday?

At that time, China was really tough. Just look at what the newspapers were saying.

"Capture the evil dragon in the raging sea!"

"A unit of our navy used domestically produced ship-to-ship missiles to destroy an enemy 2300-ton destroyer and capture a 10,000-ton landing ship!"

Next to the title was a picture of a ship belching black smoke, with the words "World's first warship destroyed by ship-to-ship missiles" in large print.

Next came a picture of a group of sailors standing atop a tall landing ship, waving downwards. Next to the picture were parentheses, curved in shape.

Yeah, this is like stomping on the other side's face.

Below this image is a picture of the RF-101 that crashed previously.

The same line of large text reads, "The first fighter jet destroyed by our country's advanced air-to-air missiles!"

Yeah, this is like dragging out the Korean noodles again and stepping on them once more.

The following text, written in passionate prose, describes how our naval and air force soldiers, undeterred by hardship, took the initiative to attack and achieved brilliant results.

Finally, the researchers were highly praised, described as warriors without guns.

Before the last word was even read, cheers erupted from the workers on site.

In the end, Jiang Xia could only shout: "In this battle! Our army captured one major general and two colonels..."

"It indirectly thwarted the enemy's attempt to form a numbered fleet..."

"it is good!"

"Hahaha, the other side has given us a huge gift! A 10,000-ton warship! That's enough to keep our steel mill busy for half a year!"

"Hahaha, we've thwarted the enemy's attempt to build a fleet! Tsk tsk, this navy isn't like our militia; we have to train hard before we can board a ship..."

Hey, there's still someone who understands.

It's important to know that a landing ship requires nearly two hundred people to operate, not to mention the officers on board who are trying to gain some combat merits.

You can call those guys cunning, but their systematic training is still quite impressive. In short, the other side really lost out this time; the equipment is easy to buy, they just need to ask the bald eagle for help.

These experienced soldiers and officers need to be trained properly.

Let's get lively!

When the workers at the steel rolling mill heard that the neighboring unit had already started setting off firecrackers, they also brought out several large strings and started setting them off at the factory gate.

After a while of excitement, the workers gradually dispersed.

Wang Kui slowly peeked out of the factory gate in his small jeep.

As soon as Jiang Xia got into the car, a small box was thrown over.

"First-class merit?"

"Well, the higher-ups said things can be very high-profile, but the specific names of the people involved must be kept secret. If you're not satisfied, we can go to the armory and get it for you, okay?"

"Why bother with that? I just want to sleep now."

Jiang Xia fiddled with the deep red badge. "Hmm, this isn't a special badge, is it? It's just an ordinary first-class merit badge." He thought. "I saw Old Wang packing his things a while ago; it looked exactly the same."

Haha, just a regular first-class merit?

Old Wang's hands were itching to get started.

First-class merit, second-class merit, if I'm missing a third-class merit, will I be able to complete the grand slam?

Huh? I think there's also a Special Merit Award...

Forget it, I wouldn't dare to hope for that; those are things bestowed upon "gods."

After putting away the badge, Jiang Xia tilted his head and fell asleep.

Smiling faces appeared one after another in Jiang Xia's dream. Turning into robots or something didn't seem like such a big deal.