A nation's industrial development begins with junior engineers.

The Shichahai Ice Rink is a well-known and prestigious place in Beijing. Perhaps it was the popularity of a period drama that made it famous in later generations, attracting countless people to make special trips to visit and relive the feelings and memories depicted in the show.

Today, when you look up at Shichahai, the Bell and Drum Towers on the hilltop still stand quietly, but the surrounding environment is a bit desolate, with a touch of ancient loneliness.

However, when you turn your gaze to the wide ice surface, you see a completely different scene, which is no exaggeration to say that it is crowded with people and bustling with activity.

Look at the clothes of this group of people playing on the ice; they are clearly different from those of most people.

Many of the men were dressed in woolen overcoats and sheepskin hats, looking dashing and spirited; the women wore bright red scarves, like flowers blooming in winter, and wore leather high-heeled ice skates, their figures light and graceful, freely displaying their youthful vitality and passion on the ice.

Therefore, it is not surprising that before the 1970s, the Shichahai Ice Rink was at the forefront of fashion in Beijing.

In an era when entertainment options were relatively limited, ice skating remained a popular choice and had a large following.

There's an old saying that winter isn't complete without going to the Shichahai or Beihai ice rinks for ice skating.

At that time, roller skates were considered an absolute luxury item. A pair of roller skates sold in department stores could cost as much as tens of yuan, which was no small sum at the time.

But as the saying goes, "Without Zhang the butcher, we won't eat mixed-hair pigs." For people full of wisdom and creativity, this was not a problem at all. People at that time were extremely capable with their hands. With a long wooden board that fit their feet, two thick iron wires, and hemp rope that they twisted themselves, they could cleverly assemble a pair of simple ice skates and enjoy the fun of skating.

If the materials are even simpler, there are still ways. Use a hammer to evenly nail short, large iron nails onto the wooden board. With skillful hands, you can use these homemade "iron nail skates" to speed across the ice and even catch up with the kids from the compound who wear professional ice skates.

Of course, wherever there's a lively place, there are always some unwritten rules. Take the Shichahai ice rink, for example; it's been artificially divided into two areas.

The central area of ​​Qianhai is designated as the main arena, and only those wearing proper ice skates are allowed entry. Others wearing homemade skates are only permitted to run laps on the outer perimeter.

Don't misunderstand, it's not about creating hierarchy. It's purely a safety issue. Although this rule might change somewhat in a few years, for now, the intention is good.

Wow, so many people come here to have fun!

Seeing traces of his loved ones, Jiang Xia began to take a closer look at everything before him.

"Yes, this place is managed, it's much safer than skating on 'wild ice'. Look over there..." Old Wang pointed to a row of wooden houses in front of the ice rink.

"They sell hawthorn soup there, it looks pretty good. The two rooms in the back are the service area, where you can get free electric ice skates."

"See that row of reed mat railings? Back in '57, the Japanese hockey team came here to play a game. Hey, you didn't know that? I remember your Wudaokou school had a hockey team, didn't you ever go to watch a game?"

Tsk, why bring up something you shouldn't talk about? Jiang Xia pursed her lips, not wanting to discuss this matter.

Jiang Xia naturally knew that the ice hockey team at Wudaokou School had a long and distinguished history. However, back in school, he was somewhat strictly managed by Teacher Xianzhou.

In particular, the first vice principal of Wudaokou, who proposed the "work-study cooperation system," would often take Jiang Xia to the factories where he was doing his internships. The old man also set up tutoring schools in the surrounding factories, specifically to have his students teach the workers.

Jiangxia's eloquence was honed in these cram schools. Just think about this old man's rigorous academic attitude.

We never missed a single class throughout the year. Even when faced with complex mechanical drawings, we would usually go to the classroom the night before to draw them. Some drawings were even drawn with different colored chalk to make them more distinct.

Under a teacher like that, Jiang Xia has no time to go to the training ground to cheer on those "athletic teenagers".

There's nothing that can be done; it seems Jiang Xia is naturally drawn to these stubborn old men, perhaps because they all share that burning desire.

I earnestly hope that our motherland will become strong...

It seems that this stubborn old man has recently gone out to set up an agricultural machinery vocational school, and we can't find him for a while.

Sigh, we're short-handed. Anyone with a bit of skill is spinning like a top. Jiang Xia felt melancholy thinking about it.

If life were only as beautiful as our first meeting, why would the autumn wind bring sorrow to the painted fan?

Well, for some reason, our little ahoge (cowlick) has been a bit moody lately. Looks like this is a byproduct of his rationalization. They say geniuses are always lonely, don't they?

Who knows, they might suddenly lose their minds and their thoughts will plummet into some abyss. Just like the person who got hit by an apple, they played with apples at first, but later they went to play with the Book of Daniel, predicting the end of the world and stuff like that, which is really hard to keep up with.

Fortunately, Jiang Xia wasn't a genius, and he had people around him who could easily change his depressed state.

"Boss! Where are the ice skates you promised to make for me?!"

Jiang Dong held a bowl of hawthorn soup, followed by Jiang Qiu and "Teacher Qin" as they cautiously approached Jiang Xia.

Jiang Dong took a small sip of soup and handed the bowl to "Teacher Qin" behind him. "Teacher Qin" didn't mind Jiang Dong's saliva, took a small sip from the rim of the bowl, and then passed it to Jiang Qiu.

Jiang Qiu took one last sip and handed the remaining half-bowl of hawthorn soup to Old Wang.

Old Wang grinned and drank it all in one gulp, leaving only a bright red fruit spinning around in the bowl.

"Your uncle!"

Jiang Xia got up and stuffed the red fruit that was about to go into Old Wang's mouth into his own.

Damn, this is sour!

These red fruits are hawthorns!

Seeing Jiang Xia's wrinkled old face, the three little girls and the old man all chuckled.

There's not much to say after that, just put on your skates and let's have some fun!

Jiang Xia had prepared excellent ice skates for everyone, even though they were homemade. But with the steel mill as a backing, the skates they made were still quite presentable.

There were still several pairs of cotton shoes donated by the Ministry of Chemical Industry. Jiang Xia picked out a few that were on the larger side and fixed rounded angle steel directly onto them with iron nails.

The gleaming angle steel ice skates paired with cotton boots create a unique and stylish look.

Unfortunately, given Xiao Dai Mao's terrible coordination, after falling twice, he lay on the ice and refused to get up.

Jiang Dong felt deeply regretful about this, but in order to let her older brother, who was always busy with work, fully experience the joy of skating, she traded three candies for the ice rink where the children were playing nearby.

After throwing my older brother onto the ice sled, I took him out for a walk, just like walking a puppy.

Unfortunately, Jiang Dong had plenty of bursts of strength but not enough endurance; after pulling for a while, he was already panting heavily.

He plopped down on his older brother's lap to catch his breath. As he panted, he glanced at his brother, who was comfortably asleep, and a certain thought sprouted in Jiang Dong's twitching mind.

then……

Jiang Dong, the heroine, now has the most "unique" ice skates in the entire Shichahai skating rink—her own older brother's.

Whoosh~~~

The little ahoge (cowlick) glided past lying down...

Whoosh~~~

Little Dai Mao was stepped on by Jiang Dong and flew close to the ground~

Whoosh~~~

The little pigtail was ridden on by the three girls like an ice sled~

swoosh~

How come even Old Wang got promoted?

The badge-wearing soldiers on the perimeter quickly pulled out the cameras they had just been issued.

"Hehehe, comrades, how about we rip off Old Wang for a year's worth of roast ducks based on this photo?"

"no!"

"What?"

"Uh, why so cruel? Don't you care about camaraderie...?"

"It's not that I'm ruthless, but the guys at IDCPC said they got ripped off by Boss Wang, and they won't be satisfied until they get their revenge..."

"What's there to be afraid of about cutting IDCPC?"

"Their confidentiality regulations already have nearly 290 detailed rules..."

The soldier holding the camera was silent for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"You reap what you sow, old Wang..."

……

Just as Jiang Xia was enjoying his younger sister's special expression of affection, in an office building somewhere, the French were watching the screen display "Bonjour, monde."

For the first time, he showed a look of surprise.