A nation's industrial development begins with junior engineers.

Li Tiejun carried Jiang Xia into the factory clinic, shouting, "Doctor! Come quick, someone's in danger!"

The factory doctor strode over, pried open Jiang Xia's eyelids, and casually inserted a thermometer into his mouth.

"How did you do that?"

"I don't know. I think I slept in the office last night, and I woke up with a fever today. I can't wake up no matter how much I call!"

The doctor took out the thermometer and looked at it. "The temperature dropped last night."

He then took Jiang Xia's pulse again and sighed.

This sudden breath put Ma Weihong and the others on the edge of their seats.

"Doctor, does Jiang Xia have some serious illness?"

The doctor gave them a strange look: "Hey, what's wrong with you? Why are you hoping your colleague gets sick?"

"Nothing serious, just a bit weak. You guys, don't bully the young man. Make him do less work!"

"Alright, the institute just got some domestically produced penicillin, so we can give him the injection."

"Take two more doses of traditional Chinese medicine, and you'll be fine."

Ma Weihong and the others were too lazy to argue with the doctor who was talking so heavily, and they quickly lifted Jiang Xia onto the hospital bed.

Then, the doctor gave Jiang Xia a solid injection in her buttocks and put her on an IV drip of glucose.

Li Tiejun stayed by their side to take care of them, while the rest of them hurriedly rushed to Workshop Six.

I made an appointment with the quality inspectors yesterday to teach them the measurement methods for key data, so I can't afford to delay any longer.

By this time, Jiang Xia had already woken up groggily.

Actually, Jiang Xia woke up as soon as Ma Weihong entered the office. But for some reason, she just couldn't get up.

It felt as if my soul and body had become disconnected, almost like my soul had left my body.

The feeling lessened considerably once the glucose entered my body. However, I was still incredibly hungry.

Ugh, I got so engrossed in my work yesterday that I developed hypoglycemia!

He nudged Li Tiejun beside him, indicating that he wanted to eat a steamed bun.

As a result, Li Tiejun yelled and summoned the doctor. The old doctor slowly walked over and laughed when he saw Jiang Xia stuffing buns into her mouth.

While saying things like "being able to eat is a blessing" and "young man, don't work too hard next time," he also took Jiang Xia's pulse again.

"Okay, it's nothing serious. Just stay here and rest for the day, I'll get you a sick leave certificate!"

As he spoke, the old doctor winked at Jiang Xia and walked out.

Hehe, this old doctor is interesting.

Jiang Xia lay comfortably in bed and chatted with Li Tiejun about literature.

……

Yang Youning and Li Changfu skipped the office early in the morning and went straight to Workshop Six.

We discussed in detail the construction method of the simplified version of the hand pump well with the two master craftsmen.

Although the plan is perfect, it still needs to be implemented.

Master Qin breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that the casting method would be used instead. Although he had assured the factory manager and chief engineer that he could definitely complete the task, he was still a little apprehensive.

But if it's cast, it's much simpler.

After all, all you need to do is prepare the mold, heat the metal raw material above its melting point to form liquid metal, and then pour it into the mold. Once the metal cools, a little polishing is all that's required.

Compared to the original production process, countless steps have been eliminated.

Master Qin waved to the crowd: "Wang Yueming! Come over here, take a look at how to make this sand mold!"

"This is the styling master from our machinery factory; his skills are top-notch!"

Wang Yueming came over and carefully examined the drawings. He then said to Yang Youning, "No problem, Director Yang. Give me half a day, and I can finish the sand mold."

"However, our small blast furnace can only reach a maximum temperature of 1600 degrees Celsius. The steel billets sent by the steel mill may not be hot enough."

Yang Youning waved his hand and said, "Why would we need such good stuff? Just use the turtle iron that the commune sent. Damn it, they sent me a whole bunch, and I can't refuse. We'll just have to use them all this time."

"In this way, this pile of turtle iron will go back to where it came from, and it won't be considered a waste of them!"

Turtle iron, also known as "earth iron" or "earth steel," was produced under rudimentary conditions, resulting in steel pieces that came out in clumps, resembling turtles crawling on the ground.

However, in Yang Youning's opinion, calling it "turtle iron" is too kind; he prefers to call it a lump of something.

During that period of exaggerated claims, various communes produced things using makeshift blast furnaces. At that time, they even confiscated pots, pans, and dishes from every household, and in some production teams, they even took away sickles and hoes.

Each production team kept only a few metal farm tools, which everyone took turns using.

As a result, the steel production figures for that year looked extremely impressive, reaching as high as 1200 million tons. Unfortunately, only 70% of the steel met the standards; the rest either had excessively large air bubbles or insufficient structural strength, making them unusable.

“If it’s turtle iron, then there’s no problem. It’s just that the smelting process needs to be carefully controlled; too many air bubbles will make it unsuitable.” Wang Yueming nodded in agreement.

"Okay, you guys handle the technical requirements! Just let me know if you need anything!"

Just as the group was talking, the steel rolling mill's loudspeaker blared: "Director Yang, Deputy Director Li, and Chief Engineer Li, please return to the director's office immediately. There is an important message from higher authorities!"

"Director Yang, Chief Engineer Li, please return to the director's office immediately. There is an important message from the higher authorities!"

The broadcast came on three times in a row, but the wording was slightly different each time.

As Yang Youning led Li Changfu toward the office, he saw Xiao Liu running and panting heavily.

"Factory manager! It's terrible! You need to go and see quickly, don't keep them waiting!"

"Hey, who's here again?"

"Xiao Liu, be composed! You've already met the Minister of the First Ministry of Machine Building, what are you panicking for!"

"Hey, factory manager, it's different! It's someone from the general office!"

"General Office?" Yang Youning pondered for a moment: "Which place's General Office?"

Xiao Liu lowered his voice: "The one by the lake!"

Yang Youning swallowed hard: "Is it that one over there?" He pointed in a direction.

After receiving an affirmative answer from Xiao Liu, Yang Youning grabbed Li Changfu and ran away.

"The ancestral graves are emitting auspicious smoke!"

When Yang Youning arrived at the office, the door opened by itself.

Li Huaide's round face appeared in front of Yang Youning.

"Oh dear, Director Yang, where have you been! We've kept the comrades in the General Office waiting for you!"

Looking at Li Huaide's fat face, Yang Youning suppressed the urge to turn and kick him. Why didn't this bastard run to the guesthouse today? Why is he here instead?

Yang Youning reached out and pushed him aside, then walked straight inside.

Li Huaide didn't take it seriously and quickly took two steps to reappear in front of Yang Youning.

"Come, let me introduce you. This is Comrade Liu Jianpei, the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Agriculture!"

Li Huaide wore a smile, but his eyes gleamed with a calculating light.

As he explained, he secretly observed Liu Jianpei's reaction.

"Secretary-General Liu, Director Yang just disappeared. I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting. I notified him as soon as I got the news, but who knew he would take so long to arrive."

Unexpectedly, Liu Jianpei laughed heartily first and said to Yang Youning, "It's alright, I've only been here for a short time."

"Secretary-General Zhao arrived earlier than me. If you have the chance, you should punish yourself with three drinks!"

The seemingly blaming words, which were actually meant to exonerate him, made Li Huaide pause for a moment.

So much so that when Yang Youning extended his hands to Secretary-General Zhao of the General Office, he hadn't even finished his introduction.

"I'm so sorry, Secretary-General Zhao. I was arranging the production tasks for the water pump wells in the workshop just now, and due to process improvements, I talked a little longer than usual. Please forgive me for being late!"

Secretary-General Zhao had no intention of blaming anyone. He waved his hand and asked with a hint of curiosity, "Process improvement? Was the original design flawed?"

"Hey, no. It's just that the original process took too many factors into account. We've taken the actual situation into consideration and made adjustments to the relevant parts."

"I'm just a roughneck, all I know is how to manage production. If you're interested, I can ask our Chief Engineer Li Changfu to introduce me to you?"

Secretary-General Zhao pondered for a moment, then looked at Liu Jianpei beside him: "Comrade Jianpei, the water well project is one of the purposes of my visit. I would like to hear the steel mill's views on this matter, but I don't know if you have the time?"

Liu Jianpei laughed heartily: "What a coincidence! I came here for the same reason!"

"What a coincidence! Why don't we announce the notice first, and then listen to Chief Engineer Li's detailed explanation?"

"Very good! Very good!"

Looking at the laughter and cheers of the crowd, Li Huaide was somewhat bewildered.

What is a hand pump well?