Canteen System Assistance Notes

Next, the convoy would slowly circle the Huinong Industrial Zone before heading to the training area. As Chairman Lin Zuhan, presiding over the ceremony, announced the start of the mobile artillery display, the worker representatives attending the handover ceremony cheered. They left their seats and headed to the side of the strange-looking C8 tractor, surrounding the artillery as it drove out of the factory.

The generals present, seemingly unwilling to join in the fun, began to discuss the matter. They began to speculate whether these 24 pieces of "heavy artillery," fully equipped with trucks and ammunition, could be deployed by a unit like the 38th Army to counter one or even two Japanese divisions.

The Eighth Route Army commanders spoke with the remaining factory representatives, inquiring about the artillery's production capacity, production difficulties, and worker training and learning. They also encouraged them to continue their efforts in developing the "22x French 155mm barrel with MO gun mount." The latter stated that artillery production capacity was sufficient and development was progressing smoothly, but the biggest problem was a shortage of technicians and basic engineers.

As for Chairman Mao, he was sitting in the delegates' seats, holding a cigarette and smiling relaxedly.

"Oh, our busy man finally got a little break today." General Zhu put down his teacup and looked at his old partner's relaxed brow, feeling somewhat relieved. "It seems this big-barreled cannon will finally catch your old Mao's eye." "As for me, look over there."

The Chairman shook his head slightly, as if denying something. He gestured with his cigarette, and General Zhu turned in the direction he pointed, and saw clusters of colorful flowers.

Oh, those were the workers, huddled around the factory carrying the artillery pieces. Unlike anywhere else in the country at this time, they were wearing clothes of all colors: vibrant red, tender green, embellished with floral patterns and short, powerful slogans. They laughed, their laughter vibrant, and they formed another soaring landscape.

Ah, perhaps this answer sheet was not originally written specifically for Comrade Steel.

Chapter 414: Border Region Trade Union Office

"Welcome to the Industrial Coordination Department. Okay, okay, comrade. I'll transfer you to the Machinery Group right away."

"Coordination Office No. 07 is on the line. Hello, comrade. This is the Inorganic Group... Oh! Oh... Okay, I understand. I'll check the manual. Please wait a moment."

There was a crackling sound of coffee, and the slide on the wall changed, showing a few more pieces of data. Someone ran to the side, wrote items on the blackboard, and shouted loudly.

Guanghua Branch 776's nitrogen fertilizer and pesticide backlog has exceeded expectations. Qinyang District Station 2! New fertilizers are more effective, and the three public farms have exceeded their previous estimates. Who wants them?

...I'm here! Oh, I'm talking to one of our colleagues. Get ready! Our geodetic service team is very busy and won't be back for another week—Listen! Listen, there's Guanghua Branch 76 20 miles east of your agency. The phone number is... They have the nitrogen fertilizer and pesticide you need."

Sure! Contact the transportation trading company! They have trucks, supply, and can help you set up an agency! Don't worry, your product will definitely catch up with this market trend. We can't use up all the corn cob malt candy here, so it would be best if we could resell it to the Jiang family—but remember! We must all agree on the same price!"

"Yes, yes, comrade. Now that our second phase of steel production is online, we can produce the hot-rolled seamless pipes you need ourselves. Our Diesel-style double-series high-speed mills no longer require the drilling line's capacity, which is why we're canceling your quota... Bullshit!"

The woman holding the phone suddenly raised her voice an octave, a high-pitched voice piercing the noisy office. "Your factory is just two inert tubes connected to two reactors, using high-pressure gas, connected by four flanges. Do you really think I don't know how to be fooled and haven't even been to the factory for internship? You want twelve of them right away? You think our cooperation department is a pushover?"

Her voice instantly overwhelmed everyone else in the office, even causing several visitors who had just entered to freeze for a moment. The next second, with countless gazes intertwined, her inherent shyness resurfaced.

"That's not how you stockpile goods!" she added softly, "Hot-rolled pipes are just as suitable for your factory's specifications, and they're even lighter..."

"Mingrui, Yingchuan... So, you've been working under these conditions for the past few years?"

50 telephones, 6 master control machines, and 3 "main desk/front desk" style 20-port telephone switches hidden in the next room - if you just mention such a luxurious configuration, people at this time will probably think that they have come to the public telephone hall of the Magic City Telephone Company, or the Magic City Stock and Futures Trading Center.

You have to remember that historically, before liberation, Ning Province had only 56 telephones. Even in a city like Chongqing, the secondary capital, only one or two telephones were installed per unit. How could such a modern and spectacular sight be seen?

In this three-story building, Wu Baoyuan, who had just walked in, was shocked - well, it was not really shocking. A few days ago, when he had just arrived in Fushe and saw that the small river valley town had electricity, telephones, running cars, chimneys, and passenger planes, he was already shocked beyond words.

"So what do you think, Brother Wu?" Fan Mingrui, who was walking in the middle, chuckled. "We are both old, and it's not good to get startled." He did not directly answer the question of his old rival and old friend, but began to introduce Sun Yingchuan, who was walking in front.

"This is the Communist Party's dedicated service for agricultural cooperatives, state-owned factories and enterprises, and joint-stock companies like us—the Industrial Coordination Office. It's supposedly an agency under the Ministry of Industrialization and Standardization, specializing in integrating information from various sectors and connecting buyers and sellers. With them, sourcing raw materials, resolving problems, and connecting with downstream suppliers is incredibly convenient, even eliminating the need for sales managers."

"But I heard that this organization is constantly changing. In the early days, it could only provide consultations by phone, but now it helps match supply and demand. I wonder what it will do in the future?

"It's more like a specialized agency," Wu Baoyuan nodded. "I've never heard of the government handling this. I thought they were trying to trick you, Yongli and Huanghaishe, into doing something. Now, I understand..."

—————-—-

What is Wynn, and who are Fan Mingrui, Wu Baoyuan, and Sun Yingchuan?

Most people may not be familiar with them, but anyone who is interested in the field of chemical engineering in the Republic of China must have heard of the famous names of these three people.

Among these three, Sun Yingchuan was a rare Ph.D. in chemistry in China at the time. As president of the Huanghai Chemical Society, he led over sixty of China's most valuable chemical professionals and engineers to establish a comprehensive testing and inspection system, effectively serving as both a "think tank" and an "ISO certification body" for the domestic chemical industry. This organization also produced renowned chemists such as Hou Qirong.

The boss of Huanghaishe was Fan Mingrui, the founder of the renowned Yongli Soda Factory, known in the domestic chemical industry as "the Northern Fan among the Northern Fans." Historically, he pioneered the production of soda ash and ammonium sulfate in China, breaking the domestic monopoly on soda ash and nitrogen fertilizer production, and also dismantling the imported monopoly in the domestic soda ash and fertilizer markets.

In 38, the Huanghai Society was affected by the war and forced to relocate inland. Lacking funds, the society could not carry out production and research, and even couldn't pay salaries. Fortunately, Mr. Xu Maoxun of the Changsha Eighth Office came to the rescue, and the Huanghai Society came under the rule of the Communist Party.

Sun Yingchuan counted his fingers nostalgically. "I said this to Hou Qirong back in 39. He had just returned from Germany. The Germans resented him for publicizing the Soxhlet process and made it difficult for him to purchase equipment. Ha! Qirong was about to take away many members of the Huanghai Society and join forces with the Eighth Route Army to establish the 'New Yongli Alkali Factory' to test his new alkali production method."

"Oh!" Wu Baoyuan raised an eyebrow. Dr. Sun's words were calm and peaceful, but he sounded a bit boastful. "What's the result?"

Dr. Sun said nothing, pointing to Fan Mingrui next door. Seeing this, Fan Mingrui didn't refuse: "Later, Qirong wrote me a letter, hoping that I would become the director of Xin Yongli, so I came here - instead of suffering in the south, I'd rather show my talents here.

"After that, the Industrial Cooperation Office provided us with a lot of help. They not only assisted us in manufacturing and importing equipment, but also helped us apply for a total nitrogen quota from the Huinong Phase II synthetic ammonia plant. They also connected us with the Guanghua Society, which specializes in agricultural products, and assigned us students to study chemical engineering. Now, Xin Yongli not only produces over 200 tons of soda ash daily, but also produces ammonium chloride, a fast-acting nitrogen fertilizer. A large area of ​​the surrounding corn nitrogen fertilizer uses Xin Yongli brand."

Joint investment, equipment procurement, ammonia synthesis, raw material coordination, downstream connection...

This was truly a paradise for an aspiring industrialist, let alone Fan Mingrui, who had witnessed the destruction of the country and the factory he had built to the ground by Japanese bombing. Putting oneself in his shoes, Wu Baoyuan, the "Southern Wu" of the "Southern Wu and Northern Fan" faction, could fully understand his decision to "surrender to the Communist Party."

Having once founded the "Tian" chemical group and developed synthetic ammonia, hydrochloric acid, monosodium glutamate and acid-resistant ceramic projects, he knew very well that the objective laws of industry had nothing to do with whether you were a Communist or not.

Industry, especially heavy industries like chemicals, has always been driven by investment, talent, supporting facilities, and the market. Chemical equations are no secret, but how many countries in the world have successfully applied them to industrialization and mass production of chemical products?

Wu Baoyuan knew that as long as he still harbored a shred of ambition to make China an industrial power, he didn't have many options. Back then, he and Fan Mingrui had made a gentleman's agreement to divide their markets, north and south, refrain from vicious competition, and jointly establish a Chinese enterprise. Now, they were probably reuniting here.

"Will we also need to meet with these managers who called later?"

"That's not necessary, Brother Wu," Fan Mingrui replied. "I do have experience with this. Brother Wu, you've already passed the investment review and signed a guarantee. As long as you operate legally and treat your workers well, the border government will provide convenience. The chemical industry even offers tax incentives. Rest assured, Brother Wu, taxation here is governed by the law, and there's no arbitrary taxation..."

"We have previously made an appointment with the chemical engineering team here, and we can have an on-site interview today."

Face-to-face interview? That's no problem. It seems that this meeting can still be conducted in a way that I am familiar with.

Wu Baoyuan thought so as he followed the other two into the office behind the call center - but he soon discovered that this "familiar" interview method still made him feel extremely unfamiliar.

The head of the chemical engineering team warmly welcomed the three of them. Without beating around the bush, he got straight to the point and began his work: "Mr. Wu, what kind of chemical plant are you planning to invest in during your visit to the border region?"

He turned around and pulled out a large book half a palm thick from the bookshelf behind him. "I will tell you everything I know."

"Mr. Team Leader, please forgive me for being so intrusive, but I'd like to ask you something," Wu Baoyuan said, gazing intently at the large, thick book with frayed edges and numerous colorful labels. "Is this the product catalog of all the chemical plants under your party's control? Has your party printed it in volumes?"

"Oh! Yes, there is a book, which makes it much easier to look up information."

"Your party is thoughtful. Printing a book is not easy, let alone an industrial manual." Wu Baoyuan was very pleased. At least this work attitude caught his heart. "Such a thick book is enough to show that

"Mr. Wu, I'm sorry, this is just a catalog of chemical products... a search manual." The team leader pointed to two packed bookshelves beside him, which were densely packed with books, folders, and file bags. "Look, these two shelves in the back are the product catalogs."

Chapter 415: Chemical Lego Man

(May involve some chemistry knowledge)

The Industrial Coordination Office, at present, could hardly be called complete, and it fell far short of the target unit envisioned by Chen Da, Zhou Bin, and other Border Region economic workers. Even though its current telephone lines were merely a sparse fishing net, barely connecting the Border Region—this "Border Region" was no longer the scale of its historical past—with its relatively few factories, large cooperatives, and commercial systems, its archives still accumulated a vast amount of data.

"Mr. Wu, I've heard a lot about you! I'm the head of the Chemistry Group of the Border Region Industrial Coordination Office. You can just call me Xiao Chen.

"I'm sorry I can't invite Mr. RP here today—oh! He's not a chemist, he's the one with the best memory and the quickest brain in our coordination department—we probably still need to review paper data today. Mr. Wu, you submitted the review materials to the Investment Promotion Office earlier."

The very young team leader first invited Wu Beiyuan to a chair and poured him some tea before returning to his own seat. He flipped open his research manual and asked, "Are you planning to set up one or more chemical companies in the border region?"

"Yes, Team Leader Chen, please allow this old man of mine to break the rules for once—" Wu Beiyuan was old, but her eyesight was very good. "Isn't that the Merck Manual in your hand?

Which university's chemistry department are you from?"

Oh! Mr. Wu has a good eye. That's true, but not entirely. The clerk was stunned for a moment, then relieved. The man before him was one of the country's foremost chemists. "This is the government-issued 4C edition of the fifth Merck Chemical Reference Manual. It has a translation, but the sentences aren't very coherent. Perhaps the translator doesn't understand a lot of chemistry? Our group has organized many discussions and collaborated with the Huanghai Press, correcting many translation errors."

"As for me, I don't have a bachelor's degree in chemistry. I just worked in a chemical factory for a year and took six months of night classes in chemistry during that time. Previously, in college, I studied library science, and data retrieval is my specialty. Although chemical entries are very different from bibliographies, the search principles are similar and not too difficult."

Although not a professional, he was able to use the Merck Manual for chemical searches, making him a rare expert. Wu Beiyuan's favorable impression of the place suddenly increased. He coughed, put aside his previous pretentiousness, and frankly explained his purpose.

"Team Leader Chen, I'm dissatisfied with what you said. Mr. Wu's business is not going well. This time, he came here on the recommendation of a friend to beg for alms."

"Mr. Wu, you're too kind. You're a pioneer in China's domestic chemical industry. Tianchu MSG is well-known, and you're also known as the MSG King..."

"Ah! No need for compliments. Your party's Xiao Fugui MSG is also widely sold. I've done laboratory tests and found its quality is superior to, if not better than, Japanese products. It even far surpasses Tianchu MSG—I'm deeply pleased that the Chinese have reached this level," the MSG king said sincerely. "But right now, even if your party's products didn't aggressively compete, Tianchu MSG would probably be struggling on its own."

"Ah? Why is that?"

"Team Leader Chen, it's just like Wynn - Minzu Industrial. Under the current circumstances, it is trapped both internally and externally and has to find another way out." Fan Mingrui, who was sitting next to him, shook his head and sighed.

"Several factories of Yongli were destroyed by Japanese bombing. I once wanted to seek compensation from Japan.

"Mr. Wu's 'Tian Zi Hao' factories are mostly in Shanghai, and I'm afraid they also fell into the hands of the Japanese invaders."

"Then didn't Tianchu and the other Tianzihao companies all start moving inland? I remember that Tianchu's factory was in Wan Chai, and there were also some in Shancheng. With Mr. Wu's abilities, it's possible for him to make a comeback."

"Team Leader Chen, this is where the problem lies." Wu Beiyuan glanced at Fan Mingrui, whose expression had also changed. Then, with some envy, she looked at Sun Yingchuan, the first to arrive in the border area. "Starting an industry is difficult, but it really is!"

Wu Beiyuan, like a shaken bottle of Merlin Cola, began recounting the recent experiences of several Tianzihao enterprises. It turned out that since the fall of Shanghai, the Tianzihao chemical plants had been occupied by the Japanese army. Although the evacuation of employees and the removal of equipment had been organized, the loss of personnel and damage to equipment had led to a significant reduction in production capacity at each plant. Only the Tianchu MSG plant in Wan Chai was still struggling to maintain operations.

Industry, especially the chemical industry, is inherently collaborative and systemic. Take the production of MSG, a specialty of Tianchu enterprises, for example. The raw material for Tianchu MSG, gluten, comes from textile mills. At the time, the textile industry required starch slurries as a thinner for cloth. When flour was used to create the slurry, gluten became a useless byproduct. This collaborative approach to obtaining raw materials was significantly cheaper than producing gluten independently.

Furthermore, Mr. Wu, attempting to rebuild the factory, faced a shortage of loans, personnel, and even land. Tianchu MSG, a cash cow, had long attracted the attention of the Song family, who dreamed of seizing control of the company through financial manipulation.

….But the Song family sent someone to speak up, telling me that I only need to pledge Tianchu shares and transfer control of the factory to obtain loans and land. Otherwise, even if Tianchu is established in the mountain city…" "I guess it will still lose money?" Team Leader Chen followed up.

"Yes."

"This isn't the first time I've seen this happen. In 36, the Yong'an Textile Printing and Dyeing Factory in Shanghai was also manipulated in this way. That Song guy seized control of it through a series of corporate bond operations. But now Shanghai has fallen, and he can't really control Yong'an, which is hiding in the concession."

Chen, the head of the chemical group, concluded, "Here, Mr. Song can't get through. What kind of factory is Mr. Wu planning to open? Mr. Wu's strength is here, and we can do our best to help coordinate." "Since you already have 'Xiao Fugui' MSG, I don't plan to open the Tianfu Factory to the border area."

Changing the subject, Wu Beiyuan's expression finally brightened considerably. He glanced at Fan Mingrui, who was sitting nearby drinking tea. "Mr. Fan and I previously had a gentleman's agreement. I don't intend to compete with him for his factory in the north. He has established an alkali plant here, so I probably won't get involved in that either."

"What suggestions does the border government have? Tianchu's relocated team has produced nitrogen, hydrochloric acid, and even gas masks." Wu Beiyuan was eager to try. "If the government needs it, I can provide it."

"Our suggestion... Please wait a moment."

The young team leader, Chen, began to think. He first flipped through the index in his hand, then slid his chair over to a nearby bookshelf and found an incredibly thick book from the "Organic" section. The book was as thick as two bricks stacked together, and it was probably thick enough to stop a bullet.

"Hello? Mr. R? This is the Organic Coordination Group of the Chemistry Group. I want to ask..."

Team Leader Chen flipped through the book for a long time before picking up the phone. After a while, he finally looked up and asked, "Mr. Wu, you previously worked on MSG, so you must have a good understanding of organic chemistry and pharmacy, right?"

"Organic chemistry, pharmaceutical manufacturing? This..." Not to mention Wu Beiyuan, even the two people beside him were stunned for a moment, "Ah, Team Leader Chen, MSG is manufactured by acid hydrolysis and extraction, and the molecules are from large to small, which is not organic. The little skills of Tianzihao are not enough to reach the threshold of pharmaceutical manufacturing..."

"No, no, no, don't worry. You just said that chemical production is very difficult—but you know, sometimes, chemical production can be very easy!" Team Leader Chen turned the large tome that looked like an encyclopedia around and began to introduce it to the three people who had gathered around.

"Border regions were already producing sulfonamides, but sulfamidazole lacked antibacterial efficacy and was inconvenient to use. The research team therefore planned to produce a new drug, sulfamethoxazole, and trimethoprim, a sulfa enhancer.

"Look, take sulfadiazine as an example. Many of the materials involved in its synthesis are produced in factories in the border areas. The sulfanilamide plant has been operating for a long time next to the Huinong coal tar post-processing plant. The calcium carbide plant and the special explosives plant can provide you with acetylene, nitroglycerin, and copper acetylene. The second phase of the ammonia synthesis project can provide you with ammonia and hydrogen. You can probably just use the coke oven gas from the Huinong Iron and Steel Plant to synthesize formaldehyde, then produce diethylamine, and combine it with the sulfanilamide to get sulfadiazine!"

"Our Guanghua Bank can provide you with a loan, the bomb factory can provide you with high-pressure vessels, and the chemical plant that determines the salt content—ah, that is, the Huanghai Society—can provide you with the solvents and acids and bases needed for the reaction. At most, we'll need to import some catalysts... Finally, just mix sulfamethoxazole with a synergist and baking soda and compress it into tablets. You'll have a new compound antibacterial drug!"

"This is a powerful tool for curing diseases and saving lives. It can not only be supplied to the troops, but also put on the market to make a profit." Team leader Chen clapped his hands happily and said to the stunned Wu Beiyuan,

"Look! Isn't this very simple? Just like building with building blocks!"

"Then...why doesn't your party organize itself..."

"Hey, Mr. Wu, we're fine with everything else here, we don't need much, but what we lack is people!"

Chapter 416: Binary (Dark) Technology

(This chapter involves some technical details and setting details)

Fushe No. 1 Canteen Headquarters, this is the earliest canteen location brought by Liu Helian.

Aside from some central government agencies relocating here, most of Zhufushi's offices are still in their original locations. However, in the cafeteria, which has been converted into various offices and workshops, the "Industrialization and Standardization Bureau 2," with its long name, occupies an entire floor and a half, carrying out its daily work and research.

After all, while the main task of this bureau-level organization was to ostensibly guide the industrial departments of the border regions and the major military bases and promote standardization, secretly it was a serious "black technology" research department.

This was where the CCP's earliest wave of radio talent gathered, and it quickly expanded to include mathematicians and science and engineering students, training algorithm engineers, architects, and even pure "code workers." After more than three years, the number of people capable of conducting "black technology" research finally exceeded 100.

Today, the three oldest and most legendary "Three Musketeers" of black technology in the border area gathered together to start a meeting.

There were more than three people in the conference room—the Four Heavenly Kings comprised five, the Eighth Route Army's Three Musketeers also five, and each of them had a companion—they sat around a round table, each with a mug in front of them. "This is just a small internal meeting, so we won't waste any more time. Each team will focus on the key points of their recent progress."

The director of the Industrial Standards Bureau is Li Qiang, a former civil engineer and current radio and engineering expert. The cup in front of him is very distinctive, with a twisted wire base and a straight glass cup, filled with coffee as thick as mud.

Unlike later generations, where a development team of 5-10 people could create and iterate a product, the Eighth Route Army, despite having a comprehensive set of future textbooks and supplementary materials, numerous ready-made case studies, and even recruiting a number of authentic intellectuals of the day, managed to acquire a group of "code workers" over three years. However, qualified algorithm engineers and architects remained scarce, and even fewer leaders capable of leading an entire project were available.

Unfortunately, the Eighth Route Army's development team must have at least 20 to 30 people - these more than 100 people are divided into about 5 groups, each responsible for a different "black technology project".

"Who's going to take the lead?"

"Let's go first, Teacher Zhu!" Zeng Mian spoke cheerfully, waving to a young man beside him, signaling him to go first. "Hey! Team Leader Zeng, what teacher? You're 10 years older than me!"

The young man, somewhat helplessly, picked up his transparent glass and walked to the wall of the conference room. There was a projector connected to a computer. Comrade Zhu put the glass of green tea away, found his group's PowerPoint presentation in the file directory, and clicked the mouse to launch it.

"Okay, everyone, I, Zhu Wenlin, will be here to present my work on behalf of the code-breaking team." He stood beside the small podium.

Using the remote control pen in my hand, several electromechanical devices appeared on the projection screen.

"Our recent work has focused on these machines, and we recently successfully reproduced two Japanese encryption machines at the software design level..."

Zhu Wenlin was a radio expert who defected from the Nationalist army. He defected early, as early as 1931, and had experienced the Fourth and Fifth Anti-Encirclement and Suppression Campaigns, and had accompanied the Red Army on the miraculous Long March, making him a seasoned veteran. He navigated the PowerPoint presentation with familiarity, switching the interface to an app: "This is the interface for our new, yet-to-be-released version of the One-Click Decryption Communication system. I can show you how."

屏幕上出现了加解密选择框，里边分别有"日本海军ver.41.2.3'、“日本陆军ver.40.52、"日本外务省ver.41_4.6"和'日军陆军情报机构汇总ver.41_1.4"等，朱文麟选择了海军的“97式欧文机”的条目，开始演示。

The Japanese Navy's new Type 97 cipher machine was essentially the same as the previous Type 92, a one-word substitution cipher. It encrypted the 20 vowels and 6 consonants separately, using four cipher wheels and a jumper board.

"Oh, it's different from the German Enigma machines. They use stepper motors to drive the wheels, so the Type 97's four encryption wheels are all locked and can't be disassembled and replaced like the Germans. This reduces our workload a lot."

"What's more, every time they change the wiring of the terminal block, they like to use the old and new codes to send the same secret message twice in a row." Zeng Mian, who was drinking tea, was relaxed.