50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 880 Codename 909
Director Zhao pressed Sun Zhiwei, who was about to get up, down down, then slid the large envelope on the table into the drawer, picked up the phone, and started calling for someone to invite Ji Yongjia and the others.

Not long after, Ji Yongjia arrived at the captain's office with his crew.

As soon as Ji Yongjia entered, he saw Sun Zhiwei sitting there and immediately lowered his head in shame.

Sun Zhiwei didn't care. He already knew what had happened. Ji Yongjia had handled it poorly, but not badly either; it was barely acceptable.

Now that there were outsiders present, he wouldn't disrespect Ji Yongjia; instead, he comforted them even more kindly.

The sailors below were somewhat indignant, saying that the other side's victory was unfair, and that they even pulled out guns, which was simply tasteless.

Factory Director Zhao looked embarrassed after hearing this, but Sun Zhiwei pretended not to hear and only spoke to Ji Yongjia.

"Let's all go out for a meal later, and if anyone's got the upper hand, we'll settle it over drinks."

Sun Zhiwei's suggestion was very much to the liking of the soldiers in the army.

Fighting is not allowed in the army, but with so many hot-blooded young men gathered together, clashing pots and pans every day, how could there not be conflicts?

Conflicts cannot be ignored; how should they be resolved?

Having a get-together every now and then, where grudges and feuds are settled over drinks, is actually a common and effective method.

Those veterans of the past were all heavy drinkers; otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to attend the victory celebration banquet—that would have been so embarrassing.

Soon it was noon, and a large group of people flocked into the shipyard's small canteen.

Among them, Sun Zhiwei, Factory Director Zhao, and other factory leaders, along with several senior engineers and researchers, sat at two tables.

Ji Yongjia and his men sat at two tables, while the factory's security personnel sat at five tables.

After Director Zhao started the conversation, everyone shared a drink, and the dinner officially began.

The two tables at Sun Zhiwei's table were mostly occupied by factory leaders and researchers, many of whom were quite old, so everyone ate and talked politely.

The soldiers, however, were not so polite. Ji Yongjia took the lead in challenging them to a duel to clear the level.

His 21 sailors each picked up a bottle of "local Maotai" (a type of Chinese liquor) with the white label and headed towards the security personnel at the next few tables.

Seeing the lively drinking contest, Sun Zhiwei didn't disturb them for the time being, but instead chatted with the people from the factory.

"Director Zhao, are all the comrades in our security department demobilized from the military?"

"That's right, our unit is different. Ordinary soldiers can't take on the responsibility of protecting such a key classified unit."

"Haha, it seems we're all in the same boat. My soldiers are all demobilized soldiers, and they're all arrogant and difficult to manage."

"That's right. There are quite a few stubborn comrades in there. If it weren't for a few veterans keeping them in check, I wouldn't be able to manage them."

"However, their fighting ability is really strong. The factory has been able to remain safe and sound for decades thanks to them."

"They'll wake up tomorrow, and then I'll take the soldiers away. We'll get together again next year when our ship comes back for maintenance."

Just as Director Zhao was about to agree, a researcher across the table suddenly interrupted, "Comrade Sun, we might not be able to leave tomorrow. Our overhaul isn't finished yet."

Upon hearing this, Sun Zhiwei looked at Director Zhao instead of the researcher.

Factory Director Zhao seemed caught off guard and hurriedly asked, "Engineer Han, didn't we agree that this matter would end here?" The engineer who had spoken earlier fell silent at this moment, but Sun Zhiwei noticed that Engineer Han was glancing at an elderly engineer wearing glasses next to him from the corner of his eye from time to time.

He immediately understood who was in charge here, so he turned his gaze to the bespectacled old engineer and asked, "What is your name, sir?"

Upon hearing this, Director Zhao quickly introduced, "This is Chief Engineer Wang, the most senior engineer in our factory."

"What does Chief Engineer Wang intend to do by leaving ship number 4 behind?" Sun Zhiwei cut straight to the point, not wanting to beat around the bush with them.

All five submarines are at the shipyard, but the shipyard has no idea where these five submarines came from.

Therefore, for ease of reference, these submarines were numbered 1 to 5, with the "Costroma" being the fourth ship.

Chief Engineer Wang seemed surprised that he had been exposed so early on, and his brows furrowed immediately.

Before he could answer, Sun Zhiwei continued, "The main technologies on ship number 4 are basically the same as those on ships number 1-3. The only difference is the reactor."

"But aren't the reactors used in the shipyard all supplied by 'Base 909'? The shipyard shouldn't have the capability to research reactors, so what's the point of doing this?"

Chief Engineer Wang was stunned for a moment, not expecting that Comrade Sun in front of him knew so much about submarines, nor did he expect that Sun Zhiwei even knew about 'Base 909'.

The "Base 909" that Sun Zhiwei mentioned is actually a top-secret base located in the mountains of Sichuan and Chongqing along the Qingyi River.

(Source: Official website of the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense)

It is the cradle of nuclear power engineering in China, specializing in the research and development of reactors. The "land-based prototype reactor" for nuclear submarines was successfully developed there.

In the 1950s, our nation had just finished its founding war. Following the explosion of the first atomic and hydrogen bombs by the United States and the Soviet Union, the United States' first nuclear submarine and the Soviet Union's first nuclear-powered icebreaker also entered service.

The rapid development and application of nuclear energy greatly shocked the newly established People's Republic of China, which had only recently emerged from the ravages of war.

In 58, Marshal Rong submitted a report entitled "Report on the Development of Missile-Powered Atomic Submarines".

The old man made a bold vow: "We will develop nuclear submarines, even if it takes ten thousand years."

Soon after, 8,000 soldiers and civilians went deep into the mountains to begin the construction of the base.

Countless researchers from all over the country gathered there, hiding their identities and venturing into the mountains to start the research and development of the first-generation reactor from scratch.

At the time, most people did not know where they were going or what they were going to do when they received the mission; they only knew that it was codenamed 909.

"Where is 909? I don't know. What will I do at 909? I don't know. But I know that my country needs me."

Their only means of communication with the outside world is a mailbox left in the courtyard of the local government office.

Base 909 and Malan Base in Lop Nur are two different parallel lines, but both are the cradle of a nation's nuclear forces.

Living conditions in the deep mountains and forests are unimaginable. Because there is no clean drinking water, drinking a lot of surface water will cause diarrhea. Gastrointestinal diseases are common in the base.

Later, everyone used alum to treat the water in the water tank. Often, after drinking a whole tank of water, a thick layer of mud would be left at the bottom of the tank.

The simplest way to treat water is with alum. After filling a tank with water, rub the alum around the tank wall in a circular motion.

Generally, it only takes about one minute to swirl a tank of water. This method of purifying water was used throughout the country until the 1s.

(End of this chapter)