The Fiery Era: Becoming an Industrial Giant

Chapter 109 A New Reward for the Birth of a Son [Please Subscribe]

creak!

The study door was pushed open, and Guo Yuting walked in, her belly protruding. Seeing Zhou Zhiqiang still writing and drawing at his desk, she asked, "Zhiqiang, aren't you going to sleep yet?"

"You should go to sleep first. Hey, it's already midnight?"

Zhou Zhiqiang looked up at his watch. He remembered that it was only nine o'clock when he returned to his study. How come three hours had passed in the blink of an eye?

Then Zhou Zhiqiang said to his wife, "Yuting, it's so late, why aren't you asleep? Don't wait for me, you should go to sleep first."

I need to finish tidying up here before I can rest; it might take another hour or so.

Guo Yuting sighed and said, "You sleep so late every day, can your body handle it? You haven't even had a proper rest on Sundays lately."

"But we suddenly got a mission. It'll be fine once we're done with this busy period. Don't worry, it'll be quick."

Zhou Zhiqiang comforted him, saying that what he said wasn't a lie, but really would happen very quickly.

The project team's normal plan was to take three years, but even with the encouragement from team leader Shen, they only dared to say that they would produce results within two and a half years.

However, Zhou Zhiqiang plans to resolve the large hydraulic press project within a year and a half, and strive to bring the large hydraulic press to China by the end of next year.

The most time-consuming aspects are model optimization and structural design, as well as R&D and improvement of manufacturing processes, while these three aspects are also the most time-saving.

If the right path is chosen, and the best structural optimization and the most suitable manufacturing process for the current domestic situation are selected on the first attempt, then at least a year can be saved.

This time could be used to develop other things. During the Second Five-Year Plan period, there will be some setbacks due to natural disasters and man-made calamities. We should reduce waste as much as possible.

Zhou Zhiqiang has now compiled a lot of information, basically summarizing all the manufacturing processes of small and medium-sized hydraulic presses in Project 156. The simulation assistant will be able to produce the results tomorrow.

“You’ve been saying that every day for the past month. By the way, Zhiqiang, I heard from Pingping that someone in Nanluoguxiang is selling a house.”

As Guo Yuting slowly walked around the house, she said to Zhou Zhiqiang, "It seems that the family over at the north alley entrance is planning to move to Shanghai and never come back, so they want to sell the house."

However, it's a three-courtyard siheyuan (traditional courtyard house), spacious and expensive, and not many people intend to buy it. Many are waiting for the neighborhood committee to take the house away and turn it into public rental housing before they can rent it.

Five or six years ago, private houses could be bought and sold freely without much regulation, but five or six years later, the socialist transformation phase began.

Private houses can still be bought and sold, but approval from the housing management office is required.

If a private house cannot be sold and remains vacant for a long time, the neighborhood committee will visit the house to persuade the owner to convert it into public rental housing.

The property is still yours, but it's registered under the street office and rented out, giving you a fixed rental income every year.

However, the rent is very low, only 20% to 40% of what it was five or six years ago. A house of 20 or 30 square meters would probably only cost about one yuan a month in rent.

Zhou Zhiqiang looked up and asked, "A courtyard house with almost three courtyards, hasn't it been turned into public rental housing yet?"

Guo Yuting shook her head and said, "I don't know. There must be a reason. It's impossible for all the big houses to be forcibly converted into public rental housing."

"Zhiqiang, didn't you always say you wanted to buy a house? How about we buy one there? That way, even if Mom and Dad and my older brother come back in the future, we'll still be close by."

Zhou Zhiqiang casually said, "Sure, but I don't know how much he's selling it for. I estimate we can't afford it; our family's savings are less than two thousand."

I'll ask him when I have time on Sunday, but I don't know if he's willing to wait a while. If he is, we can borrow some money from Dad.

Although their family income has increased, they have only saved money for a little over a year, and their savings amount to only 1,900 yuan.

A three-courtyard siheyuan is really not cheap. Even if you sell each small room separately, it would cost around four thousand yuan. Selling the whole courtyard would be even more valuable. A detached courtyard is much more expensive than selling the individual rooms.

If the seller is willing to wait, then Zhou Zhiqiang will write to his father-in-law and borrow three thousand yuan.

Guo Linhua definitely has this money. Before the salary reform, Guo Linhua's income was higher than it is now. Even after the reform, he still earns two hundred a month.

Three thousand yuan is just over a year's income for him.

"Okay, but you have to talk to Dad first. If I ask, he definitely won't lend it to me. He values ​​you as his son-in-law..."

Before Guo Yuting could finish speaking, she suddenly groaned in pain. She felt a discomfort in her stomach and then frowned as she leaned against the wall.

Zhou Zhiqiang sensed something was wrong with the sound and immediately looked up at his wife. He saw her clutching her stomach, her face contorted in pain.

"Yuting, what's wrong? Is your stomach upset?"

Zhou Zhiqiang quickly got up, moved a chair behind Guo Yuting so she could sit down slowly, and then asked, "How are you? Are you feeling better?"

Guo Yuting clutched her stomach and frowned, saying, "Zhiqiang, I think I'm going into labor."

"Wait a moment, I'll go push the car out."

After Zhou Zhiqiang finished speaking, he pulled the cart out of the yard, then came back, picked up Guo Yuting, and carefully placed her on the cart.

He took the money and their identification documents, then locked the door and rushed to the hospital with Guo Yuting.

Fortunately, nothing unexpected happened on the way. The road was smooth and Zhou Zhiqiang was full of energy. Apart from encountering a patrol team and explaining the situation, the rest of the journey to the Second Hospital was relatively smooth.

Upon arriving at the hospital, the doctor on duty, knowing that Guo Yuting was an outstanding individual in their hospital, quickly wheeled her into the delivery room.

I waited outside until dawn before the commotion inside the delivery room finally subsided.

After the nurses and doctors came out, Zhou Zhiqiang rushed forward and asked, "Doctor, how is my wife?"

"Don't worry, both mother and child are safe. They can be transferred to a ward soon. It would be best if they could rest in the hospital for a couple of days."

The obstetrician asked again, "Isn't Comrade Yuting from our hospital? Why didn't she go through the admission procedures in advance?"

The hospital takes good care of its employees. They can be admitted to the hospital early when they are close to giving birth, and there are people on duty day and night, which is much safer than being at home.

Zhou Zhiqiang said apologetically, "I miscalculated the time. I was supposed to come to the hospital next week, but I didn't expect to give birth today. I'll go and handle the paperwork now."

"Okay, anyway, the mother and child are fine. Comrade Yuting is just a little tired, but she will recover slowly after resting for a while."

The hospital also provides meals for pregnant women, so you don't need to worry about that.

The doctor then said to the nurse beside him, "Take Comrade Zhou to complete the formalities. One person can stay here."

Guo Yuting is also an outstanding individual at the Second Hospital, and her barefoot doctor manual, which she mentioned before, was praised by the Ministry of Health. Naturally, their hospital would take good care of its own employees.

The nurse nodded in agreement, gestured for Zhou Zhiqiang to follow, and then led him to complete the hospital admission procedures.

Both he and his wife are employees, so all their expenses can be reimbursed.

There are also extra portions of eggs and milk powder. But don't worry about the milk powder portion; An Xiangjie gave him several cans last time, and he hasn't touched them yet.

After completing the formalities, Zhou Zhiqiang saw that Guo Yuting needed to rest for a while longer, so he went home first.

Take the stroller back, and then bring some changes of clothes, as well as the formula and bottles that were prepared in advance.

Fortunately, he was in good physical condition. After waiting and working, it was almost dawn, but Zhou Zhiqiang wasn't sleepy at all. After packing his things, he locked the door, got on his bicycle, and rode to the hospital.

After his wife, Guo Yuting, was moved to a ward, she fell asleep, and his son was being looked after by the nurses.

Zhou Zhiqiang could only put the things aside for the time being, and after sitting down, he brought up the data collection and deduction assistant.

The collection process took a long time; Zhou Zhiqiang reviewed almost all the relevant materials and drawings.

He has studied it for so long that he can now memorize all the information about hydraulic presses and has a very deep understanding of it.

After receiving the simulation results, Zhou Zhiqiang instantly gained a thorough understanding of large hydraulic presses, as well as the next steps for process upgrades, key points for manufacturing process technology improvements, and so on.

This made Zhou Zhiqiang eager to return to the main research project team as soon as possible, finalize the research and development design ideas with the project team, and start work immediately.

The most difficult problem with the columns can be solved by segmented welding. Existing welding technology cannot weld large columns, but Zhou Zhiqiang has now mastered an electric welding technique that uses the principle of conductive heat generation from molten slag.

This technology can solve the problem of welding segmented columns, thus solving the biggest challenge of large hydraulic presses.

Subsequent improvements included overall lightweighting, heat-treated alloy steel materials, and multi-cylinder linkage.

"It seems I can assemble a team now. Within seven months, we'll solve the large pillar problem and pass the safety test."

Zhou Zhiqiang pondered to himself that with the current support from the Ministry of Machinery Industry for the project team, it was entirely possible to mobilize about ten factories for collaborative research and development.

If you work quickly, you won't need a year at all; seven months will suffice.

"There are still rewards to claim, so I might as well enhance my physical abilities one more time."

After Zhou Zhiqiang finished speaking, he accepted the reward for the deduction. In the previous times, it was either to improve physical fitness or to strengthen the brain, and he thought this time would be the same.

However, the next second, Zhou Zhiqiang suddenly felt some changes in his limbs, as if he were soaking in a hot spring, which made Zhou Zhiqiang feel very comfortable.

After the comfortable feeling gradually subsided, Zhou Zhiqiang looked at his hands and felt that he roughly knew what had been strengthened this time.

Zhou Zhiqiang stretched out his finger and ran it up and down on the wall. He immediately sensed that the place where his fingertip had just touched was about 11.56 centimeters away.

It's a pity he didn't bring a ruler with him, otherwise if he had used a ruler to measure it, it would definitely have been the number that Zhou Zhiqiang sensed in his mind.

This reward has truly elevated his dexterity control over his limbs and fingers to a very high level.

"Zhiqiang."

Guo Yuting's voice suddenly brought Zhou Zhiqiang back to his senses. He turned around and asked, "Yuting, you're awake. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine now, but it hurt so much just now!"

Guo Yuting said with aggrieved feelings that this was also her first time being a mother, and she was only twenty-three or twenty-four years old, with no one to teach her.

She was in so much pain in the delivery room that she almost fainted.

"What about the child?"

"The nurse on duty is watching over it. I'll go get it back. Wait for me a moment."

After Zhou Zhiqiang finished speaking, he left the ward and found the nurse on duty. Soon he would see his newborn child.

Her little face was scrunched up and flushed.

After Zhou Zhiqiang took the child, he thanked the nurse, saying, "Thank you, nurse. I'll have Yuting bring you some candy another day to share in the joy."

"It's alright, it's nothing. Quickly take her to the ward so Comrade Yuting can have a look."

The nurse on duty said with a smile that after Zhou Zhiqiang left, she continued chatting with her colleague; the two of them couldn't help but express their envy of Guo Yuting for being so lucky to have married such a reliable and outstanding man.
After Guo Yuting brought the child to the ward, the child woke up as soon as she held him, and it was a little difficult to soothe him.

Fortunately, Zhou Zhiqiang was somewhat knowledgeable and realized that his son was hungry, so he asked Guo Yuting to breastfeed him.

After the child had eaten, things finally calmed down.

Zhou Zhiqiang stayed in the ward for a while. Seeing that it was almost time for him to go to work, he said to Guo Yuting, "Yuting, you watch over our son for now. I'm going to call and ask for leave. I won't be going to work today."

"Okay, think of a name for your son when you come back."

Guo Yuting urged, "I asked you a few days ago and you kept saying you hadn't thought of it. You have to tell me later no matter what."

“How could I not have thought of it? I had it in mind long ago. My son’s name will be Zhou Bocai.”

“Zhou Bocai is fine too, then let’s name our son Zhou Bocai.”

Guo Yuting read the name a few times and felt it was quite good, so she smiled as she looked at the baby nursing in her arms.

She usually lacks her own opinions and tends to listen to Zhou Zhiqiang when she's unsure about something; it's become a habit.

------

After leaving the ward, Zhou Zhiqiang found a hospital nurse, asked where the phone was, and then went to the hospital office.

After showing his work ID and explaining the situation, Zhou Zhiqiang received the phone.

Then I called the project team directly. They had installed a special phone there so I could contact them if needed.

The call was answered shortly after it was dialed. Upon hearing Team Leader Shen's voice, Zhou Zhiqiang said, "Team Leader Shen, this is Zhou Zhiqiang. I might need to ask for leave today."

"Comrade Zhiqiang, what happened?"

Shen Changlin asked with a smile, "You usually arrive quite early. When I came here today and saw that you weren't here, I figured you might have been delayed on the way."

“This isn’t about the journey, team leader. My wife gave birth to a son yesterday, so I probably can’t go today.”

Zhou Zhiqiang said apologetically, "I'll go tomorrow to catch up on the schedule and try not to delay things."

"Hey, Comrade Zhiqiang, you should take a good rest these next few days. Our task is heavy, but not this heavy."

Shen Changlin quickly reassured him, "Guodong and I will help you catch up on the progress these next two days. You don't need to rush over. Spend some time with your wife and son."

But once you've rested enough, you should treat us to wedding candy. That's not too much to ask, is it?

In fact, they could have followed the policy procedures to take leave, but their project team had too much responsibility, and everyone tacitly believed that there was no time to rest.

Unless there's something important at home, I have to go on Sundays; that's how R&D is, you can't have a regular get off work schedule.

"Of course it's not excessive. I'll definitely bring you more when I go the day after tomorrow."

Zhou Zhiqiang smiled and thanked him, "Thank you, Team Leader Shen."

　Second update, please vote for me!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)