The Fiery Era: Becoming an Industrial Giant

Chapter 111 Inform Zhou Zhiqiang about forming a team for renting a house [Please subscribe]

After writing the letter, he sent it out immediately. It was rare for Zhou Zhiqiang to ask his father-in-law for money, and this time he asked for three thousand yuan.

Zhou Zhiqiang didn't rest at home for long. He only rested for two days, from the day his wife was hospitalized to the day she returned home, before he had to go back to work.

Moreover, on the day Guo Yuting returned, Zhou Zhiqiang spent most of his time in the study, except for going out once.

He planned to summarize the core principles of electroslag welding, which involves the conduction and heat generation of molten slag, and then present them to the project team for review and discussion by Team Leader Shen and others.

If it is deemed feasible, an electroslag welding team can be immediately assembled to perform model calculations and design, followed by production, manufacturing, and testing.

Once the electroslag welding technology is determined, the next step can be the column erection stage for large hydraulic presses.

Zhou Zhiqiang locked himself in his study that day to organize and summarize the technological principles of conductive heat generation from molten slag.

She only came out twice in between, one of which was to buy sugar at the supply and marketing cooperative. After looking after her son for a while, she went back to her study.

As sunset approached, Mao Pingping finished preparing dinner and told Guo Yuting that she planned to go home and cook.

Guo Yuting asked her to stay for a meal before leaving, but Mao Pingping felt embarrassed to agree. She had taken advantage of the Zhou family enough and couldn't keep doing so.

Seeing that Mao Pingping was about to leave, Zhou Zhiqiang said something to her: "Tian Dong's wife, have Tian Dong come to see me next week. I'll take him to the neighborhood office to get you a new public rental apartment."

Mao Pingping looked puzzled upon hearing this: "Change houses?"

“Our family plans to buy the courtyard at No. 131 North Alley. The courtyard you mentioned to Guo Yuting before will be sold by the owner next week.”

"You and Tian Dong should go there beforehand to find a new place to rent; maybe you can get the main house."

Upon hearing this news, Mao Pingping was overjoyed. They were currently living in a side room, which was far inferior to the main house.

Not only is the area small and the sunlight poor, but the house will also get moldy after a long period of cloudy weather, and the house is also a bit old.

If she could move into the main house, that would be wonderful. Putting everything else aside, the main house alone would be big enough for her and Tian Dong to live in after they have a child.

"Brother Zhou, can we really rent the main house?"

"The public rental housing will be arranged by the neighborhood office, but if I take you there, it won't be a problem."

Zhou Zhiqiang said, "Compared to other strangers, I trust you acquaintances more, and letting you stay in the main house is the best choice."

By the way, when you get back, tell Tian Dong about this, and also ask him to go to the factory and ask Brother Xiaojun. I brought them here from the countryside, so I'll definitely take care of them.

It's not just about taking care of someone, it's about looking after them.

Zhou Zhiqiang can no longer rely on those who are supposed to be his adoptive parents, so he needs to find a few more people who can help him in the future.

Just like Zhao Tiandong's wife, she has been taking care of Guo Yuting for almost two months. Otherwise, their family doesn't have any relatives in Beijing, and they are all busy with work, so they definitely wouldn't be able to manage.

If she has children in the future, and her workplace is still a hospital, she won't be able to bring her children to work. She will have to entrust them to Mao Pingping for care.

“Okay, Brother Zhou, I’ll talk to Tian Dong when I get back and ask him to tell Brother Xiao Jun.”

"By the way, this news is just for you guys to know, don't let it leak out."

"Don't worry, Brother Zhou, we definitely won't tell any outsiders."

Mao Pingping immediately agreed. This was a good thing for their family, as they would be able to live in the main house. However, if too many people found out, they would no longer be able to live in the main house.

Only a fool would tell.

Mao Pingping returned to their courtyard house shortly afterward. As soon as she entered the courtyard, the neighbors greeted her with smiles.
"The Zhao family's wife is back?"

"Yes."

"It's quite late today, Zhao's wife. How much chores did you do today?"

"There's not much work to do, so I went to help my sister-in-law."

After exchanging a few pleasantries with her neighbor, Mao Pingping quickly walked towards her home. Once she was a distance away, the neighbor's expression changed, and she muttered, "She must have gone to do odd jobs, and she's making quite a bit of money. She didn't even bother to introduce her to someone."

He leaves early and returns late every day, and he even brings back food from time to time. Some of the neighbors noticed something was wrong a long time ago.

I was just carrying a few small paper packets. I don't know what's inside, but it's definitely not coarse grains. It might contain some precious items.

Mao Pingping didn't care about her neighbors' opinions. She also grew up in a tenement compound. Not all the neighbors in the tenement compound were like that, but at least 60% or 70% were.

Each person sweeps the snow from their own doorstep, or resents others for having something and laughs at others for not having it.

Back in her own side room, Mao Pingping saw Zhao Tiandong heating up food on the stove. She quickly went over and handed him the paper package, saying, "Didn't I tell you to do this? You can just come back and rest."

Zhao Tiandong chuckled and said, "You've been busy all day, and heating up some food is nothing."

Mao Pingping said, "I wasn't tired at all at Brother Zhou and Sister-in-law's place. Today I just helped change the children's clothes."

By the way, my sister-in-law had a baby, named Zhou Bocai.

"Brother Zhiqiang has a son? That's great! I'll go see if he needs any help."

After Zhao Tiandong finished speaking, he was about to ask if he needed any help, but before he had taken two steps, Mao Pingping called out to him: "Brother Zhou and his wife are getting ready to rest. What are you going to do now?"

That paper package contains candy that Brother Zhou gave us, including some milk candies. Open it and try a few.

"I don't eat it, I don't like sweets."

Although that's what he said, when Zhao Tiandong opened it, he saw three milk candies and six or seven fruit candies inside.

It's quite valuable!

If Zhou Zhiqiang were to deliver only milk candy, he couldn't afford it, mainly because he didn't have the necessary coupons; so he could only deliver a mixture of milk candy and cheap fruit candy.

"There's another package over there for Brother Xiaojun. Don't forget it when you go to the factory tomorrow."

After saying that, Mao Pingping also heated up the food. Zhao Tiandong had brought back the food he had bought from the factory canteen but hadn't been able to eat himself.

I would buy meal tickets from the factory and bring back vegetables. Once I ran out of the meal tickets, I would cook for myself. This way, I could save about three yuan a month, and more than forty yuan a year.

"There's one more thing. Today, Brother Zhou asked me if we wanted to move. From what he said, it seems like he wants to buy the compound at No. 131 Beixiangkou and then rent it to the neighborhood committee. We could try to snag the main house first."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Tiandong scratched his head and asked with a puzzled look, "What is Brother Zhiqiang planning to do by buying a three-courtyard house as public rental housing?"

"Never mind what Brother Zhou is up to. He definitely has his own ideas. How could we possibly guess what such a smart person is doing?"

Mao Pingping patted Zhao Tiandong on the shoulder and then continued, "Let's switch rentals then. If we can rent the main house, we'll have a much bigger place to live than we do now."

"We'll have more room when we have kids, unlike here where it's too cramped." Zhao Tiandong nodded and said, "Okay, I'll do as you say. Should we just ask Brother Zhiqiang for a place? He hasn't shown up at the factory for quite a while."

"Brother Zhou said he'll take us to get it done, and we'll just have to wait for his notification."

Mao Pingping handed Zhao Tiandong a steamed bun, and then continued, "It looks like this odd job of mine can last for a long time. My sister-in-law will definitely have to go back to work soon, and we agreed that I would take care of Bocai then."

The job pays ten yuan a month, which is almost like being a temporary worker, just taking care of a baby.

Mao Pingping knew that it was Brother Zhou and his wife who were taking care of their family, and it was also because Zhao Tiandong had a close relationship with their family. Otherwise, how could he have gotten such a good job?

Even if they take care of the child until they are three years old, their family can still earn more than 300 yuan, which is a lot of income for an ordinary single-income family.

Zhao Tiandong asked, "Why didn't you take your sister-in-law to the hospital to take care of her?"

Mao Pingping poked her husband and said, "You're so stupid. The hospital is full of patients. How can you bring a newborn baby into a group of patients?"

By the way, you should also ask Brother Xiaojun about renting a place. He'll definitely be starting a family someday, so renting now is better than having nowhere to rent later.

Zhao Tiandong nodded and said, "Yes, and besides, living nearby means there's someone to take care of me. I'll talk to Brother Xiaojun about it tomorrow."

He and Wu Xiaojun were both apprentices of Master Mao, and they were both brought over from Sanhe Township by Brother Zhiqiang. They were naturally close and got along well in the factory.

If we all lived in Nanluoguxiang, we could help each other out if anything happened in the future.

------

Early the next morning.

After Zhou Zhiqiang arrived at the project site by bicycle, he placed a paper package containing some candy on everyone's table.

Zhou Zhiqiang was the first to arrive today, coming to the office before eight o'clock.

Others might have been busy until midnight last night, and even if they weren't late this morning, they wouldn't have arrived as early as Zhou Zhiqiang.

Seeing that the others had not yet arrived, Zhou Zhiqiang also took out the blueprints and got busy.

He had already prepared two-thirds of the principle of slag heat conduction and electricity generation last night, and if he worked hard all day today, he would definitely be able to fully plan the principle and the best modification process.

Soon after, the other key researchers arrived at the office.

Upon entering, seeing that Zhou Zhiqiang was already there, and noticing the paper package on their table, she asked, "What's this? Oh, who gave me this candy?"

Zhou Zhiqiang said with a smile, "Zhuang Gong, these are mine. My son was born the day before yesterday, so I brought some candy to share with everyone and let everyone share in the joy."

"Well done, Comrade Zhiqiang, congratulations on having a big, healthy baby boy."

Zhuang Guodong smiled and said, then tore off a piece of candy, popped it into his mouth, and nodded, "Having a child brings joy and candy, it tastes so good! I have energy today."

When the others learned that the candy was from Zhou Zhiqiang because of the birth of his child, they all offered their congratulations and accepted the candy.

Director Cai also received a portion, and after congratulating him with a smile, he accepted the candy.

These things aren't expensive, just ten or so pieces of candy, a mix of milk candy and fruit candy, costing less than a dollar. It's purely for festive purposes.

If they don't even accept this kind of candy, then they've truly made enemies.

"Team Leader Shen, I have an idea that I need you to see if it's feasible."

After everyone had arrived, Zhou Zhiqiang handed Shen Changlin a summary of his work on the derivation of electroslag welding principles and continued speaking.

"Regarding the most difficult problem to solve with the column of a large hydraulic press, I think that as long as the stability and safety of the column can be solved, even segmented welding is acceptable."

Therefore, I thought of using resistance heating slag to solve the welding problem of large columns. The core principle is to generate heat through electrical conductivity.

Zhou Zhiqiang explained the principles of electroslag welding and the processes that needed to be modified very clearly, and he also summarized them in a more concise manner.

Shen Changlin listened and nodded, while Zhuang Guodong and the other principal researchers also came closer to listen.

During this time, some people felt it was inappropriate and raised some questions, but Zhou Zhiqiang explained them clearly.

After Zhou Zhiqiang had filled the two large blackboards with dense writing, he had explained the feasibility of the electroslag welding technology.

Shen Changlin and the others nodded in agreement. After listening, they all felt that it was a very feasible idea.

The principle derivation was fine, and the calculations didn't reveal any problems. It was just that in such a short time, Zhou Zhiqiang produced a seemingly flawless modification process, leaving them somewhat uncertain and unsure.

Zhou Zhiqiang applied, saying, "Team Leader Shen, I would like to apply to form a team to prove the feasibility of the electroslag welding solution step by step through simulation experiments."

If the experimental results match the calculated predictions, then it proves to be feasible.

"Indeed, without entering the experimental stage, what we do is always just wishful thinking; experimental results are the most reliable."

Shen Changlin nodded and said, then silently looked at it again. After a few minutes, he spoke to Zhou Zhiqiang.

"Comrade Zhiqiang, prepare an experimental plan application. We'll go talk to Director Cai together and finalize this as soon as possible."

After Shen Changlin finished speaking, he stood up and continued, "Hurry up, work a little more overtime. Your wife just gave birth, so you should be given a few more days off."

"Team leader, I asked a fellow villager or relative to help look after things. There are no problems at home."

"That's good. Our country is in a very tight spot. We lack everything, including time and development. We can only ask those of us who know a little bit to spare as much time as possible to help the country develop."

Shen Changlin's tone was heavy with apology.

One of the greatest joys in life is getting married and having children, especially a son. Taking three or four days off would be perfectly reasonable.

However, Zhou Zhiqiang, who was on leave at home, gave them such a big surprise by directly summarizing and developing a set of modification process principles suitable for segmented welding columns.

This suggests that Zhou Zhiqiang has hardly rested at home either, probably spending his time either taking care of his wife and children or burying himself in research and contemplation.

This made Shen Changlin feel a little embarrassed. When it comes to enduring hardship, Zhou Zhiqiang is probably the busiest, most hardworking, and most meritorious person in the project team.

"Thank you for your hard work, Comrade Zhiqiang. Just let me know if you need any help."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhiqiang didn't stand on ceremony and immediately said, "Since you've put it that way, team leader, then I need the data on all the equipment in the existing system, as well as the experimental data on the welding materials."

He asked for a bunch of materials, but these were indeed necessary for research and development. He needed to explain things to everyone before he could build a team, and he couldn't just give orders to everyone.

Upon hearing this, Shen Changlin personally arranged the matter, striving to mobilize all of Zhou Zhiqiang's forces within three or four days.

　Chapter One.

　　Asking for a monthly ticket!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)