The Fiery Era: Becoming an Industrial Giant

Chapter 128 A Branching Path [Please Subscribe]

"Then let's do it. I'll go and submit the report."

After making his decision, Shen Changlin prepared to persuade Director Cai and then start the welding process for the large columns as soon as possible.

He did not make this decision on impulse, but after careful consideration and listening to Zhou Zhiqiang's detailed explanation of the key points of the electroslag welding process, he made the decision.

With the experience of the first successful experiment, the next two experiments were simply a matter of climbing steps, one step at a time.

But now they can take three steps at a time, directly to the top of the stairs, without 'falling', so why not just step up directly?

Why insist on taking it one step at a time and slowly climbing the stairs?

Zhou Zhiqiang did not object to Team Leader Shen's decision because he was confident.

We already have the correct technology and processes, and now we've completed the first trial, proving the success of the technology and processes. So why be conservative?

Zhou Zhiqiang didn't bring it up because he was the one who developed and proposed the technology and process; he wouldn't want to talk about achieving instant success.

That would definitely be criticized by others as 'unreliable,' 'the experiment is the most important,' and 'no mistakes can be tolerated,' etc.

However, if Shen Changlin, the group leader, supports it and can persuade Director Cai, then it can basically be pushed forward.

Once Zhou Zhiqiang finishes welding the large pillars, he'll shut everyone up; he can also extricate himself from the project team as soon as possible, which isn't exactly a graceful exit.

Having completed his assigned tasks, Team Leader Shen will most likely not assign him to other project teams. He'll probably just have him attend meetings every now and then to check on the progress.

"Comrade Zhiqiang, you've worked hard today. I heard you haven't slept for over thirty hours because of this experiment."

Shen Changlin turned his head and saw Zhou Zhiqiang's somewhat red eyes, and quickly said, "Go home and rest first. I'll give you a day off. Today doesn't count; tomorrow will be your day off."

Come to the project team again the day after tomorrow, and we'll have a meeting to discuss this.

Zhou Zhiqiang laughed and said, "Okay, then I'll go back and rest first. Speaking of which, I'm a little hungry now."

Shen Changlin said, "Have the driver take you. I'm afraid you'll fall asleep on the way, given your condition."

He knew that there were different kinds of staying up late, and staying up late like Zhou Zhiqiang, who was focused on the experimental process and was under a lot of mental strain, was extremely tiring.

Staying up all day like this is more tiring than staying up for two days to read.

After saying hello, Zhou Zhiqiang left the office, called his driver, and took him home.

When Zhou Zhiqiang got off the bus at the intersection of Nanluoguxiang Street, he hadn't had breakfast yet and planned to buy a few steamed buns to take back.

However, when Zhou Zhiqiang arrived at the place where he usually sold steamed buns, he didn't find anyone there. So he turned to a person next to him and asked, "Comrade, where's Steamed Bun Liu? Are all the steamed buns sold out already?"

"No, he went back to his home in the countryside."

"Going home? Stop selling steamed buns?"

"I heard that nowadays there are communes in the countryside and the city, and everyone eats together from a big pot."

The man selling candied hawthorns said with envy, "As long as you go back to farming, you can not only get three meals a day, but also earn work points to exchange for grain."

Baozi Liu's wife is from the countryside, so she can go back with him; he works hard all day selling steamed buns, barely enough to feed his family, so it's better for him to go back to the countryside and farm.

If it weren't for the fact that his family didn't have rural household registration, he would have wanted to go back home. He heard that they eat white flour and rice every day and have meat at every meal.

Moreover, although these small vendors have relatively free work, they are also subject to the jurisdiction of the street office. They cannot sell their goods at too high a price, otherwise it would be considered speculation.

Zhou Zhiqiang sighed, "That Baozi Liu."

I can't even get breakfast, so I have to go back and make it myself.

"Hey buddy, how about a skewer of my candied hawthorns?"

"Forget about eating candied hawthorns this early in the morning, give me a skewer."

Zhou Zhiqiang thought that it wasn't too hot yet, so he bought it and froze it to let his wife try it that evening.

So he paid the money, took a string of candied hawthorns, and went home.

Once everyone left, the candied hawthorn vendor looked at the sky and muttered, "It's almost noon, so early in the morning."

After opening the door at the front door and going inside, before even reaching the backyard, Zhou Zhiqiang heard the voice of the original owner's father, Yu Zhongguo.

When he got to the backyard, he was stunned by what he saw.

Not only Yu Zhongguo came, but also Fang Mengjie, as well as Yu Jingyu and Yu Xunan, who are considered his younger siblings.

Yu Zhongguo was carrying Zhou Bocai out of the house when he saw Zhou Zhiqiang returning. He immediately went up to him happily and asked, "Zhiqiang, why are you back at this time?"

"I just finished an experiment. I hadn't rested for more than 30 hours. The team leader saw that I was too tired, so he let me come back."

Why did you all come together today?

Zhou Zhiqiang asked a question, but before Zhongguo could answer, Yu Jingyu and Yu Xunnan, the two little ones, tugged at his clothes.

Holding a wooden toy gun in his hand, he asked Zhou Zhiqiang, "Brother, I want a gun too."

Zhou Zhiqiang patted Yu Jingyu's head and casually said, "Take it and play with it if you like. I'll make a few more another day."

"Okay, okay, I want a big gun too!"

"I'll give it to you all at once. Come on, let's eat some candied hawthorns."

Zhou Zhiqiang agreed. He had asked a carpenter to make these little toys before, and he could make them himself; all he needed was a piece of wood and some tools. He could even manufacture precision parts, so these wooden toys, which were simply gun-shaped, couldn't be simpler.

"Jingyu, go play somewhere else, don't bother your older brother."

Although Yu Zhongguo was pleased that his eldest son was kind to his younger siblings, his son was clearly exhausted, so he sent his younger son away and then carefully examined Zhou Zhiqiang.
You can tell he's not in good shape. Although his clothes are still neat, they're covered in dust and look dirty, and he doesn't look as energetic as before.

"How can you not sleep for more than 30 hours? You're working too hard for the project. No wonder Yuting said you've hardly been home lately."

"Zhiqiang, you go and rest first. I'll watch the children for you."

Yu Zhongguo said, "I'm going to a three-month closed training program next week, and I'll probably only be back once a week then, so I wanted to come over and have a meal with you all today."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhiqiang seemed to recall that Guo Yuting had indeed told him about this.

However, he was too busy recently and forgot about it after agreeing to it.

Zhou Zhiqiang said, "Okay, I understand. Don't rush to rest. I'll go find something to eat first. I haven't had breakfast yet."

"Then don't bother, let your Aunt Fang make it for you."

After Yu Zhongguo finished speaking, he quickly told Fang Mengjie to make a bowl of noodles.

"By the way, Zhiqiang, I've told Comrade Mao Pingping to go back first. Today I'm planning to help you look after Bocai. How about letting his grandfather take care of him for the day?"

Zhou Zhiqiang said, "Taking care of a child is tiring. If you don't mind the trouble, then you can take care of him."

Two children were playing in the yard. Zhou Zhiqiang was taking good care of his father-in-law's two-courtyard house. The grape trellis in the corner was set up, and a swing was built next to the wall.

If the space weren't so small, he would have liked to build a wooden slide.

After Zhou Zhiqiang and Yu Zhongguo returned to the main house and put the child back in the crib, Yu Zhongguo went back to the living room and even poured Zhou Zhiqiang a glass of hot water.

If a father pours water for his son, it's considered a big deal if others see it.

However, Yu Zhongguo didn't feel anything was wrong at all; he was extremely satisfied with Zhou Zhiqiang.

Moreover, Zhou Zhiqiang was busy with major national industrial projects, which were of great interest to Mr. Zhou and other top leaders. He even felt honored to pour water for them.

Zhou Zhiqiang felt a little awkward, and after Yu Zhongguo put down his cup, he quickly said, "I can do it myself next time."

"Alright, alright, I just saw the kettle was right next to me, so I poured you a glass."

After pouring the water, Yu Zhongguo sat down on the other side and asked, "Zhiqiang, you've been promoted to level 15 in the factory, is the project team still not finished?"

"My task is almost done; if all goes well, I won't have much to do by the end of June."

Zhou Zhiqiang said, "Everything is accelerating lately, and our project team is also accelerating, so the progress is a little faster."

"You too?"

Yu Zhongguo looked surprised, then sighed and said, "Zhiqiang, I always feel that this is not a good thing. When I met with my old comrades recently, they also talked about this matter."

However, many of them felt that rushing like this was inappropriate.

"Don't learn to say what they say."

Zhou Zhiqiang rarely speaks about Zhongguo's affairs; this is the first time.

"Accelerating development is a must. Even if it doesn't happen this time, it will happen again. We can't stop walking just because we're afraid of falling."

"We learn from our mistakes and might not fall again; moreover, we must accelerate our development, as our neighbors won't give us time to develop slowly."

The Russians want to acknowledge their son, while the Americans want to assimilate them; they're truly caught between a rock and a hard place.

Slow and steady development, with annual growth of 5% or 7%, will prevent a collapse, but it will widen the gap between us and the "tigers and wolves".

If they continue to develop at such a slow pace, twenty years from now they might still be using millet and rifles, while the enemy will already be bombing them with missiles.

Zhou Zhiqiang knew that their team had a great advantage: they wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

So if I fall this time, I won't fall again.

Moreover, since he is in a position of authority, he should focus on developing technologies for industrial development.

Yu Zhongguo is a military attaché stationed abroad, so he should just do his job well; if he gets influenced by his comrades to say something he shouldn't, then he's really doomed.

Moreover, Yu Zhongguo is a member of the Ministry of National Defense, and his superior will be the 101st in charge next year.

"Forget it, let's not talk about this."

Yu Zhongguo felt that if he continued talking, he would have a disagreement with his son and they would start arguing.

Just then, Fang Mengjie came in carrying noodles and pickled vegetables, and said with a smile, "I didn't have time to cook any dishes, so I picked up some pickled vegetables because I saw they were here. I'll cook lunch later, and I'll cook a couple more dishes then."

"That's enough, thank you, the pickled vegetables are fine."

Zhou Zhiqiang was also hungry, so he picked up the bowl of noodles and started eating. He finished the whole bowl in no time.

After finishing their meal, Zhou Zhiqiang said goodbye to Yu Zhongguo and went back to his room to rest.

He planned to take a nap, but he would definitely get up before dinner.

　Third update!

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