Love in the Courtyard: Starting with Engineers

Li Yu walked up to Professor Zhang, holding two comparative reports. One was the 72-hour stability data of the gas turbine, and the other was the fault record of the steam turbine.

"Professor Zhang," Li Yu's voice was calm yet firm, "you've always been concerned about the difficulty of maintaining gas turbines and the high cost of consumables." As he spoke, he turned to another page of the report, which showed a modular design diagram of the gas turbine. "We adopted a modular structure, so if any component malfunctions, it can be quickly replaced without disassembling the entire machine. Moreover, all consumables are domestically produced, costing only one-third of the price of imported parts."

Professor Zhang took the report, his fingers trembling as he turned page after page. Every piece of data, every drawing, felt like a heavy hammer blow to the understanding he had held dear throughout his life.

Looking at the young engineer in front of him and the cheering technicians, he suddenly realized that he had not lost to Li Yu, but to his own conservative and stagnant thinking.

After a long while, Professor Zhang put down his report, took a deep breath in front of Li Yu, and moved his lips as if he wanted to say something.

In the end, he simply sighed heavily and silently left the testing ground with his men.

Li Yu watched Professor Zhang's departing figure, a faint smile playing on his lips.

The conference room in the Ministry of Industry was even more crowded than it had been a few days ago.

Around the long conference table sat not only representatives from the Navy and research institutes, but also several core leaders from the Ministry of Industry. In front of each person lay a thick document—the complete report on the 72-hour low-temperature, high-salt-spray extreme test of the gas turbine at Longxing Machinery Factory.

Sunlight streamed through the glass window, falling on Li Yu. He was still wearing a clean Zhongshan suit, standing in front of the white curtain, holding a pointer in his hand, his expression calm.

On the screen, the entire test video was playing. In the video, the gas turbine operated stably for three days and three nights at a low temperature of -10℃ and a salt spray concentration of 95%, with all data remaining as stable as a straight line; while the control group of steam turbines next to it experienced blade corrosion in less than 24 hours, a power drop of 15% in 48 hours, and eventually shut down completely.

"The test results show that our gas turbine can not only adapt to the extreme environment of the South China Sea, but also achieves modular maintenance design." Li Yu's voice was clear and powerful, and his pointer pointed to the disassembly diagram on the screen.

"If any component malfunctions, it can be disassembled and replaced individually without shutting down the entire machine, making maintenance three times more efficient than that of steam turbines. More importantly, all core consumables are now domestically produced, with costs only one-third of imported products."

A murmur of admiration rippled through the audience. Lieutenant General Qin Zhengguo, looking at the data in the report, couldn't hide his smile and nodded to his colleagues beside him.

The young technicians stood tall, their eyes brimming with pride. Three days and three nights of relentless hard work had finally yielded tangible results.

Professor Zhang, sitting on the left side of the conference table, had a very complicated expression.

The report in his hand was crumpled from being flipped through so many times. Every piece of data, every drawing, was like a hammer, smashing down on the cognitive barriers he had held onto for decades. As he looked at the image of the gas turbine running steadily on the screen, and then recalled his earlier assertion that it would "break down in less than 24 hours," he felt a burning shame on his face.

Three conservative experts sat beside him, having long lost the confidence they had at the review meeting, each with their heads down, not daring to utter a word.

After finishing his speech, Li Yu put down his pointer and calmly swept his gaze across the room: "Distinguished leaders and experts, gas turbines are not castles in the air; they are hammered out and milled out by the workers of our Longxing Machinery Factory, hammer by hammer and mill by mill. They may still have areas that need improvement, but they are absolutely worth the country's investment and worth our struggle."

After he finished speaking, the conference room was silent for a few seconds, then erupted in thunderous applause.

Minister Liu Jie sat in the main seat, nodded in satisfaction, and was about to speak when Professor Zhang suddenly stood up.

All eyes instantly turned to him.

Professor Zhang's hair was even more gray than it had been a few days ago. He stood there, his back still straight, but his former arrogance was gone. He first bowed deeply to Li Yu on the stage, his movements solemn, his tone filled with heavy apology.

"Director Li," Professor Zhang's voice was a little hoarse, but every word was clear, "I'm old, I'm stuck in the old ways, clinging to outdated technology, and I almost delayed important national affairs. I apologize to you."

This bow silenced the entire audience.

Everyone knows that Professor Zhang is a leading figure in the field of steam turbines. It takes immense courage for such an elder to publicly bow and apologize to a younger person.

Li Yu quickly stepped forward, reached out to support him, and said sincerely, "Professor Zhang, you flatter me. You have dedicated your life to the development of our country's power industry, and no one can forget your contributions. Steam turbines have their advantages, and gas turbines have their characteristics. Only by combining the old and the new can we go further."

Professor Zhang looked up at Li Yu's young yet composed face, his eyes slightly reddening.

He patted Li Yu's arm and said with emotion, "The younger generation surpasses the older! I'm old and can't keep up with the times. But I still have some technical data on steam turbines that might be helpful for the shipboard adaptation of gas turbines. Chief Engineer Li, please don't look down on it."

Li Yu's eyes lit up, and he grasped Professor Zhang's hand tightly. "I couldn't be happier! With your experience, our project will definitely be implemented much faster!"

Seeing the two shake hands and make peace, the audience erupted in enthusiastic applause once again. This time, the applause was louder and longer than before.

The conservative experts also stood up and extended their hands to Li Yu: "Chief Engineer Li, we were prejudiced before. From now on, we are willing to do our utmost to support the gas turbine project!"

Minister Liu Jie watched this scene with a pleased smile. He stood up and announced loudly, "I hereby declare the gas turbine naval adaptation project fully launched! Comrade Li Yu will be fully in charge, with Professor Zhang's team serving as technical advisors! The state will provide maximum support in terms of funding and raw materials!"

"good!"

"Very good!"

Cheers echoed throughout the conference room, lasting for a long time.

The sunlight outside the window grew even brighter. Through the glass, it fell on smiling faces and on the heavy test report.

A debate about new and old technologies did not turn into a life-or-death struggle, but instead transformed into a combined force that propelled industrial rise.