Love in the Courtyard: Starting with Engineers

Red ribbons fluttered in the air on the open ground in front of the Longxing Factory gate, and gongs and drums resounded loudly.

The plaque of the National-level Aircraft Carrier Supporting Materials Research and Development Center is supported high by two thick wooden poles.

Li Yu stepped onto the stage and declared, "Comrades! Today, the establishment of the R&D center is not the end, but a new beginning! The research and development of new materials for light weapons and fighter jets must also take root here!"

The applause of the audience was thunderous.

Old Wang, with his twenty apprentices, squeezed into the front row, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Don't worry, Factory Director! Our welding team guarantees we'll get the welds right on the nuclear steel!"

In a corner of the crowd, Nannan, dressed in a mini jumpsuit, squatted in front of a drawing board, her little brows furrowed, carefully drawing the welding scene of Master Wang and his apprentice.

Bai Ling stood beside her, holding her easel, but her gaze unconsciously drifted to the edge of the crowd.

A figure dressed in faded work clothes with messy hair was silently squeezing into a long, tightly wrapped canvas box.

It's Zhou Qiming.

In recent years, Zhou Qiming has practically "lived" in the gun workshop.

While everyone else was busy with the supporting technologies for aircraft carriers, he plunged headlong into the niche field of rifle development, hammering and tinkering every day, even having his meals from the canteen delivered to him.

If it weren't for the R&D center being officially established today, everyone would have almost forgotten that Longxing Factory still had this technician who was determined to work on light weapons.

As the ceremony drew to a close, experts were discussing the nuclear steel smelting plan with Li Yu when Zhou Qiming finally pushed his way through the crowd, clutching the box in his arms tighter than anything else.

His face showed signs of fatigue from staying up all night, but his eyes were surprisingly bright. He grinned at Li Yu, still with that same carefree attitude: "Chief Engineer, can I borrow three minutes of your time? I'm sorry to have interrupted your chat with the experts."

Li Yu was talking to a metallurgical expert when he heard this and turned around. Seeing it was him, he couldn't help but chuckle: "You little rascal, what new gadget have you come up with this time?"

Zhou Qiming didn't answer, but carefully lifted the clasp on the canvas box.

Sunlight streamed into the case, illuminating a sleek rifle.

The gun body is entirely matte black, and the stock is made of lightweight alloy material. It feels substantial in the hand but does not feel bulky. The receiver is also engraved with three clear small characters: Type 75.

The surrounding chatter instantly fell silent.

The experts gathered around, their eyes fixed on the gun, their curiosity piqued.

Bai Ling's father also came over and bent down to examine her closely.

Zhou Qiming straightened his back, his tone filled with undisguised pride: "Five years ago, you, the chief engineer, casually gave me a suggestion, saying that rifles should move towards 'lightweight, high precision, and modularity,' and not stick to the old models."

"I went back and spent the entire time in the gun workshop. In the past five years, we've tried hundreds of different alloy ratios for the stock alone, and revised the modular design of the magazine more than twenty times... Today, it's finally presentable!"

Li Yu's heart skipped a beat.

He bent down and picked up the Type 75 rifle, weighing it in his hand—it was 30% lighter than the rifles currently in service, and felt exceptionally comfortable to hold.

What shocked him most was that although the gun was called the Type 75, it was clearly the same as the Type 95 of later generations.

"You...you actually made it? The alloy composition of the stock, and this modular magazine."

An experienced small arms expert squeezed forward, took the rifle, and repeatedly disassembled and reassembled it, muttering to himself, "Incredible! The lightweight alloy of this stock is strong enough and light enough; it will save soldiers so much effort during marches!"

"Comrade Li Yu, this gun must be included in the key military testing projects! Immediately allocate a workshop to fully support the mass production and research and development of the Type 75 rifle!"

Zhou Qiming scratched his messy hair, chuckled, and said, "I knew it! Working with the chief engineer was definitely the right choice!"

Bai Ling looked at the scene before her and couldn't help but laugh: "You little rascal, you've been doing big things quietly for five years without making a sound."

After the hustle and bustle of the unveiling ceremony, the research and development center's laboratories quickly fell into a state of intense activity.

The development of special pressure-resistant hull steel for nuclear-powered aircraft carriers has become the most challenging problem at present.

In the laboratory, the firelight from the smelting furnace made everyone's faces flush red, and the young technicians paced anxiously around the furnace platform.

"Chief Engineer, this won't work!"

A technician held up a test report. "With the current formula, the pressure resistance meets the standard, but the corrosion resistance is far from adequate. Reversing the formula, the corrosion resistance is sufficient, but the pressure resistance falls short! This is a dead end!"

Li Yu stared at the steel structure under the metallographic microscope, his brows furrowed.

Just then, a head with a pencil in its mouth came closer.

Zhou Qiming, who had just come from the weapons workshop, said, "Hey! I know this stuff all too well!"

Everyone turned to look at him.

Zhou Qiming said, "Back when I was working on the Type 95 rifle stock steel, I encountered this kind of mess! You were only thinking about adding rare earth elements to increase strength, but you didn't control the impurity content! If there are too many impurities, the grains will be disordered, and you'll definitely lose some of your strength and corrosion resistance!"

Li Yu's eyes suddenly lit up.

"You're a real gem! Bring me your rifle alloy composition data, and we'll adjust the plan immediately, taking into account the requirements for aircraft carrier steel!"

Zhou Qiming proudly raised his chin and pulled a stack of crumpled blueprints from his pocket: "I knew it! My experience would come in handy sooner or later!"

The atmosphere in the laboratory instantly became lively. Following Zhou Qiming's instructions, the technicians adjusted the alloy ratio and started the vacuum smelting furnace. The furnace fire roared, illuminating the hopeful faces on their faces.

During a break from his busy schedule, Zhou Qiming pulled Li Yu aside and mysteriously pulled out another stack of blueprints.

"There's another big job coming up!"

He lowered his voice. "Currently, the skin of fighter jets is easily scratched by airflow during high-altitude, high-speed flight, and it's also not resistant to high temperatures. I'm thinking of developing a high-temperature resistant, scratch-resistant skin material based on rare-earth tungsten alloys, so that our fighter jets can fly faster and higher in the future!"

Looking at the design on the blueprints, Li Yu exclaimed, "This idea is incredibly bold! The R&D center must approve this project immediately. You'll lead the research and development of fighter jet skin materials! I'll provide you with the best team!"

Zhou Qiming excitedly saluted: "Mission accomplished!"

As the days went by, good news kept coming.

First, the test results for the special pressure-resistant hull steel for aircraft carriers came out—under the pressure of a 2000-meter deep sea, the test welded parts remained completely still, and the corrosion resistance far exceeded the design requirements.

Metallurgical experts held the test report and exclaimed that it was a "miracle".