Courtyard House: The Road to an Industrial Power

Seeing her cowardly appearance, everyone couldn't help but chuckle in hushed tones, thinking that she was reaping what she sowed.

Lin Weidong didn't stop. He stared at Jia Zhangshi: "Jia Zhangshi, tell me honestly, was this something someone instructed you to do? With your brains, you couldn't have come up with such a wicked trick!"

Jia Zhangshi trembled and subconsciously looked at the deaf old woman.

This glance did not escape Lin Weidong's eyes.

Just then, the deaf old woman suddenly swayed, clutching her chest, and cried out, "Oh dear, my chest hurts so much, I'm going to faint!"

As she spoke, she winked at an older woman next to her, signaling for her to help her home.

The older woman knew exactly what was going on, but she could only grit her teeth and step forward to help the deaf old woman: "Grandma, don't worry, I'll take you home to rest."

"Trying to leave?" Lin Weidong sneered.

His gaze fell on Jia Zhangshi. "Jia Zhangshi, how much money did the deaf old woman give you to spread these rumors?"

Jia Zhangshi was already terrified and completely flustered. Lin Weidong's trickery made her blurt out, "Five...five yuan!"

The room fell silent after he said that.

All eyes turned to the deaf old woman.

The deaf old woman froze, and her feigned fainting stopped.

The neighbors then realized that the deaf old woman was behind all of this!

"No wonder! I was wondering why Jia Zhangshi was suddenly so good at spreading rumors; it turns out she has someone backing her up!"

"That deaf old woman looks kind and gentle, how could she be so malicious!"

"Exactly! Why would she do that? What did Qin's mother do to her?"

The crowd discussed amongst themselves, their faces full of doubt.

Only the older woman knew the truth.

He sneered inwardly, "What else could it be?"

It's simply because I'm afraid that if Qin's mother rents my house and I only earn five yuan a month in rent, she won't be willing to serve this old woman anymore!

To come up with such a despicable scheme for one's own selfish gain is a waste of one's life!

That evening, Jia Zhangshi stormed into the deaf old woman's house, shouting, "Old lady, I'm telling you, you have to give me ten yuan, or I'm staying at your house all day!"

Knowing that Jia Zhangshi would definitely come, the deaf old woman said to an older woman, "Go to the wooden box at the bottom of the wardrobe and take ten yuan to give to Jia Zhangshi."

An older woman opened the wardrobe and saw a small wooden box. She intended to take it out, but unexpectedly, she couldn't move it.

So she opened it to take the money, and the old lady was surprised when she opened it. It was full of gold and several stacks of black ten.

After taking out a bill, the older woman closed the wardrobe door.

After snatching the money from the old woman's hand, Jia Zhangshi said with a smile, "Grandma, we're even now."

As soon as Jia Zhangshi left the deaf old woman, she said, "See? As long as you take good care of me, I'll be yours in the future. I won't mistreat you, old lady."

For the next few days, Jia Zhangshi got up before dawn every day to sweep the yard, muttering to herself as she swept.

His face was full of reluctance, but whenever he saw Zhao Xiulan or Lin Weidong, he would immediately lower his head and speed up his work, afraid of being scolded again.

When neighbors passed by, they would always tease her a bit, making her so embarrassed that she didn't dare to lift her head.

A week later at the military region's firing range, simulated armor plates stood in the distance, and rows of Type 95 automatic rifles were neatly arranged.

Today is the final testing day for high-explosive armor-piercing rounds and the Type 95 modular modified rifle.

Almost all the bigwigs from the military region and the weapons research institute were present. Li Huaide stood beside the automatic rifle with Lin Weidong, his palms sweating.

"Comrade Weidong, this test is of great importance, you must stay calm," Li Huaide said in a low voice.

Since the Type 95 rifle went into mass production, the steel mill's status in the military industry has risen accordingly. But this time, the armor-piercing rounds and modular modifications are the real hard tools that will allow the steel mill to stand firm.

Lin Weidong nodded slightly, his gaze falling on the armored steel plate in the center of the firing range.

That was a target plate customized according to the side armor parameters of the current main battle tank. It was a full 80 millimeters thick. Ordinary ammunition would at most leave a shallow dent when it hit.

"Attention all units, test begins!" With the commander's order, the shooters quickly took their positions.

The first batch of tests used ordinary armor-piercing rounds. The gunshot rang out, the bullet whistled out, hit the armor plate, and only made a crisp "clang" sound, leaving a white bullet mark. It couldn't even penetrate the skin.

Several senior experts shook their heads slightly, a hint of disappointment on their faces.

Immediately afterwards, they switched to high-explosive armor-piercing rounds developed by Lin Weidong's team. The shooter took a deep breath and pulled the trigger.

"Bang!"

After a deafening gunshot, a shocking scene unfolded: the high-explosive armor-piercing round hit the bullseye with pinpoint accuracy.

First, it penetrated the 80-millimeter-thick armor plate, then exploded in a blinding flash on the back of the steel plate, and the shock wave shattered the simulated target behind the target plate!

"It penetrated! It can even explode a second time!" An elderly expert with white hair said, his voice trembling.

He strode to the target plate, stroking the charred edge of the bullet hole, his eyes filled with fervor. "Good! Excellent! The power of this armor-piercing round far exceeds our expectations!"

Next came the testing of the modular modified rifle.

The shooter first fired ten bullets with a standard barrel, and every shot hit the bullseye 100 meters away.

He then spent only twenty seconds disassembling the barrel and replacing it with a long sniper barrel and a high-powered scope.

Even when firing at miniature targets 300 meters away, every shot hit its mark. Finally, it switched to a short barrel and folding stock, transforming into a submachine gun, and sprayed bullets at moving targets. The rate of fire was fast, the accuracy was high, and the firepower suppression effect was amazing.

The entire shooting range was completely silent, except for the slight noise of the shooters changing parts.

When the last moving target was destroyed, thunderous applause erupted from the audience.

"Modular modifications are ingenious! They maximize battlefield adaptability!"

"A modification completed in twenty seconds—that could be a lifesaver in real combat!"

"Comrade Lin Weidong is truly a genius in the military industry!"

Several high-ranking military officials gathered around, shook Lin Weidong's hand, and praised him highly.

The director of the weapons research institute went even further, saying, "Comrade Lin Weidong, on behalf of the weapons research institute, I formally invite you to join us! Excellent benefits, including a company car and housing, and you'll be given the highest level of autonomy over your research projects!"

Upon hearing this, Li Huaide quickly interjected, "Comrade Director, Weidong is a core member of our steel rolling mill; we can't poach him!"