Courtyard House: Initial Donation of 50 Million

He was showered with honors, heavily guarded, and his technology promotion was in full swing. To outsiders, Wang Huanbo had already reached the pinnacle of his life. But deep down, he remained clear-headed and tinged with unease. He knew that his current achievements were just the beginning; greater challenges and the difficult years that the country was about to face were yet to come. He had to utilize all available resources and foresight to plan ahead.

That day, he received a letter from Hong Kong, delivered through special channels. It was a handwritten letter from his eldest brother, Wang Huanfa. In the letter, his brother first warmly congratulated him on his remarkable achievements in China, his words brimming with pride. He then gave a detailed report on the progress of the "family mission":

Electron tube supply: We have established a stable procurement and transportation network through trade networks in Southeast Asia and Europe, which can meet the current urgent needs of domestic scientific research and production, and can also provide more advanced models in the future.

Food and Material Reserves: At Wang Huanbo's request, the family has used substantial funds to purchase high-quality rice, corn, cooking oil, sugar, canned meat, and other daily necessities on a large scale in Thailand, Vietnam, and Myanmar. Several large transit and reserve warehouses have already been established in Singapore and Hong Kong, and the stockpiles are already considerable. In his letter, the eldest brother subtly expressed his doubts, inquiring whether such massive reserves, far exceeding the needs of business operations, had ulterior motives.

Financial support: The family stated that they will provide indefinite and unconditional support for any "needs" Wang Huanbo may have in China, and that there will be absolutely no problem with funding.

After reading the letter, Wang Huanbo breathed a long sigh of relief. This "lifeline" hidden along the banks of Hong Kong had finally been initially completed! This was crucial for coping with the difficult years to come! He immediately replied, first thanking his family for their strong support, and then emphasizing:

First, the electron tube channel is the "technological lifeline," and it must be kept open and concealed at all costs.

Secondly, grain reserves are "strategic reserves," not merely commercial transactions. They concern countless lives, so the family must take this seriously, continue to quietly expand the scale of reserves, strengthen warehouse security management, and be ready to respond at any time.

Third, he will soon have a batch of "technical data" (preliminary ideas about high-grade steel for automobiles and large hydraulic presses) that his family needs to find suitable "sources" and "package" through overseas channels under the guise of "commercial technology import" so that he can "reasonably" release them in the future.

He knew that directly providing the technology of a 20000-ton hydraulic press and aerospace steel was too groundbreaking; a process of "introduction, digestion, and absorption" was necessary. His family's overseas background was perfectly suited to play this "front man" role.

After finishing dealing with his family letters, Wang Huanbo turned his attention to the more distant future. The success of the Hongxing brand sedan only solved the problem of "having" it; in terms of performance, fuel consumption, and reliability, it still lagged behind similar foreign products. The next step was to overcome the bottlenecks in core automotive components, especially the precision and durability of engines and transmissions. This required more advanced materials science and processing techniques. The automotive and aerospace-grade steel technology and the 20000-ton hydraulic press technology awarded by the system needed to be put on the agenda.

He began a new "research." During the day, he immersed himself in the factory's technical library (the collection of books had been greatly enriched thanks to his contributions), consulting the latest domestic and international literature on metal materials and pressure processing. At night, he conducted "calculations" and "analysis" in his own "laboratory" (a secluded room that had been converted) in the west wing. In reality, he was carefully "translating" and "simplifying" the key technical parameters and process points in the system drawings, and conceiving how to combine them with the current domestic industrial base, implementing them in stages and steps.

For example, with a 20000-ton hydraulic press, one could start with an 8000-ton press, then work on the 12000-ton version, and finally strive for the 20000-ton version. Similarly, with automotive steel sheets, one could begin with deep-drawn ordinary low-carbon steel sheets, gradually moving towards high-strength alloy steel. He compiled these thoughts into thick, highly forward-looking technical feasibility reports and development planning proposals, which he submitted to the Ministry of Industry and the factory. These reports, with their clear thinking, rigorous arguments, and feasible pathways, once again impressed the experts, who hailed them as "grand blueprints with strategic vision!"

Factory Director Yang and Party Secretary Wang both admired and felt sorry for Wang Huanbo's workaholic nature, and repeatedly urged him to take a break. Wang Huanbo always smiled and said, "Time waits for no one, Factory Director. We're falling too far behind; we have to seize every minute."

His busy schedule and importance made his presence in the courtyard more like a "symbol." The beasts had become accustomed to Chief Engineer Wang being chauffeured around in a jeep and frequently visited by leaders and experts, and even jealousy seemed powerless. Their lives still revolved around trivial matters: Yi Zhonghai was still struggling to have a child, Liu Haizhong was still beating his son, Yan Bugui was calculating the cost of daily necessities, Xu Damao was jumping around, and the Jia family was in dire straits... The small courtyard seemed to be a microcosm of the torrent of the times, where some people rode the waves, some drifted with the tide, and some sank to the bottom.

Wang Huanbo stood by his window, watching the everyday life unfolding in the courtyard, but his gaze had already crossed the courtyard wall, reaching out to the wider world. He knew that the brief period of calm was about to end, and greater storms and opportunities awaited ahead. And he was ready.