1950s: After transmigrating into a capitalist, I relied on military industry to achieve a comeback.

The furnace lining is a big problem.

Ordinary clay bricks, when exposed to pure oxygen and high temperatures, will turn into slag after only two furnace cycles.

High-purity magnesia bricks must be used.

She circled a section heavily on the edge of the page and wrote down several proportion parameters.

We need to call Lu Zheng over later and have him take some people to the "No. 1 Furnace" in the Northwest to figure out its temperament and try firing two kilns first.

After finishing the furnace body, the pen tip slid down to the core components.

An oxygen lance for blowing oxygen.

This thing not only has to be soaked in temperatures of several thousand degrees, but the angle and flow rate of the high-pressure oxygen ejected also need to be precisely controlled.

Even the slightest crack, allowing oxygen to leak out, could instantly destroy the workshop.

She tapped the pen on the table twice. The existing seamless steel pipes certainly wouldn't withstand this kind of turmoil; they'd have to first prepare a batch of special steel to process the gun body.

Next, she sketched the outlines of the dust collector and exhaust pipes next to the original sketch. The converter's oxygen blowing process was so violent, like a volcanic eruption, that steel slag and thick smoke could burn through the roof.

In this day and age, even the most basic work masks are in short supply. If protective equipment is not in place, workers are risking their lives. She lowered her head and reinforced the pipes of the dust removal water curtain with extra force.

The draft paper was quickly filled with two pages. Lin Jiaoyue rubbed her slightly sore wrists and shook them.

These basic techniques, which would have become commonplace in later generations, would require a painful but arduous process to advance even an inch on this land. But she was confident. They could withstand the sandstorms of the Northwest Gobi Desert, and now they had Director Zhang to withstand the pressure from above, and Lu Zheng and Song Siming, those workaholics, to keep things running smoothly.

The most important thing is...

She will soon have the most authoritative and stubborn "top quality inspector" of this era.

Just thinking about that old Mr. Wang from the Iron and Steel Research Institute, if he were to witness firsthand how a pot of molten iron, riddled with impurities and utterly unusable, could be transformed into a furnace of gleaming, top-grade steel in just a few tens of minutes under the influence of pure oxygen… his stubborn old face would probably turn a deep purplish-red on the spot.

Lin Jiaoyue couldn't help but chuckle softly. She tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and lowered her head again.

On the paper, the pen tip began to move again. The soft scratching sound echoed in the quiet office, a small sound that was about to shatter the last piece of the ceiling of this backward era.

……

Director Zhang's efficiency was astonishing, or rather, he was too obsessed with the "triple increase" in steel production.

Just two days later, a black Jimny sedan came to a stop in front of Workshop No. 1 of Institute 909, leaving a black mark on the concrete with its tires.

As soon as the car came to a stop, the bodyguard in the front seat immediately got out of the car and deftly opened the rear doors on both sides.

Director Zhang stepped out of the car from the right side. He didn't rush into the workshop, but instead smoothed the hem of his coat and stood patiently by the car waiting.

On the other side, an elderly man wearing a faded Zhongshan suit, with gray hair neatly combed, slowly leaned out of the car. The old man was thin, but his back was ramrod straight. He was none other than Wang Geng, the pillar of the Iron and Steel Research Institute.

He squinted his cloudy eyes and looked the old factory building in front of him up and down, which had a sign that read "Military Industrial Base".

Wang Geng's Adam's apple bobbed up and down, and he let out a muffled snort through his nose.

"Professor Wang, this is the No. 1 test workshop of Institute 909."

Director Zhang walked around the back of the car. He wasn't angry at the old man's cold look; he simply smiled dismissively, his tone revealing politeness and respect for the older generation of experts.

"We went to the trouble of inviting you here today because we wanted to use your discerning eye to give our new project a thorough evaluation."

The cane tapped twice on the ground, effectively shutting down Director Zhang's polite words.

"check?"

Wang Geng's eyelids drooped, and although his voice wasn't loud, it was so loud it made people's ears ring.

"Your Ordnance Bureau keeps claiming to have developed some revolutionary new technology, and you insisted on dragging this old man over to see it. What do you think this is? Come on, let's go in and see what kind of show you're putting on!"

He didn't linger at the door, but walked straight past Director Zhang and strode into the workshop. The apprentices following behind him exchanged glances and quickly followed him in.

The workshop was bustling with activity. Lu Zheng was directing several workers to lay refractory bricks, while a crane was slowly moving a huge metal pipe.

Wang Geng walked to the semi-finished converter without saying a word. He first used his cane to rake away the scattered magnesia brick fragments on the ground, then walked to the completed furnace wall, his cloudy eyes suddenly narrowing.

He didn't say anything, but his eldest apprentice, Technician Li, had already taken out his vernier calipers and, with a "click," wedged them into the gap between the two bricks.

"Teacher, this gap is too big."

Technician Li turned his head, making no attempt to hide the sarcasm in his tone.

"According to the rules of our open-hearth furnace, the brick joints must be so tight that even the thinnest blade cannot be inserted to be considered acceptable. Their joints are wide enough that even a little finger can fit through them. When molten steel at several thousand degrees is poured in, it will break through in less than three minutes."

Wang Geng remained silent with a cold expression, then turned his gaze to the huge metal pipe suspended in mid-air.

"What's that for?" he asked, pointing with his cane.

A new worker nearby was so intimidated by the scene that he stammered:

"This...this is an oxygen lance. I heard from Engineer Lin that it's inserted directly into the furnace to blow pure oxygen into the molten steel."

"Blowing oxygen?!"

The second apprentice, the tall, thin man with glasses, couldn't help but almost gasp out in surprise.

"Blowing high-pressure oxygen directly into molten steel? Isn't that like adding fuel to the fire? The carbon and oxygen in the steel would react violently, instantly blowing the furnace apart! It's utter nonsense!"

Hearing his apprentices' feedback, Wang Geng's sunken cheeks twitched violently. His already unpleasant expression turned as dark as the bottom of a pot.

He turned around, his cloudy yet sharp eyes scanning the workshop before finally locking onto a young figure in gray-blue overalls not far away.

"So it was you who said you wanted to abolish open-hearth steelmaking?"

Wang Geng stared at Lin Jiaoyue, his sunken cheeks twitching from biting so hard.

Inside the workshop, Lin Jiaoyue was watching the workers tighten the steel cables. Hearing the commotion outside, she turned around, grabbed a wad of tattered cotton yarn from the nearby workbench, and vigorously rubbed the black oil stains on her palms. The oil had seeped into her fingernails and couldn't be wiped clean, so she simply threw the cotton yarn aside, stepped over the scattered pipes on the ground, and went out to meet them.

"Hello, Mr. Wang, I am Lin Jiaoyue."

She stopped two steps away from Wang Geng, extended her right hand which still smelled of engine oil, and spoke in a completely flat tone.