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

On New Year's Eve, just as dawn was breaking, the window paper was still tinged with a bluish-white.

Lin Hongsheng got out of bed wearing his old cotton-padded coat, humming an unknown Suzhou folk tune, and took a large broom to sweep the snow in the yard clean and pile it under the old locust tree.

Back inside, I warmed my hands and took out the red paper I had cut and the ink I had ground, spreading them out on the slightly chipped octagonal table in the main room.

"Jiaojiao, come quick! Daddy's going to show you a special skill today!"

Lin Jiaoyue rubbed her sleepy eyes, put on her cotton-padded coat, and went over. She saw her father roll up his sleeves, revealing a slender but strong wrist, and pick up a brush to write on red paper.

The brushstrokes flowed like dragons and snakes, completed in one go.

First line: A phoenix is ​​attracted to a house with a parasol tree.

The second line: The factory determines its fate through technology.

Horizontal scroll: National Prosperity and People's Peace

The ink was still wet, exuding a sense of vigor and strength.

"Great handwriting!" Lin Jiaoyue gave a genuine thumbs up. "Dad, your handwriting is even more powerful than the slogans at the factory gate; it exudes energy and spirit!"

"That's right!" Lin Hongsheng tossed his head proudly, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes smoothing out. "Back in Suzhou, your father was a renowned talent in the Chamber of Commerce. Although I don't use an abacus anymore, I haven't lost my skills! When it comes to making bulletin boards and writing slogans in the trade union, which of those young guys can compare to me?"

Su Wanqing was sewing shoe soles on the side, watching her husband's beaming face, her eyes filled with a gentle smile.

She knew perfectly well that her husband had truly come back to life. Back in Suzhou, life was indeed luxurious, but the constant fear of being wiped out despite possessing immense wealth was also real. Now, although life was tough, he earned his living through his own abilities and was respected, allowing him to stand taller than ever before.

With the Spring Festival couplets pasted up, the festive atmosphere is truly complete. Next up is the main event—the New Year's Eve dinner.

The dishes laid out on the Lin family's table were so plentiful that they were almost "out of line".

The braised pork belly was trembling and glistening with oil, its color as reddish as agate; in the sauerkraut and pork belly pot, thickly sliced ​​blood sausage floated in the bubbling broth; and in the very center sat a braised carp weighing over two pounds, its body intact, symbolizing abundance year after year.

In this era of extreme scarcity, where even buying a scallion required careful calculation, if outsiders were to glimpse this meal through a crack in the window, they would be gossiped about and might even get into serious trouble.

"Eat! Eat up! Today we're locking ourselves in, we're not afraid of anyone!"

Lin Hongsheng made an exception today, wearing a dark red long gown that he had kept hidden away in his trunk. Although the cuffs were a little worn, the material was still crisp. His face was flushed from drinking, and he reached out with his chopsticks to pick up a piece of the fattest and most tender braised pork and put it into Lin Jiaoyue's bowl.

However, the hand that had once signed a million-dollar contract in Shanghai was now trembling slightly.

"Jiaojiao, I never dreamed that I would be able to spend a peaceful New Year with you."

Lin Hongsheng looked at his daughter, his eyes suddenly reddening. He put down his chopsticks, gestured to the height of the corner of the table, and his voice choked with emotion, trembling slightly:

"At this time last year, you were just drooling and begging your dad for candy. Your dad bought you the best White Rabbit milk candy, but you couldn't peel off the rice paper wrapper, and you rolled on the ground crying and making a fuss... When your dad saw you then, his heart ached so much, it felt like someone was taking a dull knife and stabbing it into his heart again and again."

Su Wanqing sat beside her, tears streaming silently down her face like a broken string of pearls. Her hands, however, didn't stop moving as she meticulously peeled shrimp for her daughter: "Why bring up those old, trivial matters during the New Year? Our Jiaojiao is doing well now, a great scientist, and she's going to Beijing to enjoy a life of luxury."

"Yes! A great scientist!" Lin Hongsheng tilted his head back, downed the strong liquor in his glass in one gulp, and laughed and cried like a madman. "May our ancestors bless us! My daughter's soul has returned to its rightful place! These ten years of suffering were not in vain! It was all worth it!"

Lin Jiaoyue lowered her head and shoveled large mouthfuls of rice into her bowl. The rice, mixed with the broth from the braised pork, smelled so good it made her want to cry. Her nose stung terribly, and her throat felt like it was stuffed with a wad of wet cotton.

She had a space stocked with delicacies that would last for years. But the fish and meat on the table were prepared by her father and mother themselves.

These once powerful and influential parents, now living cautiously, are trying to make up for the love they've missed for the past ten years in a single meal, with interest, in an almost humble way.

"Father, Mother." Lin Jiaoyue put down her bowl, stood up and poured wine for the two elders, her eyes clear and firm. "From now on, we'll do this every year. Once I've established myself in Beijing, I'll take you to eat braised pork near the capital."

"Alright, let's celebrate every year!" Lin Hongsheng laughed heartily, but his eyes held a deep sense of reluctance and loneliness.

Everyone knows that this journey will be long and arduous.

……

Hongxing Factory, Factory Director's Office.

"Bang!"

Lin Jiaoyue slammed the heavy metal tube onto the desk.

"Uncle Zhao, this is your 'New Year's gift.'" She stared sharply at Zhao Weiguo, whose eyes were bloodshot and who had a stubble. "The ultimate blueprints for the modification of the Soviet-style annealing furnace, plus a special steel formula for the next three years. Follow this, and I guarantee that the scrap rate of your Red Star Factory will be reduced to below 5%."

Zhao Weiguo, who was still rubbing his sleepy eyes, trembled when he heard the number "5%" and suddenly pulled out the blueprint.

In the morning light, he stared wide-eyed at the dense lines, circles, and scribbles-like parameters on the screen.

He was a complete idiot, and he couldn't understand these complex mechanical structures at all. In his eyes, they were like gibberish.

However, he could understand the conclusion data circled heavily in red in the lower right corner of the drawing:

[Expected improvement in furnace temperature stability: 40%]

Expected finished product pass rate: ≥95%

Zhao Weiguo's breathing suddenly stopped.

He didn't believe in blueprints, but he believed in these numbers, and even more so in the girl in front of him who could turn scrap steel into precious steel!

This isn't just a few sheets of paper; it's a money-printing machine! This is the capital that will allow Hongxing Factory to dominate the entire military-industrial system and be untouchable by anyone!

"Girl...this...this is too amazing..." Zhao Weiguo's hands were trembling as he carefully held the blueprints.

"Uncle Zhao, I'm leaving the things behind," Lin Jiaoyue interrupted him, her gaze intense. "My parents..."

"Bang!"

Zhao Weiguo slammed his hand on the table, making the teacup lid rattle. He stood up abruptly, and in that instant, a murderous aura erupted from his body, as if he had crawled out of a pile of corpses.

"Jiaoyue, listen up! As long as the furnaces at the Red Star Factory are still smoking, your dad is a hero's family member! Anyone who dares to touch him, I'll twist their head off and use it as a chamber pot! Not even the Heavenly King himself can touch him!"

Lin Jiaoyue smiled, a bright and radiant smile.

The deal is done.

She turned to leave, but Zhao Weiguo suddenly called out to her, "Wait!"

He opened the drawer, took out a bulging brown paper envelope, rushed over, and shoved it into Lin Jiaoyue's hand.

"This was specially approved by the factory's Party Committee. It's five hundred yuan and one hundred jin of national grain coupons. Take it. Beijing is not like here. It's the capital city, where expenses are much higher. Don't make yourself suffer."

Lin Jiaoyue tried to decline, but Zhao Weiguo glared at her, adopting the air of a factory director: "Don't give me that nonsense! This isn't a personal gift from me; it's a 'Special Bonus for Breakthrough Technology' specially approved by the factory's Party Committee, plus a settlement allowance for your trip to Beijing! You're from our Red Star Factory; when you get to Beijing, we can't let people think we're stingy! Eat whatever you want, don't be frugal! The knowledge in your head is worth this price! If you don't take it, you're disrespecting your uncle!"

Lin Jiaoyue held the warm envelope and nodded heavily.

……