You promised to build cars, so why did you go into the military industry?

"The material cost itself is 3200 yuan per square meter. One Lingyun SU7 requires approximately 4.6 square meters. The total cost is 15400 yuan."

After Guo Shuyan finished reading the materials submitted by Gao Jingming, Li Ran looked at Gao and Lin, who were standing there unconsciously as punishment, and said with a pained expression:

"Fifteen thousand! That's equivalent to half a year's salary for many people! We can't forget our roots just because we've started living a good life, right?"

Advanced technology, in the final analysis, is meant to serve the people, so the cost must be carefully considered…

Seeing Li Ran start to escalate the situation, Guo Shuyan couldn't stand it anymore.

"Alright, alright, stop it. So what if Manager Gao 'deprived you of the joy of going to work' yesterday? It's a bit much to keep pressing the issue."

Li Ran, embarrassed by being exposed, touched his nose, then took out the invitation from CNSA from the drawer and handed it to the two of them, trying to divert their attention.

Lin Yu took the invitation and began to read it.

Gao Jingming, who was standing to the side, tilted his head and leaned closer, subconsciously reciting:

"Regarding the invitation to United Industries to visit the satellite launch center and observe the lunar exploration program..."

When he finally realized what he had said, his voice grew softer and softer, and he looked at Li Ran with an incredulous expression.

Lin Yu quickly finished reading it word for word.

"There are nine days left until October 1st. You two get ready to come with me." Seeing that the two had finished reading, Li Ran reminded them, "This National Day, we're giving everyone a 7-day holiday early so we can all celebrate together. You two need to arrange the duty shifts for the next two days. During this 14-day holiday, all staff on duty will receive triple pay; we can't treat our employees unfairly."

"No problem. When do we set off?" Lin Yu asked quickly.

Signaling Lin Yu to calm down, Li Ran pointed to the calendar:

"We'll be departing in three days."

"How do we get there? How about driving?" Gao Jingming's eyes lit up. "How about we use our test vehicle with the solar panels? It's already been modified, we can't let it go to waste."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yu's eyes flickered, and then he nodded vigorously to Li Ran.

Seeing Lin Yu's shocked and then enlightened expression, Li Ran, though unsure of Lin Yu's true intentions, agreed out of trust for everyone.

"Okay! Remember to register at the vehicle management office, otherwise you won't be able to drive it on the road."

-----------------

"Do we really have to ride this car?" Zhao Jing pouted. "It's so ugly!"

The car that Zhao Jing found ugly was the Lingyun SU7 with added solar photovoltaic panels.

"So we're going by car this time?" Guo Shuyan patted Zhao Jing's head. "1700 kilometers, how many days are you planning to drive?"

"Three days, that's less than 600 kilometers a day on average. It'll be quite easy on the highway," Li Ran said as he loaded luggage into the car. "Two people per car, follow the navigation. Safety first, no speeding. Understand?"

"Understood!" X6

Seeing the three cars carrying everyone set off one after another, Li Ran adjusted his seating position, then stepped on the gas and followed.

As soon as we got on the highway, a hissing sound came from the car's walkie-talkie, followed by Zhao Jing's highly recognizable voice:

"I refuse to accept this! Why is Li Ran in a car alone?! OVER!"

"Because I'm the boss! That's a privilege, understand? Also, please call me General Manager Li, thank you! OVER!"

"Feed? Hello! This is Zhao Shuhang. Where are we staying for the first night? OVER!"

"On our first night at 'Jiangnan of Longshang,' I'll treat you to braised chicken with chestnuts! OVER!"

The three-day trip passed in the blink of an eye amidst the noise and bustle.

A year later, Li Ran and the others finally met Wang Bing and Su Qing.

After a simple yet grand welcome banquet in the internal canteen, Wang and Su led everyone on a tour of the exhibition hall.

In front of the exhibition hall lobby, everyone excitedly took a group photo.

A chorus of "wows" could be heard from the crowd from time to time.

"Is this the first stage rocket engine of the Long March 3A?" Lin Yu asked excitedly. "Old Gao, take a picture of us together."

"Huh? Isn't it the Chang'e carrier rocket engine?" Zhao Jing pointed to the banner on the engine.

"Duh, 'Chang'e' was launched using a Long March 3A carrier rocket," Lin Yu corrected, giving a thumbs-up to the camera.

The day before the launch, Gao Jingming met with Wang Bing and Su Qing.

"You two..." Gao Jingming's gaze swept back and forth between Wang and Su, "Do you know anyone here you can talk to?"

"It's alright. Director Qi Kaifeng of the CNSA and I are quite familiar with each other," Wang Bing replied without hesitation. "...Is there something you need?"

"..."

Gao Jingming fell silent. He had only wanted to find a leader at the rank who could speak to him, but he hadn't expected Wang Bing to bring over the big boss directly.

"Yes, something's up, good news." Gao Jingming took a deep breath. "I recently developed a solar photovoltaic panel with a photoelectric conversion rate of 40%."

"Oh?!" Su Qing raised an eyebrow. "If that's the case, you must have brought samples, right? But I didn't see anything like that in your luggage. Could it be... a car? Or maybe that dark thing on the roof?"

Gao Jingming gave Su Qing a thumbs up without saying a word.

"Bold and meticulous, impressive." Su Qing clapped lightly. "Displaying it so openly, others will only see it as an ordinary commodity found in the market..."

"Ahem, I understand what you mean. I'll make the introductions after the launch mission is completed tomorrow." Wang Bing's expression was serious. "Does President Li know?"

"You know," Gao Jingming frowned, "He agreed to my suggestion, which is why we were able to drive over."

"..."

The next day, October 1, 2010, was National Day.

The clouds were rather thick in the early morning.

Two kilometers in front of the launch tower, Lin Yu stared blankly at the Long March 3C rocket that had been erected.

"What are you thinking about?" Li Ran handed over one of the braised pork buns in his hand. "Here, have a taste. It's a special dish. It's for today's launch, and the chef made it especially for us. You can't usually get this."

Lin Yu took the meat bun, took a bite, and swallowed it.

"I want to build rockets!"

"What?!"

"I want to build a rocket! Go to space! Go to outer space! And then, die in the sun." Lin Yu repeated firmly as he looked at the rocket in the distance.

Then he looked at Li Ran:

"You'll support me, right?"

"...Give me two years, I'll build up my savings." Li Ran took a deep breath. "Also, dying in the sun is too low-class, how about a black hole?"

"A black hole? That sounds more romantic." Lin Yu nodded. "It's okay, two years isn't enough, so we'll do four; four years isn't enough, so we'll do eight..."

"Stop, stop, two years is almost up." Li Ran gazed at the rocket standing silently in the distance. "That's space, I want to go up there too..."

A gentle breeze swept by, and Li Ran tightened his trench coat.

"Let's go back to the testing center. The weather doesn't look good today, so don't catch a cold."

Thanks to Wang Bing and Su Qing's guarantees, Li Ran, Lin Yu, and Gao Jingming were allowed to watch the launch from a corner of the launch test hall.

The rest of the crew enjoyed a close-up look at the rocket launch from an open-air observation deck not far from the launch site.

In the afternoon, at 13:59 PM, five hours before launch.

The atmosphere in the testing hall visibly became tense.

Li, Lin, and Gao, huddled in a corner of the testing hall, unconsciously held their breath, afraid of disturbing the staff on site.

In front of the three people, there was a relatively spacious area where CCTV set up its cameras and began its live broadcast.

As luck would have it, Li Ran and others appeared in the live stream as background figures.

Viewers watching the live television broadcast almost all noticed the three people who were acting as background figures.

They were so conspicuous; their clothing was clearly different from the staff's, making them hard to ignore.

The three of them huddled together, their styles completely mismatched, like Grandma Liu visiting the Grand View Garden.

Lin Yu, huddled in the corner, stared blankly at Wang Bing and Su Qing, who were sitting in the central command seat, perfectly blending into the environment.

Li Ran sensed the overflowing envy in Lin Yu's eyes, patted him on the shoulder, and tried to offer some comfort.

Unsurprisingly, this scene was also captured by cameras and sent to countless households.

"This guy is so stupid, hahaha."

This was the subconscious reaction of many viewers.

As time passed and the launch drew closer, the announcements in the launch control hall began to ring out more frequently...

"120 minutes countdown, prepare (T-120 minutes), rocket orbital precision aiming."

"60 minutes countdown to preparation (T-60 minutes), the first set of rotating platforms opens, the onboard systems are powered on, and pre-launch functional checks are performed."

"30 minutes countdown, prepare (T-30 minutes), second rotating platform opens, propellant tank pressurization, cryogenic propellant replenishment."

"5 minutes countdown, prepare (T-5 minutes), disconnect the gas line connector and filling connector, and disconnect the telemetry system and external measurement system connectors."

"1 minute countdown, ready (T-1 minute), turn on the rocket and power it with battery, cable connector detached."

"Countdown 30 seconds (T-30 seconds), the telemetry and control system and local telemetry and tracking stations are activated."

"Countdown 10, 9, 8, ..., 3, 2, 1, Ignition."

"ignition."

"take off."

"take off."

"T-0, 18:59, 57 seconds, 345 milliseconds."

"T-0, 18:59, 57 seconds, 345 milliseconds."

"Program turnaround".

"Optical and radar tracking are normal, telemetry signals are normal. Flight is normal."

"..."

2010年10月1日18时59分57秒345毫秒，嫦二月球探测器由长三丙运载火箭成功发射升空。