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

The announcement that the Lingyun SU7 would be discontinued in principle caused a ripple in the automotive industry, but it was quickly calmed down by competitors.

For automakers, the biggest headache when preparing to launch a new car is dealing with a backlog of inventory.

In order to recoup funds, they will all choose to increase discounts or launch promotional activities to clear inventory.

For many consumers with limited budgets, this is a good time to buy their dream car at a lower price.

However, many consumers who are not well-informed will find that their newly purchased car becomes an old model just a month later, and its price in the used car market will plummet.

Well, it has its advantages and disadvantages.

But honestly, this is the first time I've seen a car company as unconventional as United Industries these days.

If a consumer wants to buy a car, you just sell it to them.

They say a new model will be released in six months, so buying it now would be a waste. Unless it's an urgent need, it's best to wait.

That shows you care about your customers, right?

Do they really think they're entrepreneurs for the people?

Compared to this statement from United Industries, the usual underhanded tactics of its competitors seem like those of clowns.

So, while pretending to be ostriches, competitors spent a lot of money to suppress news and quell public interest.

But all of this has nothing to do with Li Ran.

In mid-September, Gao Jingming returned with his team.

"President Li, great news!" Gao Jingming grinned broadly. "This photovoltaic power station might be about to start the second phase of construction. The first phase, covering 60,000 mu of solar photovoltaic panels, was completed by the end of July. I spent more than half a month debugging it and was just about to leave with the team when, guess what? The leaders from the State Grid came! To inspect the terrain of the second phase, they took us on a huge tour around the Northwest."

"Do we still need you for the second phase of the project?"

Li Ran was somewhat worried. These were talents he had invested a lot of money to cultivate, yet they were all leaving.

There was already only Zhang Chengyuan, and now there might be another Gao Jingming...

"Go..." Gao Jingming paused, noticing Li Ran's wide eyes, and chuckled twice, "But you don't need to go often. Once every two months is enough. With this construction experience, all the frontline employees are skilled workers, so I don't need to be there all the time. Communicating through video calls online is sufficient."

"Alright." Li Ran reluctantly accepted this arrangement. "There aren't many days left until the National Day holiday, so you can take a break until the end of the holiday. By the way, we've been invited to the Qilian Mountains at the end of the month to witness the launch of 'Tiangong-1,' and we're leaving in a week. Anyone in your team who wants to go can come along; the company will reimburse the expenses, but it's not mandatory."

"Are you bringing your family members?" Gao Jingming asked.

"Can."

"Then there's no need to ask." Gao Jingming slammed his hand on the table. "I'll report them all for them."

That's for watching a rocket launch!

Gao Jingming didn't believe these engineers would refuse, especially since they could bring their families along!

Is there a better parent-child activity than this?

What's more, it doesn't cost any money!

Unless something unexpected happens, just wait and see, everyone will be involved.

In fact, according to the original timeline, Tiangong-9 should have been launched on September 29, 2011.

The successful launch of Gongyi on that day also marked the official start of the second step of China's three-step manned space program strategy—the space laboratory phase.

This marks a historic turning point for China, moving from "short-term spaceflight" to "long-term space station stay."

However, in today's timeline, this matter is a whole year too late.

Li Ran guessed that it was most likely because of that 250,000-ton die forging press.

Although the overall progress was a whole year behind schedule, Tiangong-1 and Long March 2F certainly had a different kind of charm.

At 9 p.m. on September 29, Li Ran and his group appeared on an open-air observation deck not far from the rocket launch tower.

Amidst everyone's anticipation, the Long March 2F rocket, partially obscured by the launch tower's rotating platform, appeared and disappeared.

Lin Yu stared blankly at the arrow, which was noticeably thicker than the 3.35 meters indicated in the data.

"How's our rocket development going?" Li Ran asked casually, taking a bite of cucumber.

"It's alright. The engine design is complete, but it needs to be tested, and we don't have the facilities for that."

"Why can't we build our own test bench?"

"???" Lin Yu seemed to have heard something terrifying, "You're going to rebel?"

"Ahem... Don't jump to conclusions!"

"That's hundreds of tons of highly dangerous, regulated fuel!" Lin Yu retorted irritably. "Tell me, how many lifetimes are you planning to live in there?"

"Then let's rent it from CNSA," Li Ran said, waving a half-eaten cucumber.

Even Wang Bing couldn't borrow it.

"Crunch..." Li Ran took a bite of cucumber. "After the launch, let's go ask them together. I reckon there's some kind of misunderstanding."

Time flew by, and night fell. At 9:16 p.m., the Long March 2F rocket successfully sent Tiangong-1 into space.

"It was truly spectacular," a United Industries employee recalled, remembering the earth-shaking moment when the rocket lifted off. "It was like a mini sun. Luckily, I was wearing sunglasses."

"I'm so envious," another employee said with some regret. "I misfocused and the picture is blurry. I was in a hurry to adjust the settings, and I missed the scene in front of me."

The next day, Li Ran brought Lin Yu to Director Qi Kaifeng's office.

Director Qi Kaifeng seemed to be in a good mood. Upon seeing Li Ran, he jokingly greeted her warmly:

"Oh? What a rare guest, Mr. Li."

"You flatter me, Director Qi." Li Ran quickly waved his hand. "I haven't even congratulated you yet! This launch was truly spectacular. Yesterday, I noticed that the Long March 2F rocket looked noticeably larger than in the datasheets. Could it be some kind of new model?"

"Hmm." Director Qi Kaifeng gestured with his index finger and thumb, a sly look on his face. "There is indeed a tiny bit of a change."

Director Qi Kaifeng lowered his hand and said with a hint of regret:

"However, it's still not quite there yet. The entire rocket still uses nitrogen tetroxide/unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine as the propellant."

Although the rocket body and engine have been optimized and modified, the poison is still poison, and the risk cannot be suppressed.

However, the YF-100 high-pressure staged combustion liquid oxygen-kerosene rocket engine did pass the acceptance test.

Once the technology matures, we can learn from it and modify things like the YF-20K.

When Director Qi Kaifeng brought up rocket engines, Li Ran's eyes lit up:

"Speaking of which, we have also developed a rocket engine."

Unfortunately, we don't have professional testing...

Director Qi Kaifeng interrupted Li Ran:

"I knew you came for this."

Wang Bing asked me about it before, but I was too busy at the time and refused without explaining it clearly.

I can tell you definitively that it won't work this year. From before the new year to the end, several reconstructed engines are undergoing extreme testing.

There are also some modified rocket bodies undergoing full-rocket, full-system hot-fire testing.

None of the test stands were idle.

However, if everything goes smoothly, I will step in and submit a report for you next March.

However, this fee isn't cheap; you should be prepared.

"Even close brothers keep clear accounts!" Li Ran patted his chest. "Director Qi, don't worry, we have plenty of money."

"Okay, that's good." Director Qi Kaifeng nodded. "By the way, what kind of propellant do your engines use?"

"Liquid oxygen and methane." Lin Yu smiled shyly. "It's a little different from the YF-100; it's a full-flow staged combustion cycle rocket engine."