The Fiery Era: Starting from Longxugou

"Shi'an, how's it going? Are you confident you can throw in an 'Excellent'?"

On the playground, students lined up to throw grenades, and the scene became somewhat noisy as the results were announced.

Wang Zhijie put his arm around Zhao Shi'an's shoulder and asked loudly.

"Of course! Shi'an works in the fields all the time, and he's stronger than us even in an arm wrestling match. Getting an excellent score is a piece of cake for him!"

Chen Yongfu picked up the conversation.

"Although we do chores at home, we're nowhere near as good as Shian."

"That's right! I saw him selling vegetables in Dongxiao City during the summer vacation. He brought a huge basket of vegetables with him to set up his stall."

The surrounding students started talking about it.

"Hey you guys, don't drag me into this bragging! 'Excellent'? You'd be lucky to throw 40 meters!"

Zhao Shi'an quickly interrupted everyone. Although he was confident he could pass, he wasn't confident he could throw 48 meters.

"What are you all yelling about? Have you all mastered the techniques? If you don't pass later, I'll give you a few extra practice sessions!"

A sharp, piercing whistle rang out, and Zhang Kangzhan angrily rebuked the whispering students.

Upon hearing the teacher's words, Wang Zhijie and Chen Yongfu shrank their necks, bent down, took a few steps back, and began to practice the key points of the movements.

Zhao Shi'an quickly stood up straight and, following the key points taught by Teacher Lai, began practicing with the hand grenade.

After the students quieted down, Zhang Kangzhan turned to the students who were preparing to throw and said:

"Ready—Go!"

As soon as he finished speaking, another set of grenades was thrown out.

After practicing for a while, it was soon his turn to go. He stood behind the throwing line marked by the teacher, got into position, and threw the grenade hard at the teacher's command.

After releasing the grenade, Zhao Shi'an frowned slightly as he watched the parabola in the air, thinking to himself that he hadn't found the right angle and his score wouldn't be high.

"Zhao Shi'an 40.5 meters, Wang Zhijie 39.6 meters, Chen Yongfu 44.3 meters..."

When the results came out, Zhao Shi'an was somewhat surprised. He had thought that he hadn't found the right angle and wouldn't get good results, but they were surprisingly good!

Comparing shot put and grenade throwing, I found that shot put is simply heavy and difficult to throw with force, unlike grenade which is light and has a wooden handle that makes it easier to throw with force. If you pry open the cap and pull out the rope inside, you can definitely throw it farther with the rope.

Of course, we can't and dare not do that. We're using training rounds now, which don't contain explosives. If it were a live round, it would explode in three or four seconds after the rope is pulled. Most people would probably explode in mid-air as soon as they threw it, and it would also affect themselves and their comrades. Anyone who dares to do that will inevitably receive a flying kick from the instructor!

"Wow, Yongfu, you've been keeping it a secret! I thought we Shian guys would throw the farthest, but you quietly threw 44 meters!"

As Wang Zhijie spoke, he put his arm around Chen Yongfu.

"He threw it this far right from the start, he's definitely guaranteed an excellent grade at the end of the semester!"

"Yongfu is amazing!"

After the results came out, the students praised Chen Yongfu.

"Haha! What great luck!"

Faced with praise, Chen Yongfu remained humble.

As the results were released, the students compared their scores. The test ended quickly, and all 49 students in the class passed. Three students threw more than 50 meters, and the best score among the girls was 42.5 meters.

Seeing this result, Zhang Kangzhan was very satisfied and smiled at his classmates, a rare occurrence for him.

"Great! Everyone did well on the first test! But don't be complacent, keep it up. I hope everyone will do even better by the end of the semester. Those who passed, strive for 'good,' those who were 'good,' those who were 'excellent,' those who were 'excellent,' strive to break through to 50 meters, and those who broke through 50 meters, strive to sprint to 60 meters. The same goes for the girls! Did everyone understand?"

"Listen carefully!"

"Great, free time!"

Zhang Kangzhan then handed over the remaining time to the students to manage as they pleased.

The students, who had just received encouragement, were highly motivated and stood behind the throwing line to practice.

After class, the students were still reluctant to leave until the teacher packed up the equipment, at which point they returned it with lingering reluctance.

Zhao Shi'an put the grenade back in the box, rubbed his sore arms, and walked towards the classroom!

The last class was math. After class, Zhao Shi'an didn't leave. He had finished the housework yesterday, so he didn't need to rush back today.

I took out the homework assigned by the teacher and started writing it carefully. I consciously began to practice writing vertically and using traditional Chinese characters so that I could adapt as soon as possible.

After finishing his homework, Zhao Shi'an looked outside and found that it was still light out. He had finished reading the first-year high school textbooks, but he hadn't even started reading the second and third-year textbooks yet. Thinking that he hadn't been to the school library yet, he immediately began to pack up his textbooks.

"Ready to go home?"

Wang Zhijie asked.

"Go take a dump!"

Zhao Shi'an said in a low voice, and then walked out of the classroom.

After leaving the toilet, he went straight to the backyard.

Standing in front of the building with its blue bricks and gray tiles, the words "May 1st Hall" written in regular script by the deputy mayor of Beijing on a red background with gold background are particularly eye-catching.

This is the school library. Stepping inside, it's rather simple, with the smell of old paper and ink wafting through the air.

The wooden counter at the front comes into view, and the person in charge of managing the books is a middle-aged teacher wearing black-rimmed glasses and a blue cloth jacket.

At this moment, the teacher is carefully checking the library cards, and the students are lining up in an orderly manner.

The teacher only glanced at Zhao Shi'an and didn't pay any attention to his arrival.

Seeing his classmates lining up quietly, Zhao Shi'an subconsciously softened his movements.

After entering the library, I looked around and found that the library was not very big. There was only one reading room and one stacks of books. The books inside were only displayed on a dozen or so shelves, with a maximum of ten or twenty thousand books!

After looking around, Zhao Shi'an's gaze fell on the bookshelf at the front.

The selected works were neatly stacked, next to a bound volume of the People's Daily and the People's Pictorial, the edges of which were slightly yellowed.

Upon closer inspection, he also discovered a number of the latest newspapers on the market that day, including the People's Daily, the Beijing Daily, Guangming Daily, Workers' Daily, Youth Daily, and Children's Daily.

Seeing so many newspapers from that day, Zhao Shi'an thought that he could learn about the day's news while reading at the library, which was a win-win situation.

Soon, a colorful copy of "People's Pictorial" caught his eye. He picked it up casually; the thick, large-format paper felt quite heavy in his hand. The cover was brightly colored, featuring a steel blast furnace with molten iron flowing down a trough into an iron ladle, sparks flying everywhere, dazzlingly bright.

Upon opening the page, the entire central color brochure was filled with news of the commissioning of Ansteel's No. 12 blast furnace. The photos showed the blast furnace itself, the automated steel rolling production line, and workers operating the machines with sweat dripping down their faces. Next to it were the words "The first automated blast furnace in New China, commissioned in December 1953".

Flipping further, you see photos of the Guanting Reservoir construction site: the earthen dam is not yet closed, workers are pushing wheelbarrows to transport soil, and excavators are working on the slope—a scene of bustling activity. The small print under the photos reads: "Yongding River Management Project, under construction."

As you flip through the photos, they turn into black and white, and the railway tracks, cranes, and smiling faces of the people are all clearly captured.

After looking through it once, Zhao Shi'an discovered that the People's Pictorial was not full of paintings, but photographs, or more precisely, documentary photography!

The large images in the magazine are very clear, showing both real scenes of Ansteel's industrial construction and the bustling construction scene of Guanting Reservoir, all of which are the latest developments in national construction.

Real photos are far more convincing than words!