Courtyard Houses: The Great Masters of a Nation Hidden Within

There's been some new commotion at the No. 3 rolling mill.

Gao Jianguo leaned closer to Deputy Factory Director Li and lowered his voice: "The department is going to promote a big project, which involves a new process. My mentor plans to bring it up at the factory meeting on Friday."

Major projects and new technologies—these two words alone were enough to pique the interest of Deputy Factory Director Li, who immediately became very interested.

"Who will actually take the lead?" he asked urgently.

Gao Jianguo pointed to his heart: "I proposed it, and I will steer the ship."

Deputy Factory Director Li's energy suddenly surged to his head.

How long has Gao Jianguo been working at the factory? Yet all the projects he's handled have been successfully implemented, each one more solid than the last.

Although Deputy Factory Director Li was not clear about the details of 3z-591, he knew perfectly well who was in charge—the transfer order from the 17th Ministry of Machinery Industry was the irrefutable proof.

With such impressive achievements in his pocket, Gao Jianguo personally brought out what he called a "big project" and personally led it. This thing, in terms of both size and specifications, was bound to be impressive, and the success rate would definitely not be low.

Deputy Factory Director Li secretly gave him a thumbs up: Gao Jianguo is a truly straightforward person, he doesn't play any tricks, working with someone like him is so smooth.

In Deputy Factory Director Li's eyes, Gao Jianguo was no longer some greenhorn fresh out of school at the steel rolling mill—who had ever seen such a vigorous newcomer? He was now considered a partner, though not an equal, but one with considerable cooperative value.

Deputy Factory Director Li nodded with a smile: "Okay, I understand now. Jianguo, thank you."

There was no need to say anything more. Gao Jianguo said goodbye to him, stuffed the signed project management system manuscript into his pocket, and went straight to find Director Yang to add the last signature.

On Friday morning, Gao Jianguo was discussing ESR matters with several people in his group.

Right now, this is the most demanding task on the surface. The details of the transistor computer are still being kept under wraps and not yet revealed, but the draft of the project management system has already been sent out.

Old Chen then strolled over and called him to attend the factory meeting.

Gao Jianguo had a clear idea of ​​the date: Friday was likely the day when the research application for the ESR project would be reviewed.

The two entered the conference room. Not all the leaders had arrived yet. After about ten minutes, they finally settled down in twos and threes.

There was nothing particularly noteworthy about the meeting proceedings.

Old Chen laid out the project, and Gao Jianguo was responsible for clarifying the issues. The characteristics of electroslag remelting had been discussed before, so there was no need to repeat them here.

Everyone was very enthusiastic about this, and with Gao Jianguo's stack of achievements on display, no one could say a word against him; they all thought it was a good thing.

There's just a little bit left, and I'm a bit hesitant about how to invest in it, since it's not something as trivial as needles and thread.

At this point, the importance of Deputy Factory Director Li, who was in charge of finance and logistics, became apparent.

Factory Director Yang couldn't directly step forward to support them, but Deputy Factory Director Li was the one who controlled the purse strings. Once he said he could handle it, the other leaders' reservations were pretty much resolved.

Finally, the factory meeting approved the ESR project and also finalized the organizational structure and division of labor.

Director Yang took the lead and kept the overall direction in mind.

Chief Engineer Chen was appointed as the deputy chief commander, taking on the responsibility of coordinating and organizing the technical aspects.

Deputy Factory Director Li also served as Deputy Commander-in-Chief, in charge of internal and external coordination outside the technical department.

The other factory leaders also assumed command positions in their respective areas.

Gao Jianguo was appointed as the chief designer.

He was too young, and it would be too conspicuous to call him the chief engineer of a model, so he didn't use that title and instead used the essentially the same title, "chief designer".

The technical department took on the entire design of the ESR facilities and equipment, the slag system design, and all the testing work.

Each production workshop is responsible for manufacturing the facilities and equipment, and at the same time, they cooperate with the technical department to conduct experiments.

Once the matter was settled, they immediately rolled up their sleeves and got to work.

Although the project's investment and scale were not large enough to require the direct approval of the 17th Ministry of Machine Building, the Third Rolling Mill, following old practice, still submitted a letter to the ministry, treating it as a notification and incidental filing.

At the Ministry of Machinery Industry, Secretary Zheng, clutching the letter from the Third Rolling Mill, hurried toward the leader's office.

After greeting the leader upon entering, Secretary Zheng reported, "Sir, the Third Rolling Mill sent over a letter saying they want to start a new project. You previously instructed that their movements should be reported to you first. Here is the original document; please take a look."

The leader immediately became interested and took the letter, reading it through from beginning to end.

"Electroslag remelting? This technology was already in production in the north and in China back in 1958."

A slight doubt arose in my mind, but then I thought, aren't steelmaking still going on in China and the north? I haven't seen them produce a 3Z-591.

For example, K-type thermocouples were already domestically produced a long time ago, but the N-type thermocouples, which were entirely domestically made and far superior, were still first introduced by the Third Rolling Mill.

The fact that the No. 3 Rolling Mill dared to touch this thing means it couldn't possibly be unaware of its current state.

Knowing the inside story and still plunging in, it can only mean that they have even better products in hand, and can produce improved varieties or upgraded technologies.

The leader looked down and saw that the chief designer was Gao Jianguo, and he had a general idea of ​​what was going on.

This matter was probably stirred up by Gao Jianguo again; this young man always does things with precision.

"Gao Jianguo? He's always around, no matter how much trouble he causes. It seems he's quite involved in this matter."

Secretary Zheng chimed in, "What the leader said makes sense. Judging from this, we should have a fairly good chance of success in this matter."

The leader put the letter down and smiled: "Judging from this, you trust Gao Jianguo quite a bit. Oh right, isn't he working on that book on project management systems?"

Secretary Zheng replied with a smile, "The manuscript was completed long ago and has been submitted to the Machinery Industry Press. We also informed the publisher in advance, as you requested."

The leader gave a satisfied "hmm": "This kid's quick and efficient, not bad at all. Remember this, and tell the publisher to get me a batch as soon as the book is printed. I want to read it thoroughly myself, and I'll buy some more to give as gifts."

After saying that, he waved the letter from the Third Rolling Mill in his hand: "You did a good job on this trip. News from the Third Rolling Mill is always the first thing I get."

Secretary Zheng made a deep impression on this request and left the leader's office.

After Secretary Zheng closed the door, the leader rubbed his eyes and muttered, "Finally, some good news. The relationship with the north is getting increasingly tense, and many things are likely to be cut off soon. We need to prepare a backup plan in advance."

After thinking about it for a moment, the leader remembered several products from the No. 3 Rolling Mill.

Starting in 1958, the north simply cut off the supply of nickel.

Although China produces a tiny amount domestically, the production shortfall is alarmingly large.

Fortunately, although nickel accounts for a large proportion of thermocouples, the total amount used is extremely small, so for now, it is barely enough to sustain the situation.

3z-591 mainly focuses on high-tech projects, which are very demanding, and even with some effort, they can be moved around.

However, when it comes to bulk materials, nickel becomes completely unusable.

Judging from the current trend, we must find a way to protect the nickel raw materials of the No. 3 rolling mill. Otherwise, it would be truly frustrating to have good materials in hand but be unable to produce them.

There will be one more update today.

(End of this chapter)