Returning to 1949, I decided to hand it over to the state.

"Zhou, you did a fantastic job!"

Jiang Fan stood up and didn't hold back his praise.

Upon hearing this, a smile instantly spread across Zhou Chunsheng's face, and all his fatigue seemed to melt away in that instant.

He lifted the can with both hands, his gaze sweeping over the ring he had just welded, as if admiring a masterpiece of art.

"Hehe, I think it's fine as long as it works," Zhou Chunsheng said modestly, which was rare for him.

Then, he gently placed the can back on the iron platform, turned to look at Jiang Fan, and his expression became serious:

"Engineer Jiang, now that the sample is ready, could you please write down the drawings and specifications in detail as soon as possible?"

"I also need to get the workshop staff familiar with it first. After all, this is something that will be mass-produced, so we need a standard blueprint for everyone to see, right?"

Yes! We have to stay!

Jiang Fan nodded heavily in his heart.

As long as the blueprints and instructions are preserved, this technology can be passed down in the new China, and people will no longer have to rely on themselves.

He subconsciously pulled up his sleeve and glanced at the holographic watch face on his wrist.

【31:15:22】

Thirty-one hours remain.

In the remaining time, Zhou Chunsheng must be taught the method of extracting liquefied gas from crude oil word for word.

This is the lifeblood of the entire gas cylinder industry chain; after all, no one knows if they can ever come back after leaving.

"Don't worry, Engineer Zhou."

"However, besides the mechanical blueprints, there's another extraction process in the chemical industry that you absolutely must learn, and you must memorize it perfectly. Making the tanks is just the beginning; the real work that follows will all depend on you!"

"Let's get started now!"

Hearing this, Zhou Chunsheng was completely stunned.

His smile froze instantly, and doubt and puzzlement slowly surfaced on his face.

"No...no." Zhou Chunsheng's eyes widened.

"Engineer Jiang, it's past midnight, and you're telling me to start now? Start what?"

Zhou Chunsheng painfully rubbed his sore lower back and stretched out a big yawn.

"I really can't take it anymore, I want to go back to sleep. As for the extraction process... can we talk about it tomorrow?" Zhou Chunsheng advised with a wry smile.

"Besides, didn't Commander Li say before he left that finding the oil field would take at least a week? We haven't even seen a trace of an oil well yet, so why are you in such a hurry all night?"

Seeing Zhou Chunsheng's exhausted face, Jiang Fan opened his mouth, wanting to tell him to grit his teeth, but ultimately swallowed the words back.

Yes, in Zhou Chunsheng's view, everything is just getting started, and there is still plenty of time.

How could I possibly ask someone who doesn't know the truth to desperately try to catch up with me on that damned countdown?

"Alright then." Jiang Fan forced a smile.

"I was too impatient. You're exhausted today, go home and rest early. Let's go home."

"That's right, health is the foundation of everything." Zhou Chunsheng felt as if he had been granted a pardon.

The two parted ways at the workshop entrance. Zhou Chunsheng dragged his tired steps back to his single dormitory, while Jiang Fan wandered around in the night and returned to the small white building.

The security guards at the bottom of the building already recognized the new "Engineer Jiang" and not only did not stop him, they also enthusiastically shone their flashlights on him to light his way.

Chief Li and Factory Director He had obviously left; the entire building was quiet.

Jiang Fan walked quickly to the classroom on the third floor.

He grabbed the blackboard eraser and wiped away his night school notes, making a large, conspicuous blank space.

Then, he picked up the chalk, took a deep breath, and began frantically extracting memories from his mind.

The core idea is simple: use the associated gas from the oil field, and through physical separation and cooling, forcefully extract the propane and butane from it.

He had watched countless educational videos online about the traditional Middle Eastern oil refining methods, so he was fairly familiar with the general process.

The first step is gas-liquid separation.

As Jiang Fan drew a diagram of the pipes on the blackboard, he wrote annotations beside it:

After the crude oil is extracted from the well, the mixture is sent to a separator. The principle is similar to traditional winemaking: the liquid at the bottom is crude oil, and the gas floating on top is associated gas.

The second step is purification and dehydration.

Associated gas contains a large amount of moisture and hydrogen sulfide impurities. If it is not purified, it will freeze into ice-like hydrates in subsequent high-pressure and low-temperature pipelines, directly causing pipeline pressure buildup and explosion.

Key point: The dew point of the gas must be lowered to below -80 degrees Celsius to completely prevent the formation of hydrates!

The third step is absorption and separation.

The most advanced methods in later generations were membrane separation and cryogenic separation, but in the newly established People's Republic of China in 1949, it was impossible to manufacture such a sophisticated compressor.

After pondering for a moment, Jiang Fan decisively wrote down four large characters: "Oil Absorption Method".

This is the least efficient, but the only rudimentary method that can be implemented on a large scale under current industrial conditions.

Process description: Using ordinary diesel oil as an absorbent, the mixed gas is washed once in the tower. The diesel oil will dissolve and adsorb the propane and butane in the gas, while the lighter methane will be discharged directly.

"The final step..."

Jiang Fan snapped a piece of chalk in half, replaced it with a new one, and wrote heavily: Deethaner Tower

Similar to a large distiller, it heats the diesel fuel that has absorbed liquefied gas.

By utilizing the principle of different boiling points, the impurities mixed in are re-vaporized and discharged, and the pure liquid left at the bottom of the tower after cooling is the liquefied petroleum gas we need. It can be directly filled into gas cylinders and used!

Jiang Fan was not a genius with a photographic memory. For someone who mainly studied mechanics, recalling these chemical processes was extremely mentally taxing.

He wrote, stopping to deduce, revise, and deduce again.

By the time he had completely outlined the entire extraction process on the blackboard, the sky outside the window was already beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn.

Jiang Fan straightened his aching back and glanced at the countdown.

【20:05:11】

There's less than a day left.

"Fortunately, it wasn't a wasted effort. With this system, even if Ansteel only has one oil well, it can still extract gas."

Jiang Fan let out a long sigh of relief, put down the chalk, and staggered out of the small white building, making his way back to Meng Tai's house.

Jiang Fan didn't even take off his clothes before collapsing onto the warm earthen bed and instantly falling into a deep sleep.

……

Jiang Fan didn't know how long he had slept when he suddenly woke up from a bizarre dream.

In his dream, Chief Li was holding the blueprint on the blackboard, searching for him everywhere.

Jiang Fan sprang up from the kang (a heated brick bed), his heart pounding.

He glanced instinctively at the sky outside the window; the sun was high in the sky.

Master Meng didn't call him, probably because he knew about his all-nighter last night and wanted him to stay home to catch up on sleep.

Jiang Fan quickly looked down at his wrist.

【7:12:45】

Only seven hours left!

Holy crap!

Jiang Fan exclaimed in surprise and jumped off the earthen bed.

Time is running out!

I must find Zhou Chunsheng before the countdown ends.

besides……

Before leaving, I must at least say goodbye to my "grandmother and grandfather" from my youth.