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

After much thought, Jiang Fan suddenly came up with a plan.

These people were unwilling to accept defeat, so they took over the mountains and even colluded with local tyrants, causing great suffering to the common people.

Why not take this first batch of gas cylinder mortars to our own front lines and test them out?

Domestic and foreign journalists, diplomats, and undercover intelligence agents are everywhere.

The sudden appearance of a new weapon with a simple structure yet fierce firepower, which had never been seen before, would certainly be written into the war report immediately, appear in the Ta Kung Pao, and even travel across the ocean to reach the desks of Reuters and the Associated Press.

Once the news spread, astute businessmen and military officers in the Middle East would naturally follow the trail and come looking for it.

As for who to sell to, how to sell, and what the price will be, Chief Li and Factory Director He will handle that.

Jiang Fan only needs to refine the product and pave the way; the rest can be left to the state apparatus.

but…

Jiang Fan felt a little awkward thinking about this.

But the thought flashed through his mind and he quickly suppressed it.

"Tsk."

Mercy to the enemy is cruelty to oneself.

In 1949, the new China was just beginning its development, and every bit of energy should have been devoted to development and construction.

If we don't eliminate it today, it will surely become a major problem tomorrow.

Therefore, we must seize every opportunity to move forward, ever forward.

I can't blame myself; I'm just a patriotic young man.

Everything for the motherland, loyalty.

Jiang Fan was mentally preparing himself when the doorbell suddenly rang, startling him.

He quickly coughed, composed himself, walked to the door, and peeked out through the peephole. It was the deliveryman.

It must have been shoveled by the engineers.

He quickly opened the door to sign for the package, unpacked it, and ripped through the thick bubble wrap to reveal a brand-new, matte black folding entrenching tool.

Jiang Fan picked it up and weighed it; it weighed a little over a kilogram. The center of gravity was very well balanced, and it felt very solid in his hand.

But instead of playing with it or studying its specific uses, he turned back to his desk and took out a stack of papers and a few pencils from the drawer.

He wanted to perform "reverse engineering" on the actual object.

After all, the modern stamping and CNC machine tools of 2026 are completely different from the old, clunky, and outdated machines in the Anshan Iron and Steel Plant workshop in 1949.

If you were to throw this shovel directly into the workshop, its intricately meshing gears would definitely give the foreman a major headache.

The key is to compare how to mass-produce it using the simplest equipment.

Therefore, it must be completely dismantled and downgraded to the level of craftsmanship of that era!

Jiang Fan pressed the latch to fully extend the entrenching tool.

When unfolded, the shovel face presents a standard, slightly curved shield shape.

The shovel has a flat blade on the left and intersecting serrations on the right.

The bottom of the shovel is tightly connected to the hollow handle via a movable joint with a self-locking locking mechanism. Inside the handle is a section of aviation aluminum extension rod with anti-slip threads.

If you loosen the buckle and fold it up, the spatula will fit perfectly against the side of the handle, making it extremely compact and easy to put into a carrying bag and hang on your belt.

As Jiang Fan observed, he quickly broke down the production process suitable for a 1949 workshop on paper:

Step 1: Cutting with a spade.

Using a shearing machine, square or shield-shaped blanks can be cut directly from a high-carbon steel plate of moderate thickness with a single snip, which is extremely efficient.

Step 2: Stamping and forming.

The complex curved surfaces and reinforcing ribs on the edges of modern entrenching tools require large punch presses.

However, at Ansteel, only a simple set of upper and lower molds is needed, and a slightly curved shovel surface can be punched out using an ordinary punch press.

Step 3: Drilling.

Holes need to be drilled at the bottom of the shovel for connecting the joints, and positioning holes also need to be left on the handle. This can be done with the most basic bench drill, which is readily available in Ansteel's machining workshop.

Step 4: Material and forging.

A genuine military-grade entrenching tool requires repeated heating and forging of high-carbon steel, and even localized quenching, to increase the hardness of the cutting edge.

However, considering the material conditions in 1949, Jiang Fan made a bold decision to directly use the high-quality carbon steel or manganese steel plates that Ansteel already had for integral stamping.

It can be used without complicated forging, but the blade edge is prone to warping and its durability is a bit poor.

But on the battlefield, if it breaks, just throw it away. The logistics department can just issue a few more, right?

Large portions that satisfy your hunger are the key!

The first four steps are easy, but the most difficult part is the fifth step: folding the joints.

Later advanced entrenching tools used precision ratchet gears and spring-loaded positioning latches at the joints.

However, such high-precision machining conditions simply did not exist in 1949.

Jiang Fan stared at the joint structure for a long time, his brows furrowed, and then drew a solution on the paper:

[Rough-handled gasket + bolt fastening system]

No ratchet is needed; simply flatten one end of the handle tube into a "U" shaped groove and insert the connector at the bottom of the shovel.

Then drill a through hole in the middle and insert a high-strength, high-carbon steel bolt directly through it.

Place a thick metal washer on each side, then screw on a large nut and add a spring washer to prevent loosening.

In this way, when soldiers want to unfold the shovel, they only need to straighten the shovel surface and tighten the screw with their own wrench to fix the angle firmly. When they want to fold it up, they can loosen the screw slightly, fold it up, and then tighten it again.

While it's not as smooth to operate as a modern one-click lock, it's more than enough for the battlefield.

Most importantly, this structure is extremely durable and has very low maintenance costs. If the screws become loose, you can just hit them with a stone a couple of times and it will still work.

As for the serrations on the side?

There's no need for complicated double-edged blades; as long as it can barely saw through a branch about the thickness of a little finger, it's considered acceptable.

After a series of revisions, Jiang Fan's paper was now covered with densely packed sketches.

Cutting line, stamping force direction, drilling location, joint bolt hole diameter, assembly sequence...

He cut every possible simplification to the bare minimum.

The intricate curved surfaces were flattened, and the complex cast joints were replaced with the most primitive bolt insertion.

Looking at the entire set of blueprints, the originally high-end modern entrenching shovel has been completely transformed into a homemade military shovel.

But Jiang Fan looked at the sketch and nodded to himself with great satisfaction.

"This is it, there are no technical barriers."

"If this thing were shown to Zhou Chunsheng, those old fitters in the Ansteel machining workshop could build it with their eyes closed."

Moreover, once the production line is running, hundreds or even thousands of stamps can be produced every day.

The issue of bringing things has been perfectly resolved, but the issue of my own family's affairs is still unresolved.