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

Jiang Fan spoke lightly, but everyone in the conference room was breathing more and more heavily.

He Xiying, in particular, has fallen completely silent.

His gaze was fixed on the entrenching tool, scanning every detail back and forth.

After all, he had genuinely crawled out of the mountains of corpses and seas of blood on the battlefields of the War of Resistance against Japan and the War of Liberation.

He knew exactly how powerful this personal weapon could be in actual combat.

Back when we were fighting guerrilla warfare and conducting tunnel warfare, if we had this thing, the soldiers could have dug twice as fast.

When conducting ambushes or flanking maneuvers in the mountains and forests, having this tool to clear paths and cut down trees would significantly enhance the mobility of the troops.

The most deadly weapon is the short-handled shovel. When swung in a wide arc, it has a large killing area and is extremely powerful, making it even more effective than a bayonet.

Therefore, He Xiying was deeply shocked. Not only him, but most of the cadres in the office were veterans who had experienced real gunfire.

Everyone stood up at the same time and rushed towards the long table, crowding around to see this rare item.

An older comrade, having clearly seen the details of the serrations and the sharpening, muttered to himself:

"It can chop, saw, dig... and even be used as a weapon. Doesn't that make it a versatile tool?"

Some older cadres who knew a bit about mechanics took the shovel from He Xiying, waved it around in the air a couple of times, and couldn't help but marvel:

"The center of gravity is perfect. It's powerful and heavy when swung, and it's not unstable at all. It's much more comfortable to use than those long wooden-handled iron shovels that the logistics department makes now..."

Immediately, the meeting room was filled with discussion.

This modern folding entrenching tool was passed around among the group, and everyone seemed to love it.

After a moment, He Xiying finally recovered from his shock. He looked up at Jiang Fan:

"Comrade Xiao Jiang, where did you get this? I've been leading troops in battle for half my life, and I've never seen this kind of standard equipment before."

Jiang Fan had already prepared a response, and without batting an eye, he delivered his classic excuse:

"Director He, to be honest, I've never seen him either."

"I saw this outside Shenyang Railway Station. It was a fellow villager who had fled from the south carrying it for self-defense. I found it intriguing, so I bought it."

"I thought this idea was pretty good, and I haven't been idle at home these past two days, so I broke it down and simplified it."

"I discovered that with the existing machining equipment and the skills of our master craftsmen at Ansteel, we can completely replicate it on a large scale as long as we make a set of molds. That's why I quickly brought it back for you to take a look."

"So, Director He, what do you think? Do you think this thing has potential?"

He Xiying nodded without hesitation and said decisively:

"This is definitely a good thing. If it can be mass-produced and distributed to the troops as you say, that would be a great thing."

But He Xiying was, after all, the head of the factory, and after the initial excitement, reason quickly prevailed.

At present, Ansteel's top priority is the oil field and gas tanks, which are personally overseen by Chief Li.

Whether or not this civilian product can be manufactured, and even exported to earn foreign exchange, is related to the industrial layout of the entire Northeast.

While this shovel has great tactical value, strategically it is ultimately just an add-on, not an urgent necessity.

With this in mind, He Xiying immediately sorted out the priorities.

He coughed, silencing the discussion in the conference room, and then said seriously to Jiang Fan:

"Comrade Xiao Jiang, I understand what you mean. This thing is indeed a powerful tool that can greatly help the front line, but right now, we still need to focus on the most important task."

"Alright, you go to the workshop with Zhou Chunsheng right now and work on solving the problem with your purification tower."

"I'll leave this shovel and your sketch with me for now. I'll meet with some senior colleagues in the technical department to discuss and study them."

"Once the gas cylinder is successfully prototyped, we'll focus our efforts on studying this shovel carefully."

"Do you think this will work?"

Jiang Fan secretly gave Director He a thumbs up in his heart.

As expected of a seasoned leader who has weathered many storms, he has a clear mind and clearly prioritized matters in just a few words, perfectly aligning with his anticipated pace.

He quickly nodded in agreement:

"Factory manager, that's what I mean. Just let you know the general idea first. Once everything goes smoothly and we get results on the gas cylinder side, we can start working on the shovel."

"With this step-by-step approach and a two-pronged strategy, our Ansteel product line has finally come alive."

It's so refreshing to talk to smart people.

Upon hearing this, He Xiying waved her hand repeatedly:

"Okay, then you two go and get busy in the workshop. I'll take care of things here."

"yes!"

Jiang Fan responded and turned to walk out.

After taking two steps, I found Zhou Chunsheng still staring at the entrenching tool on the table, unable to move.

Jiang Fan turned back helplessly and slapped him on the shoulder:

"Alright, alright, stop looking! Once we're done with this, you'll have to make the mold for this shovel sooner or later, and then you'll have plenty of time to see it!"

That's absolutely true.

No matter how well it's copied, the final work of making molds and stamping will inevitably fall to Zhou Chunsheng, the mechanical engineering expert.

Zhou Chunsheng reluctantly withdrew his gaze and followed Jiang Fan quickly out, muttering to himself as he went downstairs:

"Engineer Jiang, is that thing really as amazing as you say?"

Zhou Chunsheng had never been to the front lines of war. He knew it was a good thing, but he lacked a concrete understanding of it.

Jiang Fan didn't intend to discuss this at a higher level with him, and shook his head with a smile:

"You'll find out then. Stop talking nonsense. Tell me first, where exactly is your purification tower stuck?"

When professional issues are mentioned, Zhou Chunsheng immediately deflates like a punctured balloon, helplessly spreading his hands:

"Isn't that the ethane stripper you mentioned? I've been thinking about it for three or four days now, and I've asked several experienced workers in the factory, but no one can give me a clear answer."

"That's where we're stuck! I just got a real dressing-down from the factory manager!"

"As expected, we're stuck here." Jiang Fan sighed inwardly and asked:

"So what were you thinking at the time? Go through your concerns for me."

Zhou Chunsheng followed behind, gesturing with his hand in the air as he walked:

"According to the blueprints you drew before you left, that device is a tall, slender tower with heating at the bottom, packing material in the middle, and gas outlet at the top."

"But the problem is... what exactly is the internal structure of this thing? How should the packing be arranged? At what precise temperature control is required? How many cycles does the gas separated from the crude oil need to undergo to meet the requirements?"

"I had all those chemical terms you mentioned written down in my notebook, like critical temperature, gas-liquid phase transition... When I went back and looked at those words, my mind was a complete mess."

"I'm not confident. I'm afraid that if I make a wrong move, I'll ruin the crude oil I worked so hard to acquire, or cause a huge explosion, so I haven't dared to take action..."