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

Immediately afterwards, Jiang Fan began to personally handle the most crucial component: the filter tank.

He had someone punch a hole in the bottom of the metal drum that had been brought in and turn it upside down.

Then, filler is laid layer by layer inside the barrel:

The bottom layer is a thick layer of coarse sand and gravel, the middle is filled with crushed activated carbon, and the top layer is covered with a layer of fine sand and gravel and compacted.

After the roof is sealed, the joints are welded shut, leaving only one vent pipe.

Zhou Chunsheng watched in amazement and couldn't help but ask:

"Engineer Jiang, what's the purpose of stuffing this iron bucket with sand and charcoal?"

"Desulfurization, dehydration, and filtration of impurities—didn't I explain the principle to you already?"

Zhou Chunsheng grinned憨厚ly.

I've explained it before, but watching Jiang Fan's actions, it's like an old man in the countryside working on a seepage tank. There's not a trace of the high-tech chemical equipment I imagined.

However, he was too embarrassed to ask any further questions.

Next comes the final assembly.

Jiang Fan modified the iron lid of the large iron pot by drilling two holes in it and installing a sealing flange.

Connect the steam vent of the pot lid to the inlet of the filter canister using a copper pipe, and then connect the outlet of the filter canister to the row of winding water-cooled copper pipes using another pipe.

At the end of the condenser pipe, a standard threaded valve is pre-installed, ready to be directly connected to the welded gas cylinder.

By the time the entire rudimentary ethane removal tower was fully assembled, the sun was already setting.

Throughout the day, everyone was busy for a whole day.

Zhou Chunsheng rubbed his aching lower back, groaning in pain.

"Finally finished, damn it, I'm exhausted..."

Jiang Fan looked at the uniquely shaped "distillation barrel" in front of him and patted it with satisfaction:

"Done!"

Hearing Jiang Fan's voice, Zhou Chunsheng, enduring his back pain, circled the device three times before finally stopping in front of Jiang Fan and asking incredulously:

"Engineer Jiang...that's it?"

"That's it?"

Jiang Fan nodded matter-of-factly: "Yes, that's it."

Zhou Chunsheng scratched his head in confusion. With a few broken iron pots, tin buckets, a few copper pipes, plus a pile of sand and charcoal, he solved the seemingly insurmountable problem that had been troubling him for several days.

"My goodness..." Zhou Chunsheng chuckled bitterly.

"Engineer Jiang, what's wrong with your brain? If I'd known, I shouldn't have gone to that damn Japan to study mechanical engineering back then."

"It's amazing that you can create industrial miracles with an iron pot now."

This crude remark amused Jiang Fan, who waved his hand and laughed:

"Everyone has their own expertise, Mr. Zhou. You're just being blinded by a leaf."

"It's not that difficult to let your mind wander."

After joking around, the two meticulously walked along the pipe, carefully inspecting every weld and sealing joint.

After confirming that the entire device was airtight, Jiang Fan looked up and glanced at the sky.

"Everything is ready; now we're just waiting for the crude oil to arrive at the plant."

Then, Jiang Fanshen looked at Zhou Chunsheng:

"Engineer Zhou, don't just sit idle during this break."

"Go back to the workshop right away and get me one of those military-grade gas cylinder samples that we finalized that day."

Zhou Chunsheng was taken aback, then realized what was happening:

"The military version? You mean the one you drew on your blueprints, the one with the extended tail fin at the bottom?"

"Yes, that's the one."

"You should know how to do it, right?"

Jiang Fan asked Zhou Chunsheng a question, after all, he had personally taught him how to make the initial version.

Although there are some differences, there are generally no problems.

In the field of machinery, Zhou Chunsheng has absolute confidence.

"Don't worry, I guarantee I'll have a beautiful sample ready for you in two hours."

After saying that, he was about to walk towards the workshop when he suddenly felt something was wrong. He turned back to look at Jiang Fan and asked:

"Hey? Engineer Jiang, aren't you coming with me?"

In response, Jiang Fan shook his head and replied:

"You can handle the tin cans."

"I still need to get some explosives..."

Zhou Chunsheng: "..."

"Explosives?"

Zhou Chunsheng was genuinely puzzled. Why would they need explosives?

However, Jiang Fan did not explain further, as the underlying thoughts were too complex.

To ensure everything went perfectly, he still held onto Zhou Chunsheng with some lingering concern and gave him a few more detailed instructions:

"It's alright, I know what I'm doing with the explosives, you go and take care of yours first."

"However, I need to emphasize a few more details about this military-grade canister."

"You need to lengthen the entire can body and make it into a long, thin cylinder. Don't make it into a regular elliptical shape. Also, lengthen and deepen the threads at the mouth of the can. Weld the four sheet metal tail wings at the bottom on first. You should weigh it yourself and try to find the dynamic balance of the center of gravity."

"Anyway, the basic structure is not complicated at all, you can just be flexible and use your own ideas."

Zhou Chunsheng nodded thoughtfully; these words were exactly what he needed to understand.

So, filled with doubt, he walked toward the machining workshop, turning back every few steps.

After watching Zhou Chunsheng leave, Jiang Fan's relaxed expression vanished instantly, and he turned and walked towards the factory's material warehouse.

In fact, in Anshan Iron and Steel Group in 1949, it was perfectly normal to use conventional explosives.

However, if he wanted to make a "gas cylinder mortar"—a weapon of mass destruction—he couldn't use the ready-made standard military explosives from the factory; he had to manufacture it from scratch and add some special ingredients.

After all, Jiang Fan's core objective was to export this thing and generate foreign exchange.

The problem is that most of the potential customers are under strict military blockade and economic sanctions from the Western world, and they simply cannot reliably obtain TNT, a conventional high-grade military explosive, locally.

Therefore, I had to demonstrate to them a simple explosive formula that could be prepared directly using the most readily available agricultural and civilian materials in the area.

Otherwise, if China were to export complete sets of standard military explosives and gas cylinders, and the Americans and Russians caught us red-handed internationally, accusing the new China of "exporting arms and disrupting peace," that would be truly troublesome.

Therefore, for safety reasons and to avoid causing diplomatic trouble for the country, Jiang Fan only needed to demonstrate the traditional hand-rubbing method to his clients.

After all, all I'm selling is a piece of tin farm tool. The explosives are made by you using fertilizer. What does it have to do with us?

After asking around, Jiang Fan quickly arrived at the supplies warehouse, got a slip from the custodian, signed his name, and retrieved the materials he needed.

The formula is actually extremely simple: ammonium nitrate fertilizer, sawdust, and diesel oil.

These three items are incredibly easy to find within the vast Ansteel plant area.

Ammonium nitrate is an extremely important basic fertilizer for agricultural production in rural areas of Northeast China. Because the factory needs to support a self-sufficient farm, there are large stockpiles of fertilizer in the warehouse.

As for sawdust, it was piled up like a small mountain outside the woodworking workshop and was everywhere. Not to mention diesel and engine oil, which were indispensable in the machine factory.

However, these three items alone are not enough. To ensure the destructive efficiency after the explosion, one more crucial element is needed: scrap iron pieces.