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

August 1949, 6, night.

The darkness of the Ansteel plant area was illuminated as bright as day by dozens of tall gas lamps.

A long line of military trucks, their headlights gleaming, stretched out at the factory gate, brought in from the Northeast Bureau.

The workers came and went, working enthusiastically.

They carried cylindrical iron cans, each with four thin sheet metal welded to the rear, in pairs, neatly stacking them in the back of the truck.

Jiang Fan stood at the front of the convoy, holding the outbound record book in his hand, watching as batches of finished products were safely loaded onto trucks.

Five days and five nights of continuous hard work!

He had barely slept, but at this moment he was unusually excited.

Seeing that the loading was complete, Jiang Fan quickly went to He Xiying, handed her the notebook with both hands, and reported to his supervisor:

"Factory Manager, the 300 gas cylinder mortars have been completed in five days, along with 1,000 multi-functional entrenching tools. Please inspect and accept them!"

He Xiying took the notebook, but her gaze went beyond the paper and landed on the long convoy.

One, two, three...

There were seven military trucks, each with its back compartment filled with gas cylinders and bundles of entrenching tools.

He had originally calculated that, given the current capabilities of a medium-sized steel rolling mill, seven days would be the maximum they could manage to produce this batch of goods.

After all, the factory had only recently resumed production, and the workers had just survived the days of food shortages in the old society, so their skill levels varied.

But the result?

Jiang Fan and his team managed to produce 300 live rounds and 1,000 entrenching tools in just five days.

This staggering figure would be considered a miracle in any newly reopened state-owned factory across the country.

Behind this miracle lies the success of the new management system that Jiang Fan implemented despite the pressure.

Recalling the first day of work, Jiang Fan directly pulled the young welder who had the highest piecework points and worked the hardest that day onto the stage in front of everyone in the workshop, and rewarded him with a whole bag of yellow millet on the spot.

Of course, he had shamelessly borrowed that bag of millet from the factory's logistics warehouse in advance, and he had received quite a few glares from the logistics director for it.

However, when he shoved the heavy bag of millet into the young worker's arms, all two hundred-plus workers fell silent, their eyes gleaming with greed.

The same scene played out again the next day, except this time, due to overproduction, the reward became double.

On the third day, the numbers next to each person's name on the work points display wall throughout the workshop started to jump up like crazy.

That's just how people are. No matter how many grand political principles you spout, they're nowhere near as practical as a full meal.

In the old society, foremen exploited them, and no matter how much they worked, they received little. But in the new society, they wanted to show them with real money: the more you work, the more you get.

Moreover, the payment is made on the spot, with no middlemen taking a cut; you get paid for exactly the work you do.

This is fucking fairness!

A generous reward always attracts brave men. Even Zhou Chunsheng, that kid, went berserk on the third day and won the "Daily Best" award.

Zhou Chunsheng himself is a technical cadre who studied abroad, and he has real skills.

His welding skills were already top-notch at Ansteel, and coupled with his indomitable spirit of research, he worked quickly and well.

However, on the fourth day, Jiang Fan unceremoniously removed Zhou Chunsheng's name from the ranking list.

This is actually understandable. After all, the purpose of awarding rations to outstanding workers was initially to give them a boost of morale. It's inappropriate for cadres to steal the limelight.

Zhou Chunsheng is open-minded. After a heart-to-heart talk with Jiang Fan, he readily agreed to withdraw from the competition and focus on quality inspection.

As for the thousand entrenching tools, He Xiying handed over the blueprints to the technical department on the third day after Jiang Fan made his pledge.

Several veteran technicians spent several days studying the sketch of the folding entrenching tool.

From the stamping curvature of the shovel face to the tensile strength specifications of the bolts at the joints, and then to the optimal cutting angle of the side serrations, they disassembled and meticulously verified each and every one of them.

The finalized production plan was much more refined and scientific than Jiang Fan's initial rough sketch.

After all, these seasoned masters are top-notch craftsmen who have earned their skills through real-world experience, and their basic skills are much more solid than those of Jiang Fan, a science popularization blogger who came to the field later in life.

On the very day the mold was made, the first stamped folding entrenching tool rolled off the production line.

Zhou Chunsheng picked it up, weighed it in his hand, and then slammed it into the ground.

The steel-forged rammed head instantly sank more than three inches deep into the compacted, hard soil.

Zhou Chunsheng pulled out the shovel, looked at the undamaged blade, and couldn't help but grin wildly: "It's done!!"

In order to complete the task assigned by He Xiying, the four workshops worked in three shifts without stopping, and in less than two and a half days, all one thousand folding entrenching tools were completed.

Subsequently, following He Xiying's instructions, these shovels will also be transported south by truck and distributed to the frontline assault soldiers.

At this moment, watching the last batch of goods being loaded onto the truck, He Xiying nodded in satisfaction, her tone full of relief:

"Good! Good indeed! Comrade Xiao Jiang, I knew I hadn't misjudged you!"

This compliment made Jiang Fan feel that all the blood and sweat he had shed over the past five days and nights was worthwhile.

Immediately, He Xiying turned her head and asked:

"But, Comrade Jiang, since this thing is going to be used as a weapon in organized units on the battlefield, shouldn't it have an official name?"

"Since you're the inventor, give it a catchy name!"

Uh……

Upon hearing this, Jiang Fan was immediately perplexed.

That's true; every type of weapon needs its own code name and name.

However, I'm usually terrible at naming things.

If this thing really becomes a best-selling product in the Middle East, but it has a tacky and outdated name, wouldn't that be a disgrace to the military exports of our new China?

He lowered his head and pondered for a moment, when suddenly a powerful sentence flashed through his mind.

Then, he raised his head and, facing the lamplight, said to He Xiying:

"Factory manager, how about... we call it 'Dongfeng 01'?"

"East Wind?" He Xiying was taken aback.

Jiang Fan's eyes brightened as he explained, "Xin Qiji wrote a poem that goes: 'The east wind at night releases a thousand trees of flowers, and blows down stars like rain!'"

"When this weapon we made is fired and explodes, it's like a thousand flowers falling in the east wind at night, crushing the enemy and causing their formation to collapse."

"Furthermore, our country is located in the Far East, which also carries a very auspicious meaning—the east wind will surely prevail over the west wind!"

"Factory manager, what do you think of this name?"

In fact, when Jiang Fan chose this name, what truly came to mind was that resounding slogan from later generations:

"Dongfeng Express, mission accomplished!"

Although this simple tin gas cylinder is far inferior to the intercontinental ballistic missiles that will become major weapons of great powers in the future.

But in Jiang Fan's mind, this spirit of inheritance is universal.

From the most rudimentary "gas cylinder mortar" to the "Dongfeng series" that later provided nuclear protection for the Chinese nation, this has always been a long and magnificent path to national strength, passed down from generation to generation!

After hearing the words he recited and the meaning behind them, He Xiying fell silent.

He was a rough man who led troops into battle and hadn't read many books, but he could still tell the difference between good and bad words.

What words are powerful and evocative? What meanings are inspiring and uplifting?

A moment later, he slammed his left hand into a palm and his right hand into a fist, slamming them together heavily, and uttered three "good"s in succession.

"Excellent! Excellent! Excellent! As expected of you educated people, the names you choose are truly impressive!"

"Good for Dongfeng! Let's call it Dongfeng-01!"

"When our country's military industry becomes stronger, we will also develop the Dongfeng-02, Dongfeng-03, and Dongfeng-04!"

"The east wind will eventually prevail over the west wind—a good omen!"

Hearing He Xiying's excited mutterings, Jiang Fan couldn't help but feel a sense of awe and respect.

Although Director He still doesn't know what those two words mean.

But one day, those two words will resonate throughout the world.