94: From Technological Warfare to Space Empire

The meeting in Chief Hou's office went on until late at night.

Sergei and his entourage will go through academic exchange procedures and will come over after the Lantern Festival.

Lin Yu's current task is to transform Hongxing No. 2 Factory into a pilot unit for the new steelmaking method before the end of the year, so as to meet the prerequisite for the exchange of steel elasticity mechanics.

Originally, Chief Hou's idea was that Fudan University had acquired new technology, and he could use it.

But Lin Yu felt that if they were going to use a strategic deception tactic, they should do it thoroughly. Since the factory had been given to him, he decided to go all out and take on some really tough tasks for the future, so he directly took on the mission.

The snow showed no signs of stopping. When Lin Yu wrapped his military overcoat tightly around himself and stepped out of the small building, it was already past nine o'clock at night.

Xu Haoxiang's car was waiting outside the military area; he had now been appointed as Lin Yu's personal driver.

Lin Yu didn't rush to get in the car. He first stood in the snow and took a breath of cold air to cool down his overheated mind.

The kraft paper file folder is right in my hand.

RD-170 engine, titanium alloy vacuum welding, nuclear submarine silencing technology.

These technologies, which will be considered cutting-edge in 2026, can now be obtained through a technology exchange.

"Lin Yu, get in the car!" Xu Haoxiang shouted as he rolled down the car window.

Lin Yu then came to his senses, opened the car door, and climbed into the passenger seat.

The car's heater was on full blast; although that scoundrel had waited for him outside all day, he hadn't suffered much in the end.

"Uncle Hou told you, right? I'll take you to the Red Star No. 2 Factory tomorrow."

Xu Haoxiang said while shifting gears:

"That place is quite remote, in Fangshan, on the outskirts of Beijing. My dad just went to check it out a couple of days ago. He said the equipment is all old stuff from the 1950s or 60s, but the workers are honest, it's just..."

"What is it?" Lin Yu looked at him.

Xu Haoxiang hesitated for a moment:

"We're just poor. We've been losing money for three consecutive years, and we can't even pay salaries in full."

"Last year, the factory could only give each worker two kilograms of steel slag produced by the factory itself as a year-end bonus."

"What can that thing do? It's not even good for paving the road, it'll hurt your feet."

...

We walked in silence, only seeing a few pedestrians struggling to push their bicycles along the roadside, their baskets filled with winter-stored Chinese cabbages.

The streetlights were dim, and many shops were already closed, with only a few still lit up. Lin Yu looked through the car window and saw that they looked like food stalls.

When they arrived at the campus dormitory, Xu Haoxiang, who was going to take Lin Yu there the next day, decided to spend the night there as well. Lin Yu, on the other hand, didn't linger and went to the basement to find his supercomputer.

...

The snow stopped early the next morning, but the sky remained overcast.

Xu Haoxiang drove the Santana with Lin Yu in tow, heading out of the city and along the bumpy asphalt road toward Fangshan.

Once outside the city, the asphalt road gradually turns into a gravel road on the way to the outskirts of Beijing, with bare poplar trees on both sides.

Occasionally, you can see workers riding old-fashioned bicycles, struggling to move forward in the snow.

Fortunately, winters in Beijing aren't too cold; a blizzard like the one a couple of days ago doesn't happen often.

Once the midday sun shines, the snow will gradually melt.

The further out to the suburbs you go, the more desolate the scenery becomes.

The farmland along the road was covered with snow, and occasionally a few low bungalows could be seen with smoke billowing from their chimneys.

An hour and a half later, the car turned onto a bumpy dirt road, where rusty railway tracks and a site piled with scrap steel ingots came into view.

After another twenty minutes of bumpy driving, Xu Haoxiang slowed down when the factory came into view.

"We're here," he said.

Lin Yu looked out the car window.

The red bricks used for building the walls of the Hongxing Steel Plant No. 2 have faded somewhat, and the two iron gates have also developed some rust.

To Lin Yu's surprise, there were about ten people standing outside the gate, who had been waiting for who knows how long.

As the car drew closer, Lin Yu could see it more clearly.

The leader was a middle-aged man in his early fifties with gray hair, wearing a blue Zhongshan suit with a military green cotton overcoat.

There were seven or eight people standing behind him, men and women, all wearing work clothes, shivering in the cold wind.

The Santana stopped in front of the gate.

Lin Yu pushed open the car door, and a blast of cold air hit him.

As soon as he stood still, the middle-aged man strode forward and extended his hand.

"Is this Comrade Lin Yu?"

His hands were rough, and he gripped them very firmly.

"I am Liu Jianguo, the former factory director of Hongxing Factory. Welcome!"

Liu Jianguo's smile was simple and honest. Seeing that Lin Yu looked young, he didn't react strangely and was full of respect.

"Hello, Factory Director Liu."

Lin Yu shook hands with him. "Why are you still waiting here in this cold weather?"

"Of course, of course."

Liu Jianguo turned to the side and introduced the people behind him: "These are all colleagues from the factory. They all insisted on coming out to greet the new factory director when they heard he was coming."

He introduced them one by one: Deputy Factory Director Li Aiguo, Production Section Chief Lao Sun, Finance Section Chief Zhang Xiuying, and Union Chairman Sister Wang.

Seeing Lin Yu's gaze follow Liu Jianguo's introduction, everyone wore a fawning smile.

"Please come in, it's cold outside." Liu Jianguo gestured for them to come in.

Surprisingly, although the iron gate was rusty, it made almost no sound when pushed.

Upon closer inspection, Lin Yu realized that the door hinges had just been oiled, which explained their smooth operation.

The ground in front of the door was swept clean, even though it had been snowing heavily for two days.

The factory area is large, but very quiet.

The factory building is quite old and is decorated in the Soviet style.

The blast furnace was smoldering, and the doors to the steelmaking workshop were tightly shut.

Red lanterns hung on the poplar trees lining both sides of the road.

"The lanterns were hung up yesterday."

Liu Jianguo said as he walked:

"It's almost Chinese New Year, and the factory hangs them up every year."

"Is the factory still in production?" Lin Yu asked.

The smile on Liu Jianguo's face faded slightly:

"It's stopped. It stopped last month. There are no orders, and no money to buy raw materials."

He paused, then added, "But the workshop is all cleaned up, and the equipment has been maintained. Would you like to take a look?"

"Take a look," Lin Yu said.

The group walked towards the steelmaking workshop. Along the way, they encountered several workers who stopped to greet Liu Jianguo.

"Factory manager, is this the new leader?" a veteran worker asked.

"Yes, this is Comrade Lin Yu," Liu Jianguo said.

"They were sent by higher-ups to help our factory with reforms."

"He's also your new factory manager."

The old master looked Lin Yu up and down, his expression complex.

In the end, he just nodded, said nothing, picked up his tool bag, and walked away.

The doors to the steelmaking workshop were locked.

Liu Jianguo picked out a key from a large bunch and opened the large iron lock.

The door opened, revealing a dimly lit workshop.

Liu Jianguo walked to the wall and clicked the light on.

Several old-fashioned chandeliers lit up, casting a dim, yellowish light that was enough to illuminate the entire workshop.

Lin Yu walked in, and his first impression was...it was far too clean.

A 30-ton open-hearth furnace stands in the center of the workshop. Although the furnace body is old, it is polished to a shine and there is not even a speck of dust.

The floor was swept spotless, the tools were neatly hung on the wall, and even the sand molds were stacked up in an orderly fashion.

It's as if it was never produced at all.

Seeing Lin Yu's silent demeanor after entering the workshop.

The group of junior leaders behind him exchanged glances, some of them looking anxious.

After a long pause, Lin Yu finally couldn't help but speak.

"This level of cleaning is beyond what a few of you can handle."

"There are only three days left until Chinese New Year."

"Tell me, just to welcome me, how many workers did you mobilize?"