94: From Technological Warfare to Space Empire

As soon as these words were spoken, the crowd immediately began to stir.

Lin Yu remained calm as he observed the conflicting reactions of the crowd.

The whispers of doubt gradually grew louder and louder. When the workers saw Lin Yu's youthful face, several of them immediately took the money and left, spitting as they went out.

Production Section Chief Sun's face darkened, realizing that it was indeed a clueless young man making a mess of things.

What use is steel slag, that kind of waste? What can you even refine from it?

On the contrary, Zhang Xiumei, the head of the finance department, laughed smugly, thinking to herself that this little bastard had ruined the factory himself and couldn't blame anyone else. She would just fix the accounts and consider it a settlement.

Liu Jianguo was determined to curry favor with Lin Yu, racking his brains for the best way to praise the steel slag, but in the end, he couldn't say anything at all.

Seeing that the factory leaders remained silent, the other workers also began to hesitate.

Gradually, a few conscientious people greeted Lin Yu and left.

Some people left, and then many more left with them.

In the end, only about three hundred people remained, still observing.

Looking at the group of people who remained, Lin Yu nodded.

Fortunately, some of them left, otherwise he really wouldn't have been able to pay triple wages.

"Who is our truck driver?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a young man wearing an old cotton-padded jacket stepped out from the crowd.

He looks young, under 30.

"Factory manager, that's me."

Lin Yu glanced at it and said directly.

"You'll be responsible for collecting waste slag from various steel mills. Triple pay during your annual leave. Are you in?"

The announcement of triple wages immediately caused an uproar among the workers.

Triple pay? They'd be willing to do anything, even smelt clay, let alone steel slag!

The truck driver nodded so hard his image was blurred.

"I'll do it!"

"My home is far away, and I don't go home for the Lunar New Year. It's great to be able to earn more money and send it home."

With this incident as a starting point, several clever workers gradually went directly to Lin Yu's desk to sign up for their annual leave and start work.

At this point, Old Sun, the head of the production department, still pleaded earnestly:

"Factory manager, steel slag is pure waste."

"Where do we put this recycled stuff?"

"You might not know this, but this thing is completely useless. It's not some kind of treasure that can turn trash into treasure."

Sun Qingnian explained with a bitter face.

He never expected the new factory manager to pull such a stunt.

With him taking the lead, many of the older workers also tried to dissuade Lin Yu.

"Factory manager, we really want the factory to do well."

"If we have enough ore to start the furnace, we'd be willing to do it even without triple pay."

"But steel slag is really useless; it just pollutes the land wherever it's piled up."

Before Lin Yu could speak, Zhang Qiumei started speaking in a sarcastic tone.

"Oh my, the factory manager is a technical consultant sent from above, a college graduate."

"What do you laborers know? Just do whatever the factory manager says."

"After the factory manager gets promoted for achieving good results, do you think he'll forget about you guys?"

These words were barbed despite their gentle tone. Liu Jianguo couldn't help but move a little further away from this woman who seemed utterly foolish, and tried to explain in a serious tone:

"Our Red Star No. 2 Factory was never very competitive to begin with."

"Other factories have to pay for disposing of steel slag."

"If we contracted the entire steel slag recycling industry in Beijing, it would be a huge source of income."

Although this wasn't what Lin Yu meant, it made sense, and many workers nodded in agreement.

The only problem is that there are limited vehicles and not many people who can drive.

Sun Qingnian still didn't quite agree and shook his head at Lin Yu:

"Factory manager, you still haven't told me if we have any new ore?"

Lin Yu found it difficult to explain this question.

The technology for recycling steel slag is quite complicated.

Learning by doing will make progress faster. But if you just talk about it, no one will understand in a short time.

Lin Yu was in a dilemma. He wanted to explain it to the workers properly, but he couldn't find a starting point.

"Hmm... there are no ores."

"If you trust me, you might as well wait and see."

"Zhang Xiumei is right, I am the technical consultant."

"Once the machine arrives, I guarantee you will all see how steel slag is turned into treasure."

Upon hearing that there was no ore at all, the crowd stirred again.

They were all steelworkers who made a living by steelmaking, and they didn't know much else besides steelmaking.

Another fifty or sixty people left one after another.

The remaining people benefited greatly from the one month's salary that Lin Yu distributed.

Instead of leaving in anger, the workers stayed and patiently waited with him for the equipment to arrive.

Compared to the factory leaders who had previously demanded bribes and favors, they were willing to trust this college graduate who started paying them wages right away.

Three or four hours later, the aroma of food filled the staff canteen, and several large trucks could be vaguely seen slowly driving by on the road in the distance.

Zhang Guoqiang glanced at the car model, reported to Lin Yu, and then went to greet him.

When the truck arrived, a lot of equipment was unloaded.

It has a full range of equipment, including electrostatic separators, magnetic separators, crushers, and ball mills.

Upon seeing the equipment arrive, Lin Yu called out to the workers to hurry to the canteen for lunch, and then followed them to watch the soldiers help transport various machines.

Move the equipment into the workshop and turn on the power.

Lin Yuxian and the soldiers conducted an initial trial run.

After the slag is completely crushed, it is soaked in a solution to carry out a displacement reaction.

After the new substance precipitates, it is broken up. Then, Lin Yu uses the tutorial provided by the system in his mind to adjust the magnetic separator to the frequency of rare metals.

Witnessed by the soldiers and the workers who arrived one after another.

Gradually, some debris that was clearly not waste was adsorbed onto the magnetic separator.

Seeing this scene, both the soldiers transporting the equipment and the workers who rushed over were all dumbfounded.

"Wait, wait, wait!"

Liu Jianguo pointed to the silvery-white metal adsorbed on the magnetic separator with one finger, speaking in a slightly stuttering manner as he looked at Lin Yu.

The worldview of the factory director, who had been in business for over twenty years, was greatly shaken.

He then immediately took the lead and enthusiastically clapped.

Inspired by his actions, many employees who were eating in the cafeteria heard the applause and rushed over.

As soon as the workers entered, they heard Liu Jianguo praising Lin Yu loudly.

"Director Lin is right! Steel slag is a good thing."

"We are short-sighted, like frogs in a well!"

As Liu Jianguo spoke, he lightly slapped himself twice, then raised his arm and shouted.

"We swear to follow Director Lin's leadership to the death!"

Seeing Liu Jianguo stirring up the workers' emotions, Lin Yu didn't know what to say for a moment, but he silently gave him credit.

Today he finally saw what it means for those who achieve great things in ancient times to not only possess extraordinary talent but also unwavering determination.

Liu Jianguo is truly flexible and willing to put aside his pride to be his straight man.

A group of workers gathered around the magnetic separator, their eyes flashing with shock as they looked at Lin Yu. They watched and discussed among themselves, bombarding Lin Yu with questions.

"Director Lin, what is this stuff extracted from the slag? I've been working here for over ten years, and I've never seen anything like it before!"

"How strange! How truly strange!"

"This thing looks silvery, is it silver?"

Lin Yu glanced at the electromagnetic frequency he had tuned in and began to explain.

"This is titanium, number 22 on the periodic table."

"One ton can sell for 6 yuan."

Upon hearing this, the workers could no longer remain seated.

"How many?!"

They used to work themselves to the bone making steel, producing rebar that met GB standards, but they could only sell it for 4000 yuan per ton.

Is it possible to extract a treasure from steel slag that can sell for 6 yuan?

Even the factory leaders, who considered themselves knowledgeable, were taken aback and could no longer sit still. They reached out and squeezed to the front of the crowd to examine closely the silvery-white metal adsorbed on the machine.

Then, his eyes turned fiery as he looked at Lin Yu.

This isn't some inexperienced young leader; he's a veritable treasure trove!

The worker who had asked the question earlier spoke up first.

"I'll work for you, boss!"

"You're an intellectual, I'll listen to you!"

Then came a chorus of responses, all rushing to Lin Yu, vying for the opportunity to start work early from their annual leave.