Defend Namsan Park

Chapter 107 Chengdu University of Technology is not in Chengdu, but in Leshan

Shang Lu immediately called Wang Xiangbing. His uncle, who had been calm and composed, rushed over in a hurry, wishing he could immediately acknowledge the business manager as his godfather.

"Sales manager, you said you have a solution, what do you mean?"

Wang Xiangbing was certain that he had searched for every possible manufacturer that could help, from the old man who cuts keys on the roadside to the workshop with a 10,000-ton hydraulic press. He had meticulously reviewed all the registered potential production capacities, leaving no stone unturned. Could it be that the business manager had actually unearthed some wild machine tools from underground?

“Hey, of course you can’t find it by just following the table, because what you can find, others can also find,” the business manager said. “You have to look for what’s not on the table.”

"It's not on the list, where am I supposed to look for it?"

The business manager patted his chest and said:
"Your chief engineer has already explained your requirements to me. It's okay if the equipment is a bit old, right?"

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That afternoon, Wang Xiangbing and Li Wenxuan bought two train tickets at Shapingba Station. It was a three-hour hard seat journey directly to Leshan.

The business manager's brilliant plan contained only one mysterious address: No. 222 Xiaoba Road, Shizhong District, Leshan City.

The two men, carrying tattered black leather bags, stood in the square in front of the train station. They looked down and opened the note written by the business manager, then frowned: Where is this place?
"Let's take a taxi," Li Wenxuan said. "To No. 222 Xiaoba Road, Shizhong District."

"Why take a taxi? We only have 200 yuan left in our business trip budget." Wang Xiangbing glanced at him. "If there's a bus, take the bus! If not, find a motorcycle taxi!"

"Following Wang Xiangbing, you'll be penniless."

Leshan was desolate after the mass evacuation, with its population flowing to Yibin and Chengdu. A motorcycle taxi driver said that Leshan now has only 1.1 million people, which is one-third of the population before the collapse. Young people have all gone to Chengdu to make a living, and most of those left in Leshan are elderly people and people who have lost their ability to work. The pillar industries of the city, besides military industry and steel, are replicating the head of the Leshan Giant Buddha.

"Buddha's head?"

Li Wenxuan was squeezed in the middle of the motorcycle seat like a sandwich, with the burly motorcycle driver in front of him and the even more burly Wang Xiangbing behind him. He was so squeezed that he could hardly breathe, a truly awkward situation with men in front and behind him.

"The Leshan Giant Buddha is famous. These days, many people believe in Buddhism. Every year, we produce hundreds of thousands of Buddha statues of all sizes here. The big ones can be more than a person tall, while the small ones are only the size of a thumb, and you can wear them around your neck," the motorcycle taxi driver said. "I bought one myself. It's very effective at warding off evil spirits and ensuring peace."

"Master, do you know exactly where this address is?" Wang Xiangbing asked. "No. 222 Xiaoba Road, Shizhong District."

“I’ve lived in Leshan for over 30 years. I was working here before the massive landslide. There’s no place I don’t know,” the motorcycle taxi driver said. “The place you’re talking about, I remember it. It used to be a school.”

"School?"

Neither Li Wenxuan nor Wang Xiangbing knew what their business manager was up to.

The motorcycle arrived at its destination, a desolate and lifeless place. The driver stopped in the middle of a huge intersection; not a single car could be seen on the wide road. Occasionally, some cars were parked on the roadside, covered with a thick layer of dust and decaying yellow leaves. The driver left the two bewildered men behind and sped away. In the exhaust fumes, Li Wenxuan and Wang Xiangbing looked at each other, puzzled: Could there be a processing plant here? A middle-aged man who had been waiting quickly crossed the road and greeted the two men. He was wearing a large straw hat, which he removed and shook hands warmly with Wang Xiangbing and Li Wenxuan in turn.

"You two must be Director Wang and Director Li, right? You've come all this way, thank you for your hard work. The business manager has already explained everything to me beforehand. My surname is Liu, my name is Liu Guoqing, and I am the deputy director of the Leshan City Shizhong District Warehousing Center. I am in charge of receiving you two."

The man wore half-rimmed glasses, a dark red plaid shirt, and black trousers. He appeared to be in his forties or fifties, with dark skin and a receding hairline. He looked like an intellectual, yet also like a factory worker. Liu Guoqing led the two across the road and pointed to the gate by the roadside, saying, "This used to be a school called Chengdu University of Technology Engineering and Technology College, affiliated with the Southwest Institute of Physics."

Wang Xiangbing and Li Wenxuan then noticed the faded and peeling characters on the vermilion gate. Covered by green vines and plants, a few characters could still be vaguely discerned: Chengdu, University, Engineering, Institute.

"Is Chengdu University of Technology in Leshan, not Chengdu?" Wang Xiangbing asked.

“It’s not the official Chengdu University of Technology; it’s an independent college, which is basically a third-tier university,” Liu Guoqing said. “It mainly focused on the nuclear industry. After the massive collapse and relocation, it was merged and closed down. The people and units all moved away. Now it’s an empty industrial park, used as a warehousing center.”

Li Wenxuan looked around in amazement.
"Our country is so big, I didn't even know there was such a place."

The campus after the merger was empty and desolate. Most of the buildings were abandoned, weeds grew wildly by the roadside, and fallen leaves piled up unattended. There was a lake on campus, but the water was almost dry, and the mudflats were full of withered yellow weeds. Liu Guoqing said that this place was now a storage center. Wang Xiangbing and Li Wenxuan could tell that there were rusty dark blue containers piled up everywhere. They didn't know what was inside. Wang Xiangbing peeked around furtively, looking like a thief.

"Director Liu, what is your relationship with the business manager?" Li Wenxuan asked.

“He was my old superior. Many years ago, I was a communications soldier at the Qingdao base of the East China Sea Fleet. The chief of staff was our deputy political commissar,” Liu Guoqing said. “Later, the East China Sea Fleet collapsed and ceased to exist. The entire organization was disbanded, and the personnel were transferred to other units in scattered pieces. The chief of staff went to your 151 Equipment Department, and I came to Leshan to look after the warehouse.”

"It's good to be a warehouse watchman!" Wang Xiangbing gave a thumbs up. "I love warehouses!"

"The business manager said you need a processing plant to process the parts for the giant machinery." Liu Guoqing led the way, turning to talk to the two of them as he went. "You need both general-purpose and special-purpose machining equipment, lathes, milling machines, grinding machines, boring machines, gear hobbing machines, as well as welding and heat treatment, cold fitting and hot fitting. We should have all the tooling here, but you'll have to prepare the liquid nitrogen yourself, we don't have any here."

"Don't worry, we have liquid nitrogen," Wang Xiangbing said.

Entering through the school gate and walking along the main road, you see lush, verdant trees on both sides. There are no students in sight, only security guards and cleaning ladies chatting together.

“This road used to be called Wenxue Road.” Liu Guoqing pointed to the wide road under his feet and then to the dried-up waters beside the road. “The lake on the left is called Mo Ruo Lake, the Mo Ruo in Guo Moruo’s name. The island in the middle of the lake is called Wenxin Island. Look ahead, do you see that factory building with a red roof and yellow walls? Let’s go there.”

Wang Xiangbing and Li Wenxuan looked up and saw a large, dark yellow factory building sitting diagonally by the roadside. Its dark green gate was tightly closed, and a red five-pointed star hung above the gate. Among the Khrushchev-era buildings in the college, it looked like an old remnant.

Liu Guoqing took out his key from his pocket, stepped forward to unlock the large black lock hanging on the door, then pulled the door open forcefully and took a step back.

"Director Wang, Director Li, what you're looking for is right here!"