I built an armada.

"Please sit down. I am Su Dingping."

"Chief Engineer Su! I've long admired your name! Meeting you in person is truly a pleasure!"

Upon seeing Su Dingping, Zhang Cheng's eyes lit up instantly. He almost ran forward, grabbed Su Dingping's hand tightly with great force, and his palm was calloused and somewhat rough.

"I apologize for bothering you! I'm so sorry! But I must see you, I must express my gratitude to you in person!"

A strong smell, a mixture of engine oil and some kind of laboratory solvent, hit him, but Su Dingping didn't pay attention.

"grateful?"

Su Dingping tilted his head slightly, guiding him to sit down, and casually turned down the scrolling power grid deployment map on the screen next to him.

Yes! Thank you!

Zhang Cheng took a deep breath, trying to calm his overly excited emotions, but his voice still trembled slightly.

“Chief Engineer Su, I’m Zhang Cheng from Institute 923! Our place… oh no, our institute, mainly tackles the toughest challenges! We’re tackling how to turn that salty, bitter seawater into drinkable freshwater, and how to enable farmers in water-scarce areas to use electric pumps and implement electrified farming…”

He spoke rapidly, with a straightforwardness and urgency characteristic of the Northwest region.

He looked at Su Dingping with earnest eyes.

"We've been struggling for years! We've conducted countless experiments! Our ideas have become increasingly ingenious! But we've always been stuck on one thing—energy! Stable, abundant, and cheap energy!"

His voice suddenly rose a few decibels, filled with deep emotion.

"Previously, we could only use diesel generators, which were incredibly expensive! Using a little bit of grid electricity in the city was not only a huge expense, but the voltage was also unstable. Several times, experiments that were about to yield results were ruined by a single voltage fluctuation!"

That feeling... was so frustrating!

He paused for a moment, and then his face suddenly radiated an indescribable glow.

"But ever since your stellarator power station—that beam of red sunlight!—was built and put into operation! What we've been connected to is... your newly built Azure Phoenix No. 1!"

When he mentioned Qingyu and Hongri, his voice was filled with awe and gratitude.

"That electricity... is so stable! Incredibly stable! So stable that it can precisely control the electrolysis pulses down to the millisecond level! The power is so abundant... hey! We can even run high-power electrodialysis and new reverse osmosis membrane experimental units at full load 24 hours a day without interruption!"

A kind of almost pious light shone in Zhang Cheng's eyes.

"Energy consumption levels and precision control that we never dared to dream of before are now a reality! The water production efficiency of our hybrid membrane desalination technology based on the new approach has been increased by 300%! Energy consumption has been reduced to one-third of what it used to be!"

That electrically driven large-scale intelligent drip irrigation system runs like a child's game now..."

He became more and more agitated as he spoke.

"Just half a month ago, our largest-scale seawater desalination and comprehensive utilization demonstration project in the coastal experimental field was a success!"

Successfully passed water supply inspection on the first attempt! Chief Engineer Su!

This is the electricity you brought us! You are truly the power-providing bodhisattva of our Institute 923!

Hearing Zhang Cheng's simple yet incredibly sincere words, Su Dingping's heart was stirred.

He originally thought the other party was interested in energy itself or hydrogen production byproducts, but he never expected that it was connected to such important issues of water resources and agriculture.

"Director Zhang, what you've done is very meaningful, there's no need for thanks."

Su Dingping said gently.

"The stellarator generates electricity, and the Qingyue transmits the power. The goal is to benefit every place and project that can use it. Your ability to overcome obstacles and achieve breakthroughs is due to your own skills and technological accumulation."

"No, no, no! Chief Engineer Su!"

Zhang Cheng waved his hands repeatedly and smiled somewhat embarrassedly.

"Without the light and electricity you provided, no matter how hard we try, we're like a tree without roots, unable to stir up any waves! I'm here today... firstly, to personally thank you!"

Second...

He looked at Su Dingping hesitantly, his eyes filled with sincerity and expectation.

"...On behalf of all the old and young men of our Institute 923 who have fought for more than 20 years, I would like to humbly invite you to take some time out of your busy schedule to visit our research institute on this small island...to take a look and offer some guidance!"

By the way... let's also give those hotheaded tech geeks a shot of adrenaline! Let them see what a true, era-changing chief engineer of a major power really looks like!

He rubbed his hands together, his face full of anticipation.

"Of course, it's entirely up to your schedule! I would never dare to delay your important matter!"

Just then, a brilliant idea flashed into Su Dingping's mind! Zhang Cheng had casually mentioned "electrically driven intelligent control" and "large-scale intensive drip irrigation," and most importantly—seawater desalination!

A crucial piece of the puzzle was instantly and automatically pieced together in Su Dingping's vast strategic map!

Northwest Gobi Desert!

That vast land that has just been illuminated by the "Azure Phoenix Power Grid"...

The reality of water scarcity is the biggest obstacle to development and ecological improvement in the border regions!
Huge space and clean energy!

There's a desert there large enough to cover with solar panels! And there's the cheap electricity that's being continuously supplied from the Red Sun Stellarator!
Seawater resources – Could the large quantities of concentrated seawater produced after hydrogen purification at hydrogen plants along the eastern coast be used to establish a large-scale electrodialysis/reverse osmosis desalination base in the northwest, powered by the massive and inexpensive electricity generated by superconducting power grids? And could the desalinated water then be distributed throughout the development area via a smart drip irrigation network?
With the support of cheap hydropower, agricultural electrification and desertification control will be revolutionary in terms of efficiency!

What an amazing idea!
This is by no means merely a solution to a local water resource problem!

This is a strategic solution that will completely change the severe over-extraction of groundwater in the northern part of the tribe and improve the fragile ecological environment in the northwest! It is a groundbreaking move to recreate an oasis in the desert and create enormous space for survival and production! It is a super closed loop that perfectly combines energy revolution, water resource revolution, and agricultural modernization!
Stellarator power supply → seawater hydrogen production → concentrated seawater as a byproduct → utilizing its enormous energy and cheap power grid → large-scale desalination in the water-scarce Northwest → recreating oases of life → supporting large-scale agricultural electrification and ecological transformation!
A grand and clear blueprint instantly unfolded in Su Dingping's mind! It was more ambitious than any of his previous ideas!
He suddenly looked up, his gaze towards Zhang Cheng becoming incredibly intense! His previous fatigue vanished completely!

"Have you made any new breakthroughs recently in... optimizing seawater desalination efficiency and developing intelligent drip irrigation remote control systems?"

Su Dingping's voice sounded somewhat urgent due to his excitement.

Zhang Cheng slapped his thigh, both surprised and delighted.

"Chief Engineer Su, you're amazing! We were just about to report to you and the department! This newly integrated composite membrane + pulse-modulated electrochemical pretreatment + AI dynamic energy efficiency optimization control system just passed testing last week!"

The water output per unit of energy consumption was 5% higher than expected! And the stability is outstanding! ..."

"That's wonderful!" Su Dingping suddenly stood up, his eyes sparkling as if he were seeing an endless oasis.

"Director Zhang, thank you for the invitation! I will go! I'll make the arrangements as soon as possible!"

He said it with absolute certainty.

"Seawater desalination... This is not just a research topic for your 923 Institute. This... will be a key lever to alleviate the water shortage in the northern tribes, eradicate the over-extraction of groundwater, and even change the future of the Gobi Desert!"

He paced back and forth, staring intently at Zhang Cheng.

"Tell me, if we use your latest technology, combined with what I can provide..."

He pointed out the horizon and the direction of the invisible, long-reaching "Azure Phoenix" power grid.

"...a vast amount of virtually lossless and extremely cheap electricity..."

He stopped and asked, word by word.

"Are you confident that you can use the same intelligent transmission and distribution network to send desalinated water on a large scale to the Northwest... or even further afield?"

Zhang Cheng felt a surge of hot blood rush to the top of his head!
He straightened his slightly hunched back, which had become hunched from years of bowing over the lab bench. His lips and beard trembled slightly with excitement, but his voice was loud and firm.

"Chief Engineer Su! As long as we have the kind of electricity you mentioned! Not much more! Just one-tenth, one-fifth! Our 923 Institute... we'd swear to God we'd give our lives for it!"

His calloused hands clenched into fists, and his eyes burned with the purest, most intense desire of a technologist to create miracles.

"We guarantee that the desert will be filled with sweet spring water! The Gobi Desert will be transformed! We will completely alleviate... no! We will fundamentally solve the problem of groundwater over-extraction in the north! We will turn this arid land back into a land of green mountains and clear waters!"

Su Dingping returned to his desk, tapping his fingers lightly twice on the smooth surface. His thoughts had already drifted to that vast land thousands of miles away, a land tormented by drought and sandstorms for millennia.

The red sun of the stellarator has been lit, the blue veins of the Azure Phoenix Power Grid have been connected, the fuse of the hydrogen energy era has been ignited, and seawater desalination... This seemingly insignificant link is precisely the key fulcrum to leverage the ecological predicament of the entire tribe in the north.

Oil dependence?

Once hydrogen energy is fully deployed, coupled with the continuous output of a 10,000-ton-level seawater electrolysis hydrogen production plant, and the full implementation of large-scale seawater desalination and intelligent irrigation systems in the water-scarce northern regions, the entire tribe's dependence on fossil fuels will be completely cut off!

This game of chess is more ambitious than any move he had ever envisioned before.

Su Dingping raised his head and looked at Zhang Cheng, who was still standing in front of him, his face full of expectation and trepidation.

"Director Zhang, let's go."

Zhang Cheng was taken aback.

"Leave? Chief Engineer Su, what are you doing here...?"

"Go to your 923 Research Institute."

Su Dingping picked up the jacket draped over the back of the chair with a swift and decisive movement.

"I want to see those breakthroughs and achievements you mentioned with my own eyes. Seawater desalination and agricultural electrification must be accelerated as soon as possible; we can't wait any longer."

Zhang Cheng was surprised that this legendary chief scientist of the tribe was so decisive and efficient, and he rubbed his hands together and nodded repeatedly in excitement.

"Excellent! It's an honor for our entire institute that Chief Engineer Su could personally come to provide guidance! However... the conditions in our area are quite basic. It's on a small island by the sea, with strong winds and big waves, and the roads aren't very good either..."

"I'm here for scientific research, not for a vacation."

Su Dingping waved his hand and turned to give instructions to Wan Long, who was guarding outside the door.

"Prepare the car, let's go to Institute 923. Also, notify Zhao Qinian to send me the water resources distribution map of Northwest China and the latest data on groundwater over-extraction. I'll check it on the way."

Wanlong nodded and turned to make the arrangements.

Two hours later, a black SUV with ordinary license plates but actually specially modified drove away from the core area of ​​Longxin Laboratory, heading east along the coastal highway, and finally turned onto a rugged road leading to the sea.

The scenery outside the car window gradually changed from bustling city buildings to desolate mudflats and salt flats, with the salty smell of the sea permeating the air.

In the distance, a small, gray island appeared and disappeared, with rows of low buildings and several huge metal tanks standing out starkly in the thin mist.

"That's it."

Zhang Cheng pointed to the small island, his tone filled with complex emotions.

"The 923 Institute has been based here for 23 years. Fresh water on the island is all transported by ship, and electricity was only barely managed to be delivered by an undersea cable a few years ago, and the voltage is still unstable."

The people in our institute are basically doing seawater desalination research while also having to conserve their own freshwater; it's kind of a joke, really.

Su Dingping remained silent, his gaze drifting through the car window towards the isolated research institute overseas, while his mind raced with calculations.

The off-road vehicle drove along a bumpy gravel road and finally stopped in front of a rusty iron gate. Above the gate hung a faded plaque—the 923rd Research Institute of Longxia Water Conservancy and Agriculture Joint Development Headquarters.

As soon as the car came to a stop, seven or eight people poured out from inside the iron gate.

There were technicians in white coats, equipment maintenance workers in overalls, and a young man with messy hair and glasses with the temples wrapped in tape—he looked like the kind of tech fanatic who spends all his time in the lab.

"Director Zhang! You really managed to invite Chief Engineer Su?!"

The bespectacled youth was the first to rush forward, staring at Su Dingping as he got out of the car, his eyes wide like saucers and his mouth agape enough to fit an egg.

"Chief Engineer Su... It really is Chief Engineer Su! I've seen your picture in our internal technical journal!"

He was so excited that he was incoherent and didn't know what to do with his hands.

Others gathered around, their eyes filled with incredulous reverence. For these researchers who spent years holed up on remote islands, dealing with saltwater and sea breezes, the name Su Dingping was a monument they could only look up to. Stellarators, lithography machines, the Qingyue power grid, Loongson chips… which one of them wasn't a groundbreaking achievement?
"Stop crowding around, let Chief Engineer Su go in and talk!"

Zhang Cheng waved to disperse the crowd and led Su Dingping into the main laboratory building of the research institute.

Despite being called an experimental building, it was actually just a three-story gray cement structure, its exterior walls mottled and weathered by the sea breeze, with a thin layer of salt frost on the windows. But once inside, Su Dingping discovered a completely different world.

The laboratory was clean and tidy. Although the equipment was not the most advanced, it was very well maintained, and every pipe and every interface was clearly marked.

Several large electrodialysis units were humming away, while on the adjacent reverse osmosis membrane testing platform, rows of data acquisition devices flashed green indicator lights. (End of Chapter)