Reborn in 1950: Shorting the Federal Reserve at the Start

The door to Workshop No. 1 was tightly closed, like an iron gate, separating the inside from the outside into two different worlds.

Outside the door, the cold wind was biting.

Factory director Wang Tiezhu was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, pacing back and forth on the open space full of coal slag. Every now and then he would press his ear against the cold iron door, trying to hear what was happening inside, but apart from the sound of the wind, there was only deathly silence inside.

"Mr. Li, what exactly do you think Director Shen is up to?"

Wang Tiezhu rubbed his frozen hands, his face full of worry. "They kicked all the workers out, even me. What can he do inside by himself? Perform rituals for those 'Emperor Guangxu' statues?"

Old Li stood with his hands behind his back in the wind. Although his nose was red from the cold, a strange expectation flickered in his cloudy old eyes.

He remembered the thick blueprints and Shen Jinghong's arrogant words in the conference room: "No need to question."

"Old Wang, calm down."

Old Li exhaled a puff of white breath, his eyes fixed on the tightly closed door. "That kid Jinghong has a strange kind of charm about him. If he says it can work, then it definitely can. We old folks can just wait and watch the show."

"Watch a play? What kind of play?"

Mr. Liu, squatting in the corner, puffed on his pipe, rubbing his cracked hands on the soles of his shoes. "I think it's just a waste of time. This foreign student is so spoiled, complaining that our workshop is dirty. He's probably cleaning in there, isn't he?"

The workers let out a good-natured chuckle. Although they weren't sure themselves, none of them believed that one person could pull off anything.

After all, that's industry, it's steel, not magic.

……

Inside the door.

The air seemed to freeze.

Shen Jinghong stood in the center of the empty workshop, with the uneven cement floor beneath her feet and the old pulleys still creaking overhead.

That old, backward, and even somewhat stagnant feeling permeated every corner.

"call--"

He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, his eyes becoming incredibly sharp in that instant.

Out with the old, in with the new.

Shen Jinghong raised his hand, palm up, and gently snapped his fingers at the void.

"System, open the position."

"Put out all the New Year's goods we 'brought in' from the US!"

Om-!

A strange wave instantly swept through the entire workshop.

Space seemed to distort at that moment, the light became hazy, and visible ripples spread through the air.

Immediately following was an extremely deep and loud bang.

"boom!"

It was as if a huge mountain had suddenly crashed into the ground, causing the entire workshop floor to tremble violently and dust to fall from above.

A huge black shadow suddenly appeared on the previously empty ground.

It was a colossal steel behemoth with a chilling, eerie glow and a futuristic design.

**[Cincinnati 5-Axis CNC Milling Machine (1950 Top-of-the-line Version)]**

The silver-gray paint finish is as smooth as a mirror, the complex tool magazine dial gleams with a cold light, and the robust hydraulic arm exudes an explosive sense of power.

It crouched there quietly, like a steel warrior from the future, coldly watching this dilapidated old world.

"This is nothing."

A wildly arrogant smile curled at the corner of Shen Jinghong's lips as he flicked his wrist again, like a general commanding a vast army:

"Keep going! Don't stop!"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

A series of loud explosions erupted in the workshop.

One after another.

**[Siemens High-Precision Universal Cylindrical Grinding Machine from Germany]**

**[Swiss DIXI coordinate boring machine]**

**[Pratt & Whitney Dedicated Engine Blade Polishing Machine]**

……

These top-tier industrial machine tools, which were absolutely embargoed by Western countries in this era and whose mere sight was illegal, suddenly appeared one after another like free cabbages, quickly filling the previously empty workshop.

They were arranged neatly, with standard operating aisles between each machine.

The original stale smell of engine oil was instantly replaced by a brand-new, high-end scent with the unique fragrance of rust-preventing oil.

That's the taste of the crown jewel of industry.

In just a few minutes.

This old factory from the late Qing Dynasty, which used to struggle even to manufacture rifles, has been completely transformed into a top-tier precision machining center that would make any country in the world envious.

Shen Jinghong walked up to the huge 3000-ton hydraulic press and patted its cold, thick pillars.

"Sorry to make you uncomfortable, everyone, this place is a bit crowded."

He looked around at the room full of treasures and nodded in satisfaction. But then his gaze fell on the still-spinning pulley above his head, and his brows furrowed again.

"This powertrain is terrible."

These few broken belts can't even move the grinding wheel of the grinder, let alone these power-hungry machines.

"If you're going to do a good deed, do it all the way. If you're going to help someone, help them to

Shen Jinghong walked to the door of the workshop's power distribution room, and then his mind stirred once more.

"Come out, you big heart!"

"Buzz—"

Four massive Caterpillar high-power diesel generator sets, painted in military green, appeared out of nowhere in the reserved space of the power distribution room.

Along with the barrels of high-grade diesel that had been prepared in advance, they were piled up like small mountains.

Shen Jinghong skillfully connected the wires and pressed the start button.

"Rat-a-tat-tat-tat—Boom!"

The generator set emitted a deep and powerful roar, and a strong current surged into the cables, illuminating the rows of green indicator lights on the control panel.

"Snapped!"

Shen Jinghong casually switched off the main switch.

In an instant, the light bulbs on the workshop ceiling, which were originally dim and yellowish, seemed to be injected with stimulants, bursting out with dazzling white light, illuminating the entire workshop as bright as day!

The machine's metal casing reflected a cold luster under the light, breathtakingly beautiful.

"That's right."

Shen Jinghong patted the dust off her hands and straightened the collar of her trench coat.

He walked to the tightly closed iron gate, took a deep breath, then gripped the doorknob with both hands and pulled hard.

"Creak—"

The heavy doors slid open slowly to both sides.

Blinding white light poured out through the crack in the door, causing those outside who were stamping their feet in the cold wind to instinctively squint.

"What's going on? Why is it so bright inside?"

Wang Tiezhu was stunned, and the cigarette in his hand fell to the ground.

He remembered that the voltage in the factory had always been unstable, and the light bulbs were always half-dead, like fireflies. How did they suddenly become as bright as under the sun?

"Come in, everyone!"

Shen Jinghong's voice came from within the light, calm yet carrying an irrepressible pride:

"I've laid out all my assets for you."

Whether you can use it well or not depends on you.

Wang Tiezhu and Old Li exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise and uncertainty in each other's eyes.

They strode forward and stepped over the threshold.

then.

It was as if I had been frozen in place.

Everyone froze.

Time seemed to stand still at that moment.

Wang Tiezhu opened his mouth wide, and his jaw snapped open, almost dislocating.

Old Li's glasses slipped down to the tip of his nose, and his cloudy old eyes were wide open, as if his eyeballs were about to pop out of their sockets.

Following behind, Master Liu and the dozens of old workers covered in oil grime stood dumbfounded at the door, as if they had seen a ghost, forgetting even to breathe.

Where...where is this?

Is this their dilapidated, drafty No. 3 Factory?

Those gleaming, oddly shaped machines, yet exuding a sense of precise beauty, stood silently before them like rows of soldiers awaiting inspection.

The ground was so clean you could see your reflection in it, and the pungent smell of coal smoke was gone, replaced by an intoxicating aroma of high-quality lubricating oil.

"My goodness..."

Wang Tiezhu pinched his thigh hard, wincing in pain, before he was certain he wasn't dreaming.

He pointed shakily to the machine closest to the door and stammered, "..."

"Director Shen... what... what is this thing? Why does this iron lump look so handsome?"

"This is a CNC grinding machine from Siemens, Germany."

Shen Jinghong walked over, picked up a piece of scrap steel, clamped it onto the chuck, and pressed the start button.

"Sizzle—"

The grinding wheel spun rapidly, sending up a string of dazzling sparks.

Less than ten seconds.

The originally rough and unusable surface of the scrap steel was polished until it was as smooth as a mirror, with a precision that even exceeded one percent of the thickness of a human hair.

"This is the beauty of industry."

Shen Jinghong turned off the machine, picked up the steel ingot, and casually tossed it to Master Liu, who was already dumbfounded.

Mr. Liu caught it instinctively.

The moment he touched it, the silky smooth texture sent a shiver down the spine of the old fitter who had spent his entire life working with steel.

His hands trembled as if he were holding a piece of exquisite jade, carefully bringing it close to his eyes.

It's too shiny.

It's too slippery.

His hands, calloused and even bleeding, appeared so rough and clumsy against the backdrop of the smooth, mirror-like steel ingot.

"This...this is what foreign machines produce?"

Master Liu's voice choked with emotion. He looked up at Shen Jinghong, then at the steel behemoths filling the room, and tears inexplicably streamed down his face.

"I've polished this smooth my whole life... and I've never polished anything this shiny before..."

He walked shakily to the machine, reaching out to touch the control panel with its flashing indicator lights, but just as his fingertips were about to touch it, he pulled back as if he had been electrocuted.

He rubbed his hands vigorously on his filthy work clothes until they were red, but he still didn't dare to touch them.

"Why is this...this lump of metal so shiny?"

Master Liu turned around and looked at Shen Jinghong. The fear and awe on his face were heartbreaking.

"Sir, this thing... are our dirty hands even qualified to touch it?"