Courtyard House: Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) Traded for an Aircraft Carrier, the Whole Count

Factory Director Yang's palms were burning hot, covered in sweat from excitement, and the trembling sensation traveled from his palms all the way to Jiang Chen's arm.

"Factory manager, don't rush to claim credit." Jiang Chen calmly withdrew his hand, took a clean handkerchief from his pocket, and handed it to him. "Isn't the big boss still waiting for a reply on the other end of the phone?"

Factory Director Yang suddenly slapped his forehead, as if waking from a dream: "Right! Right! Look at my brain! This kind of incredibly good news must be reported to the ministry immediately!"

He didn't even bother going back to his office; he grabbed the red telephone on the workshop wall and dialed the number known only to a very few people.

The workshop, filled with hundreds of people, was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Everyone held their breath, watching Factory Director Yang, microphone in hand, back ramrod straight, his face radiating unprecedented respect and pride.

"Sir! I have accomplished my mission! It's fixed! Not only fixed, but the performance indicators have doubled! ...Yes! Yes! It even exceeds the original Soviet manufacturer's specifications! ...Yes, it's that little Jiang, Comrade Jiang Chen!"

After something was said on the other end of the phone, Factory Director Yang's face lit up with a smile, and he repeatedly replied, "Good! Good! Good! I will definitely pass it on! I will carry it out resolutely!"

After hanging up the phone, Director Yang turned around, his gaze sweeping across the room before finally settling on Jiang Chen. His voice was high-pitched with extreme excitement: "Comrades! The top leader just said 'good' three times on the phone! The top leader instructed: This is a victory for our working class, the first shot in breaking the technological blockade! The ministry has decided to award Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill a collective first-class merit!"

boom!

The cheers erupted again, almost lifting the roof off the workshop. In this era where honor is paramount, a collective first-class merit means that every worker's resume will be enriched, and year-end benefits will be plentiful.

Director Yang raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet, then his expression turned serious as he announced an even more significant decision.

"Given the current weakness of the factory's technical capabilities and the severe technological blockade it faces, the factory's Party Committee, after deliberation and with the approval of the Ministry, has decided to establish the 'Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill Technical Breakthrough Special Team,' effective immediately!"

"I, Yang, am nominally the group leader, responsible for logistical support. Comrade Jiang Chen will serve as the executive deputy group leader!" Director Yang's gaze sharpened as he scanned the group of veteran technicians with varying expressions. "In this group, Comrade Jiang Chen holds the highest technical decision-making authority. For any matters involving technical modifications or equipment upgrades, the entire factory, including myself, must cooperate unconditionally! Anyone who dares to obstruct Comrade Jiang Chen on technical issues is sabotaging production and bringing shame to the nation!"

This appointment struck like a bolt from the blue, hitting some people hard in the heart.

Executive Deputy Leader?

What does this mean? It means that Jiang Chen is not just a tool of the security department; his hand has reached into the core lifeline of the factory—the production line!

Yi Zhonghai slumped to the ground, his face ashen. He had originally thought Jiang Chen was just a martial artist with some unorthodox skills, someone who, as long as he remained in the workshop, would have to defer to him, an eighth-grade worker. But now, everything had changed.

Jiang Chen became his immediate superior.

From now on, if Yi Zhonghai wants to tighten a screw, and Jiang Chen says no, then that screw will absolutely not be tightened! His decades-long technical authority in this factory has been completely shattered at this moment.

Among the crowd, Jiang Chen remained calm, as if he had expected this appointment. He walked up to Yi Zhonghai, looking down at the former "old man".

"Master Yi," Jiang Chen's voice was unreadable, "Since I'm the deputy team leader, I'll give the first order. The subsequent debugging and maintenance data recording for this machine is your responsibility. One report per day; missing even one data point will result in a deduction from your monthly performance bonus. This job should be manageable for an eighth-grade worker, right?"

Yi Zhonghai's lips trembled. Under the gaze of those cold eyes, he felt an unprecedented sense of oppression. It was the weight of power, and the crushing force of strength.

Finally, he lowered his once proud head, his voice dry as if he had swallowed a handful of sand: "Yes... Team Leader Jiang."

……

In the afternoon, in the large conference room of the factory office building.

The long mahogany table was filled with the factory's top leaders and key technical personnel. The air was thick with the aroma of tea and tobacco, but the atmosphere was unusually heavy.

Jiang Chen sat in the first seat to the left of Director Yang. It used to be Deputy Director Li's reserved seat, but now it had a different owner. Deputy Director Li sat opposite him, a signature fake smile on his face, but deep in his eyes was a deep sense of apprehension.

The young man sprang up so fast that it terrified him.

"Regarding the next steps for the technical task force," Factory Director Yang looked at Jiang Chen, his tone gentle, "Jiang, what are your thoughts? How about we repair the other old equipment in the factory first?"

All eyes were on Jiang Chen. Everyone thought that a new broom sweeps clean, and Jiang Chen would definitely use the opportunity of repairing the machine to make some more contributions and solidify his position.

Jiang Chen, who was twirling a pen in his hand, stopped when he heard this. He looked up, his eyes clear, yet revealing an ambition that made people afraid to look him in the eye.

"Tackling things?" Jiang Chen chuckled lightly, slamming his pen on the table. "No fun."

A commotion erupted in the conference room. Boring? This is millions of dollars worth of state assets!

Jiang Chen stood up and walked to the huge world industrial distribution map hanging on the wall. His finger traced across the Soviet Union, across the United States, and finally landed heavily on a blank area in China.

"Leaders, we've repaired this rolling mill. The Russians may have lost face, but they'll only build even more advanced machines to strangle us when they get back. No matter how fast we repair it, can we keep up with their construction speed?"

Jiang Chen turned around, placed his hands on the table, leaned forward, and an overwhelming sense of pressure instantly enveloped the entire room.

"I have only one goal."

He spoke each word slowly and deliberately, his voice like the clash of metal and stone:

"Build our own industrial machine tool."

"Not only will we repair them, we'll build them! Not only will we build them, we'll build them even better than them! I want factories all over the world to be proud to use machine tools made by 'China Red Star'!"

If Jiang Chen had said these words yesterday, everyone present would have thought he was crazy.

In 1965, China's industrial base was weak; even manufacturing a tractor was a struggle, let alone building an industrial machine tool. That was a pipe dream!

But at this moment, looking at Jiang Chen's unwavering gaze and recalling the steel rolling mill that had been operating like a work of art that morning, not a single person dared to laugh out loud.

Factory Director Yang felt as if all the blood in his body was rushing to his head. Looking at the spirited young man in front of him, he seemed to see a raging fire spreading across the land.

"Good!" Factory Director Yang slammed his hand on the table. "If we're going to do something, let's do something big! Xiao Jiang, you need manpower, you need money! As long as I, Yang, am in this position, I'll protect you!"

After the meeting ended, Jiang Chen walked into his new office.

This is a spacious room on the third floor of the administration building. It is well-lit and offers a panoramic view of the entire factory area through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

He sat in his leather swivel chair and lit a cigarette. Amidst the swirling smoke, he gazed at the brand-new map of China on the wall, his eyes becoming deep and distant.

"Ding!"

A crisp system notification sounded in my mind.

[Congratulations, host! You have successfully advanced to the core technology level and unlocked the reputation achievement 'Rising Star of Industry'.]

[Main Quest Chain Triggered: Major National Weapons.]

[Phase 1 Task: Develop the Industrial Technology Tree. Objective: To manufacture the first high-precision CNC machine tool prototype within one month.]

[Rewards: Intermediate Industrial Machine Blueprint Library, Special Alloy Recipes x3, Personal Space Expanded to 10 Cubic Meters.]

Jiang Chen exhaled a smoke ring, looked out the window at the bustling factory area under the setting sun, and a cold smile appeared on his lips.

"You've broadened your perspective."