Courtyard House: From Deputy Division Commander to Civilian, Progressing All the Way

"Initiate Project 73".

"I want the major machinery factories directly under the Ministry of Heavy Industry to work together to develop domestically produced 100-ton heavy-duty mining dump trucks and large hydraulic excavators! Don't be stingy with R&D funds; gather all the top hydraulic and chassis experts in the country! Within a year, I want to see prototypes rolling off the production line and driving into the open-pit mines of Ansteel and Baotou Steel!"

Zhao Lichun was filled with enthusiasm upon hearing this, and immediately stamped his feet together: "Yes! I'll personally take charge of this project, and I'll swear on my life that if I can't produce the blueprints by the end of the year, I'll offer my head as a reward!"

The overall situation in Beijing was settled, but in that tiny courtyard house in Nanluoguxiang, the autumn of 1973 brought a completely different world of contrasts.

With the nationwide rollout of chemical fertilizers by the Ministry of Heavy Industry, the grain rations in Beijing finally saw a slight improvement. Long-absent, high-gluten flour reappeared at the grain depots.

But this level of affluence is not something everyone can enjoy.

It was a scorching hot afternoon.

He Yuzhu roared to a stop at the entrance of No. 95 Courtyard, riding a brand-new sidecar motorcycle.

He was wearing a clean white polyester short-sleeved shirt and sunglasses. In the back seat, there were two 50-pound bags of high-gluten flour and a whole half-slice of fresh pork, still with traces of blood on it.

In that era, the visual impact of this half-pig was no less than that of driving a Rolls-Royce back to the village in later generations.

This is the complete set of synthetic ammonia equipment with a capacity of 300,000 tons that Lin Yang imported from West Germany at great expense, despite opposition from many.

The enormous distillation tower pierced the sky, with countless thick silver pipes intertwined, resembling a cyberpunk-style steel maze.

The valley should have been deathly silent at night. But at this moment, the entire petrochemical plant area was brightly lit, as bright as day.

A special train without any markings slowly pulled into the factory's internal platform.

Lin Yang, wearing a black woolen overcoat, stepped off the special train.

He was greeted by Lin Fan, whose face was covered in coal dust and who was wearing filthy canvas work clothes. Lin Fan's current identity is not only the director of Factory 101, but also the general commander of the entire Southwest Petrochemical Base.

"Yangzi!" Lin Fan strode forward and gripped Lin Yang's hand tightly. His rough, calloused hands were covered in burns.

"Brother, you've worked hard." Lin Yang looked at his older brother's face, which had become much thinner but still exuded endless fortitude, and a trace of heartache flashed in his eyes.

"It's no trouble at all! Today is the day you come to see the results. I'll risk my life to get this foreign machine running!" Lin Fan laughed heartily and pulled Lin Yang toward the control room.

In the control room, several engineers from West Germany were intently watching the instrument panel.

Hans, the German chief engineer at the head of the group, immediately went to greet Lin Fan as he entered, and said in broken Chinese:

"Director Lin, this is simply an incredible miracle! In our assessment, the installation of equipment of this scale would take at least ten months. Yet your workers completed all the pipe welding and sealing tests in just four months! This is absolutely unimaginable in Europe!"

Lin Fan smiled innocently, said nothing, and turned to look at Lin Yang.