I started with a ship full of max-level veterans, and I'm just a complete noob.

The auditorium was filled with sweltering heat, and the old tin ceiling fan whirred, but it still only blew hot air down.

The audience had been whispering for over ten minutes, all waiting for the results backstage.

Jiang Ming is the first person to dare to refuse a state-assigned job in public and even use his refusal to sign to stand up to his superiors.

Xu Chongwen sat not far away, arms crossed, a sneer on his face.

He was convinced that Jiang Ming was finished today.

The distribution meeting is a setting where the organization sets the tone.

A half-baked oil pump repairman who only managed to fix it by luck dares to haggle with the boss and insists on going to the workshop.

Xu Chongwen glanced at Jiang Ming and his words were sharp and cutting.

"Some people are hopeless; they're afraid of being exposed if they go to the Advanced Mechanical Engineering Institute, so they insist on hiding in a run-down factory."

"When the security department comes out later, their files will probably have to be returned to their hometowns to farm."

Several elderly scholars around shook their heads repeatedly.

In their view, scientific research should be done in research institutes, drawing blueprints and calculating formulas. Going to factories covered in oil stains is simply a waste of national quotas.

Chen Zhiyuan was so anxious he couldn't sit still, and he was sweating profusely as he tugged at Jiang Ming's sleeve.

"Brother Jiang, what exactly are you after?!"

"If the section chief comes out and really gets angry, you'd better quickly back down and say you're young and ignorant. This is your future!"

(Ｔ▽Ｔ) Chen Zhiyuan was almost in tears.

Jiang Ming sat on the bench with his legs crossed.

"What's the rush? The organization won't give up on a practical talent like me."

Jiang Ming was confident. (￣ー￣)

He was well aware of his advantages: he had a vision of the future, and he also had access to high-frequency electron tubes and multi-cavity magnetrons made using a complete handcrafting process, all thanks to the Tongtianlu (a historical record).

Going to the Advanced Institute of Mechanical Engineering to hold meetings and calculate calculus every day is called playing to one's weaknesses and avoiding one's strengths; one's flaws will be exposed sooner or later.

Go to a front-line electronic component factory, where there is equipment, parts, and workers—that's where blueprints are turned into real products.

At this moment, the curtain of the side door of the auditorium was lifted.

The head of the personnel department came running out.

The room fell silent as Xu Chongwen craned his neck, waiting to see Jiang Ming publicly punished.

But the head of the personnel department didn't bring the security department; instead, he smiled extra attentively.

He strode onto the stage, without even taking the megaphone, and held Jiang Ming's file folder in both hands, looking at Jiang Ming in the corner.

"Comrade Jiang Ming!"

The section chief cleared his throat, and his voice echoed throughout the auditorium.

"After careful consideration by the higher-ups, the organization believes that your ideological awareness is quite high."

"Your willingness to give up a lucrative research position and volunteer to work in a grassroots workshop demonstrates a down-to-earth and dedicated spirit that is worthy of emulation by everyone present!"

A collective gasp filled the auditorium.

What happened?

Just now he was just fooling around, but after going backstage and resisting the assignment, he suddenly became a person of high moral character?

Ignoring the reactions from the audience, the head of the personnel department opened the file folder and announced the results on the spot.

"With special approval from the bureau leadership, Comrade Jiang Ming's request has been granted, and he has been formally assigned to the Third Electronic Components Factory under the First Ministry of Machine Building in Beijing!"

"In recognition of your outstanding contributions and professional capabilities, you are being promoted to a higher-level position, technical grade 10, and given the title of Assistant Engineer!"

The whole place erupted.

Technical Level 10?

Assistant Engineer?

Everyone sat frozen in place. (°Д°)

An elderly scholar with thick-rimmed glasses next to him plucked off a piece of his beard, his face twitching in pain.

"Technical level 10, that's the treatment of a mid-level backbone employee, with a salary of over 100 yuan a month."

"Among our group of international students, even those with doctorates from prestigious universities are mostly at the level of 12 or 13 research interns when they first enter. How come he, with only a bachelor's degree, is directly given a level 10 position?"

Chen Zhiyuan was dumbfounded. He looked at the section chief on the stage, then at Jiang Ming, and slapped his thigh.

"Brother Jiang, you're truly amazing!"

"You can get an assistant engineer title in a factory? You're just going to be a lowly bureaucrat!"

(≧▽≦) Chen Zhiyuan was so happy that he was incoherent, even more excited than when he was assigned to the Beijing Research Institute.

Xu Chongwen's face turned a deep purplish-red, his hands gripping the armrests of the chair, his teeth clenched so tightly they were practically screaming.

Why should I?!

Why does this academic trash deserve level ten treatment?!

He, a PhD in fluid mechanics from a prestigious Ivy League university, only became a level 12 ordinary researcher at the aerodynamics center.

Xu Chongwen stood up, almost tipping over the chair in the process.

He forced a composed demeanor as a PhD and gave Jiang Ming a cold laugh.

"So what if you get a level 10 rating? A factory is a factory; all you're good for is sweating and screwing in screws."

"If you go there, your academic career will be over."

"Three years from now, you'll be stuck repairing machines in a workshop for the rest of your life, while I'll be leading cutting-edge research projects in a national-level wind tunnel laboratory!"

Xu Chongwen straightened his suit and continued to rub salt into the wound.

"Jiang Ming, mud is still mud. The only fate for a slacker like you is to wallow in dirty, messy mud pits."

Jiang Ming stood up and brushed the dust off his old suit.

He looked at the furious Xu Chongwen and smiled honestly.

"Dr. Xu is right, I just like the smell of engine oil."

"I hope you're happy every day in the wind tunnel lab, and just don't create any more air intakes that will suffocate the equipment."

This sentence directly exposes the old grievance that Xu Chongwen was humiliated on the ship.

"you!"

Xu Chongwen's chest heaved, and he couldn't utter a word for a long time.

He glared at Jiang Ming, picked up his suitcase, turned around and left, unable to stay any longer.

Jiang Ming ignored him and strode to the front of the stage.

The head of the personnel department immediately came forward, handing over the registration certificate and file with both hands, his attitude so respectful it made one uneasy.

"Mr. Jiang, this is your registration certificate."

"The train tickets to Beijing have already been bought by the organization; they are sleeper berths."

"If you encounter any difficulties in your life after arriving at the Third Electronics Factory, please report them to the organization immediately."

The way he called him "Jiang Gong" came out so naturally that it drew envious glances from the audience.

Jiang Ming accepted the registration certificate with both hands, smiling sweetly.

"Thank you for your trust, leader. I will definitely work hard in the factory and live up to the organization's expectations."

He was so excited he felt like he could take off. (✧◡✧)

This is a huge profit.

Not only did he avoid the room checks by the theoretical experts at the research institute, he also got a free Level 10 Assistant Engineer title.

With this identity, he was at least considered a mid-level technical backbone in the Third Electronics Factory.

When the time comes, we can conduct some small experiments in the workshop, obtain some rare metal materials, and apply for a few vacuum pumps. Who would dare to stop us then?

The high-frequency vacuum tube technology and early radar parameters on those dozen or so pages of kraft paper finally found a testing ground.

If he were allowed to stay in the factory for a few months, he could create a groundbreaking masterpiece that would shock everyone.

After completing the formalities, everyone returned to the guesthouse to pack their luggage.

The next morning, Guangzhou Railway Station was bustling with people, and the piercing sound of train whistles filled the air as green trains, puffing out white smoke, pulled out of the platform.

Jiang Ming lay in the spacious sleeper car, listening to the clatter of the wheels, and felt completely relaxed.

He re-examined Qian Xuesen's recommendation letter, which he kept close to his body, as well as that dangerous kraft paper notebook.

After confirming everything was in order, he closed his eyes and reviewed the process parameters he had obtained through spiritual communication in his mind.

Cathode coating formulation.

Vacuum pumping process.

Anode segmentation ratio of multi-cavity magnetron.

These things, placed in contemporary China, would be enough to achieve a devastating defeat.

Once the physical prototype is built, the air defense radar system of the new China can skip the early meter-wave stage and directly enter the centimeter-wave era.

(￣ー￣) Thinking of this, Jiang Ming couldn't help but raise the corners of his lips.

The train traveled north, crossing great rivers and passing through endless fields.

A few days later, at Beijing Railway Station, the cold air from the north rushed into my chest, a stark contrast to the sweltering heat of Guangzhou.

Carrying a worn-out leather suitcase with chipped paint, Jiang Ming took a bus to the suburbs, following the address on his registration certificate.

He got out of the car and stood at the end of the wide dirt road.

A row of red brick factory buildings stretched out in front, with thick chimneys belching thick smoke, and heavy wooden signs hanging on the large iron gates, the red-painted characters particularly eye-catching.

The Third Electronic Components Factory, directly under the First Ministry of Machine Building.

The factory area was filled with the roar of machines and the shouts of workers. The smells of coal slag, rosin, and metal oil were overwhelming.

To others, it's dirty and messy.

For Jiang Ming, this was the most wonderful flavor.

Jiang Ming switched the tattered leather suitcase to his other hand, his eyes shining with an astonishing light.

"New map, now open."