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

The jeep drove through the flooded streets. Old Sun held the steering wheel firmly, and the headlights swept across a row of shops along the street before finally stopping at the alley entrance near the Third Electronics Factory.

The Beijing noodle shop in the alley was still lit up, the thick door curtain swaying back and forth in the night wind, and the aroma of fried sauce, scallions and braised meat wafted from the stove. Several people had been guarding the equipment and data for a long time, and only now did they realize that their stomachs had been empty for a long time.

Old Sun got out of the car first, lifted the curtain and shouted to the kitchen: "Four bowls of extra-sized noodles with soybean paste, two plates of braised beef, and plenty of toppings. Don't try to fool us with small bowls."

The kitchen staff responded, and the stoves blazed open.

Jiang Ming left the results report and sample handover documents in the sealed box in the car, only taking the funding list sent by Fang Xudong. After entering the room, he chose a square table against the wall, rinsed the chopsticks with boiling water, and waited for the noodles to be served.

The paint on the table was worn away, several faded menus were pasted on the wall, and the evening news was playing intermittently on the radio, the sound cut off by the sound of spatulas in the kitchen.

As soon as Da Liu sat down, he picked up his bowl of noodles, took a big spoonful of fried sauce and stirred it. The steam hit his face, but he didn't bother to wipe it off. With noodles in his mouth, he said, "Just now, the curve of pipe number nine went up from 790. It was like the tuning melody was pushed up to 812. It really reached 812."

Old Sun put some braised beef into his bowl, "Swallow it first, don't let the noodles choke you on eight hundred trillion."

Da Liu swallowed the noodles in his mouth, still excited. "The clamp loosened and we retested it. The reading only dropped by one trillion. Engineer Jiang, we've finally got our footing this time."

Jiang Ming stirred the fried sauce at the bottom of the bowl, picked up a mouthful of noodles, and the salty aroma and heat pulled him back to reality from the shock of continuous calculations, equipment monitoring, and the consciousness space. He ate slowly, but put a whole mouthful of noodles into his mouth before speaking.

"The first batch of engineering lines has stood firm, but there are still some challenges before achieving stable mass production, such as impact aging, temperature cycling, and long-term parameter drift. Today's figures are worth celebrating, but we need to keep more detailed records for the future."

Fang Xudong sat at the corner of the table, with a small notebook and a newly approved purchase list spread out in front of him. He held chopsticks in one hand and used the dim light of the other to check the amount, the order of equipment arrival, and the warehouse entry number. On the table were purchase items for photolithography mask machine, tungsten rhenium probe, junction capacitance measurement bridge, and microwave testing accessories.

"The equipment will undergo special approval first. The probes and measuring bridges have been submitted for warehousing applications. The microwave accessories will arrive in two batches. After the finance department transfers the quota for regular equipment, there will still be some money left in the books for spare resistors and mica capacitors."

Wu Hanzhang wasn't at the table. Fang Xudong spoke of the finance department with some caution, "The purchasing department asked if the joint samples from 502 and the Institute of Physics could share the same numbering system."

"Cannot be shared."

Jiang Ming put down his chopsticks. "Joint projects can share technical standards. Sample numbers must be separated by unit and process. If any tube has a problem later, it can be traced back to the furnace batch, fixture, packaging, and testing personnel."

Fang Xudong nodded, wrote it down in his notebook, and turned to the next page.

"The equipment transportation also needs to be changed. Director Wang just gave instructions that the old railway channel will be temporarily suspended, and the quartz substrate and measuring accessories will be handed over separately."

Old Sun picked up his teacup and touched the rim of it to Jiang Ming's cup.

"Have a sip of tea first. Watching the foreign experts get humiliated at the entrance of the confidential room today was more satisfying than drinking strong liquor."

He clicked his tongue after he finished speaking, "They tried to intimidate people with a stack of stamped papers. When Engineer Jiang restored the coordinates, all the forward surveying stations ended up in the danger zone. Those people couldn't even protect their own maps."

Jiang Ming picked up the teacup and took a sip. The tea had already cooled down, and the bitterness lingered on the back of his tongue.

"Technical issues are technical issues, but we also need to pay attention to changes in supply and plan for domestic alternatives in advance."

That's right.

Fang Xudong turned the new procurement list back, saying, "Today we've won in terms of parameter input; materials, machine time, and equipment all need to keep up."

At the next table sat a few young people scalping tickets. One of them reached out to pull an empty chair, while the person next to him held the back of the chair. They argued for a few words over the seats, and their voices gradually drowned out the radio.

Old Sun glanced back, still holding his teacup in his hand. Jiang Ming also raised his gaze, his eyes sweeping over the faces of those people before settling on the bent corner of the table and the receipts beside them.

When the group met his gaze, their voices gradually lowered. The person who had pulled the chair back to its original position, he put the receipts into his pocket, then got up, paid the bill, and left.

The sounds of spatulas and bowls returned to the noodle shop.

Da Liu picked up a slice of braised beef, looked towards the door, and said, "Jiang Gong, when you looked over there just now, they even settled the bill quickly."

"Have a meal."

Jiang Ming took out his meal tickets and meat tickets and handed them to the boss, asking about the prices. He then folded the remaining tickets and put them in his wallet.

"Tomorrow, apply for an improvement in meals for everyone in 502, including those who have been working overtime continuously. Don't just give out ration coupons; if you can buy meat, then buy meat."

Upon hearing this, Old Sun's tired expression eased slightly. "That's more like it. If we only rely on fried dough sticks and tea, even the machines would protest on our behalf."

Fang Xudong looked up. "Should we apply for improved meals through the factory administration or the research lab?"

"Director Wu signs, the factory records, you compile the list, and write down the night shift and furnace watch personnel according to the actual number of days."

Jiang Ming wiped the fried sauce off his chopsticks and lowered his head to eat his noodles again. A truck drove by outside, its wheels churning up the water on the road, and the light slid quickly across the window paper.

The new guidance regulations of the Fifth Academy have been passed down along the mission book, and the supporting factories have begun to rearrange the drawings and processes according to the domestic parameters. At the same time, the Security Department has tightened the scope of data access. The high-frequency silicon tube of the Institute of Physics has changed from a laboratory result to a candidate device for the front-end of the air defense early warning receiver.

These changes are exciting, but they also place new responsibilities on everyone's shoulders.

Liu put down his empty bowl. "Engineer Jiang, is 800 megawatts enough for the 24 gigahertz preamplifier?"

Jiang Ming looked at him and said, "The preamplifier is not completed by a single tube. The device cutoff frequency, noise, junction capacitance, and interstage matching must all be included in the overall design. Today, we have proven that the core device has crossed the engineering threshold. Next, we need to put it into a real circuit."

Da Liu nodded, his eyes lighting up again.

Old Sun handed the last piece of braised beef to Jiang Ming, saying, "You can have this one. We need to go to the factory tomorrow to check on the impact aging."

Jiang Ming picked up the beef, didn't push it back, and put it directly into the bowl.

After the four of them finished their noodles and came out of the noodle shop, the wind at the alley entrance had cooled down, the streetlights reflected on the road, and the puddles were etched with patterns by the soles of their shoes.

They walked along the street toward the factory. Da Liu talked about whether they could take turns taking leave in the future. Fang Xudong was planning which group of people to train first after the equipment arrived. Lao Sun said that they should add another seal to the filter of the spare generator to prevent anyone from stuffing debris into the oil line.

Jiang Ming walked beside him, occasionally responding, but in his mind he was putting the 800-megabit device, the Aksai short-frame decision, and the Fifth Academy's autonomous guidance framework on the same task list.

As soon as the group stepped into the gate of 502, Wu Hanzhang came up the steps carrying a thick kraft paper envelope. His shoes were covered in mud, and he held the envelope protectively in the crook of his arm. The seal was pressed with the urgent mark written by Qian Xuesen himself.