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

The air in Workshop No. 1 was extremely tense.

Xu Chongwen did not go to the administration building with Director Han.

He took off his brand-new Soviet-style trench coat, draped it over his arm, and walked around the control panel.

My gaze finally fell on the two thick-walled iron barrels covered in black sludge in the corner.

The rim of the iron drum was covered with a grayish-yellow powder, and the air was filled with a pungent acidic smell.

Xu Chongwen stopped and wiped his hand on the rim of the bucket.

The powder on my fingertips had a distinct sulfur smell.

He brought his finger to his nose and smelled it, then immediately frowned.

He turned to look at Jiang Ming, who was standing in front of the control panel.

"Is this what you call a secret air defense project?"

Xu Chongwen rubbed the powder between his fingers, his tone filled with undisguised mockery.

"They use this industrial waste of unknown origin for experiments and still dare to swindle people under the guise of the Security Department."

"Are you guys at the Third Electronics Factory so desperate for money that you're even picking up trash from chemical plants and treating it like treasure?"

Jiang Ming was cleaning the remaining liquid in the beaker without even looking up.

The water flowed over the glassware, making a splashing sound.

"If Dr. Xu is interested in chemical raw materials, he can go and look through some basic textbooks. Don't get in the way here."

Jiang Ming turned off the tap and shook the water droplets off his hands.

"This is a production line, not your aerodynamics center's theoretical discussion room."

Xu Chongwen turned pale at those words.

He stepped forward and reached out to grab the glass of milky white suspension on the control panel.

Old Sun slammed the long-handled wrench in his hand directly onto the metal cabinet, making a deafening noise.

Xu Chongwen's hand froze in mid-air as he turned to look at the old fitter with a furious expression.

"Try taking one more step forward."

Old Sun switched the wrench to his right hand, revealing prominent veins on the rough back of his hand.

"This is Workshop Number One, not your ministry's office."

"You can't afford to pay for this if you break it."

Xu Chongwen withdrew his hand and straightened the cuffs of his suit.

"vulgar."

He sneered and turned back to stare at the two buckets of waste.

"Once Director Han verifies the authenticity of that pass, let's see how long you can keep up your bravado."

……

At this moment, the atmosphere in the factory director's office in the administration building had also dropped to freezing point.

Factory Director Zhang sat behind his desk, watching Director Han dial the phone number.

The old, black bakelite telephone made a clicking sound as it turned.

Director Han held the receiver, his finger unconsciously tracing circles on the table.

The call was connected.

The person who answered the phone was Director Wang.

Director Han cleared his throat and gave a report on the situation in Workshop No. 1 of the Third Electronics Factory and the matter of the special pass.

The other end of the phone was so quiet you could hear the static.

Director Han's forehead began to sweat.

Director Zhang sat behind his desk, picked up his enamel mug, took a sip of water, and his eyes revealed the sharpness of a veteran.

He didn't urge him, but just watched Director Han perform quietly.

Director Han took out a handkerchief and wiped his temples, trying to make his tone sound more businesslike.

"Director Wang, we also received a report with real names. In order to prevent the loss of national strategic materials, we came down to investigate in accordance with regulations."

"After all, the rare earth quota for the second half of this year is very tight, and all units are keeping a close eye on it."

Director Wang's voice finally came through the receiver, so cold it could shatter ice.

"I personally approved that pass."

"Workshop No. 1 of the Third Electronics Factory is carrying out a top-secret mission of the highest level from the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense."

"If Director Han feels that the power of the Material Allocation Department is greater than that of the Security Department, he can simply put up the seal."

Director Han's hand holding the receiver trembled slightly.

He apologized repeatedly and assured everyone that he would absolutely not interfere with the normal operation of Workshop No. 1.

Director Wang completely ignored his explanation.

"Let me remind you, any behavior that interferes with the operation of Workshop No. 1 will be directly recorded in your personal political file."

The call was unilaterally disconnected.

Director Han listened to the busy tone on the receiver; the back of his shirt was completely soaked.

He put the receiver back on the landline, not daring to look at Director Zhang even once, grabbed his briefcase and walked out.

Without even taking a sip of water, Director Han ran straight back to Workshop No. 1.

……

The workshop door was pushed open.

A cold wind blew in, carrying snowflakes that stung everyone's faces.

Director Han strode in, his gaze towards Jiang Ming completely changed.

He tucked his briefcase under his arm and forced a smile.

"Mr. Jiang, it was a misunderstanding just now."

Director Han rubbed his hands together, his tone so soft that even the people accompanying him turned their heads.

"The security department has already verified that your project is fully compliant. We'll be leaving now."

After he finished speaking, he turned around and was about to leave.

Xu Chongwen stepped forward and blocked Director Han's path.

"Director Han, we can't just let this go."

Xu Chongwen pointed to the iron bucket in the corner, his voice rising eight octaves.

"Even if the confidentiality procedures were compliant, they did not obtain approval from the materials allocation department when they brought these industrial raw materials back from outside."

He turned to look at Jiang Ming, his eyes filled with the fervor of someone who had finally found a weakness.

"The Third Electronics Factory is illegally misappropriating industrial assets."

"These dozens of kilograms of materials were not transferred through a proper order. Regardless of what project you are working on, this is irrefutable evidence of a violation of the national regulations on the management of materials."

Director Han stopped in his tracks, his brows furrowed into a deep knot.

He just wants to get out of this hot potato as soon as possible.

Xu Chongwen, however, insisted on creating trouble at this crucial moment.

Jiang Ming put down the glass rod in his hand and grabbed a dry cloth to wipe his hands.

He walked to the metal cabinet, opened the drawer, and took out an old book with a yellowed cover and a thin piece of paper.

Jiang Ming walked to the workbench and slammed the book "Compilation of Chemical Analysis of Heavy Industrial Waste in North China" onto the table.

Immediately afterwards, he slapped the piece of paper next to the book page.

"Dr. Xu, take a closer look at what this is."

Jiang Ming's finger touched the piece of paper.

That was a receipt for industrial waste recycling issued by the East Suburbs Chemical Plant.

The product name column at the bottom of the receipt reads "waste residue from titanium dioxide production".

The weight column reads 60 kilograms.

A large zero was drawn in the value column.

"This batch of materials is listed as waste awaiting disposal in the chemical plant's accounts."

Jiang Ming looked at Xu Chongwen's face, which was gradually stiffening, and spoke slowly and deliberately.

"Chemical plants would love for someone to help them clean up this space-consuming waste."

"Our third electronics factory is doing environmental cleanup for them free of charge, and it doesn't use up any of the country's rare earth quotas at all."

Standing behind the control panel, Xiao Zhao boldly added a sentence.

"Dr. Xu, less than two percent of the 60 kilograms of waste residue contains actually useful cerium ions."

"The rest are all ferrosilicon impurities and sulfate ions."

"If you think this is also a national strategic material, you can go to the East Suburb Chemical Plant and bring the remaining two hundred tons back to the Aerodynamics Center."

The workers in the workshop let out a low chuckle.

Xu Chongwen stared at the number zero, his lips trembling as he couldn't utter a word.

He never expected that Jiang Ming would actually rummage through the garbage dump.

This completely shattered his understanding of how to obtain research materials.

Wu Hanzhang stepped forward at the opportune moment and handed a piece of scrap paper filled with data to Director Han.

"Director Han, this is the purity data sheet for cerium oxalate that we measured overnight yesterday."

Wu Hanzhang pointed to a row of numbers above, his tone filled with the pride characteristic of the older generation of technicians.

"Xiao Jiang used these 60 kilograms of unwanted garbage to extract two kilograms of high-purity cerium oxalate."

"This batch of materials is sufficient to support us in completing all subsequent tests on the improved prototype tubes."

Director Han took the sheet of paper and stared at the detailed chemical analysis data on it, completely stunned.

Although he didn't understand the specific technical details, having managed materials in the ministry for so many years, he knew all too well what it meant to turn waste into high-purity rare earth elements.

This is not a violation of regulations, but rather an extremely rare and significant scientific research achievement that turns waste into treasure.

If this report were submitted to high-ranking officials in the ministry, the Third Electronics Factory would definitely receive a commendation.

It's a joke that he brought an inspection team to seal this place up today.

Director Han returned the scrap paper to Wu Hanzhang, then turned and glared fiercely at Xu Chongwen.

His eyes were filled with anger at being fooled.

"Dr. Xu, if the Aerodynamics Center is really short of materials, please find a solution yourselves."

Director Han straightened his coat collar, his tone icy.

"Instead of interfering with key projects of other units by providing false intelligence."

After saying that, he ignored Xu Chongwen and walked out of the workshop with his entourage without looking back.

Xu Chongwen stood there, his face turning pale and then flushed.

He stared at Jiang Ming's calm face, his teeth grinding together.

"Jiang Ming, don't get too cocky."

Xu Chongwen uttered a harsh remark, then turned and strode away.