latelenovela Chapter 327 Era: XCMG's Simple-minded Wife 31
Chapter 327 Era: XCMG's Simple-minded Wife 31
After returning to China, he worked at the Hongxing Steel Plant.
Xu Weidong stood in the newly renovated test workshop, the blackboard in front of him filled with densely packed technical parameters from Country D.
The workers formed a circle, their eyes filled with both anticipation and doubt.
“From today onwards,” Xu Weidong’s voice was deep and firm, “we will no longer rely on ‘good enough’ steelmaking.”
He held up the temperature probe he had brought back from country D, saying, "For each batch of steel, the temperature must be accurate to ±5°C, and the time error must not exceed 10 seconds."
Old Li frowned: "Xiao Xu, our stove has been used for twenty years, how can it be so accurate?"
"Then let's change it."
Xu Weidong pointed to the newly installed automatic recorder in the corner, "From today onwards, all operational data must be archived. Whoever smelted the steel is responsible for it."
The workers looked at each other in bewilderment.
They had never experienced such stringent requirements before.
*
At the same time, in the laboratory of Kyoto University.
Ji Xiaosong stared at the newly released experimental data, her fingers trembling slightly.
The sample with a rare earth content of 0.03% finally broke through the tensile strength of 980 MPa, and is only one step away from the goal of "Great Wall No. 4".
"Did you succeed?" Shen Hongying leaned closer, her voice filled with suppressed excitement.
Just as Ji Xiaosong was about to nod, the laboratory door was suddenly pushed open.
Zhou Yawen clutched a recent foreign journal in her hand, her face pale: "Country M just announced... that their newly developed low-alloy steel has a strength of 1500 MPa."
The room fell silent instantly.
Ji Xiaosong's pen slipped from her fingers, splashing ink onto the data record book.
The "1000 MPa" that they are striving so hard to catch up with may already be outdated technology in the eyes of people in Country M.
The steel mill is brightly lit at night.
Xu Weidong squatted in front of the furnace, holding a briefing on steel from the United States in his hand.
The article was worn and frayed, with jarring data comparison charts printed on it:
China's special steel is even more advanced than that of the United States decades ago.
"Old Xu, take a break."
Lin Xiaomei handed over a cup of strong tea, her eyes red-rimmed, "Everyone did their best."
Xu Weidong did not answer.
His gaze fell on the yellowed group photo on the wall. Last year, when they returned from Country D, they wrote the slogan "Catch up with Country D" with great enthusiasm.
Now, even the people of Country D have fallen far behind Country M.
Where exactly are we lacking?
He muttered to himself, his fingers unconsciously stroking the steel sample he had brought back from Country D.
Suddenly, the workshop's loudspeaker blared, and the factory manager's voice, unusually excited, cried out: "All technical personnel, to the conference room immediately! The ministry has just sent an analysis report on a new technology from country M!"
The air in the conference room seemed to freeze.
The projector projected images of the patent documents from country M onto the mottled wall.
Chief Engineer Zhang's voice was hoarse: "They used a brand-new 'nanoprecipitation' technology... Our equipment simply can't do it."
Old fitter Zhang Desheng suddenly stood up, his dentures trembling: "Then let's buy it!"
"We can't buy it." Chief Engineer Zhang smiled wryly. "The US Ministry of Commerce just added this technology to its embargo list."
There was a dead silence.
Xu Weidong stared at the unfamiliar terms on the blueprints and suddenly realized that this was not a distance that could be caught up by working overtime.
The people of Country M are already on a different level, while they haven't even touched the starting line yet.
In the courtyard late at night, Ji Xiaosong received a telegram from Xu Weidong:
"Country M has broken through 1500 megapascals, what... do we do?"
She sat under the lamp all night, clutching the telegram.
At daybreak, the three children discovered that their mother's eyes were frighteningly red, and the table was covered with draft paper filled with calculations.
"Mom is doing math problems." Zhigang sensibly pulled his younger siblings along. "Let's go play next door."
As Ji Xiaosong watched the children leave, she suddenly broke down and covered her face.
She recalled the vow she made in her heart on the day she registered for university: to ensure that China's steel industry would no longer be subject to the control of others.
But now, even catching up seems so futile.
She wanted to give away the technology directly, but given the times, she couldn't give it all away.
Furthermore, as a time traveler, she cannot alter the course of history; otherwise, the tide of time would submerge everything, turning it into ruins.
Time flies, and she has been working hard for this for several years.
She was about to graduate from university and needed to continue researching a technology suitable for this era.
When I go back...
She can at least use future technologies to make technology even better.
Since we cannot change history, let's change the future and sow the seeds for it!
*
Three days later, the steel plant held a general technical meeting.
When Xu Weidong proposed "adjusting the research direction," the meeting room erupted in chaos.
"Give up on 'Great Wall-4'?" Old Li slammed his fist on the table and stood up. "We spent four years on it!"
“It’s not about giving up,” Xu Weidong said in a hoarse voice. “It’s about taking a different path. The Americans use nanotechnology, so we can give it a try too.”
"What are we going to test?" the finance manager sneered. "The factory doesn't even have an electron microscope!"
Amid the argument, someone suddenly shouted, "So you're not going to chase after him? Are you going to be a coward for the rest of your life?"
Xu Weidong slammed his fist on the table, knocking over a teacup: "Chase! Of course we should chase! But not by following behind others."
He took a deep breath. "The ministry has approved it. We will directly develop the 'Great Wall-5' system, with a target of... 1800 megapascals."
There was an uproar.
This number is something even people in Country M haven't reached yet.
*
Professor Chen's office at Peking University.
"You want to use rare earth elements and nanocomposite reinforcement?" The old professor adjusted his glasses. "Theoretically feasible, but the experimental equipment..."
“We can use a makeshift method.” Ji Xiaosong opened his notebook, which contained a simple sketch of the device. “We can modify a high-temperature furnace from a steel mill. Shen Hongying can solve the temperature control problem.”
"What about detection? Without a scanning electron microscope, how can we observe nanostructures?"
Ji Xiaosong was silent for a moment, then suddenly looked up: "Using X-ray diffraction to reverse the process is just like how Marie Curie discovered radium even without a microscope back then."
Professor Chen stared at this student who once couldn't even calculate trigonometric functions for a long time, then suddenly smiled: "Okay, I'll help you apply for special funding."
*
The following year, the steel plant made an exception and did not take a holiday for the Spring Festival.
In the experimental workshop, Xu Weidong and the workers gathered around the newly built "primitive nanoprocessing device," which was actually a modified high-pressure autoclave connected to a temperature control system made by the steel plant.
"The 47th test, begin!"
The moment the molten steel was poured into the mold, everyone in the workshop stared at the creaking recorder.
Suddenly, the pressure gauge needle started to vibrate violently, followed by a loud "bang".
The sealing ring exploded.
Scalding steam billowed out, and the workers coughed as they backed away.
Xu Weidong stood still, letting the hot water vapor soak his work clothes.
"Continue." He wiped his face, his voice eerily calm. "Tonight, all night long, for the 48th time."
Old Li opened his mouth to try to persuade him, but fell silent after seeing Xu Weidong's eyes.
It was a kind of obsession he had never seen before, as if even if the sky were to fall, this man would still shoulder it and keep moving forward.
*
The following autumn, at the laboratory of Kyoto University.
Ji Xiaosong's "homemade X-ray detector" has finally captured the diffraction spots of nano-precipitation.
When the blurry image was developed on the film, Zhou Yawen suddenly hugged her and burst into tears.
"We...did it?" Shen Hongying's fingers trembled as she touched the film.
Ji Xiaosong did not answer.
She looked out the window and saw golden ginkgo leaves fluttering down.
Four years have passed, and they have finally glimpsed the crack in the door to the nanoworld, while the people of the United States may have already built a palace behind that door.
But at this moment, that no longer matters.
The important thing is that they finally found their own path.
A steel road destined to be difficult, but truly belonging to the land of China.