Everyone get out of the way, someone's about to show off.

Chapter 83 Everyone get out of the way, someone's about to show off.

Amidst the intense anticipation of everyone, Jiang Fan was the first to drive out of the workshop.

The diesel engine roared incessantly, and black smoke billowed from the exhaust pipe.

The workers who were trying to push forward were so frightened that they retreated.

But when they saw the two tracks slowly turning and the steel body rolling over the ground, they couldn't help but crane their necks to look ahead.

He Xiying stood at the front of the crowd with a group of retired cadres, hands behind her back, smacking her lips.

Old Li from the logistics department couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "My goodness, Xiao Jiang actually changed it!"

Jiang Fan sat in the driver's seat, one hand on the control lever and the other controlling the direction, feeling an indescribable sense of satisfaction.

Although I knew this thing could move, actually sitting here felt completely different.

This is the year 1949!

The first generation of tracked tractors in New China was born right under the noses of these purest industrial builders.

Seeing the almost reverent astonishment on the faces of the workers on both sides, this sense of accomplishment was unparalleled at any time.

The workers in front had already consciously moved aside to make way for the iron ox.

Jiang Fan sat in the driver's seat, his hands gripping the two control levers, his feet on the clutch and brake pedals, his whole body bobbing up and down with the car's swaying.

This thing has no windshield, so it's incredibly bumpy. Steering is entirely controlled by two levers that control the tracks, allowing for both stationary turning and differential turning.

Seeing that everyone had cleared enough space, Jiang Fan immediately pulled the left control lever, the left track braked, and the right track continued to rotate, causing the entire vehicle to spin around in place, showing off a little trick.

This novel and violently aesthetic mechanical movement caused He Xiying to involuntarily take two steps back.

He looked up at the massive steel behemoth that had been modified from a scrapped tank, his gaze traveling from its chassis all the way to the towing device on the rear frame, and finally couldn't help but applaud.

"Okay, okay!"

With someone taking the lead, the surrounding crowd cheered in unison.

Sitting in the driver's seat, Jiang Fan looked at the expressions on the faces of his senior colleagues, and his sense of satisfaction grew even stronger.

In later generations, what will a tracked tractor be?

You can find rows and rows of different models at any agricultural machinery exhibition.

But now, this is the leap from zero to one, this is the industrial miracle forged from the cracks of war.

As he was reminiscing, an even deeper engine roar came from inside the workshop behind him.

That voice was much deeper than Jiang Fan's.

The workers instinctively turned their heads to look, and saw an even larger gray machine slowly approaching.

"What is this thing?"

"Wasn't it supposed to be a tractor? How did it turn into a tank?"

"No, no, the turret is gone, only the hull is a modified tank."

The workers' expressions changed from excitement to shock, and then from shock to awe.

When that huge machine rolled over the ground, even the ground beneath its feet trembled slightly.

The workers who had been watching the commotion around Jiang Fanfan's car stepped back, making way for a wider passage.

Zhou Chunsheng sat in the driver's seat, sweating profusely, his hands gripping the control lever, his expression a mixture of tension and excitement.

The chassis structure of his heavy-duty off-road tractor is basically the same as that of the Type 94 ultralight tank, with track plates and road wheels making it look more robust.

The additional features that Jiang Fan described earlier have now actually appeared on the vehicle body:

The front bumper beam, the thickened side skirts, the rear a rear towing frame specifically for agricultural tractors, and the most conspicuous circular flange interface.

As it slowly drove out of the workshop gate, it stopped next to Jiang Fan's car under the watchful eyes of the workers.

Two iron tractors were parked side by side. One was a pure agricultural tractor, with simple lines and a clear structure.

The other one has a solemn military feel, with the welds and rivets on the armor plates clearly visible.

The crowd fell silent for a few seconds before erupting into even more heated discussion.

"My goodness, Engineer Zhou's machine is much more imposing than Engineer Jiang's."

"That's for sure!"

"If this were driven into the fields to plow, it would probably harden the soil itself."

See? Even these honest, hardworking workers can tell something's wrong, so it goes without saying that others can too.

But that's exactly the effect Jiang Fan wanted.

After all, his own vehicle was the real agricultural prototype, while Zhou Chunsheng's was the one everyone was looking forward to.

Keep in mind, this is 1949.

In a few years, with breakthroughs in exploration technology, the seemingly barren desert in the Middle East will be transformed into the world's largest oil and gas treasure trove.

Those crown princes and chiefs riding camels, clutching piles of black gold, lacked even a decent defense industry.

They have long had their lifeline tightly controlled by American arms dealers. A single anti-aircraft missile can be priced exorbitantly, with a host of political conditions attached, yet they can only grit their teeth and swallow their anger, obediently paying the money to buy it.

In the distant future, it was these same oil workers from the ancient camel-carrying road who came knocking on our door in the 1980s, waving their checkbooks.

One Dongfeng-3 strategic missile costs 100 million US dollars, and they bought 35 of them in one go, spending 3.5 billion US dollars without even blinking an eye. This directly supported half of China's aerospace and military industry at that time. Now, the Middle East war is about to come to an end, and the prelude to the large-scale development of oil is about to begin.

The days when those countries are being held hostage by the West and constantly run into obstacles when trying to buy genuine weapons are about to begin.

We are all countries under Western economic blockade. If we can seize this opportune window, under the guise of "agricultural machinery exports," we can knock on that door flowing with black gold—

Jiang Fan dared not think too much about how much profit that might bring; perhaps, even obtaining some oil extraction rights ahead of time was not a dream.

This is Jiang Fan's real plan for "converting tanks into tractors".

While pondering, Jiang Fan noticed He Xiying approaching the tractor Zhou Chunsheng had parked. She then walked directly towards him, so he immediately turned off his engine and got out. He heard He Xiying say, "Comrade Jiang, why does this thing you've been fiddling with look different?"

An older colleague from the technical department also came over and hurriedly asked, "Comrade Jiang, this setup is clearly reinforced based on a tank, it doesn't look like you're here to farm!"

"And what's with the flange on top? Who owns a tractor with a flange on top?"

Jiang Fan glanced at it and replied without changing his expression, "You two leaders, that's the interface of the observation platform. Heavy agricultural machinery abroad all have this design to help drivers observe road conditions in complex terrain."

He Xiying and the technical staff exchanged a glance, a slight smirk playing on their lips. Clearly, they didn't believe it and were about to press for answers when Jiang Fan cut them off, saying, "Factory Director, well... I'll have Engineer Zhou demonstrate it for you. You'll see when you see it."

As he spoke, he called out from outside, and Zhou Chunsheng immediately popped his head out of the driver's seat, responding excitedly.

Actually, it would have been better if he hadn't been jumping around; the more he jumped, the more he looked like a machine gunner in a tank.

"Mr. Zhou, hurry up and give everyone a demonstration!"

Jiang Fan shouted loudly, and Zhou Chunsheng understood and sat back in the driver's seat to start operating the controls.

With your left foot on the clutch and your right hand on the gear shift, slowly release the clutch while simultaneously pushing down the accelerator lever.

As the diesel engine speed increased, the tracks began to rotate.

Jiang Fan immediately shouted to the surrounding crowd, "Everyone move aside, Engineer Zhou is about to start his demonstration!"

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