Northeast Bureau Chief

Chapter 90 Northeast Bureau Chief

I had long heard of Jiang Fan, the leader of the Northeast Bureau, who was a historically renowned figure named Gao Shan.

This man had been engaged in economic work in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region in his early years. Later, he was appointed to oversee the industrial recovery of the Northeast Bureau, and he revitalized the devastated heavy industrial system of Northeast China. During the Liberation War, he supplied the front lines with a continuous stream of steel, ammunition, and military supplies.

The restoration of ports on the Liaodong Peninsula, the resumption of military industrial production in Harbin, and the reconstruction of the machine tool factory in Shenyang were all closely related to Ji Ping. It was through these events that he gained extremely high prestige within the Party and the military.

At this moment, Gao Shan was completely unpretentious, wearing a Zhongshan suit and sitting behind his desk.

Upon seeing Li Wanshu lead Jiang Fan in, he immediately put down what he was doing, looked up, lingered on Jiang Fan for two seconds, then smiled, walked around the table, and directly extended his hand to Jiang Fan.

"Oh, you must be Comrade Xiao Jiang?" Gao Shan's voice was loud and warm.

"That old bastard He Xiying praised you to the skies in the telegram, talking about gas cylinders and entrenching tools. I'm so tired of hearing about it, but I never expected that sending you to the front lines would actually make such a big difference."

"I've wanted to see you for a long time, but I haven't had the time. Now I can finally see you in person."

Jiang Fan quickly grasped the other person's hands with both of his, bowed slightly, and praised him.

"You flatter me, sir. I was just doing my job. The success of Ansteel is the result of the hard work of all the workers. I don't deserve such high praise."

"Oh, what's with the modesty!"

Gao Shan waved his hand, released his grip, looked him over a few times, and clicked his tongue in amazement.

"He Xiying told me that you, a young man who came back from abroad, have done a lot of work even though you've only been at the factory for a few days. This has already spread throughout the Northeast Bureau, and many factories want to learn from you. You're quite capable."

Although I don't know if what he said is true or false, I have to say, it sounds quite pleasant.

So Jiang Fan immediately followed up, humbly agreeing as he placed the box on his desk.

"Sir, this is the funding we're taking to the Soviet Union. As is customary, we need to have it verified and deposited into the accounts first. Please take a look."

When it came to business, Gao Shan's smile faded, he immediately tore off the seal, opened it, took a look, nodded, closed the lid again, and said something to Li Wanshu.

"Xiao Li, call the finance department staff over here to register the boxes. You can take them when you leave."

Li Wanshu agreed and turned to leave. Only then did Gao Shan look at Jiang Fan again.

"Alright, the official business is done. Comrade Jiang, you must be exhausted from your journey."

"I've already arranged accommodation for you. The conditions are basic, but it's quiet."

"Get some rest tonight. Come here early tomorrow morning to meet up, and I'll introduce you to your teammates who will be traveling with you."

Actually, Jiang Fan wasn't very sleepy, but the more than 100 kilometers of dirt road made his whole body feel like it was going to fall apart.

Since everything is arranged, it's fine to stay overnight.

He thanked them and followed a guard out of the office building to the back row of bungalows.

Although simple, it was clean and tidy. Jiang Fan washed up briefly and soon fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, a loud bugle call resounded through the sky.

Jiang Fan opened his eyes and was stunned for a few seconds before he realized where he was.

He peered out the window and heard the sound of orderly footsteps and shouts.

The Northeast Bureau of the Communist Party of China implemented military-style management, and morning exercises were a must every day.

Jiang Fan was completely startled awake. He quickly got dressed, and in the bustling atmosphere, after a quick wash and a couple of bites of the steamed buns and porridge that the guard had brought him, he headed to the office building on time.

There were already four people standing inside the room.

He had seen Li Wanshu yesterday; he was standing by the window smoking with Gao Shan, while the other two people were actually two women.

Both of them had standard short hair that reached their ears, and were dressed in clean and neat gray cadre uniforms.

The one on the left is taller and has a scholarly air about her.

The one on the right is shorter, has a round face, and two shallow dimples when she smiles. She looks like the kind of person who is gentle and easy to get along with.

When Gao Shan saw him arrive, he nodded and began to introduce him.

"Come, Comrade Xiao Jiang, let me introduce you to the comrades on this trip."

"This is Li Wanshu, the one you met last night. He's an officer from the Ministry of Industry, responsible for liaison and negotiations." Li Wanshu nodded to Jiang Fan.

Gao Shan then pointed to the tall female comrade.

"This is Comrade Shen Chun, who returned from studying in Germany. His major is mechanical manufacturing and metal materials processing. He is very familiar with the production lines and processes of Soviet factories. He will be your main force when you go to inspect the equipment this time."

Shen Chun nodded slightly to Jiang Fan, his voice cool and clear.

"Comrade Jiang Fan, I've long admired you." The tone was polite, but not particularly warm.

Then, Gao Shan pointed to the round-faced girl.

"This is Comrade Wu Nian, who returned from studying in the Soviet Union, majoring in Russian. He is in charge of translation and communication coordination throughout the process."

Wu Nian was much more enthusiastic than Shen Chun, giving Jiang Fan a slight smile that deepened her dimples.

"Hello, Comrade Jiang Fan."

"I've heard of you before. I'm particularly interested in what you do at Ansteel. I'll definitely ask you for advice when I have the chance on the way."

Jiang Fan waved his hands repeatedly.

"No, no, we can't accept that. Let's learn from each other."

He was being polite, but in his heart he was secretly assessing his team.

Shen Chun looks gentle and unassuming, but she speaks with a certain firmness.

Wu Nianze is gentle and kind, making people feel like they are bathed in a spring breeze; her personality is completely different.

Add to that the polite Li Wanshu and myself who knows nothing, I really don't know how Gao Shan arranged things.

Finally, Gao Shan gave some more instructions.

"Submit an application to the Soviet Liaison Office in China to apply for exit procedures, strictly abide by foreign affairs discipline, and do not leave the team without permission, etc."

Finally, he emphasized one more point.

"The four of you are a single unit. Once you reach the Soviet Union, you must act as a unified whole. Communicate any ideas you have beforehand. No acting alone, and absolutely no causing any trouble on the way. Do you understand?"

The four responded in unison, "Understood!"

After leaving the office building, the four of them went together to the Soviet Liaison Office in China to complete the Cheka procedures.

The liaison office was located in a Japanese-style building in downtown SY, with a hammer and sickle emblem hanging at the entrance, and people coming and going had solemn expressions.

The procedures went relatively smoothly. After verifying the list and documents, the other party stamped the documents, gave them instructions on precautions after entering the country, and then allowed them to proceed to Moscow.

It was already noon when I came out of the liaison office.

Taking advantage of the remaining time, Jiang Fan quietly approached Li Wanshu and asked him a question.

"Officer Li, I'd like to ask you something. How far is the Shenyang Third Machinery Factory from here?"

Upon hearing this, Li Wanshu looked up and stared at him with some puzzlement.

"The Third Machine Factory is in the eastern suburbs, it's about an hour's walk from here, what's wrong?"

In fact, Jiang Fan thought that since he had come to Shenyang and still had time, he wanted to visit his great-grandfather and grandfather at the machine factory.

Before he could explain that an acquaintance wanted to visit, Shen Chun, standing to the side, gave him a disapproving rebuke.

"Comrade Jiang Fan, sir, it has been clearly stated that we are currently on official duty and cannot wander around."

"Shenyang Third Machinery Factory is not within the scope of the itinerary. According to regulations, the four of us must stay together and cannot leave the group without permission. I hope you can understand."

He spoke in a very formal and uncompromising manner, leaving no room for negotiation.

Jiang Fan was about to retort when he saw Shen Chun's businesslike expression, but he was silenced by Wu Nian's subtle wink.

The meaning is clear: "Bear with it."

Jiang Fan frowned, suppressed his anger, and nodded.

"Comrade Shen Chun is right. I didn't think it through. Let's talk about it later."

When Shen Chun heard Jiang Fan back down, she didn't say anything more. However, on the way back, the atmosphere in the small team was a bit quiet. Wu Nian came up and said in a low voice, "Comrade Jiang Fan, please don't mind."

"That's just the kind of person Sister Shen is. She's very methodical in everything she does, but she's not a bad person at all."

"She said that for the greater good, not because she was targeting you."

Jiang Fan gave a wry smile.

"I know, it's okay, I didn't take it to heart."

"Comrade Jiang Fan, how exactly did you implement your piece-rate work point system? I heard that factories around Shenyang are trying to learn it."

Oh?

When it came to this field, Jiang Fan became quite interested and began to explain it to Wu Nian in detail.

Wu Nian speaks gently and asks questions that are all very relevant and to the point.

The two chatted happily and unknowingly left Li Wanshu and Shen Chunhao far behind.

Back at the Northeast Bureau compound, the formalities were basically complete.

According to the plan, they are about to set off, crossing the border via Harbin, and taking an international train westward, traversing the Siberian wilderness.

Originally, they were heading towards the Ural region, the final destination of their journey.

Jiang Fan was quite familiar with the Ural Mountains, since this region was always mentioned in later industrial history books.

The Urals, also known as Urmash, were one of the largest heavy industrial bases in the Soviet Union.

Located about 1500 kilometers east of Moscow, on the border between Asia and Europe, it was the industrial heart of the Soviet Union.

During World War II, the Soviet Union moved many factories from its European part to the Urals, which were far from the front lines, safe, and extremely rich in mineral resources, including iron ore, coal, and manganese ore—almost everything one could want. As a result, it became the center of Soviet heavy industry after the war.

It mainly produces large forging equipment, metallurgical machinery, mining equipment, as well as tank and artillery parts.

Seamless steel pipe piercing machine is one of their flagship products.

However, according to Jiang Fan's understanding, given China's current situation, it seems there's no way to establish contact with that side.

So he quietly asked Li Wanshu, the team leader of this expedition.

Li Wanshu just smiled and asked Wu Nian to explain. Jiang Fan was puzzled, but then he saw Wu Nian say something a little embarrassed, revealing her two dimples again.

"Actually, it's nothing much. It's just that when I was studying in the Soviet Union, one of my classmates was from the Ural region..."

The daughter of the owner of a machine shop called Andrei Machinery Factory.

"I've visited her home several times and toured her factory twice. This time, I was able to get permission to receive guests smoothly because that classmate helped me make the connection."

Jiang Fan suddenly realized: No wonder, it turns out it's all about connections.

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