Arrival in Urda, Andrei's Machine Factory

Chapter 91 Arrival in Urda, Andrei's Machine Factory

The scenery of the Northland, thousands of miles of ice, thousands of miles of snow drifting.

Although it is the height of summer, this phrase does not seem exaggerated when applied to the Siberian wilderness before us.

Jiang Fan leaned against the car window, watching the birch forests and meadows rushing past outside. He never imagined that his first trip abroad would be to the Soviet Union.

The journey was incredibly bumpy; the old-fashioned steam locomotive had terrible sound insulation, making it rattle and clatter the whole way.

The hard seats in the carriage were so uncomfortable that they hurt your buttocks. It was alright during the day, but at night, the cold wind would blow in and make you shrink back.

It's finally the 8th day, a full 8 days.

Jiang Fan had never been on a train for so long in a row before; his whole body felt like it was going to fall apart.

The names of the stations along the way are all more tongue-twisting than the last.

Wu Nian would enthusiastically translate for him the names of major stations like Irkutsk, Omsk, and Sverdlovsk, and also share some local history information.

Jiang Fan nodded in agreement, silently memorizing the place names in his mind, thinking he might be able to use them in future videos.

When the train finally pulled into the station in the Ural region, Jiang Fan had only one thought in his mind: He had finally arrived here. It was somewhat similar to Anshan Iron and Steel Group, but upon closer inspection, the factory buildings here were more orderly, larger in scale, and had a stronger industrial atmosphere, which was obviously the result of decades of systematic planning.

"Comrades, please follow me. Let's go to the liaison office to report and get the formalities done first, and then see how they arrange things."

Clearly, Wu Nian was extremely familiar with this place.

Shen Chun nodded, immediately picked up his small suitcase and followed, while Li Wanshu brought up the rear, and Jiang Fan walked in the middle of the group, his eyes scanning the unfamiliar industrial city.

The streets are wide, lined with rows of red brick factory buildings.

Jiang Fan felt as if he had arrived in Northeast China in the 80s, which was pretty much what he remembered.

They soon arrived at the liaison office. Upon entering, a Soviet cadre in military uniform greeted them, checked their identification and letter of introduction, and had each of them fill out a form. The whole process proceeded smoothly, but Jiang Fan was surprised to find that he could understand what the cadre was saying, even though he had never studied Russian before.

That leaves only one explanation: Alexandrov, the Soviet chief engineer who shared his brain with the watch, also included the Russian language function.

This was an unexpected surprise, but when he looked at the Russian on the form, he couldn't understand it. It seemed he could only understand it by listening, but not by reading or speaking it.

That's quite an oddity.

However, being able to understand is a good thing, at least it prevents us from being kept in the dark.

Under Wu Nian's guidance, the group filled out the forms and completed the formalities. The official then told them to wait there and soon led a woman in.

She looked to be in her early thirties, with fair skin, a high nose bridge, and light brown curly hair wrapped in a headscarf, revealing truly exquisite features.

Her frame appears larger than that of Chinese women, making her stand out with exceptionally upright posture.

She had a document tucked under her arm, her gaze falling on Jiang Fan and his group. She then raised her chin and said in heavily accented Mandarin, "You're the technical inspection team from China?"

Jiang Fan nodded subconsciously.

Before Wu Nian could respond, the woman spoke first.

"My name is Natasha. I will be responsible for your translation and coordination work during your stay in the Urals. I have already reviewed your itinerary. Please feel free to ask me any questions."

"However, let me remind you first that you only have one week. After one week, all equipment, whether purchased or not, will be subject to expiration. This is the rule, and I hope you can understand."

She didn't sound deliberately arrogant when she said that.

But Jiang Fan always felt a sense of superiority, as if he were explaining things to a few poor relatives from the countryside.

Fortunately, the group already knew about the news through their liaison office back home, so they all nodded in understanding. Natasha then took them to their accommodation to settle their luggage.

The accommodation was a state-run hotel, and the conditions were better than Jiang Fan had expected.

The four of them were divided into two rooms, one for the boys and one for the girls. After putting down their luggage and washing their faces briefly, their stomachs started growling uncontrollably.

Natasha then led them to a state-run canteen so they could taste authentic Soviet cuisine.

It's basically just a plate of beef stew with potatoes, black bread, borscht, and a cup of authentic kvass.

Jiang Fan took a couple of bites, but it really didn't suit his taste.

But I was hungry, so I had no choice; I needed to be full to have the energy to work.

Wu Nian, on the other hand, ate with great relish, explaining things to Jiang Fan as she ate.

"This borscht is made with beetroot, and it's sweet and sour. It's especially delicious with sour cream. I really like it, but unfortunately it's not available in China."

Seeing how miraculous it sounded, Jiang Fan tentatively scooped up a spoonful. It was indeed a bit sour at first, but after a few bites, he gradually got used to it. Plus, the stewed beef with potatoes was quite oily, and after eating a piece, his energy and spirits were restored a bit, and the fatigue accumulated over the past few days dissipated considerably.

After dinner, the group discussed it and decided to go directly to Andrei's Machinery Factory to finish their business as soon as possible.

The Andrei Machine-Building Plant is located in the southeast corner of the city of Urals. It covers a vast area, and from the gate, you can see rows of tall factory buildings and crisscrossing railway tracks inside the plant.

The guard at the gate, holding a rifle, was taken aback when he saw Natasha arrive with a group of Chinese people. He then asked them to show their identification. Natasha handed over their Cheka cards and the forms they had filled out at the liaison office, and explained a few things. The guard nodded and waved them through.

As Jiang Fan entered the factory area, his eyes unconsciously began to search for details. He found that the production line layout was extremely compact, and the connections between each layer were almost made right next to the edge. As soon as the raw materials came in, they could complete the entire process from raw material to finished product in the shortest path.

This is clearly the result of long-term optimization, much like the ultimate embodiment of the Alexandrovna assembly line method.

Natasha then led them through a series of iron gates, finally stopping at a room with a sign that read "Factory Manager's Office." She knocked on the door and then pushed it open to enter.

Inside sat a burly middle-aged man with a thick beard and a hooked nose. Hearing the door open, he looked up, his gaze sweeping over everyone's faces before finally settling on Wu Nian. He gave her a fairly polite smile: "Miss Wu Nian, it's been a long time."

When Wu Nian saw that this classmate's father still remembered her, she wanted to go up and exchange a few pleasantries, but Natasha blocked her way.

"Comrade Vega, this is about the Chinese technical delegation that we arranged for you to come and inspect the factory's used equipment."

Natasha was communicating with him in Russian, her tone businesslike, giving Wu Nian no room to interrupt.

Wu Nian opened her mouth, but in the end she could only awkwardly take two steps back. Seeing this, Shen Chun gently patted her shoulder as a silent comfort.

Li Wanshu and Li Wanshu exchanged a glance, but neither of them spoke.

Sure enough, when you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head.

Vega, of course, noticed the changes in the expressions of these people, but his mind was not on that at the moment. He stood up and spoke as he walked.

"Alright, let's go look at the equipment first."

"We still have a few punching machines left. You can choose one yourself. Just pick the one you like and write down its number."

As he spoke, his eyes darted around, clearly distracted. Jiang Fan followed his gaze and glanced at the documents on the table.

He immediately nudged Wu Nian, tilted his chin at her, and asked in a low voice, "What does it say on there?"

Wu Nian looked in the direction of the sound and vaguely saw a few keywords. He replied, "It seems to be...tanks and armored vehicles...post-war modification...instructions for agricultural recycling..."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Fan's heart stirred, but he remained outwardly calm.

It seems that old Vega has run into some trouble.

Afterwards, the group walked through the factory area and headed towards the warehouse.

On the way, Jiang Fan deliberately lagged behind a few steps, using his peripheral vision to survey his surroundings.

Seeing rows of dismantled turrets and track plates piled up behind the factory area, it was clear that this was the modification task mentioned in the document on Vega's desk.

"Tank conversion and recycling—"

Now Jiang Fan was even more certain, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"This is getting interesting—"

We soon arrived at the warehouse, which was very large with several skylights in the roof. Rows of second-hand equipment were neatly arranged by category, ranging from simple lathes to heavy-duty forging presses.

Vega led them to the innermost area and pointed to a row of large, gray-blue sheet metal machines.

"These are the punching machines you're looking for. The prices are written on the nameplates on the side. If you see one you like, just come to my office and I'll sign it."

After Vega finished speaking, he was about to turn and leave, but Jiang Fan had a plan in mind. How could he let him leave so easily?

"Mr. Vega, aren't you going to explain the technical specifications to us?"

Although Vega couldn't understand the words, he could still sense that the young man was speaking to him.

Then he looked at Natasha, but Natasha didn't seem to intend to translate.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Fan immediately instructed Wu Nian to translate it verbatim.

Wu Nianxian glanced timidly at the assertive Natasha, but gritted her teeth and blurted out Jiang Fan's words anyway.

Upon hearing this, Wei Jia frowned.

When the task was assigned from above in China, it was agreed that the Andrei factory would only provide the site and the scrap metal. Whether they could afford it or not, and whether they knew how to pick and choose, was entirely up to these Chinese people to figure out.

To be honest, if it weren't for his precious daughter's constant crying, tantrums, and threats of suicide at home, he really wouldn't want to host this person.

An inspection team that couldn't even come up with a decent amount of foreign exchange.

Who knows if they're just here for a quick visit or a perfunctory show?

Moreover, the task of "converting tanks for civilian use" that the Moscow Ministry of Heavy Industry had just issued was causing him even more headaches.

We must make good use of the tens of thousands of T-34 tanks left over from the Great Patriotic War, turning them into civilian products to support national construction.

Now the factory area is piled up with iron. The technical department tried several solutions, but the costs were all ridiculously high, and the chassis structure was extremely difficult to dismantle and modify.

If this political task isn't completed by the end of the year, the factory's bonuses and targets will be drastically reduced this year, which would be like adding fuel to the fire.

Now, these Chinese people who can't even look at the equipment have the nerve to ask me, the dignified factory manager, to stay and act as their sales guide?!

So, under Natasha's sidelong glance, Vega had no intention of lingering.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Fan realized it wouldn't work and immediately told Wu Nian, "I have a way to resolve the issue of converting your tanks for civilian use."