: Making Equipment for the Founding Ceremony!

Chapter 97: Making Equipment for the Founding Ceremony!

The day after Jiang Fan returned to the Northeast Bureau to report for duty, he was taken to the location of the Shenyang Arsenal by Li Wanshu, the Minister of Industry, early in the morning.

The Dodge truck bumped along the dirt road on the eastern outskirts of Shenyang, with fields and villages on either side.

Jiang Fan sat in the back row, clutching his appointment letter, pondering the new situation he was about to face.

To his surprise, Shen Chun was also sitting in the same car, separated by only a short distance between them, through the back of the passenger seat.

"Comrade Shen Chun, you're going to the arsenal too?"

Shen Chun, who had been pretending to look at the scenery outside the window, turned her head upon hearing this, and her usually cold face now showed a rare, slight smile.

"What? Factory Director Jiang doesn't welcome us?"

"How could that be?" Jiang Fan waved his hands repeatedly, but in his heart he was thinking, why has this little girl's attitude changed?

At this moment, Li Wanshu turned around from the front row and explained with a smile: "Comrade Jiang Fan, you don't know this, but a top student like Comrade Shen Chun, who studied in Germany, was recruited back from abroad as a reserve talent for military industry."

"Our arsenal needs to conduct research and development, and produce daily training supplies. We need skilled technical personnel to take the lead, right? She naturally..."

And so we ended up here.

Jiang Fan understood immediately: No wonder Shen Chun joined the team when they were forming the group to go to the Soviet Union for research; it must have been a test from the organization.

However, Jiang Fan still liked Wu Nian, that little girl, who was beautiful, had a sweet voice, and spoke very nicely.

"From now on, we'll have to rely on Engineer Shen more."

Jiang Fan said, half-jokingly.

Shen Chun glanced at him sideways.

"Director Jiang is joking. You are the director. As for me, I am just a soldier under you."

"However, if you have a good idea, I'd be happy to help you turn it into a real product."

The meaning behind those words is much gentler than it was before.

Jiang Fan chuckled inwardly: It seems that the friendship they forged while working on blueprints together in the Soviet Union has finally made this aloof engineering girl lower her guard a bit.

However, it's also possible that it's because I became her boss.

Never mind, let's see how it goes later.

Soon, after many twists and turns, the truck finally stopped on a slightly elevated flat area.

After Jiang Fan got out of the car, he looked up and froze on the spot.

In his imagination, an arsenal should at least have decent facilities such as sentries, walls, guard towers, and iron gates.

But the scene before us was so shabby it was heartbreaking.

The so-called gate was just a broken iron fence with missing parts, the iron bars rusted, and simple barbed wire strung on both sides, the wire mesh loose and flimsy.

Only the wooden sign above the main gate is new, with the words "Shenyang Arsenal" written in large characters.

"Right—right here?"

Jiang Fan blurted out a sentence subconsciously, then felt that it sounded too awkward and gave an embarrassed smile.

Li Wanshu didn't mind and explained to him, "It is a bit shabby, but don't underestimate this place. At the end of 48, right after liberation, this place didn't even have a complete roof. It was the comrades who braved the cold wind and rebuilt it brick by brick."

"Although it's rudimentary now, the lathes and equipment allocated are all complete, so you can focus on your work."

Jiang Fan suppressed his astonishment and nodded solemnly.

Yes, this is 49, not the modern era with its numerous factories and complete equipment.

The iron fence and barbed wire in front of us are the result of the hard work of the veteran cadres who painstakingly salvaged them from the ruins.

Just then, a middle-aged man wearing a military uniform, an octagonal cap, and a red five-pointed star badge went to the door and looked out. He must have heard a car and came out to check.

Upon looking around, they spotted Jiang Fan and his group. The person who had been peering out called out, and six or seven people immediately followed behind. Most of them were around forty or fifty years old, and each had sharp eyes, clearly veterans honed on the battlefield.

"Minister Li!"

The sturdy man who was leading the group quickly approached, first giving Li Wanshu a standard military salute, then his gaze fell on Jiang Fan beside him, looking him up and down twice before grinning.

"This must be Comrade Jiang Fan, right? I am Zhao Mengshan, the deputy director of the arsenal. Welcome! The comrades are all waiting inside."

Jiang Fan quickly stepped forward and shook hands.

"Ah, Director Zhao, hello, hello. From now on, we're family. Please take good care of me."

Zhao Mengshan laughed heartily and shook hands with great force.

"We're all family, let's not stand on ceremony. Come on, let's go inside and talk."

The group passed through the iron gate and entered the courtyard. As they walked, Jiang Fan glanced around with the corner of his eye.

There was a row of bungalows on the east side, and a workshop-style factory on the west side. The factory occupied a huge area, and there were clanging and banging noises inside, indicating that a production line was in operation.

The group followed Zhao Mengshan into the only two-story building, which served as the arsenal's conference room.

Inside, there was a wooden bench surrounded by a dozen or so chairs of varying sizes. On the wall hung a map and a portrait, both still looking shabby and worn.

These conditions are far inferior to those of the small white building at Anshan Iron and Steel Group.

However, Jiang Fan didn't feel any disdain in his heart.

Because it was this rudimentary arsenal that, in countless days and nights afterward, supplied the front lines with bullets, supporting the military industry of the new China.

Everyone quickly took their seats, and Jiang Fan took the seat of honor without hesitation, with even Li Wanshu sitting below him.

Then Li Wanshu cleared his throat and spoke first: "Comrades, let me introduce you. This is Comrade Jiang Fan, who was just transferred from Anshan Iron and Steel Group."

"After deliberation by the Northeast Bureau, it was decided to appoint him as the director of the Shenyang Arsenal, to oversee all aspects of the factory's technological research and development and production management."

"The woman next to me, Comrade Shen Chun, is a top student who studied in Germany. Don't underestimate her just because she is a woman."

"She is just as capable as you are. Starting today, she will serve as the head of the technical department, responsible for the research, design, and technical breakthroughs of new equipment."

"Comrade Zhao Mengshan will continue to serve as deputy factory director, in charge of daily production and security. As for the other personnel, you can familiarize yourselves with them after the meeting."

After speaking, Li Wanshu paused for a moment. The veteran cadres looked at each other, and after a moment, they burst into applause.

They were clearly intrigued by the arrival of a female cadre at the arsenal.

Jiang Fan and Shen Chun immediately stood up, bowed slightly to everyone, and sincerely said, "Seniors, we are young and inexperienced, and are new to this place. We are not yet familiar with the situation of the arsenal."

"If there is anything wrong or insufficient in our future work, please feel free to offer your honest advice and suggestions."

"We have only one goal: to run the factory well and manufacture the equipment well."

These words were spoken sincerely, without the slightest hint of the airs of a new official making a big splash upon taking office.

Actually, this is thanks to Jiang Fan's biased view of the revolutionary predecessors, which made him less impetuous than later generations.

However, in the eyes of these veteran comrades, they instantly looked at each other, their faces showing a hint of agreement.

His expression.

Zhao Mengshan took the lead and responded, "Don't worry, Director Jiang. We old guys only know how to work, not talk nonsense. From now on, wherever you point, we'll go."

The meeting room was filled with laughter, and the atmosphere was much more harmonious than Jiang Fan had expected.

He thought these veteran cadres would try to intimidate him because of their seniority, but to his surprise, they were all very conscientious and respectfully called him "factory director" without any airs.

After exchanging pleasantries, Li Wanshu gestured for everyone to be quiet, his expression gradually becoming serious.

He took a document stamped with a red seal from his briefcase, spread it on the table, and said in a solemn tone: "Comrades, I am about to convey an urgent task."

The meeting room immediately fell silent, and everyone involuntarily sat up straight, waiting for what was to come.

"According to the instructions of the Central Committee, the founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China is scheduled to be held in Beiping on October 1 this year."

"This is an extremely important historical moment. The whole country is making preparations in full swing, and our arsenal is no exception."

At this point, Jiang Fan felt a jolt and clenched his hands.

Shen Chun's pupils also contracted slightly.

Li Wanshu paused for a moment and tapped the documents on the table: "The higher-ups have ordered our Shenyang Arsenal, as the only established military production base, to produce new, Chinese-made standard equipment before the founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China."

"It doesn't have to be how sophisticated or advanced it is, but at least we need to let the people see that our People's Liberation Army has its own arsenals and its own weapons production system, instead of relying entirely on captured weapons."

"Let's show those foreigners that our new China has been officially established."