"Lu Ming!" In the bustling workshop, the workshop manager called out to the engineer who was busy at work. Lu Ming looked up and saw the manager approaching with a stack of documents, smiling as he walked over.
"What’s up, Boss?" Lu Ming said with a smile as he stood up, rubbing his hands on his coveralls. His fingertips were covered in machine oil, and there were quite a few parts dismantled from the machinery next to him.
"What happened, ran into a problem?" The manager, curious about the disassembled engine, asked.
"No, the team developed a new material and wanted to test the shaft strength, so I’m just helping them replace some parts." Lu Ming pointed towards the engine still being assembled and explained to his superior.
The superior nodded, then continued speaking to Lu Ming, "Well, I came to ask you, are you interested in going to Anpu?"
"Anpu?" Lu Ming was puzzled upon hearing this place, not aware of anything in Anpu that would require his involvement.
"Yes, Anpu! They’ve already built some factories there, and the machinery is being installed. A new factory is about to be set up." The workshop manager handed the documents to Lu Ming, "The higher-ups are looking for a production head for engines, someone who knows it all, and I recommended you."
"Me?" Lu Ming felt unexpectedly nervous upon hearing his superior’s words. Although he truly was a very capable engineer, the idea of being solely in charge was still somewhat daunting to him.
"I asked your mentor, and he said you were fully capable, and besides... I’ve observed your work attitude, so I decided to recommend you." The superior tapped Lu Ming’s arm with the documents in his hand and said with a smile.
"Thanks, thank you, thank you, Boss." The first thing that came to Lu Ming’s mind wasn’t the prospects of promotion or wealth. Instead, he thought about the likelihood of being separated from his wife—he would have to go work in Anpu, while his wife could only stay in Tongcheng.
"Don’t be so formal, if you have any requests, let me know, and I’ll discuss it with the leaders to see if we can help you out." The leader gestured for the two of them to walk outside.
Lu Ming turned back and instructed his apprentices, "Assemble it carefully according to the blueprints, no mistakes! I’m going to test it when I get back!"
"Understood! Master! You get busy!" The apprentices behind him clearly heard that Lu Ming was going to be transferred; they were all very happy for him, grinning broadly.
"Take it easy! Master!" Another apprentice gave Lu Ming a thumbs-up with a grin, looking as if he was ready to take over the rest of the tasks.
"I’ll deal with you guys when I come back!" Lu Ming pointed at these beloved apprentices of his, then turned and followed his superior out of the noisy workshop.
"I actually don’t want to see you transferred, considering your skills in this area..." Having stepped out of the workshop doors and walking down the path, the workshop manager spoke to Lu Ming, who was following behind, "But the people above see potential in you, and it wouldn’t be right for me to hold you back and ruin your prospects."
He sighed deeply, looking into the distance, "The conditions over there definitely won’t be as good as here, and the living accommodations might be a bit worse, but don’t worry, it’ll all be built up sooner or later."
"Moreover, your position might get a promotion, and the compensation will definitely be better, so the future will absolutely be brighter." After saying this, the leader looked at Lu Ming, earnestly advising him, "If you encounter any difficulties, just write to me. We’re acquaintances after all; there’s no need for formalities."
"Boss, I, I..." Lu Ming’s eyes reddened. He knew that the workshop manager, who was about his own age, was a good man—meticulous and fair in his dealings, respected by everyone in the workshop.
"Spit it out and see if we can address any difficulties; if you don’t say now, once you get to Anpu you’ll have nowhere to bring them up." The factory area was lush with green trees; wherever trees could be planted, green vegetation had been placed.
Even without an environmental consciousness, the factory still strongly encouraged planting trees for the sake of aesthetics, and the area surrounding the factory was filled with tall trees.
"I’m worried about my wife... If I go to Anpu, she can only stay in Tongcheng..." Lu Ming scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed to admit.
"Okay, I understand. You prepare for the handover first. I’ll talk to the leaders about your wife, to smooth things over—we can’t have someone working hard and split up their family, right?" The leader patted Lu Ming’s shoulder, "When you get there, give it your all. Don’t let down the reputation of our Tank Factory!"
"Yes, Sir!" Lu Ming replied, emulating the posture of a soldier making a promise.
"Return the documents to my office after you’re done with them; this is classified, got it?" pointing at the documents in Lu Ming’s hands, the superior reminded him.
"Understood!" Lu Ming nodded slightly.
After the leader left, Lu Ming stood still and opened the materials given to him—the title on them was grand: Anpu Armored Reconnaissance Vehicle Production Base.
Armored Reconnaissance Vehicle? It was a piece of equipment Lu Ming was unfamiliar with; he glanced at the diagrams and some basic introductions to get a rough idea of it. Continue reading at Freewebnovel
In theory, it performed better than tanks currently used by other countries, and its eight-wheel design had maximized off-road capabilities.
Although it slightly sacrificed off-road capability, the greatly improved highway driving ability granted this new weapon extremely high battlefield mobility.
The troops that used this weapon could advance quickly, reaching the battlefield before the Armored Corps, providing reliable intelligence reconnaissance for the subsequent armored units, and even completing breakthrough tasks independently.
It would completely replace the military horses extensively used by the Tang Army’s scouts, giving the reconnaissance units good protection. It could also carry radio equipment, something Cavalry couldn’t do.
What Lu Ming didn’t know was that the brand-new armored reconnaissance vehicle could also carry better observation and aiming equipment, which also enhanced the reconnaissance unit’s battlefield perception.
In a little over a month, the workers of Tang Country built a huge industrial park in Anpu. Although it still looked like a construction site, it wouldn’t be long before they could start producing some parts.
After all, the railway in Anpu was already there; there were no issues with the transport of raw materials. Workers drawn from various factories were assembling, and most of the machinery had also been transported.
As for the fact that the greenery in the factory area wasn’t planted yet, the walls of the factories were makeshift chain-link fences, many of the factory buildings were nothing more than shacks, and the dormitories had only just laid their foundations… These seemed unimportant.
Compared to the hardships they had endured in the past, these difficulties were insignificant. The workers of Tang Country could still endure hardship because the rewards were high, and they were willing to do so.
Since Tang Country was in a period of ascendance, with many new factories being born every day, there were also many new positions available. With so many paths for advancement, occasional hardship seemed like no problem at all.
Soon, those willing to endure hardship would attain higher positions and enjoy better treatment, creating a virtuous cycle that propelled the relentless forward development of Tang Country’s industry.
Lu Ming continued to look down at the document, and he saw his position, which was the deputy chief engineer in the new factory. The chief engineer was someone he knew, whom he had met once in Tongcheng, and his technical level was indeed very high.
"I hope she can transfer with me…" Lu Ming thought, then prepared to return the documents in his hand.
As dinner time approached, Lu Ming returned to his small apartment. He pushed open the door and said to his wife, who was cooking, "I’m home."
"Hmm, you start mopping the floor. I’ll be done here soon," his wife said without lifting her head from the cutting board where she was slicing a small piece of chicken.
Lu Ming was somewhat distracted. He set down his briefcase and washed his hands in the basin nearby, then rubbed them on the somewhat grimy towel—his fingernails were full of grease and looked jet black; they never seemed to get completely clean.
"What’s wrong? You don’t seem very happy," his wife said, sensing Lu Ming’s low spirits, and looked up to ask.
"I might be transferred, promoted to deputy chief engineer," Lu Ming explained.
"That’s great news! We should celebrate... Should I go buy some more meat?" his wife excitedly suggested, "Or, we could try that new restaurant that opened. I heard it’s expensive, but the food is really good."
Lu Ming shook his head, "Never mind, I did get promoted... but, but the position is for deputy chief engineer in Anpu."
"Anpu?" As soon as she heard that her husband might be transferred to another city, Lu Ming’s wife’s enthusiasm faded. She continued cutting the chicken and asked, "Doesn’t that mean we’ll have to live apart?"
"Yeah, most likely." Lu Ming sighed; he didn’t want to be separated from his wife. He knew this often happened in the past; many workers would go out for two or three years, and by the time they returned, their wives would have had two children.
"But what about our apartment?" His wife hadn’t thought that far yet, but she was concerned about what would happen to the small apartment they had worked so hard to get.
According to policy, it wasn’t possible for two workers to have two apartments, so either Lu Ming would have no place to stay in Anpu or they would have to give up the small apartment she cherished.
"Sigh... I’ll talk to the leaders again tomorrow. If it doesn’t work out, I just won’t go," Lu Ming sighed again, deciding to forgo this opportunity for the sake of his small family.
This content is taken from fгeewebnovёl.com.
In fact, moving to Anpu posed another hidden problem for him: if he had children in the future, the educational resources in Anpu obviously couldn’t compare to those in Tongcheng.
"How can that be okay!" his wife blurted out the moment she heard Lu Ming was considering turning down the opportunity. She had been very happy earlier that day, but after hearing about this issue from Lu Ming, her mood had also declined.
The chicken, which she had just bought and was cutting, suddenly didn’t seem appetizing anymore.
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There will be two releases today as well.