The rosy glow on Liu Zhenshan's face quickly faded, and his lips pressed into a bitter line.

His hands, clasped tightly behind his back, were white at the knuckles, and his face was heavy with thought.

The pride on Zhang Mingyuan's face froze, turning into a heavy sigh.

“Abroad these days…” Liu Zhenshan’s voice was hoarse, each word sounding like it was being squeezed out from between his teeth.

"The technological blockade against us... is so tight... those few old machines that others had long since phased out, we only managed to buy back using... using the foreign exchange saved by our factory over three years, and pulling strings from so many different people..."

In the corner, an elderly worker with gray hair was hunched over, wiping an old drill bit on the workbench, which was worn shiny and almost only half intact, with a cotton swab covered in oil stains. His cloudy eyes were full of heartache.

That scrap metal was their most precious lifeline.

"or……"

Liu Zhenshan suddenly looked up, a desperate glimmer in his eyes, "I'll contact my old classmate in Germany! I'll risk all my pride and beg him to think of a way, see if he can..."

“It’s no use.” Zhang Mingyuan shook his head, interrupting him.

"Old Liu, it's no use! Even if they're willing to sell, those foreign customs officials... would they allow this kind of equipment to be shipped back? They'd rather we never be able to manufacture a single decent screw!"

Despair, like a cold tide, instantly engulfed the entire workshop.

The hum of the machines seemed low and hoarse, like a sob. The slogan on the wall, "Self-reliance and hard work," was now glaringly red and oppressively heavy.

In this suffocating silence, Mingzhao's calm, unwavering voice rang out clearly, like a stone thrown into a deep pool.

"I can solve the equipment problem."

"If they won't sell, then we'll make them ourselves!"

All eyes instantly focused on her, filled with surprise and doubt, and a glimmer of light that dared not be touched.

Mingzhao's gaze swept over the faces, which were soaked in oil and sweat and were now filled with heaviness and confusion.

Finally, it landed on that gantry milling machine that smelled burnt and whose spindle was still making an ominous grinding sound.

"The existing equipment has insufficient basic precision, poor structural rigidity, low thermal stability, and primitive control system."

Her words were as precise as a scalpel, dissecting the cold reality: "There is only one solution!"

She paused, and under the almost suffocating gazes of the crowd, clearly uttered two words:

"Build it yourself."

"Build it yourself?"

Liu Zhenshan repeated unconsciously, his voice dry and hoarse, trembling with disbelief.

"Comrade Mingzhao, you mean... build new ones? Build... build machine tools?"

“Yes.” Mingzhao nodded, as if he were talking about something perfectly ordinary.

"We redesigned a new high-precision CNC gantry milling machine. I'm in charge of the core design drawings."

"hiss--"

A collective gasp filled the entire workshop!

Manufacturing our own machine tools? High-precision ones? CNC-controlled?!

This idea is even more insane and unbelievable than Mingzhao's earlier proposal to build an airship!

The workers' blank expressions were instantly replaced by immense astonishment.

Wang Dachui suddenly raised his head, his cloudy old eyes staring intently at Ming Zhao, filled with turbulent doubt and a dizzying sense of having his understanding completely overturned.

His disciples behind him stared wide-eyed, their mouths agape, as if they had heard something out of a fantasy.

Make it yourself? With what? Just these files and hammers in the workshop?

With those old parts that others have discarded? With people like them who can't even operate other people's outdated equipment?

That's absolutely out of the ordinary!!

This thought popped into some people's minds! They didn't believe Mingzhao could do it!!

The air seemed to freeze.

The enormous question, like a heavy lead weight, pressed down on everyone's hearts, making it almost impossible for them to breathe.

Liu Zhenshan and Zhang Mingyuan exchanged a glance, both seeing the same surprise and great uncertainty in each other's eyes.

Manufacturing your own machine tools? Is that even possible?

Drawing his own blueprints? Can Comrade Mingzhao's blueprints really be...more advanced than those tightly controlled technologies from abroad? More...feasible?

The miracle of 0.1 micrometers is still fresh in everyone's minds.

The cold, smooth, and perfect leaf, like a work of art, still lay quietly on the workbench, silently telling of the incomprehensible, almost miraculous abilities of this young woman!

A thought suddenly ignited in Liu Zhenshan's mind like wildfire: What if? What if she really could?

"good!"

"Then let's build our own machine tools!"

A resolute, do-or-die roar suddenly burst from Liu Zhenshan's throat!

The heaviness and bitterness on his face were instantly replaced by a gambler's frenzy, and his eyes shone with an alarming light!

He took a sudden step forward, and a huge sound exploded in the workshop:

"Let's do it! Comrade Mingzhao! Let's do it the way you said! Let's build! Our Red Star Machinery Plant will build our own high-precision machine tools!"

He turned abruptly, his bloodshot eyes sweeping over every worker in the workshop, his voice booming like the beating of a war drum:

"Comrades! Did you all hear that?! Comrade Mingzhao said! She can design! She can draw blueprints! We can build! We can build machine tools that are even better than the ones the foreigners have blocked!"

Where did that 0.1 micrometer come from? Did it fall from the sky?!

No! It was Comrade Mingzhao who led us, using these broken machines we bought, and accomplished this! What does that prove?!

This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!