That noon, because the ministry leaders' inspection took a long time, Sun Zhengguo invited Minister Li and his entourage to stay for lunch.
Minister Li, unable to refuse such hospitality, stayed for a meal. Sun Zhengguo didn't prepare anything special, just had He Yushui cook a few dishes.
After lunch, Minister Li and his entourage left the research institute and returned to the Ministry of Machinery.
Upon returning, the first thing Minister Li did was to make an internal call and find General Manager Lai to report the matter.
"Hello, Mr. Lai, this is Li Dongsheng. I would like to report to you on the large machine tool issue."
"Oh! Minister Li, is there any new progress with Comrade Zheng Guo?"
"Yes, Mr. Lai, this time it's not just progress, it's breakthrough progress."
Next, Minister Li recounted to General Manager Lai what he had seen and heard that morning, as well as Sun Zhengguo's evaluation of the machine tool, over the phone.
"Hahaha!"
After listening to the report, General Manager Lai could not contain his joy and let out a hearty laugh before quickly giving instructions.
"Minister Li, how about this, I'll make time to go tomorrow. There shouldn't be any ceremony, and we mustn't make a fuss about it."
"Okay, Mr. Lai."
After hanging up the phone, Minister Li was still a little confused as to why President Lai had come secretly.
He didn't know that President Lai was doing this to protect Sun Zhengguo.
Because in the past year or so, the country has transformed from a major importer of machine tools to a self-producing and self-selling nation.
This has led to some countries, especially island nations, not being able to make money, so they have resorted to some underhanded tactics.
According to a tip from relevant departments, a group of criminals have infiltrated Beijing and are preparing to make their move.
Therefore, the purpose of Lai Zong doing this is to reduce Sun Zhengguo's exposure.
At this time, Sun Zhengguo was unaware that a group of outlaws had already set their sights on him.
Even if he knew, he probably wouldn't care. Since you're willing to die, then come on!
The next morning, while Sun Zhengguo was leisurely strolling in his office, Chen Lianshan suddenly burst in.
"Director, hurry, General Lai is here, he's in the experimental workshop!"
Upon hearing Chen Lianshan's words, Sun Zhengguo immediately jumped up from his chair.
"What? Boss Lai has arrived? Why wasn't there any prior notice?"
"Chief, I don't know either. This was a surprise attack by General Lai," Chen Lianshan said with a troubled expression.
To be honest, he was completely stunned when Mr. Lai suddenly appeared.
"Run!"
Sun Zhengguo didn't have time to investigate any further and immediately ran to the workshop, with Chen Lianshan following closely behind.
In just over a minute, the two of them ran to the workshop entrance.
Several guards in the workshop saw the two running towards them and raised their guns to intercept them, but Ning Dazhuang interrupted them.
"No need to stop them, they're the kind of people we'll have to wait for."
Just then, Sun Zhengguo ran into the workshop. When he saw Ning Dazhuang, he simply nodded and then ran inside again.
At this moment, General Lai was looking at the large machine tool. Standing next to him were Political Commissar Yang, Minister Li, and two middle-aged soldiers.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Lai, I didn't know you were coming to inspect the place. I've kept you waiting."
Looking at the panting Sun Zhengguo, Boss Lai still had a smile on his face, a smile that made people feel like they were bathed in a spring breeze.
"Comrade Zhengguo! I am the one who should apologize. I didn't ask you to be notified so as not to disturb your normal work. I'm really sorry."
"Mr. Lai, I..."
To be honest, Sun Zhengguo had met General Lai before, but every time, he always moved people and left a lasting impression.
"Alright, we've known each other for a long time, so don't be shy."
"Come, let me introduce you. This is Political Commissar Yang and Minister Li. You two are old acquaintances, so I don't need to introduce you. These two are Factory Director Ma and Factory Director Wang."
After listening to Mr. Lai's introduction, Sun Zhengguo stepped forward, shook hands with each of them, and then greeted them.
Sun Zhengguo noticed that they were dressed in military uniforms but addressed him as "factory director," and he had a slight idea of what was going on, but he wasn't foolish enough to ask.
After the two sides got to know each other, the factory manager, Mr. Ma, couldn't wait to ask.
"Comrade Zhengguo! We have already reviewed the report on this machine tool, but we don't know if the data is accurate."
"Master Ma, the data in the report is only low, not high. If we wait until the workers are skilled, it should be even higher. You can try it now if you don't believe me?"
As the director of a certain arms factory, Director Ma is currently under tremendous pressure.
Because of the deteriorating relationship between the country and its big brother, it is unable to produce many aircraft parts domestically.
If this continues, many of the country's planes will be grounded. Just yesterday, he received a call from General Manager Lai, which is why he came to the Mechanical Research Institute with his last glimmer of hope.
Hearing Sun Zhengguo say this, a glimmer of hope instantly rekindled in him.
But no matter what it is, seeing it with your own eyes is the only way to be convinced, so he could only say apologetically, "Comrade Zhengguo! Although I believe you won't lie, I still have to test you in the end."
When Director Ma said this, he didn't mean to look down on Sun Zhengguo. After all, who would dare to look down on someone who could develop precision machine tools?
“Alright! Director Ma, shall we set the question or should I?” Sun Zhengguo didn’t stand on ceremony and directly presented the question.
"I'll do it!"
After finishing speaking, Director Ma took out a part drawing from his briefcase and handed it to Sun Zhengguo.
Sun Zhengguo took the blueprints, glanced at them briefly, then called over Master Geng and arranged for someone to prepare the materials.
Before long, the materials were delivered, and Master Geng had already thoroughly understood the blueprints. Now it was time for him to show off.
So, the masters took their places, with Master Geng in charge of the main operations.
"Power on."
At Master Geng's command, the machine began to hum.
Once the machine was fully running, several people worked together to use a crane to lift the materials onto the workbench and secure them.
Next, following the blueprints, Master Geng began to operate the machine methodically, effortlessly performing various cutting, drilling, boring, and grinding operations.
Such a smooth operation left Factory Director Ma and Factory Director Wang speechless with astonishment.
The fact that machining such large parts is so simple is something that even the most advanced large machine tools abroad probably cannot do.
Because the processing takes a long time, Sun Zhengguo didn't sit idle; he introduced the machine tool's performance and uses to General Manager Lai.
After introducing the machine tool, Sun Zhengguo saw that it was still early, so he simply talked to General Manager Lai about the next steps in the work plan.
The two chatted like old friends until the machine stopped, at which point they looked back at the site.
At this moment, Master Geng came over to report the situation.
"General Manager Lai, leaders, I have completed the task. The parts are in perfect condition and meet all the requirements. The time taken was 1 hour and 21 minutes."
As a seasoned veteran, Master Geng had seen his share of big events, so his report was impressive and engaging.
After listening, Factory Director Ma and Factory Director Wang went to the front and measured several key parts.
After the measurement was completed, Director Ma excitedly said.
"General Manager Lai, shall we use this machine? With it, we're confident we can produce parts not only for grounded aircraft, but also for developing new ones."
"Old Ma, hold off on your plane for now. Our country's naval power is weak right now. Why don't you let us have it first? Those ships really need it." Director Wang also chimed in at this point.
"No, Lao Wang, what's wrong with you? You didn't say anything earlier, but when you saw I wanted it, you snatched it from me. There's a proper order to things, isn't there?"
Factory Director Ma was no pushover either, and he began to argue his case logically.
"..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com