Chapter 82: Assigned Car

"May I ask..." a young engineer gathered his courage and raised his hand, his voice trembling slightly with excitement.

"Could you explain the internal structure of the shotgun shell warhead in more detail? Especially the arrangement of the steel balls and the fixing material..."

"How is the triggering mechanism of the Radio Proximity Fuze designed?" another technician asked eagerly. "After the radio waves are reflected back, how do you ensure it detonates at the appropriate distance?"

"The elevation adjustment mechanism of the 'Heavenly Net' launcher is so ingenious," a mechanical expert pointed at the blueprints excitedly. "What principle is this simple yet precise angle control based on?"

A series of professional questions flew toward Li Mingyuan like machine-gun fire; the technicians had recovered from their initial shock and were now all eagerly wanting to understand every detail.

Li Mingyuan raised a hand to signal for silence: "Comrades, I understand your professional curiosity, but time is tight. The comrades on the front lines are fighting hard under enemy bombardment; for every day we delay, more soldiers may sacrifice their lives."

"We can discuss the technical details gradually during the manufacturing process. Right now, I need everyone to divide into groups immediately and start producing the first batch of samples according to the blueprints. In three days, I want to see the finished products!"

The technicians looked at each other, then stood up in unison and gave Li Mingyuan a military salute: "We guarantee to complete the mission!"

Factory Lou Changzhang quickly organized the division of labor: one group was responsible for the 14.5 mm Anti-aircraft Machine Gun, one group for the key components of the 35 mm Anti-aircraft Gun, and the largest group focused on the modification of the Anti-aircraft rocket.

"All equipment will run 24 hours a day, technicians will work in three shifts, and logistical support will be fully provided!" Factory Lou Changzhang arranged efficiently.

"This is a mission concerning life and death on the front lines; if any link goes wrong, come directly to me!"

After the meeting, Li Mingyuan was stopped by several core Technical Backbone members; they still had many detailed questions waiting to be answered.

"How is the sensitivity of the Radio Proximity Fuze adjusted?"

"What is the optimal blast radius for the steel ball warhead?"

"Could you explain the calculation formula for the launch angle and target altitude in more detail?"

Facing these professional questions, Li Mingyuan answered them one by one without haste, but he deliberately avoided some overly advanced technical principles and only explained the specific methods of how to achieve them.

"Simply put, it utilizes the reflection characteristics of radio waves off the enemy aircraft's metal surface..."

"The design inspiration for the steel ball warhead actually comes from shotgun shells..."

"The angle calculation seems complex, but there is actually a simplified formula..."

Every explanation made the technicians suddenly enlightened, while simultaneously bringing up more questions.

Li Mingyuan's knowledge system seemed to far exceed the current technical level, yet it was cleverly controlled within an achievable range.

Just as he was patiently answering, a commotion came from outside the workshop. Factory Lou Changzhang ran in hurriedly: "Chief Engineer Li, someone is looking for you outside!"

"Who?" Li Mingyuan frowned; he did not want to be disturbed at this critical moment.

"It's... it's a driver sent by the superiors, saying they've assigned you a dedicated car!" Factory Lou Changzhang's voice carried unconcealable surprise.

Li Mingyuan was stunned: "A dedicated car?"

He followed Factory Lou Changzhang out of the workshop and saw a black Volga sedan parked at the factory gate, brand new and shiny, gleaming in the sunlight.

That was a high-end sedan imported from the Polar Bear at that time, usually only equipped for Advanced cadres.

A young driver with a tall, straight figure stood by the car, wearing a neat uniform; upon seeing Li Mingyuan, he immediately stood at attention and saluted:

"Greetings, Chief Engineer Li! I am your dedicated driver, Xiao Liu, ordered to be responsible for your daily transportation!"

The surrounding workers stopped to watch, their eyes full of envy.

Being assigned a dedicated car meant that Chief Engineer Li's status was no longer ordinary!

Li Mingyuan was somewhat surprised: "When was I assigned a dedicated car? Who approved it?"

Xiao Liu answered respectfully: "It was personally approved by Yang. He said your work is too important, and riding a bicycle back and forth every day is too exhausting and affects work efficiency. Starting today, I am responsible for picking you up and dropping you off for work and various official duties."

The workers and technicians in the factory could not help but whisper to each other upon hearing this:

"Amazing, even Yang personally takes care of him!"

"Chief Engineer Li is truly a big cadre now!"

"I heard the rocket launcher he designed last time already made a great contribution on the front lines, and this time it's an Anti-aircraft weapon; his future is boundless!"

Li Mingyuan smiled slightly awkwardly: "Many thanks to the organization for their concern. However, work is intense right now, so there's no need for it today; I still need to stay in the factory to keep an eye on the sample production."

Xiao Liu stood at attention and replied: "Understood! Then I will arrive at your doorstep on time tomorrow morning to wait for you!"

Li Mingyuan nodded and turned back to the workshop, leaving a group of envious workers to continue discussing.

"A dedicated car, this is the first one in our factory!"

"Chief Engineer Li has such treatment at such a young age; his future is limitless!"

"I heard he lives in that courtyard house over at Xizhimen; it'll be quite grand to drive to and from work in the future!"

Factory Lou Changzhang followed behind Li Mingyuan with a smile: "Chief Engineer Li, congratulations! This is the organization's high recognition of your work!"

Li Mingyuan waved his hand: "A small matter. The key is to get the Anti-aircraft weapon out as soon as possible; the front lines cannot wait."

Returning to the blueprints, Li Mingyuan took a deep breath and cast his distractions to the back of his mind.

Now, the most important thing is to get these Anti-aircraft weapons shaped as soon as possible and sent to the front lines, so that the enemy's planes will never dare to bomb our positions unscrupulously again!

After work in the afternoon, Li Mingyuan rode the assigned car back to the Siheyuan.

Several neighbors heard the commotion and poked their heads out from their rooms one after another.

Seeing the sedan at the entrance, everyone widened their eyes.

"Oh my, isn't that a car?"

"Who is such a big official?"

"It's at Chief Engineer Li's place!"

Yan Bugui was the first to react; he ran out wearing a tank top and slippers, smiling until his eyes were hidden:

"Morning, Chief Engineer Li! Is... is this the car the unit assigned to you? Truly grand!"

Li Mingyuan nodded without explaining much.

Jia Dongxu and others also gathered around, looking at the car with envy.

"This is truly something," Yan Bugui stroked the beard on his chin, his eyes darting around, "Chief Engineer Li is truly a big cadre now, even having a dedicated car."

Jia Dongxu said sourly: "Isn't he just a chief engineer of a broken factory? He sure puts on big airs."

Shazhu glared at him: "What the hell do you know! Uncle Li has made great contributions to the country; what's wrong with him having a car?"

Jia Dongxu was left speechless by the retort and could only return to his room, feeling disgruntled.

Throughout the afternoon, the news that Li Mingyuan was being chauffeured in a dedicated car spread throughout the entire Siheyuan, and everyone was filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred.

……

On the other side, in a dilapidated shack in the corner of the courtyard, Yi Zhonghai sat alone in the dim room, his eyes sinister.

Ever since he was fired from the Rolling Mill and then locked up in the detention center for half a month, his life had gone from bad to worse.