Chapter 278: People of the Innocent Era

Pan Jihai, about forty‑five years old, in a Zhongshan suit, looks very neat, and is currently at the Shencheng Vehicle Factory Equipment Manufacturing Department, holding the position of Director.

Pan Jihai had long heard of Lu Cheng's great reputation; although he was only a Junior Police Officer, he was temporarily transferred to the Research Institute to do R&D work, even as deputy chief commander.

Before meeting Lu Cheng, Pan Jihai assumed he was a middle‑aged man, and because his abilities were outstanding, he was transferred to the Research Institute.

But looking at the Lu Cheng before him, Pan Jihai did not expect him to be a young comrade.

"Hello, Group Leader Lu, you're only about twenty years old, truly a hero in his youth; your name has spread throughout our Shencheng Vehicle Factory."

Lu Cheng shook his hand: "You're being modest, Director Pan, I only did what was within my ability, not worth mentioning."

Pan Jihai looked at Wu Qiming and smiled; even at a young age he knows how to speak, neither servile nor arrogant.

"I'm not being modest; the Snow Removal Machine Project had stalled before, and you proactively revived it, which is not the key point."

"And Group Leader Lu was able to coordinate so many forces, assist in developing the snow removal machine, overcoming numerous difficulties; this is not something ordinary people can achieve. If the snow removal machine can be developed on schedule, you will have done a great service for us."

Pan Jihai spoke very politely; logically, regardless of age or rank, there was no need to be so courteous to Lu Cheng.

This precisely shows his skill in handling matters; even though Lu Cheng is young, he does not dare to be negligent.

One must remember this is the Capital City, a land of hidden dragons and crouching tigers.

As a Director, he is a mid‑level cadre in the Factory Area, but when it comes to the Capital City, he is not impressive enough.

There's a saying: in the Capital City, a single brick can knock down a whole batch of Directors, even one of them being a department‑level official.

He must keep a low profile.

And with one phone call from Lu Cheng, a military factory can supply them with low‑temperature resistant hydraulic oil; he no longer dares to underestimate this young man.

After a few pleasantries, Wu Qiming introduced the several people brought by Pan Jihai to Lu Cheng; they were all Section Chiefs of other departments.

Lu Cheng shook hands one by one; after both sides sat down, he did not speak first because he was unfamiliar with the on‑site situation.

Wu Qiming, however, gave Lu Cheng a brief explanation of the situation.

"Group Leader Lu, Director Pan is coming to the Capital City this time to procure some supplies needed by the Factory Area, and also to have a face‑to‑face discussion on the issue of constructing impeller casting facilities."

Lu Cheng nodded at Wu Qiming and then turned to look at Pan Jihai.

"Director Pan, I'm here also to ask about the construction of the Supporting Facilities—what stage is the progress at? Can it be completed before autumn?"

Through the coordinated efforts of many forces over this period, several difficulties have already been overcome.

For some components that can be sourced as substitutes from other factories, they simply procure them from those factories.

For example, low‑temperature resistant hydraulic oil, bearings, etc., when large‑scale production is not required, there is no need to set up an entire production line just for a small component.

And searching for factories that can help produce such components often requires traveling across the country, the goal being to find high‑quality, suitable parts.

However, the large impeller assembly on the snow removal machine is a crucial component; other factories do not produce it, so they must build their own Supporting Facilities to manufacture it.

This is a technical task; it's not enough to build it here and have it produced there. From the start of constructing the Supporting Facilities to the final product, every stage may encounter problems.

And if any stage encounters an issue, the final product cannot be produced.

Regarding Lu Cheng's inquiry, before even entering the room, everyone wore a dejected expression.

Seeing this scene, Lu Cheng smiled lightly and said, "Director Pan, I suppose the progress is not optimistic, but whatever the problems are, speak them out; we'll discuss together. Silence cannot solve anything."

Pan Jihai's face showed a moment of awkwardness; he opened his mouth but could not bring himself to speak.

Finally, Wu Qiming let out a hearty laugh: "Ha ha, Group Leader Lu, Director Pan isn't unwilling to speak; he just feels he's letting down the effort we've made during this period."

"Indeed, Director Wu and Group Leader Lu, as well as the people at the Research Institute, have been working by lamp‑light through the night, eating poorly and sleeping badly," Pan Jihai said shamefully after being drawn into the conversation.

"I've heard there's also the Metallurgical Bureau Research Institute, the One Machine Department, and even university students; you all have put in so much effort, overcoming hurdle after hurdle, finally translating them onto the drawings, yet we lack the capability to manufacture them…"

Pan Jihai seemed unable to control his emotions, closed his mouth, and paused for a moment.

"To be honest, I have no face to see you all, let alone to go to the Iron Science Institute to see Dean Gao."

No wonder the meeting was held at the procurement station; perhaps Wu Qiming considered his feelings and proactively chose this location.

In fact, Lu Cheng could understand Pan Jihai's feelings.

Workers of this era truly regarded the factory as home, and the factory truly treated the workers as family.

No matter what domestic difficulties you have, the factory will find a way to solve them; even if you quarrel with your spouse, the factory leadership will step in to mediate, never allowing you to go to work with lingering emotions.

And workers naturally develop a sense of honor and responsibility toward the factory.

Therefore, when work is not done well, Pan Jihai feels guilty inside, a situation that will not occur in later generations.

This was a unique innocent era that lasted until the late 1980s.

Children born in later generations find it hard to understand the existence of such feelings.

These feelings can also be called faith, a belief unique to this generation, an indelible imprint…

In Pan Jihai's intermittent narration, Wu Qiming added a few more sentences, and Lu Cheng finally understood the current problems clearly.

After some drawings were implemented at the Shencheng Vehicle Factory, Pan Jihai, as the person in charge of the Supporting Facilities, immediately led a team to begin construction.

Because this set of facilities was huge, almost occupying an entire workshop; the drawings themselves weighed half a ton. During this period, Xiao Jia led people to draft the drawings, truly having no time even for meals, and everyone grew noticeably thinner.

The drawings were very detailed, from the model dimensions of steel rails down to the cross‑sectional nodes of a single screw, yet drawings remain theoretical; even after multiple validations, when implemented in actual production they are constrained by material limits, labor limits, and so on.

It started off fairly smoothly, but as the project progressed, some problems gradually emerged.

Because the tilt angle of a large boiler could not be properly adjusted, it was forced to pause temporarily.

The massive boiler is extremely heavy, not something that can be tipped with human force to pour molten steel; it requires machinery, yet after many attempts the angle remained unsatisfactory.

If it cannot be poured accurately, molten steel will splash out, easily injuring workers; steel at several thousand degrees can melt a person instantly.

If a safety accident occurs, no one can bear the consequences.

For safety reasons, the project had to be temporarily halted.

Pan Jihai painfully tugged his hair: "My abilities as Director are limited, I haven't done the job well, and I truly owe everyone for their effort."