Chapter 345: Hidden Motives

He Yuzhu gave a bitter smile and said, "Dad, now that you're back, I'm afraid that girl Yushui will be even less willing to pay me any mind. But I must remind you, don't let her have her way too much. We've always let her run wild, giving her whatever she wanted. Now that she's grown up and gained a little fame, she thinks everyone should dote on her, and she throws a tantrum at the slightest dissatisfaction. Now that you're back, you really must discipline her properly."

"These past few years, I haven't fulfilled my responsibilities as a father! Since I'm back this time, I will discipline her properly," He Daqing said.

"However, you mustn't hurt her self-esteem too much; she already sees herself as a big sister now!" He Yuzhu reminded him.

The next day, He Yuzhu went to the Military Factory to see Secretary Liu.

Upon hearing that Liu Rusi had readily agreed to sell the shares, Secretary Liu was very pleased: "Miss Liu is indeed straightforward. When you see her, tell her that if she needs any help, she should just ask."

"I gave her an idea, suggesting she engage in export trade to earn foreign exchange for the country," He Yuzhu said. "Although the Phoenix Bicycle Factory has been acquired, it's best not to stop the bicycle production line. We can set aside a portion of the output specifically for export. This business is best suited for Liu Rusi—she has connections abroad, which is much more convenient than us trying to contact foreign merchants again."

"That's a good idea!" Secretary Liu praised. "Her setting up a company and applying for foreign trade quotas is on me."

"Then I'll thank you on her behalf!"

"No need for formalities. However..." Secretary Liu paused, looking slightly troubled. "When the Ministry of Heavy Industry held a meeting, I proposed that you serve as the Chief Engineer of the Northern Automobile Factory, but it didn't pass. You don't have any hard feelings, do you?"

He Yuzhu smiled: "This factory is at least a Deputy Ministerial Level unit, and the Chief Engineer should at least be a Bureau-level Official. My qualifications are still too shallow; I'm not up to the task. Besides, I'm still teaching classes at Huaqing University, so holding the title of Consultant is just fine."

"Consultant won't do," Secretary Liu waved his hand. "I know you're a bit lazy, kid. This time, you must serve as the Director of the Manufacturing Engineering Department—this is a Section Chief position. Last time you produced eight Anti-aircraft Guns in forty days, I said I would request a commendation for you, but it was never implemented. This time, having you serve as this Section Chief is a form of compensation."

He Yuzhu still smiled and declined: "But I still have to go to Huaqing to teach every morning."

"You have plenty of energy, just work some overtime," Secretary Liu said, leaving no room for negotiation. "The heavy truck engine, three months, you must get it done."

Only then did He Yuzhu nod: "Then I'll apply to take the materials and parts home, is that okay?"

"For anyone else, absolutely not," Secretary Liu agreed, "but you drew the blueprints, so you are indeed the only one qualified to operate this way."

Over the next month, He Yuzhu was so busy he barely touched the ground: he went to the university to teach in the morning, followed up on the construction of the Automobile Factory in the afternoon, and buried himself in researching the heavy truck engine at night.

He understood the internal structure of such engines like the back of his hand, but limited by the material technology of the time, many later-generation technologies could not be applied directly; he could only dismantle the Soviet prototype while making improvements based on existing domestic materials.

Fortunately, he possessed the "Time Cabin"—ten days passed inside, while only one day passed in the outside world. Relying on this advantage, his research and development progressed rapidly.

Just as the engine development was nearing success, the Soviet Advisory Group arrived.

Seeing He Yuzhu's design blueprints, whether out of jealousy or genuine difficulty in understanding his design philosophy, the members of the Advisory Group expressed their dissatisfaction one after another.

A heated argument soon broke out in the conference room.

Ivan Petrovich pounded on the blueprints and said: "Comrade He, we know you are a genius who became self-taught without attending a formal school. But this 'Direct Injection Diesel Combustion Chamber' you designed, along with the 7.8:1 compression ratio, is simply too radical! The technical requirements are too high; it's impossible to achieve. It's already a success that the newly built factory can replicate our country's engine one-to-one. Your design is just a fantasy..."

He Yuzhu responded calmly: "Comrade Ivan, I respect your many years of experience in vehicle manufacturing, but every piece of data I proposed was not imagined out of thin air, but calculated meticulously." He unfolded a hand-drawn thermal efficiency curve chart and pointed to it: "Please look, the heat loss of the pre-combustion chamber is 18% to 22% higher than that of the direct injection chamber. This means that if this engine of mine is put into production, it can save our poor and blank country 20% of its diesel—this has epoch-making significance."

Ivan stared at the curve chart, lit his pipe, and shook his head repeatedly: "Comrade He, how exactly did you calculate this data? Did you use an abacus?" Many experts present laughed, and even the Chief Engineer Ji Wei, who had studied in the Soviet Union, couldn't help but chuckle.

He Yuzhu understood their dissatisfaction—the factory hadn't even been built yet, and he had already produced complete engine and vehicle blueprints, which indeed made the responsible Chief Engineer feel somewhat embarrassed.

Secretary Liu darkened his face at this moment and spoke: "Comrades, today we are discussing technical direction, please remain serious. Comrade Ivan, please stick to the facts."

Ivan ignored Secretary Liu and continued to challenge He Yuzhu: "I have been building cars for thirty years, and I have never seen anyone who could calculate thermal efficiency so precisely. You must at least tell me how this was calculated."

He Yuzhu didn't want to argue, but he understood that if he couldn't completely convince these people today, his future work would be difficult to move forward. Building cars was his profession, and he absolutely could not be looked down upon here.

"Since everyone has doubts, I will demonstrate the calculation process." As he said this, he brought over the newly developed Transistor Computer from his Jeep.

This Computer was hard to compare with later machines; its volume was still about two cubic meters, and it weighed over forty kilograms.

Ivan was stunned when he saw this machine: "What is this thing?"

"A Computer. I used it to calculate that curve." He Yuzhu started the machine and demonstrated the derivation process to Ivan step by step.

Ivan had heard that the computers developed by the United States could fill two rooms, so how could the computer in front of him be so small? And it even had a screen and a keyboard for input.

This shocked him quite a bit, though he did not show it.

He Yuzhu then derived data based on the established mathematical model and input the data into the Computer for calculation.

In the end, Ivan had to admit that He Yuzhu's calculation method was rigorous and error-free. But he still insisted on his own view: "Comrade He Yuzhu, you have convinced me in theory. But there is still a long way to go before practical application. I still do not agree to produce this engine of yours in the factory."

"Understood," He Yuzhu nodded. "You can continue to proceed according to the original plan. My proposal will only serve as an experimental project; just trial-produce a few units in small batches."

Ivan finally relented: "I agree to this plan."

Chief Engineer Ji Wei also looked at Secretary Liu and stated: "I agree as well. After all, any vehicle model needs to undergo comprehensive testing before mass production."

After the meeting, Secretary Liu pulled He Yuzhu into a small conference room, somewhat angry: "He, why did you show the Transistor Computer to Ivan? He will report this to their technology department, and when the time comes, they will demand it from us again..."