Chapter Forty-Five: Good News Comes Again and Again

After calling everyone together, it was naturally time to see the item in question. Master Zhong had quite a sense of ceremony; he had even found a piece of cloth to cover the model. Although he couldn’t find a bright red cloth, he finally managed to dig up a tarpaulin, which he used to cover the model tightly, revealing only its rough outline.

Looking at the model so tightly wrapped in tarpaulin, Yang Hui immediately understood what was going on.

“Director, why don’t you do the honors and unveil it?”

Seeing the fuss being made on this side, the director was a little surprised. He coughed twice and straightened his slightly wrinkled clothes. “Very well, let us see this tightly wrapped young bride.”

At those words, everyone burst out laughing. Indeed, with such a tight cover, it did look like a bashful bride.

He stepped forward and lifted the rather large tarpaulin, revealing the true face beneath. The entire model was propped up on three stands, positioned where the landing gears would be. The model, built at one-tenth scale, was delicately crafted. Ignoring the color of the wood, this model, supported on its stands, looked quite the part. If one didn’t look too closely, it could easily be mistaken for a production-line product.

“Hey, not bad! This carpentry team you mentioned is really something—turning out a finished product so quickly. Perhaps when we actually build the aircraft, their skills will come in handy.”

After examining the model, Yang Yue was full of admiration. He was surprised to see that aircraft design could be approached in this way. Once this project was over, he’d have to report this method to the institute.

The party secretary circled the model, carefully running his hand over the curves of the aircraft. It felt quite authentic.

“This really does feel like the real thing, at least it gives us a direct sense of the model’s appearance. Quite impressive.”

The secretary wasn’t involved in research and hadn’t known about the carpentry team beforehand, so he was the most surprised by the result. Nevertheless, he was discerning enough to immediately see the value of the wooden model.

“Indeed, this is quite good. It’s always the young people who have ideas—always coming up with new ways to do things. We old-timers are like ancient trees before a spring forest.”

The old intellectuals right after the founding of the country had a way with words. Even those in science and engineering couldn’t help but sound a bit poetic, their phrasing always lively.

Now that the model had been made and seemed to meet the intended requirements, Yang Hui naturally had to recommend Master Zhong for commendation, just as he’d promised from the start.

“Yes, this wooden model is indeed excellent. But most crucially, we needed a skilled carpenter. It’s hard to find a carpenter who can read mechanical drawings. This time, it was pure chance—Master Zhong had come to visit his son, Zhong Jianshe, who joined the institute with me.”

When recommending someone for merit, there was no need to emphasize how difficult the project was; since it was about a particular person, it was best to highlight Master Zhong’s rarity as a talent.

Hearing Yang Hui speak well on his behalf, Master Zhong hurried to be modest, as etiquette demanded.

“Oh, not at all—just a coincidence. The real credit is with the institute’s design; I’m just a carpenter with a bit of skill. It’s an honor to have been of service.”

Leaders, of course, struck an official tone, but a successful leader always handled rewards and recognition properly. Since the wooden model was so well made, an appropriate reward was in order. While the engine institute had no need for a carpentry team, it wouldn’t hurt to recommend one to Institute One, where such a team could be useful. Besides, such a recommendation could be a useful favor one day—a win-win situation.

At this point, the secretary stepped forward to speak. “Yes, this model is quite well made, and Master Zhong’s skills seem impressive. While our institute may not need a carpentry team, Institute One probably does. Don’t worry, I’ll suggest to their director that they set up such a team.”

Yang Yue was less concerned about protocol and, based on his professional judgment, could see the value of the wooden model. Naturally, he wanted to bring such a team into his own institute.

“That’s right, Master Zhong. I’ll recommend to our director that we set up a carpentry team as well—this is too useful.”

Standing aside, Master Zhong feigned surprise at the attention, though inwardly he was overjoyed—he’d seized his opportunity at last.

If a carpentry team were established, all three who participated in making the model would surely become its members. Thus, the other two carpenters each had their own thoughts. Zhong Jianshe’s mother, Master Zhong’s wife, had little on her mind but was pleased that she’d finally have a job at the institute instead of being just a dining hall waitress at the factory. Now, she’d have some standing and wouldn’t embarrass her son. The other was the institute’s maintenance worker, who, in a stroke of fortune, would go from being a maintenance hand to a frontline research staff member—a major change in status.

No matter what the three carpenters were thinking, Yang Hui was quite pleased—he’d successfully promoted the carpentry team. At that time, the aviation research institutes still had a need for skilled carpenters.

Yang Hui felt no qualms about spreading the idea of the carpentry team. It wasn’t like it was the core competitive advantage of Institute 0132. At that point, all 0132 had done was hand over the J-7 technical documents to Base 011. If the institute here learned from 0132 and set up a carpentry team, 0132 wouldn’t mind at all—after all, it was still a master-apprentice relationship. Consider it a starter kit or apprentice’s gift.

Now that the model had been reviewed and credit given where due, it was time to return to work. The model aircraft project was not yet complete; there was much to do. Yang Yue took his leave first, followed by the director and the secretary.

“Well, that’s settled. The wooden model is a resounding success. Everyone can disperse now—let’s wait for the good news of the model’s successful test flight.” With a clap of his hands, Yang Hui announced the successful conclusion of the matter.

“Ah, Team Leader Yang, thank you for everything this time. We’ll be heading back now. I’ll be sure to tell Jianshe to follow your lead—he’ll have a bright future.”

With these words, Master Zhong was once again setting the course of Zhong Jianshe’s future. In his view, though Team Leader Yang was still young, he would surely go far, and his son would do well to follow in his footsteps. Such is a father’s heart—no matter what, he never forgets his own child when good fortune comes.

“Thank you, Master Zhong, for your trust. I’ll make sure Jianshe gets off work early today. It’s rare for you all to visit, and yet most of your time was spent on official business.”

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“Hey, Yang Hui, come over here!”

Early in the morning, as soon as he arrived at work, Yang Hui heard a familiar voice call out—he immediately recognized it as Section Chief Wu Dabo. As he responded, it dawned on him that today marked the sixth day since he’d handed over the work on the combustion chamber. By that reckoning, there ought to be some milestone results.

Unable to contain his excitement, Yang Hui’s face broke into a wide smile. “Section Chief Wu—or rather, Brother Dabo, have you got results already?”

Hearing Yang Hui’s warm greeting, Section Chief Wu was pleased. “Of course! It’s been six days since you handed the work to us. If we hadn’t produced anything by now, that’d be odd. You’d never let us hear the end of it! Our section isn’t as quick as you, but we managed it in six days. Today, the drawings are officially finished.”

Drawings already? That was quick. Counting the days he’d spent and the time spent agreeing on the data, it had been less than half a month since he’d made his promise to the section chief. That was fast.

He walked into the office and saw two people binding up the drawings, apparently to be sent to the factory for prototyping. The director had already contacted the factory, and they’d agreed to produce a small batch of experimental components, using leftover materials without needing formal allocations. But as for large-scale production, nothing was set yet—they’d need actual parts in hand before higher-ups would approve the necessary quotas.