Chapter 1

"Grandpa, do you know where we can find an argon arc welding machine in Xiucheng?"

"Good grandson, come here, sit by grandpa." Hu Shiwu, with a broad smile, pulled his grandson, who was already in high school, over and sat him down on the kang (a traditional heated bed) beside him.

Although he was already in his fifties, years of work in mechanical processing had kept him in good shape. His muscular body and hands as strong as pliers showed no signs of aging.

His thick, black hair and prominent eyebrows made him look so handsome that even a young girl in her early twenties would likely fall for him.

"Grandpa, do we have an argon arc welding machine in Xiucheng?"

Hu Shiwu's grandson, Hu Wenhai, struggled a bit, but his small arms and legs were no match for the old man, who easily overpowered him. He had no choice but to sit obediently on the edge of the kang and ask his question again.

"Argon arc welding? What do you need that for, good grandson? It's electric and very dangerous!"

Although Hu Shiwu said this, his trembling beard revealed that he was indeed thinking about the problem carefully. It was said that grandparents dote on their grandchildren, and the Hu family was no exception. Hu Wenhai was the direct grandson of the Hu family, or rather, the only grandchild of the third generation! From Hu Shiwu's time, two of his older brothers had died in the war, leaving only him and a younger sister alive.

Hu Shiwu had only one son, Hu Wenhai's father, Hu Jiefang.

Hu Jiefang was in his forties, at the peak of his career, and was often too busy to even take care of his family, let alone spend time with his father. Therefore, in Hu Shiwu's heart, his clever and obedient grandson, Hu Wenhai, was truly his most beloved. He would do anything for him, even if it meant going to the moon.

"Me and Brother Hu and Daming made a toy, and now we need an argon arc welding machine to process a part. But my dad's factory doesn't have one, so I had to come to you, Grandpa."

In the 1980s, argon arc welding was still in the promotion phase in China. Research on it only began in the 1970s, and it wouldn't be widely developed until the mid-1990s.

However, even this welding technology, which was commonplace in later years, was still a rare find in the 1980s. Finding a company that understood the technology and had the equipment was not easy.

"You're wasting your dad's factory materials again. If he finds out, he'll beat your bottom!" Hu Shiwu said this, but his eyes gleamed with pride.

This old man was not simple. Although he looked like any other grandfather sitting on the kang with his grandson, his status was such that even the mayor of Xiucheng would treat him with respect.

What was his status? He was the legendary "Level 8 Worker"!

What is a Level 8 Worker? It was a wage system in state-owned enterprises, dividing workers into eight levels based on age and skill, with different wages for each level. The Level 8 Worker was at the pinnacle of the working class, akin to a sixth-grade non-commissioned officer who could rival a general, a monk who could ignore officials and rarely showed his skills.

If it weren't for this powerful backing, Hu Wenhai's father, Hu Jiefang, wouldn't have become the factory director at the age of thirty, with a smooth career path.

"Grandpa, Grandpa, please help me!" Hu Wenhai tugged at Hu Shiwu's beard, suppressing his discomfort and pouting.

"Alright, tell grandpa, what are you trying to make this time? Didn't your dad forbid you from using the workbench?"

As a child of the Hu family, Hu Wenhai had already been running around in the machining workshop at the age of six. Although he was only in his second year of high school, he was proficient in turning, milling, grinding, and boring, not a bit worse than the Level 1 and Level 2 workers who had trained for five or six years. Hu Shiwu was always proud of him, saying that the Hu family had a successor and that his skills would not be lost.

However, after Hu Wenhai tried to make a "CNC machine" and damaged a stepper motor, his father, Hu Jiefang, banned him from using the workbench.

Hu Wenhai said angrily, "Chen Dafu is watching me so closely. Since my dad said it, I can't even enter the workshop now. This time, Brother Hu made a stainless steel combustion chamber, and we need argon arc welding to meet the process requirements."

"Combustion chamber?" Hu Shiwu, the Level 8 Worker, was no joke. Many of the country's high-precision equipment came from his hands and those of his peers.

He asked in surprise, "My good grandson, with all this electricity and fire, I really don't understand. Are you trying to build a rocket?"

"Hehe, something like that." Hu Wenhai smiled proudly, twisting his body. "Grandpa, please help me. When it's done, I'll take you to see it, okay?"

Hu Shiwu thought about it. Although his grandson was only seventeen, he had shown remarkable talent in machining over the past few years.

Growing up in such a family, he had been dealing with blueprints and equipment since childhood, and his technical skills were undoubtedly excellent. During the summer of his sixth-grade year, while other children were playing war games with sticks, he and a few young workers from the factory had built a two-meter-long boat model that could run on the sea!

When other children were making wooden airplanes with rubber bands, he had built a metal P-51 with a radio remote control!

On other occasions, he occasionally made remote-controlled cars and boats, which were no big deal. The most troublesome time was when he built an electromagnetic cannon and damaged the satellite dish at his father's factory.

Despite all the trouble he caused, which often left his father, Hu Jiefang, in a bind, the old man, Hu Shiwu, adored him! From these works, he clearly saw the birth of a mechanical design genius. If he continued on this path, Hu Wenhai would surely achieve great things.

Since his grandson had a new idea, he, as a grandfather, naturally had to support him wholeheartedly.

Hu Shiwu smiled and nodded, agreeing readily, "Alright, have Little Hu bring the things over, and I'll find an argon arc welding machine for you. I think the shipyard in Xixi City must have this equipment. It won't be a problem to ask them."

"Great! Thank you, Grandpa!"

Hu Wenhai shouted excitedly and kissed his grandfather on the cheek.

In 1984, Deng Xiaoping toured the south, Southern Weekly was founded, and the Sino-Vietnamese Self-Defense Counterattack was in full swing. China's reform and opening-up were advancing with unstoppable momentum.

However, for the small northeastern city of Xiucheng, especially for the semi-military 501 Factory, which was originally a military factory but later transferred to local control while still handling some military production, life remained slow and peaceful.

In an old, quiet workshop of the 501 Factory, Hu Hu, a Level 2 worker and a distant relative of Hu Shiwu's nephew, and another friend, Lu Daming, who was in the same class as Hu Hu, both in their early twenties, had been working for three or four years, had no wives, and no bad habits, were at the age of loving to play.

Hu Hu, sweating profusely, pushed open the door and ran into the workshop.

He shouted as he ran, "Brother Hai, Brother Hai, I've brought the things!"

Hu Wenhai stood in the center of the workshop, with a workbench two meters wide and five meters long, covered with parts. He was carefully assembling them.

Hu Hu, who was five or six years older than Hu Wenhai, had no qualms about calling him "Brother Hai." He placed a cylindrical thin iron bucket with many holes on the table and looked at Hu Wenhai, who was handling a pile of intricate, mechanically beautiful parts, with admiration.

Entertainment in the 1980s was quite limited, and these young men in their twenties often had many hobbies to pass the time. Hu Hu and Lu Daming, in particular, were thoroughly impressed and convinced by Hu Wenhai's skills.

"Brother Hai, Grandpa Hu is here. Should we let him in?"

Lu Daming poked his head in from the door and asked cautiously.

Hu Wenhai scratched his head, shook his head, and smiled helplessly, "Alright, I knew my grandpa wouldn't wait until the finished product to reveal the mystery. It's better to have him supervise the assembly, which will be safer. Let him in, and you'll get to see a Level 8 Worker in action."

"Yay!" Hu Hu and Lu Daming cheered, opened the workshop door, and Hu Shiwu walked in curiously, seeing Hu Wenhai examining the part that had been processed by argon arc welding.

"Good grandson, I'm here to help you!" Hu Shiwu carefully observed Hu Wenhai's expression, saw that he wasn't angry, and walked over happily.

"Grandpa, I need your help right now." Hu Wenhai was more composed compared to Hu Shiwu.

Old man, old man, although Hu Shiwu wasn't that old, he was genuinely afraid of upsetting his beloved grandson.

Seeing Hu Wenhai beckon him, Hu Shiwu's steps became lighter. He came to the workbench, scanned the parts, and quickly understood their functions.

But as he mentally assembled the parts, he couldn't help but take a deep breath!

"Whoa—" He looked at Hu Wenhai in shock, recalling his previous words and the process requirements for argon arc welding, and asked, "My good grandson, you're not building a turbojet engine for a fighter jet, are you?"

Hu Wenhai smiled brightly and shook his head, "Grandpa, that's a bit exaggerated. I just want to make a small jet engine for a fighter model."

He thought for a moment and added, "Toys, these are just toys."

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**End of Chapter**