"What? You still don't want to come?" Xu Qiang asked with a smile.

"Since you asked me, I will definitely come." He Yonghong patted Xu Qiang on the shoulder and said, "No matter what, we are a golden pair. By the way, let me ask you, will you still provide me with wine when I come here?"

"As long as you can do your job well, you can drink as much as you want!" Xu Qiang said straightforwardly.

Xu Qiang always thought that He Yonghong was not suitable for working in the factory. He was too casual and loved drinking too much. If it were not for this, he would definitely be doing much better in the factory than he is now.

But generally speaking, capable people have a bit of personality. If He Yonghong didn't have strong technical skills, he would have been demoted to a front-line workshop by Liu Biao long ago.

Afterwards, Xu Qiang took He Yonghong to the dormitory and put down his luggage. After exchanging a few words, He Yonghong and Xu Qiang went to Shanghai Institute of Mechanical Engineering together.

Xu Qiang's task today is to move. He needs to go to the school first to go through some formalities, including obtaining a work permit for entering and leaving the school, as well as dormitory keys, bedding, washbasins and other items.

Afterwards, Xu Qiang went out to buy some daily necessities and cleaned the room carefully.

He Yonghong never expected that on his first day in Shanghai, he would be dragged here by Xu Qiang to work as a "coolie", but there was nothing he could do about it. After all, Xu Qiang was his immediate superior both in the factory and here.

However, when the two of them finished their work and went to a restaurant for lunch, he saw the "Qibao Daqu" that Xu Qiang bought for him, and his previous dissatisfaction was immediately swept away, and he hurriedly flattered Xu Qiang...

……

The next day, Deputy Director Meng from the General Office of the First Ministry of Machine Building came to the school and convened a project work meeting with more than ten people including Xu Qiang that afternoon. At the meeting, Director Meng assigned tasks to various departments and asked them to fully assist Xu Qiang's aramid paper mass production project.

Among these cooperating units, in addition to the Shanghai Institute of Mechanical Engineering, there are also Shanghai No. 1 Paper Mill, Shanghai Radio Factory No. 1 and No. 2, Shanghai Chemical Machinery Factory No. 1, and Shanghai Chemical Reagent Factory. A total of seven units jointly assisted in the research and development of this project.

Liu Siying and He Yonghong, who came with Xu Qiang, were shocked to see so many units and enterprises participating in this project. They had never seen a project with so many participating units and people. This shows how much importance the country attaches to this project.

At the end of the meeting, under everyone's gaze, Xu Qiang signed his name on the project responsibility letter, which meant that from that moment on, Xu Qiang officially became the person in charge of the aramid paper mass production project.

After all the procedures were completed, Xu Qiang was led by Director Meng to an office next door, and the two sat face to face.

"Do you want to smoke?" Director Meng took out a pack of cigarettes and said to Xu Qiang.

Director Meng’s name is Meng Guangming. He joined the party in 48 and participated in the War of Liberation and the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea. He was later transferred to work in the First Ministry of Machine Building. He is now the deputy director of the General Office of the First Ministry of Machine Building.

"Have one." Xu Qiang was not polite. After taking the cigarette, he took out a match, lit it and took a puff.

Xu Qiang seldom smokes, but after finishing the work meeting today, he suddenly felt relieved, so he smoked a cigarette to calm down.

"To be honest, I've worked at the First Ministry of Machine Building for so many years, and you're the youngest person in charge of a national key project that I've ever seen." Meng Guangming looked at Xu Qiang with some approval, and then he continued, "But since Minister Zhang trusts you so much, it means you must have something extraordinary..."

Today was also the first time that Meng Guangming met Xu Qiang. Although he already knew that Xu Qiang was only in his early twenties, he was still somewhat surprised when he saw him in person.

"Director Meng, thank you for your compliment. I'm flattered that Minister Zhang attaches so much importance to me. Actually, my abilities are not that good, and I need to learn and practice more in the future..." Xu Qiang said modestly.

"You don't have to be modest with me. Minister Zhang is always good at judging people. If he says you can do it, then you can do it!" Meng Guangming flicked the ash off his cigarette and continued, "But it's not easy to convince others when you're young, especially for such an important scientific research project. There will definitely be criticisms against you in the future. You have to be mentally prepared and don't let those gossips ruin your mentality. You just need to do your own thing well."

"Thank you Director Meng for the reminder."

"You don't have to thank me. I'm only here to do my official business. All things are difficult at the beginning, and the first shot is crucial. If this project is successful, you will have a firm foothold in the department, and you will have a place in your academic circle..." Meng Guangming said lightly.

"I understand this too. I will try my best." Xu Qiang nodded.

"And one last point. The faster the progress of this project, the better. If it takes too long, it will become increasingly difficult to ask your superiors for funds and other things in the later stage. This is all based on my experience..." Meng Guangming paused, and then said, "In my experience, projects of this level should not exceed two years. You have to understand that the popularity of anything has a time limit. The leaders above change relatively frequently, and no one is willing to take over the mess left by others. Moreover, this is a thankless task..."

It is obvious that Meng Guangming has a lot of experience and has worked in government agencies for many years. He is well versed in the ways of the world. His words are from the bottom of his heart. "Thank you Director Meng for your reminder!" Xu Qiang said gratefully.

Xu Qiang could tell that although the higher authorities would not set a clear deadline for completion of such a key scientific research project in name, after all, this was not in line with the objective laws of scientific research work, but they still set an invisible deadline for the project. If this deadline was exceeded, the higher authorities' support for the project would be greatly reduced, which was actually equivalent to sentencing their own project to "death".

But this is also very normal. The country's investment in any project cannot be endless, especially in this era, when everything should be done in a "short, flat and fast" way, spending the least time and resources and getting the biggest return. Giving Xu Qiang two years for this project is already "the utmost they can do".

Once this deadline is exceeded, Xu Qiang's life will become difficult, and it will be basically impossible for him to continue to undertake new large-scale scientific research projects in the future, which means that he will never be able to turn things around.

"I don't have anything else to say. I wish your project a complete success." It was only at this time that a smile appeared on Meng Guangming's face.

"I will ensure that this project is completed on time." Xu Qiang said seriously.

"If you have any problems in the future, you can call this number directly. This is the phone number of Director Wang's office in the Shanghai Office of the First Ministry of Machine Building. He will help you solve problems with the assisting unit." Meng Guangming said as he handed Xu Qiang a piece of paper with a phone number and name on it.

"What if this call can't get through?" Xu Qiang asked after taking the note.

"You can also go directly to his office. Their office is at 120 Fuzhou Road, Shanghai. You should have frequent contact in the future. It will be good for your work."

"understood."

"If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving. I have other things to do in Shanghai this time." Meng Guangming stood up while speaking.

"Director Meng, are you free tonight? I would like to invite you to dinner..."

"There's no need to have dinner with you. If this project is successful, I will come to Shanghai to treat you to a meal. If it fails, we may never meet again."

Meng Guangming finished speaking and left the office.

Seeing Meng Guangming leave, Xu Qiang also stood up, put the note in his pocket, then extinguished the cigarette in his hand and walked out of the office...

……

In the evening, in a state-owned restaurant opposite the School of Mechanical Engineering, Xu Qiang, Liu Siying and He Yonghong sat at a table in the corner to celebrate the success of the project.

Nowadays, all three of them have moved into the dormitory building of the School of Mechanical Engineering.

Liu Siying seemed very excited when she arrived at the campus. In her opinion, the environment of this university is very beautiful and it is the most ideal place for study and research and development.

Moreover, compared with the staff building where she lived before, the faculty and staff dormitories here are spacious and bright. Several people no longer have to squeeze into a small room of ten square meters. This gave Liu Siying a big surprise.

In the next step, Xu Qiang will screen the lists provided by Zhou Yonggui from the Chemical Engineering Department and the Electronic Machinery Department, and eventually select 20 people to join Xu Qiang's project team to officially start the research and development tasks.

As for the division of labor among the three, Xu Qiang also gave an explanation. Xu Qiang himself led the students of the Department of Chemistry, He Yonghong was responsible for managing the students of the Department of Engineering Machinery, and Liu Siying managed the students of the Department of Electronics.

With a basic project management structure in place, the rest of the process will be much easier.

"Come on, let's have a drink for our common cause!" After the food and wine were served, Xu Qiang said to Liu Siying and He Yonghong.

"cheers!"

The next moment, the three people's wine glasses clinked together crisply.

It was from this time that Xu Qiang and his three companions began their legendary journey... (End of this chapter)