It has been two days since Xu Qiang and Liu Siying returned to Shanghai, but the events that followed one after another have left them overwhelmed.

Still remembering that on the day when the two of them returned to the School of Mechanical Engineering, Dean Chen Zhihang led a group of teachers and students to greet them personally at the door, which touched Xiao Qiang a little.

In fact, from the moment Xu Qiang won the award, he already had the halo of a top domestic expert. Moreover, this award was presented by the leader himself, which undoubtedly made the award more valuable.

Although Xu Qiang is nominally just a TV University student, he immediately became a hot commodity in the Shanghai government after he was awarded the National Science and Technology Progress Award.

First, Xu Qiang and Liu Siying received a congratulatory letter from the Shengli Machinery Factory, as well as a bonus of 500 yuan from the factory. This was the reward plan that Liu Biao came up with after a meeting at the factory.

Then, the JX Provincial Defense Science and Technology Office also sent a congratulatory letter to Xu Qiang and Liu Siying. According to the provincial bureau's reward regulations, talents like Xu Qiang who have won national science and technology awards enjoy the same treatment as national model workers and advanced workers. Their salary has been raised by two levels, and they have received a bonus of 1000 yuan. In addition, the two have already secured their places as provincial model workers this year, and will attend the provincial model worker award ceremony around October.

At this time, Xu Qiang was like a master who had opened up his Ren and Du meridians. Many rewards and honors that seemed distant before were now within his reach, and along with them, there were also various social engagements.

In addition to Dean Chen Zhihang, the factory directors of the Shanghai-affiliated enterprises of the First Ministry of Machine Building who had previously collaborated with Xu Qiang on the project also took the initiative to invite him, Liu Siying and He Yonghong to dinner and drinks. At the table, they praised the three of them highly and hoped that they would have more opportunities for cooperation in the future.

In addition, several leaders from the JX Provincial Defense Science and Technology Office also made a special trip to Shanghai to visit members of Xu Qiang's team, led by Luo Tao.

When he was working in the factory, Luo Tao had already had a few drinks with Xu Qiang. This time, the two sat together again to drink and eat, and talked about some current things in the provincial bureau and the factory.

"...When you graduate and return to the factory, the position of chief engineer will be yours!" After three rounds of drinks, Luo Tao's words began to become more straightforward.

Luo Tao's words not only surprised Xu Qiang, but also stunned Liu Siying and He Yonghong who were there with him.

You know, Li Cunzhu has been the chief engineer of the factory since its establishment. Now Liu Biao is still the factory director. If Xu Qiang is made the chief engineer, then how to place Li Cunzhu would become a big problem.

"Director Luo, I'm actually too young..." Xu Qiang frowned slightly, and then said: "Besides, Chief Engineer Li has always done a good job. I don't think I'm qualified for his position..."

If it were half a year ago, Xu Qiang and Li Cunzhu were indeed fighting openly and secretly for the management rights of the chemical laboratory, and they were each showing off their talents. In the final analysis, Xu Qiang needed to grasp some power to pave the way for his career.

But now, especially after meeting with the leaders and winning the second prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award, Shengli Machinery Factory, the big tree that Xu Qiang relied on in the past, is not so important in his eyes.

Especially once the ministry agrees to let Xu Qiang take over the 8702 project and sets up a special research institute in Shanghai, his dependence on the machinery factory will become smaller, and he may even be able to completely break away from it.

But no matter what, the machinery factory is where Xu Qiang started his career, and his girlfriend Liu Siying's father is the factory director, so Xu Qiang will still pay attention to some things in this factory in the future and provide some technical help within his ability.

But if he were asked to graduate in a few years and return to the factory to be chief engineer, Xu Qiang probably wouldn't be able to go back.

"You have already won such a big award. Who else is more qualified to be the chief engineer besides you?" Luo Tao glanced at Xu Qiang and continued, "As for Lao Li, there will be other arrangements when the time comes. I will transfer him to the provincial bureau, and he can also do technical work."

"By the way, Director Luo, how is the progress of our factory's foreign trade of military products? Why has there been no news for the past two months?" Xu Qiang asked.

Hearing Xu Qiang say this, Liu Siying was also concerned, because at that time only Xu Qiang's project and Li Cunzhu's product project in which Liu Siying participated participated in the foreign trade military products exhibition held by the department, while Xu Qiang's aramid paper project was withdrawn midway, while Li Cunzhu's products were successfully exhibited.

Logically speaking, it has been more than two months since the exhibition, and there should be signs of orders.

"No hope..." Luo Tao sighed and said, "The experts in the department speak highly of your factory's products, but those foreigners just don't like them. They still prefer some cheap old equipment..."

"This is normal. If they want to buy good equipment, they can go to the United States and the Soviet Union. Our stuff has a large quantity and is cheaper." Xu Qiang nodded.

"But you don't have to worry about your factory. The department is currently planning to allocate 15 million yuan to build two perchloric acid battery production lines in your factory. Now one-third of the funds have been in place. Your factory director has already placed an order with the equipment manufacturer. With these two production lines, your factory will be the largest military battery production base in Jiangxi in the future!" Luo Tao said.

"That's great!" Xu Qiang was delighted when he heard this. In any case, seeing the products he developed start to go into mass production, Xu Qiang still felt a sense of accomplishment. With this production line, the factory's efficiency will become better, and it can also solve the employment problem of factory children.

In fact, for an ordinary enterprise, having only one flagship product is enough to maintain its operation for several years. Even for a large factory like Shengli Machinery Factory with tens of thousands of employees, relying on the factory's current products and the fertilizer workshop and military battery production line that Xu Qiang helped them improve from military to civilian use, they can at least ensure that they will obtain sufficient orders and stable benefits in three to five years. The pressure on Liu Biao, the factory director, will also be reduced a lot, and he only needs to do a good job of management in his daily life.

Even if Xu Qiang still stayed in the factory and provided more new products and new technologies, his superiors would not place all the production lines in Shengli Machinery Factory for balance considerations. Therefore, in the future, Xu Qiang would only need to contribute a new product project to the factory every two to three years, which would be enough to maintain the long-term operation of the factory.

"What did Leader Zhang say to you when you went to the department this time?" Luo Tao asked.

"It's about the aramid paper project. Our leader is also a graduate of chemical engineering. Ten years ago, he participated in the research and development of the aramid paper project, but it was not successful. So when he learned that my project was successful this time, he talked to me about technical issues." Xu Qiang said.

"I've known for a long time that you're a genius, but I didn't expect you to be a genius among geniuses. You're the first person in our Jiangxi defense system to win the National Technology Award, which is also a history." Luo Tao paused, then continued, "If it weren't for your factory director's strong request, I was going to transfer you directly to the provincial government..."

"Why is my dad like this now?" Liu Siying interrupted at this time.

"Your father is doing well. I visited your factory last month and the old man has gained some weight now, haha." When he said this, Luo Tao smiled and continued, "In fact, your father has had a hard time in the past two years. The country wants to cut military orders, and he is under a lot of pressure. Fortunately, Xu Qiang's military battery project has landed in your factory, which can at least bring your factory millions of net profits every year. With this money, his life will be much better..."

"Yeah." Hearing this, Li Siying's expression suddenly relaxed.

In the more than two months since coming to Shanghai, in addition to her studies, Liu Siying has to participate in Xu Qiang's project. She works more than ten hours almost every day and does not even have time to write letters home. Now she is relieved to hear that her father is in good health.

"There is one more thing I want to tell you. The plan for your factory to move to Fuzhou has been approved by the ministry, and the FZ city government has also allocated a piece of land for your factory. It is estimated that in two years at the earliest, Shengli Machinery Factory will move to Fuzhou, and all personnel and equipment will be moved away in batches."

"So fast!?" Xu Qiang and the other two were all surprised when they heard this.

"There is nothing we can do about it. Your factory is located in a remote mountainous area. The working and living conditions of the employees are very difficult. In addition, the transportation cost of the products is high, which is very unfavorable for the transformation of the enterprise. Therefore, the sooner you move, the better it will be for your factory." Luo Tao smiled slightly and continued, "Of course, after you graduate, you can go back to Fuzhou to work directly. After all, Fuzhou is the second largest city in Jiangxi. Your living conditions will be much better in the future..."

"I hope so." Xu Qiang nodded when he heard that.

"If you have time in the future, come back to the factory more often. Old Liu still misses you guys a lot."

"No problem. When the school is on vacation, we will go back to the factory and stay for a while. I miss my mother a lot, too." Xu Qiang said.

"In addition, you are welcome to come to the provincial bureau anytime in the future. Even if I'm not here, Deputy Director Zhao will entertain you."

"I'll definitely go!" Xu Qiang said, raising his glass.

Afterwards, several people clinked their glasses and drank the wine...

……

In the next few days, Xu Qiang stayed alone in the dormitory and began to write a paper on the new generation of high explosives.

Although Xu Qiang mastered the technical theory and processing technology of the fourth-generation high explosive CL-20, considering the weak foundation of the current domestic chemical industry and the long-term sustainability of the project, Xu Qiang finally chose to start with CL-20, a transition product of CL-01 high explosive.

Compared with CL-20, the performance of CL-01 is slightly worse. The explosion speed and energy of CL-20 can reach three times that of TNT, while the relevant performance of CL-01 is only about twice that of TNT.

However, the production process of CL-01 is much simpler, the raw materials can also be produced domestically, and the cost is only half of CL-20. It is very suitable for the actual needs of the current domestic military industry and can fully meet the product performance requirements of the 8702 project.

When the domestic chemical industry reaches a higher technological level in the future, Xu Qiang will continue to establish CL-02 and CL-20 projects. In this way, Xu Qiang can easily shoulder the national key scientific research projects for a long time, thereby obtaining the necessary rights and resources... (End of this chapter)