Kissed and Seduced By the Most Rough Man in the Village-Chapter 474: Has the New Steel Been Successfully Refined?!
"I’m going to find someone to work on it at the factory today. But take this money back; I can’t accept money from a younger generation," Mr. Su frowned and pushed the money Jiang Yexun had handed him back.
Although his son-in-law was wealthy, he couldn’t just let him pay for everything.
"This is to show respect to all the elders in the family. The design is Xiaoxiao’s, and you’re helping by finding someone to work on it, Dad. I can’t just contribute nothing," Jiang Yexun said earnestly, trying to reason with him.
Mr. Su, who had been persistent earlier, paused to think about it. After considering Jiang Yexun’s words, he felt they made sense and finally accepted the money.
"Alright, you don’t need to stay here with me. Go back quickly," Mr. Su waved his hand and shoved the money into his pocket before braving the wind and snow and heading out in a hurry.
He needed to get to the factory and test the new steel.
Additionally, Jiang Yexun had just given him a good reason to make some adjustments, so he could also send a few people to start working on the energy-saving stoves.
Once at the factory, before Mr. Su could even seek them out, a group of people surrounded him.
"Factory Director Su, we can discuss how to approach the city about the energy-saving stoves later. You know how cold it’s been in Shanghai recently, so we were thinking maybe we should start by making some energy-saving stoves for ourselves to use. That way, we can also see if there’s anything we need to improve," one of the workers said, a little cautiously.
Mr. Su glanced at them, and their hearts immediately sank, fearing he might refuse.
But Mr. Su smiled and said, "It’s fine to make some stoves for the family, but we’re here to work on the new steel. Here’s what we’ll do: you young and strong ones can focus on the energy-saving stoves today. I’ll take a few of the senior workers and continue working on the new steel."
The group of young workers brightened up at the news and immediately agreed.
However, Mr. Su added, "But remember, you’ll need to hand in twelve each to the finance department for using the factory’s steel, and there won’t be any overtime pay today."
"Don’t worry, Factory Director Su, we know the rules," the younger employees immediately replied.
Since even the factory director himself was paying, they had no interest in taking advantage of the situation.
With that, Mr. Su led a few senior workers away to another area.
The senior workers looked at him, concern etched on their faces. "Old Su, we’re not trying to discourage ourselves, but this new steel... it’s just failed so many times, and right now, we don’t have any ideas."
Mr. Su looked at them seriously, his voice low. "I have an idea, but it has to be kept absolutely confidential. Are you willing to give it a try?"
"Of course, we will! If there’s even the slightest possibility, we will go for it!" the senior workers immediately agreed, eager to make another attempt.
They shot him a complaining look, though, "But Old Su, you should know better. We’ve been here for so many years, and we know the rules. This new steel’s formula has to be kept secret, or other factories might steal it."
Mr. Su silently agreed in his mind. This time, the priority was to prevent overseas competitors from getting the formula.
Though, he couldn’t say that out loud just yet because they hadn’t succeeded. If they did succeed, things would be very different from the past. The steel they were producing now was going to be far superior to anything on the international market, and if it got into the wrong hands, there was no telling how far others might go to steal it.
Mr. Su explained the formula in detail, but he didn’t take out the bundle of letters he had been carrying.
The senior workers’ eyes lit up as they began gathering the materials and carefully following the proportions laid out.
Since this was still an experiment, all the necessary materials were readily available at the factory.
Before long, they had a batch of steel in the furnace.
Mr. Su, who was more anxious than ever, stood in the corner, pretending to be calm, though his mind was racing. He couldn’t let anyone see how anxious he was while the others were still working on the energy-saving stoves.
Soon, the steel was poured out, and after cooling and solidifying, Mr. Su rushed to the testing workshop with the steel to check the data.
The senior workers had failed so many times before that, even though they had a good feeling about this batch, they weren’t quite as eager to know the results.
They had been disappointed too many times in the past, and they were beginning to lose hope.
After a long wait, Mr. Su rushed back with the steel, and his face was barely able to hide his excitement.
He couldn’t stop smiling, and even his eyes betrayed his elation.
When the senior workers saw his expression, they immediately knew the results.
"Did it work? What are the numbers?" they asked, their voices filled with anticipation.
Mr. Su swallowed hard, his lips trembling as he struggled to speak.
The senior workers couldn’t wait any longer and were practically stomping their feet in impatience.
"Old Su! Factory Director Su! What happened? Hurry up and tell us! You’re killing us with suspense!"
"It worked! It worked! Three thousand six hundred megapascals! We did it!" Mr. Su exclaimed, unable to contain his pride.
For a moment, the room was eerily quiet. It took several seconds before one of the senior workers, trembling, asked, "How much did you say? Are you sure you didn’t make a mistake?"
"Three thousand six hundred megapascals! How could I make a mistake with something this important?" Mr. Su’s voice was filled with barely contained satisfaction.
Despite the excitement, no one noticed his unusual demeanor.
"Now go find the leaders of the city. We’ve not only solved the steel issue, but we’ve also solved the energy-saving stove problem!" one of the senior workers urged, excitement almost causing him to lose his words.
Mr. Su nodded seriously but couldn’t quite relax. "You all know how important this new steel is. We absolutely cannot leak it out. To be safe, we should all head to the leadership’s office together."
Everyone present knew that the best published data on foreign steel was already well known, so no one dared to refuse.
If the formula was leaked, it could be treated as industrial espionage, and that would come with severe consequences.
The senior workers packed their things and prepared to follow Mr. Su.
The noise from this excitement had been so noticeable that the young workers, still working on the energy-saving stoves, realized something was happening.
They immediately stopped what they were doing and walked over.
"Factory Director Su, where are you going? Could it be that the new steel has been refined?" one of them asked in disbelief.
Mr. Su smiled and nodded. "Yes, it’s been refined. I’m heading to the leadership office now to explain everything."
Since it would be impossible to keep it a secret from the rest of the factory, Mr. Su simply confirmed it.
Hearing this, the young workers’ eyes widened in shock.
"How is that possible? We just failed the other day, and now we’ve succeeded?" one of them exclaimed.
"Yeah! We were working on the energy-saving stoves today, and now the new steel has been successfully refined? What did you change in the proportions or materials?" another worker asked, both curious and frustrated.
It wasn’t just curiosity. If the new steel was successfully developed and the formula was promoted, all the workers involved in the research would be entitled to several months’ worth of wages as a reward.
But since they hadn’t been involved in this successful batch, they were feeling a sense of unfairness.
