Shen Qianqian said resignedly, "Alright, I did have Lin Chuan help me with some ideas."
"Ah, it was Lin, a formidable youngster."
Shen Jianhua looked towards Lin Chuan, his eyes filled with a hint of admiration.
Lin Chuan smiled and said with composure, "Uncle Shen, I only offered some directions for improvement. Most of it was independently designed by Qianqian."
"Dad, you hear that."
Shen Qianqian humphed softly, eager to take credit.
Shen Jianhua laughed heartily, "Heard it, heard it. Isn't it good that your skills are improving?"
"That's more like it!"
Shen Qianqian's smile bloomed like flowers, at odds with the rust-stained iron and steel factory.
"Qianqian, when do you plan to create the model?" Shen Jianhua asked.
Shen Qianqian glanced at the iron and steel factory, silent and serene, no longer filled with the clanging and boisterous noise of the past, nor the loud conversations of workers.
So she asked, "Is it still possible to start up the factory now?"
The machinery in the iron and steel factory, especially some of the larger machines, wasn't easy to operate.
Starting up many machines would incur significant costs.
Shen Jianhua flipped through Shen Qianqian's documents again, "Your gun is a small item; we can manage with some of the smaller machines, no problem."
"And... what about larger items?"
Shen Qianqian frowned and after speaking, she glanced at Lin Chuan next to her.
"Larger items?"
Shen Jianhua looked puzzled and asked, "What do you mean?"
"Lin Chuan is also entering the National Weapons Innovation Design Competition. The weapon he designed, it's quite large, and he would like to use the factory to build both the model and the actual object."
Shen Qianqian took the two documents from Shen Jianhua's hand, flipped to the one underneath, and pointed it out to him.
Shen Jianhua first looked at Lin Chuan, then lowered his gaze to the document.
On the document was a blueprint model of a rocket launcher.
This blueprint model was much more detailed than Shen Qianqian's 'modular new-style firearms.'
It was not a simple rocket launcher; below it was a heavy-duty highly mobile off-road truck chassis serving as the launching vehicle.
One could tell that it was a remote box-type rocket launcher.
The overall design resembled a steel beast perched atop the heavy-duty off-road truck, poised and ready, with neatly arranged launch tubes pointing towards the sky at the front of the barrel.
Behind the launch tubes were complex support structures and adjustment mechanisms.
As for the rocket launcher, he wasn't too knowledgeable about it.
However, this blueprint gave him a sense of extreme professionalism.
"Lin, we can make a model of this rocket launcher in our steel factory, but as for the actual object, I regret to say that we lack the necessary equipment to complete it," Shen Jianhua said softly, looking at Lin Chuan with a hint of apology.
Lin Chuan had yet to speak.
Shen Qianqian immediately asked, "Dad, are the machines in the factory all unusable now?"
Shen Jianhua shook his head, "Qianqian, you might not be aware, but the leaders in the city are thinking of selling off the iron and steel factory to transform it into a private enterprise and increase tax revenue. Some of the larger machines have already been locked up and we're not allowed to use them."
He looked at the blueprint again.
The small parts of the rocket launcher could be made without guaranteeing precision.
However, the larger actual objects would require machines like large-scale stamping machine tools and large alloy plate cutting machines.
These had all been packaged and mortgaged to a private company.
This information had not been publicly announced for fear that the workers of the iron and steel factory would petition jointly and protest on a large scale.
Therefore, these processes were conducted in private.
The closure of the iron and steel factory had an irreversible trend.
"Dad, can't you fight for Lin Chuan a bit!" Shen Qianqian pleaded urgently, her speech speeding up slightly.
Shen Jianhua sighed again.
It wasn't that he didn't want to help, but as just a factory manager, he couldn't make decisions for the iron and steel factory.
On the surface, it was an issue with the machinery.
In reality, it was the imminent bankruptcy and shutdown of the entire iron and steel factory.
"Qianqian, it's tough for Uncle too. Just make a model for now, and I'll find another way for the actual rocket launcher," Lin Chuan said after a moment of silence.
"Lin, don't take it the wrong way, but Uncle couldn't be of much help," Shen Jianhua said with regret.
This was his first meeting with Lin Chuan.
However, with Shen Qianqian receiving commendations from the police station and often appearing in the news alongside Lin Chuan, he had heard all about Lin, knowing that he had helped his daughter a lot, so not being able to help Lin this time made him feel quite sorry.
"Uncle, what are you talking about?"
Lin Chuan waved his hand and quickly said, "If Uncle has time, could you take me on a tour of the iron and steel factory?"
"A tour?"
Shen Jianhua was slightly startled, then he smiled and said, "That's a small matter, of course."
After speaking, he raised his hand, gesturing for Lin Chuan to walk ahead.
The iron and steel factory was very large.
Sunlight filtered through the few glass panels in the lofty workshop ceiling, casting mottled light onto the steel-crafted space, filling the air with a unique and slightly pungent smell of iron filings and coke.
In the workshop, huge pieces of machinery were neatly arranged, like silent steel giants standing guard.
The work had stopped, and the vast steel factory seemed extraordinarily quiet.
Lin Chuan, Shen Jianhua, and Shen Qianqian walked among them.
"Lin, are you particularly familiar with these machines?" Shen Jianhua glanced at Lin Chuan and asked.
Along the way,
Lin Chuan had discussed these machines with Shen Jianhua, leading him to believe that Lin's knowledge of their data and functions was no less than his own.
That was the cause of his curiosity.
He had heard from his daughter Shen Qianqian that Lin Chuan was a web novel writer.
Now it seemed that this web novel writer might come from a family of workers.
Lin Chuan smiled: "I just have a bit of a hobby; by the way, Uncle Shen, may I ask about the situation of this steel factory?"
"What do you know about the situation?"
Shen Jianhua asked.
"The factory hasn't been sold yet, has it?" Lin Chuan asked the question he cared about most.
"The situation at the steel factory isn't good, but it won't be sold in a hurry," Shen Jianhua said with a bitter smile.
"Has there been any consideration of transforming the steel factory?" Lin Chuan asked again.
"Transform?"
Shen Jianhua's sallow face showed a flicker of puzzlement, "The top brass has not only considered it but also tried it, yet all efforts ended in failure."
As a pillar of heavy industry in Anling City,
the city's leaders and the department in charge of the steel factory tried everything to save it, including introducing technology, investment, advanced management models, and improving the production line, but they couldn't withstand the market's continuously falling demand for steel.
In the end, they were powerless to reverse the situation.
Lin Chuan thought for a moment, looked at Shen Jianhua with a clear gaze, and asked, "Have you tried transforming into a military industry enterprise?"
"Military industry enterprise?"
Shen Jianhua was taken aback instantly.
Lin Chuan nodded: "Yes."
Shen Jianhua slowly collected his thoughts, first looking at Shen Qianqian: "A couple of days ago, Qianqian briefly mentioned this idea to me, I suppose it must be Lin's suggestion, right?"
"Yes, Lin Chuan told me," Shen Qianqian replied.
At that moment,
Shen Jianhua's gaze settled on Lin Chuan: "Lin, I reported this to the leadership yesterday, and the reply was only three words."
"Which three words?" Shen Qianqian pressed.
Lin Chuan also waited quietly for the rest.
"Not realistic," Shen Jianhua said slowly, his face tinged with dejection, "On the one hand, the requirements for military enterprises are very strict, and an ordinary iron and steel factory is unlikely to get such a qualification. On the other hand, Anling Iron and Steel Factory lacks military technology and doesn't have enough capital to invest in military research and development."
Shen Qianqian also fell silent.
Transforming a steel factory into a military plant is not something you can just decide to do.
This was a harsh reality.
Lin Chuan seemed to have anticipated such a response and smiled: "Uncle Shen, what if I could solve these two issues for Anling Iron and Steel Factory?"
"You can solve them?"
Shen Jianhua's heart jolted, he furrowed his brows, and a hint of doubt appeared on his face.

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