eurekapd Chapter 858 Time is running out for the Leap Forward!
Chapter 858 Time is running out for the Leap Forward!
Yes, that historical impression is really not pleasant.
Because that clip was labeled with "bad luck" and "test flight accident".
“Chief Engineer Zheng,” Jiang Xia looked up, his tone more cautious than before, “may I ask you a couple more questions about this new giant ship you just mentioned?”
Zheng Yujian nodded: "Ask away, we built all these ships ourselves, there's nothing we can't tell you."
"Chief Engineer Zheng, this is truly a remarkable achievement! Being able to build a 10,000-ton ship demonstrates that our design and construction capabilities have taken a giant leap forward. May I ask, how adaptable is this new ship to different sea routes? For example, if it encounters small ice floes or cold sea areas along the route, can it handle it?"
Upon hearing this, Chief Engineer Zheng's face lit up immediately, as if he had met a kindred spirit: "Hey! Comrade Xiao Jiang, you've hit the nail on the head! Our ship isn't just an ordinary cargo ship that can only run mild routes."
The ship was designed with challenging terrain in mind, so the bow structure and propulsion system were specially reinforced. It can easily handle typical ice floes and navigation in cold regions! The goal is to enable it to navigate directly to major ports around the world!
How could it not be advanced!
It is well known that Chinese people have a special obsession with being "first," as evidenced by the fact that this ship completed its 58-year journey in just 58 days.
In the following years, all sorts of advanced equipment were added. An automatic refueling function alone made it stand out from the crowd, not to mention the ice-breaking equipment and the complete set of mechanized and electronic equipment that were added later.
Jiang Xia nodded and continued to guide the conversation: "That's really amazing! Building such a complex ship must take a long time, right? I've heard that building similar ships abroad often requires spending half a year or even longer on the slipway."
Upon hearing this, Zheng Yujian's pride was even more evident. He lowered his voice slightly, but couldn't hide his smugness: "This is the most inspiring part of our project! You might not believe it, but from laying the keel to the completion and launching of the main structure, the time our ship spent on the slipway was, all things considered, much shorter than the fastest record abroad! I can't say the exact number of days, but this efficiency is absolutely top-notch!"
Jiang Xia's heart sank again. The ice-breaking ability and the ultra-short construction cycle increasingly pointed to the ill-fated giant ship in his memory.
He tentatively concluded, "Such an advanced ship must be highly automated, right? It should save the crew a lot of effort and allow it to sail on longer routes."
“That’s right!” Chief Engineer Zheng opened up completely. “We’ve used a lot of new equipment in the cabin-engine coordination and navigation system, all with the goal of reducing the workload of the crew and improving the safety and economy of long-distance voyages!”
We eagerly anticipate a successful trial voyage and hope it will soon contribute to the nation's ocean-going endeavors!
Hearing Chief Engineer Zheng's words of immense pride, and comparing them to the ominous memory in his own heart, Jiang Xia's heart sank completely.
Icebreaking capabilities, record-breaking construction efficiency, highly automated design... these characteristics closely match his memory of the "Yuejin".
"That damned Leap Forward..."
Why is it considered unlucky?
Because it crashed on its maiden voyage...
It still lies quietly on the seabed of the Yellow Sea, watching the fishing boats come and go in solitude.
……
At noon at the Darian Shipyard, the sun hung high overhead, making the steel dock scorching hot. Jiang Xia stood under a sunshade beside the dry dock, clutching the leather notebook that Chief Engineer Zheng had just given him.
After Chief Engineer Zheng said, "The test flight route is confidential, and I am not aware of the specific details," he took his leave.
However, this also confirmed the unlucky guy's exact identity.
But this news gave him the creeps.
"A 58-day slipway cycle... the goal is to visit all the major ports along the southeast coast..." Engineer Zheng's proud words still echoed in his ears, yet they clashed with the long-buried tragic clues in Jiangxia's memory: "the maiden voyage sank," "human error was the main culprit"...
They collided violently.
Those hazy historical records became incredibly clear: the frequent changes of key crew members before the maiden voyage, the fatal new route issued at the last minute after departure...
"No...this is exactly the same!" Jiang Xia cursed under his breath and turned around abruptly.
Two o'clock in the afternoon! The horrific moment of the impact echoed in his mind like a death knell. Less than two hours remained!
"Brother Wang! Does the shipyard have a radio? Can we contact the Yuejin?"
Old Wang had just taken two large steamed buns from the nearby shed and was about to hand them to the silly boy when he heard this, a look of surprise flashed across his face.
But he had an almost instinctive trust in Jiang Xia, and immediately nodded emphatically. After roughly determining the direction, he grabbed Jiang Xia and ran.
The midday sun cast short shadows on the two of them, and the concrete road beneath their feet softened under the heat. In the distance, the sound of a pneumatic hammer pounding against the ground mingled with the sound of the waves, making Jiang Xia slightly irritated.
The communications room was on the second floor of the factory's office building. It was a small room of about ten square meters, with two old-fashioned vacuum tube radios inside. It was as stuffy and hot as a steamer.
An old ceiling fan overhead spun weakly, stirring up the distinctive burnt smell of vacuum tube equipment.
"Comrade, please immediately use the test flight frequency to call 'Yuejin'! Emergency!" Jiang Xia said directly to the operator on duty, without bothering with formalities.
The operator, a young man, initially intended to yell at Jiang Xia, but upon seeing the distinctive North Sea Fleet badge on Jiang Xia's chest and then looking at the credentials held high in Old Wang's hand, he immediately swallowed his words.
Not daring to be negligent, he immediately and skillfully adjusted the knob.
"'Yuejin', 'Yuejin', this is the Dalian Shipyard command center. Please respond! Repeat, 'Yuejin', please respond!"
The speaker emitted only continuous white noise, and the buzzing sound of electricity was like countless fine needles, pricking Jiang Xia's eardrums painfully.
no respond……
Jiang Xia's heart skipped a beat. He hated it when he couldn't call anyone at times like this!
"Is the frequency band correct? Shouldn't the test vessel maintain uninterrupted communication?" Jiang Xia's voice unconsciously rose eight octaves.
Operator Xiao Li double-checked the confidential document: "That's right, it's this frequency band. Maybe... they're adjusting the equipment? Or is there a problem with the signal at sea?"
"Let's try switching to the digital frequency band!" Jiang Xia recalled that the "Yuejin" should be equipped with the latest domestically developed digital encrypted radio.
"Use the preset frequency band of the 'Red Star-B' type digital receiver to make a call!"
Operator Xiao Li looked troubled: "Sir, that new model... our factory only has the registration information, not the host computer, so we can't initiate a digital call."
"What's wrong with Factory 750! The production plan has been issued for so long, how come the supply range doesn't even cover this area!"
"You...don't stop! Keep yelling!"
Jiang Xia rarely took his anger out on anyone, which made the young operator shrink back and quickly start repeating the call.
……
Meanwhile, on the "Yuejin" (Leap Forward)
In the narrow but exceptionally clean telegraph room of the "Yuejin" ship, two brand-new "Red Star-B" type digital encrypted radios occupy the main position.
To ensure technological advancement and uniformity, the shipyard removed all old-style conventional shortwave radios before departure and replaced them all with this latest digital communication system provided by Factory 750.
Suddenly, a small red indicator light on the digital radio panel began to flash rapidly, standing out starkly in the silence.
A young radio operator trainee noticed the flashing light and curiously touched the older radio operator next to him, who was organizing paper logbooks because there was no traditional radio to operate:
"Master, look at this light, it's flashing so fast, is it... someone looking for us?"
The old telegraph operator looked up, adjusted his reading glasses, glanced at the flashing red light, then at the panel covered with unfamiliar buttons, and helplessly shrugged, his tone tinged with a hint of grumbling:
"Looking for it? Maybe. But do you even know how to use this thing? We had three days of training before boarding, just explaining the principles. With so many buttons, which one is for answering? Which one is for transmitting? What if you press the wrong one and burn out the machine? Who would dare touch it?"
The trainee honestly shook his head, his face full of confusion: "I don't know... I only took notes during the training, I didn't actually operate it. Who knew they would dismantle the old radio completely, leaving only this new one... and the new buttons are different..."
"My roommate, Brother Liu, knows how to use it, but because he used face cream... he got banned..."
"That settles it then!" the old telegraph operator sighed, a hint of complaint in his voice.
"There are a lot of new gadgets on this ship, and they look advanced, but not many people can actually operate them. What's the use of having the equipment if no one knows how to use it?"
"Then... what should we do? What if there's a real emergency?" The student was at a loss.
"What could be so urgent?" The old operator waved his hand and reached out to close the door to the secure compartment.
"Out of sight, out of mind. Let the technicians come check it out once we're ashore. Come on, let's go to the driver's cab and help with the lookout. Let's stop worrying about this here."
The hatch clicked shut, locking the flashing red light and faint buzzing inside.
Meanwhile, in the communications room of the Darian Shipyard, Jiang Xia was still staring at the speaker, his fingers unconsciously tapping the table. Each tap felt like a race against time.
There was only an hour and a half left until 2 p.m.