Chapter 29: Everything Will Come in Time

"Thank you, Sister-in-law. I'll be sure to ask you for advice when I have the chance!"

"Don't mention it, we're all family here. Our men are out at sea from time to time, so we have to help each other out!" Zhang Jing nimbly stooped down, poured half of the green beans from her basket into the basin on the ground, and then handed the basket to Jiang Jingzhu.

"These are fresh green beans that arrived today. They’re the last of the lot and don't look quite as crisp as the others, but add them to your meal—don't mind them!"

Yin Zhen and Jiang Jingzhu thanked her again. They decided to stir-fry the green beans for dinner; they needed a balance of meat and vegetables and were eager to expand their repertoire of dishes.

For Yin Zhen, cleaning, gutting, and prepping the fish was no challenge at all. During their field training and various missions, scavenging for their own supplies was standard practice. To sustain their physical performance, they learned to make do with whatever they could find, whether raw or cooked. That was how their skills were honed—they could wield a military knife with the precision of an artist.

Jiang Jingzhu added water to the pot and picked over the green beans, snapping them into uniform lengths.

Once the tasks were divided, everyone at the institute dove into their preparatory work. Ironically, as the project lead, she became the least busy, even finding time to head home early. She had intended to work overtime with the others—it didn't feel right for a leader to leave early—but Mr. Meng and Mr. Du insisted she go, urging her to meet Yin Zhen, who had come to pick her up.

Zhang Jing glanced at the neighboring house. Seeing the Yin family return with a fish, she had initially thought they were just treating themselves to a nice meal. She was about to sigh and remark on how lucky Commander Yin was to have such a virtuous and capable wife. Even the most beautiful woman, she thought, inevitably ends up tied to the stove, tending to the family's needs.

But then she saw Commander Yin skillfully drawing water, cleaning the fish, and heard the young couple’s voices drifting over: "Is the oil hot yet?" "Is there enough salt?" "Are the scallion slivers thin enough?"

Then came Commander Yin’s voice, warning his wife to stand back because he was about to pour the hot oil. It was clearly Commander Yin doing the cooking!

Comparing this to her own husband, Old Su, she couldn't bear to look. It wasn't that she was envious or obsessed with other people's lives, but seeing this, how could anyone not be a little jealous? She nudged Old Su, thinking, "They're both men; look at how he does things!" Old Su was always lecturing her on politics, so she decided she would give him a lecture later—why couldn't he learn a thing or two from Commander Yin?

She gave a silent nod of approval to Yin Zhen’s handiwork; the dinner was perfectly prepared.

On the dinner table sat a steamed sea bass and a plate of stir-fried green beans. The bass was white, tender, and delicious, garnished with delicate scallion slivers, while the green beans were crisp, refreshing, and retained their natural flavor.

The rice had been brought over from the cafeteria. It was cooked in a massive communal pot, which gave it a unique, fragrant quality—the hallmark of high-heat, large-batch cooking that you just couldn't replicate at home.

"Soda instead of wine, to celebrate Zhuzhu's first successful day at work!" Yin Zhen said with a smile, raising his glass in the warm, soft light.

"To our future, may our lives get better and better! And thank you for your hard work today, Chef Yin!" Jiang Jingzhu replied, beaming. She had just called home and heard that everyone was doing well. Her marriage was harmonious, she had successfully begun her scientific research, and the project was moving forward rapidly—everything was wonderful.

"And thank you for your hard work as my sous-chef, Zhuzhu! I’ll keep at it; next time, I’ll try to add two more dishes and a soup!"

As the days turned and the sun rose and set, the project progressed steadily.

The entire 501 Institute was abuzz with activity, everyone working at full capacity, immersed in a fervent atmosphere of research and innovation. In a limited environment, they showed unlimited adaptability. They allocated available components and materials, immediately launching whatever experiments they could.

Mr. Feng, who had to wait for the successful smelting of materials before he could begin crafting parts, spent his time with his assistants and apprentices practicing basic skills. They honed their craft, biding their time so that when they were finally needed, they would be ready to hit the ground running and catch up on the schedule.

Jiang Jingzhu’s logical division of labor ensured that everyone had a clear goal. From top to bottom, everyone performed their duties, buzzing with activity. This was no ordinary unit; everyone here carried a special mark. The military style—receiving an order and acting immediately, fearing no hardship, and meeting challenges head-on—was their instinct.

As the chief guidance officer overseeing the entire project, Jiang Jingzhu was prepared to be the busiest person on the team, ready to act as a firefighter whenever needed. When she wasn't required for direct support, her primary task was to track the development of the various components and engines, providing rapid responses to any issues that arose.

However, the heads of each division were all seasoned experts. Because the preparation steps she provided were so detailed, they rarely ran into problems that required her intervention.

The ammunition team produced results first. Jiang Jingzhu had already derived the formula; it was just a matter of testing its performance.

Aluminum powder, magnesium powder, RDX... these were common staples in ammunition research, substances that required the utmost caution. Once Wang Suzhen received the ratios and began mixing them, her eyes lit up. She knew this mixture would be incredibly powerful.

She worked with extreme care, using only minute quantities to conduct the initial mixes. Dealing with high-energy materials required absolute caution; a minor mistake could lead to injury, and a major one could cause immeasurable loss.

"Comrade Jingzhu, this is our material preparation room. It’s a bit crude, but it is definitely capable of handling the work," Lin Yao said, leading Jiang Jingzhu on a tour.

Material preparation was the cornerstone of everything—the engine room, the casing, and so much more. It was the foundation upon which everything else depended; once the materials were ready, the other teams could proceed. Therefore, at the beginning of the torpedo project, Jiang Jingzhu made tracking materials her top priority.

The material preparation lab was divided into two rooms. The inner room held rows of storage racks filled with various ores and glass bottles containing sealed powder samples. The outer room looked like a small smelting workshop. On the workbench, Jiang Jingzhu saw hammers, mortars, stone grinders, graphite, and crucibles—these were their current, primitive, and limited tools for material smelting.

The most sophisticated equipment they had was perhaps the testing instruments. High-end equipment for specialized smelting was rare in the country, and in this remote area, it was practically non-existent. In the corner, a smelting furnace looked like a hodgepodge of salvaged parts—which it was, a makeshift airtight smelting furnace built from whatever they could find.

"The country has imported vacuum smelting furnaces from the West, but those are expensive treasures we don't have access to yet. I figured that special materials require special processing methods, so I just cobbled this thing together to try it out," Lin Yao said, scratching the back of his head and offering a sheepish, awkward smile as he saw Jiang Jingzhu looking at the clumsy contraption in the corner.

For their material research, they were still using hammers and mortars for crushing, stone mills and grinders for powdering, chutes for flow, and ceramic vats or crucibles for high-temperature melting. When he first returned from abroad, the biggest adjustment was the gap in equipment. But there was no help for it; this was the harsh reality in the country. He gritted his teeth, adapted, and developed "indigenous" methods to achieve the same effects as the precision equipment he had used before.

The West was only a few steps ahead; eventually, they would have everything they needed too.