Chapter 43: The Dawn of Victory is Within Sight

At this moment, everyone looked at Su Dingping with complex expressions, deeply moved in their hearts.

They were all members of the Navy, so they naturally understood the magnitude of the impact Su Dingping's appearance would bring.

The grievances they had endured over the years had been kept bottled up inside, but at this moment, they nearly lost control of their emotions.

Zhang Gongnong turned his head away to suppress the surging thoughts in his heart. After taking several deep breaths, he finally said, "Comrade Su Dingping, well done."

Then, Sun Yongguo walked to the side of the box, took out the last envelope inside, and walked straight up to Su Dingping.

"Director? There's more?"

Su Dingping was stunned.

His rank had been conferred, his First-Class Merit medal had been awarded—was there still more?

He was starting to feel embarrassed.

"Chief Xu said at the time that he would reimburse all your expenses. Reimbursement plus a reward—it's 200,000 yuan in total, all in here."

"Two hundred thousand?"

Su Dingping's voice rose several decibels.

In the year 2000, 200,000 yuan was no small sum.

"Director, that's too much! I can't take that much!"

Su Dingping hurriedly refused, but Sun Yongguo pressed it directly into his hands.

"Take it! Spend it however you want."

"But I really don't need that much."

"This was approved by Chief Xu for you. Are you going to return it? Besides, you're not young anymore. Having some money on hand will be useful when you marry a wife in the future, won't it? Take it, just take it!"

Zhang Zhaoxin, standing nearby, also added, "Take it, Dingping. You deserve this."

"That's right!" Li Mingrui chimed in. "When we had our major technical breakthroughs back then, we also received rewards! We all did. If you don't accept it, what are we supposed to do?"

There was one thing he didn't say: their rewards back then were, at most, 30,000 yuan.

There was no helping it; the Navy's military budget was limited. Being able to award 30,000 yuan was already considered a major scientific research breakthrough.

Seeing that everyone had spoken up, Su Dingping stopped being modest and quickly said, "Alright, I'll accept this money. Once everyone has mastered the core technology of the 956E, I'll host a victory banquet for everyone!"

"Good!"

Seeing Su Dingping accept it, smiles immediately appeared on everyone's faces; a major weight had been lifted from their hearts.

After a brief farewell to Su Dingping, Zhang Zhaoxin boarded the private jet and departed in a hurry.

After returning to his room and packing his things, Su Dingping entered the Military Industry Illustrated Forging Space.

In the northern area of the shipyard, Su Dingping's figure suddenly appeared.

After observing for a moment, an 'SS-N-22 Sunburn' anti-ship missile was successfully forged.

Su Dingping studied it for a while, and after confirming there were no errors, he breathed a sigh of relief.

At this moment, the 'SS-N-22 Sunburn' anti-ship missile, which was compatible with the Bai Ling supersonic anti-ship missile system, had passed the stages of debugging, trial and error, and adjustment, and had entered the formal mass production stage.

This also meant that as long as a production line was established in the real world, a large amount of money could be saved by proceeding directly to mass production.

Currently, the anti-ship and anti-air missiles for the 956E had to be purchased from the Soviet Union. There was no other way; the domestically developed YJ and Haihong series were far behind in terms of strike range, flight speed, and reaction time, making them meaningless for deployment on the 956E.

Things would be different in the future; this expense could be saved.

After confirming everything was correct, Su Dingping returned to the deck of the 956E.

Currently, the core technology for the 9M38 shipborne anti-air missile, which was compatible with the 'SA-N-7 Hurricane anti-air missile system,' had not yet been completely conquered.

Picking up a set of materials, Su Dingping began to study them seriously.

"Semi-active single-pulse radar guidance technology, through a seeker head with specific tracking signals, achieves coordination through the fire control system and the signal transmitter..."

On the other side, after handling Su Dingping's matters, Sun Yongguo hurried to report the news.

Upon receiving the news, Xu Dongguo breathed a complete sigh of relief.

The matter of Su Dingping had been weighing on his mind for a month. Now that everything was settled, he also had to prepare for the Navy high-level meeting in half a month.

Early the next morning, before dawn, Su Dingping called Sun Yongguo and the others awake.

"Dingping, it's still early."

"Director, it's not early. We need to hurry."

Su Dingping said, "I received so many benefits yesterday. If I don't start the breakthrough work with you all early today, I won't feel right about it!"

Sun Yongguo and Zhang Gongnong looked at each other.

*Let's skip this kind of 'repayment' next time.*

Arriving at the temporary classroom, Su Dingping looked at the bleary-eyed crowd and said

"The research on the two types of shipborne missiles for the 956E has already made some progress. Before long, I will begin formulating new courses."

"So, everyone, we need to pick up the pace!"

The crowd, who had been half-asleep, suddenly became energized.

Were they sleepy? Very sleepy!

Were they tired? Very tired!

But as long as they heard that there was new progress in the technologies that could make up for the Navy's shortcomings, they were more energetic than anyone else.

Seeing that everyone was energized, Su Dingping immediately said, "Alright, class begins now!"

...

Time flew by, and ten-odd days passed in a flash.

On the afternoon of the 15th, Su Dingping concluded the final lesson of the 956E main ship core technology breakthrough.

Over the course of a month and a half, many professors had focused on their respective fields, and under Su Dingping's leadership, they had achieved massive breakthroughs.

Sun Yongguo and the others had already mastered most of the core technologies for the 956E main ship; the rest would just take some time to consolidate.

In the classroom, Su Dingping looked at the somewhat haggard crowd and said, "Everyone, you have all worked very hard during this period."

Smiles appeared on everyone's faces; the dawn of victory was within sight.

Sun Yongguo said, "Dingping, we aren't tired. You have worked much harder than us."

Everyone nodded repeatedly.

They only needed to focus on their own areas of expertise, but Su Dingping was different; he had to teach all fields and was also responsible for answering questions from professors in different disciplines.

They had seen firsthand how hard Su Dingping worked.

Su Dingping smiled faintly. Although he had a system to back him up, in terms of actual hard work, he was indeed no less exhausted than any of the professors present.

"Everyone, if we work hard now, those who come after us won't have to work as hard. Our hard work is worth it."

Changing his tone, he continued, "I will leave the assembly of the 956E tomorrow to you all. If there are any problems, you can ask me at any time. I hope to see a complete 956E born from your hands!"

Sun Yongguo hurriedly said, "Dingping, why would you do this? You have contributed most to the 956E breakthrough. How can we 'pluck the peach' at the very last moment? That won't do!"

Everyone else also expressed their stance.

They already felt bad about having learned the technology without paying any "tuition"; they couldn't possibly claim the credit for the final stage for free!

Their principles and beliefs would not allow it.

"Everyone, this is an assessment for you! If you cannot even pass this stage, then I will feel that you are wasting my time! There will be no need for you to participate in the subsequent second phase of the course."

Hearing the second half of the sentence, everyone's expressions changed instantly.

"Dingping, could it be...?" Sun Yongguo pressed.

Su Dingping nodded and said, "Director, starting from the day after tomorrow, the Bai Ling supersonic anti-ship missile system, the 'SA-N-7 Hurricane anti-air missile system,' and their compatible 'SS-N-22 Sunburn' anti-ship missiles and 9M38 shipborne anti-air missiles, will be our second stage of the course!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's emotions surged.

Only ten days ago, he had said there was just a bit of progress, yet in these ten days, while busy teaching and answering questions for various professors, he had actually conquered two shipborne missile systems and their core technologies!

Regarding this level of talent, Sun Yongguo and the others were so shocked they were speechless. This was no longer a matter of feeling inferior; it was a matter of being unable to even catch up to his shadow.

"Dingping, don't worry. You can leave the final assembly of the 956E to us. We definitely won't let you down."

For a moment, everyone was filled with drive and absolute confidence.

After giving his instructions, Su Dingping pulled Sun Yongguo aside privately.

"Director, there is something I need your help with regarding contacting the Chief."

(End of Chapter)