Chapter 33: Comrade Dingping Still Holds Great Influence

After reading the report handed over by Sun Yongguo, Xu Dongguo was in an excellent mood.

He had never been able to find a suitable way to arrange Su Dingping's position, but now, it could finally be settled.

"Comrade Yongguo, you have done an excellent job with this. If it weren't for you, I would still be having a headache over how to arrange Comrade Su Dingping."

As for what rank to bestow upon Su Dingping, Sun Yongguo had not mentioned it in the report.

He knew very well what should be suggested and what should not.

However, Xu Dongguo insisted on bringing up the very thing he didn't want to mention.

Putting the documents away, Xu Dongguo asked with a smile, "Comrade Yongguo, do you have any thoughts regarding Comrade Su Dingping's military rank? After all, you are both technical talents."

Sun Yongguo's expression became slightly awkward.

"Chief, if you asked me to evaluate the value of the core technology Comrade Su Dingping conquered, I would be an expert. But you are asking about other things that fall into my blind spots."

Sun Yongguo smiled and did not say much more.

Since this matter had not yet been discussed with other leaders, and because Sun Yongguo had just submitted the report, Xu Dongguo had not yet decided on a rank.

He was merely speaking casually and was not truly seeking advice.

Seeing that Sun Yongguo showed no intention of leaving, he asked, "Comrade Yongguo, is there anything else?"

"That..."

Sun Yongguo said somewhat awkwardly, "Dean Lyu Guangjun has also arrived."

Xu Dongguo raised an eyebrow.

Lyu Guangjun was here!

Wasn't he at the 408 Research Institute in Beijing?

When did he come to my Northern Sea Area Military Base?

"Why is he here?" Xu Dongguo said. "Not long ago, Cheng Yiqiang from the 702 Research Institute also came to see me, but I brushed him off with an excuse."

Xu Dongguo's words made Sun Yongguo feel instantly embarrassed.

Clearing his throat, Sun Yongguo said, "Chief, perhaps it is better to let Dean Lyu explain it himself?"

Xu Dongguo nodded.

With his consent, Lyu Guangjun walked in quickly.

As soon as he arrived, Lyu Guangjun said directly, "Reporting to the Chief, Lyu Guangjun is here to plead for forgiveness."

As he spoke, he handed over his report of self-reproach.

Hearing this, Xu Dongguo became even more bewildered.

Usually, staying in Beijing is one thing, and coming to my military base is another, but to suddenly come and plead for forgiveness? What kind of act was this?

He took the report and flipped through it, his brow instantly furrowing.

Sun Yongguo hurriedly said, "Chief, this matter starts with Comrade Su Dingping."

He recounted the situation where Su Dingping had approached him and Engineer Zhang Gongnong to learn about the core technology of shipborne missiles.

After gaining a general understanding of the cause, Xu Dongguo looked at Lyu Guangjun.

Lyu Guangjun quickly took up the conversation.

"Reporting to the Chief, subsequently, in order to secure two more seats, I violated the confidentiality regulations without the approval of you and the other leaders. I brought all the core technologies related to shipborne missiles—both declassified and classified."

After listening, Xu Dongguo remained silent with a grim face.

The words of the two men were consistent with the contents of the report, but this matter was very tricky.

On one hand, the confidentiality agreement had indeed been violated. Even if the intention was good, if this precedent were set, wouldn't confidentiality agreements become nothing more than scraps of paper in the future? How could secrets be kept then? What would be the point of confidentiality agreements if they could just be replaced by verbal ones?

On the other hand, if Sun Yongguo had informed him beforehand, he certainly would have agreed.

The mistake lay in the order of operations.

If Lyu Guangjun and the other two deputy deans were truly handled according to the violation of confidentiality regulations, it would be a great loss for the Navy. For a moment, Xu Dongguo was caught in a dilemma.

Seeing the heavy atmosphere, Lyu Guangjun gave Sun Yongguo a look, and Sun Yongguo quickly spoke up.

"Chief, I am also to blame for this. After returning last night, there were many things to attend to, and it coincided with... so I forgot to brief you in time."

"Chief, I know that without rules, there is no order, but Dean Lyu's intention was good, and he did not cause a large-scale leak. As of now, all the core data has only been seen by Comrade Su Dingping. None of the personnel in my 335 Research Institute have seen it!"

Xu Dongguo's face remained grim.

Sun Yongguo quickly added, "After Dean Lyu and the other two discussed things with Comrade Su Dingping, they gained some new ideas regarding the improvement of the 051B."

Xu Dongguo nodded but said nothing.

This made Lyu Guangjun anxious.

Taking a deep breath, Sun Yongguo continued, "Comrade Su Dingping stated that these materials would be of great help to his subsequent research."

Upon hearing this, Xu Dongguo's expression finally changed slightly.

"Did you just say Comrade Su Dingping has started working on the research of shipborne missiles?"

"Yes, Chief."

Xu Dongguo was astonished.

He knew very well how heavy a burden Su Dingping carried.

To have the mind to research shipborne missiles while being so busy! This truly shocked him.

After a moment of thought, he finally said, "Comrade Guangjun, I understand. When the time comes, if you produce some results, I will have something to report to the other leaders."

As soon as these words were spoken, Lyu Guangjun knew he had survived this crisis.

In his view, studying by Su Dingping's side for a while, like Sun Yongguo and the others, would surely yield great results.

The Chief's last sentence was providing him with a way out.

Immediately, he said solemnly, "Reporting to the Chief, I will certainly live up to your expectations! I will complete the improvement of the 051B as soon as possible!"

"It is getting late, go back and rest."

It wasn't until he walked out of the office that Lyu Guangjun let out a long sigh of relief.

In mid-December, the temperature in Qingdao was already very low. The biting cold wind blew against Lyu Guangjun, but it could not disperse the excitement in his heart.

"Now that this hurdle is cleared, I can work freely! Otherwise, I always felt like there was a stone weighing on my heart."

"Comrade Dingping really has a lot of influence," Sun Yongguo said. "If I hadn't brought up Comrade Dingping when I saw there was no other way, you would have been in quite a bit of trouble this time."

Lyu Guangjun nodded repeatedly.

"Indeed, Comrade Su Dingping carries a lot of weight in the Chief's heart!"

After returning, Lyu Guangjun informed the two deputy deans of the news. The two of them also breathed a sigh of relief and expressed their intention to hurry their study of the 956E core technology to carry out the second improvement of the 051B as soon as possible.

With the burden lifted, the group was full of energy, engaging in discussions with Sun Yongguo late into the night.

The next morning, everyone got up early and threw themselves into the disassembly project of the 956E.

Under the command of these experts, everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.

Through the concerted efforts of the military industry experts and the Navy officers and soldiers, they worked until nightfall, and the core components of the 956E were completely disassembled.

For the entire day, Su Dingping did not linger there much, except for occasionally dropping by to check on the progress. The rest of his time was fully devoted to the research of the two shipborne missile systems on the 956E.

*Knock, knock—*

Accompanied by a knock on the door, Sun Yongguo's voice sounded from outside.

"Dingping, the 956E disassembly project is finished."

(End of Chapter)