It was so fast, and the printed text was perfectly clear. Holding the sheet of A4 paper, Wang Guofu’s hands trembled. "This... our factory developed this?"

His voice quivered.

He couldn’t believe it.

He was afraid this was all a dream that would shatter at the slightest touch...

The technical deputy director was just as moved as Wang Guofu. He gripped Wang Guofu’s hand tightly, his voice choked with emotion. "We have one... We finally have a printer this advanced!"

He’d heard that foreign printers were incredibly fast—a job that took domestic machines several hours could be done by a foreign one in just a few minutes.

They had been incredibly envious.

Now...

They had one, too! And it was a standalone printer, even more advanced than the ones abroad!

Everyone at the Anong County Machinery Factory hugged each other in excitement, cheering and jumping for joy. Even the R&D team members, who had noticed a minor issue, couldn’t let it dampen their spirits.

They turned to look at Xie Changning.

"Director, the test was a success!" The minor issue was something they could easily fix themselves.

Infected by the surrounding excitement, Xie Changning felt a mix of joy and bittersweet emotion. As she looked at the workers dancing with joy, the smile on her face grew wider and wider. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"Things will only get better from now on. The printer is just the beginning!"

Hearing Xie Changning, Wang Guofu couldn’t help but urge her, "Director, quick, report the good news to Director Zhao! Let him share in the joy!"

Urged on by everyone, Xie Changning had no choice but to return to her office and report the good news to Director Zhao.

"Director Zhao, your ’soldier’ has not disappointed! The printer’s test run was a success today, and I’m calling to report the good news!"

But Xie Changning’s playful tone was completely overshadowed by the news itself: the printer’s test run was a success.

Director Zhao, who was sitting in his office, nearly shot out of his chair when he heard the news. He struggled to keep his voice steady, trying to hide the tremor.

"How long does it take to print a page?"

Director Zhao was already prepared for an answer like three or four hours per page.

After all, given the country’s current technological level, a printing speed of three to four hours wouldn’t be considered slow. It would sell like hotcakes on the domestic market!

To Director Zhao’s great anticipation, Xie Changning slowly spoke: "One minute."

"WHAT!?"

This time, Director Zhao actually shot up from his chair.

His voice was so loud, and with his office door open, many of the staff working outside couldn’t help but look up at him.

Director Zhao was past caring about his loss of composure. He pressed Xie Changning, "You said how long for the printing speed?"

"The total time might be a little longer, because it requires manual input, which adds to the time. However... I’ve also designed it with an interface port. In the future, once we collaborate with foreign companies and get their licensing, our machine will be able to print a page in under a minute."

That was the standard speed for printers in the future.

Hearing Xie Changning’s explanation, Director Zhao was silent for a long time. Xie Changning had to call his name several times before he snapped out of it.

"Excellent! Xie Changning! You’re a true heroine!"

’With this brand-new printer, she has broken through the foreign containment efforts meant to stifle China’s development! From now on, there will be more and more breakthroughs!’

Just thinking about it made Director Zhao incredibly excited.

He could already picture how intense the verbal sparring between Xie Changning and the foreigners at the Autumn Trade Fair would be!

’Chuncheng’s foreign exchange quota for this year will definitely be met!’

’Yes, in Director Zhao’s eyes, as long as they didn’t lose money on foreign exchange this year, it would be a win!’

"It’s all thanks to your excellent leadership, Director," Xie Changning said, and she meant every word. "Without your support, I wouldn’t be where I am today, and neither would this printer."

To Xie Changning, both Wang Lisheng and Director Zhao were her patrons.

Without their persistence, Xie Changning might have gone down a different path. She wouldn’t have progressed so quickly.

"Good, good, good! Excellent! Alright, I have to report this good news to Mr. Wang!" Director Zhao didn’t ask for more details, because he was already planning to head to the Anong County Machinery Factory to see it for himself.

He would also ask his own superior if he wanted to come along.

After hanging up, Director Zhao immediately dialed the number for Mr. Wang’s office. At that moment, Mr. Wang was busy with work. He was reviewing the materials request submitted by Director Zhao. If he approved the full amount, it would upset the balance of resources for the other factories.

He hadn’t made a decision yet.

It was at this exact moment that Director Zhao’s call came in.

Hearing the phone ring, Mr. Wang felt a headache coming on. He could already guess who was calling. "Hello?"

"Mr. Wang!"

Director Zhao’s booming voice came through the receiver.

From the sound of it, Mr. Wang could tell that Director Zhao had just received some great news and was overjoyed.

Mr. Wang pinched the bridge of his nose, his headache intensifying. "What is it?" ’Please don’t let this be about the materials request. I really don’t have any more to spare for him and his ’soldier’!’

’If I allocate any more, the materials department will be knocking on my door!’

"I’m calling to share some great news! Xie Changning’s printer test was a success!"

Mr. Wang, who had been feeling anxious, instantly forgot his worries upon hearing Director Zhao’s words. He asked in shock, "A success? What do you mean by that?" ’Does it mean what I think it means?’

"It means the experiment was successful! It can print a complete document!"

"What’s the printing speed?"

"Less than a minute!"

Director Zhao, who had been about to launch into a passionate speech for his superior, heard a loud CLANG from the other end of the line. He quickly asked with concern, "Mr. Wang, are you alright?"

"I’m fine. Just lost my grip on the phone."

Mr. Wang’s voice was also trembling with excitement now. He was ecstatic.

’This isn’t just a breakthrough, it’s a historic one! One minute! Only foreign printers could achieve that speed; our domestic ones couldn’t even come close!’

’And now, we have a printer that fast, too?’

Just as Mr. Wang was reveling in his joy, Director Zhao’s voice came through again. "I’m heading to the Anong County Machinery Factory to see the machine now. Would you like to come along?"

"Yes! I’ll have a car pick you up right away."

’Right now, nothing is more important than this!’

Mr. Wang pushed all other matters to the back of his mind and immediately ordered his driver to pick up Director Zhao. They had to see that printer as quickly as possible!

Xie Changning was still unaware of the two directors’ actions. At that moment, she was busy adjusting the printer.

Then, she began explaining the meaning of each letter on the keyboard to everyone.

After she finished her explanation, she sighed. "Looks like I’m going to need an assistant." ’This assistant will need to be familiar with the 26 letters of the alphabet and be a fast learner. Otherwise, the typing speed will be too slow.’

Of course, that wasn’t really a problem.

’With the printer as leverage,’ she thought, ’my superiors will be more than happy to help me find such a talent.’

Speak of the devil, her superiors were already on their way.

"Director, Director Wang and Director Zhao are here!" someone shouted into Workshop No. 5.

Hearing this, a slight smile appeared on Xie Changning’s face. ’Weren’t the leaders arriving just in time to offer their support?’