Chapter 24: Indispensable

"A single spark can start a prairie fire—I want to call home tomorrow!"

Such a relaxed, even humorous atmosphere in their marriage made Jiang Jingzhu feel all the more lighthearted. They had contacted their families to report their safety when they first arrived, and as she missed her family—and the Yin family had always treated her with nothing but care—a basic greeting was a necessary courtesy.

"All right, I’ll put in the request tomorrow!"

"What’s this?" She looked at the small box Yin Zhen had taken from the chest of drawers by the bed and placed before her.

"My little savings over the years, handed over to the head of our household! There are also some leftover ration coupons. I used to be loose with my spending and would give them to whoever needed them, so there aren’t many left, but from now on, I’ll save them all!" Now that he had a wife, those coupons would, of course, be reserved for her!

He had brought these from his bachelor quarters on the very first day he returned, but his wife had been so busy these past few days that only today did he have the chance to officially disclose his assets to his partner.

Jiang Jingzhu curiously opened the bankbook. The four-digit number starting with an eight truly made her eyes widen. Could this man really have saved all this? In an era where the average monthly income was thirty yuan, the value of this figure was undeniably a small fortune. She was starting her new job tomorrow, and even with her starting salary of one hundred and two as an engineer, it was already exceptionally high.

"Is the pay for a pilot really this high?" Her older brother was one too, but his savings over the years wouldn't even amount to a quarter of this. And this man didn't seem like the type to do anything illicit.

"I joined the army early, was promoted on the front lines, and have a long term of service. I had seniority subsidies, rank subsidies, mission allowances, and all those years of fixed stipends added up. In the military, food, housing, travel, and clothing are all covered, so I had no extra expenses and just saved most of it!" His parents had higher ranks and better benefits than he did, so there was only room for them to support him, not for him to subsidize them. The money he had spent went toward helping the families of fallen comrades.

"This is a bit too heavy to accept!"

"It’s the 'wife fund'—it’s meant for my wife!" It wasn't easy to take a wife, so having a firm mindset was essential.

"Then I’ll deposit my future salary here, too!" Her mother had said that a husband and wife shouldn't be too distant or formal with each other. From now on, they would strive together!

"How does it feel to fly the J-6? Is the atmospheric pressure high?" As an active-duty pilot, Yin Zhen should have plenty of practical knowledge and experience with fighter jets.

"It’s quick to react, agile, and has plenty of power. Its climbing performance is good, making it suitable for interception missions. If only it could see a bit further, if it could see clearly at night, and if it could carry a few more big payloads, that would be even better!" What soldier didn't have a dream of 'rat-a-tat-tat' aerial combat? If only they could churn out air-to-air missiles like dumplings!

Thinking of how he had come home today and heard from his wife that her research and development were complete—and seeing the excitement on her face regarding the blueprints and data—Yin Zhen couldn't help but feel expectant. His wife had been able to research and design such advanced torpedoes; could some of those technologies be applied to air-to-air missiles? Of course, this was just his own wonderful fantasy; the specifics would depend on his wife’s own research plans, and he wouldn't interfere.

"That would require improvements and upgrades to the radar and engine, as well as synchronized adjustments to the launch design to achieve all-weather combat capability..." Jiang Jingzhu paused for a moment to jot down this key point.

The J-6 still used the RP-1 ranging radar, which only had a two-kilometer detection range. Two kilometers! At the speed of a fighter jet, that was equivalent to a face-to-face dogfight. Radar... right now, they were still following the design philosophy of their neighbors. Perhaps she could start from... Her mind was sharp, and a series of improvement ideas surged forth. Jiang Jingzhu made a mental note to focus on these when she had the opportunity to develop them in detail.

Whether for warships or fighter jets, radar was a crucial project to tackle. It was the "eyes" and "ears" of the modern battlefield, playing a vital role. It was essential not only for reconnaissance, early warning, and target locking, but also central to enhancing the combat capability of military equipment. It was indispensable!

"When I have the chance, I will start the development of fighter jets and air-to-air missiles as soon as possible!" Making fighter jets fly faster and further with greater striking power was a dream left unfinished in her previous life, and she would continue it in this one.

"I’ll be waiting to fly the fighter jet that Zhuzhu designs, acting as your test pilot!" Yin Zhen’s eyes smiled. He didn't know how big the leap from warship electronics to fighter jets was, but that didn't affect his trust and encouragement toward his beloved. "I have plenty of experience as a test pilot!"

"Zhuzhu, would you like to eat fish? I don't have a flight tomorrow, so I can come home early. How about we buy a sea bass and steam it? Being near the port, the fresh sea fish here are quite good! Steaming fish doesn't require particularly high skill; I’ve seen Auntie Xiao do it before, I should be able to manage!" He had a good memory and could basically remember the steps after seeing them once. By mimicking her, he wouldn't make something inedible. It was said that eating fish was good for the brain; Zhuzhu had been injured a while ago and had been taxing her brain recently, so she needed to nourish herself well. Tomorrow was her first day at work, too, so it would be a celebration!

"You know how to cook?" Jiang Jingzhu was a bit surprised. It really was true that you can't judge a book by its cover; this man looked like he did even less housework than she did.

"I still need to learn and improve!" His family didn't have a tradition that required only women to be in the kitchen. They were husband and wife, inseparable, so he could learn just as well. Eating at the cafeteria every day would eventually get boring, and changing things up once in a while was a nice treat!

"Then I’ll be your assistant!" They would work together!

Sharing a bed, and having the foundation of the past few days where she had been a bit slow to react, Jiang Jingzhu was somewhat getting used to the presence of another person beside her. Of course, it would be a lie to say her heart didn't race with her wife beside her, but Yin Zhen was more considerate of his beloved's fatigue and wanted to spend time getting to know Zhuzhu better, letting things take their natural course. Zhuzhu deserved better respect and treatment! What he wanted was a long, enduring life together, not a moment of impulsive desire.

Yin Zhen personally took Jiang Jingzhu to the institute to report for duty. Old Man Meng and Old Man Du had been looking forward to this for a long time; they waved Yin Zhen off casually and immediately brought Jiang Jingzhu inside the institute.

"Jingzhu, the hiring process is all taken care of. You don't need to worry about the trivialities. To ensure your safety, your personnel file has been sealed!"

"Come, come, come, take a look at your office! It’s right next to mine!" The more they studied that design at night, the more excited and surging with enthusiasm they became. Some of the design concepts gave them excellent inspiration, while they found some of the derivation processes a bit difficult to grasp. In order to better consult with Jingzhu, they simply discussed it and decided to have Old Man Du move his things to squeeze in with someone else, clearing out his office for Jingzhu to use.

The office was simply furnished, but two large filing cabinets against the wall contained many books. By the window, there was a large wooden desk with drawers, and a slide rule, drafting tools, and draft paper were arranged neatly on one side—it would be extremely convenient for drawing large blueprints. In the center of the desk were two sets of neatly folded Type 65 navy-gray military uniforms.

Touching the red collar tabs on the navy-gray uniform with the revolutionary red flags fluttering on both sides, Jiang Jingzhu’s eyes grew moist. She had finally returned to this sequence!

"Old Xiao handled the transfer; your file was still in the system, so it was transferred over directly!"

"Everything will be fine!" Both having been trained as engineers, Old Man Meng and Old Man Du understood Jiang Jingzhu’s feelings at this moment very well. Just like them, back when they faced the helplessness and panic of having to take them off.