Of course, if you were going to round up one chicken, you might as well round up two. Since the shipyard had already been built, an arms factory wouldn't be far behind.
So, under the pretext of treating an old comrade to dinner, Yu Lian invited out the only two old comrades from Supply Station No. 14 who were still serving on Tulong. One was Dr. Banks Shazabi; the other was Uncle Karl Johnson, currently the maintenance squad leader of the armored regiment under the direct command of Tulong's garrison headquarters.
After a few rounds of drinks, Yu Lian got straight to the point and told Uncle Karl that Tulong Machinery Works hoped to hire him as the technical director of its "Special Equipment Department."
In fact, by this point, Tulong Machinery Works—funded by Red Star Investment, staffed with skilled workers from Red Maple Works, and provided with land and labor by the New Jade Gate government—had only just finished leveling the site by the inland sea. They hadn't even built the workshops yet, let alone received the equipment still stuck aboard a Southern Heavenly Gate freighter.
Three years had passed, and Uncle Karl had worked his way up to first sergeant. His annual salary was now on par with that of a mid-level officer, and he had even opened a small repair shop of his own in Tulong, making the most of every loophole.
He was even considering bringing his family over from the homeworld to live in Tulong. If fighting hadn't broken out again on New Jade Gate, he might have done so already.
"So what exactly is this so-called Special Equipment Department? I know Tulong Machinery Works plans to supply parts and consumables to passing ships and orbital structures in nearby star systems. But, Commander Yu, my