At first, Brian Carter felt uneasy as soon as he heard about the nature of this company—satellite company! Such a high-tech industry. For people who have never been involved in this field, just hearing the word “satellite” instinctively brings to mind scientists in dust-proof suits, holding all kinds of precision instruments, working like robots in assembly workshops. Or engineers in the launch command center, staring at monitoring screens and setting various parameters on the equipment.

Brian Carter honestly admitted to himself that he didn’t have that kind of ability. Even if they dared to hire him, he wouldn’t dare to go. What if he messed up some parameter and the satellite crashed down from the sky? Even if it didn’t hit anyone, it wouldn’t be good if it smashed some flowers or grass. The responsibility of this job was just too great—he’d probably have nightmares every night. But that classmate meant well, and had already put in a good word with someone at the satellite company. It wouldn’t be appropriate to just bail without even showing up. That would be too hurtful, and who would ever help you again in the future? So, with the mindset of just going to broaden his horizons, Brian Carter braced himself and walked into the satellite company located in the Galaxy Building at Liuliqiao.

The person interviewing him was the acquaintance of that classmate, also the operations department manager of the satellite company—a middle-aged man of average build, neither fat nor thin, always wearing a smile. He introduced himself as Samuel Walker. The interview process was very simple. Manager Walker first looked over Brian Carter’s resume and diploma, then asked a bit about Brian Carter’s family background and political status. He didn’t even mention the word “satellite” before moving on to introduce the company’s job position and salary and benefits.

The probation period was one month, with a salary of five hundred; after becoming a regular employee, there would be full social insurance and housing fund, and a salary of over nine hundred, with free lunch provided. This salary and benefits immediately caught Brian Carter’s attention—quite a lot! It was the end of 1996, and most of his university classmates had been working at Shougang for almost two years, with a combined monthly salary and bonus of just over seven hundred. Was he going to surpass them as soon as he started? No, there’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world—there must be a big catch waiting for him. Better listen on.

Sure enough, Manager Walker was saving the drawbacks for last. The working hours were very unusual—no holidays, working thirty-six consecutive hours per week, and the work location wasn’t at the company headquarters, but at Yungang in the western suburbs of Beijing!

Even working at Liuliqiao, Brian Carter already thought it was far. Every day, he’d have to take Metro Line 2, transfer to Line 1, and after getting to Gongzhufen, take a few more stops by bus. The whole trip would take at least an hour and a half. Yungang! That’s practically all the way to Mentougou, deep in the mountains. Just getting there would mean setting out at sunrise and arriving at sunset!

Working thirty-six consecutive hours a week wasn’t a problem. For Brian Carter, this condition wasn’t a drawback at all—it actually suited him. If only he could work for over two months straight each year, and then have the remaining nine months off, that would be perfect. Time, the more fragmented it is, the more it gets wasted. Commuting every day wastes a lot of time, but if it’s all concentrated together, it actually turns time into a solid block, and you can do whatever you want.

As for not having holidays, Brian Carter didn’t care at all. Only working a day and a half a week—what’s the point of weekends? He lived alone, and holidays were the thing he dreaded most.

“Two people per shift, the company provides a car, which you can drive home yourself. The company covers gas and maintenance costs for commuting.” Don’t be fooled by Manager Walker’s harmless, smiling appearance—he was very perceptive. As soon as Brian Carter grinned, he added another benefit.

“I don’t have a driver’s license!” Brian Carter was really tempted. It was 1996! To have a car half at your own disposal, even if it was just a 212 Jeep, would be amazing. Private cars weren’t unheard of at the time, but they weren’t common either. Driving to and from work would be so cool—your status would instantly go up.

“There’s a driving school right across the street. You can do part-time study, and the company reimburses the registration fee.” Manager Walker smiled even more.

In the end, Brian Carter couldn’t resist the huge temptation. He didn’t even ask what the actual job was, and muddle-headedly agreed to start work in two days. Manager Walker really wasn’t lying—on the first day, he took him to the driving school across the street to sign up, and it was even a fast-track class. The registration fee was over three thousand, and Brian Carter didn’t have to pay a cent—it was all covered by the company’s check.

To put it briefly, the nature of the work at this satellite company was very special, especially in the operations department where Brian Carter worked—it was even more unique. The job didn’t require regular office hours; it was just thirty-six hours per week, two people per shift. The specific work was to monitor the equipment at the ground launch station, ensuring that the microwave amplifier’s beam was properly transmitted through the waveguide into the transmitting antenna, and launched at the correct angle to the satellite’s receiver.

This required the ground staff to be familiar with the basic parameters of the microwave transmission equipment—not only to record them every two hours, but also to be able to manually adjust the microwave amplifier’s transmission power during abnormal weather, to offset the effects of water vapor, raindrops, and snow in the atmosphere on the microwave signal.