Back to the 80s Machinery Factory

Chapter 575 The Little Invention is Finally Over (Exclamation Mark!)

Just as Chen Luyang was enthusiastically campaigning for votes, a group of figures slowly strolled over from the other end of the playground.

Leading the way was the Vice President of Peking University; followed by the Secretary of the Youth League Committee, the Director of the Student Affairs Office, and several leaders from the Municipal Education Bureau who came to the school for research.

As they walked, they chatted, their voices reflecting their satisfaction with this year's student work.

An official from the Municipal Education Bureau walked with his hands behind his back, looking quite pleased:

"The students' inventions this year are excellent. Many of them look simple, but the thinking behind them is very interesting, and they have given us a lot of new ideas!"

"Yes!" The vice principal nodded slightly, a hint of approval in his expression.

"The school is currently promoting a pilot program of 'practice-based education.' While theoretical learning on campus is one aspect, practical skills and a sense of social responsibility are also key areas of focus."

"We organize this activity so that students can discover problems, propose solutions, and try to solve them in real-life situations, rather than just engaging in theoretical discussions."

The Youth League Secretary chimed in, his tone firm: "Only by engaging in practice can young people achieve true self-awareness of knowledge. We are already preparing to expand the scale of student-led projects next year, allowing more students to participate in experimentation and innovation."

The municipal education bureau leader smiled and said, "Very good. The fact that students are willing to do it and teachers are willing to guide them shows that the atmosphere is getting right."

As he was speaking, he suddenly stopped, his gaze lingering, and his eyebrows slightly raised.

What project is that over there?

The municipal education bureau leader pointed to the center of the playground and raised an eyebrow.

"There are so many people, it's completely packed."

The vice principal smiled and said, "It seems to be a very popular project."

The secretary of the Youth League Committee was also intrigued: "Let's go see what's going on."

The group walked towards the playground.

Before even getting close, a loud, inflammatory voice pierced the air clearly from the center of the crowd:
"Times are changing. Young people can study while lying down, but science and technology cannot fall behind!"

"Today we are not pulling a rope, but pulling the fuse for independent innovation in national industry!"

The leaders listened with great enthusiasm, thinking they were about to witness some monumental production that would benefit the country and its people and shock the world.

When they squeezed through the crowd and saw the scene clearly, everyone was stunned.

Teacher Zhang lay on a folding bed with a despairing expression, while Chen Luyang was giving a passionate speech with a ballot box in his hand.

Five foreigners of different skin color, hair, and eye shapes stood by the door at the head of the bed.
If they hadn't confirmed that this was a school playground, the leaders would have almost thought they had stumbled upon some kind of "private fundraising event."

The vice principal's brows furrowed instantly.

"What are you doing?!"

A student nearby was watching the commotion with amusement, completely unaware that a school leader was standing behind him, and blurted out instinctively:

"This is a magical device for automatically closing the doors of bunk beds in dorm rooms. With this, you won't have to climb up and down to close and lock the doors."

The Youth League teacher pointed at the bed: "It's a perfectly good invention, so why do you need someone to lie on the bed?"

The student said, "This is a simulated use case, proving that you can use it while lying down. Seriously though... this thing looks pretty convenient. If we could get one in the dorm in the future, it would be so much easier to close the door."

Listening to the student's explanation, and then looking at the single bed in front of him,

The vice principal's temple twitched slightly.

He glanced at the municipal education bureau leader standing beside him, then turned to ask the Youth League teacher:

"What's your major?"

The Youth League teacher quickly whispered, "He is Chen Luyang from the Economics Department."

"Chen Luyang?" The vice principal frowned slightly.

"Does he look like this? He doesn't look like it!"

The Youth League teacher quickly explained, "He didn't wear his red scarf today."

"Oh, oh, oh." The vice principal solved the case.

No wonder he always felt like something was missing.

After learning that the other party was Chen Luyang, the vice principal couldn't help but frown and take a few more glances at his invention.

As a prominent figure in the university, he still held some expectations for Chen Luyang's inventions.

But as I looked at it... damn it!
What kind of garbage did you design?!

The key point is that you actually lay down on the whole bed.

What kind of mess is this?!
Seeing that the vice principal's expression was off, the Youth League teacher quickly said:
"Gentlemen, look, those students over there are demonstrating the 'multi-purpose clothes drying rack.' Shall we go take a look?"

The director of the student affairs office immediately understood and turned slightly to guide the student.

The vice principal nodded and turned around: "Let's go, let's go look around somewhere else."

On the other side, Chen Luyang, completely unaware that she had made a deep impression on the vice principal, was still desperately campaigning for votes.

The ballot box was quickly filled to the brim.

When the tickets were almost pushed out of the box, Chen Luyang forcefully slapped them back down and pressed them down.

When Chen Luyang carried the heavy ballot box and poured out a mountain of ballots in front of the entire school, he was filled with pride.

Let's see...

This is the foundation of popular support!

Look at our influence!
Especially when he saw the scorekeeper so shocked that he couldn't close his mouth, counting the votes one by one, Chen Luyang's whole body was almost boiling with excitement.

Looking at the whole event, let's put everything else aside and just talk about the votes!

We're definitely the boss!

To put it bluntly, if you don't vote for me, how can you not vote for Teacher Zhang?

Teacher Zhang is already lying on the kang (a heated brick bed)!
Soon, the loudspeaker blared, announcing the results of the competition.

Director Zhang of the school's labor union stood on the playground, holding a megaphone, and announced:

"In accordance with the principles of fairness, impartiality, and transparency, and considering a comprehensive evaluation of expert review scores, public voting scores, ideological progressiveness scores, and creative contribution scores, the final results are as follows:"

"Third place goes to the energy-saving multi-functional clothes drying rack from dormitory number eight in the Physics Department!"

The audience erupted in applause.

Chen Luyang stood calmly to the side, not even lifting her eyelids.

It's only third place; if they want to fight for it, let them fight for it.

Director Zhang continued reading: "The second place goes to the automatic rat-catching environmentally friendly trap in dormitory number three of the Foreign Languages ​​Department!"

Hmm... I'm not second either... That's right, the grand finale is always the most important!
Director Zhang turned a page of the manuscript, raised his voice, and instantly filled the room with excitement:

"The winner is far ahead in the number of votes in this public vote..."

Chen Luyang had already raised her head, full of vigor and ready to go on stage to receive the award!
Director Zhang changed the subject:
"However, since the dormitory's entry was identified as a display project during the judging process and was not eligible for ranking, the judging committee decided that its votes would be counted as participation awards, but not as the top three."

Instantly, the entire audience erupted in uproar!
Chen Luyang: ? ? ?

What does it mean? !

What is a demonstration project?
This is clearly a small invention from my dorm room!
"Wait... teacher, what does 'demonstration' mean?"

Chen Luyang couldn't help but speak up and shouted out loud in the crowd.

Director Zhang said gently, "Exhibition projects refer to works that focus more on image display, fun presentation, and promotion of dormitory culture."

"For example, in your work, a bed was brought up, and a person lay down on it. Everyone on site could see it. The interactivity was very strong, and the atmosphere was great."

"However, the judging panel believed that the project's 'demonstration effect' outweighed its 'substantial functional improvement,' so it was classified as a demonstration project rather than a technical review project."

Chen Luyang immediately exploded.

"Teacher!! The bed isn't just for display! The bed is part of the invention!"

"My door closing device is designed to be placed on the bed so that people can operate it while lying down. It can only trigger the linkage and drive the door hinge when the person is lying down!"

Chen Luyang screamed at the top of her lungs, while Director Zhang offered a perfunctory explanation:

"Classmate, I understand what you mean."

"The teacher also highly recognizes the creativity of your design concept." "However, according to the judging criteria, projects that rely on interactive actions to demonstrate their core effect will be prioritized for the demonstration category."

"Because you need to personally demonstrate on the bed, the judges felt that the project's fun and entertainment value exceeded the standard scope of daily dormitory operations."

Chen Luyang wanted to say something, but before she could speak, Director Zhang had already smiled and raised his hand:

"The teacher completely understands the student's question."

"That's why, after careful consideration, the judging panel created a special award just for you."

Ok?
Chen Luyang raised her eyes.

Director Zhang raised his voice and announced:
"Awarded to Dormitory No. 3 of the Economics Department: 'Outstanding Contribution Award for Innovative Dormitory Life'!"

"This award is hereby presented to encourage students for greatly enhancing their enthusiasm for participation, enriching the campus interactive atmosphere, and demonstrating the spirit of exploration of dormitory life order by college students in the new era!"

Chen Luyang didn't react for a moment, and stood there stunned for a full two seconds.

"...So, did I make a ranking or not?"

With a smile, Director Zhang picked up the microphone and said, "The top three are the top three."

"You are a special award, not included in the regular category."

As he spoke, Director Zhang glanced with lingering fear at the mountain of votes piled up in front of Chen Luyang.

Popularity is a terrifying force in many situations.

Even if Chen Luyang's invention does not meet the traditional review standards, so many classmates voted for him, we can't not give him an explanation!

……All right!
Chen Luyang silently sighed in frustration.

A special award is fine; it's better than nothing.

The first place is no surprise; it's that damn multi-angle rotating map stand.

As for the prize Chen Luyang received, it was just a bar of soap.

This was before International Women's Day, when there was a lot of soap left in the warehouse.

Otherwise, if we add a prize at the last minute, it would be really difficult to pull something out of the warehouse.

depressed!

……

Although Chen Luyang's invention won the school's top prize.

However, given the previous dark experience of locking the entire dormitory room in one of them, this search tool was banned from use in room 421.

The other students in the dorm, while verbally supporting him, were also worried about being locked in their rooms because of the commotion he had caused earlier.
and so……

"I really invented loneliness!"

On a weekend evening, at the repair shop

While brushing her teeth, Chen Luyang couldn't help but blurt out a resentful remark.

Still not satisfied with that, he spat fiercely at the pool.
Sun Hongjun, Li He, and Jiao Long, who were brushing their teeth together, stared at Chen Luyang in shock, wondering what had gotten into this ancestor.

They hadn't seen Chen Luyang this angry when their steel was intercepted before.

Zhang Nan, who was standing next to him, advised him, "Alright, didn't he get a special prize?"

At the time, Chen Luyang was lying down, making noise, and giving a speech on the small playground; both he and Zhang Diancai saw it.

At the time, they were worried about being conscripted to replace Teacher Zhang and being forced onto the bed, so neither of them dared to move closer.

To be honest, the award given to Chen Luyang by the school's labor union was well-deserved.

What a piece of junk design! And it's dragged on for so long.

Chen Luyang rolled her eyes and asked irritably:

Let's forget about that damn invention contest!

"By the way, senior brother, how's the design of that jack I asked you to make last time coming along?"

"The first draft is finished." Zhang Nan rinsed her mouth and wiped her face with a towel.

"I discussed it with Teacher Zhang before I started drawing, and he said the idea was feasible."

Chen Luyang's eyes lit up: "Let's go! Let's take a look."

The two went up to the second floor, and Zhang Nan took out a blueprint from the table and unfolded it for Chen Luyang to see.

"Look, this is the base. I made it into a hemispherical mat so that it can level itself no matter how uneven the ground is."

Zhang Nan pointed and gestured on the picture with a pencil.
"This is the hydraulic cylinder, filled with hydraulic oil. You insert the handle here, press it, and the oil is squeezed in, pushing the piston upwards, which lifts the car up."

Chen Luyang thought for a moment: "It's like injecting medicine into a syringe. When you push it, the liquid inside rushes forward?"

Zhang Nan nodded: "That's roughly the idea."

Chen Luyang asked worriedly, "Won't this thing fall down after it's put up?"

“No.” Zhang Nan pointed to a card slot on the diagram.

"Look, there's a latch here. When it reaches the desired height, the latch engages, locking the hydraulic cylinder and stabilizing the vehicle."

Next, Zhang Nan began to explain the design details and ideas on the drawings to Chen Luyang.

Although it was only a first draft, the structure of the drawings was surprisingly clear, with even the mechanical stress points, counterweight positions, and oil return paths clearly marked.

In fact, Zhang Nan shouldn't have had time to draw up any blueprints for the jack at this point.

First, the repair shop has two piles of tasks on his shoulders.

One is to draw up a universal brake cylinder repair kit.

Another aspect is the design of universal suspension bushings.

Secondly, the school's research project on fatigue components is currently at a critical stage, and Lin Qiming and his team are too busy to handle it all on their own. They need him to record data and organize stress spectra.

Designing two parts at the factory is a legitimate job, but he also can't miss the fatigue research project at school. What he lacks most right now is time.

But the repair shop's environment is what it is.

Because of the limited space, Zhang Guoqiang and his colleagues had to carry the car while working, and they would work for several hours at a time.

Director Lu and Zhang Guoqiang usually treat Zhang Nan like their own child.
Seeing Zhang Guoqiang and the others working so hard, Zhang Nan felt bad.

So, after listening to Chen Luyang's ideas,

Zhang Nan piled up the repair kit and bushing information aside and worked through the night to draw the first draft of the jack.

"Um……"

Chen Luyang frowned as he looked at Zhang Nan's drawings.

"What if the oil can't go back? What if it stops moving halfway up?"

Zhang Nan explained, "It's simple. There's a return valve on it; just loosen it a little."

Chen Luyang continued, "What if the space under the car is too narrow to fit your hand in?"

Zhang Nan pointed to the slender structure on the drawing.

“I added a folding clamp device here. The jack is pushed in first to fix the position, and then the handle is inserted from the outside, and it clicks into place.”

"No one needs to crawl under the car or touch it with both hands; it can be operated from outside the car."

As he spoke, he imitated a "click" sound, snapping the pencil against the edge of the table to vividly demonstrate the meaning of "the clip automatically closing".

After listening to Zhang Nan's rambling thoughts, Chen Luyang nodded and then shook his head.

"...It's still not quite right."

"Senior brother, after listening to what you said, to put it bluntly, this jack still relies on turning the handle and using your arm to exert force."

"Those mechanics at the repair shop handle wrenches on more than twenty vehicles a day, their arms are almost broken from all the swinging. If you make them tighten handles on top of that, it will be too tiring."

"What I mean is... can we step on it with our feet instead of our hands?"

(End of this chapter)