Back to the 80s Machinery Factory

Chapter 583 Eat Well, Sleep Well

His tone held a hint of approval: "It's good that the young man has a sense of proportion and knows what's important."

After saying this, the atmosphere in the room became a little lighter.

Seeing that the topic had come to a temporary end, Chen Luyang didn't say anything more, and clapped her hands with a smile:

"Come on, stop talking, the dishes are all ready, let's eat while they're hot!"

Although I had already informed the conference organizers, I couldn't really drag it out until the evening.

Immediately, everyone put down their luggage and gathered around the machine tool to enjoy a hearty meal.

Yu Anshan had a good appetite and ate everything with relish. While eating, he chatted with the workers, showing no airs of a deputy factory director whatsoever.

Hao Fengchun followed behind the leader with a smile, taking a few bites of food and then chiming in with a few words from Yu Anshan.

On the contrary, Cao Qinghang sat quietly in a corner, gently pressing his stomach with his left hand. He only used his chopsticks to pick at some vegetables and steamed buns. Although he had a smile on his face, he clearly did not have much of an appetite.

"Cao, why are you staring at the vegetables? Eat some meat!"

Sun Hongjun, with his sharp eyes, had been observing everyone's reactions since they sat down at the table. When he saw that Cao Qinghang was only picking at vegetarian dishes, he couldn't help but speak up to remind him.

"Yes, Xiao Cao! You work so hard every day, you can't just eat vegetables all the time!"

Unable to bear it any longer, Director Lu reached out and placed a large chicken leg into Cao Qinghang's bowl.

"Let's have some more chicken blood to replenish our energy!"

As Director Lu stood up, he scooped out a large chunk of chicken blood with a soup spoon.

"Come on, Xiao Cao, this is the first rooster we killed this morning. The blood is excellent and very nutritious!"

"You're so skinny, you look like a lathe spindle! Get more meat!"

Even the best rooster only has two legs.

So everyone consciously left the two chicken drumsticks for Yu Anshan and his two friends, and no one touched them.

Cao Qinghang was caught off guard when Director Lu offered him a chicken leg; before he could even refuse,

Another large spoonful of chicken blood had already landed on the rice.

The chicken blood was thick and reddish, coated with broth, and emitted a wonderful aroma.

It looks like the blood from a good chicken.

"This...this is too much, I can't eat it all."

Cao Qinghang looked troubled.

"There's nothing you can't finish!"

Zhang Guoqiang chuckled and placed two more large pieces of meat into his bowl with his chopsticks.

“When I was your age, I could eat four steamed buns in one meal and still not feel full.”

"You eat less than my wife!"

Everyone at the table laughed.

While serving food to Cao Qinghang, Zhang Guoqiang advised:
"People need to eat well and sleep well. Only with a healthy body can you work well."

"As the old saying goes, health is the foundation of everything!"

"Guoqiang is right," Tan Songren chuckled and wholeheartedly agreed from the side!
Even if something really big happens, you still need to eat well and sleep well.

Seeing everyone laughing and joking, Yu Anshan felt a sense of satisfaction and slapped the table, saying:
"Yes! That's exactly right!"

"Come on, let's toast to good health!"

Immediately, everyone at the table raised their glasses, the wine cups clinking together.

Just as Cao Qinghang was about to raise his glass, Yu Anshan pressed it down.

"Xiao Cao, you have a sensitive stomach, so don't drink it."

Cao Qinghang smiled and raised his glass anyway: "A little bit is fine, we can't spoil the atmosphere."

"Okay, then give me a smaller portion."

"Come on, cheers!"

With a "bang," the wine glasses collided, and the steaming aroma filled the table.

The meal was exceptionally lively.

Everyone was chatting and laughing, the plates were being passed around, and the chopsticks were being used indiscriminately.

Although Cao Qinghang had a poor appetite and ate slowly, Zhang Guoqiang still managed to put that chicken leg into his bowl.

He reluctantly took a bite, then put down his chopsticks, looking extremely embarrassed.

Chen Luyang couldn't resist looking at it and picked up the chicken leg with her chopsticks again.

"Alright, if you can't eat anymore, don't force yourself."

Anyway, they're all brothers, so he doesn't mind Cao Qinghang.

But if the big chicken leg is wasted, that is absolutely unacceptable!
After finishing his meal, Yu Anshan didn't rush to leave. Instead, he took the opportunity to tour the repair shop inside and out.

Just like Wang Qingzhou and Dong Jiangchao back then, after seeing the living conditions of the workers on the second floor,
Yu Anshan also frowned, his expression very serious.

Especially after seeing the rooms specially prepared for Peking University students, Yu Anshan couldn't help but say:
"Don't they have dormitories at Peking University? Why are they staying here every night?"

Chen Luyang noticed that Yu Anshan's expression was off, and quickly explained:

"That's right. Part of the school's research project requires conducting experiments and recording data at the factory. If we have to go back and forth every day, it will be too much of a hassle, and we won't be able to keep up with the workshop's testing."

"So we temporarily arranged a room for them to stay in, so that it would be convenient for them to keep records."

"So we specially arranged a room for them to rest."

"Hmph!" Yu Anshan's face darkened, and he said coldly, "You've certainly played the good guy."

Chen Luyang dared not argue and simply nodded obediently.

Yu Anshan was right to criticize.

In order to firmly bind Zhang Diancai of the Department of Mechanics and deepen the connection with the department, he did indeed offer a lot of conditions.

Food, lodging, experimental sites, and the free allocation of machine repair equipment... almost everything is given the green light at the repair shop.

With the academic endorsement of Peking University, the repair shop's projects, the trial production of general parts, and even the application to the Municipal Science and Technology Commission all gained a significant boost in prestige.

These exchanges, at the time, did indeed bring very substantial returns to the repair shop.

However, it now appears that these rewards were achieved at the expense of the working and living conditions of the repair shop workers.

What was once a perfectly good repair shop has now been transformed into a makeshift base that is "half research and half dormitory".

To others, all of this might be called "innovation through industry-academia collaboration".
But in the eyes of Yu Anshan and Chen Luyang, it seemed more like they were using their brothers' lives as a stepping stone.

After inspecting the dormitory, Yu Anshan went downstairs and took a walk around the production area, warehouse, and maintenance room.

Chen Luyang accompanied them the whole way, explaining as they walked: "This is the main repair line, where we do vehicle maintenance; that's the parts room, where we're currently conducting several experiments in collaboration with the Department of Mechanics at Peking University; the warehouse mainly stores semi-finished parts and rubber components..."

Hao Fengchun listened attentively, occasionally interjecting with a few questions.

Yu Anshan nodded frequently, but his expression remained solemn.

"Well done! It's just that this place is too crowded."

Yu Anshan sat back down in his office and sighed.

Cao Qinghang stood to the side, listening to their conversation, and casually picked up the register that sat next to the telephone. The register was filled with records of various phone calls from the repair shop, parts orders, and incoming materials.

He flipped through the pages casually.

As I flipped through the pages,

Suddenly, Cao Qinghang's pupils contracted!
A few pages of neat handwriting were scattered throughout the thick notebook.

Cao Qinghang thought he was seeing things and couldn't help but rub his eyes.

Looking at it again, the fine strokes on the form were imprinted with unforgettable memories.

He reached out and touched the handwriting.
Cao Qinghang suppressed the turmoil in his chest, gently closed the reception book, and placed it back next to the phone.

Before he could catch his breath, Hao Fengchun's surprised voice suddenly rang out from in front of him.

"Hey? Xiao Cao!! Come and take a look at this!"

Cao Qinghang looked up and saw Yu Anshan and Hao Fengchun squatting on the ground, looking at a lump of iron around as if it were a rare sight.

"This is... a jack?!?!"

Cao Qinghang watched for a long time before suddenly speaking.

"You have to admit, Engineer Cao has excellent taste!!!"

Chen Luyang's eyebrows immediately shot up.

"This jack was my idea and concept, designed by a senior student from the Department of Mechanics at Peking University, and welded by Uncle Lu himself! It's lightweight, compact, and can be used with any jack."

Hearing Chen Luyang's words, which sounded like he was panting heavily, Hao Fengchun and Cao Qinghang didn't have time to pay attention to him. They all squatted down and began to observe the jack with great interest.

"Old Lu did the welding?!"

Yu Anshan raised an eyebrow. "This is truly a rare thing!"

Director Lu chuckled and said from the side, "Oh dear, I just followed Director Chen's lead and tinkered around a bit. I don't have any real skills, I don't have any real skills at all."

"This thing is quite interesting!"

Hao Fengchun bent over, reached out and gently tapped the jack, then clicked his tongue in amazement.
"It's not very big, but the structure looks quite ingenious, and the angles of the hydraulic cylinder and the outrigger are well matched."

"It's quite interesting. This is the first time I've ever seen such a small jack," Cao Qinghang couldn't help but say.

"Can something this small really support the chassis of a car?"

Zhang Guoqiang immediately chimed in, his voice booming, "Yes! Absolutely!"

"The repair shop has been relying on this little guy to fix cars lately. Don't let its small size fool you, it's surprisingly powerful!"

Cao Qinghang then pointed to a small iron plate with welded teeth next to him and asked, "What is this?"

"This is a non-slip base," Chen Luyang interjected immediately, her tone full of excitement.

“I considered that the roads in the north are either icy or snowy in winter, and ordinary jacks are prone to slipping, so I designed this base so that it can ‘bite’ the ground as soon as it is snapped on.”

"Moreover, this thing can be disassembled, and it doesn't take up much space when stored. It can be put directly into the trunk, making it convenient to use anytime, anywhere."

Yu Anshan listened with increasing agreement, his eyes growing brighter and brighter:
"This is great! If every car could be equipped with one, it would be so much easier to repair and replace parts in the future!"

Chen Luyang laughed and said, "Yes, that's exactly what I'm aiming for. It's so that even the driver can use it to handle emergency repairs without having to wait for a major repair shop to send a vehicle."

Although the cars produced by the provincial machinery factory are all made of high-quality materials and meet the standards.

However, the driving environment for cars in China is really complex. The roads are mostly gravel or dirt roads, and it's common for the car to scrape the bottom or have abnormal noises from the suspension after a single trip.
In addition, tires have a short lifespan, and parts such as drive shafts, brake pads, and spark plugs need to be replaced frequently.

This leads to a high usage rate of jacks.

"Great! This stuff is really great!" Yu Anshan's eyes lit up as he listened.

Every year, the machinery factory sends its own workers to various parts of the country to conduct follow-up visits and repair cars.

If every car could be equipped with a small jack, repairing cars would be much easier.

Yu Anshan laughed and scolded Chen Luyang: "You little rascal, your brain is always working so fast. You've come up with a bunch of inventions and creations in your own little factory, but why don't you put your efforts into the machine factory?"

“If you put these ideas back into the main factory, let alone a single jack, we could put an entire production line and a whole set of standards on the agenda.”

Chen Luyang quickly waved his hand: "Boss, you're wronging me."

"The factory has plenty of space, equipment, and experts. Why should I be the one to offer advice?"

"Besides, the main factory workshops are all setting up proper production lines. My little tinkering is nothing to brag about. I can only test it out at the repair shop first."

"Besides, I really had no choice... the factory space was just too cramped."

Chen Luyang scratched his head, a hint of helplessness in his voice.
“The original jack was too big and bulky. If the base was too low, it couldn’t be inserted and couldn’t be used at all. That’s why I wondered if I could make it smaller and more flexible.”

Yu Anshan listened quietly, his gaze shifting slightly.

Turn around,
Yu Anshan looked around at the crowded factory, the messy piles of parts, and the passageways where you had to squeeze past the machines to walk.

Finally, he sighed softly:
"Xiao Chen, you guys have really had a tough time."

Chen Luyang smiled, scratched his head, and said, "Boss, please don't say that. Compared to our colleagues in the factory, what's so difficult about this place?"

"The hardships of working in a repair shop are, to be honest, all good things."

"A small place forces people to use their brains; poor conditions, on the contrary, allow them to hone their skills."

He paused, then lowered his voice and added, half-jokingly:
"Besides, if the repair shop were too comfortable, I wouldn't have the chance to mess around with these little gadgets."

Yu Anshan smiled and shook his head, but there was a hint of indescribable emotion in his eyes.

"You're all talk and no action."

"Others would be complaining endlessly if they encountered so many difficulties, but you can still think positively."

After looking at the factory again, Yu Anshan said, "Alright, we've eaten and looked around, it's time to go back and report."

Chen Luyang quickly said, "Xiaolong, go get the car."

Yu Anshan quickly waved his hand: "No need, no need, it's just a few steps, I can walk there, no need to drive."

Chen Luyang laughed and said, "We're carrying our luggage, and besides, other people don't have our means. Even if they wanted to take a ride, they wouldn't have anywhere to borrow one!"

Yu Anshan was both amused and exasperated by what he said, shook his head, and chuckled as he scolded:

"You're such a show-off!"

hehehe~
Chen Luyang smiled and gave Jiao Long a look.

Jiao Long immediately ran to get the car.

A short while later, a brand-new, gleaming Jinba car came to a steady stop at the factory gate, its exhaust fumes billowing out.

"Boss, get in the car!"

Chen Luyang took the lead and opened the back door.

Yu Anshan and the others wanted to decline, but Li He and the others had already efficiently packed all their luggage into the trunk.

Now that they couldn't refuse any longer, Yu Anshan and the others stopped insisting and got into the car one after another.

Before long, the car arrived at the conference reception area on the east side of the train station.

Jiao Long smoothly turned the steering wheel and pulled the car over to the side of the road.

As soon as the group got out of the car, the two members of the conference organizing committee were stunned.

Everyone else came by train with lots of luggage, why are they coming by car?

(End of this chapter)