Courtyard House: Starting as a mediocre engineer

The Qingming Festival has finally arrived, and a light drizzle is falling outside the window. Inside the makeshift workshop, a group of technicians and workers are working enthusiastically.

Now that the project preparation was successful and sufficient funding and personnel were secured, the leading group had no reason not to approve the project. In addition, a special agricultural freight tricycle project team was established, with Zhuang Zhongchen serving as the chief engineer and secretary-general of the project team.

The project team's leadership members were definitely nominal. They included city leaders, military leaders, and of course, Director Pei. They weren't responsible for the day-to-day operations; in effect, Zhuang Zhongchen became the overall person in charge.

The chief engineer here later became the chief designer, the top person in the project's technical field.

The current definition of "chief engineer" is somewhat ambiguous, but it generally has an administrative rank. It's essentially the same as a factory director or union chairman—a government position. However, it also involves overseeing technical aspects of the work.

Therefore, to better distinguish between them, they are generally divided into Chief Engineer and Chief Designer. Actually, the full title is both Chief Engineer!

Of course, everything here is temporary. Temporary project team, temporary staff, temporary chief engineer... So everything is simplified, and there are no administrative ranks; the chief engineer title is just that—a title.

That being said, although it was a temporary project, the funding was quite ample!

So Zhuang Zhongchen went all out and simply divided the three-wheeled motorcycle into two models—the standard model and the heavy-duty model. Two prototypes of each model were made, for a total of four.

The standard type is the kind of three-wheeled vehicle later used by civilians. The only requirement is that the production cost be controlled below 1 yuan.

The heavy-duty version is essentially a fully reinforced three-wheeled vehicle. Production costs are controlled below 1.8 yuan. It is required to have a payload capacity at least 500 kg greater than the standard version. Furthermore, it can be equipped with heavy machine guns and other weapons, tow a single carriage, and even pull a 57mm anti-aircraft gun…

The standard version can also be fitted with a heavy machine gun, but the heavy-duty version is more suitable for military use. At least it makes you feel like you're getting more value for your money.

As for the design? Let's just say this: these "inferior products" from the industrial Cthulhu era have been through countless rounds of infighting, and the products are already quite well-established. There's no need to start from scratch; just copy the three-wheeled motorcycle.

With so many partners, what spare parts can't be customized? Samples can be produced in a maximum of three months. And the planned development cycle is a full six months? The timeframe is quite generous.

Therefore, once the research and development process and plan are established, there is no need to do much more; the technicians and experienced workers can easily complete the task.

The only thing that needs to be developed is reactive armor. However, they are also waiting for the arrival of inert explosives. After all, those are explosives, and the approval process is quite complicated.

This is even simpler. Just have the two old men and their apprentices help with the assembly.

Seeing everyone working methodically in the workshop, Zhuang Zhongchen opened his oil-paper umbrella and decided to slack off and leave...

……

Name: Zhuang Zhongchen

Age: 21

[Level: Fourth Floor (28136/100000)]

[System Openings: Daily Necessities Supermarket (Level 2); Intelligence Center (Level 2); Skill Shop (Level 1)]

【生活技能：驾驶lv2；厨艺lv1；射击lv1；钓鱼lv1；野外生存lv1；狩猎lv1；搏击lv2；追蹤lv2；医术lv1】

[Professional Skills: Language lv3; Acting lv3]

Skill Points: 127

Side Quest: ...

……

[Special Intelligence: ...]

……

Interestingly, once a language skill reaches level 3, it transitions from a life skill to a professional skill. However, level 3 does indeed qualify as a professional level. Even if you can't become a translator, you can still make a living as a tour guide. Doesn't that make it a respectable profession?

Other life skills, if they can also reach level 3, should also be able to be converted into professional skills.

Unfortunately, I lack the advanced technological skills of a genius, otherwise I could have crafted a star destroyer. And I certainly don't have cultivation skills, otherwise I could have achieved immortality. I could even blast the entire universe apart with a single punch…

Zhuang Zhongchen walked along, lost in thought. Suddenly, he noticed a familiar figure ahead—wasn't that… Sister Cheng?

To be honest, Zhuang Zhongchen didn't take those two tasks seriously. Therefore, even after having his suspicions, he didn't continue the investigation.

But today is such a coincidence, and I happen to be free, so...?

Thinking of this, Zhuang Zhongchen quickly spent 100 skill points to upgrade Tracking from level 2 to level 3. In any case, upgrading Tracking to the same professional level would reduce the possibility of being detected.

And so, using the rain and mist as cover, Zhuang Zhongchen followed Cheng Sao at a leisurely pace. Before long, he was completely at ease. Cheng Sao clearly hadn't received any professional training and seemed unaware of the techniques of tracking and counter-tracking.

On the other hand, Sister Cheng kept looking around nervously. This seemed... even more suspicious, didn't it?

Not long after, Sister Cheng entered an alley. When she arrived at a house, she hurriedly knocked on the door. The door opened quickly, and a bald, burly man came out. Upon seeing Sister Cheng, the bald man wore that knowing smile that most men understand, and hastily pulled her inside…

Zhuang Zhongchen frowned slightly. He walked past the alley entrance at a normal pace, just like a passerby. He found a public restroom nearby, went in and out, circled around, and then found a spot with a good view, silently monitoring the courtyard…

So, Zhuang Zhongchen waited patiently for a while, having already finished smoking a cigarette while holding up his umbrella.

Suddenly, I felt like a fool. It wasn't like I was actually going to catch the spy myself, so why bother enduring the storm? Besides, these two were like dry wood meeting a raging fire; who knew how long they'd be going to keep going like this?

Anyway, it's not urgent. We can always find out later who lives in this house...wait, what?

Unexpectedly, at that moment, the door of that house opened again, and Sister Cheng, who was tidying her clothes, was preparing to leave. Behind her, the bald, burly man chuckled and patted her shapely buttocks a few times, causing Sister Cheng to turn her head and giggle…

Holy crap! How long has it been? Are you kidding me?

Zhuang Zhongchen chuckled to himself. He hadn't expected such a strong-looking man to be so incredibly fast. "Silver Spear Candle Head"—that's a disgrace to men, isn't it?

But just then, Zhuang Zhongchen noticed something strange. After Sister Cheng left, she didn't return to Nanluoguxiang; instead, she walked quickly in another direction.

After following her for a while, they saw Sister Cheng arrive at a bungalow. She took out her key and opened the door...