Love in the Courtyard: Starting with Engineers

The welding workshop of Longxing Machinery Factory.

The radio was playing an excerpt from the model opera "The Red Lantern," its powerful melody mingling with the hum of the welding machines in the workshop.

Li Yu, dressed in faded work clothes, squatted beside the arc welding machine with blueprints in his hand, pondering the parameters with his master and apprentice, Lao Wang.

"Vacuum welding is good, but it uses too many rare welding rods and consumes a lot of electricity."

Li Yu pointed to the weld markings on the blueprint, his voice just loud enough to drown out the broadcast.

"The fishing boats on Miyun Reservoir no longer need to withstand the high pressure of the deep sea. They can be replaced with ordinary electric arc welding, and after welding, they can be coated with two layers of asphalt for corrosion protection. This saves materials and meets the planned targets of the Municipal Bureau of Industry. Our Longxing Factory is located in the heart of Beijing, so we must first help the people of Beijing solve their problems."

Old Wang, with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, said, "That makes sense! Fishermen's boats have thin planks, so the current has to be kept low. If it exceeds 80 amps, the planks will burn through."

He turned and kicked Zhao Gang beside him. "Kid, remember this: when the fishing team's apprentices arrive, you'll teach them one-on-one, no holding back!"

Zhao Gang chuckled and polished the welding torch in his hand until it gleamed: "Don't worry, Master, I guarantee I'll teach you!"

Just then, the workshop door was pushed open, and Li Huaide rode in on a 28-inch bicycle, its bell ringing.

He jumped off the vehicle, which had two net bags hanging on the handlebars containing white work gloves and shiny black asphalt paint, and a roll of the Beijing Daily strapped to the back seat.

Li Huaide walked in from outside.

"Chief Engineer Li, Master Wang,"

"The apprentices from the Miyun fishing team have arrived. Three young men, carrying their bedding rolls and clutching letters of introduction from the Municipal Agriculture and Forestry Bureau, just arrived at the factory gate on bus number 337. I've already arranged for them to go to the staff dormitory to rest for a while, and they'll come back in the afternoon to learn their trade."

"Today's newspaper published the story of Iron Man Wang Jinxi. At 7 p.m., the factory will organize a study session for the employees, and everyone in our workshop has to go."

Li Yu nodded, bent down, picked up a pair of work gloves, and examined them: "Are these gloves part of the planned supplies allocated by the Municipal Bureau of Industry?"

Li Huaide patted the newspaper: "That's right! Our factory supports civilian production, and the labor protection allowance specially approved by the higher authorities was split in half with the fishing team so that they could also benefit."

The afternoon sun warmed the gray-brick alleyways of the Longxing Factory residential compound.

Each family's coal shed was next to their pickled vegetable vat, and morning glories climbed very high along the base of the wall.

The notice board was a red-painted wooden sign, with a notice written by Li Huaide pasted in the center: "With the approval of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Industry, the factory-run childcare center will be expanded, adding two mixed classes. Children of dual-income families will be given priority for enrollment. They need to bring a union certificate and household registration book to register. The monthly childcare fee is 2 cents, including one meal of corn porridge."

Below the notice, a group of family members had already gathered, clutching their food coupons, cloth coupons, and ration books, chatting in fluent Beijing dialect.

Bai Ling and Aunt Wang from next door leaned against the door frame, cracking sunflower seeds in their hands, their eyes fixed on the notice.

Aunt Wang works as a boring machine operator in the workshop, and her husband works in the forging workshop. Both of them are employed. Their son is a year older than their daughter and is locked at home every day, which makes her sigh with worry.

"We've finally made it through!"

Aunt Wang cracked sunflower seeds, her voice full of joy, "Before, when I was at work, I'd lock the child in the house, always afraid he'd touch the coal stove. Now I send him to daycare, it only costs 50 cents a month, and they even provide a bowl of porridge. It's so much easier!"

Bai Ling smiled and nodded, glancing at the little girl squatting in the alley. The little girl was squatting on the ground, playing with a tin frog. The frog was wound up and hopping around, making her giggle.

Hearing Aunt Wang's words, Nannan dropped the tin frog, ran to Bai Ling's side, tugged at her clothes, and shouted in a clear voice, "Mommy, Mommy, I want to go to daycare! I want to go down the slide! And I want to roll the iron hoop with Little Fatty!"

Bai Ling squatted down, patted her daughter's head, and pointed to the simple slide drawn on the notice: "Okay, Mom will go and register you now, so that you can play with Xiao Pang from now on."

As the sun sets, the surface of Miyun Reservoir is dyed a golden-red.

Several steel fishing boats bearing the inscription "Miyun State-owned Fishery Team No. 08" were moored in the shallow waters near the shore.

Master Wang and his apprentices, along with three other apprentices from fishing teams, were welding plates onto the last boat.

Zhao Gang taught his apprentice how to adjust the current step by step. Blue sparks flew up and landed on the water, creating ripples.

After welding the last seam, Zhao Gang knocked off the welding slag and then applied two layers of asphalt paint to the ship's plank.

The old captain of the fishing team, wearing a straw hat and carrying a cloth bag, walked over quickly.

He was a native of Miyun, his face etched with the marks of time, but his eyes lit up when he saw the repaired ship planks.

"Master Wang, Master Zhao, thank you for your hard work!"

The old team leader grasped Old Wang's hand and handed him the cloth bag. "It's a small token of my appreciation. Here are some cornbread pancakes and a small bottle of loose Erguotou liquor. Please have a taste."

Looking at the repaired fishing boat, he exclaimed, "Before, when the planks cracked, we could only use tung oil to patch them up, and they'd leak after less than three months. Now, with this weld and the application of asphalt, it'll last at least two more years! By the end of the year, we can send two more truckloads of fish from our reservoir to the grocery stores in Beijing, so the city dwellers can enjoy some fresh catches!"

Zhao Gang took a cornbread, took a bite, and the aroma of cornmeal filled his mouth.

Zhao Gang scratched his head and laughed, "Master, it turns out that our military industry skills can also help the people of Beijing eat more fish."

Old Wang took a sip of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor): "The workers of Beijing, our craftsmanship is what protects the people of Beijing!"

Zhou Qiming, sporting dark circles under his eyes, squatted in front of his workbench in the light weapons workshop of Longxing Factory.

He held a silver-gray alloy sample in his hand, his eyes wide like saucers. Several blueprints were laid out beside the worktable, covered with densely written proportions and parameters, and the enamel mug next to him had already been refilled with cold tea three times.

As Li Yu walked over, he saw Zhou Qiming throw a piece of scrap into the basket, muttering, "It's still not working. The rare earth content is too high, and we can't reduce the cost."

"What's the rush?"

Li Yu picked up the alloy sample and examined its texture against the light.

Not long after, Li Huaide rode his old-fashioned bicycle directly into the workshop. The bicycle bell jingled, a red letter of introduction was hanging on the handlebars, and a bundle of blueprints with the words "Beijing Bicycle Factory" printed on them was tied to the back seat.

"It's done! The Municipal Industry Bureau has approved it! They want us to produce fifty aluminum alloy frame samples first, send them over for testing, and if they pass, they'll include our factory as a designated supplier!"

He unfurled the bundle of blueprints and pointed to the design of a "Yanshan" brand bicycle: "Look, this is the bicycle factory's flagship model. If our aluminum alloy frames can be used, the bicycles that the people of Beijing will ride in the future will all be made with the craftsmanship of our Longxing Factory!"

Within a few days, the daycare center began to operate normally.

The door of the nursery was made of wooden planks with the words "Longxing Factory Nursery" painted in red on it.

The slide in the yard was welded by Zhao Gang and his apprentices using scrap materials from the workshop. The swing was made of thick hemp rope tied to a thick wooden board and hung on an old locust tree.

There were a dozen or so small stools in the classroom, and on the small blackboard at the front, the words "Study hard and make progress every day" were written in white chalk.

Nannan, carrying a floral print schoolbag and holding Bai Ling's hand, slowly made her way inside.