Love in the Courtyard: Starting with Engineers

Little Fatty from the alley had arrived long ago and was squatting on the ground with several children, rolling iron hoops. The hoops spun around, making the children laugh.

"Mommy, I want to play with the iron hoop with Little Fatty!" Nannan broke free from Bai Ling's hand and rushed into the middle of the group of children.

The nursery nanny, who was a family member of a factory worker, smiled and waved when she saw the little girl come in: "Little girl, you're here? Come here quickly, Auntie will tell you the story of 'Little Soldier Zhang Ga'."

The children swarmed around, sitting on small stools, their eyes wide with wonder. The little girl listened intently, her tiny hand still clutching a small piece of thin sheet metal she'd picked up from the workshop that morning.

After the story was finished, Nannan pulled Xiaopang to the workshop entrance, where they bumped into Zhao Gang getting off work.

The little girl held up a thin sheet of iron. "Uncle Zhao Gang! Can you weld a small fishing boat for us?"

Zhao Gang smiled and nodded: "Okay! But we have to use scraps; we can't waste public resources."

He led the children to the scrap heap in the workshop, picked out a suitable piece of sheet metal, and gently touched it with a small welding torch. In no time, a small fishing boat was formed. Nannan and Xiaopang held the fishing boat, jumping with joy, chasing after the iron hoop in the alley, their laughter carrying far away.

Li Yu and Bai Ling stood at the entrance of the nursery, watching their daughter's cheerful figure, and smiled at each other.

"That's good, now Nannan finally has someone to play with," Bai Ling said softly.

As evening fell, Zhou Qiming's face beamed with joy.

"It's done! It's done! The mechanics at the bicycle factory said our alloy frame is 30% lighter than a regular steel frame, and it still meets the strength requirements! They said that as long as the quality of mass production is stable, they'll sign a planned supply agreement with us!"

As the sun sets, the earthen basketball court at Longxing Factory gradually comes alive.

The basket was an iron ring welded to the utility pole, and two lanterns were placed next to it, with their wicks twisted high.

After finishing their shift and going home, the workers washed their faces, then, wearing vests and shorts, ran to the basketball court carrying basketballs.

The group spontaneously split into two teams, one called the "Military Industry Team" and the other the "Civilian Team." Old Wang, wearing a patched blue vest, stood on the sidelines shouting encouragement at the top of his lungs, his Beijing accent echoing throughout the alley.

"Go, military-industrial unit! Crush the civilian unit!"

"Civilian squad, don't back down! Our fishing boats and bicycle frames are just as good as the military's!"

Li Yu and Li Huaide sat on stone stools by the field, holding enamel mugs and drinking cooled boiled water.

Li Huaide laughed and said, "Ten catties of oil, enough to play ball by lamplight at night, can keep you playing until midnight."

As the sun completely set, Li Huaide ordered the lanterns to be lit. The dim yellow light shone on the basketball court, making the workers' faces glow red.

The early autumn wind swept through the hutongs of Beijing, making the red banners on the bicycle factory's premises flutter loudly.

The Song typeface on the banner, which read "Warmly celebrate the mass production of 'Yanshan' brand alloy frame bicycles," shone brightly in the sunlight.

Li Yu and Zhou Qiming followed Li Huaide and rode their old bicycles to the factory gate early in the morning.

Inside the workshop, rows of brand-new bicycles stood in neat rows. The silver-gray alloy frames gleamed with a delicate luster, red silk flowers hung on the handlebars, and the small words "Longxing Alloy" were printed on the side of the frames.

The bicycle factory manager personally came out to greet him, beaming from ear to ear.

"Chief Engineer Li, Master Zhou, Factory Director Li Huaide, thank you so much! This batch of frames, after testing, is 30% lighter and has twice the corrosion resistance of ordinary steel, perfectly meeting the planned pricing!"

"The bikes that roll off the production line today will be prioritized for model workers, military dependents, and dual-income families. Finally, the people of Beijing can ride the lightweight bikes we made ourselves!"

Zhou Qiming reached out and touched the chassis. He recalled how he had spent several sleepless nights in the workshop adjusting the alloy ratio. Now, seeing these cars coming off the production line, he felt as sweet as if he had drunk honey.

"That's all expected. In subsequent mass production, our Longxing plant will strictly control the quality of the alloys to ensure a stable supply and will not delay your production plans."

Li Huaide added from the side, "The Municipal Bureau of Industry has already approved the raw material quota, and our factory's punching workshop has added two shifts to ensure on-time delivery every month!"

The ceremony was simple yet enthusiastic. Several model workers stepped forward to receive the bicycles, and immediately rode them around the factory area. The crisp sound of the bicycle bells drew cheers from the onlookers.

As the three of them left the bicycle factory and turned into Xisi Hutong, they saw the factory office's communications officer rushing towards them on his bicycle, a hurried smile on his face.

"Director Li! Chief Engineer Li! The Miyun Reservoir fishing team has come to deliver a letter of thanks and a basket of fresh fish. They're right here at the factory gate!"

The three exchanged a glance and immediately sped up.

A crowd had already gathered at the entrance of Longxing Factory. Several donkey carts were parked by the roadside, each loaded with baskets of lively, wriggling bighead carp, with a small red flag stuck on each basket.

The old captain of the fishing team held Old Wang's hand, so excited that he could hardly speak. The thank-you letter in his hand was crumpled, but the calligraphy on it was strong and powerful: "Exquisite craftsmanship to help fishermen, concern for people's livelihood - presented to all employees of Longxing Machinery Factory".

"Master Wang, Chief Engineer Li!"

When the old captain saw Li Yu coming over, he quickly stepped forward and shook his hand.

"Those fishing boats you repaired haven't had a single breakdown in the past few months! Look, today we caught a big net full of fish, and we specially picked the fattest ones for the factory workers to try! By the end of the year, we'll definitely be able to send two extra truckloads of fish from our reservoir to the grocery stores in Beijing, so the city folks can enjoy some too!"

Old Wang grinned, his face crinkling with wrinkles, and patted his chest, saying, "It's nothing! Our skills as workers are meant to serve the people!"

Nannan and Xiaopang squeezed to the front of the crowd, their little faces full of curiosity as they looked at the fresh fish jumping in the fish basket.

The little girl tugged at Bai Ling's clothes and called out in her clear voice, "Mommy! We can have fish soup tonight!"

Bai Ling smiled and nodded, her eyes full of tenderness.

That noon, the canteen at Longxing Factory was filled with the aroma of fish soup.

The head chef stewed fish in a large iron pot, sprinkling it with chopped green onions and ginger slices. The aroma wafted out of the canteen and permeated the alleys throughout the factory area.

The workers lined up to get their meals, and each of them had an extra piece of snow-white fish in their lunchbox, eating with beaming smiles.

In the afternoon, Li Huaide, holding the official document he had just received, strode into the smelting workshop.

He patted Li Yu on the shoulder: "Chief Engineer, great news! The Municipal Bureau of Industry has sent a notice asking our factory to participate in the research and development project of special steel for civilian nuclear power. This is a big project!"

Li Yu took the official document and said with a smile, "I didn't expect that we'd be involved in so many other things besides military industry."

After get off work, the workers rode their brand-new "Yanshan" brand bicycles, chatting and laughing as they rode out of the factory area, the jingling of their bicycle bells echoing through the alleyways.

In the bicycle baskets, some contained freshly caught fish, while others contained children's homework.