Courtyard House: The Road to an Industrial Power

With only seven days left until the college entrance examination, the kerosene lamp in the Lin family's house stays lit until late every night.

While Lin Weidong was engrossed in studying, he would often catch glimpses of his father, Lin Jianjun, dragging his weary figure home, his eyes bloodshot, his face covered in stubble, and he could even doze off while eating.

"Dad, you haven't had a proper rest for days. Can't you ask the factory for a day off?"

Lin Jianjun rubbed his sore eyes and sighed, "Sigh! The higher-ups are pushing too hard! This batch of precision machine tool parts is crucial to the military supporting project. They've set a deadline of over 95% pass rate within half a month, and we're only at 60% now. The technical staff are practically living at the factory."

Zhao Xiulan brought over the reheated food and said with concern, "He's only been sleeping three or four hours a day these past few days, and he can't eat much. If this continues, his health will collapse."

Lin Weidong fell silent. He had originally planned to hand over the "Precision Machine Tool Parts Optimization Drawings" in the system to his father after the college entrance examination, so as not to delay his review and to avoid revealing too many of his abilities too early.

But looking at her father's sallow face and listening to his suppressed coughs, the scales in her heart tipped instantly—the sooner the paper was handed in, the sooner her father could breathe a sigh of relief, and the sooner the factory's project could break through the bottleneck.

That night, Lin Weidong stayed up all night to compile the drawings and optimization plans into a booklet.

He deliberately used handwriting to imitate the layout of old technical documents, clearly marking key parameters and processing steps, and also included specific suggestions for equipment adjustments to ensure that the technical staff could directly refer to and use them.

The next morning, Lin Weidong handed the thick handbook to Lin Jianjun:

"Dad, this is an idea I came up with from an old technical book. I've combined it with the physics and math I learned in school to come up with an optimization plan. You can take it to the factory and try it out. Maybe it can solve the accuracy problem."

Lin Jianjun paused for a moment, then took the manual and opened it.

"Dongzi, this...this plan is too detailed! It includes adjustments to the machining process, selection of cutting tools, control of tolerances, and even calibration parameters for the equipment! How do you know all this?"

"It's all from what I've accumulated through reading and the knowledge I've jotted down during our discussions. I figured it out little by little," Lin Weidong said, feigning nonchalance.

Without asking any further questions, Lin Jianjun grabbed the manual and ran to the factory. He knew that this solution might be the key to breaking the deadlock.

That morning, the office of the steel rolling mill's technical department was buzzing with excitement. The department head, looking at the proposal Lin Jianjun had brought, repeatedly examined it, his hands trembling with excitement: "Old Lin, this proposal is incredibly professional! Especially the optimization of the toolpath and the improvement of the cooling system—they hit right where our pain points are!"

Upon hearing the news, the factory manager rushed over and immediately decided: "Start trial production immediately! Adjust all processes according to this plan and fully cooperate!"

Inside the workshop, workers adjusted equipment parameters, replaced cutting tools, and optimized processing procedures according to the plan. Lin Jianjun stood guard by the production line, his eyes fixed on every step.

When the first batch of parts produced according to the optimized plan rolled off the production line, the pass rate after testing was an astonishing 98%!

"It passed! It really passed!" The technical staff cheered, and thunderous applause erupted in the workshop.

After the news was reported, the Ministry of Industry issued a special commendation order, praising the steel rolling mill for "overcoming difficulties and making great contributions to the military project."

At the factory-wide meeting, the factory manager personally commended Lin Jianjun, awarding him a "third-class merit" and announcing a salary increase of 15 yuan, bringing his monthly salary to 143 yuan, making him a core member of the technical department.

"Old Lin, you've really raised a good son! If you asked outside experts to do this, it would take at least six months to a year to come up with a solution. I never expected your son, a high school student, to finish it!" Director Yang patted Lin Jianjun on the shoulder, his face full of admiration.

Lin Jianjun grinned from ear to ear, even happier than if he had been promoted: "The kids figured it out themselves, I didn't really help much."

Upon seeing Lin Jianjun return, Sha Zhu exclaimed loudly, "Brother Jianjun, Weidong! You guys are amazing! This is a major event in the military industry project; your family has made a tremendous contribution!"

Qin Huairu also laughed and said, "Weidong is not only good at studying, but he also knows so many technologies. He will definitely be a pillar of the country in the future!"

Yi Zhonghai watched all this through the window, trembling with anger.

He originally thought that Lin Jianjun's promotion to senior engineer was already glorious enough, but he never expected that Lin Weidong, a mere teenager, could help the factory solve such a big problem.

As the Lin family's influence grew stronger, his jealousy and resentment grew wildly like weeds.

Seeing Yi Zhonghai like this, Zhang said, "Hey~ just live your own life. You have almost a hundred yuan a month now, and we can't even spend it all. It's not worth arguing with them over this."

"What do you know, you woman? If everyone only focuses on the Lin family's glory, who will care about an old man like me?"

"Who will take care of us in our old age?"

The woman wiped her eyes and said, "It's all my fault for not being able to give you a son or daughter."

"Don't say things like that again. Didn't we say not to mention it again?" Yi Zhonghai suddenly said in a gentle voice.

Yan Bugui, standing in the porch, said sourly to Liu Haizhong, "The Lin family is really lucky. Their son is not only a top student, but also a technical expert. In the future, I'm afraid no one in our institute will be able to compare with them."

Xu Damao had just finished cleaning the yard when he heard about this, and he was so angry that he almost threw his broom down.

He couldn't understand why, despite his constant targeting of Lin Weidong, the latter was becoming increasingly successful while he could only make a living by doing odd jobs. This huge disparity drove him almost insane.

"Li Xiulian! Where the hell have you been? Come here and sweep the floor!"

Li Xiulian, who was cooking at home, immediately ran out when she heard Xu Damao's shout and took the broom from Xu Damao to sweep.

People in the courtyard pointed and whispered at the scene.

"That Xu Damao is a real scoundrel."

"Yes, yes, yes! I made a mistake and made my wife suffer the punishment."

"Pah! What a piece of trash, serves you right for being eggless."

That evening, the system's mechanical voice echoed in Lin Weidong's mind: [Host's proactive resolution of the military-industrial support project's problems, contributing to national industrial development, is rewarded with "Physical Fitness +5" (enhancing stress resistance), "Engineering Mechanics Knowledge Base" (containing core university course content), and "Military Project Entry Permission" (unlocking access to basic military blueprints)!]

A warm current flowed into my body, instantly dispelling the fatigue from days of studying, and my mind became clearer.

When Lin Jianjun got home from get off work, he specially bought his son's favorite braised pork and said with a face full of relief, "Dongzi, thanks to you, Dad can finally get a good night's sleep. Don't worry, Dad will definitely help you study for the next few days so you can focus on your college entrance exam."

Lin Weidong smiled and nodded, then picked up a piece of braised meat and put it in his mouth.