Courtyard House: The Road to an Industrial Power

After becoming the team leader of the "Old Machine Tool Renovation Project", Lin Weidong's reputation at Harbin Institute of Technology was thoroughly established.

In dormitory 302, Zhang Qiang and Li Ming became his "little followers," asking him questions every day and even eating with him, afraid of missing any learning opportunities.

After more than a month of research and improvement, the project has finally achieved some significant breakthroughs.

Early that morning, the project team held a meeting to discuss the next steps of the experimental plan.

The technicians suggested that to verify Lin Weidong's optimization plan, special alloy steel cutting tools must be used. These tools have high hardness and strong wear resistance, which can maximize the precision advantages of the modified machine tool.

But as soon as he finished speaking, everyone fell silent.

The teacher in charge of material allocation sighed, "Special alloy steel is a scarce resource. The school warehouse has been empty for a long time. To purchase it, we need to submit a report to the higher authorities, and the process will take at least a month."

"Our project schedule is already tight. If we wait another month, we might miss the window of opportunity to cooperate with the local machinery factory."

"What can we do? Without specialized tools, even the best plan can't be implemented!" One team member was so anxious that he stomped his feet.

At this moment, Zhou Tao, a graduate student in the department who had previously mocked Lin Weidong, stood up and said sarcastically:

"I knew it! The new group leader is all talk and no action. No matter how good the plan sounds, if he can't even get the tools, it's all for nothing. I think this project should be handed over to someone with experience to lead it."

Several other students who were unconvinced by Lin Weidong echoed, "Exactly! Without special steel, are we supposed to use ordinary carbon steel knives? The precision wouldn't meet the requirements at all; it's a complete waste of time!"

Zhang Qiang immediately became agitated and rolled up his sleeves, ready to argue with them, but Lin Weidong grabbed him.

"Who says you can't do it without special steel? Ordinary carbon steel knives can achieve the same effect as special steel."

Zhou Tao scoffed, "What do you mean by that? Ordinary carbon steel isn't hard enough to cut high-strength parts; that's common sense! Don't try to keep your team leader position by spouting nonsense!"

Lin Weidong ignored his provocation and turned to Zhang Qiang, saying, "Zhang Qiang, you used to work in the quenching process at the factory, right?"

Zhang Qiang nodded: "That's right, I learned the basics from my master, but I'm not good at precision control."

That's enough.

Lin Weidong took out a drawing with detailed markings of quenching temperature, holding time, and cooling method.

"This is my design for upgrading the hardening of ordinary carbon steel knives. As long as you strictly follow these parameters, the hardness of ordinary carbon steel can reach more than 80% of that of special alloy steel, which can fully meet the experimental requirements."

Zhou Tao leaned over to take a look and couldn't help but burst into laughter: "That's utterly absurd! A difference of ten degrees or so in the quenching temperature will result in completely different outcomes. You don't even have professional temperature control equipment, yet you expect to precisely control the temperature? I think you're just trying to get lucky!"

"Whether it works or not, we'll know once we try."

Lin Weidong was too lazy to waste words with him and led Zhang Qiang straight to the simple heat treatment workshop of the school-run factory.

There was only an old coal stove and a thermometer in the workshop, without even the most basic temperature control device. Zhou Tao and a few students followed behind, waiting to see Lin Weidong make a fool of himself.

Lin Weidong directed Zhang Qiang to ignite the coal stove. When the stove temperature reached 580°C, the prepared ordinary carbon steel knives were placed into the stove, and the holding time was precisely controlled.

During this time, he would use a thermometer to measure the furnace temperature from time to time, and immediately adjust the amount of coal added if it deviated from the standard. His movements were so skilled that he didn't seem like a novice.

"Hmph, how precise can manual temperature control be? I bet he'll fail this time!" Zhou Tao whispered to the person next to him.

But before he could finish speaking, Lin Weidong shouted, "That's enough, cool down!"

Zhang Qiang immediately took out the knife and put it into the prepared salt water.

With a "sizzle," white steam instantly rose into the air, and a faint smell of rust filled the air.

After the blades cooled down, Lin Weidong picked one up and gently sharpened it with a file. The file sparked, but the blade surface remained undamaged.

"This...how is this possible?" Zhou Tao's eyes widened, and the mockery on his face froze instantly.

Lin Weidong handed the knife over to the technicians for testing. The results showed that the hardness of the knife far exceeded the hardness standard of ordinary carbon steel. Although it was slightly lower than that of special alloy steel, it fully met the experimental requirements.

"We did it! We really did it!" the project team cheered.

Zhang Qiang excitedly hugged Lin Weidong, exclaiming, "Team Leader Lin, you're amazing! Your skills are even better than my master's!"

Just then, the department head suddenly walked into the workshop with several people, and said with a serious expression, "Lin Weidong, someone reported that you brought materials from outside the school into the school without permission, violating scientific research discipline. I'm here to verify the situation."

Zhou Tao's eyes lit up, and he immediately stepped forward to complain: "Director, you've come at the right time! Lin Weidong can't produce any special steel knives, so he's just messing around with ordinary carbon steel ones. We don't even know if he secretly brought these knives from outside the school; they might pose a safety hazard!"

Lin Weidong did not offer any explanation, but simply instructed the technicians to hand over the newly processed parts and the inspection report to the department head.

The department head reviewed the test report and then examined the detailed records of the quenching process. His serious expression gradually turned into approval.

He turned and glared at Zhou Tao, saying sternly, "Zhou Tao, as a graduate student, you not only fail to support your classmate's innovative attempts, but also maliciously report and spread rumors. This is academic misconduct! Lin Weidong solved the problem in a situation of material shortage by adapting to local conditions; this is the attitude that researchers should have!"

After saying that, the department head patted Lin Weidong on the shoulder: "Lin Weidong, you did a great job! I'll submit a report to the school right now to request special approval for a certain amount of special alloy steel for your project, and fully support your experiments!"

Zhou Tao's face turned pale, and he lowered his head, not daring to speak. The students who had previously echoed him also dispersed, afraid of being implicated.

"Thank you, Director."

A few days later, the project acceptance proceeded smoothly.

Upon seeing the parts with processing precision far exceeding expectations, the representative from the local machinery factory immediately signed an order to upgrade 10 machine tools and promised long-term cooperation.

To recognize Lin Weidong's outstanding contributions, the school awarded him 100 yuan in cash, which was equivalent to three months' wages for an ordinary worker at the time, along with a gleaming gold "Scientific Research Pioneer" medal.

Back in the dorm that evening, Li Ming excitedly told him, "Lin Weidong, I heard from my dad that the country is secretly pushing forward with research on aero-engine blade processing technology. The Department of Mechanical Engineering at Harbin Institute of Technology is going to undertake part of the sub-project, and I heard they're selecting the top students to participate. You definitely have a chance!"

Lin Weidong's eyes lit up. Aero engines are a vital national asset, and blade processing is a core technological challenge, which is exactly the area he wanted to challenge.

The system notification suddenly sounded: [The host has successfully developed a quenching upgrade process, resolving the resource shortage crisis, and has received the following rewards: "Special Materials Processing Technology Manual" and "Practical Skills +5"]