Courtyard House: The Road to an Industrial Power

The next day, as soon as he arrived at the office, Director Yang came to find Lin Weidong.

Factory Director Yang said to Lin Weidong, "The pass rate for this batch of 122mm artillery shell casings for military orders is less than 68%! If we can't deliver enough casings, the factory will be punished by the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense!"

Lin Weidong followed Factory Director Yang into the machining workshop, where three Soviet-made C620 lathes were humming, and finished shell casings were piled up to the side.

He bent down and picked up a shell casing. After measuring it with a dial indicator, he frowned slightly: "The machine tool spindle is misaligned, the hydraulic feed mechanism pressure is unstable, and the cutting tool grinding angle is unreasonable, so the accuracy is naturally low."

"The veteran technicians have been searching for three days without any clue. Do you have a solution?" Hope ignited in Director Yang's eyes.

"Yes, disassemble and recalibrate the spindle."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the veteran technicians nearby changed.

The foreman, Master Wang, cleared his throat and said, "Chief Engineer Lin, this machine tool is a precision device left behind by Soviet experts. With supplies so tight right now, parts like the spindle bearings and hydraulic valves are hard to find replacements. Who can take responsibility if it gets damaged during disassembly?"

"Master Wang, the military orders cannot be delayed. There is still a chance to repair them if we dismantle and inspect them now. If we delay any longer, all of these shell casings will have to be scrapped, which would be a real waste of national strategic materials."

Factory Director Yang slapped his thigh: "Dongzi is right! We'll go with your plan. Whatever resources are needed, the factory will provide full support!"

Lin Weidong nodded and turned to ask his father, Lin Jianjun, to find some scrap steel plates from the workshop: "Let's use these to make a simple pressure regulator bracket first. I'll draw up the blueprints and process the spindle calibration tool."

In the evening, Lin Weidong dragged his tired body back to the Hongxing Courtyard.

As soon as I stepped into the courtyard, I was surrounded by a group of neighbors under the old locust tree. Leading them was Yi Zhonghai, with his hands behind his back, looking like a dignified elder.

"Dongzi, I heard you're going to dismantle the precision machine tools in the factory?"

"You know how tight supplies are in the factory right now. One imported hydraulic valve can be exchanged for dozens of kilograms of grain coupons. You think you can just dismantle it like that? If you mess it up and delay the military orders, the entire institute's welfare grain coupons will be affected!"

The neighbors around nodded in agreement, their faces filled with anxiety. This year's grain ration coupons were already in short supply, and recently they had heard that the supply would be reduced by 20%. Cloth coupons and industrial coupons were even harder to find, and everyone was extremely sensitive to the availability of supplies.

"Uncle Yi, the purpose of modifying the machine tool is to improve the quality of shell casings and complete orders on time. This way, the factory can receive more benefits, which will benefit the entire institute," Lin Weidong explained patiently.

"Hmph, all talk and no action! My Dongxu is bedridden and just waiting for the factory to give him welfare rations! If you break the machine tool, we'll lose our ration coupons, and Dongxu might starve to death. Can you afford to compensate us? I bet you're just using the guise of renovation to secretly take parts from the factory home and sell them for money!"

"Exactly! Dongzi, I'm not trying to be mean, but those scrap steel plates could be sold for scrap metal and exchanged for some cornmeal. You're just wasting them like that? Resources are so precious these days, wasting them is a crime! Besides, you've only just become the chief engineer and you're already causing so much trouble. Aren't you a little too eager to prove yourself?"

Lin Weidong looked at the group of neighbors in front of him, each with their own thoughts.

Before he could speak, Liu Haizhong squeezed in from outside the crowd.

"Dongzi, I know you're capable, but shouldn't such a big project as modifying machine tools be led by an experienced veteran like Uncle Yi?"

"He's worked in the factory for thirty years, a reliable level eight fitter! You should learn from him."

Lin Weidong's eyes turned cold: "How we make the changes is a joint decision between me and the factory, what's it to you!"

Yi Zhonghai said, "You're wrong! You came from the Siheyuan area, so you should think about the Siheyuan area! Everyone is short of food stamps right now. If you're confident, take out your reward food stamps as collateral. If the renovation fails, use your food stamps to compensate everyone for their losses!"

These words were so offensive that even several neutral neighbors nearby frowned.

Lin Jianjun couldn't help but stand up and say, "Yi Zhonghai, don't go too far! Dongzi is working for the country, why should he use his own food rations as collateral? If the reform fails, the factory will naturally take disciplinary action; it's not your place to interfere!"

"I'm doing this for everyone's sake! Food coupons are so scarce right now, everyone's scrimping and saving. If he messes things up, everyone's benefits will be gone, and who's going to take responsibility?"

"Responsible?"

Zhao Xiulan said loudly, "You must have damaged quite a few parts while processing them at the steel rolling mill, right? Who held you responsible for that?"

"Stop stirring up trouble all the time, and all of you who chime in, hasn't your husband ever broken any parts at the steel mill?"

Did the steel mill make you lose money?

"Yi Zhonghai, you'd better behave yourself. If you don't want to be the liaison officer, then give up your position."

After saying that, Zhao Guilan took Lin Weidong home.

When she got home, she said to Lin Weidong, "Don't pay any attention to them in the future. I'll go and confront them myself."

Lin Weidong smiled and nodded in agreement.

Lin Weidong had just finished dinner and was preparing to return to the factory. He was worried that someone might be sabotaging the workshop, so he wanted to stay up all night to supervise the disassembly and inspection of the machine tools.

As soon as he stepped out of his house, he saw Yan Bugui lurking suspiciously at the gate of the courtyard. Upon seeing him, he immediately pretended to be taking a walk and turned to walk towards the entrance of the alley.

Lin Weidong became wary and quickened his pace towards the factory area. Sure enough, as soon as he entered the workshop, he saw Master Wang whispering to two apprentices in front of a machine tool, with several hydraulic valve parts scattered on the ground.

"Master Wang, it's so late and you're still not off work?" Lin Weidong's voice suddenly rang out, startling Master Wang and the others.

"No...nothing, just checking some parts." Master Wang's eyes darted around, and his tone was flustered.

Lin Weidong stepped forward, picked up the hydraulic valve from the ground, and found that a layer of the valve core had been deliberately worn away, resulting in a poor seal. He instantly realized that someone had intentionally sabotaged the process to prevent the modification from proceeding smoothly.

"Master Wang, are these parts for modification?"

"Relatives are scarce right now, and every part is precious. If it gets damaged, it will not only delay the project but also waste national resources. You're a senior technician; you should understand this better than anyone else."

Master Wang's face turned ashen, and he lowered his head, not daring to speak.

An apprentice behind him whispered, "It was... Master Yi who told us to do this. He said... to teach you a lesson so that your transformation doesn't go smoothly..."

Lin Weidong sneered and simply told them to put the parts away. He then worked through the night to draw up repair drawings for the hydraulic valve, preparing to reprocess the valve core using scrap alloy materials from the workshop.