Courtyard House: The Road to an Industrial Power

During his inspection of the workshop, Lin Weidong discovered something strange: a batch of newly arrived special steel appeared to be fine on the surface.

However, it was extremely easy to crack during processing. After taking samples and sending them for testing, he found that the carbon content of this batch of steel was seriously excessive and did not meet the standards for military production at all.

Lin Weidong frowned deeply. The supply channels for this batch of steel were personally arranged by Factory Director Yang.

There's probably something fishy going on here. He carefully put away the test report, secretly determined to get to the bottom of it.

Meanwhile, Liu Haizhong finally couldn't hold back any longer.

He arrived at Lin Weidong's office carrying a bag of fruit, a fawning smile plastered on his face: "Chief Engineer Lin, I heard the workshop is recruiting more technical staff. You see... I've worked in the forging workshop for half my life, and my skills are decent enough. Could you give me a chance?"

Lin Weidong raised his eyes. He uttered three words calmly: "No chance."

Liu Haizhong's smile froze on his face as he left dejectedly. He stared at the closed door of Lin Weidong's office, a flash of resentment in his eyes.

Lin Weidong held the steel testing report in his hand, his knuckles turning slightly white.

The handwriting on the report was clear and glaring—this batch of newly arrived special steel had a carbon content that exceeded the standard by 0.2%, which was far below the standards for military production, no wonder it was so prone to cracking during processing.

He got up and went straight to the purchasing department. When he pushed open the door, the person in charge, Lao Zhou, was burying his head in sorting out documents. When he saw him come in, his expression instantly became unnatural.

"Section Chief Zhou, you need to give me an explanation about the supply channels for this batch of substandard steel." Lin Weidong slammed the report on the table.

Old Zhou's eyes darted around, and he chuckled dryly, "Chief Engineer Lin, this... this was all purchased according to the factory manager's instructions. I'm not too clear about the specific channels."

"Not sure?"

Lin Weidong sneered, "This batch of steel is related to the quality of military orders. As the head of the procurement department, how could you not know the supply channels?"

Old Zhou was speechless when asked, so he simply adopted an unyielding attitude: "Chief Engineer Lin, I really don't know. If you have any questions, you should ask the factory director."

Lin Weidong knew that Lao Zhou was making excuses.

He turned and left the purchasing department, his doubts growing stronger. The supply channels that Director Yang had personally finalized must be rife with shady dealings involving the transfer of benefits.

He had just returned to his office when Deputy Factory Director Li Huaide pushed open the door and walked in.

Li Huaide closed the door and lowered his voice, saying, "Dongzi, I've heard about the steel. Yang Weimin is too self-serving. I can help you investigate the purchase records for this batch of steel."

Lin Weidong looked up at him, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

Li Huaide smiled and continued, "I'm different from him. I just want to get things done at the factory."

"If there's anything wrong with this batch of steel, none of us can afford the responsibility. Don't worry, I will fully support you in investigating to the end."

Meanwhile, in the courtyard, Yi Zhonghai and Yan Bugui were huddled in a corner, whispering and plotting something.

Yi Zhonghai's face was still swollen, but his eyes revealed a fierce glint: "Old Liu, that kid Lin Weidong is too arrogant. I won't swallow this insult if I don't teach him a lesson!"

Liu Haizhong said in a low voice, "He's an old man, what ideas do you have? Everyone in the factory is on his side now, we definitely can't do it openly."

"If we can't do it openly, we'll do it covertly!"

Yi Zhonghai gritted his teeth and lowered his voice, saying, "Yesterday I saw in the workshop that a batch of scrapped military parts hadn't been processed yet. Tonight, we'll sneak into the workshop, replace those scrap parts with qualified ones, and then hide them in Lin Weidong's office. Then I'll go to the factory manager and complain that he's embezzling and deliberately sabotaging military production!"

Liu Haizhong's eyes lit up, and he slapped his thigh, saying, "Great idea! This way, even if he has a hundred mouths, he won't be able to explain himself!"

The two hit it off immediately, and that night, under the cover of darkness, they sneaked into the steel rolling mill workshop.

They pried open the warehouse locked with scrap parts, frantically swapped the parts, and then, by the moonlight, sneaked into Lin Weidong's office and hid the scrap parts in the deepest part of the locker.

The next morning, Yi Zhonghai couldn't wait to rush to Director Yang's office.

"Factory manager! Factory manager! Something terrible has happened!"

Yi Zhonghai, panting heavily, his face contorted with exaggerated panic, exclaimed, "Lin Weidong has embezzled from his post! He replaced the qualified military parts in the workshop with scrap and hid them in his office! You'd better go check it out!"

Factory Director Yang already harbored resentment towards Lin Weidong, and upon hearing this, he immediately flew into a rage: "Rebellion! Utter rebellion! Come on, take me to see him!"

The group arrived at Lin Weidong's office in a grand procession. Yi Zhonghai pointed smugly to the storage cabinet: "Factory manager, look, the scrap parts are all in there!"

Factory Director Yang had someone open the storage cabinet, and sure enough, there was a pile of military parts marked "qualified." But upon closer inspection, the cracks on the surface of the parts were clearly visible, indicating that they were scrap.

"Lin Weidong! What else do you have to say?" Factory Director Yang glared at Lin Weidong, his face ashen.

Lin Weidong, however, remained unusually calm.

He stepped forward, picked up a part, pointed to the number on it and said, "Director Yang, please take a close look. The numbers on this batch of parts are from the batch that was scrapped last month. They have already been recorded in the ledger."

He turned around and took out a thick ledger from the drawer, turning to one of the pages: "You can check. These scrap parts should have been sent for recycling half a month ago. I don't know why they ended up in my office."

Factory Director Yang took the ledger and saw that the records were clear: this batch of parts was indeed scrap.

Lin Weidong then pointed to the locker's locker: "Moreover, my office lock showed signs of being pried open. Master Yi, did you go to the workshop's scrap warehouse last night?"

Yi Zhonghai's face turned deathly pale instantly, and his lips trembled as he was unable to speak.

Just then, several workshop workers stepped forward and testified: "We saw Master Yi and Master Yan acting suspiciously near the workshop last night!" "Yes! They even picked the lock on the scrap metal warehouse!"

With irrefutable evidence, Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong's conspiracy was completely exposed.

Factory Director Yang's face turned pale, then flushed. He pointed at the two men, trembling with rage: "You two audacious bastards! How dare you frame me! Men! Take them to the security department!"

Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong collapsed to the ground and were carried out by the security guards. Before leaving, Yi Zhonghai glared venomously at Lin Weidong, his eyes filled with resentment and madness.

When the news reached the deaf old woman's ears, she was so angry that she pounded her cane on the ground. That afternoon, she leaned on her cane, took the yellowed guarantee, and stormed into the gates of the Ministry of Industry.

"Comrade, I want to report this!"

The deaf old woman slammed the guarantee on the table: "Yang Weimin, the steel mill director, stole factory documents to exchange for money when he was young! And that Lin Weidong, he oppressed veteran workers, framed them, and sabotaged military production! You must investigate this thoroughly!"

The staff member from the Ministry of Industry looked at the guarantee with a solemn expression.

This matter involves the factory director and the chief engineer, so it is by no means a trivial matter.

Upon hearing the news, Factory Director Yang panicked completely. He knew that the deaf old woman was determined to fight to the death.

In order to protect himself, he took a risk and immediately convened a factory meeting, announcing the suspension of Lin Weidong's position as chief engineer and that he would temporarily take over the technical work. At the same time, he ordered the investigation into the steel quality problem to be put on hold.

"Lin Weidong, you are suspected of embezzlement. You are not required to come to work until the matter is fully investigated."

Lin Weidong sneered, offering no explanation. He knew that Factory Director Yang was sacrificing a pawn to save the king, trying to quell the deaf old woman's anger with his own suspension.