Courtyard House: The Road to an Industrial Power

In the evening, every household was cooking, and the aroma of food filled the entire Hongxing Courtyard.

Lin Jianjun dragged his tired body into the house, his face full of worry. He plopped down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), grabbed the enamel mug on the table, gulped down more than half a bowl of cold water, and sighed heavily.

"What's wrong? What happened at the factory?" Zhao Xiulan was busy at the stove when she heard the noise and quickly came over, wiping her hands and asking with concern.

Lin Jianjun put down the enamel mug, his brows furrowing even more deeply: "What else could it be? The pulley system for hoisting steel in the factory keeps malfunctioning. Either the wire rope slips, or it can't hold up enough weight. Yesterday, it almost injured someone. The factory manager gave a strict order: the technical team must come up with a modification plan within three days. If they don't fix it, our entire technical team will be punished!"

As he spoke, he pulled out a crumpled blueprint from his pocket, which was covered with the structure of pulleys. Unfortunately, it had been altered into a mess, clearly indicating that he had been pondering it for a long time without finding a solution.

"I spent all day figuring it out and tried several different ways of winding the cable, but none of them worked. This pulley system looks simple, but there's a lot more to it than meets the eye."

Zhao Xiulan was also troubled: "What should we do? We can't really get punished, can we?"

Lin Weidong overheard every word of the couple's conversation. His eyes lit up, and he thought to himself, "This is like a godsend!"

He quickly put down the cornbread he was holding, ran to Lin Jianjun's side, tugged at his clothes, and looked up at him with his little face, saying, "Dad, I have a way! I can help you modify the pulleys!"

Lin Jianjun paused for a moment, then chuckled and ruffled his son's hair: "Dongzi, this is an adult matter. What do you, a little kid, know about roller skates?"

Zhao Xiulan also chided, "Stop bothering your dad, he's annoyed right now."

"I'm not making a fuss!" Lin Weidong exclaimed anxiously, breaking free from Lin Jianjun's hand and running to his small desk. He picked up a pencil and some scrap paper and quickly began to draw, relying on the pulley modification plan unlocked by the system in his mind.

His small hand held the pencil, but his strokes were steady. The pulley's axle, the wire rope's winding path, and the reinforcement method of the load-bearing wheel were all clearly outlined, and key dimensions and improvement points were marked. In no time, a more organized modification drawing than Lin Jianjun's appeared on the paper.

"Dad, look!" Lin Weidong ran up to Lin Jianjun, holding the blueprints, and handed them over like a treasure.

Lin Jianjun hadn't held out much hope, but when his gaze fell on the blueprints, his eyes widened instantly. He snatched the blueprints, brought them close to the kerosene lamp, and examined them meticulously. The more he looked, the brighter his eyes became. In the end, the worry on his face vanished, replaced by undisguised shock and ecstasy.

"This...this winding method! And the reinforcement of this load-bearing wheel!" Lin Jianjun's voice trembled with excitement as he pointed to the key parts on the blueprint.

"How could I not have thought of that! This modification not only prevents the steel cable from slipping, but also doubles its load-bearing capacity! Dongzi, did you really draw this?"

Lin Weidong looked up at him with a serious expression and said, "I drew it! I went to the factory to deliver water to you that day and overheard the technicians discussing it, so I wrote it down and then figured it out myself."

This reason seemed airtight, and neither Lin Jianjun nor Zhao Xiulan suspected it. After all, Lin Weidong had been clever since childhood and always liked to go to the factory. It didn't seem impossible for him to figure things out after listening to a few discussions.

"Good! Good lad!"

Lin Jianjun excitedly picked up Lin Weidong and kissed him hard on the cheek. "My son is amazing! Now, our technical team can overcome this challenge!"

Early the next morning, Lin Jianjun, carrying the renovation blueprints drawn by his son, ran all the way into the steel rolling mill.

In the technical team's office, the factory manager was giving a stern lecture, while a group of technicians hung their heads, not daring to utter a sound.

"It's been two days! Still no solution? Are you technicians just sitting around doing nothing?" The factory manager's roar shook the paper windows.

Just then, Lin Jianjun suddenly pushed open the door, holding up the blueprints and shouting, "Factory Manager! I have a renovation plan!"

All eyes turned to him. The factory manager walked over with a frown, took the blueprints, and his expression first turned serious, then delighted, finally slapping his thigh and exclaiming, "Excellent! Excellent! This plan is absolutely brilliant! Immediately arrange for people to modify it according to this plan!"

Two hours later, the modified pulley system was installed in the hoisting workshop. When the heavy steel was steadily lifted without the steel cable moving an inch, and the load-bearing test far exceeded expectations, the entire steel rolling mill erupted in cheers!

The factory manager immediately approved the award, giving Lin Jianjun a major commendation. He not only received a factory-wide commendation but also a reward of twenty yuan and five jin of pork! (PS: Back then, it was still ten thousand yuan, but to avoid trouble, it was directly exchanged at a ratio of one ten thousand to one.)

You should know that in 1951, twenty yuan was equivalent to almost a month's wages for an ordinary worker, and five jin of pork was a rare treat that could only be hoped for during the New Year!

This notice was quickly broadcast throughout the streets and alleys via the factory's loudspeaker, and also reached every corner of the Hongxing Courtyard.

At this moment, several people are sitting around under the locust tree in the courtyard.

Yi Zhonghai was holding a large tea mug. He heard Lin Jianjun's name being called on the radio, along with the reward of twenty yuan and five jin of meat. His fingers suddenly trembled, and the scalding tea splashed out, burning his hand without him even noticing.

His face was terribly gloomy, and he was consumed by jealousy: "Lin Jianjun is just a lowly technician, how come he gets such a big honor? So many awards? If he came up with this technology, wouldn't his prestige in the factory rise to another level?"

Liu Haizhong was so angry he was practically fuming. He slammed down the workpiece in his hand and muttered coldly:

"Hmph! Just lucky! He probably copied the plan from somewhere, what's there to be so smug about!" He said this, but his eyes were filled with naked jealousy. Twenty dollars! That's enough to buy so many kilograms of flour, so many yards of cloth!

Jia Dongxu also huddled next to Yi Zhonghai. Hearing the announcement over the loudspeaker, his face flushed red, and he felt a pang of jealousy. He had always thought that he was young and strong and would eventually surpass Lin Jianjun, but now, Lin Jianjun was enjoying unparalleled fame because of a pulley modification. How could he accept this?

"It's just a modified pulley, what's so great about it!" he muttered, his voice full of resentment.

The group chatted amongst themselves, their words dripping with sarcasm and barely concealing their jealousy.

After getting off work, Lin Jianjun carried five jin of pork tied with straw rope, his face beaming as he walked into his house. Behind him were several residents of the factory's courtyard, all of whom had come to offer their congratulations.

"Brother Jianjun, you're really something! You're famous now!"

"You'll have to teach us more in the future, so we can get a commendation someday!"

Zhao Xiulan beamed from ear to ear, quickly bringing out melon seeds and candies from the house to serve the guests. Lin Weidong, meanwhile, hid behind his father, secretly watching the several unpleasant-looking people under the locust tree in the yard, a smug smile playing on his lips.

Under the locust tree, Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, and Jia Dongxu watched the lively scene at the Lin family's house and listened to the bursts of laughter. The fire of jealousy in their hearts burned even brighter.