Courtyard House: The Road to an Industrial Power

A few days later, the steel rolling mill's technology research and development laboratory, which had been in preparation for a long time, was finally officially established amidst the sound of gongs and drums.

As the red silk ribbon fell, Li Huaide personally handed the plaque for the "Technology Research and Development Laboratory" to Lin Weidong.

"Dongzi, from this day forward, this place is yours! We'll provide whatever manpower and resources you need. Our factory's technological upgrades depend on you!"

Lin Weidong smiled as he accepted the sign. Inside the laboratory, there were refractory bricks left over from the conversion of the converter, as well as a pile of machine tool parts that hadn't been disassembled yet.

Although the technical upgrade of the top-and-bottom blown converter was a great success, increasing output tenfold, he knew in his heart that this was far from enough.

"Director Li, the reason why the converter's efficiency has not met expectations is mainly due to the materials."

"The refractory materials currently used are still not good enough in terms of high temperature resistance and erosion resistance, and the lifespan of the bottom-blowing air supply components is too short. They have to be replaced every few days, which seriously affects production efficiency."

Li Huaide frowned: "So what are your thoughts?"

"I need a batch of high-purity refractory aggregates and high-temperature resistant alloy pipes. But currently, the domestic material processing technology is far from meeting this standard. We either need to develop new materials ourselves, or we need to find a way to improve the formula of existing materials."

"Developing new materials? That's no small matter; it requires a lot of funding and time."

Lin Weidong nodded. "I know, but this is the only way. Without good materials, even the best design drawings are just empty talk."

Li Huaide pondered for a moment, then said, "Let's do it! I'll apply for special funds right now! Go ahead and do it; I'll take responsibility if anything goes wrong!"

For the next period of time, Lin Weidong could be seen working busily in the laboratory every day.

He led his team to repeatedly test the proportion of refractory aggregates and adjust the sintering temperature and time. Sometimes, in order to observe the high-temperature resistance of a refractory brick, he could stay in front of the high-temperature furnace for an entire day.

However, for half a month, the experiment did not make any breakthrough progress.

Either the refractory bricks were not strong enough, or their erosion resistance was not up to standard. The repeated failures made the technical staff somewhat disheartened.

A young technician looked at Lin Weidong, who had a worried expression, and said, "Chief Engineer Lin, why don't we take a break? This new material research and development is too difficult."

Lin Weidong shook his head. "That's what makes it difficult. If it were easy, would we even have the chance to do it? Just hang in there a little longer, and maybe we'll succeed on the next test."

As soon as he finished speaking, a crisp notification sound rang in his mind:

[Ding! Host's unwavering commitment to research and development, overcoming difficulties and persevering, has triggered a system advancement reward!]

[Reward: Optimized formula for high-temperature refractory materials + precision machining technology for bottom-blown gas supply components!]

Upon hearing the system notification, Lin Weidong quickly reviewed the reward details in his mind, which precisely solved the two major problems he was currently facing in the research and development.

He suppressed his joy and patted the young technician on the shoulder: "Don't worry, I have a new idea!"

Although the group was puzzled, their trust in Lin Weidong was already deeply ingrained, and they immediately got to work.

In the courtyard house.

The Jia family's grain bins were already empty, and Jia Dongxu lay in bed day after day, relying on the money he had saved and the subsidies from the factory. The family's savings were dwindling.

Shameless, Jia Zhangshi went straight to Yan Bugui's house.

Yan Bugui was sitting at home, fiddling with his abacus, calculating how much food rations he could save this month. He didn't even lift his eyelids when he heard Jia Zhangshi's footsteps.

As soon as Jia Zhangshi entered the door, she shouted, "Old Yan! My family is out of food. Could you spare me some cornmeal? I'll pay you back once I've recovered!"

Upon hearing the words "borrow grain," Yan Bugui immediately stopped using his abacus and glared at Jia Zhangshi.

"Did the grain in my family come from a storm? There are several mouths to feed in my family, how could we possibly have any extra for you!"

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhangshi immediately became furious. "You miser! You're always so stingy, never giving a penny! My Dongxu is starving to death, and you just want to watch him die?"

Yan Bugui hugged the abacus to his chest and said stiffly.

"It's your family's business if they starve to death, it has nothing to do with me! When your family was taking advantage of the neighbors, why didn't you think about this day?"

These words struck a nerve with Jia Zhangshi, who immediately threw a tantrum, plopped down on the ground in front of Yan Bugui's house, slapped her thighs, and wailed loudly.

"You heartless bastard! We're all neighbors in the same courtyard, and you just stood by and watched someone die! Old Yan, you black-hearted wretch! Why doesn't God strike you down with lightning?!"

Her cries were sharp and piercing, and soon attracted the attention of the neighbors in the courtyard.

When Jia Zhangshi saw that there were more people around, she cried even harder, and her voice rose eight octaves.

"Everyone, be the judge! My husband Dongxu is bedridden now because of the steel rolling mill, and I'm an old woman; it looks like we're going to starve to death at home together!"

"Everyone in this courtyard is just standing by coldly, not a single one willing to lend a hand! They used to call each other brothers, but they're all ingrates!"

The neighbors gathered around, whispering among themselves, but no one stepped forward to intervene.

Everyone knows Jia Zhangshi's character; she never stops taking advantage of others in her daily life, and only now that she's in trouble does she think of her neighbors. Where was she before?

An older woman poked her head out of the house, glanced at it, and then silently retreated back inside.

Yi Zhonghai is still in the police station, and her family is also struggling financially, so she has no energy to care about others.

After crying for a long time, seeing that no one paid attention to her and no one was willing to lend her grain, Jia Zhangshi simply lay on the ground and threw a tantrum, cursing the neighbors in the courtyard, cursing Yan Bugui the miser, cursing Lin Weidong for being heartless and not helping, and cursing God for being blind.

Annoyed by her noise, Yan Bugui simply closed the courtyard gate, leaving her to wail outside.

After making a scene for a long time, Jia Zhangshi's voice became hoarse, but she didn't get a single grain of food. She could only get up dejectedly and go home.

Hearing the commotion in the yard, Jia Dongxu immediately began to resent the Lin family. He thought that if it weren't for Zhao Xiulan's help, Zhang Guilan wouldn't have dared to divorce him, and if they hadn't divorced, their family wouldn't be in such a state now.

Upon seeing Jia Zhangshi return, Jia Dongxu said, "Mom, if it really doesn't work out, you can go and fill in at the steel mill."

"What! You actually want your old mother to work in a steel mill? I can't do that!"

Seeing Jia Zhangshi's reaction, Jia Dongxu said, "Look, the Lin family are all officials at the steel mill. Why don't you ask them to arrange an easy job for you? That way, our family can have some income every month, and you can work for a few years and then receive a pension!"

Hearing her son say this, Jia Zhangshi relented and said, "Then I'll go to their house when they get off work. If they dare not help me, I'll make them pay."