Courtyard House: The Road to an Industrial Power

Xu Damao stayed at his parents' house for two days, feeling very uncomfortable.

His parents sighed all day long, lamenting the hardships he had suffered in the Northwest over the past three years, and blaming him for being blinded by greed and framing Lin Weidong, which resulted in him being sent to labor reform.

These words stung Xu Damao's heart, but he could only silently smoke.

Three years of wind and sand roughened his skin and wore away his former arrogance, but the jealousy in his bones remained unextinguished.

In the past few days, he had heard many people talk about Lin Weidong's glorious achievements in overcoming technical difficulties in military parts, transforming the top and bottom blown converter, and becoming a technical expert in the steel rolling mill, to the point that even the factory director had to show him respect.

The more Xu Damao listened, the stronger his hatred became.

Why should he, Lin Weidong, be able to rise to the top in one step, while he himself has to endure hardship and poverty in the Northwest?

That afternoon, he changed into a decent set of clothes, put the few yuan he had in his pocket, and went straight to the Hongxing Courtyard.

He wanted to see for himself just how successful Lin Weidong had become.

He arrived at the courtyard house. He walked straight to the entrance of the Lin family's courtyard and knocked on the door.

Lin Jianjun opened the door, and upon seeing Xu Damao, his face instantly darkened, his tone filled with suspicion: "It's you? What are you doing back here?"

"Uncle, it's me, Da Mao. I just got back from the Northwest and came to visit you."

Hearing the noise, Lin Weidong came out of the house and saw Xu Damao. "What's wrong?"

Xu Damao squeezed his way in, saying, "Weidong, you've really made something of yourself! I've heard all about your achievements these past few days. You're a big contributor to the steel mill, amazing!"

Xu Damao said through gritted teeth, "I just came back to visit and catch up with you. I'll need your help in Beijing from now on."

Lin Weidong was too lazy to deal with this kind of person and directly gave him the order to leave: "I have things to do and don't have time to catch up with you. Goodbye, don't bother seeing me out."

Xu Damao forced a smile, his face frozen in dissatisfaction. He could only retreat dejectedly.

As he walked out of the Lin family's gate, he turned back and glared fiercely at the tightly closed door, a sinister glint in his eyes.

He suffered greatly during his three years of reform.

This debt isn't just Lin Weidong's; he remembers it from everyone in the entire courtyard!

After Xu Damao left, Lin Weidong turned around and went back into the house. On the table was the experimental report on the new materials.

Since the system rewarded the high-temperature refractory material formula and the bottom-blowing gas supply element processing technology, the laboratory's research and development progress has been rapid.

The refractory bricks fired according to the formula have a much higher than expected resistance to high temperatures and erosion.

The lifespan of the gas supply components manufactured using the new process has also increased several times.

Tomorrow is the day for the installation and testing of the new refractory bricks and new components.

The next day, Lin Weidong went straight to the steel rolling mill with the report in his hand.

In the steelmaking workshop, Li Huaide and the technical staff were already waiting there.

The modified top-and-bottom blown converter has been fitted with new refractory gas-supply bricks and bottom-blowing elements.

"Is everything ready?" Lin Weidong asked.

The workshop foreman nodded vigorously, his voice filled with excitement: "Chief Engineer Lin, everything is ready, just waiting for your order!"

Lin Weidong took a deep breath and waved his hand: "Open the furnace!"

As the command was given, the top-blown oxygen lance slowly descended, and pure oxygen gushed out.

In the bottom-blowing pipe, the airflow is evenly blown into the furnace.

Everyone held their breath, their eyes glued to the data on the instrument panel. The furnace temperature was stable, the airflow was smooth, and the composition curve of the molten steel fell perfectly within the acceptable range.

Two hours later, the first batch of molten steel was produced.

The moment the results were announced, the entire workshop erupted in thunderous cheers.

"Pass! All indicators meet the standards!"

"Production has gone up again!"

Li Huaide excitedly grasped Lin Weidong's hand: "Weidong! We did it! We really did it!"

Lin Weidong smiled and nodded, finally feeling relieved.

This success not only solved the material bottleneck of the converter, but also took the steelmaking technology of the rolling mill a big step forward.

The news caused a sensation when it reached the ministry.

The higher-level leaders made a special trip to inspect the plant and praised the technological transformation achievements of the steel rolling mill. They immediately approved the project, awarded credit to all the staff of the technical department, and allocated a generous bonus.

Over the loudspeaker, Yu Haitang repeatedly announced the good news of the successful converter upgrade, once again spreading Lin Weidong's name throughout the entire factory area.

He Yushui sat in the laboratory, listening to the broadcast, and couldn't help but smile.

She held the newly released steel test report in her hand, intending to personally deliver it to Lin Weidong.

Yesterday, Xu Damao returned to his parents' house, feeling increasingly frustrated. He pulled out the contact information for several former inmates from Beijing whom he had met in the Northwest, his fingertips clenching so tightly they turned white.

Lin Weidong, you just wait.

As dusk fell, Xu Damao, with a few yuan in his pocket, turned into a small tavern in an old alley in Beijing.

The tavern had a dilapidated facade and a dim kerosene lamp hanging in the air; it was a place where all sorts of people gathered.

Two men were already seated at the table in the corner.

One had a face full of scars, and the other was as thin as a bamboo pole. Their eyes were shifty. They were Tiger and Mouse, the fellow inmates Xu Damao had met during his labor reform in Northwest China.

Both of them were reckless and unscrupulous. Even after returning to Beijing, they didn't have a proper business and made a living by swindling and cheating.

"Hey guys, long time no see!"

Xu Damao, all smiles, leaned over, filled his bowl with cheap liquor, and downed it in one gulp.

Then he said, "I've called you here today because I have a business deal to discuss."

Tiger took a drag of his cigarette, squinted, and said, "Da Mao, just say what you want to say. We're brothers, aren't we?"

"It's that kid Lin Weidong! Three years ago, I was exiled to the Northwest to suffer through three years of sandstorms because of him! Now he's all set, a big shot at the steel mill, riding high on his success!"

"I've found out, this kid has been working overtime until late every night for the past two days."

"Let's ambush him on his way home from get off work, teach him a lesson, and then extort some money from him! Let him know that not just anyone can be offended!"

The tiger and the mouse exchanged a glance, both seeing the greed in each other's eyes.

Mouse rubbed his hands together and chuckled, "This kid's a big shot at the factory now, he's definitely got money! Okay! Let's do it!"

The three huddled together, whispering and discussing the location and time to ambush the person.

Meanwhile, in the courtyard house.

Ever since Jia Zhangshi failed to gain any benefits from the Lin family and lost her job as a replacement, she has gone mad, spreading rumors and slanders about the Lin Weidong family everywhere.

She carries a tattered basket every day and either gossips with the vendors at the market.

They would either stop neighbors at the alley entrance, spitting as they cursed, "That Lin family brat is a heartless ingrate! He's forgotten his roots now that he's an official! Our Dongxu is bedridden, and he just stands by and watches him die! The whole family is black-hearted!"

At first, some people who didn't know the truth echoed her, but as time went on, everyone knew Jia Zhangshi's character, and gradually no one paid any attention to her.

But she persisted, her insults becoming increasingly vile, even including Lin Jianjun and his wife in her accusations.