Courtyard House: The Road to an Industrial Power

Lin Weidong was hunched over the control panel, intently checking the latest processing data.

Just as my finger was about to touch the button, I heard a sneer behind me.

Having been left waiting all morning, Ji Boxiao stood a short distance away with his arms crossed, and said dismissively, "Chief Engineer Lin, Technician Su, your efficiency is just too low!"

"With this level of precision, you dare call it military standard?"

"When I was studying in Russia, their machine tools were ten times more precise than this, and they were much more skilled at operating them than you are."

Upon hearing this, Su Wanqing replied bluntly, "Technician Ji, we are mass-producing qualified parts, not conducting theoretical demonstrations in the laboratory."

"No matter how good the Russian machine tools are, they belong to them. Our machine is independently developed, and every parameter is the optimal solution after repeated testing."

"If you think we're not good enough, then show us some real skills instead of just standing around making sarcastic remarks. It makes you seem ignorant and ill-mannered."

Ji Boxiao's face flushed red instantly. He gritted his teeth and suppressed his anger, but he felt increasingly resentful.

Lin Weidong and Su Wanqing ignored him all morning, and he didn't even have a chance to operate the machine tool.

This caused him, who had a very high opinion of himself, great suffering.

He desperately wanted to prove himself, to impress Su Wanqing, and even more so, to humiliate Lin Weidong.

"Hmph, you think I'm incompetent?"

"It's because you didn't give me a chance. The parameters of this machine tool are set too conservatively, and it doesn't reach its full potential. If I were to adjust them, the processing efficiency could be increased by at least 30%, and the precision could be even higher."

Lin Weidong, without even looking up, said, "Machine tool parameters are calculated based on a comprehensive assessment of material properties, tool life, and machining accuracy, and cannot be changed arbitrarily. In the mass production stage, stability is more important than speed."

Ji Boxiao curled his lip in disdain and said, "Conservative is conservative, why make up so many excuses?"

At the same time, a bold idea had already formed in my mind.

Taking advantage of the moment when Lin Weidong and Su Wanqing turned around to inspect the parts and the workshop workers were busy moving the blanks, he quietly crept up to the control panel of another spare machine tool.

The machine tool had just finished a round of processing and was in standby mode, which gave him the perfect opportunity.

Ji Boxiao quickly recalled the theoretical knowledge he had learned in Russia, and with sheer brute force, began to haphazardly modify the parameters.

After doing all this, he returned to his original spot, feigning composure, and deliberately said loudly, "Chief Engineer Lin, why don't we try a new processing scheme using the spare machine tool? I think we can appropriately increase some parameters and see if we can improve efficiency."

Just as Lin Weidong was about to refuse, he saw Ji Boxiao press the start button on the backup machine tool.

The machine tool suddenly emitted a piercing roar, several times louder than usual, and the spindle rotated so fast that it almost left a blur.

Lin Weidong's expression changed, and he rushed over to try and shut down the machine: "Shut it down quickly! The parameters are wrong!"

But it was too late.

With a loud "crack," the cutting head, spinning at high speed, struck the metal blank and broke instantly. Fragments flew out and hit the machine tool's protective cover with a "bang."

Immediately afterwards, the machine tool's operating noise became extremely piercing, the spindle began to shake violently, and the indicator lights on the control panel flashed wildly before finally going out completely and the machine tool stopped.

With a muffled thud, the entire workshop fell into a deathly silence.

All eyes were on Ji Boxiao, their faces filled with shock and anger.

Master Wang, a veteran technician in the workshop, was the first to rush over. Looking at the broken cutter head and the stopped machine tool, he was so heartbroken that he stomped his feet in distress.

"This is outrageous! This machine tool is the apple of our factory's eye; everyone poured their hearts and souls into it. How dare you tamper with the parameters!"

Ji Boxiao was also stunned; he hadn't expected things to turn out this way.

Looking at the broken blade and the malfunctioning machine tool, his first reaction was not to admit his mistake, but to shirk responsibility.

He pointed sharply at Lin Weidong and shouted, "It's your machine tool design that's flawed! The structure is definitely unreasonable, and the materials are substandard, which is why the cutting head broke and the machine tool is damaged!"

"Lin Weidong, you're incompetent, yet you insisted on designing a four-axis machine tool. It's pure grandiosity and a waste of national resources! You must take responsibility for this!"

These distorted statements completely ignited Lin Weidong's anger.

He had been tolerating Ji Boxiao's provocations because he didn't want to affect his work, but now, Ji Boxiao not only modified the parameters without authorization and damaged the machine tool, but also turned around and slandered him.

Lin Weidong's eyes instantly turned red, and his suppressed anger erupted.

He strode up to Ji Boxiao and said, "The machine tool design has undergone countless tests and passed military acceptance. How could there be a problem?"

"It was your unauthorized modification of parameters and improper operation that caused the machine tool to be damaged!"

"Now you dare to turn the tables and blame me?"

Ji Boxiao was intimidated by Lin Weidong's imposing manner and took two steps back, but still remained defiant:

"I didn't! It's your machine tool that's faulty! Don't try to frame me! My uncle is Minister Liu Jie of the Ministry of Industry. I'm going to sue you and make you regret it!"

"Sue me?"

Lin Weidong grabbed Ji Boxiao and lifted him up: "Today I'll show you what it means to pay the price for your mistakes!"

Before he could finish speaking, Lin Weidong threw a punch, which landed squarely on Ji Boxiao's face.

Ji Boxiao screamed as blood gushed from his nose, and his gold-rimmed glasses fell to the ground and shattered.

Before he could react, Lin Weidong raised his leg and kicked him hard in the stomach.

Ji Boxiao was kicked away and fell heavily to the ground, unable to get up for a long time.

"Wei Dong! Stop!" Just then, a hurried shout came from the workshop door.

Li Huaide rushed over as soon as he received the worker's report, only to witness Lin Weidong kicking Ji Boxiao away.

He was terrified. Ji Boxiao was the nephew of the Minister of Industry. If something happened to him, the entire steel rolling mill would suffer.

Li Huaide rushed over and grabbed the enraged Lin Weidong, urgently whispering, "Are you crazy! He's Minister Liu's nephew. If you hit him, this will be a real problem!"

Lin Weidong shook off Li Huaide and said, "He damaged the machine tool and slandered me. People like him deserve to be beaten!"

"Let's talk this out! Calm down first!" Li Huaide quickly pulled him back, afraid that he would rush forward again.

Ji Boxiao scrambled to his feet, clutching his stomach, but still arrogantly yelled, "Lin Weidong! You dare hit me! You're dead!"

"I'm going to get my uncle to fire you and have you arrested and imprisoned!"

"I'll make you pay a heavy price for what you did today! You just wait, I will never let you get away with this!"

Su Wanqing walked up to Ji Boda and said, "Ji Boda, stop trying to intimidate me."

"Master Wang and Xiao Li saw it just now; you sneaked into the machine tool and changed the parameters."

"We still have the original parameter logbook. Tearing off a page won't help. Everyone in the workshop can testify to what the original parameters were!"

Ji Boxiao gritted his teeth and said fiercely: Lin Weidong, you just wait, this isn't over yet!

After saying that, Ji Boxiao clutched his stomach and left the workshop.