Courtyard House: The Road to an Industrial Power

For the past two weeks, Lin Weidong has been living and working almost entirely at the factory, leading the technical team and workers around the clock.

From the layout and planning of the production line to the debugging and calibration of machine tool parts, he personally handled every detail.

Su Wanqing stayed by his side the whole time, helping him organize data and coordinate materials, becoming his most capable assistant.

Under their leadership, the mass production line for four-axis CNC machine tools was finally completed.

Today, the first mass-produced machine tool was successfully started up. Lin Weidong couldn't help but hold Su Wanqing's hand and say, "We finally succeeded. We now have our own four-axis machine tool production line."

Su Wanqing was shocked by Lin Weidong's behavior, even though Su Wanqing was usually very carefree.

Lin Weidong's pull made her feel a little shy.

Su Wanqing's face immediately turned red, and she stammered, "Yes...yes, we succeeded."

She looked around and thankfully everyone's attention was on the machine tools and production line, so they didn't notice anything unusual about the two of them.

Looking at the operating production line, Li Huaide's eyes reddened with excitement. He patted Lin Weidong on the shoulder and said "good" three times, stating that the steel rolling mill had made a great contribution.

In the two weeks since the production line was put into operation, Lin Weidong and Su Wanqing's relationship has quietly warmed up as they spend more time together.

During breaks, Lin Weidong would bring Su Wanqing her favorite osmanthus cake, and Su Wanqing would quietly brew hot tea for Lin Weidong when he stayed up late.

The moment the machine tools went into mass production, a system notification sounded in Lin Weidong's mind precisely on time:

[Ding! The host has successfully promoted the mass production of four-axis CNC machine tools, achieving a key breakthrough in military production. Reward: Advanced Mechanical Manufacturing Knowledge Pack, +2 points to Constitution, +2 points to Intelligence.]

A warm current flowed through his body, and Lin Weidong felt his mind becoming increasingly sharp.

Several technical questions that I had encountered when improving the top and bottom blowing converter suddenly became easy to answer.

He suppressed his joy, turned to Su Wanqing, and said, "Next, it's time to improve the converter."

Before the fervor of mass production of machine tools had subsided, Lin Weidong began to work on improving the top-and-bottom combined blowing converter.

With the knowledge package rewarded by the system and the previously recorded technical data, the improvement work progressed rapidly.

A few days later, the improved top-and-bottom blown converter was officially put into trial operation.

While the steel rolling mill was reporting frequent successes, the turmoil in the Hongxing Courtyard never ceased.

Over the past two weeks, people in the courtyard have noticed Jia Zhangshi's unusual behavior; she has become lazy and gluttonous, and has even started to "diet".

No longer squatting at the gate of the courtyard eating sunflower seeds and cursing, he walks around the alley every day before dawn, and even when he sees Liu Haizhong's roast chicken, he forcefully holds back his saliva.

No one knew that Jia Zhangshi's "perseverance" was all for He Daqing.

After making up her mind, Jia Zhangshi began to frequently contact He Daqing.

When He Daqing came home from get off work, she would "coincidentally" pass by carrying washed vegetables and strike up a conversation with him.

Even when He Daqing went fishing, she would prepare the bait in advance.

Carrying a bucket of water and following behind, saying "I'll lend you a hand," they were actually trying to make their presence known.

Jia Zhangshi's proactive move did indeed give He Daqing some ideas.

I still remember Jia Zhangshi's appearance when she was young. Although she has gained some weight now, her features remain the same.

Coupled with that deliberate gentleness, he found himself somewhat unable to resist.

Over time, the two actually became quite familiar with each other.

Widow Li saw all of this and was very anxious.

She originally thought that winning over He Daqing was a sure thing, but unexpectedly, Jia Zhangshi intervened and, based on their past relationship and her status as her deceased husband, became quite attractive to He Daqing.

Seeing Jia Zhangshi doting on He Daqing every day, Widow Li felt increasing pressure, fearing that Jia Zhangshi would snatch away what she had been planning for so long.

The sun was just past noon in the courtyard, and Jia Zhangshi was sitting inside mending He Daqing's old clothes.

Suddenly, with a loud "bang," the door was pushed open violently.

Widow Li stormed in, her usual gentle demeanor gone, her eyes filled with malice.

"Jia Zhangshi! Don't push your luck!"

"He Daqing is my man now. You'd better get lost or you should know what I can do."

Jia Zhangshi was startled, but quickly recovered and retorted without backing down, "Widow Li, what do you mean He Daqing is your man?"

"You slept with him? Or is Shazhu your son?"

"A deaf old woman who picked up some random random woman from who-knows-where, and she actually thinks she's something special?"

Hearing this, Widow Li sneered, "Looks like I've been giving you too much leeway lately, you little brat who never learns from your mistakes."

The two then argued more and more fiercely, spitting as they spoke.

Seeing this, Widow Li steeled herself and decided to start throwing a tantrum.

Widow Li scratched two bloody marks on her face and messed up her clothes and hair.

He then burst through the door, rolled down the steps, and landed in the open space in the center of the yard.

Taking advantage of the situation, Widow Li lay down on the ground, pounding the ground and howling, "Everyone, come quick! Jia Zhangshi is bullying us!"

She cried and wiped tears from her face, which made her look particularly disheveled, especially with her messy hair.

Hearing the commotion, the neighbors who were busy in the yard all ran out of their houses to watch.

Uncle Yan Bugui stood to the side with his arms crossed, his eyes full of interest in watching the spectacle.

Aunt Erda pulled her child aside and whispered to the people next to her; several young wives also gathered together, pointing and gossiping about Jia Zhangshi.

"I never expected that Jia Zhangshi would start hitting people so soon after things had calmed down."

"That's right, she'd throw away all shame to steal a man."

"Widow Li looks quite honest, how could she have been beaten like this?"

The whispers pierced Jia Zhangshi's heart like needles; she stood at the door, trembling with anger.

She even wanted to say, "These are all my lyrics!"

Just then, Zhao Xiulan returned from buying groceries and saw the mess in the yard. She quickly went over and asked:

"What's going on? Why are they making such a fuss?"

When Widow Li saw Zhao Xiulan arrive, she cried even harder: "Sister Zhao, you must do me justice!"

"When Jia Zhangshi saw that I had been getting closer to Brother He lately, she threatened me and even hit me."

"Look at all these injuries I've sustained!"

As she spoke, she deliberately rolled up her sleeves, revealing bruises on her arms that didn't actually exist.

Mrs. Jia was so anxious that tears were almost in her eyes: "Director Zhao, don't listen to her nonsense!"

"She came to my house and caused trouble first; she fell out of there herself!"

Widow Li immediately retorted, "You were the one who threatened me, saying you'd break my legs if I got any closer to Brother He!"

The two argued back and forth, each sticking to their own version of events.

Just as Zhao Xiulan was about to mediate, the deaf old woman, leaning on her cane and supported by Widow Li, came over.

As she walked, she said, "This is outrageous! Since when did Jia Zhangshi become so unruly in this courtyard?!"

"She assaulted someone and had an affair with another man; such a morally corrupt person must be expelled from the courtyard!"

The deaf old woman's words aroused even more discussion in the courtyard.

Upon hearing that she was to be expelled from the courtyard, Jia Zhangshi immediately fell silent, looking at Zhao Xiulan with a pleading expression.