Siheyuan: I will never tolerate gambling and drugs!

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Inside the steel rolling mill workshop

Xu Lin was carefully wiping the brand-new prototype chainsaw.

Beside it lay several other prototypes that Xu Lin had made by hand along with the project—a roughly shaped electric hammer, and a small, exquisite handheld angle grinder and electric drill.

This is the result of two days and two nights of hard work by Engineer Wu, along with senior fitter and Xu Lin.

He picked up the chainsaw, a weapon imbued with a violent aesthetic, and walked to the corner of the warehouse, where a hardwood root, as thick as a large bowl, was piled up and brought back from the construction site.

In the past, dealing with this kind of thing required two strong men using a large saw, working hard for half a day.

just now……

Xu Lin took a deep breath and pulled the starting rope sharply.

"Buzz—buzz—buzz—putt-putt-putt-putt!"

The chainsaw engine roared furiously, like a steel beast awakened from its slumber. The rapidly spinning chain gleamed with a chilling light under the lamplight.

Lumberjack Xu Lin is officially online!

He gripped the chainsaw tightly with both hands and began to cut into the piece of hardwood.

"Sizzle—"

A piercing cutting sound rang out, and sawdust flew everywhere!

The feeling was nothing like sawing wood; it was more like cutting butter with a hot knife!

Unstoppable! Completely crushing everything in its path!

In just over ten seconds, with a "crack," the hardwood, as thick as a large bowl, snapped, leaving a smooth, mirror-like cut.

Holy crap!

Even Xu Lin himself was astonished by this terrifying efficiency.

This thing is even more awesome than the AK of later generations!

With this thing, clearing tree roots will be a piece of cake.

What is the construction period for the bathhouse?

nonexistent!

A confident smile curled at the corner of his lips. It was time to let this era experience what "the power of technology" truly meant! With that thought, Xu Lin quickly tidied himself up, grabbed a chainsaw, and headed straight out of the workshop.

.....

In the factory manager's office, Li Huaide had recently been suffering from a fever, with a string of blisters in his mouth.

Although the bathhouse project is progressing steadily under Yi Zhonghai's management, the pace is still as slow as a snail's crawl in his view. The chances of completing it before the end of the year are too slim, unless more manpower is used, but he is afraid of affecting the production tasks of the steel rolling mill.

With the end of the year fast approaching, if he doesn't produce some outstanding results, his performance report to the leaders of the Ministry of Industry won't look good.

Just as he was sitting in his office sighing over the project schedule, there was a knock on the office door.

"Come in."

Xu Lin pushed open the door and entered, a mysterious smile on his face.

"Brother, you've finally arrived!" Li Huaide exclaimed as soon as he saw Xu Lin, as if he'd seen a savior. "Quickly, give me some advice! Those guys on the construction site are dragging their feet like they haven't eaten. When will they ever finish? Do you have a solution? It's been three days already, and I'm really worried!"

"Director Li, I know you're in a hurry, but don't rush." ​​Xu Lin slowly pulled out a chair and sat down, placing a heavy, long object wrapped in canvas on the table. "I'm here today to solve this problem."

"Oh?" Li Huaide, who had initially complained about Xu Lin's insensitive remarks, suddenly became interested. "What is this?"

"A little gadget that can shorten our construction period by at least ten times."

As Xu Lin spoke, he ripped open the canvas under Li Huaide's surprised and uncertain gaze.

A menacing chainsaw with a metallic sheen suddenly appeared before Li Huaide.

Li Huaide's pupils contracted.

Although he had never seen this thing before, its sharp chains and rugged engine exuded a dangerous aura that warned strangers to stay away.

"This...this is...a saw?"

"To be precise, it's called a chainsaw," Xu Lin explained with a smile. "It runs on gasoline, and one person can operate it."

Li Huaide circled the chainsaw twice, looking at it and touching it, his face filled with curiosity and disbelief.

"This little lump of iron, can it compare to a dozen workers?"

"You'll know if it's true or not once you try."

Xu Lin picked up the chainsaw and led Li Huaide outside.

Outside the factory manager's office, there was a small garden with several poplar trees planted as landscaping. The thickest of them was about the size of a water bucket.

"Director Li, take a close look."

Without saying a word, Xu Lin started the engine.

"Rat-a-tat-tat-tat—"

The violent roar instantly shattered the tranquility of the office area, startling people in the surrounding buildings who all peeked out.

Under the stunned gazes of Li Huaide and a group of alarmed cadres, Xu Lin raised his saw and brought it down.

"Snap!"

A poplar tree as thick as a water bucket fell down with a thud.

From start to cut, the whole process takes no more than thirty seconds!

The scene was deathly silent.

Everyone seemed to be frozen in place, their mouths agape and their eyes practically popping out of their sockets.

Li Huaide was utterly shaken. He looked at the fallen tree and then at the "weapon of mass destruction" still rattling in Xu Lin's hand. He felt that his worldview had been shaken like never before.

This...this is a saw?

This is simply a miracle product!

"Brother...brother..." Li Huaide's voice trembled, "This...this thing...where did you get it?"

"We made it ourselves in our workshop." Xu Lin casually turned off the engine, as if he had only done a trivial thing.

"We...did we do it ourselves?"

Li Huaide felt like his heart was about to jump out of his throat.

He suddenly rushed forward, grabbed Xu Lin's arm, and his eyes burned with a murderous intensity.

"Anything else?!"

"Of course." Xu Lin smiled slightly. "There are also electric hammers that can easily drill through steel plates and concrete, angle grinders that can cut and polish metal, and electric drills."

"Come on! Take me to see it!"

Li Huaide couldn't wait any longer. He grabbed Xu Lin and practically ran towards the workshop that Xu Lin had been using as a temporary research lab for the past two days.

After half an hour.

When Li Huaide came out of the warehouse, he looked like he was drunk, and he was walking unsteadily.

He's seen it all.

A hammer drill can break brick walls and stones as easily as pounding tofu.

An angle grinder can cut steel bars faster than it can cut noodles.

Drilling holes with an electric drill is incredibly easy!

He was utterly shocked and ignited!

He no longer had any thoughts about the bathhouse construction schedule; instead, he had a grander and more audacious blueprint in mind!

"A genius! You're a real genius!" Li Huaide gripped Xu Lin's hands tightly, so excited he was almost incoherent. "Brother, with these treasures, who the hell would we need to build a bathhouse!"

He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

"Comrade Xu Lin!" He suddenly adopted an extremely solemn form of address, his expression as serious as if he were giving a report. "Deputy Factory Director Xu, immediately establish a 'Special Tool Production Workshop' based on these tool prototypes! Personnel, equipment, funding—whatever you need, I'll provide! All departments in the factory will cooperate with you unconditionally! There's only one requirement: produce like crazy! Get mass production on the agenda as soon as possible!"

Xu Lin smiled and nodded, very satisfied with Li Huaide's attitude. Although Li Huaide was a bit of a fence-sitter, he would really do things for you if there were benefits to be had!

"Okay! You write the report! I'll follow up!"

Not satisfied afterward, Li Huaide dragged Xu Lin back to his office, paced back and forth in the room, and muttered to himself.

"The bathhouse...yes, the bathhouse!" He slapped his thigh suddenly, his eyes gleaming with ambition. "I get it! I get it all!"

"I used to think too narrowly! How much could I possibly accomplish by just having the boss come over for a back rub or a massage?"

"Things are different now!" He pointed out the window, beaming with pride. "You made a whole meal of dumplings just for this dish of vinegar! It's both a way to ensure employee benefits and a demonstration of the advanced technology! If it's really as you say, that we can design over 100 different tools for various scenarios, and mass-produce them all, with the complete assembly line production workshop you described, then the two of us could easily be promoted to division-level positions based on this achievement alone! It's even possible we could be transferred to a ministry later!"

Xu Lin looked at Li Huaide, who had fallen into a state of delusional fantasies, and chuckled to himself.

No wonder he's a seasoned veteran in officialdom; his ability to make connections and his grasp of political awareness are far superior to the average person.

However, this was exactly what Xu Lin wanted.

The production and development of tools are the foundation for driving industrial development!

Steel rolling mill, bathhouse construction site.

Today, the place is surrounded by crowds, as lively as during the Chinese New Year.

Almost all the workshop directors, engineers, and key technical personnel in the entire factory—anyone you could name—were present.

Everyone whispered and discussed among themselves, wondering what the factory manager was up to.

At the very front of the crowd, Li Huaide and Xu Lin stood side by side.

In the open space in front of them were several items—an electric hammer, a chainsaw, an angle grinder, and an electric drill, with piles of concrete blocks, logs, and steel bars next to them.

"Comrades, please quiet down!"

Li Huaide cleared his throat, picked up a tin megaphone, and shouted in a strong voice.

The scene fell silent instantly, with hundreds of eyes focusing on him.

"I've called everyone here today not for any other reason than to broaden your horizons and show you what true 'technological innovation' and 'efficiency' really mean!"

Li Huaide paused, then pointed to Xu Lin beside him, proudly introducing, "Standing next to me is our Deputy Factory Director Xu Lin! And these new tools displayed in front of you are the 'production weapons' that Deputy Factory Director Xu led the technical team to independently develop, expending countless efforts!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a buzz of discussion arose from the crowd.

"Just these few lumps of metal?"

"It doesn't look particularly special."

"Independent research and development? That's just bragging, isn't it? How long has Deputy Factory Director Xu been here?"

Some of the senior engineers, in particular, had disbelief written all over their faces. As the factory's top technical experts, they considered themselves to be very knowledgeable about domestic and foreign mechanical technologies, but these things in front of them were completely unheard of.

Li Huaide took in everyone's reactions and smiled nonchalantly.

"I know you don't believe me." He handed the megaphone to Xu Lin. "Deputy Factory Director Xu, seeing is believing. Let's see what they're made of!"

"Um."

Xu Lin took the loudspeaker and, without saying a word, picked up the chainsaw.

"Comrades, let's look at this first. In the past, to saw down a log like this, it would take two workers, a large saw, and how long would it take?"

An experienced worker immediately replied, "It'll take at least ten minutes, and it'll require two strong young men!"

"Okay, ten minutes." Xu Lin nodded, then suddenly pulled the start rope.

"Rat-a-tat-tat-tat—"

The roar of the engine was so loud it instantly stunned the entire audience!

Amidst everyone's horrified gazes, Xu Lin raised his saw and brought it down.

Wood chips flying everywhere!

"Snap!"

The log, as thick as a bowl, snapped instantly.

Xu Lin turned off the engine and raised the stopwatch.

"Eight seconds!"

The entire room fell silent.

Everyone is stupid.

The engineers and veteran workers who were just discussing things were now like toads struck by lightning, their mouths agape as if they could swallow their fists, their eyes wide open.

Eight seconds?!

What takes two people ten minutes, one person finishes in eight seconds?!

What... what kind of sorcery is this?!

Before everyone could recover from their shock, Xu Lin picked up the electric hammer again.

He pointed to a half-meter-thick concrete block.

"If we use a sledgehammer and a chisel to chisel through it, how long would it take?"

"That'll take half a day!" a foreman shouted.

Xu Lin smiled, connected the electric hammer to the temporary power line, and pressed the switch.

"Buzz—Buzz—Buzz—"

The electric hammer emitted a deep, powerful roar, like an angry bull.

Xu Lin pressed the drill bit against the concrete.

"Da da da da da!"

Stone chips flew everywhere!

That incredibly hard concrete is as fragile as tofu in front of an electric hammer!

A minute later, Xu Lin turned off the switch and easily removed the electric hammer.

Upon closer inspection, everyone saw that a large, clear hole had been cleanly drilled through the thick concrete block!

"boom!"

The crowd erupted!

"My goodness!"

"What...what kind of magical artifact is this?!"

"This is incredible! If we used this in our workshop, how many times would our production efficiency increase?!"

Guo Liwei no longer cared about his glasses. He practically crawled on his hands and feet to the electric hammer, and like caressing a lover, he trembled as he stroked the hammer's cold casing, muttering to himself, "A miracle...this is simply a miracle..."

Finally, Xu Lin picked up the angle grinder and the electric drill.

Faced with a bundle of thick steel bars, it was just as swift and decisive, cutting them all in a dozen seconds amidst sparks flying, and then easily drilling holes in a steel plate.

From then on, no one had any doubts.

The look in everyone's eyes changed.

Their gazes toward Xu Lin were filled with awe, fervor, and worship.

This is no longer just a deputy factory director.

This is clearly the "God of Engineering" descended to earth!

Li Huaide smiled with satisfaction as he looked at the frenzied scene before him.

This is exactly the effect he wanted!

He took the megaphone and announced loudly again, "Comrades! From today onwards, the 'Special Tools Workshop' is officially established! Deputy Factory Director Xu will concurrently serve as the workshop director! I declare that our goal is to make our steel rolling mill the first modern factory in the country to independently produce power tools by the end of the year!"

"good!"

"The factory manager is brilliant!"

"Learn from Deputy Factory Director Xu!"

Cheers and slogans resounded through the sky.

Standing in the crowd, Yi Zhonghai looked at Xu Lin, who was surrounded by everyone like a star, with a very complicated expression in his eyes.

He thought that by using his cunning to bring down Liu Haizhong and take control of the bathhouse construction site, he had already established a firm foothold in the factory.

But now he realized how insignificant and laughable his petty scheming and manipulative tactics were in the face of Xu Lin's "dimensional reduction attack," which was capable of changing the times.

This is not a battle of equal scale.

They're playing with technology.

Meanwhile, I was still playing in the mud.

Yi Zhonghai took a deep breath, and for the first time, he felt a genuine sense of awe towards this young man.

The public display of "special tools" was like an earthquake of magnitude 8, completely shaking the entire Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill.

What followed was a massive explosion in productivity that swept the entire factory.

The first batch of fifty "divine artifact sets" were prioritized for distribution to the bathhouse construction site.

The construction site's atmosphere instantly transitioned from "primitive society" to "industrial age".

The old work chants have been replaced by the buzzing of electric drills and the roar of chainsaws.

The workers were like children who had received new toys, full of enthusiasm. The grove of trees, which was originally planned to take a month to clear, was cleared in half a day thanks to the curiosity of the many fitters and engineers who took turns experimenting. The chainsaw, which served as the prototype, also malfunctioned several times, but these minor problems were easily solved by the fitters and engineers who could quickly handcraft various parts to replace them.

The progress can only be described as "terrifying".

The chainsaw, electric hammer, electric drill, and angle grinder that served as the prototype were later disassembled and reassembled dozens of times by numerous engineers.

The workshop directors' eyes gleamed. They knew all too well the value of these tools! Through repeated disassembly and reassembly, they had thoroughly grasped the working principles and components of each tool. The more they understood, the more amazed they became by the ingenious design, and their admiration for Xu Lin grew ever stronger!

Xu Lin suddenly became the most sought-after "hot commodity" in the entire factory.

Li Huaide was overjoyed, strolling around the factory with his hands behind his back, dreaming of adding a brilliant stroke to his report once he had the capacity for mass production! He felt that he had reached the pinnacle of his life.

After everyone left, he and Xu Lin were in the office, pointing out a huge planning map and envisioning the bright future of selling these tools nationwide and even exporting them to earn foreign exchange.

The office door was suddenly kicked open.

The factory office director rushed in, his face flushed red, panting heavily.

"Factory manager! People from the ministry are here!"

The teacup in Li Huaide's hand froze in mid-air.

"Who?"

"Minister Gao Liang from the Ministry of Industry! He's arrived at the door with several experts!"

Li Huaide's hand trembled, and tea splashed onto the table.

He turned to look at Xu Lin.

Xu Lin was also looking at him.

The moment their eyes met, they both sensed the other's shock.

So fast?

The news had only been out for less than half a day when the people from the ministry arrived?

Li Huaide didn't have time to think and suddenly stood up.

"Walk!"

He grabbed Xu Lin and rushed outside.

The two ran wildly, rushing out of the office building and across the main road of the factory area.

By the time Li Huaide arrived at the factory gate, sweat was already beading on his forehead.

Several black Volga cars were parked neatly there.

The car door opened.

A middle-aged man wearing a Zhongshan suit stepped down.

His face was resolute, his eyes sharp, and he exuded an aura of authority that commanded respect without anger.

Highlight.

Li Huaide quickly went to greet him, saluted, shook hands, and bowed very low.

"Minister Gao, what brings you here?"

Gao Liang merely shook his hand symbolically, but his gaze went straight past him and landed on Xu Lin.

"Comrade Xu Lin, is the work progressing smoothly?"

The voice was clear and steady, but each word sounded like it was being struck on a drum.

"smoothly."

Xu Lin did not back down, nor did he offer any unnecessary pleasantries; he simply answered calmly.

Gao Liang nodded, said nothing more, and gave the order directly.

"Alright, stop hiding it, take us to see those prototype tools."

Li Huaide was stunned for a second, then realized what was happening and a surge of joy welled up inside him.

The minister came in person!

This is fantastic news!

He immediately led the way, and the group headed towards the newly established research lab.

Throughout the journey, Gao Liang remained silent.

The experts behind him were not idle; they were constantly asking Li Huaide and Xu Lin questions about the initial production line and tools, with notebooks and cameras in hand.

His meticulous, almost harsh, demeanor made the air feel heavy.

Li Huaide walked ahead, his back already soaked with sweat.

He dared not look back and could only grit his teeth and keep walking forward.

Finally, we arrived at the workshop of the special tools research lab.

The workshop door was pushed open.

Gao Liang and the expert team went inside.

When they saw the gleaming electric hammers and chainsaws being assembled in the workshop, everyone stopped in their tracks.

An elderly expert with white hair walked forward shakily and picked up a newly formed motor.

He looked at it over and over, his fingers gently stroking the winding thread.

"That's impossible..."

His voice was very soft, as if he were talking to himself.

"This winding method, this power density..."

Another expert had already taken a magnifying glass and brought it close to the chainsaw chain.

He stared at the fine teeth marks, his eyes wide open.

"This quenching process! This alloy ratio!"

He suddenly raised his head and looked at Li Huaide.

"There are really talented people at the steel rolling mill!"

Li Huaide couldn't help but smile, but before he could speak, he felt a gaze fall on him.

No, it didn't fall on him.

It fell on Xu Lin.

Gao Liang turned around and looked at Xu Lin again.

This time, his eyes changed completely.

Shock.

doubt.

And a hint of...unbelievable ecstasy.

The look in his eyes was as if he were looking at a lost treasure that had been found again.

It's like watching a miracle that shouldn't exist in this era.

Xu Lin stood there without saying a word.

He simply looked at Gao Liang quietly, waiting for him to speak.

The air in the workshop seemed to freeze at that moment.