In the 90s, you could acquire max-level skills every 14 days.

Chapter 122 Skill Crossover: Quick Reference Manual

Just as Zhang Yong was walking into the stairwell, Grandpa Chen from the gatehouse poked his head out and shouted.

"Yongzi! Come and get your things!"

"Another letter?"

"That's right!" Grandpa Chen pulled a bulging sack of twisted silk from under the counter and slammed it onto the counter.

"It arrived this morning. Your bag takes up a lot of space, take it with you."

The woven bag wasn't tied tightly and was stuffed full of envelopes of various sizes.

There were kraft paper envelopes, white envelopes, and several with company names printed on them, all piled together.

"Thanks, Uncle Chen." Zhang Yong picked up the bag; it was heavy, containing at least thirty or forty envelopes.

He carried the bag upstairs, returned to his study, and turned on the desk lamp.

I've received quite a lot of letters now, and I've collected over sixty different stamps.

On the left side of the table is a reader's letter forwarded from the Workers' Life Weekly, addressed to "Zhang Wengong". On the right side is a letter I picked up from the October magazine office last time, addressed to "Zhang Yong".

He opened one of the letters; it was postmarked "Shougang".

"Hello, Comrade Zhang Wengong. I am a technician in the hot rolling workshop of Shougang Group. This is the second letter from you regarding your article on identifying counterfeit engine oil. The postmark is 'Taiyuan Heavy Machinery Plant'."

"Teacher Zhang Wengong: The gantry planer currently used in our factory was built with Soviet aid in the 1950s, and all the bolts used with it are metric. However, last year we got a second-hand CNC milling machine from Japan, which uses imperial bolts. We have metric and imperial bolts mixed together in our warehouse, and just last month there was a mis-installation accident where an M12 bolt was screwed into a half-inch hole, almost ruining one of them —"

Zhang Yong looked at the letter for a long time, then took it out and placed it separately in the center of the table.

He continued dismantling.

The third letter was addressed to "Luoyang Bearing Factory".

"—We currently use SKF standards for imported bearings, the old national standards for domestically produced bearings, and a batch of bearings made in Harbin that use the Soviet GOST standard. These three standards are running interchangeably on one production line, and new workers are completely confused. Every month, a batch of parts has to be scrapped."

The fourth letter was addressed to "Liuzhou Engineering Machinery Factory".

"—I earnestly request Comrade Zhang Wengong to compile a handbook, even if it's just a comparison table of common metric, imperial, and Soviet bolts and nuts. Our factory is small, and we can't find a complete one."

Zhang Yong put down the letter, picked up the pile on the right, and opened a few of them.

The readership of "October" is different, and the wording is more elegant, but it talks about the same thing.

In a letter, a veteran engineer from Ansteel wrote: "Comrade Zhang Yong, I've worked in the metallurgical system for thirty years, and the most troublesome thing is the lack of standardized specifications. The same flange uses one set of dimensions in the Northeast, another set in the Southwest's third-line plants, and yet another set for newly imported equipment on the coast. When the drawings arrive, just converting them takes half a day. Young people can't understand it, and the veteran engineers have retired. If this problem isn't solved, a major disaster is bound to happen sooner or later—"

Zhang Yong put the letter down and leaned back in his chair.

The light from the table lamp shone on the pile of letters pulled out separately in the middle, the smell of ink and paper mingling together.

Outside the window, the cicadas in Jinsong Community were still chirping, and someone in the next building was boiling water, the kettle lid making a popping sound.

1990 years.

Across the country, factories use a mix of six or seven different standards: Soviet, Japanese, German, American, old, and new.

The workers, holding vernier calipers, were completely clueless about the numbers on the blueprints.

People often confuse metric and imperial units, and new workers are bound to make mistakes at least once, either by using the wrong equipment or by rendering their equipment unusable.

How much material is wasted each year? How much construction time is delayed?

He had two sets of skills working simultaneously in his mind.

He can now recite the parameter system of [Auto Repair Lv.5]—engine bolt torque standards, oil viscosity classification, bearing fit tolerances—with his eyes closed.

His writing ability at Level 4 allows him to translate complex technical parameters into plain language that frontline workers can understand. This is the core ability behind his pen name, "Zhang Wengong."

Once the two sets of skills are combined, the path becomes clear.

Zhang Yong opened the drawer and took out a pencil and a new notebook.

On the title page, he wrote a few words: "Quick Reference of Commonly Used Standards in Basic Industrial Practices".

Then I turned to the first page, sorted out everything I had in my head, and started making an outline.

1: Commonly used thread standards (metric/imperial/Soviet).

2: Quick lookup table for bearing models and fit tolerances.

3: Comparison of commonly used steel grades (Chinese National Standard/Japanese Standard/American Standard/Jiangsu Standard).

The pencil scratched on the paper.

Zhang Yong wrote for a while, then put down his pen and flipped through the letters again.

Shougang Group, Taiyuan Heavy Machinery Group, Luoyang Bearing Group, Liugong Machinery, Ansteel Group —

These names will either be giants or have undergone restructuring in 2026. But in 1990, they were the backbone of China's industry.

However, if the skeleton is too big, it will always become messy.

Foreign, local, and Suzhou influences are all mixed together, and no one can clearly distinguish one from another.

If this manual can be compiled, I dare not say it will change the world, but at least it will provide millions of frontline workers across the country with an additional reference book.

That's enough to live up to those letters.

Zhang Yong closed the outline and put it in the drawer.

This can't be rushed.

I need to confirm the authoritative source of the technical parameters with Fang Qiming first, because my knowledge is limited to the source system, and he himself is not sure if it is comprehensive.

But the direction has been set.

He stood up and drank the last drop of water from the enamel mug.

It was already completely dark outside the window.

Downstairs, I heard the sound of Grandpa Chen closing the iron gate to the guardhouse, a loud clang, just like every day.

Zhang Yong drew the curtains, turned off the desk lamp, lay down in the dark, and began to let his mind wander.

Zhang Chao will arrive the day after tomorrow.

This is my uncle's youngest child, about the same age as me. Does he know anything about his father's affairs in Baoding?

Zhang Dewang was practically a local tyrant, and all the shady things he did, an unemployed rural youth didn't even hear a word about it.

Zhang Yong rolled over and stared at the ceiling.

Regardless of how much Zhang Chao knows, once he takes over the business the day after tomorrow, we should first stabilize the situation and then investigate further.

He closed his eyes.

My fighting skill is slowly increasing in the corner, and I'll be at Lv.6 in a few days. In early September, the capital city was already getting chilly in the mornings and evenings.

Last night, a westerly wind blew, and the old locust tree in the police station courtyard shed a carpet of yellow leaves, which were swept up by the wind and swirled along the base of the wall.

The door to the duty room was ajar. Xiao Li was writing something on the table when he heard the noise and looked up.

"Zhang Yong is here? Come in quickly."

Xiao Li poured a cup of water from the thermos and pushed it in front of Zhang Yong.

"Have something hot to drink. I called you here because I have something to tell you."

Zhang Yong took the enamel mug, but didn't drink from it right away. He glanced at Xiao Li.

The man had dark circles under his eyes, a thick stack of case files on the table, and seven or eight cigarette butts stuck in the ashtray next to him, clearly indicating that he had stayed up all night.

"Is there any news from Baoding?"

"Got it." Xiao Li closed his notebook and pulled his chair closer to Zhang Yong.

"Today has both good and bad things. Let me start with the good things."