Courtyard House: A Carefree Life Begins with a Lottery of Wish Power

After listening to Director Zhou and Liu Haizhong's words, and seeing Liu Haizhong's somewhat nervous expression, Lin Zhuo knew that something was definitely going on.

Lin Zhuo decided to play dumb and said with a smile:

"Second Uncle, you're exaggerating."

"I have to thank the leaders and the director for taking the initiative to bring me here, which gave me the opportunity to work on our forging machine."

Upon hearing Lin Zhuo's words, Liu Haizhong was so angry he wanted to stomp his feet.

Last night, I repeatedly reminded him of this, but he still forgot to mention it again.

Liu Haizhong wanted to leave quickly before Director Zhou could react.

"Director, you're busy. I'll take Xiaolin to the workshop to familiarize herself with the environment."

To everyone's surprise, Director Zhou wasn't confused. He had also heard what Lin Zhuo had said.

Liu Haizhong clearly said that Lin Zhuo took the initiative to come to the forging workshop, but how come Lin Zhuo said that I took the initiative to ask him to come?

Director Zhou cast an inquiring glance at Liu Haizhong, but Liu Haizhong hesitated and dared not meet his eyes.

Director Zhou, a former soldier and a straightforward person, asked:

"Old Liu, what's going on? Didn't you say that Xiao Lin volunteered to come to our workshop?"

Liu Haizhong had schemed and plotted, but little did he expect that Lin Zhuo's scheme would be exposed on his very first day in the workshop.

Cold sweat poured down his forehead, and he was speechless for a moment.

Director Zhou turned to Lin Zhuo and asked:

"Xiao Lin, tell the truth, did you tell Lao Liu that you volunteered to come to the forging workshop?"

Lin Zhuo glanced at his bangs, then pretended to look confused and said:

"Director, I will obey the organization's arrangements. Wherever the organization tells me to go, I will go."

"I didn't tell my second uncle where I wanted to go."

Upon hearing this, Director Zhou finally understood that Liu Haizhong had tricked him and Lin Zhuo.

Director Zhou said coldly:

"Old Liu, explain this to me, what's going on?"

Liu Haizhong wiped the sweat from his forehead, and after a long pause, managed a wry smile before saying:

"Director, I was thinking that since Xiaolin and I are from the same department, if he comes to our workshop, I can look after him, which will also benefit his growth."

"Besides, I know Kobayashi; he'd definitely do a great job as a blacksmith."

"I meant well, so I took the liberty of saying that he wanted to come on his own initiative."

"Director, I really have no selfish motives. I did this for the sake of our workshop and Xiaolin's personal development."

As Liu Haizhong finished speaking, he himself became a little moved, and even his eyes welled up with tears.

Director Zhou was also somewhat annoyed by Liu Haizhong.

All the new workers have been assigned.

At this point, it would be impossible to contact the personnel department again and have Lin Zhuo reassigned a job.

No one would trade with Lin Zhuo for a good job.

If he were assigned to a worse job, it would be a disservice to Lin Zhuo.

Moreover, the person I personally requested is now being returned in less than a day. Where is my pride now?

When Lao Liu brought this up with him, he thought that since Liu Haizhong was a team leader in the workshop, it was a rare opportunity for him to speak up, so he should give him face.

But in the end, it wasn't like that at all.

Both he and Xiaolin were fooled by this guy.

Director Zhou felt somewhat apologetic towards Lin Zhuo.

However, since things have come to this, there's no point in saying more.

Director Zhou showed no mercy to Liu Haizhong and started scolding him directly:

"Old Liu, look what you've done! You're not getting any of this year's 'Advanced Individual' awards."

Upon hearing that he had lost this year's award for outstanding individuals, Liu Haizhong was so anxious that he almost burst into tears.

This was an honor he had been looking forward to for a long time. He had performed well and was promoted based on seniority. This year it was finally his turn, but who knew it would be gone so suddenly.

Although being recognized as an advanced worker only means receiving something inexpensive like a blanket or bed sheet, it's still an honor that can influence career advancement and salary adjustments.

"Director, I..." Liu Haizhong tried to plead his case, but Director Zhou interrupted him directly.

"Alright, I got it. I'll settle this with you later."

"You take Xiaolin and get him familiar with the situation as soon as possible. If you can't manage to train this top student in the entire factory well, I won't let you off the hook."

Director Zhou patted Lin Zhuo on the shoulder again and said:

"Xiao Lin, keep up the good work. Our workshop is tough, though."

"But a real man should make a name for himself and show others, especially in the most difficult places."

Lin Zhuo nodded in agreement.

Liu Haizhong, dejected and looking like a wilted eggplant, led Lin Zhuo out of the room.

"+5 from Liu Hai's wishes."

As soon as he stepped outside, Liu Haizhong wanted to complain about Lin Zhuo.

But when he opened his mouth, he didn't know what to say.

He had wanted to say that Lin Zhuo hadn't followed his instructions, but now that things had been exposed, he was too ashamed to speak.

Lin Zhuo chuckled inwardly at Liu Haizhong's embarrassing state, but maintained a serious expression on his face and said:

"Second Uncle, I'm sorry, I accidentally blurted it out."

"+5 from Liu Hai's wishes."

Liu Haizhong was seething with anger, but he couldn't vent it, so he could only take the opportunity to back down, saying:

"fine."

Liu Haizhong beckoned over a burly man in his forties and said:

"Huang Fusheng, this is Lin Zhuo, who has just been assigned to our group. He'll be working with you from now on, so please mentor him."

He then said to Lin Zhuo:

"This is Huang Fusheng from our group. He's a level 5 forging worker and a key technical member of our workshop. His skills are excellent. You should learn from him."

After saying that, Liu Haizhong patted his behind and left.

Liu Haizhong wasn't exaggerating; many workers didn't even reach the level 5 worker rating until retirement.

The temperature in the forging workshop was very high, and Huang Fusheng's dark red face was covered in sweat.

As soon as Liu Haizhong left, Huang Fusheng warmly shook hands with Lin Zhuo.

"Come on, Xiaolin, let me show you around first."

As they walked, Huang Fusheng explained the situation of the forging workshop to Lin Zhuo.

Forging, in layman's terms, can also be called blacksmithing.

Forging can eliminate defects such as casting porosity that occur in metals during the smelting process and optimize the microstructure.

The common forging process involves heating a steel billet in a furnace until it is red-hot, then taking it out and placing it on an anvil to be shaped into various required forms. Depending on the product, some may also require appropriate heat treatment.

Smaller items are held with pliers, while larger items need to be moved using a forklift.

In the workshop, several steam-powered hammers were striking steel billets, sending sparks flying and creating a deafening noise.

There are many master craftsmen mentoring apprentices in the workshop.

The master craftsman uses an iron clamp in his left hand to hold the red-hot workpiece on the anvil, and in his right hand he takes a small hammer and strikes the workpiece repeatedly, while the apprentice next to him swings a large hammer, striking the areas where the small hammer has struck with varying degrees of force.

The forging workshop was hot and noisy; you had to shout to be heard.

Huang Fusheng brought Lin Zhuo a hammer and said:

"Xiao Lin, although steam hammers are used more often now, swinging a hammer is still a basic skill for us."

"This is a 14-pound hammer, it's relatively light. Practice hitting it on a wooden block first, and try to hit the center."

"Once you practice until you can hit the center every time, you can gradually start doing manual labor."

As he spoke, Huang Fusheng carefully explained to Lin Zhuo the essentials of using a hammer.

How to exert force, and how to protect yourself.

A hammer weighing over ten kilograms is quite heavy to lift. To swing it properly requires a lot of practice. You need not only strength but also the right technique to apply force.

Huang Fusheng gave Lin Zhuo a few pointers and corrected his movements before going back to his own work.

Seeing Huang Fusheng leave, Lin Zhuo glanced around again and found that no one was paying attention to him.

Lin Zhuo opened the system panel. He had just received 10 points of wish power from Liu Haizhong. Adding the 3 points of wish power contributed by Jia Zhangshi and Jia Dongxu last night, he now had 103 points of wish power, enough for another lottery draw.

Lin Zhuo held his breath and clicked the lottery button.