Major Heavy Industry: Starting with a Fake Marriage

Jiang Cheng's mind was buzzing. He finally understood—why his master had been transferred, why he himself had been ostracized, and why Sun Jianguo dared to be so arrogant. It turned out that someone had already set up a trap to completely overturn the steel rolling mill incident.

"Yes," he said. "That rolling mill, I discovered the problem, and my master fixed it."

Li Jianguo's eyes widened: "Then you're in trouble. The people responsible mentioned in this report are you and your master, aren't they? Have you offended someone?"

Jiang Cheng remained silent. Li Jianguo grew anxious: "Don't just stay silent! Quickly think of a solution! How about you come back to Ansteel with me? Our factory is short of technicians, I can introduce you to someone—"

"No need," Jiang Cheng interrupted him. "Jianguo, thank you. I'll handle this myself."

Li Jianguo looked at him, hesitating to speak. Finally, he sighed and said, "Alright, as long as you understand. If you need any help, just let me know."

That night, after seeing Li Jianguo off, Jiang Cheng sat alone in the room, lost in thought. Zheng Yanxi came over, sat down next to him, and gently took his hand.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Jiang Cheng recounted the report. Zheng Yanxi listened in silence for a long time before asking, "What do you plan to do?"

Jiang Cheng looked at her and suddenly asked, "Yanxi, do you regret it?"

"Regret what?"

"I regret marrying you," Jiang Cheng said. "My current situation might implicate you and your parents."

Zheng Yanxi shook her head: "No regrets."

Jiang Cheng looked at her, a complex mix of emotions welling up inside him. This woman, who had married him only to get a house, had now become his only support.

"Yanxi, thank you," he said.

Zheng Yanxi didn't say anything, but simply rested her head on his shoulder.

The next day, Jiang Cheng went to find Huang Deqing.

The logistics warehouse was still the same as always, reeking of mold. Huang Deqing was squatting on the ground counting a pile of scrapped parts when he saw Jiang Cheng arrive. He frowned and said, "Didn't I tell you not to come?"

Jiang Cheng recounted the report. Huang Deqing listened in silence for a long time before slowly standing up. His back was slightly hunched, but his eyes remained steady.

"Chengzi, are you scared?"

Jiang Cheng shook his head: "I'm not afraid."

"It's good that you're not afraid," Huang Deqing said. "I expected this. We took advantage of their interests with the rolling mill, so they're bound to try and make amends. I just didn't expect them to be so ruthless."

"Master, what should we do?"

Huang Deqing looked at him: "Do you believe me or not?"

"letter."

"Alright," Huang Deqing said. "Go back and do what you were doing, just pretend you don't know anything about this. Let them jump around, let them make a scene. We'll take action when they've had their fill."

Jiang Cheng was somewhat confused: "Master, are we just going to wait like this?"

Huang Deqing nodded: "Wait. Chengzi, remember, sometimes inaction is harder than action. If you act now, they'll be prepared, and you won't be able to do anything. If you don't act, they'll think you're scared and lower their guard. Wait for them to show a weakness, then strike, and you'll be sure to succeed."

Jiang Cheng seemed to be deep in thought.

"And another thing," Huang Deqing lowered his voice, "get your planer design done as soon as possible. That's your capital. Once it's successful, no one can stop you."

Jiang Cheng nodded: "I understand, Master."

Leaving the logistics department, Jiang Cheng felt much more at ease. His master was right; now was not the time for a head-on confrontation. What he needed to do was sharpen his blade, and when the opportunity arose, deliver a fatal blow.

In the days that followed, Jiang Cheng became even more low-key. He worked in the foundry during the day and conducted research in the lab at night, living a simple life between these two places and rarely uttering a word. Sun Jianguo tried to pick a fight with him several times, but he tolerated it. Seeing this, Director Ma said to him privately, "Jiang Cheng, do you have some plans?"

Jiang Cheng smiled and said, "Director Ma, I just want to do my job well."

Director Ma shook his head and asked no more questions.

A week later, Zheng Huaiyuan brought good news.

"The Mechanical Research Institute has agreed," he said. "Director Wang put in a good word for you. You can use the EDM machine, but only at night, and you can't let anyone know."

Jiang Cheng was overjoyed: "That's wonderful! Uncle Zheng, thank you!"

Zheng Huaiyuan waved his hand: "Don't be too happy yet. Time is tight and the task is heavy, you have to hurry."

That evening, Jiang Cheng stepped into the provincial mechanical research institute's laboratory for the first time. It was far more advanced than the laboratory at the industrial college, equipped with a full range of equipment, including an imported EDM machine. The person who received him was an engineer surnamed Wu, in his thirties, wearing thick glasses, not very talkative, but with solid technical skills.

"You're Jiang Cheng?" Engineer Wu sized him up. "Director Wang instructed me to cooperate with you. What kind of processing is needed?"

Jiang Cheng took out the blueprints and pointed to several parts: "These few require high precision and cannot be machined by ordinary machine tools; they can only be processed by electrical discharge machining."

Engineer Wu looked at the drawings, his eyes lighting up: "This design... did you draw it yourself?"

"Yes."

Engineer Wu nodded, said nothing more, and began debugging the machine.

That night, Jiang Cheng worked until 3 a.m. Engineer Wu stayed with him the whole time, occasionally handing him a tool or offering a suggestion. Finally, several key parts were successfully manufactured.

As he was leaving, Engineer Wu suddenly asked, "Jiang Cheng, what's the point of all this stuff?"

Jiang Cheng hesitated for a moment, then said, "Improve an old planer."

Engineer Wu was silent for a moment, then said, "You're quite capable. If you need anything in the future, you can come to me."

Jiang Cheng felt a warmth in his heart: "Thank you, Engineer Wu."

For the next two weeks, Jiang Cheng went to the research institute almost every night. Engineer Wu was sometimes there, sometimes not, but he always left the door open for him so he could use the equipment. The two gradually became familiar with each other, occasionally chatting about technology and sometimes having a late-night snack together. Engineer Wu was a man of few words, but every time he spoke, he hit the nail on the head. Jiang Cheng learned a lot from him.

On the night all the parts were finished, Engineer Wu suddenly said, "Jiang Cheng, I have something I want to ask you."

"Please speak."

"If you actually succeeded in making these things, how much value would they have?"

Jiang Cheng thought for a moment and said, "It can improve the precision of that planer by 30% and its efficiency by 20%. If it is widely adopted, the entire industry can benefit."

Engineer Wu was silent for a moment, then said, "Do you know when that planer was manufactured?"

"In 1958, during the Great Leap Forward."

"That's right," Engineer Wu said. "It's been over twenty years and it's still in use. How many such old machines are there in our country? Countless. If each one could be improved a little, the total number would be enormous."

Jiang Cheng nodded.

Engineer Wu looked at him and suddenly smiled: "Alright, you can go back now. If you need anything in the future, just come."

Jiang Cheng returned to the lab, assembled all the parts, and began final adjustments. Zheng Huaiyuan and Professor Qian both arrived, staring intently at the small model.

"Give it a try," Zheng Huaiyuan said.